Rajya Sabha passed a bill to raise the upper limit for abortions from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for “special categories of women”, including rape survivors, victims of incest, minors and the differently-abled. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was passed by voice vote. Lok Sabha approved the bill a year ago.
A central team has warned that Maharashtra is at the “beginning” of a second COVID-19 wave, prompting the Centre to tell the state to focus on strict containment strategies. India recorded over 20,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day on March 16. Three new Covid variants, from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, have been reported in India.
An assistant police inspector, Sachin Waze, was arrested in the case related to an explosive-laden SUV found near Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai home. The wife of Mansukh Hiran, the businessman who owned the SUV and was found dead in Thane, has alleged that Waze had been using the SUV for some time.
