Auto component makers in India are bracing for a tough time. High absenteeism among workers owing to Covid-19, shortages of critical parts, and temporary closures of plants by automobile manufacturers have thrown a spanner in the works for the Rs 3.2-trillion sector, which derives 60 per cent of its revenues from automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), with the balance split equally between replacement demand and exports. Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday said it was extending the maintenance shutdown, which was from May 1 to 9, till May 16, "keeping in view the current pandemic situation". Some activities will continue in the plants.
Dealers say the significant increase in sales was driven by a need to plug the diminishing inventory as most dealerships were transitioning from BS-IV to BS-VI when the Covid-19 lockdown was announced.
There have been reports of healthcare services being affected in some places including in the national capital after neighbouring states closed down inter-state borders and barred movement of medical workers. In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said inter-state movement of doctors and paramedics should be facilitated wherever required.
The Union health ministry officials also said India was at the second stage as there is still no 'hard evidence' to say that there has been community transmission of the fast-spreading coronavirus, remarks which may provide anxious citizens with much needed assurance and hope.
With the latest relaxation on withdrawal, more than 84 per cent of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance, the RBI said.
'Only few are brave': Kohli tweets birthday greeting.
Its debit card holders can now withdraw cash from any ATM without charges till June 30.
'My darker side is super dark and I'm not afraid of it.'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will wait for more clarity on international travel restrictions before making a call on the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July, a top board official said. Virat Kohli's team are scheduled to play three One-Day Internationals and the same number of Twenty20 Internationals in Sri Lanka but the series is under threat due to measures imposed to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Indian women's hockey team launched an 18-day fun fitness challenge starting on Friday to raise funds towards helping the poor and migrant families whose lives have been affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the challenge aims to raise crowdfunding for the cause, the movement also encourages people to use this opportunity to adapt to an active lifestyle during the nation-wide lockdown that has been extended till May 3, 2020.
Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic pledged one million euros ($1.10 million) to help buy ventilators and other medical equipment in his native Serbia on Friday, joining a list of other athletes in the fight against coronavirus.
Though COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown left a trail of economic devastation on most countries, India can potentially build upon three positive aspects - push in the rural economy, stronger federalism and a huge consumption base, former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao Rao has said. In his foreword on a Telugu book titled "Maandhyam Mungita Desam" (Nation in Recession) authored by Tummala Kishore, he said the challenge for the government in the months and years ahead is clear: to put the economy back on a healthy growth trajectory and ensure that growth is inclusive, with lower income households too enjoying the benefits of rapid growth.
"The Dubai camp is for Olympic B qualifiers who are in India and currently unable to train," Swimming Federation of India secretary-general Monal Chokshi told Reuters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday (local time) said the US is working closely with its partners in the Indian government to deploy more supplies and additional support amid the record upsurge in Covid-19 infections in the country.
Many firms have asked those joining on April 1 to delay their on-boarding by 2-3 months. The outlook for the airline, tourism, hotel, and media industries is bleak too.
The MHA on Friday, while extending the lockdown for two more weeks till May 17, lifted many restrictions in green and orange zones. There are no restrictions on sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms in green and orange zones, a home ministry spokesperson said, adding barber shops and salons are also allowed to open in these areas.
Another 8 pm prime ministerial speech. Will this one too lead to a scramble and chaos like his previous 8 pm telecasts?
The Congress chief said citizens are making tremendous efforts for a better tomorrow, "therefore we must make all efforts to ensure that the purpose of the lockdown is not defeated by making the most vulnerable bear its cost."
Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League but their record 14th FA Cup triumph last Saturday ensured another year of European football and the possibility of earning up to 40 million pounds ($52.58 million) in the Europa League.
There are 1,53,106 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while 1,69,797 people have recovered and a patient has migrated, according to the ministry data updated in the morning.
Wasim Jaffer heaped praised on Steve Smith and said that he is one of the best batsmen in the world.
The Quorum in Mumbai aims to introduce and extend its blend of hospitality and philosophy of being community-led, content-driven, design-focused and experiential.
The GST Council might on Friday consider taxing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime, a move that may require huge compromises by both central and state governments on the revenues they collect from taxing these products. The Council, which comprises central and state finance ministers, in its meeting scheduled in Lucknow on Friday, is also likely to consider extending the time for duty relief on COVID-19 essentials, according to sources in the know of the development. GST is being thought to be a solution for the problem of near-record high petrol and diesel rates in the country, as it would end the cascading effect of tax on tax (state VAT being levied not just on the cost of production but also on the excise duty charged by the Centre on such output).
Income tax collection, by way of advance tax and TDS, in the April-June quarter was about 80 per cent of what was collected in the same period last year.
The Union home ministry and the labour ministry have asked state governments to coordinate with the chief labour commissioner's (CLC's) office to give a comprehensive data of all the migrant workers by April 11.
Maharashtra and Punjab, which are recording a surge in new COVID-19 cases, tightened curbs on Friday and the chief minister of the western state said lockdown is an option, as India added close to 40,000 cases in the biggest daily increase in nearly four months.
While Ola will be restarting services in over 60 cities across the country from Tuesday, Uber, on the other hand, will restart services in 13 more cities from Tuesday, increasing coverage to over 35 cities.
IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, cracking around 10 per cent, followed by HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement. On the other hand, TCS, Infosys, ITC and HCL Tech closed with gains. NSE Nifty plunged 313.60 points or 3.43 per cent to 8,823.25.
State and UT governments have been given the flexibility to take a decision on re-opening of schools and coaching institutions after October 15 in a graded manner.
Axis Bank and ICICI Bank consumed 37-59 per cent of their operating profit for COVID-19 provisioning, while the figure is 24 per cent in case of Kotak Mahindra Bank and 10-12 per cent for IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank.
Kejriwal said there will be no restrictions on the number of people travelling in four-wheelers, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws and other vehicles in the city. He said that until now, shops in markets were being allowed to open on odd-even basis, adding that there are no such restrictions mentioned by the Centre in its latest guidelines.
The head of a Japanese doctors' union warned on Tuesday that holding the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, with tens of thousands of people from around the world, could lead to the emergence of an "Olympic" strain of the coronavirus.
Referring to various media reports showing the 'unfortunate and miserable conditions' of migrant labourers walking on foot and cycling long distances after the lockdown, the top court issued notices to the Centre, the states and union territories and sought their replies by May 28.
Kumar had registered for the Shramik Special train. Everyday, he hoped his phone will ring and he will be asked to come to the station. But, only his landlord's call came everyday asking when he would pay the due rent. Dejected with the wait, Kumar decided to go to the Gurgaon Railway Station where he was refused an entry.
Recent studies in China and Europe observed that the infection might relapse in those people who have already recovered from earlier phases.
Kumari, a lion-hearted 15-year-old, cycled all the way from Gurugram in Haryana to Bihar's Darbhanga district with her incapacitated father Mohan Paswan seated on the carrier. Now the father-daughter duo is at a quarantine centre near their village Sirhulli under Singhwara block of the district.
The chief minister said that although places of religious worship had to be shut during the pandemic, god was taking care of all devotees in the form of doctors, nurses and other health staff.
Students will appear for pending class 10 and 12 board exams at the schools where they are enrolled instead of an external test centre, according to the HRD ministry. The ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end and evaluation process has already begun for exams which were conducted before the lockdown was announced.
The Rs 20 lakh crore package includes Rs 1.7 lakh crore package of free foodgrains to the poor and cash to poor women and elderly, announced in March, as well as the Reserve Bank's liquidity measures and interest rate cuts.
The panchayat polls will be seen as a kind of verdict from the hinterland for Yogi Adityanath ahead of the crucial 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections.