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1. India's Covid chart continues to show improvement, with the country recording 80,834 cases, a marginal drop from yesterday's figure that is reported to be the lowest in 71 days. India, the second-worst hit country, now has 2.94 crore cases. 2. The restrictions for shops, malls and restaurants in Delhi will ease from Monday as Covid numbers in the national capital drops to a three-month low. Shops will be open seven days a week instead of the current odd-even system. 3. Over 8,800 deaths in the past 12 days as a part of a massive data reconciliation exercise in Maharashtra taking the total tally of state to 1.08 lakh. 4. The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Delhi in the next 48 hours - almost two weeks ahead of schedule, having already advanced into parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab. 5. The Centre is likely to begin dialogue with the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to initiate the political process and restoration of statehood, sources say.