Delhi

Bengaluru, Mar 28 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Saturday said that the state run Indira Canteens would provide food packets free of cost to the poor and needy in the wake of the lockdown, the government said here on Saturday.

The canteens would operate in three schedules -from 7:30 AM to 10 AM, 12:30 PM to 3 PM and 7:30 PM to 9 PM, the government said in a public announcement

New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday said the city government has started distributing ration for the next month in the wake of the 21-day lockdown.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced last week that those receiving ration from fair-price shops would get 50 per cent extra for the next month.

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the Delhi government has provided masks and hand sanitisers to the staff of public transport buses that are serving as the lifeline of the city during the lockdown by transporting people associated with essential services.

Delhi's Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday said the drivers, conductors and marshals in all the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses were provided with masks and hand sanitisers.

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Moody's Investors Service on Friday slashed its estimate of India's GDP growth during 2020 calendar year to 2.5 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 5.3 per cent and said the coronavirus pandemic will cause unprecedented shock to the global economy.

The estimate for 2020 compares to 5 per cent economic growth in 2019.

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) The Muslim clerics have appealed to people to pray at home and practice social distancing in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Shahi Imams of the two biggest mosques in Delhi -- Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid -- said the people are gradually coming to grips with the alarming situation.

Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI) The RBI on Friday put on hold EMI payments on all term loans for three months and cut interest rate by steepest in more than 11 years as it joined the government effort to rescue a slowing economy that has now got caught in coronavirus whirlwind.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ensure welfare and safety of around 300 Indian students stranded at Almaty Airport in Kazakhstan for the past 2-3 days without food and medical aid due to coronavirus pandemic.

A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, asked the authorities to expeditiously provide the students basic amenities and assistance with regard to food, medical care, lodging and transportation.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Amid coronavirus outbreak, the government on Wednesday banned export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine with immediate effect to ensure sufficient availability of the medicine in the domestic market.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava had on Monday recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) The updating of the National Population Register (NPR) and the first phase of the Census 2021 have been postponed due to the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said on Wednesday.

Both the exercises were supposed to be carried out from April 1 to September 30.