1. India’s overall case count on Thursday rose to 33,10,234 after 75,760 new infections were reported in 24 hours. The country’s toll went up by 1,023 to 60,472. As many as 25,23,771 people have recovered from the infection in the country.
  2. Maharashtra recorded 14,718 new coronavirus cases in the evening, pushing its tally to 7,33,568. The state also reported 355 more deaths, taking its toll to 23,444. Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed the highest number of daily new cases in August after 1,840 new cases were reported. The total number of cases in the city stood at 1,67,604, while the toll rose to 4,369 with 22 more fatalities. Tamil Nadu crossed four lakh cases after 5,981 new people tested positive. The state now has 4,03,242 cases. With 109 deaths, the toll in the southern state touched 6,948. Notably, Tamil Nadu recorded three lakh cases in less than two months, from July 3 to till date.
  3. The coronavirus pandemic severely hit Goods and Services Tax, or GST, collection, creating a deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore for the 2020-’21 fiscal year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 41st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council to deliberate on the revenue shortfall being faced by states amid the coronavirus crisis. Sitharaman referred to the coronavirus crisis as an “act of God” that led to the contraction of India’s economy and led to the shortfall in GST collection.
  4. The Supreme Court refused permission for Muharram processions across the country, saying it would lead to chaos and targeting of a particular community amid the coronavirus pandemic. The court said the petitioner should go to the Allahabad High Court for permission as a general order of this nature cannot be passed.
  5. The Delhi High Court issued the Standard Operating Procedure for the resumption of physical hearings from September 1. The court said that five benches will hold the court hearings on a rotational basis, while the remaining benches will continue hearing matters virtually.
  6. Minister for State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh tested positive for the coronavirus.
  7. The Supreme Court said complaints against certain sections of the media who communalised a Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the Nizamuddin area of Delhi during the coronavirus lockdown should first go to a regulatory body such as the National Broadcasting Association for “preliminary determination”. Some sections of the media as well as the larger society had linked the meeting to a rise in the spread of the coronavirus.
  8. The Congress will stage protests across the country on Friday against the Centre’s decision to go ahead with the national-level Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) amid rising coronavirus cases in India. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav wrote an open letter opposing the Narendra Modi government’s decision to hold the exams. He asked who will be held responsible, if students end up contracting Covid-19 that has infected over 33 lakh people in the country so far.
  9. India’s carbon emissions for 2020 are predicted to fall down by around 8% because of the coronavirus lockdown, a senior environment ministry official said. Sujit Kumar Bajpayee, joint secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said while the pandemic posed various challenges, it also provided a chance to focus on climate change. However, he also said that the impact of the pandemic was complex and would take years to analyse.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 2.40 crore people and killed over 8.24 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. Over 1.57 crore people across the world have recovered from the infection.