Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, one of Sonia Gandhi's closest political advisors and a top party leader-shooter, has died at 71. His health worsened after COVID's infection. A staunch Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist, Ahmed Patel worked for years as the political secretary to Sonia Gandhi and was one of the most influential leaders in the Congress. Still, he never joined the government, preferring to keep a low profile.

He represented Gujarat eight times in Parliament - three times as a Lok Sabha member and five times from Rajya Sabha.

Wearing a mask is mandatory in India, and authorities have been cracking the whip on those who break the rule. Amidst a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases across Delhi and other Indian cities, Delhi announced a steep rise in fine, from Rs.500 to Rs.2000 for those caught without masks, in a bid to help control the coronavirus surge.

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal appealed to all political parties and social organisations to distribute masks at public places in Delhi.

India's COVID-19 caseload went past 92 lakh with 44,376 new cases reported in a day, while the number of recoveries surged to 86.42 lakh, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The number of total coronavirus cases rose to 92,22,216 in the country, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 1,34,699 with 481 new fatalities, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

In the light of severe cyclonic storm Nivar poised to strike Tamil Nadu and parts of his state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy sounded an alert on Tuesday and instructed the state machinery to be prepared.

In a review meeting with District Collectors and Superintendents of Police, he asked them to be on high alert especially when Nivar makes landfall.

Shares of automobile companies continued their northward movement with the BSE Auto index hitting a fresh 52-week high on Wednesday. The index has more-than-doubled from its March low. The strong rally in automobile stocks is on the expectation of improvement of volumes in the coming quarters on better rural sentiment, low-interest rates, improving finance availability, and a gradual pick-up in business and economic activity.

HDFC Bank has joined the elite club of Rs 8-trillion market capitalization (market-cap) on the BSE, as its share price hit a new high of Rs 1,464 in Wednesday's early morning deals. HDFC Bank, which is at number three position in overall market-cap ranking of listed companies, has become the first lender to achieve the milestone.

Shares of HDFC Bank hit a fresh record high today after rising nearly 2 per cent on the BSE. At 09:17 am, HDFC Bank had a market capitalisation of Rs 8.02 trillion, the BSE data shows. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.54 per cent at 44,765 points, also the index's record high.

Fearing traffic blockades owing to proposed farmers' agitation, the Haryana government on Tuesday issued a travel advisory for the commuters at entry points from Punjab into Haryana for November 25 and 26 and on entry points from Haryana into Delhi on November 26-27.

A state police spokesperson said in view of the 'Delhi Chalo' call given by various farmer organisations, elaborate arrangements have been made by the civil and police administration.

Ahmed Patel, who was Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi’s most trusted aide, breathed his last in the wee hours of Wednesday in a Gurugram hospital after battling COVID complications for over a month.

Sonia Gandhi issued a condolence message on the demise of the veteran Congressman.

Severe cyclonic storm Nivar is expected to further intensify into 'very severe storm' and bring heavy rainfall to Chennai when it makes landfall between Mamallapuram and Karaikal on Wednesday evening with a wind speed of up to 145kmph, according to IMD. The IMD said a storm surge of about 2m above the sea level is likely around the time of landfall, causing inundation of low-lying areas.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said Cyclone Nivar is set to cross the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as a very severe cyclonic storm late on Wednesday. Parts of Andhra Pradesh are also forecast to be slammed by the cyclone

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel passed away at a hospital in New Delhi in the early hours of Wednesday. The announcement of his demise was made by his son Faisal Patel.

In a statement on Twitter, his son Faisal Patel said that Ahmed Patel passed away at 3:30 am on November 25. After testing positive for Covid-19 around a month back, his health worsened further due to multiple organ failures, he said.

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