COVID-19 death toll rises to 2,109 in India; cases climb to 62,939
New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,109 and the number of cases climbed to 62,939 in the country on Sunday, registering an increase of 128 deaths and 3,277 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 41,472, while 19,357 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.
The total number of cases also include 111 foreign nationals.
Of the 2,109 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 779 deaths. Gujarat comes second with 472 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 215, West Bengal at 171, Rajasthan at 106, Uttar Pradesh at 74, Delhi at 73, and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 44.
The death toll is 31 in Punjab, 30 each in Karnataka and Telangana. Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana each have registered nine COVID-19 deaths, Bihar five and Kerala four.
Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities. Odisha, Chandigarh, Assam and Himachal Pradesh have reported two deaths each.
Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each, according to the data provided by the ministry.
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First set of citizenship certificates issued under CAA, 14 people granted Indian nationality
New Delhi (PTI): The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was issued Wednesday here to 14 people, starting the process of granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslims migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the certificates to the 14 people after their applications were processed online through a designated portal, an official spokesperson said.
The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.
After the enactment, the CAA got the president's assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued only on March 11 this year after over four years delay.
