It is expected to be a three-way battle as the 8th and final phase of the West Bengal assembly polls takes place today amid a massive surge of Covid-19 cases in India.

Indians struggled to register online for a mass vaccination drive set to begin next month as the country’s toll from the coronavirus surged past 200,000 yesterday, worsened by shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen.

Vital medical supplies poured into India yesterday as hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll towards 200,000.

When the sudden halt to oxygen import from India may put the country at risk if the number of Covid-19 patients rises more, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said there is nothing to panic about the supply of oxygen in the country.

A couple in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district tied the knot wearing PPE kits after the groom tested positive for coronavirus.

France announced today it would send oxygen generation plants, ventilators, and other medical supplies to support India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, as the first shipment of vital medical supplies from Britain reached New Delhi.

Some US lawmakers and wealthy technology executives have joined forces to boost aid to India as it grapples with a severe spike in coronavirus infections, with a focus on ensuring aid is equally distributed across the country, a Congress member said.

During a phone call with US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to containing the Covid-19 pandemic globally through vaccine friendship.

The United States and Britain rushed ventilators and vaccine materials to virus-stricken India yesterday while Italy lifted many Covid-19 restrictions in a bid to kickstart a near normal summer.

India’s government has decided to leave the import of Covid-19 vaccines to state authorities and companies, two government officials told Reuters, a decision that may slow acquisitions of shots as a second wave of the pandemic rips through the country.

As India reels under an alarming surge of Covid-19 cases, the country's armed forces are recalling all their medical personnel who have retired or taken pre-mature retirement in the last two years to work in Covid-19 facilities for civilians near their present place of residence.

The Madras High Court today slammed the Election Commission of India for allowing political rallies to be conducted amid the raging coronavirus pandemic in the country, and observed that the polls body officers should probably be “booked on murder charges”.

Germany will send oxygen and medical aid to India in the coming days to help it tackle its Covid-19 crisis, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday.

The United States will immediately provide raw materials for Covid-19 vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond to a massive surge in Covid-19 infections, a White House spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the “storm” of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record of the most number of Covid-19 infections in a day.

Muslim voters are set to be a key factor as incumbent government of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lock horns in the seventh phase of West Bengal assembly polls today.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka has advised Indian nationals in Bangladesh to communicate with the mission if they need to travel to India.

The European Union and Germany today promised assistance to India to help fight the second wave of Covid-19 that threatens to overwhelm the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

The Indian government asked social media platform Twitter to take down dozens of tweets, including some by local lawmakers, that were critical of India's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as cases of Covid-19 again hit a world record.

At least eight workers were killed and hundreds were rescued after an avalanche struck a remote Himalayan region near the China border in northern India, officials said Saturday.