The air quality in the national capital once again went down to the very poor category on Thursday with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) registered at 303.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), at 6 am, the concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 10 and 2.5 microns stood at 277 in poor category and 124 in very poor category) respectively.

Australia's laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

The Parliament on Thursday passed amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

The Centre on Wednesday said it has transferred over Rs 1.15 lakh crore directly to bank accounts of more than 10.75 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme and asked states to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries are covered in this flagship programme.

Addressing a function on the occasion of the second anniversary of the PM-KISAN, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government has enhanced the income of farmers by providing Rs 6,000 annually to farmers under this scheme in three equal instalments.

Getting a passport once used to be a tedious task. You needed to gather all your documents like driving license, voter ID card, PAN verification record, issuance of branch license, birth certificate, caste certificate, ration card, pension certificate, insurance policy certificate have to the Passport Seva Kendra and submit them. However, those steps will be a thing of past with the 'Made in India' app DigiLocker.

DigiLocker has eliminated the difficulty of carrying an original document to get a passport and you can also apply for your passport sitting at home.

In a major boost to India's manufacturing centre, the government has approved a Rs 7,350 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to promote the manufacturing of laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers in the country. Through this scheme, the government intends to attract global companies in the domestic manufacturing sector. The PLI scheme will help in promoting the electronics ecosystem in the country.

At present, there is a major change in the field of global manufacturing in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The personal computer market in the country is growing rapidly due to work from home and studies from home.

Fresh Covid-19 cases are showing an upward trend over the past one week, with the country reporting 13,742 cases in the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,10,30,176 on Wednesday, Union Health Ministry said.

The rise in new cases is almost 3,158 more than Tuesdays. India has been recording less than 15,000 new infections daily with the toll not crossing the 200-mark over the last one month.

Gold price on Wednesday jumped by Rs 490 to Rs 46,950 per 10 grams, while silver price was trending at Rs 70,500 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery price varies across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making changes.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and US chipmaker Qualcomm on Tuesday announced collaboration for accelerating 5G in India.

Airtel recently became India's first telco to demonstrate 5G over a live commercial network in Hyderabad city, underlining the company's technology capabilities.

In a setback to scores of UPSC aspirants, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking an extra chance at the prestigious civil services exam. Several aspirants had approached the apex court after they exhausted their last attempt in October 2020 exam amid the COVID-19 crisis and wanted another attempt at the prestigious civil services exam.

The top court had reserved the judgement on February 9. Pronouncing the judgment, a bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and Ajay Rastogi said praised the counsel for petitioners.

Amid growing concern over rising Covid-19 cases in Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered a slew of restrictions, including capping limit on indoor and outdoor gatherings, increased COVID testing and night curfew.

The chief minister capped indoor gatherings to 100 and outdoor to 200 persons from March 1, along with strict enforcement of mask-wearing and social distancing, with testing to be ramped to 30,000 a day.

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