Cases in India rise to 13,387; PM Modi says RBI announcements will 'greatly enhance liquidity'
Coronavirus India Latest Updates: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 437 in India while the total number of infections reached 13,387 including the 1,748 people who have been treated and discharged so far. Maharashtra, which has been worst-hit by the epidemic, has reported over 200 cases in the last 24 hours to record a total of 3,699 cases including 194 casualties and 330 recoveries. The second most-affected is Delhi with 1,640 infections including 38 deaths and 51 people who have been treated and sent back home.
Testing for the disease has been stepped up across the country. For the first time on Thursday, the number of samples tested in the last 24 hours crossed 30,000.
Also, to boost India's economy during the coronavirus crisis, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das Friday reduced the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points, from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent, to encourage banks to invest.
RBI reduces reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%
Keeping in mind the economic crisis that the country is facing these days, Das announced a slew of relief measures for the stressed banking and financial sector. Announcing a cut in the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75 per cent, Das said that the central bank is monitoring situation developing out of COVID-19 outbreak. He said that banks and financial institutions have risen to occasion to ensure normal functioning during the outbreak of pandemic and also added that the IMF projection of 1.9 per cent GDP growth for India is highest in G20.
RBI announcements will 'greatly enhance liquidity': PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the announcements by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will "greatly enhance liquidity and improve credit supply". "Today's announcements by RBI will greatly enhance liquidity and improve credit supply. These steps would help our small businesses, MSMEs, farmers and the poor. It will also help all states by increasing WMA limits," he tweeted.
MHA releases additional exemptions for second phase of lockdown
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Friday issued an additional list of exemptions to its earlier guidelines for the second phase of the lockdown. The revised list includes collection, harvesting and processing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP), bamboo, coconut, arecanut, cocoa plantation and harvesting under agriculture and horticultural activities. Under the financial sector, NBFC, including HFCs and NBFC-MFIs, have been allowed with bare minimum staff.
And construction activities now include water supply and sanitation, laying/erection or power transmission lines and laying of telecom optical fiber and cables.
Origin of outbreak remains a mystery at Mysuru firm, health officials approach foreign embassies
Health officials in Karnataka have sought information from embassies of a few foreign countries on the health status of persons who visited a pharma firm in the Mysuru region of Karnataka earlier this year to ascertain the origin of a Covid 19 outbreak among employees of the firm and their contacts – numbering 49 people at present.
The move by the Karnataka health department comes in the wake of forensic analysis of packaging and raw material shipped from China to the pharmaceutical firm Jubilant Generics Ltd, which has a plant in the Nanjangud area of Mysuru region, showing no Covid 19 traces.
Vegetable vendor with co-morbidities dies in Vadodara, leaves authorities baffled
A vegetable vendor with no travel history died in Vadodara Thursday, taking the total number of casualties to six in the district. The reports confirmed the case to be coronavirus positive after the patient passed away. Following this, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has traced 26 close family contacts of the patient. The VMC has also contacted the doctor whom the patient consulted privately for two days before being referred to GMERS COVID-19 facility in Gotri.
92 new coronavirus cases surface in Gujarat, total infections cross 1,000
The total number of positive cases of coronavirus in Gujarat crossed the 1,000-mark on Friday after 92 new infections were reported during the last 12 hours, said health officials here. With this, the coronavirus count in Gujarat now stands at 1,021. Out of the 92 new cases reported during the last 12 hours, the highest, 45, were from Ahmedabad, followed by 14 in Surat, 9 in Vadodara, 8 in Bharuch and 5 in Narmada, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.
Set up task force for economic revival in UP; provide relief to farmers, labourers: Priyanka to CM
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday sought the setting up of a task force for economic revival in Uttar Pradesh and providing relief for farmers and labourers in the state suffering due to the crisis created by coronavirus. In a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, she demanded that farmers be assured of the procurement of their produce and their pending dues for sugarcane crop be cleared immediately. She also demanded smooth harvest and procurement of Rabi crop and relaxing of conditions for the use of combined harvesters, agricultural machines that reap, thresh, and clean cereal crops.
Tripura hopes to start answer-script evaluation of board exams amidst lockdown
Tripura is hoping to start answer-script evaluation for Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE)-conducted Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations amidst lockdown, even as all the papers of both exams were not completed. The decision was taken as part of a host of decisions adopted in a recent meeting. Speaking to reporters here, Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said a host of decisions were adopted to develop education in schools and colleges. As part of the decisions, the government has decided to cancel summer vacation from the academic calendar.
7 IITs to boycott THE World University Rankings this year
Seven IITs in Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati, Madras, Roorkee and Kharagpur will not participate in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings this year. The decision, The Indian Express has learned, was taken after the premier engineering schools held two meetings with representatives of THE to flag issues of "transparency" in the ranking parameters. Last year, the older IITs had expressed concerns over their performance in the World University Rankings released in September.
Kerala groups districts into zones for graded relaxation after April 20
The Kerala government on Thursday proposed to group districts into zones based on COVID-19 cases and offer graded relaxation of lockdown norms in non-hotspot districts after April 20 to get the economy going.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said agriculture, rubber processing units, construction, traditional industries of coir, cashew, khadi and beedi would be allowed to resume work in non-hotspot areas, sticking to the safety guidelines issued by the Union government. Vehicles will be allowed from April 20, on odd-even basis on alternative days, but the ban on inter-district travel will continue.
In Delhi, Pizza delivery man had cough and fatigue for nearly a month
The pizza delivery employee who tested positive for COVID-19, following which 72 houses in South Delhi were quarantined, had cough and fatigue but no fever since March 20, but since he had no history of international travel or known contact with a patient, he continued to deliver food, officials said.
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(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)
