Top news of the day: BJP promises free COVID-19 vaccine in Bihar election manifesto; India relaxes visa restrictions, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

October 22, 2020 07:12 pm | Updated 10:46 pm IST

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a press conference in Patna on October 22, 2020.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a press conference in Patna on October 22, 2020.

Bihar Assembly elections | BJP promises free COVID-19 vaccine

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman releases party manifesto.

Coronavirus | Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi tests positive for COVID-19

Mr. Sushil Modi had been missing from action for quite some time and was conspicuous by his absence when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the party’s manifesto earlier in the day.

Coronavirus | Tamil Nadu CM assures free COVID-19 immunisation

“I would like to announce that as soon as the vaccine is developed (and made available to States) all people in Tamil Nadu will be immunised and the government shall bear the cost,” K Palaniswami said in Pudukkottai during an official visit.

India relaxes visa restrictions

Except electronic tourist visa on arrival, which includes short-term medical visa, all visa restrictions have been lifted.

U.S. proposes not to issue business visa for H-1B specialty occupations

The move is likely to impact several Indian companies which send their technology professionals on B-1 visas for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the U.S.

About 11.58 lakh railway employees granted bonus equal to 78 days wages

The Union Cabinet accepted the proposal of the Ministry of Railways for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for the financial year 2019-2020 for all eligible non-gazetted railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel).

India issues warning to Twitter over misrepresentation of map

In a strongly-worded letter, IT Secretary Ajay Sawhney has warned the platform that such attempts not only bring disrepute to Twitter but also raises questions about its neutrality and fairness as an intermediary.

Pakistan parliamentary panel approves bill to seek review of Kulbhushan Jadhav conviction

The draft bill titled the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance was discussed and approved by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Wednesday despite stiff resistance from the Opposition.

Coronavirus | U.K. to record ethnicity to assess impact on Indians, minorities

The U.K. government has laid out a series of measures as part of a review into the higher COVID-19 death rate among people of Indian-origin and other ethnic minorities, including a mandate for ethnicity to be recorded as part of the death certification process.

Banksy artwork sells for almost $10 million at auction

Show Me the Monet sold to an unidentified bidder at Sotheby’s in London on October 21 evening, surpassing its upper pre-sale estimate of £5 million .In the 2005 work, Banksy added abandoned shopping carts and an orange traffic cone to Claude Monet’s image of water lilies in his garden at Giverny.

Google's navigation software let hackers track and identify users

Security DevOps engineer Peter Gasper discovered a flaw in the API that lets hackers track movements of drivers and identify the users. “I have reported findings via Google vulnerability programme,” Mr. Gasper told The Hindu . “I described possible attack scenarios and they confirmed it as a valid issue.”

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories shuts units after cyber attack

While a statement from the drugmaker said it had isolated all data centre services to take required preventive actions after the detection of a cyber attack, sources said as a precautionary measure the company had also temporarily shut down some of the production facilities. Details of the units were not immediately available.

India-born U.S. judge Amit Mehta assigned Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google

Mr. Mehta was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 22, 2014 by former President Barack Obama.

IPL 2020 | Struggling for survival, Chennai faces fierce rivals Mumbai

Their campaign turning from bad to worse, Chennai Super Kings are expected to try out a few of their younger players when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in Sharjah on October 23.

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