LIVE: Except Kerala, Mizoram, all states seeing decline in cases, says govt

Live news updates:  The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday held back Haryana's 75 per cent quota in private jobs for local residents and sought a reply from the state government.

India recorded 172,433 new cases of Covid-19 and 1008 deaths from the disease in the last 24 hours, said the health ministry on Thursday. The positivity rate is at 11 per cent—7 per cent higher than Wednesday.

The Union Budget proposed charging from April 1 charge a 30 per cent tax on cryptocurrency transactions plus cess and surcharges . Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj told PTI gains from cryptocurrencies were always taxable and the Budget proposal is not a new tax but certainty over the issue.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a Parliament speech, accused the government of implementing policies that help the elite and ignore the poor. "You have thrown 23 crore people back into poverty. Two India's exist--one of those who are ultra-rich and another India of the poor. The disparity is increasing between these two India," he said.