1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will set up Rs 1 lakh crore fund for post-harvest farm-gate infrastructure, a fund of Rs 20,000 crore for marine and inland fisheries development, Rs 15,000 crore for animal husbandry infrastructure and Rs 10,000 crore for micro food enterprises. The allocation is part of the Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic relief package to prop up the ailing economy.
  2. Mizoram has extended the lockdown to tackle the coronavirus crisis till May 31. Tamil Nadu, which has recorded over 10,000 infections, will reopen liquor outlets on Saturday, as the Supreme Court stayed the Madras High Court order of May 8 to close all outlets.
  3. The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 81,970 on Friday morning and the toll went up to 2,649. The country recorded 3,967 cases and 100 deaths in the last 24 hours.
  4. The Supreme Court dismissed a petition asking that the Centre be ordered to provide food and water to migrants walking back home. “It is impossible for this court to monitor who is walking and not walking,” the bench said.
  5. The lockdown in Mumbai, Pune and some other cities in Maharashtra will be extended till May 31 amid a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases, state Industry Minister Subhash Desai said. 
  6. The World Bank announced a social protection package worth $1 billion to support India’s efforts to provide social assistance to the poor and most vulnerable households.
  7. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday held a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that India could play a key role in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. 
  8. Hundreds of migrant workers staged a protest in Sendhwa town on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, demanding food and transport arrangements to go back home. The migrants also threw stones at the police. 
  9. The Haryana government gave an undertaking in the Delhi High Court that it will allow movement of people engaged in essential services, including frontline health workers, between the state and Delhi. The state government’s assurance came after the court asked it to remove the travel restrictions imposed on its border amid the nationwide lockdown.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 44.40 lakh people and claimed 3.02 lakh lives, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.