India

India's Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved use of Russia's Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine. India is said to produce 750 million doses of the Russian vaccine.

"India, the world’s 2nd most populous nation, became the 60th country to register #SputnikV after positive results of local Phase 3 clinical study. Sputnik V is now authorized in 60 countries with a population of over 3 [billion] people," the Sputnik V official Twitter account wrote.

India reported 142,879 new daily cases on Sunday. This new trend makes the outbreak in the country the fastest growing outbreak worldwide. The country is experiencing a vaccine shortage, even though it's the world's largest manufacturer of Coronavirus vaccines.

Delhi, India’s capital territory, imposed a night curfew amid a rise in Coronavirus cases. The 10 p.m to 5 a.m. curfew is effective immediately. Medical and media personell as well as delivery staff are still allowed to travel at night.

ByteDance in January cut its Indian workforce after New Delhi decided to retain a ban on its popular video app TikTok, first prohibited last year following a border clash between India and China. The authorities also directed Citibank and HSBC to prevent ByteDance India from withdrawing funds from any other bank accounts linked to its tax identification number, the first source said.

The move was widely linked to India's broader pushback against Chinese businesses after clashes at a disputed Himalayan border site left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

The Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) has concluded another agreement for the production of the Corona vaccine Sputnik V in India. The agreement with the company Stelis from the Indian pharmaceutical group Strides provides for the production of at least 200 million doses of the vaccine from the third quarter of 2021, as the sovereign wealth fund announced on Friday. In November, RDIF had already signed an agreement with Indian group Hetero for 100 million doses annually.

In contrast to dozens of other countries, the Russian vaccine has not yet been approved in India, where clinical trials are still underway. At the same time, Moscow is counting on broadening the production of the vaccine due to the high international demand in the pandemic.

India reportedly is set to propose a law that would ban cryptocurrencies and penalise both trading and mining due to a lack of regulation. The bill would also criminalise possession, issuance, and transferring crypto-assets in the country but offer a six-month period to liquidate assets.

In the world's most populous democracy, political rights and civil liberties have been limited since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, writes the US government-funded organization in this year's democracy report. There has been a spate of fanatical attacks on Muslims - including lynchings. They account for 14 percent of the Hindu country's total population of 1.3 billion. In addition, there is increasing pressure on human rights organizations and intimidation of academics and journalists. According to the report, the developments in India reflect a worldwide trend towards authoritarianism.

In India, "Fridays for Future" activist Disha Ravi has been arrested for supporting farmers' protests. She is accused of spreading calls for protests that are part of a "conspiracy".

The arrest of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi has triggered a wave of outraged reactions. Well-known politicians and celebrities from different parts of society spoke of an attack on democracy and demanded the immediate release of the 22-year-old. Even the head of the government of the Indian capital, Arvind Kejriwal, wrote on Twitter that supporting the farmers was not a crime after all.

In protest against new agricultural laws, farmers in India have begun a hunger strike. The action, scheduled for one day, coincided on Saturday with the death anniversary of independence fighter Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). The hunger strike is meant to underscore the peaceful element of the protests, farmer leaders said.

The Bombay High Court ruled that groping without "skin to skin" contact does not qualify as sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The court stated that touching a minor's breast without removing the child's clothes is not considered sexual assault.

An expert panel of India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Friday, making it the third country to approve the vaccine. The CDSCO may also approve a locally developed vaccine by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) soon.

Over 8,040,000 Coronavirus cases have been recorded in India, making it the second-worst hit country. 120,527 people have died due to the Coronavirus.

Bihar deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said he has tested positive for Coronavirus.

He tweeted: "Tested positive for CORONA. All parameters perfectly normal. Started with mild temp. No temp. for last 2 days. Admitted to AIIMS Patna for better monitoring. CT scan of lungs normal. Will be back soon for campaigning."

Schools in India will reopen on Thursday after a drop in Coronavirus cases. Schools in the Dehli region and the western Maharashtra state will remain closed until October 31.

Amnesty International said Tuesday it is halting work in India due to a "continuing crackdown" and "harassment" by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The human rights watchdog said the bank account of its India branch has been frozen by the right-wing government.

In a statement, Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of the organization, said: "The continuing crackdown on Amnesty International India over the last two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental."

India reported 96,551 new Coronavirus infections in a 24-hour period, reaching 4.5 million total cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

As the first country to cross the mark India has reported 80,000 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday. The growth rate of new cases and fatalities has more than doubled compared to the previous week.

In total India has reported 3,616,730 Covid-19 cases out of which 2,767,412 patients already have recovered.

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has died at age 84. He tested positive for the Coronavirus and was in a coma following a brain surgery earlier in August. His death is followed by seven days of state mourning.

His son bhijit Mukherjee took to Twitter to release a statement: "With a Heavy Heart , this is to inform you that my father Shri #PranabMukherjee has just passed away inspite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital & prayers ,duas & prarthanas from people throughout India ! I thank all of You 🙏."

According to Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi his government has identified 7,000 infrastructure projects to invest in in order to boost the economy that has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The country currently has reported over 2,5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases with over 49,000 deaths.

Modi also stated that "infrastructure will not be created in silos anymore. All infrastructure has to be comprehensive, integrated and linked to each other. Multi-modal connectivity infrastructure is the way forward".

A fire broke out at the hotel Swarna Palace, a temporary Covid-Clinic, on Sunday. The cause seems to be a PPE kit that caught fire. Recent reports say that at least 7 people have died in the fire, all other patients were moved to another hospital. It was the second fire at a Covid clinic in recent days.

The openly gay Indian prince Manvendra Singh Gohil has stated that "I was myself a victim of conversion therapy" after he outed himself to his parents. According to him, religious leaders were involved in his parents' attempt to convert his sexuality and they as well well talked to doctors for possible operations.

He is now calling for a ban on the conversion therapy and stated that "Lesbians are treated so badly, I’ve known cases where the family member with rape the child to prove she can have sex with a man" in a call for more acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community.

India became the third country to report more than one million Covid-19 infections, with a total of 1,077,618 confirmed cases on Sunday. Before India, only the United States and Brazil surpassed the one million mark.

The country has a death toll of 26,816, with a rate of 14.3 deaths per million inhabitants.

The Ministry of Information Technology of India announced Monday the ban of 59 Chinese mobile applications, including TikTok and WeChat. In a press release, the Ministry, states the ban is a response "of the emergent nature of threats" and that the apps "are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.".

At the moment, all listed apps are still available on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store, and it is not clear how the Indian Government plans to enforce the ban.

J. Jayaraj, 58, and Bennicks Immanuel, 31 have died in police custody after being arrested on June 19. The police had detained the father and son over the accusation that they kept their store open past permitted hours during the reimposed Covid-19 lockdown in the southern state Tamail Nadu. Their family has filed written complaints about alleged abuse by the police and stated that both suffered from rectal bleeding. Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami of Tamil Nadu has stated that two policemen have been suspended and that the case would be transferred to the federal agency the Central Bureau of Investigation.

With a rising number of Covid-19 cases, India is running out of Intensive Care Units in Mumbai, which is most affected by the pandemic. The city reports the use of 99% of its ICU beds and 9% use of ventilators according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Out of the 1,181 ICU beds, only 14 are open for new patients.

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has published an open letter to the nation in which he wrote that "Many feared that India would become a problem for the world when corona hits it. But today, through sheer confidence and resilience, you have transformed the way the world looks at us". This comes as the infection numbers have reached a new all-time high for India with 7,964 new infections and 265 deaths in a single day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has announced a nationwide lockdown of three weeks for the country to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. In a televised address, Modi again emphasised the importance of social distancing. The lockdown will be a complete ban on people leaving their homes. The Prime Minister said: "If we don't handle these 21 days well, then our country, your family will go backwards by 21 years."