There are about 30 groups in India, including big industry, startups and academics, who are working on COVID-19 vaccine development and about 20 of them are keeping a good pace, Government's top scientific advisor said on Thursday.

Addressing a media briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country, Professor K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said the logistics of making COVID-19 vaccine accessible to everyone is a big challenge which is being discussed by the government now.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalty on three banks including Rs 5 crore on Bank of India for non-compliance with certain provisions of the directions issued by the apex bank.

The RBI has also imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1.20 crore on Karnataka Bank and Rs 30 lakh on Saraswat Co-operative Bank, the central bank said.

As an IED attack was thwarted by security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, intelligence sources have warned that Pakistan-trained terrorists are planning multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources, a group of around 20 members of the Taliban are being trained by Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) at a location near Jalalabad, Afghanistan to plan attacks in the Union Territory.

The southwest monsoon is likely to make an onset over Kerala on June 1 as it has gained momentum since Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

The IMD, had earlier on May 15 said the monsoon is likely to hit the southern state on June 5, four days after its normal onset date. However, a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal is likely to help in the progress of monsoon. The normal onset of monsoon over Kerala is June 1.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration informed that internet access across the Union Territory with internet speed restricted to 2G only and internet connectivity with Mac-binding will continue till June 17.

The directions to remain in force unless modified earlier, the administration stated.

Shares of Eicher Motors were trading higher for the third straight day, up 4 per cent at Rs 15,589 on the BSE on Wednesday after the company announced stock split plan to make the stock more affordable for the small retail investors and increase liquidity. The company manufactures the iconic Royal Enfield brand of motorcycles which leads the premium motorcycle segment in India.

A section of mobile manufacturers has approached the Labour Ministry to seek wage compensation under the insurance benefits of ESIC schemes.

According to a conservative estimate, mobile factories employ around 2 lakh people who get an average pay of Rs 10,000 per month, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to trouble India as the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing.

Over the major part of the last week, the country has marked significant and consecutive highest jumps in the COVID-19 tally.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 1.58 lakh-mark on Wednesday, while the death toll has topped the 4,500-mark as well.

The launch of NASA and SpaceX's Demo-2 mission to take two veteran astronauts of the former to the International Space Station (ISS) was postponed minutes before it was to go into flight due to bad weather.

Just 16 minutes to go, NASA decided to defer the blast off citing thunderstorms and lightning. The next opportunities to launch are Saturday at 3:22 pm and Sunday at 3 pm Eastern Time.

In a piece of good news for the people living in north India facing severe heatwave, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light rains over a few places including West Delhi, parts of Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

As per the weather agency, a few places of West Delhi, Rohtak, Kosli, Hodal, Palwal, Manesar, Rewari, Sohana, Nuh, Bhiwadi, Etah, Moradabad, Amroha are likely to receive showers during the next two hours.

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