1. The BJP and Opposition parties on Monday clashed over the Centre’s decision to charge migrant workers for providing special trains home amid the nationwide lockdown. The Congress said it will pay the fares while the Centre and BJP claimed that the government has already subsidised 85% of the fares and that states will pay the rest. This is despite an official circular directing states to collect the fares and hand it over to the Railways.
  2. The number of coronavirus cases in India reached 42,836 on Monday, as the country began the third phase of a nationwide lockdown with fewer restrictions. The toll has risen to 1,389.
  3. The Centre said that it will start bringing back Indians stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic from May 7. The exercise would be conducted in a phased manner and the passengers will have to pay for their travel.
  4. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned people that his government will revoke relaxations allowed amid the Covid -19 lockdown if they do not adhere to physical distancing guidelines. His warning came after locals in some parts of the Capital crowded liquor stores, forcing them to shut down.
  5. Tamil Nadu saw its biggest single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases as 527 people tested positive. With this, the state’s tally rose to 3,550 and the toll stood at 31.
  6. The Union Public Service Commission postponed the Civil Services (Preliminary) exams until further notice. The exam was earlier scheduled for May 31.
  7. Physical distancing norms were violated as standalone liquor shops opened across India. Long lines were seen outside liquor stores in major cities, with people packed into small spaces.
  8. The police in Mumbai booked a 34-year-old doctor for allegedly sexually assaulting a 44-year-old coronavirus patient at the city’s Wockhardt Hospital.
  9. United States President Donald Trump predicted that his country will have a vaccine against the coronavirus by the end of the year, an assessment that is faster than the projections laid out by his administration’s public health experts.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 35 lakh people and killed 2,48,816 people, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.