India’s budget under strain on day one of new fiscal year

As India now conducts the world’s biggest lockdown, budget pressures are set to worsen.

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Covid-19: Farmers asked to delay wheat harvest

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has advised wheat farmers to postpone their harvest to April 20 in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

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Crop loss compensation worth Rs 10K cr likely

The government is likely to disburse over Rs 10,000 crore to farmers across the country by April 20 as compensation for the loss of kharif crop, which got damaged due to excessive rains in October and November last year. Farmers are likely to be paid in their bank accounts under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

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14% shortfall likely in direct tax mop-up

Collection of direct tax for the just-concluded fiscal 2020 is expected at Rs 10.1 lakh crore, well short of the government’s most recent estimate of Rs 11.7 lakh crore, officials in the know said.

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Centre to ensure tribals get MSP for produce

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (Trifed) managing director Pravir Krishna said, “The pandemic has struck at a time when it is gathering time for MFP.

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NHAI clears contractors' bills worth Rs 25,000 cr

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has cleared bills worth Rs 25,000 crore owed to contractors in March 2020, expediting the process in the last one week after construction activity came to a grinding halt due to the national lockdown post Covid-19.

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FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeks to enhance IMF toolkit, expand liquidity swap network

India has asked the International Monetary Fund to use its existing resources to create a non-stigmatised short term liquidity swap facility, which could be rapidly deployed as and when needed by the countries.

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Govt sticks to BE to borrow Rs 4.88 lakh cr in H1FY21

The government said it will borrow Rs 4.88 lakh crore in the first half of FY21, sticking to the estimate in the budget presented before the coronavirus outbreak, and promised to do everything needed to meet the demands of the economy.

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Technew

The New York attorney general has written to the videoconferencing company about its security measures.

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Coronavirus: Zoom under increased scrutiny as popularity soars

The New York attorney general has written to the videoconferencing company about its security measures.

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Payments stuck, exporters seek government’s support

When a local manufacturer ships consignments to its overseas client, it is supposed to produce shipment related documents including invoice, and bill of lading to the local bank in India. This local bank in turn is supposed to send physical copies to the consignee’s bank account overseas that provides the letter of credit.

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Efforts on to line up e-commerce & data laws

The commerce ministry, which is giving final shape to the much-awaited e-commerce policy, is soon expected to provide recommendations related to the governance of data to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), which is looking to regulate personal as well as non-personal data.

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Covid-19 battle: World Bank offers $1bn for proposed India project

The idea of the project will be to respond and mitigate the Covid-19 threat and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in India, as per the project document.

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Coronavirus: 5G ‘certainly delayed’ in Europe and UK

UK and European 5G network rollouts will certainly be delayed during the pandemic, Huawei says.

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Study describes how app would alert citizens if someone they came into contact with tests positive.

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Coronavirus: UK considers virus-tracing app to ease lockdown

Study describes how app would alert citizens if someone they came into contact with tests positive.

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Technew

Social networks usually leave world leaders’ posts alone - but the pandemic is changing that.

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Coronavirus: World leaders' posts deleted over fake news

Social networks usually leave world leaders’ posts alone - but the pandemic is changing that.

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Fiscal deficit touches 135.2 pc of budget estimate at Feb-end: CGA

The government aims to restrict the fiscal deficit at 3.8 per cent of the GDP or Rs 7.1 lakh crore in 2019-20. The deficit was 134.2 per cent of 2018-19 Budget Estimate (BE) in the corresponding period.

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Core sector output improves for February, records 5.5% growth

The improvement in the index was led by Electricity, coal, cement and refinery products.

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Govt extends validity of lower withholding tax orders by 3 months till June due to COVID-19

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in its order gave a major relief to taxpayers whose application for lower or nil deduction of TDS/TCS is pending for disposal saying that cases where the application is pending and where such certificates were issued for fiscal 2019-20, the validity of the certificates would get extended to June 30, 2020.

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It's like wartime, radical reforms needed to deal with aftermath of Covid pandemic: Former SBI boss Arundhati Bhattacharya

Comparing the present upheaval with what the country faced during the 1991 balance of payment crisis, she said, "We already had a number of soft spots in the economy when this whole thing broke and obviously those soft spots will no longer be soft spots, the whole economy is going to be impacted."

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Technew

Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jennifer Ehle and Laurence Fishburne post public service announcements.

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Coronavirus: Contagion cast share Covid-19 advice

Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jennifer Ehle and Laurence Fishburne post public service announcements.

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No extension in retirement date for central govt employees due to retire on March 31

The central government employees due to retire on March 31, will superannuate on that day only, the Personnel Ministry said on Tuesday.

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Govt not to consider lockdown period to review suspension orders, other 'diverse' works

Consequent upon the outbreak of COVID-19 and considering the unprecedented situation of the lockdown, with effect from March 24, it may not be feasible to adhere to the timelines prescribed in the Central Civil Services (classification control and appeal) Rules, 1965 and the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

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Covid-19: G20 trade ministers agree to ensure uninterrupted flow of vital medical supplies

According to a joint statement issued after a video conference, the ministers agreed to support the availability and accessibility of essential medical supplies at affordable prices, on an equitable basis, where they are most needed and will guard against profiteering and unjustified price increases.

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Technew

The company says claims it exposed users data were part of a commercial smear campaign.

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Houseparty offers $1m reward for proof of sabotage

The company says claims it exposed users data were part of a commercial smear campaign.

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Govt hikes wages under rural employment guarantee scheme

The average hike of Rs 20 in the wages of rural workers is part of the Rs 1.7 lakh crore fiscal package announced recently to mitigate the economic crisis arising out of the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the statement, focus of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS may be on individual beneficiary-oriented works which directly benefit SC, ST and women headed households as well as small & marginal farmers and other poor households.

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Govt clarifies on company's contributions to PM CARES Fund above CSR limit

“Even if you have contributed the prescribed amount towards CSR, I would like to urge you to contribute over and above the minimum prescribed amount, which can later be offset against the CSR obligation arising in subsequent years, if you so desire,” said corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas in an online appeal to company chiefs.

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View: India isn't US, it must get its people back to work as soon as possible

Low income countries have a more fragile economic and social fabric than developed countries.

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Govt may abolish import duty on ventilators, masks

A proposal to do away with customs duty and IGST on around 15 product categories is being considered by the revenue department, officials told. Apart from the devices and other products needed by the medical staff, some raw material used for making masks and parts of garments and accessories are also on the wishlist that has been moved by the commerce department.

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COVID-19 fight: Govt has Rs 60k crore war chest in disaster funds

The Centre has a war chest of more than Rs 60,000 crore to fight the Covid-19 pandemic — Rs 30,000 crore is already available in state disaster relief funds (SDRF) while allocation of a similar amount has been made for the 2020-21 financial year towards disaster relief and mitigation.

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World economy will go into recession with likely exception of India, China: United Nations

UN's trade body, however, did not give a detailed explanation as to why and how India and China will be the exceptions as the world faces a recession and loss in global income that will impact developing countries. Further, given the deteriorating global conditions, fiscal and foreign exchange constraints are bound to tighten further over the course of the year.

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Covid-19 impact: Tax and duty relief likely in package for industry

The government has also initiated talks with the World Bank for an unprecedented package from the multilateral lender to speed up the creation of healthcare infrastructure that’s urgently needed besides support for some key economic sectors to tackle Covid-19’s impact. “It is being worked out ... it will be announced shortly,” said a government official.

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View: It is time for states to step up and provide the much-needed covid relief

GoI and RBI have responded by notifying certain measures. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced compliance forbearance under different tax laws, including a few tax payment deadlines.

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Food, medicine supply still choked; Transport bottlenecks show signs of easing

Prices of potato, dairy items and meat may rise further with cold storages running out of refrigerants. The poultry industry is in distress as they are unable to get feed for birds. Retail chains said customers continued to hoard, leaving very low stocks of staples like atta, poha, rajmaand packaged food like biscuits and instant noodles.

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Govt extends implementation of uniform stamp duty for capital market instruments to July 1

The finance ministry also clarified that there is no change in the financial year. "There is no extension of the Financial Year," said a finance ministry statement, clarifying that the notification issued by the department of revenue pertained to amendments in the Indian Stamp Act.

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No extension of the financial year, clarifies government

The Reserve Bank of India has in fact announced the change much earlier, on February 15, to align its financial year with the government's,

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Technew

The 170 repaired machines had been in storage since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak of the mid-2000s.

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Coronavirus: Tech firm Bloom Energy fixes broken US ventilators

The 170 repaired machines had been in storage since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak of the mid-2000s.

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Technew

Two California-based start-ups confirm they have used the conference-call app to lay off staff.

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Coronavirus: Start-ups use Zoom app to lay off staff

Two California-based start-ups confirm they have used the conference-call app to lay off staff.

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Govt extends crop loan repayment till May

“Due to ongoing lockdown, there have been restrictions imposed on movement of people. Many farmers are not able to travel to bank branches for payment of their short term crop loan dues. Moreover, due to restrictions on movement of people and difficulty in timely sale and receipt of payment of their produce, farmers may be facing difficulties in repayment," agriculture ministry official said.

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Govt urged to ease ammonia supply, maintenance work for cold storages

“Ammonia is urgently required in many cold storages as the temperature is rising and any delay would cause damage to the perishable stocks,” Arvind Aggrawal, president, Cold Stores Association, said. He said that the supply needs to resume immediately ensuring proper refrigeration the temperature was on rise.

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Centre extends dates for completing employees' annual appraisal process

According to the revised schedule, the distribution of blank APAR forms needs to be completed by May 30 and the submission of self-appraisal to reporting officer by June 30, the order said. The disclosure of the APAR of the officer reported upon should be done by September 10 (in cases where there is no accepting authority) and by October 10 (in cases where there is accepting authority).

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Fitch Solutions cuts India GDP growth forecast to 4.6% for FY21

Fitch Solutions joins a chorus of international agencies that have made a similar cut in growth estimates in recent days. Standard and Poor's (S&P) last week cut its estimate for India's GDP growth in 2020-21 to 5.2 per cent from its earlier estimate of 6.5 per cent. Fitch Ratings slashed its growth forecast from 5.6 per cent to 5.1 per cent for 2020-21.

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Taiwan seeks formation of WTO dispute panel in case against India's import duties on ICT products

Separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu had filed a case against India, September last year, over imposition of import duties by India on certain ICT products, including telephones for cellular networks.

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Technew

Coronavirus pandemic prompts removal of UK broadband data caps on fixed-line connections.

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Coronavirus: UK broadband data caps removed during pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic prompts removal of UK broadband data caps on fixed-line connections.

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GST rates for mobile phones, matchsticks, MRO services notified

Mobile phones will be charged 18% GST from April 1, compared to 12% earlier, while all kinds of matchsticks will be charged a 12% GST versus a range of 5% to 18%. Maintenance and repair operations (MRO) services required for aircraft will be charged 5% GST, lower from the earlier rate of 18%, with full input tax credit.

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India Ratings cuts economic growth forecast for India to 3.6 per cent

The agency said the initial and visible impact of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy has been the disruption in the production of select manufacturing sectors due to the breakdown of supply chain, near-collapse of the tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors and a rise in the work load of the healthcare sector.

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S&P further slashes India's growth forecast to 3.5% from 5.2% for FY21

The latest downgrade came as part of the global ratings agency’s report on deteriorating credit conditions in the Asia-Pacific region. It cited declining credit quality due to rising defaults resulting from a demand slump as the Covid-19 outbreak persisted in many countries.

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Technew

Thousands of the devices, which deliver oxygen to the lungs without needing a ventilator, could be made.

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Coronavirus: Mercedes F1 to make breathing aid

Thousands of the devices, which deliver oxygen to the lungs without needing a ventilator, could be made.

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ADB to invest $100 million in NIIF fund of funds

ADB will now join the Government of India (GOI) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an investor in the Fund, said a press statement on Monday.

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Lockdown period won’t be counted in IBC timeline: IBBI

“...the period of lockdown imposed by the Central Government in the wake of COVID19 outbreak shall not be counted for the purposes of the time-line for any activity that could not be completed due to such lockdown, in relation to a corporate insolvency resolution process," said a notification by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Sunday.

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March CPI inflation figures may have caveats as data suffers due to Covid lockdown

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is assessing the quality and amount of data that can be collected to estimate the consumer price index (CPI) inflation for this month. The data for March is scheduled to be released on April 13.

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Technew

A rapid response unit is working with social media firms to take down misleading or harmful content.

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Coronavirus: Fake news crackdown by UK government

A rapid response unit is working with social media firms to take down misleading or harmful content.

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(Missing the) Message in a Battle

GoI has failed to ensure informed communication through identified experts who would be made available to mass media, especially TV. Most TV channels filled this gap with semi-informed commentary by celebrity doctors from branded private hospitals with very little expertise in the problem at hand.

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View: GoI needs to collect & analyse patient dataset to generate policy insights

​India needs to start epidemiological data collection & analysis to fine-tune its Covid response.

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Technew

Engineering firms say the UK may not have all the ventilators it needs when virus infections peak.

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Manufacturers cast doubt on ventilator target

Engineering firms say the UK may not have all the ventilators it needs when virus infections peak.

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FinMin, RBI meeting on Tuesday to decide first-half borrowing plan for FY21

The meeting between the Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be held through video conferencing for the first time as there is lockdown across the country. As per the Budget, the government plans to borrow Rs 5.36 lakh crore from the market in 2020-21, higher than the Rs 4.99 lakh crore estimated for the current financial year.

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Covid-19: Major handicraft trade fair canceled

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) on Sunday said it has cancelled the 49th edition of IHGF – Delhi Fair Spring-2020 in view of present status of COVID-19 in India and abroad. The fair, which was earlier to be held from April 15 – 19, was planned to be postponed to June or July.

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Technew

More than 100 YouTubers appear in a video message encouraging people to stay at home.

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Coronavirus: YouTube stars urge fans to stay at home

More than 100 YouTubers appear in a video message encouraging people to stay at home.

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Covid effect: Govt may ease resolution rules for insolvent firms

Sitharaman recently said that if the disruption caused by coronavirus extends then it would suspend the use of the corporate insolvency resolution process for sometime. The finance minister had also increased the minimum amount of the default required to initiate the insolvency resolution and liquidation processes against companies from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

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Government approves insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19

"The medical insurance scheme would include sanitation staff, doctors, Asha workers, paramedics and nurses. These professionals are not considering their own health risks and have been attending to Coronavirus patients," FM announced at a presser.

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Industry wants government to make this financial year a 15-month one due to Coronavirus

Industry experts point out that for all the companies last one month has hugely impacted cash flows and that has resulted in their mark to market. Extension of the financial year may spread the bad period over more months and could help companies recover a bit say experts.

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Coronavirus: India urges FTA partners to temporarily allow imports without certificate of origin

India has urged the countries, with which it has free trade agreements (FTAs), to allow imports of goods without certificate of origin for the time being as the domestic authorities are currently not issuing the document on account of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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Labour Ministry allows EPF withdrawal amid lockdown

The decision is taken in view of lockdown across the country to fight COVID-19. The COVID-19 has been declared pandemic and therefore employees working in establishments and factories across entire India, who are members of the EPF Scheme, 1952 are eligible for the benefits of non-refundable advance.

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Tackling the inevitable: The need for new economic ideas in the time of coronavirus

Once the health emergency is addressed, the world will be left to deal with the inevitable economic threat. The global economy stands upon a mountain of debt in a time when economic growth is nowhere in sight to service them. Innovative solutions will be required to extricate the world out of the crisis.

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