HIGHLIGHTS AT 9 PM

These are the top stories at 9 pm: DEL128 LDALL VIRUS Govt unveils 2nd dose of special economic package; COVID-19 tally heads towards 80k New Delhi: The government on Friday unveiled special measures amounting to over Rs 3 lakh crore for migrant workers, farmers and other segments of the economy to help them tide over the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the deadly virus infection spread further in various states to push the nationwide tally closer to the 80,000 mark. DEL126 BIZ-LDALL FM-ECO-PACKAGE FM fires second salvo: Free foodgrains for migrants, concessional loan for farmers New Delhi: Firing a second salvo to limit COVID fallout, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package comprising free foodgrains for migrant workers, Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit to farmers and working capital for street vendors in a bid to help those hit hard by the nationwide lockdown.

DEL129 MEA-SINOINDIA-FACEOFFS India committed to peace and tranquillity along border with China: MEA New Delhi: Days after Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in two fierce face-offs, India on Thursday said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier. DEL90 VIRUS-VARDHAN Doubling time of COVID-19 cases slows down to 13.9 days in last 3 days: Vardhan New Delhi: The doubling time of coronavirus infection cases has slowed down to 13.9 days in the last three days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday, as the COVID-19 death toll rose to 2,549 and the number of cases to 78,003.

DEL133 LD-RAILWAY COVID: Rlys to seek passengers' address details; tickets on regular trains cancelled till Jun 30 New Delhi: The Railways has made it mandatory for its passengers to give their destination addresses for contact-tracing, if needed, while indicating that only special trains will run till June 30, but full refund will be given for cancelled regular trains. BOM27 MH-VIRUS-CASES 1,602 new COVID-19 cases take Maha tally to 27,524; 44 die Mumbai: Maharashtra reported 1,602 new COVID-19 cases - a fresh single-day high - taking the tally to 27,524 on Thursday, while 44 deaths, 25 of them in Mumbai, raised the toll to 1,019, a health department official said.

DEL135 2NDLD-MIGRANTS-ACCIDENTS 14 home-bound migrant labourers killed in two road accidents, nearly 60 injured Guna/Muzaffarnagar/Lucknow: Fourteen migrant labourers were killed and nearly 60 injured in two road accidents while they were on the way to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, police said on Thursday. DEL134 RAHUL-LD MIGRANTS Will ensure cries of migrant workers reach govt: Rahul New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party will ensure that the cries of migrant workers reach the government, describing them as the flag-bearers of the country's self respect.

DEL113 NHRC-WOMAN-STATES NHRC notices to Maha, MP govts after woman gave birth on road New Delhi: The NHRC has sent notices to the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments over reports that a pregnant woman, who was walking on foot from Nashik to Satna, gave birth to her child on road, officials said on Thursday. DEL103 DEF-PROPOSAL-EXPERTS Army proposal to induct civilians for three years must be deliberated in detail: Experts; Warns of security implications (PTI SPECIAL) New Delhi: Military and strategic affairs experts on Thursday reacted cautiously to the army's plans to induct civilians for a three-year tenure, saying the proposal must be deliberated upon in great detail and adequate care must be taken before implementing the "fanciful" idea as it may have national security implications. By Manash Pratim Bhuyan DEL89 ED-WADHAWAN-ARREST ED arrests Wadhawan brothers in Yes Bank case New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in connection with its money laundering probe against Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and others, officials said.

LEGAL LGD9 DL-HC-AAROGYA SETU HC seeks Centre's reply on plea to de-link Aarogya Setu app from website promoting e-pharmacies New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday sought the Centre's response on a plea seeking to de-link from Aarogya Setu mobile app a website which is promoting sale of medicines through e-pharmacies. LGD8 VIRUS-DL-HC-LIQUOR SALE Take decision on online sale of liquor by May 15: HC to Delhi govt New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has asked the AAP government to take a decision regarding online sale of alcohol by May 15.

FOREIGN FGN46 PAK-FO-JADHAV Pakistan processing steps to ensure review of Kulbhushan Jadhav case:FO Islamabad: Pakistan said on Thursday that it was processing steps to ensure the review of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in the wake of the verdict by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). By Sajjad Hussain FGN34 UK-2NDLD MALLYA Vijay Mallya loses leave to appeal against extradition in UK Supreme Court London: In a major setback, embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Thursday lost his application seeking leave to appeal in the UK Supreme Court, setting a 28-day clock on extradition proceedings. By Aditi Khanna..