As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn't expect to see a massive wave.
In a series of tweets, the home minister also appealed to the affluent people to help the needy living nearby.
This will be the third video conference of the prime minister with the chief ministers after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
According to a ministry of home affairs order, those allowed to travel to India include OCI cardholders who wish to come to the country on account of family emergencies. Minor children born to Indian nationals abroad and holding OCI cards, couples where one spouse is an OCI cardholder and the other is an Indian national and they have a permanent residence in India, and university students who are OCI cardholders (not legally minors) but whose parents are Indian citizens living in India were also allowed to visit the country.
Retailers want rental waivers should be extended for a few more months, since business is not expected to pick up before the Dussehra-Diwali period, which falls in October-November.
Yoga institutes, indoor sports facilities such as badminton halls, tennis, squash courts, indoor shooting ranges will also be allowed to operate from Thursday.
The Maharashtra government will extend the coronavirus-enforced lockdown-like curbs in the state after June 1 and relax them later in a phased manner, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Thursday.
The state reported 4,787 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest one-day count this year.
PM to take a call on reopening places of worship on Saturday; state governments empowered to take a call on malls and wedding halls; domestic flights expected to resume on May 18, with Air India being first off the blocks.
According to a 2021 Redseer report, India's overseas education market is estimated to more than double to $80 billion by 2024.
They say that a stimulus package may not be necessary because, unlike last year's total lockdown, public transport, including the railways and airlines, is running and the restrictions on movement are localised and, in some cases, are partial rather than total.
However, there will be no inter-state movement of workers during the lockdown, which has been extended till May 3.
India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.
With the world's worst pandemic outbreak scarring nascent economic recovery, the government may at the beginning of the unlock phase announce another stimulus package for the most hit sectors such as small business and self-employed, Bernstein said. The brokerage in a note said its macro index suggests a deterioration in economic activity during April/May. "Energy consumption has moderated, with power down over 4 per cent and oil consumption down over 16 per cent in May so far (all 2-year CAGR). "E-waybills are down 16 per cent, suggesting the impact of scale down in factory production for some product categories, owing to the shut down in retail outlets.
'For them life is very difficult since there has been no universalisation of PDS.' 'And let's understand that there are people who need ration instead of cooked meals.'
Major automobile manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar on Tuesday reported decline in domestic passenger vehicle sales in May compared to the previous month as a spike in COVID-19 cases and lockdowns across various states hit production and dispatches. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), which shut production from May 1 to May 16 so as to divert oxygen from industrial use for medical purposes, reported domestic dispatches to dealers at 35,293 units last month, down 75 per cent from 142,454 units in April. The company said sales of its mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, declined by 81 per cent to 4,760 units in May as against 25,041 units in April this year.
Initially, starting with a slightly curtailed capacity, the airline will increase the operating capacity over the subsequent months, also reopening selected international flights, depending on the existing international travel guidelines: IndiGo.
Moody's Investors Service on Friday said India's economy is expected to contract for the first time in more than four decades saying economic damage owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will be significant with lower consumption and sluggish business activity. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, Indian economy already was growing at its slowest pace in six years and with the stimulus measures announced by the government falling short of expectations, the disruptions are likely to be greater. "We now expect India's growth to register a real GDP contraction for the fiscal year ending in March 2021 (fiscal 2020-21), from our earlier projection of zero growth," it said in a research note.
It has been decided to open factories and allow construction activities, Kejriwal said.
L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, ONGC and M&M. NSE Nifty jumped 119.20 points to 14,942.35.
The man collapsed after peddling for hours and had started his journey from Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra.
The income tax department has widened its tax evasion probe against actor Sonu Sood as it raided multiple premises in Mumbai, Nagpur and Jaipur on Friday, official sources said.
Daily wagers are running out of resources, including ration and cash, and the state governments might not be able to sustain their needs for a longer period of time, given the lockdown has already been extended until May 3.
'We are seeing 50% fewer cases now.' 'It is primarily due to the lockdown.'
The right to seek 'default' bail is a fundamental right and an indefeasible part of right to personal liberty under the Constitution which cannot be suspended even during a pandemic situation, the Delhi high court said.
Janta Mali, who has applied for Indian citizenship, had gone to visit her ailing mother in Pakistan's Mirpur Khas in February on an NORI visa with her husband and children, who are Indian citizens, but was not allowed to travel back after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus as her visa expired.
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said Indian banks face a systemic risk as the second COVID wave will impair the performance of financial institutions in the April-September period. Stating that economic recovery remains highly vulnerable to setbacks due to COVID, particularly if fresh outbreaks trigger new lockdowns, S&P said the banking sector's weak loans will likely remain elevated at 11-12 per cent of gross loans in the next 12 to 18 months. "The second wave has front-ended weakness in asset quality," said S&P Global Ratings Credit Analyst Deepali Seth Chhabria. "Financial institutions face a strained first half amid weak collections and poor disbursements."
In a video conference with the chief ministers, fourth such interaction since March 22 when he first spoke to them about the pandemic, Modi stressed on the need for the states to strictly enforce lockdown guidelines in the coronavirus hotspots zones, and strongly pitched for the mantra of 'do gaz doori' (a distance of two yards) to protect people from the infection, according to a government statement.
Dominic Xavier wonders whether the steep decline in GDP numbers should be considered as an act of God too.
The economic costs now beginning to show up in the hard numbers are far worse than initial expectations.
The Madras high court on Thursday pulled up the Centre over its alleged lapse in taking prompt action in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, wondering what it was doing for 14 months.
The Ministry has invited only e-mail applications this year due to the pandemic.
Offline retailers are feeling the Omicron January chill as consumers are apprehensive about venturing out in the midst of rising Covid cases across the country. Covid restrictions, as well as concerns over the new virus variant, are seeing shoppers pull back from the high streets and shopping malls, clearly cautious about streaming into stores and choosing to self-censor instead. Offline retailers' hopes of a bumper End-Of-Season Sale (EOSS) and Republic Day (R-Day) Sale to compensate for losses over the pandemic have been dashed. Fewer trips to malls mean lower footfall and sales, resulting in higher piling of stock - and possibly higher discounts.
Himesh Mehta, 43, from Mumbai tells us how he learned the importance of fitness during the lockdown.
Investors' wealth has swelled by over Rs 13.16 lakh crore as benchmark indices continued their northward march for the fifth session on the trot on Monday. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 935.72 points or 1.68 per cent to settle at 56,486.02 on Monday. In the past five trading sessions, the benchmark has zoomed 3,643.27 points or 6.89 per cent. Propelled by the optimism in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 13,16,944.74 crore in five trading sessions to Rs 2,54,27,775.78 crore.
Some villages in Bihar have gone into lockdown, refusing entry of people even from neighbouring areas, to curb the spread of infection.
Foreign nationals who are single parents of minor children holding Indian passports or OCI cards, students who are foreign nationals where at least one of their parents is an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder were allowed to visit India.
Bihar school girl Jyoti Kumari, who cycled 1200 km with her injured father from New Delhi to Darbhanga, will appear for Cycling Federation of India trials once the lockdown ends even though finishing matriculation is her primary aim. Rendered jobless and penniless because of the extended coronavirus lockdown, the 15-year-old was forced to ferry her father who was unable to walk properly after a surgery to his left knee following an accident.
India's economy will do well once vaccination reaches a critical mass as pent up demand, global recovery and easy financial conditions will boost activities, RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal said on Tuesday.
The further expansion and upgrade of the Chinese military does not augur well for India, which continues to confront an increasingly belligerent China on its borders, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
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