Top news of the day: Supreme Court asks whether private hospitals can charge COVID-19 patients at Ayushman Bharat rates; Finance Ministry tells other Ministries not to initiate new schemes, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

A woman performs rituals during a prayer ceremony “to rid the world of coronavirus”, on the banks of the river Brahmaputra in Guwahati on June 5, 2020.

Coronavirus |Can private hospitals charge COVID-19 patients at Ayushman Bharat rate, asks Supreme Court

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta argued that the Ayushman Bharat scheme was meant for an identifiable category drawn from the poorest of the poor sections of society. The scheme cannot cover every strata of society.

Coronavirus lockdown

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Don’t initiate new schemes: Finance Ministry tells Ministries

However, funds for schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package , the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package and any other special package or announcement would be allocated, according to an office memorandum by the Department of Expenditure.

Coronavirus lockdown |Deaths in Shramik trains not due to lack of food and water, says government

A migrant worker covers her child with a scarf as they wait to get on a bus for a railway station in Ahmedabad on June 5, 2020.

The government told the Supreme Court that not a single

migrant worker died in Shramik trains due to lack of food, water or medication. Their deaths were due to “earlier illnesses”. | Full coverage: Lockdown displaces lakhs of migrants

Coronavirus |Five test positive at Union Health Ministry; major sanitisation drive on

Besides two officers and a doctor, two employees who have contracted the disease are from the Centre for Health Informatics under the Health Ministry. They frequented the Nirman Bhawan building, sources said.

India coronavirus lockdown Day 73 updates | Helpline numbers | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India  | State-wise tracker for coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates | Download The Hindu’s multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information

Website of Maneka Gandhi-backed NGO People for Animals hacked

An injured 15-year-old pregnant wild elephant standing in Velliyar River moments before it died in Kerala’s Palakkad district on May 27, 2020.

A Facebook group called ‘Kerala Cyber Warriors’ has called the hacking an “operation against communal hatred”. | An unkept promise of elephantine proportion

Civil services preliminary examination on October 4: UPSC

The the Union Public Service Commission also said the personality test of the candidates selected through the last year’s civil services preliminary and mains will resume from July 20.

Analysis | With Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls coming up, it’s back to business in politics

The Opposition still can’t decide its course of action and just when it wants to make the transition from ‘virtual to actual’ politics.

China appoints new PLA commander for India border

The new appointment was first publicly confirmed in a report on June 1, that identified Lieutenant General Xu Qiling as the new commander of the PLA Western Theater Command Ground Force, or Army.

Twitter disables Trump campaign’s George Floyd video tribute

Twitter put a label on a video posted by the @TeamTrump account that said, “This media has been disabled in response to a claim by the copyright owner”. | ‘Get your knee off our necks!’

Today’s top business news: Updates from the world of economy, markets, and finance

Shares edge higher led by Reliance, SBI reports over four-fold jump in Q4 profit, Elon Musk hits out at Jeff Bezos, and more.

Yuvraj Singh apologises for casteist remark against Yuzvendra Chahal

An advocate from Hisar filed a police complaint against India’s twin World Cup hero, who was forced to tweet his apology. “I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same,” he wrote.

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