Breaking news on April 03

National carrier Air India has stopped bookings for domestic and international flights till April 30 as it awaits a decision from the government on the lockdown that ends on April 14, according to a spokesperson.

The Northern Railway on Friday converted 83 wagons into isolations wards for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, taking the total number of isolation coaches to 174.

SpiceJet on Friday said it has worked out deferral arrangements with financial institutions for its foreign exchange facility.

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd will raise up to Rs 7,500 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis, the company said on Friday.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to break the chain of the deadly coronavirus has also helped in bringing down the crime graph in the national capital.

The Bombay High Court refused to hear a bail application on Friday, saying it can not expect police officials who are engaged in enforcing lockdown for
containing coronavirus to travel to court for such hearings.

The rupee settled 53 paise lower at 76.13 against the US dollar on Friday amid a significant rise in coronavirus cases in the country and weak domestic equities.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday said it has made arrangements for food and water for truckers at its toll plazas as truck drivers got stranded at various places due to the sudden lockdown to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

The Aditya Birla Group on Friday committed Rs 500 crore towards Covid-19 relief measures, of which Rs 400 crore will go to the PM-CARES Fund.

Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday announced that it is temporarily extending the validity of airworthiness review certificate (ARC) of all aircraft, which are permitted to operate during the 21-day lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus, till July 3.

Mobile tower companies have requested the Department of Telecom (DoT) to expand scope of their permit to support upgradation and expansion of networks due to rise in data consumption.

Mumbai court denies interim bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor.

China will launch the first two communications satellites for its space-based Internet-of-Things project this month with one of them named after its birthplace Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus, officials said on Friday.

Logistics services provider Blue Dart Express on Friday said it is exploring international charter services to support "critical" government requirement for cargo transportation and has deployed its 757 Boeing freighters to ship medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and other essentials across the country in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Amid the nationwide lockdown, the Army's Dagger Warriors reached out to a five-year-old girl with severe burn injuries on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector and provided her timely treatment, officials said.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the world's largest radio telescope, has temporarily closed operations due to the spread of COVID-19 in Chile, the observatory said in an announced.

Non-life insurers are surprised to see a drastic reduction in reporting of emergency admissions/operations and related claims and wonder whether the people have turned healthy during the lockdown or a silent 'health' bomb is ticking.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Friday warned of tightening the prohibitory orders in place in the state to implement the lockdown to battle coronavirus, saying people were yet to realise the seriousness of the contagion.

A police team was attacked in Kannauj district of uttar Pradesh on Friday afternoon when they tried to stop a family from offering 'namaaz' collectively.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised the trading hours for various markets to minimise the risks and to ensure that market participants maintain adequate checks and supervisory controls while optimising thin resources and ensuring the safety of personnel.

The trading hours for various markets have been revised from 10 am to 2 pm.
  

Sensex slumps 674.36 pts to end at 27,590.95; Nifty drops 170 pts to 8,083.80.

The Finance Ministry on Friday appealed to the women Jan Dhan (PMJDY) account holders to follow the schedule announced by IBA for withdrawal of ex-gratia amount, and avoid rush at bank branches, in a bid to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus.

BJP president J P Nadda asked party workers on Friday to spread among the masses Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to light lamps or turn on mobile phone torches on Sunday.

Robots have been deployed at Chennai's Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital to serve food and medicines to COVID-19 positive or possibly infected persons.

Greater Chennai Corporation building and premises being sanitised by a team of Tamil Nadu Fire Services

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan interacted with staff of Delhi's Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. He said,"The country will always be proud of your contributions & sacrifices, and will always remember it".

A meeting of Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 underway at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other Ministers also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meeting with 40 top sportspersons, including Sachin Tendulkar, PV Sindhu and Hima Das, via video conferencing today, on COVID19 situation in the country.

Delhi Police has lodged 21 FIRs at different police stations across Dwarka District against the persons who violated COVID-19 home quarantine norms/conditions. The violators are being booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath interacts with pensioners from different parts of the state. UP government is disbursing advance monthly pensions to senior citizens, widows and differently-abled, amid the Coronavirus Lockdown.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares a video message with the nation over coronavirus crisis in India.

The US government on Thursday said that the overturning of convictions for Daniel Pearl's murder is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere.

Central Crime Branch (CCB) Bengaluru yesterday arrested two accused over charges of illegal possession of liquor and seized liquor bottles worth Rs. 1.25 lakhs.

In a significant development related to the COVID19 diagnosis, now laboratories under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) can also conduct the testing to detect the virus, as approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research on Thursday.