HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 1330 Hours on Thursday: NATION DEL26 BIZ-RBI-DAS Risk-aversion will be self-defeating for banks: RBI Governor Das Mumbai: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday warned banks that being overly risk averse will be "self-defeating" and that lenders will not be able to “win their bread” if they do not carry out their basic task. DEL21 VIRUS-LD CASES India records highest single-day spike of 75,760 COVID-19 cases New Delhi: Registering over 75,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time in a span of 24 hours, India's virus tally sprinted past 33 lakh on Thursday, while the number of recoveries crossed the 25 lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data. DEL16 VIRUS-ENTRANCE EXAMS-ACADEMICIANS Further delay in conducting JEE, NEET will compromise students' future: Over 150 academicians to PM New Delhi: Over 150 academicians from various universities in India and abroad have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that delaying the medical and engineering entrance exams -- JEE-Mains and NEET -- any further will mean compromising the future of students.

DEL10 VIRUS-AIIMS ORGANS COVID-19 can affect almost all organs, symptoms maybe unrelated to lungs: experts New Delhi: COVID-19 can affect almost all organs besides the lungs and the initial symptoms may be totally unrelated to chest complaints, according to experts at AIIMS here. By Payal Banerjee DEL24 RAIL-DFC-DELAY DFC delay: Rlys blames contractors, law & order issues, slow land acquisition by states New Delhi: Days after the PMO raised concerns over delay in its dedicated freight corridors, the Railways has identified sluggish work by contractors, the law and order situation at some places and slow progress in land acquisition by states among the key bottlenecks for this ambitious project. By Ananya Sengupta BOM4 MH-SUSHANT-LD CBI Rhea's brother Showik reaches DRDO guest house for questioning Mumbai: Actor Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik Chakraborty arrived at the DRDO guest here on Thursday for questioning by the CBI, which is probing actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case, a police official said. CAL6 OD-PATNAIK-PM Patnaik speaks to PM over phone, seeks postponement of NEET, JEE exams Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone and requested him to postpone NEET and JEE exams, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the flood situation in the state, a senior official said.

CAL2 WB-LOCKDOWN West Bengal: Stringent lockdown in Kolkata, violations reported in some districts Kolkata: Normal life was affected in the city on Thursday as a complete shutdown was enforced across West Bengal to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases, while violation of the lockdown restrictions was witnessed in some districts. LEGAL LGD2 SC-QUOTA SC says its 2004 verdict on sub-classification of SC/STs needs to be reconsidered New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday held that its 2004 verdict holding that states do not have the power to further sub-classify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for grant of quotas in jobs and admissions to educational institutions, needs to be revisited.

BOM7 MH-HC-PM CARES-LD PIL HC dismisses PIL seeking declaration of PM CARES funds Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a PIL seeking declaration of funds received by the Prime Minister's Citizens Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES), a charitable trust created by the Union government amid the COVID-19 pandemic. LGD3 SC-MALLYA SC reserves order on Vijay Mallya's plea seeking review of 2017 order in contempt case New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a plea filed by businessman Vijay Mallya, who has sought review of its 2017 order holding him guilty of contempt of court for transferring USD 40 million to his children.

FOREIGN FGN19 VIRUS-UN-INDIA-PROJECTS India has generational projects required to build country better post-COVID: Top UN official New York: The Indian government's plan to connect over six lakh villages with optical fibre network is the kind of "generational projects" required to build the country better in a post-COVID world as it focuses on the inclusion and leapfrogging access to information and services, a top UN official has said. By Yoshita Singh FGN17 US-ESPER-CHINA Indo-Pacific epicentre of 'great power competition' with China: Esper Washington: The Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of "great power competition" with China which wants to project its power globally, Defence Secretary Mark Esper has said as he underlined America's efforts to strengthen ties with partners like India to get Beijing to respect the international rules-based order. By Lalit K Jha RDM RDM.