What is aggravating the situation is that e-commerce firms are facing huge shortage of delivery personnel. They have not been able to bring back their staff to work, despite offering higher pay and Covid-related insurance packages.
During his interaction with the chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that more economic activities would resume; he also said that zone identification may be left to the states.
'You have come out with a package for the kisan.' 'You have a package for industry.' 'But has anyone addressed the issues concerning small traders?'
The Chennai-based singer, in a series of tweets, said irrespective of political leanings, people in privileged positions must either call a spade a spade or 'shut up'. 'Can these filmy types please shut up and stay in their farm houses/fancy apartments,' Krishna began.
Besides Karnataka, states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have already announced area-wise lockdown for different durations.
"I practice chess based on what I think is a priority, and what I feel like doing. I also read some chess books -- 'Saying No to Chess Principles' by Evgeny Bareev and 'Life and Games of Mikhail Tal"
'He asked us to spread awareness on social distancing and hygiene. He spoke about how we need Virat's (Kohli) fighting spirit to win this battle'
'In the absence of a vaccine, as long as there are pockets of active cases in India, it would be good to have a limited lockdown.'
India's star all-rounder is spending time with his horses at his farmhouse.
With half of their staff on duty and no visitors allowed in waiting halls, many top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are under quarantine due to the extended lockdown are exploring ways to keep themselves busy.
It is likely the government will divide the country into different zones during the proposed extended period of lockdown and might permit a few services to function in safe zones.
Export of mango, especially alphonso, to European countries has been negligible this season; shipments to the Gulf fell 40-50 per cent.
'Why not simply make some more ventilators and find some more beds? How much would it cost?' asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This was the third consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country have increased by more than 26,000.
When humanity's away, the animals will play. With much of the world driven indoors to quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, some species not often seen -- or, at least, rarely in such large numbers, and certainly not against such empty backdrops -- are exploring cities across the globe. We must sadly report that though there have been many circulating on social media, many of these optimistic posts have turned out to be fake -- there were no dolphins in Venice's celebrated canals, or drunken elephants ambling through China's Yunnan province. However, there are some other instances where animals have, in fact, come out to explore city streets.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ousted as the president of Sri Lanka in a popular public uprising in 2022, on Thursday hinted that India was keen on his continuation despite the growing public discontent against him at the behest of certain Western powers.
Uber Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dara Khosrowshahi sees India as one of the toughest markets and a standard to succeed in any other part of the world. One of the biggest challenges for the ride-hailing firm, according to Khosrowshahi, is the expectation of Indian consumers for more services at lower spending. "India is one of the toughest markets out there.
Mall owners have incurred a loss of around Rs 3,000 crore during the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last eight weeks due to lockdowns and restrictions imposed by various states across the country. In the wake of the second pandemic wave, around 25 per cent of the business of the retail side across categories has been lost and this is going to impact the mall owners as well, according to Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) Chairman Mukesh Kumar. However, mall owners would go ahead and complete their under-construction projects as they anticipate demands for commercial and office space once the pandemic recedes, the SCAI said.
Batra even suggested the Athletics Federation to consider extending the contracts of the coaches till the 2022 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
E-way bill generation, which is related to paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a key high-frequency indicator of economic activity, may have fallen to a five-month low in April as more cities experience lockdowns due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. In April e-way bill generation may decline to 55-58 million, which is the lowest since at least November. On the higher side, it is a 17 per cent decline over March.
The nationwide 'Janta Curfew' followed by the 21-day lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak have led to a significant reduction in pollution in the country, with 91 cities recording air quality in the 'good' and 'satisfactory' category on March 29, a Central Pollution Control Board report has stated. Travel restrictions and the closure of industries have helped reduce the pollution level, it said.
IndiGo on Monday said it will refund all customer credit shells, which were created when flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, by January 31, 2021. The airline in a statement said it has already processed close to Rs 1,000 crore of refunds, which is approximately 90 per cent of the total amount it owed to its customers.
And it's a wrap for Madhur Bhandarkar's India Lockdown!... Sunny Leone gives us a glimpse of her Kerala trip...
Movie theatres may reopen around the second week of July.
'Without it, it is going to be much, much, much, much worse.' 'In the meantime, we really need to work on a sort of war footing, given that it is a natural disaster, provide relief, provide essentials, till we get biological herd immunity, we need to get economic immunity, and also social immunity.'
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
'Unless we get the health and economic situations right at the same time, we will not recover.'
December is set to be special because four original films see a straight-to-digital release.
'The world is yet to watch him, show his prowess as a batter, but given the chance he will do a great job.'
'80% of the rural and urban population don't have enough purchasing power.'
The German luxury automaker has already seen its online traffic increase 10-fold this year. Though that has not always translated into sales, Mercedes-Benz says it is continuing to build on what it calls its "touch-free" experience to stay plugged into its consumer base. Under the used car business, more than 150 cars were sold online in January and February.
In case, Brisbane can't host the Test or Indians refuse to travel, Sydney will be the back up venue.
The prime minister held a meeting with chief ministers via video-conferencing, and said it was imperative to work on war footing, identify hotspots, encircle them and ensure that coronavirus does not spread out.
'If we want a better life, we have to treat nature better, and behave properly.' 'That's nature's message to us.'
In this lockdown, no matter how many similarities the memory dredges up from past events and associations, there is one thing that has no precedent: The isolation that it has imposed on people, reports Arundhuti Dasgupta.
'India had done the right thing to go for a nationwide lockdown, but the major problem for the country could surface when the monsoon season arises as people's immunity levels go down.'
'For Indian firms supplying global majors, coronavirus is both a threat and an opportunity.'
Shutting of stores had not stopped alcohol sales. On the contrary, it had increased black market operations and peddling of illicit hooch, which could cause death/serious injury.
Lenders had filed 1,251 cases to recover Rs 24,765.5 crore. Wilful defaulters are the entities that do not pay back money despite the ability to do so. Defaulters above Rs 1 crore were considered for this exercise.
India's flag-bearer for Paris Olympics, Achanta Sharath Kamal, on Wednesday recalled the most memorable moments from his five appearances at the Games so far.
