Highlights: Mumbai makes 7-day quarantine must for residents arriving from UAE

All international passengers arriving from UAE including Dubai who are Mumbai residents to compulsorily undergo 7-day home quarantine, RT-PCR on arrival will be mandatory for such passengers, announces BMC.

Manipur govt imposes night curfew from 9pm to 4am in view of new Omicron cases. Music concerts, Thabal Chongba, celebratory feasts, large gatherings in indoor spaces have been restricted.

India is expected to soon get export order from Philippines for BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. 

"India and Philippines are in an advanced stage of negotiations over the sale of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Export order likely to be placed soon," government sources told news agency ANI.

5 new cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Karnataka today. All positive persons have been isolated and primary and secondary contacts have been identified and tested, says Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar.

Dehradun administration mandates negative COVID certificate not older than 72 hours for entry into the district.

“Full vaccination certificate or negative COVID certificate not older than 72 hours is required for entry into Dehradun,” says district magistrate R Rajesh Kumar.

Rajasthan cabinet on Wednesday made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for entering public places from January 31 onwards.

Maharashtra reports 85 new Omicron cases, state tally touches 252; surpasses Delhi.

Uttar Pradesh government has issued notification to rename Jhansi Railway Station as Virangana Lakshmibai Railway Station.

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 143 crore mark today with more than 57 lakh vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today, according to the government data.

Madras high court orders ban on liquor sales for three hours – from 10pm to 1am – on New Year's night in Puducherry.

The DDMA has decided to not impose ‘amber’ alert in Delhi even though the positivity rate has gone above 1%.

More curbs will not be immediately imposed. Govt is in ‘wait and watch’ mode. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 10th installment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on 1st Jan at 12:30 pm via video conferencing, announced his office.

In view of rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Lt Governor Anil Baijal chairs a review meeting (virtual) with Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also present at the meeting.

The Indian Army will provide access to Nagaland's Special Investigation Team to record statements of the troops involved in the incidents in which 14 civilians lost their lives in Mon district of Nagaland. The unit is located in Jorhat district of Assam, news agency quoted official sources. Read full story

Rajasthan on Wednesday reported 23 cases infected with the Omicron variant of Covid19, which include four who returned from abroad.

Till date, 69 cases of this variant have been found, including the 23 cases reported today. Of the total 46 detected earlier, 44 have recovered.

NCP MP Supriya Sule and her husband tested positive for Covid-19.

National People's Party leader Letpao Haokip on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi. "I think that under the leadership of PM Modi, the Northeast region and Manipur will be developed,' he said.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday indicated that he is likely to review the Covid-19 containment measures announced by his government, including the "night curfew", in the wake of opposition from businesses, reported news agency PTI.

The Enforcement Directorate has named former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh as the main accused in the 7,000-page supplementary chargesheet filed in a money laundering case in a Mumbai court, reported news agency ANI. The chargesheet also names the minister's sons in the case. 

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday that the Covid-19 positivity rate is the city is around 1 per cent, adding the cases have increased with the arrival of international flights. 

“Not a single Omicron patient has required oxygen support so far,” he added.

An earthquake of 5.9 magnitude that hit the Greek island of Crete was felt in some Egyptian cities, Reuters quoted the country's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics as saying on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said that Chennai Police has put restrictions on New Year's celebrations in hotels and public places. He added that chief minsiter MK Stalin has called a review meeting on the Covid-19 sitution in the state on December 31.

Resident doctors from government-run Safdarjung hospital in Delhi have continued their strike against the delay in NEET-PG counselling. 

Speaking to news agency ANI, a patient's relative said, “We're facing problems in getting medical treatment here, but the doctors are raising valid demands after working through Covid-19 pandemic.”

India has reported 9,195 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to Union health ministry data on Wednesday. The active cases in the country currently stand at 77,002. 

The country's Omicron tally has further climbed to 781.