Religious places, shopping malls, restaurants,  hotels and offices which remained shut due to COVID-19 lockdown, are set to reopen from today. However, such establishments will be allowed to open in only non- containment zones. They will have to follow all the guidelines issued by the Central Government in this regard so that social distancing could be ensured.

As per the guidelines related to religious places, only asymptomatic persons will be allowed and no  physical offerings like prasad and distribution or sprinkling of holy water is permitted. Touching statues, idols, and holy books in places of worship will be  strictly prohibited and use of face masks will be mandatory. The individuals have been asked to maintain a distance of six feet. Community kitchens, langars and Ann-Daan at religious places should follow physical distancing norms while preparing and distributing food.

Delhi state borders will be opened from today. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that only residents of the National Capital will be treated in state’s hospitals till the time COVID pandemic lasts. He also informed that barring hotels and banquet halls in the city, malls, restaurants and places of worship will open from today.

Mr Kejriwal said, the state government received over 7 lakh suggestions from the residents regarding the issue of treatment of patients in Delhi hospitals.

Sports Ministry’s flagship programme Fit India is joining hands with the Department of School Education and Literacy, to launch a series of special films promoting 10 indigenous sports of India under the Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat initiative.
 
The series is aimed at creating awareness about not just the indigenous games but also the culture and heritage of the states to which they belong. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat aims to create awareness among youngsters about the culture and heritage of states across India.  This initiative aims to further that effort.

These special films have been customized for school-going children to make them aware of the history and heritage of the state from which a game emanates, the particular sport as well as how it is played. The 10 episodes can be watched from Monday to Friday -- June 8 to June 19 -- at 11am, on the Fit India YouTube page and Ministry of Human Resource Development digital platforms.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has announced Aatmanirbhar Gujarat package worth 14,000 crore rupees yesterday evening. The package is based on the recommendations of the first interim report submitted by the committee on economic revival of the state led by former Union Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhiya.

The package includes tax rebates, loan subsidies for various sections of the society including business, individuals and industries that hit due to COVID-19.

AIR correspondent reports, the new package gave relief worth Rs 2,300 crore by partially waving off property tax, electricity bill and motor vehicle tax for individuals, commercial establishments and industrial entities. In a bid to revive the housing sector, the government announced a loan interest subsidy of 4 percent for loans up to Rs 2.5 lakh for business and shop owners. The government has also announced to give Rs 466 crore as subsidies to migrant and tribal construction workers to build their own homes. Rs1,190 crore has also been allocated for agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing sectors, and Rs 525 crore for creating self-employment under Gujarat Aatmanirbhar Sahay Yojana-2.

World Environment Day is being Celebrated across the globe today. It is the biggest annual event in the world run by the United Nations to mark the environmental awareness among the people. It's main aim is to raise awareness to protect nature and look at various environmental issues that are growing day by day. World Environment Day 2020 focuses on Biodiversity and will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.

In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change will be holding virtual celebrations of World Environment Day on this year’s theme with focus on Nagar Van, Urban Forests. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will address the gathering on this occasion which will commence from 9 in the morning today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his latest Mann Ki Baat on last sunday said that every Indian should pledge to create some difference to bring about positive change for the environment.
                           
India though having less land mass and more human and cattle population has nearly 8 percent of biodiversity. The country is endowed with rich biodiversity having several species of animals and plants and hosts 4 of the 35 global biodiversity hotspots containing several endemic species. Biodiversity conservation has traditionally been considered confined to remote forest areas but with increasing urbanization a need has arisen to safeguard and save biodiversity in urban areas also.

Government will start sending the amount of 500 rupees to the women account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for the month of June from today. The amount is the third installment under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package. The Department of Financial Services said, beneficiaries can withdraw the amount on any day after 10th June. The Department of Financial Services said, the amount will be sent as per time table based on the last digit of the beneficiary's account number.

Ten thousand 29 crore rupees were credited to 20.05 crore women Jan Dhan account holders as the first installment. The number  of women PMJDY account holders whose accounts have been debited by customer induced transactions under 1st instalment is 8.72 crore. Ten thousand 3 hundred 15 crore rupees were credited to 20.62 crore women Jan Dhan account holders with second installment. The number of women PMJDY account holders whose accounts have been debited by customer induced transactions under 2nd instalment is 9.7 crore.

As part of the 1.70 lakh crore rupees Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, the Government announced free food grains and cash payment to women and poor senior citizens and farmers.

After making its landfall near Alibag, yesterday noon, the cyclonic storm lashed several parts of Raigad, Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, the cyclone has crossed over Nashik.

The western coasts of Maharashtra bore the brunt of  the cyclone, rough weather conditions experiencing strong winds, heavy rainfall and raging sea surge with tidal waves measuring upto 6-8 feet in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts. The cyclone moved towards northern parts of the state late in the night weakening in the night.

Speaking exclusively to All India Radio, Director General of Meteorology of the Indian Meteorological Department Dr. Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said that the cyclone has further weakened.

With life returning back to normalcy, the state government has directed to conduct panchanama to ascertain loss caused by the Cyclone. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with United States President Donald Trump. They discussed US Presidency of G-7, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other issues.
 
During a telephone conversation yesterday, President Trump expressed his desire to include India in the ambit of Group of Seven and invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit to be held in USA.
 
According to an official statement, President Trump spoke about the US Presidency of the G-7, and conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the grouping beyond the existing membership, to include other important countries including India.
 
Prime Minister Modi commended President Trump for his creative and far-sighted approach, acknowledging the fact that such an expanded forum would be in keeping with the emerging realities of the post-COVID world. The Prime Minister has said that India would be happy to work with the US and other countries to ensure the success of the proposed Summit.

The Depression over East-central Arabian Sea moved northwards with a speed of 11 kmph during past six hours intensified into a Deep Depression and lay centered at 0530 a.m., over East-central Arabian Sea, about 490 kilometres south-south- west of Mumbai, 280 kilometres west-southwest of Panjim and 710 kilometres south-southwest of Surat.

Coast Guard ship's and Aircraft continue to advice and relay weather warning to the fishermen and merchant vessels out at sea off the coast of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. Besides weather cautioning, the Coast Guard ship's are also engaged in shepherding the fishing boats to safety.

In Gujarat, the deep depression formed in the eastern Arabian sea is moving northwards and is located at 670 kilometres from Surat at present. It is expected to hit the south Gujarat coast by tomorrow. Heavy downpour accompanied by gusty winds is expected in coastal districts of south Gujarat in two days.

Three more states have been included in One Nation, One Ration Card scheme. These are Odisha, Sikkim and Mizoram. Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced the inclusion of these states in the scheme on Integrated Management of Public Distribution System.

Under this system, nation-wide portability of the benefits under National Food Security Act through One Nation, One Ration Card plan is implemented to enable the NFSA ration card holders to lift their entitled quota of subsidized food grains from any e-PoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the country, by using the existing and same ration card after Aadhaar authentication. The facility is enabled in 17 States and UTs so far. 

They are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra and  Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. Further, constant efforts are being made to expand the reach of national portability to the beneficiaries of other states.

"The world is facing one of the biggest crisis since the two world wars. Like the world changed pre- and post-World Wars, the same way the pre- and post-Covid world will be different," PM Modi said while addressing the 25th Foundation Day of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences on Monday.

He further added: "I would also like to appreciate the efforts of the Karnataka Government in handling the Covid-19 situation.  The world seeks both care and cure from you."

"At the root of India's brave fight against Covid-19 is the hard-work of the medical community and our Corona warriors. In fact, doctors and medical workers are like soldiers, but without the soldiers’ uniform.  The virus may be an invisible enemy,but our Corona warriors, medical workers are invincible," he said.

PM said, "during the last six years, we in India took many initiatives in health-care and medical education.