New Delhi, Mar 25: The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India rose to 562, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.
This includes 512 active cases, while 40 infected people have already been cured or discharged.
The Union Health Ministry said that total deaths due to the disease now stand at 9, as the second death reported in Delhi is COVID-19 negative. One patient has also migrated due to the infection.
The Central government has taken several steps to contain the rapid spread of the virus including the screening 15,24,266 passengers at the airports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi said that it is vital to break the chain of the disease and experts have said that at least 21 days are needed for it.
The Prime Minister, who had also addressed the nation last week, said the lockdown has drawn a "Lakshman Rekha" in every home and people should stay indoors for their own protection and for that of their families.
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512 active coronavirus cases in India: Union health Ministry
News Network
March 25, 2020
Govt may ease rules to help companies boost overseas borrowings
News Network
January 21,2020
Jan 21: Indian policymakers may make it easier for companies to tap foreign funding, as a prolonged cash squeeze makes it tough for firms to borrow at home.
Investors are speculating about potential steps Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could unveil when she presents the nation’s budget on Feb. 1. These measures may include freeing up firms to borrow at higher rates and offering tax breaks to global funds.
“The government will need to relax local rules to make it easier for Indian companies to raise debt overseas and tide over the funding crunch in the onshore market,” said Raj Kothari, London-based head of trading at Jay Capital Ltd. “At the same time, they need to ensure that the borrowers tapping offshore markets abide with stricter corporate governance so as to avoid further defaults.”
A prolonged crisis in India’s shadow bank sector and a pile of bad loans at traditional lenders is making it expensive for Indian companies, other than the best-rated firms, to access funding. The government has tried a series of measures to spur domestic credit, including providing so-called credit enhancement and allowing tiny firms to restructure debt.
Here are some steps Sitharaman may consider to spur foreign borrowing:
• She could raise the cap of 450 basis points above Libor, which limits overall foreign debt costs for Indian companies
• This could help lower-rated firms sell bonds abroad. Indian companies rated BBB currently borrow at more than 10%, about 3.8 percentage points more than their top-rated peers;
• Sitharaman could waive the withholding tax foreign investors need to pay on holdings of rupee-denominated debt sold by Indian companies abroad
• The waiver was offered between September 2018 to March 2019, but wasn’t extended as the highest global interest rates since the financial crisis deterred Indian borrowers. Since then, the three-month Libor has dropped by about 1 percentage point
• She could permit Indian property developers and housing finance lenders to sell overseas bonds for reasons beyond affordable housing projects
• New funding lines to the real estate sector, arguably ground zero of India’s economic slowdown, could help kickstart consumption and investment as the industry is the nation’s biggest job-creator.
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India's 2020 gold demand may hit 26-year low as prices rally: WGC
Agencies
July 30,2020
New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.
Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.
"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.
Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.
India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.
Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.
Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.
The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.
"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.
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Shashi Tharoor touched by Modi's Malayalam tweet
News Network
March 10,2020
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 10: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on monday thanked PM Narendra Modi for extending birthday wishes to him in malayalam.
"Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for this elaborate birthday greeting in shudh sahitya Malayalam! Am touched by your thoughtfulness," Tharoor tweeted with a picture of the letter from Modi.
Thank you @narendramodi & @PMOIndia for this elaborate birthday greeting in shudh sahitya Malayalam! Am touched by your thoughtfulness. pic.twitter.com/UJX7D0092L
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 9, 2020
In another tweet, the Congress MP also posted its translation, that reads,
Thank you @narendramodi & @PMOIndia for this elaborate birthday greeting in shudh sahitya Malayalam! Am touched by your thoughtfulness. pic.twitter.com/UJX7D0092L
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 9, 2020
Tharoor, who is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, turned 64 on march 9.
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Is he next Scindia waiting to board the BJP ship?
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