Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka on Friday recorded 470 fresh COVID-19 cases and nine deaths, taking the caseload and death toll to 29,82,869 and 37,931, the health department said.

The day also saw 368 people being discharged, pushing the total number of recoveries to 29,35,238.

Active cases stood at 9,671, a department bulletin said.

Bengaluru Urban accounted for the maximum number of 232 new cases and one death, it said.

All other districts in Karnataka reported cases below 100 including 59 in Mysuru, 36 in Dakshina Kannada, 22 in Kodagu, 16 each in Hassan, Mandya and Tumakuru, 14 in Udupi and 11 in Uttara Kannada.

Regarding COVID fatalities, the bulletin said two deaths each took place in Mysuru and Ramanagara, and one each in Bengaluru Urban, Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere and Udupi.

Ballari, Chikkaballapura, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur, Vijayapura and Yadgir reported zero infections and zero COVID-19 related deaths.

Twenty-four districts reported zero fatalities, the bulletin said.

A total of 93,806 samples were tested in the state on Friday, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4.93 crore.

The number of vaccinations done so far in the state rose to 6.06 crore, with 38,002 people being inoculated on Friday, it added.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress is set to step up its outreach to women ahead of the sixth and seventh phases of the Lok Sabha polls with plans in place to distribute more than 40 lakh pamphlets focused on its proposed "Mahalakshmi" scheme under which Rs 1 lakh will be given every year to a woman from a poor family, sources said.

In a video message, Sonia Gandhi had said last week that women of the country are facing tough times in the wake of a "severe crisis" and the party's proposed 'Mahalakshmi scheme' for them will help change their lives.

"The Congress' 'Mahalakshmi' scheme guarantees that we will give Rs 1 lakh every year to a woman from a poor family," she had said in her video message.

Sources said the Congress is all set to distribute more than 40 lakh pamphlets with key focus on "Mahalakshmi" scheme in poll-bound constituencies across the country ahead of the sixth and seventh phases.

Addressing a rally here on Saturday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi spoke about the Mahalakshmi scheme the party intended to bring if the INDIA bloc came to power.

"We will make crores of lakhpatis. Under the scheme, a list of all families living below the poverty line will be drawn and a woman will be chosen from each family and the INDIA bloc will give them one lakh rupees in a year by depositing Rs 8,500 per month," he had said.

At a public meeting earlier, Gandhi had said that on July 1, when the poor women will check their accounts, they will find that Rs 8,500 have 'magically' been deposited.

And this will happen on the first of every month, he had said.

Sources said it was during Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, that several women met Gandhi and shared their grievances with him, and after that the Congress came up with the Mahalakshmi scheme.

Mahalakshmi scheme is among the main five guarantees that the Congress has promised.

"The Congress resolves to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. The poor will be identified among the families in the bottom of the income pyramid," the Congress manifesto has said.

The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha pills will be held on May 25 while the seventh and final phase will be held on June 1.

The counting of votes will take place on June 4.