Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that the last date to file income tax declarations has been extended from March 31 to June 30, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The Centre also extended the last date to file GST returns for the month of March, April and May to June 30. Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has claimed 10 lives and infected 492 people in India as of Tuesday.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was released on Tuesday, after more than seven months in detention. Abdullah, along with Mufti and some other Kashmiri politicians have been in detention for over six months now since the Centre hollowed out Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 to abrogate the region’s special status, and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan unanimously won the confidence motion in the Assembly on Tuesday, a day after he took oath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister for the fourth time. Madhya Pradesh went through a political crisis last week after the resignation of at least 22 Congress MLAs led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath-led government.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rose to 10 in India on Tuesday after a 65-year-old man with a travel history to the United Arab Emirates died in Mumbai. As many as 492 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the country so far.
Covid-19: West Bengal, Odisha, UP extend lockdowns to entire state; Himachal Pradesh imposes curfew
The West Bengal government on Tuesday announced an extension of the lockdown in the state until March 31, in the light of the coronavirus epidemic, PTI reported. On Monday, the Trinamool Congress government had announced that parts of the state would be put under lockdown till March 27.
Covid-19: Arvind Kejriwal says no new cases in Delhi on Monday but ‘biggest challenge’ remains
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that no case of Covid-19 infection had been reported in the Capital on Monday. However, he warned residents that this was not something to celebrate since the challenge to stop the situation from getting out of control still remained.
Coronavirus: Community transmission is happening, need to scale up testing, say health experts
Two health experts on Tuesday said they believed that community transmission of Covid-19, the communicable disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was happening in India and more patients needed to be tested to ascertain this.
Sensex, Nifty rise over 2.5% as finance minister promises fiscal stimulus package
Indian share indices rose sharply on Tuesday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would be providing a fiscal stimulus package, Mint reported. The equity markets rose as much as 5% intra-day, but pared gains to finish between 2% and 3% higher.
COVID-19: Deadline for income tax returns for 2018-’19 extended to June 30, says Nirmala Sitharaman
The Union Finance Ministry on Tuesday extended the last date for filing Income Tax returns for the financial year 2018-’19 from March 31 to June 30, in light of the escalating coronavirus crisis in the country. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a video press briefing in the national Capital.
Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah released after over 7 months in detention
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday revoked the detention order of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act. The National Conference leader was released around 1.30 pm on Tuesday, after more than seven months in detention.
Coronavirus: Kashmiri students stranded in Bangladesh as India seals borders
A group of Kashmiri students in Bangladesh were left stranded near the country’s border with India, as the Centre sealed the borders and suspended all international airlines to contain the spread of the communicable coronavirus disease, Greater Kashmir reported on Tuesday.
In photos: India under lockdown as government tries to contain spread of coronavirus
Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has claimed 10 lives in India as of 2 pm on March 24. As many as 492 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the country so far. In an attempt to contain the virus’ spread, 36 states and Union Territories went into either complete or partial lockdown, with strict action taken against those violating curbs in some parts.
Coronavirus: After Air India, IndiGo claims its crew is being ostracised for travel history
Budget carrier IndiGo on Monday said many of its employees were facing a tough time in their respective hometowns for their “line of duty and travel history” amid the coronavirus outbreak, reported PTI.
Coronavirus: Hundreds booked across states for violating restrictions amid lockdown
Hundreds of people across states were booked on Monday for violating restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. Some were arrested while many were warned against continuing to violate the norms. However, people are allowed to visit markets to buy essential items such as medicine and grocery.
Covid-19: Kiren Rijiju says those attacking people from North East are ‘real enemy virus’
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday condemned the racial discrimination that people from the North East are facing because of the coronavirus outbreak and said people making such attacks are the “real enemy virus”. Rijiju’s comments come two days after a 25-year-old woman from Manipur was allegedly spat on by a man in North-West Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. He also yelled “corona” at her before fleeing.
Coronavirus: As 90,000 NRIs return, Punjab prepares for an ‘alarming rise’ in cases
Concerned that the return of nearly 90,000 non-resident Indians in a month will accelerate the spread of coronavirus in Punjab, the state government has asked the Centre to sanction Rs 150 crore to prepare for the outbreak, The Times of India reported on Monday.
Coronavirus: Election Commission defers Rajya Sabha elections
The Election Commission of India on Tuesday postponed the Rajya Sabha elections, which were scheduled for March 26 as the number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 492, the Hindustan Times reported.
Jharkhand Assembly passes resolution against NRC, NPR
The Jharkhand Assembly on Monday passed a resolution against the National Register of Citizens and said that the National Population Register exercise should be carried out using the 2010 format, PTI reported.
Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah to be released today after over 7 months in detention
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday revoked the detention order of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act. The National Conference leader will be released after spending more than seven months in detention.
Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan wins trust vote unanimously as Congress MLAs skip session
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who took oath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister for the fourth time on Monday, unanimously won the confidence motion in the Assembly, ANI reported on Tuesday. No Congress MLAs were present at the time of voting. MLAs from the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and independents voted in favour of the motion.
Amid Covid-19 crisis, India increases special excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 per litre
The government on Monday increased the limits on special excise duty by Rs 8 per litre on both petrol and diesel, taking the cap to Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 12 per litre on diesel. The decision was among the amendments to the Finance Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha without any discussion. The decision to pass the amendments without discussion was taken at an all-party meeting chaired by Speaker Om Birla.
Covid-19: Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest site cleared, Bengaluru’s ‘Bilal Bagh’ halts demonstration
The Delhi Police on Tuesday cleared protestors demonstrating against the amendments to the Citizenship Act from the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, amid an ongoing lockdown in the national Capital due to rising coronavirus cases in the country. The development came a day after similar protests in Mumbai and Lucknow were temporarily called off due to coronavirus.
Coronavirus: India must continue aggressive action, has tremendous capacity, says WHO
The World Health Organization on Monday said that India had tremendous capacity and had, in the past, helped the world in eliminating smallpox and polio. Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, urged India to be aggressive in its efforts to combat the virus.
Coronavirus: Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, Jamia anti-CAA protest sites cleared; India records 492 cases
India reported two more deaths on Monday – one in Himachal Pradesh and another in West Bengal – taking the toll from the Covid-19 outbreak to nine. As many as 492 people have been infected with the coronavirus so far. All domestic flights will be suspended from Wednesday, while trains and inter-state buses have already been cancelled. By Tuesday morning, as many as 34 states and Union Territories had imposed either partial or total lockdowns and curfews.
Coronavirus: 30 states, UTs under total lockdown as cases in India surge to 471; toll at nine
India on Monday intensified its efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, and announced a complete shutdown in 30 states and Union Territories, covering 548 districts. Four other states and Union Territories have imposed partial lockdowns.