Here is a look at the

on the outbreak of coronavirus from India and around the world —

States get over 100 proposal for bulk drugs/API production

extension: SC issues fresh SOPs for lawyers, litigants

Death toll due to COVID-19 rises to 392; cases climb to 11,933

Govt identifies 170 districts as hotspots, 207 as potential hostspots

Two million coronavirus cases recorded globally: AFP tally

Home secretary writes to States, UTs to ensure strict compliance with lockdown guidelines

Spain's daily virus toll falls again with 523 dead

UPSC to decide on fresh dates for remaining civil services-2019 personality tests after May 3

Scientists discover six new coronaviruses in

Only essential services allowed in 'hotspot' zones, say new lockdown guidelines

launches interactive COVID-19 service on

NEW DELHI: With 1,118 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 11,933, said the Union ministry of health on Wednesday. Out of the total tally, 10,197 cases are active while 1,343 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated.With 38 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 392.Amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, more than 100 proposals seeking green clearance for production of bulk drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) have been received by states in the last two weeks after the Centre amended rules to expedite the process of giving environmental approval.To address the unprecedented situation arising from the global outbreak of COVID-19 and to ramp up availability or production of various drugs, the environment ministry (MoEF) had last month amended Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification for expediting the environmental clearance for API related projects saying they will get the approval at state level itself.In the wake of the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown being extended, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines and standard operating procedures to be adopted by advocates and litigants during hearing of matters of "extreme urgency".Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the three-week nationwide lockdown for another 19 days till May 3 to battle the coronavirus pandemic.To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the top court since March 23, has restricted its functioning and only matters considered to be extremely urgent are being taken up by different benches through video conferencing.The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 392 with 39 fatalities reported since Tuesday evening, while the number of cases saw a jump of 1,118 to go up to 11,933 cases on Wednesday, according to the Union health ministry.The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 10,197, while as many as 1,343 people have been cured and discharged, and one has migrated, it said.The total number of cases include 76 foreign nationals.The Union health ministry has identified 170 districts as COVID-19 hotspots and 207 districts as potential hotspots, officials said on Wednesday, reiterating that there has been no community transmission of the disease in the country so far.Addressing the daily briefing to provide updates on coronavirus situation in the country, joint secretary in the ministry of health Lav Agarwal said that states have been asked to classify districts which have reported a higher number of cases as hotspots, the districts where cases have been reported as non-hotspots, and green zones where no cases have been reported.More than two million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially registered around the world, half of them in Europe, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 1000 GMT Wednesday based on official sources.At least 2,000,576 infections, including 126,871 deaths, have been recorded. Europe is the hardest hit continent, with 1,010,858 cases and 85,271 fatalities.The United States, where the virus is spreading most rapidly, registered 609,240 cases, and 26,033 deaths.Home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Wednesday wrote to all the states and Union territories asking them to ensure strict compliance with the consolidated revised guidelines of the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.Bhalla, in the letter, said that the State and Union territory governments cannot dilute the restrictions imposed in the guidelines, but can enforce stricter norms."I have already emphasized vide my earlier letter that States/UTs cannot dilute restrictions imposed vide the aforesaid guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. States/UTs may, however, impose stricter measures, than these guidelines as per the requirement of the local areas," Bhalla said in the letter.Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus fell on Wednesday to 523, after posting a one-day rise, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18,579, the health ministry said.The number of new confirmed infections in the country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, rose by over 5,000, after falling for six consecutive days, which lifts the total number of infections to over 177,000.In view of the prevailing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the Union Public Service Commission on Wednesday announced that a decision on fresh dates for the remaining civil services-2019 personality tests will be taken after May 3.The commission said that dates for the civil services-2020 (prelim), engineering services (main) and the geologist services (main) examinations had already been announced and any rescheduling in these examinations if necessitated by the evolving situation, will be notified on its website.Scientists have discovered six new coronaviruses in bats in Myanmar -- the first time these viruses have been found anywhere in the world.The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, will help understand the diversity of coronaviruses in bats and inform global efforts to detect, prevent and respond to infectious diseases that may threaten public health, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.According to the researchers from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in the US, studies will evaluate the potential for transmission across species to better understand the risks to human health.No unchecked movement of people except for those maintaining essential services and providing medical care will be permitted from the COVID-19 'hotspot' zones, according to the new lockdown guidelines issued by the MHA on Wednesday.The ministry emphasized that even the activities allowed under the new guidelines will not be permitted in the 'hotspot' zones, or the areas/clusters with high occurrence of COVID-19 cases.The 'hotspots' will be determined as per the guidelines issued by the Union ministry of health.The World Health Organisation has come up with an interactive method which uses Facebook Messenger to eradicate false information being spread about coronavirus.The WHO will be using the reach of Facebook Messenger to provide accurate information to users.The users will also be able to ask questions and get a quick response from the WHO's 'Health Alert' service on Messenger.