Breaking news on March 31

A 19-year-old Indian-origin man was jailed on Tuesday for firearms offences following a proactive operation by officers from Scotland Yard’s North West Command Unit, during which they found a set of guns in his home in London.

The Pakistan Army shelled forwards areas along the Line Of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a defence spokesperson said.

India and China would formally kick off their much- planned celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on Wednesday, amid the prevailing grim situation in both countries due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

BJP vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has launched a portal to connect help providers with migrant labourers and daily wagers during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, and the initiative has been able to facilitate 2,700 people over the past three days.

Two friends were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly hatching a plot to set fire to a state-run bus and an ATM centre of a private bank as they feared their community would be expelled from the country after implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, police said.

The biggest ever consolidation exercise in the public sector banking space is slated to take shape on Wednesday when six PSU lender will be merged into four in a bid to make them globally competitive.

State-run Indian Bank, which is merging Allahabad Bank with itself from April 1, on Tuesday assured customers of both lenders that they will not face any disruption in services.

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra on Tuesday said Nageswara Rao Y has joined as its executive director.

GCMMF, which sells dairy products under the Amul brand, expects demand for its milk to decline by 10-12 per cent as hotels and restaurants have closed after the nationwide lockdown, while procurement of milk from farmers has increased by 15 per cent.

 A 25-year-old man was arrested from southeast Delhi's Badarpur area for allegedly posing as an officer of the Border Security Force (BSF), police said on Tuesday.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited recorded a turnover of over Rs 21,100 crore (provisional and unaudited) for the financial year ended on March 31, 2020, up from the previous years figure of Rs19,705 crore.

Anupama V Nadella, wife of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, has donated Rs 2 crore to The PM Cares Fund, her family sources said on Tuesday.

The government has extended the tenure of RBI Deputy Governor B P Kanungo by a year.

The central government has re-appointed B P Kanungo as Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, for a further period of one year with effect from April 3, 2020, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, upon completion of his existing term on April 2, 2020, the RBI said in a release.

Natural gas prices on Tuesday were cut by a steep 26 per cent to its lowest rate since the pricing was made formula-driven in 2014, a move that is likely to translate into lower CNG and piped cooking gas prices but also make a huge dent in revenues of producers such as ONGC.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to procure 10 lakh litres of milk per day at Rs 25 per litre. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the collection of milk will begin in four to five days and will continue for two months.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday said the state government will ensure that no migrant worker or any other poor person starves amid the lockdown on account of coronavirus.

A total of 50 hotels have been designated as pay-and-use quarantine facilities by the civic bodies in major Odisha cities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Tuesday.

Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad has been appointed guardian minister of Solapur district in place of Labour Minister Dilip Walse Patil.

Awhad is NCP MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa in Thane district.

An overcrowded jeep drove off the highway and plunged into gorge in Nepal on Tuesday, injuring 30 people.

The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for bidding to buy its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the country's second-biggest oil refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), by over a month to June 13.

Sensex surges 1,028.17 pts to end at 29,468.49; Nifty jumps 316.65 pts to 8,597.75.

The Rajasthan government on Tuesday appealed to people to not gather girls on Ashtami and Ram Navmi festival in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

With Indian banks now showing signs of weak financial health, urgent steps are needed to prepare a roadmap for sustainable reforms, Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, said in a paper.

SC asks Center to set up committee of experts and portal for information on COVID-19 

SC hears a petition filed by lawyer, AA Srivastava, seeking directions to provide food & shelter to migrant workers amid Coronavirus lockdown. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells SC that there was the complete prohibition on interstate migration.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells SC said: "We are considering providing counseling to address the panic. Over 22 lakh 88 thousand people being provided food. These are needy persons, migrants and daily wagers. They have been kept in shelters."

Andhra Pradesh Government has appointed Dr K Srinath Reddy as Advisor to the government on public health. He is the former head of the department of cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Minister Piyush Goyal said: "Despite many challenges, India has been a dependable and affordable source of efficacious and high quality medical and pharma products to nearly 190 countries around the world."

A high-level meeting is underway at the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal over the issues of Coronavirus and Markaz building, Nizamuddin. Deputy CM Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other officials are present at the meeting.

S Chaudhary, MD, Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Pvt Ltd said: "We've made efforts to sanitise the entire system from cow to consumer. Currently, we are supplying 30 lakh litres of milk every day. At our plants, employees are checked for their temperature and made to use sanitisers,gloves and masks."

Narendra Bhooshan, the CEO of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) has been appointed the Officer In-charge for Gautam Budh Nagar for the efforts with regard to COVID-19 pandemic

Sensex up by 573.28 points, currently at 29,013.60​. Nifty up by 164.70 points, currently at 8,445.80​

The designated laboratory for COVID-19 in Andaman & Nicobar, RMRC-ICMR, Dollygunj has tested 33 suspected cases on March 29, out of which only 1 was found positive. The total number of cases found positive is 10 out of 99 samples tested till date.

US is renewing 4 nuclear restrictions on Iran for an additional 60 days.We’ll closely monitor developments in Iran’s nuclear program&can adjust these restrictions at any time. As Pres Trump said,Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, says Morgan Ortagus,US State Dept Spox

13 Kashmiris who are stuck in Guwahati due Coronavirus Lockdown were given food materials by Police. Shaukat says, "we were in Guwahati for an expo which ended on March 21. We have been given ration by Assam Police as we are stuck. I am thankful to Police for helping us."

Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) has seized 12,000 fake N95 masks; further investigation underway.