Breaking news on March 29

More than 100 packets containing essential edible items were distributed in different parts of Amethi on Sunday.

The packets were sent by local MP Smriti Irani, who is also the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, and distributed among the needy people while also respecting the social distancing norms.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it has reached the congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B cap for the fiscal year 2021 as it received enough requests from corporations and businesses.

The Finance Ministry and RBI will hold a meeting on Tuesday to decide on government's borrowing plan for the first half of 2020-21 amid the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Indian Railways has decided to run special parcel van trains to keep up uninterrupted flow of essential commodities in the country during the ongoing lockdown to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, officials said on Sunday.

A Mathura Police Sub-Inspector was suspended on Sunday for skipping his lockdown duty for a non-urgent investigation, the city police chief said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said all migrant workers coming to Uttar Pradesh and those already in the state are his government's responsibility in this hour of crisis and they will be taken care of.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Bhagwat Karad on Sunday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him to waive fixed demand charges included in electricity bills for industrial and commercial users as these establishments are closed due to the lockdown for the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Cargo flights will be used exclusively for transporting medical equipment and emergency goods, besides other essential items to the northeastern states, in the wake of the countrywide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to amend rules for the utilisation of Finance Commission grants to enable Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions to spend them to fight coronavirus spread at the grassroots level.

 A history-sheeter was booked by Ambazari police in Nagpur for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman for the past three years, an official said on Sunday.

The national capital recorded an increase in temperature on Sunday, while its air quality remained in the 'satisfactory' category. The city recorded a minimum of 16.6 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 30.6 degrees Celsius.

A special police officer was killed and his colleague injured on Sunday when a private car they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

For the second time in two days, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to ensure vehciles carrying essential commodities to the state were not blocked at the borders by neighbouring Karnataka during the national lockdown to check spread of coronavirus.

The Yogi Adityanath government has directed the UP-State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) not to charge bus fares from stranded passengers who are being ferried to their destinations.

Banks will open across Punjab on March 30 and 31 to facilitate people in their financial transactions amid the curfew restrictions, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Sunday.

A leader of Janata Dal (Secular), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, on Sunday requested the government to deploy defence personnel
along with vehicles to evacuate stranded persons from the cities to their villages.

ZappFresh, which sells fresh meat, poultry and seafood through its e-commerce platform, has resumed operations in Delhi-NCR after a temporary shutdown last week due to operational hurdles in the wake of the lockdown.

Frustrated at not being able to get liquor due to the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, two men ended their lives in different parts of Kerala, police said on Sunday.

128 Railway hospitals, 586 dispensaries across the country now open to all central govt employees.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday discussed global oil market developments and sourcing LPG with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies in the world's third-largest energy consumer.

Five people were killed and seven more injured after being hit by a truck in Bilaspur area of Gurgaon in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

The Railway ministry will donate Rs 151 crore to PM-CARES fund to help in combating the coronavirus threat, Union minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday. "Following PM's call, I, Suresh Angadi, will donate one month's salary, 13 lakh railway, PSU employees will donate one day's salary, equal to Rs 151 crore to PM-CARES fund," Goyal, who is the Railway minister, tweeted.

The Union government has set up a public charitable trust under the name of Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of the trust and its members include Defence minister, Home minister and Finance Minister.

Airport Authority of India issued a statement: "Our employees have raised Rs 20 crore as an initial contribution to the #PMCARES fund to fight the menace of COVID-19."

National Conference released a statement: "Party President and MP Dr. Farooq Abdullah today released an additional amount of Rs 1.5 crore to Srinagar based hospitals. The amount is to be equally distributed among three hospitals."

Indian Air Force is engaged in supporting availability of critical medical supplies to tackle spread COVID-19. All transport aircraft including C-17, C-130 Super Hercules, AN-32 and Dornier being used to supply medical equipment as per requirements of ICMR and other agencies

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) writes to States for ensuring the availability and distribution of masks, gloves, and sanitizers. NPPA chairman Shubhra Singh has written to Health Secretaries & Chief Secretaries of all States.

Indian Oil corporation issued a statement: "We assure all our Indane customers that there is currently no shortage of LPG, and domestic cylinders are being supplied as per usual."

FIR to be registered against Managing Director of a company for hiding his travel history. 13 people from his company had tested positive for Coronavirus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation through his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', at 11 AM today. The episode will be focused on the situation prevailing due to COVID-19.