Breaking news on March 24

Indian Revenue Service officers Satish Kumar Gupta and Krishan Mohan Prasad have been appointed new members in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a government order said on Tuesday.

The Union Home Ministry has issued strict guidelines for the enforcement of 21-day complete nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, invoking the National Disaster Management Act which may result in imprisonment of up to two years for any violation.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday welcomed the release of National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and demanded immediate release of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and other political detenues.

Ride-hailing major Ola on Tuesday said it is waiving lease rentals for driver-partners who operate vehicles owned by the company's subsidiary, Ola Fleet Technologies under its leasing programme.

A day after clamping curfew in Punjab to stem the Covid-19 spread, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced several measures to ease peoples' problems and to enable authorities manage the situation more effectively.

The national capital witnessed light rains on Tuesday, though the mercury continued its upward trend. The city recorded a minimum of 18.6 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal, the highest so far this season, the meteorological department said.

A 28-year-old man whose brother is a "gopniya sainik" (secret trooper) has been killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank, which has been snapping up greenbacks in the past two years, has also been lapping up US treasury bills and the holdings touched a record high in January.
 

Total 2319 curfew passes were issued today: Delhi Police

Market regulator Sebi has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on brokerage house Indira Securities for misusing clients' funds.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) announced on Tuesday that only those involved in providing essential services will be allowed to travel in its buses.

The government on Tuesday raised the threshold for invoking insolvency under the IBC to Rs 1 crore from the current Rs 1 lakh with a view to prevent triggering of such proceedings against small and medium enterprises that are facing currently the heat of coronavirus pandemic.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said he had a discussion with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles regarding cooperation on coronavirus pandemic.

AI-enabled curated marketplace of recruiters and employers, Hiringplug, on Tuesday said it has joined hands with KPMG and ANAROCK to fast track their hiring and helped cut down the time to hire to 14 days from about two months.

The Puducherry government is thinking of deploying the CRPF and India Reserve Battalion personnel here to help police ensure strict enforcement of the
curfew clamped last night to contain the COVID-19 spread, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said regulators and her ministry are monitoring developments and volatility in stock markets triggered by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Snapping its four-session losing run, the rupee on Tuesday gained 26 paise to settled at 75.94 (provisional) against the US dollar after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is working on an economic package to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday appointed 1985-batch IAS officer Iqbal Singh Bains as the new chief secretary of the state.

Mahindra Logistics (MLL), a part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, on Tuesday said it has appointed V S Parthasarathy as its non-executive director and Chairman of the board with effect from March 25.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Tuesday said he had written to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to declare a three-month moratorium on EMI, loan repayments, etc due to the lockdown in force to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday placed mining firm Vedanta Resources Ltd's rating under review for downgrade, saying the firm remains vulnerable to falling oil and metal prices as well as shrinking demand following the outbreak of coronavirus.

Online lending platform LoanTap on Tuesday said customers whose repayments were delayed during the Yes Bank's moratorium period will not be levied any charges.

The Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids for leasing out its two plots at Katra in Jammu and Kashmir with reserve price of over Rs 14 crore each.

2 CRPF personnel killed in incident of fratricide in Srinagar

Partly cloudy sky with light rain & thundershower expected in Delhi today as per India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast.

Spot gold markets in India remained shut on Tuesday due to lockdown in major states to prevent spreading of Covid-19, according to HDFC Securities.

Soon after his release from nearly eight months of detention, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday called for the release of all detained people within and outside Jammu and Kashmir and appealed for the restoration of high-speed mobile internet services.

Soon after his release from nearly eight months of detention, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday called for the release of all detained people within and outside Jammu and Kashmir and appealed for the restoration of high-speed mobile internet services.

Sensex ends 692.79 points higher at 26,674.03; Nifty rises 190.80 points to 7,801.05

The last date for March, April, May 2020 GST returns and Composition returns extended to June 30th, 2020.

IAS officer Iqbal Singh Bains has been appointed as the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary 

Delhi International Airport Limited: Runway 9/27 is closed since 23rd March due to lack of demand. Only two runways are operational at the airport from yesterday.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, the administrative body of Lord Balaji temple has conducted 'Kovil Alwar Tirumanjanam', a temple cleansing ritual ahead of festival of Ugadi tomorrow. 'Ugadi Asthanam', to be performed tomorrow in the presence of very few people.

BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan wins confidence motion unanimously in Madhya Pradesh assembly for his fourth term as Chief Minister. Not a single Congress MLA was present in the assembly at the time of voting. SP, BSP & independent MLAs voted in favour of the motion.

Central Reserve Police Force and CoBRA battalion has recovered and defused 64 landmines planted by naxals

Complete lockdown has been imposed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as a precaution against Coronavirus; Visuals from Srinagar

Maharashtra: Rush of transport vehicles and locals at Pune's Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market amid statewide curfew imposed by the state government.

255 persons were arrested till midnight yesterday for violating Restriction Order and prosecuted under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code in West Bengal. 

Sensex 778.31 points higher, at 26,759.55; Nifty 306 points up, at 7,916.55​

Out of the 113 passengers who were brought back on board Air Asia flight that landed in Chennai last night, 9 symptomatic passengers were referred to hospital, while the remaining 104 were taken to Air Force quarantine facility in Tambaram yesterday.

Delhi Police clears the protest site in Shaheen Bagh area, amid complete lockdown in the national capital, in wake of COVID-19

Deserted roads in Bharatpur, after Nepal government announced a nationwide lockdown from 6 AM today till 31st March, in the wake of Coronavirus Pandemic.

The budget session of Madhya Pradesh Assembly will commence from 24 to 27 March. 

People restrict their movement on roads as the entire state is under lockdown till 31st March; visuals from Ahmedabad. State borders have also been sealed.

People come out of their homes to buy essential goods in Amritsar, amid lockdown in the state. A buyer at a milk shop says,"Govt has taken the right step to control the spread of COVID-19. But govt must specify the time when shops selling essential goods will remain open"

96 FIRs were registered and 1995 vehicles were challaned in Noida for violating the lockdown and section 144 in the district, yesterday.

Strictly implementing social distancing measures like home quarantine will reduce overall expected number of cases by 62% & peak number of cases by 89%, thus 'flattening' the curve and providing more opportunities for interventions: Indian Council of Medical Research study

Inter-state borders of Delhi have been sealed by Police except for the movement of essential goods and services. Visuals from Delhi-Gurugram Expressway that has been barricaded to regulate the movement of people.