Digest yearender for domestic stories for month of June, 2020

Jun 1: New Delhi: The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 1.9 lakh on Monday after thousands more tested positive across states, but recoveries also rose further to nearly 95,000 while several cities saw the lockdown restrictions being eased with even traffic snarls returning back on roads. Jun 2: New Delhi: Manu Sharma, who was serving a life term in the sensational 1999 Jessica Lal Murder case, was released from Tihar Jail on Monday after Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal approved his premature release, Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Geol said on Tuesday.

Jun 3: Mumbai: Mumbai was spared major damage from cyclone Nisarga on Wednesday after the severe storm changed direction slightly and made a landfall near Alibaug, about 110 km from here, in a huge relief to the country’s financial centre already reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic. Jun 4: New Delhi: As India recorded a daily jump of over 8,000 coronavirus cases for the fifth day on Thursday, the Centre told the Supreme Court that a “large number” of make-shift hospitals will have to be built in the near future to accommodate the constant rise in the number of newly infected people.

Jun 5: New Delhi: A day ahead of their high-level military talks to resolve the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, India and China on Friday vowed not to allow their ''differences'' become disputes and agreed to handle them through peaceful dialogue while respecting each other's sensitivities and concerns. Jun 6: New Delhi: India raced past Spain on Saturday to become the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after a record spike in cases for four consecutive days pushed total infections to over 2,45,670, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.

Jun 7: New Delhi: India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, with 9,971 new infections taking the country's tally to 2,46,628, while the death toll rose to 6,929, according to the Union Health Ministry. Jun 8: New Delhi: Restaurants, malls and places of worship reopened on Monday in various parts of the country under a phased exit from the COVID-19 lockdown, even as the pandemic appeared growing unabated with a record rise of about 10,000 new cases pushing the nationwide tally to 2.6 lakh and the death toll nearing 7,500.

Jun 9: New Delhi: India's COVID-19 tally saw a record addition of nearly 10,000 cases on Tuesday to cross 2.6 lakh as hundreds more tested positive for the dreaded virus in several states and union territories. The Delhi government said the national capital itself may see 5.5 lakh cases by July-end at the current rate. Jun 10: Jaipur: The Congress on Wednesday charged the BJP with attempts to destabilise the Rajasthan government with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claiming that some of the party MLAs were offered Rs 25 crore each.

Jun 11: New Delhi: India on Thursday went past the United Kingdom in terms of coronavirus cases to become the fourth worst-hit country with a caseload of 2,97, 205, according to the Worldometer. Jun 12: New Delhi: For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, India recorded over 10,000 new cases and 396 fatalities in a single day, even as the Centre on Friday asked the states to pay special attention to the emerging epicentres of COVID-19 and undertake stringent containment measures to check the contagion.

Jun 13: New Delhi: Loss of smell or taste has been added to the list of COVID-19 symptoms, according to the revised clinical management protocols released by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday. Jun 14: Mumbai: “Kai Po Che” actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves rippling through the Hindi film industry and elsewhere with many asking just that one question -- why. He was 34.

Jun 15: New Delhi: India's COVID-19 tally rose further on Monday to cross 3.3 lakh and the death toll surpassed 9,500 even as the central and state governments stepped up their focus on ramping up testing capabilities and availability of beds for treating those infected with the dreaded virus infection. Jun 16: New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 death toll crossed 10,000 on Tuesday as the Centre scaled up the daily testing capacity to three lakh samples and Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated his sixth round of consultations with chief ministers in three months laying emphasis on both life and livelihood.

Jun 17: New Delhi: In a strong message to Beijing over the violent face-off in Ladakh's Galwan Valley that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India wants peace but is capable of giving a befitting reply if instigated, even as the frontline bases of the army and the air force along the nearly 3,500 km de-facto border with China have been put on high alert. Jun 18: New Delhi: As India recorded its biggest single-day jump of 12,881 COVID-19 cases, the testing strategy was expanded with the launch of a rapid antigen-based diagnostic tool here on Thursday amid an assertion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the country is not going to ''sit and wail'' over the coronavirus crisis. Jun 19: New Delhi: The ruling YSR Congress bagged all the four Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and seasoned campaigners like Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Shibu Soren had an easy sailing as the results of the polls to the upper house were on expected lines but not before some high-voltage drama in Gujarat and Manipur.

Jun 20: New Delhi: India on Saturday categorically rejected China's claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, asserting that attempts by the neighbouring country to ''advance exaggerated and untenable'' claims are ''not acceptable'', even as militaries of the two countries remained locked in a bitter standoff in several areas of eastern Ladakh. Jun 21: New Delhi: Diesel price on Sunday hit a fresh record high after rates were hiked by 60 paise per litre while petrol price was up 35 paise, taking the cumulative increase in rates in 15 days to Rs 8.88 a litre and Rs 7.97 respectively. Jun 22: New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday became the first Indian firm to hit a market valuation of USD 150 billion during the day. Jun 23: New Delhi: In a major downgrading of diplomatic ties, India on Tuesday asked Pakistan to reduce the staff in its high commission here by half in next seven days, and announced a reciprocal trimming of staff strength in its high commission in Islamabad. Jun 24: New Delhi: Diesel price for the first time in living memory crossing the rate of petrol in the national capital on Wednesday was a result of a steep hike in VAT by the state government, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said, pointing to lower rates across other cities.

Jun 25: Patna/Lucknow: Thunderstorms and lightning have wrought havoc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, claiming 110 lives, leaving at least 32 injured and causing widespread damage to property, officials in the two states said on Thursday. Jun 26: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday approved the schemes of CBSE and ICSE for cancellations of remaining board examinations scheduled from July 1 to 15 due to COVID-19 pandemic and approved their formula for assessment of examinees. Jun 27: New Delhi: With a record single-day surge of 18,552 cases, India's COVID-19 tally raced past five lakh on Saturday as it added four lakh infections in just 39 days to reach another grim milestone amid increased testing for the disease.

Jun 28: New Delhi: Air India will fly 114 flights while IndiGo and GoAir will operate 457 and 41 flights respectively between July 3 and July 15 under the fourth phase of the Vande Bharat Mission. Jun 29: New Delhi: India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

Jun 30: New Delhi: The fiscal deficit during the first two months of the current financial year widened to Rs 4.66 lakh crore or 58.6 per cent of the budget estimates mainly on account of poor tax collection due to the lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus..