15th March

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union
• 1985 The world's first internet domain name is registered
• 1917 The last emperor of Russia abdicates

NATIONAL

• India declares Covid-19 a ‘Notified Disaster’. This would enable it to provide assistance and spend more funds to fight the pandemic. The Centre has also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to families of those who die of coronavirus.

INTERNATIONAL

• Apple to close all its stores outside China. Apple is closing all of its stores outside China until March 27 in a bid to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, CEO Tim Cook said and the firm had learned from steps taken in China, where the company has just reopened its retail stores.
• Putin approves law that could keep him in power until 2036. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on constitutional changes that could keep him in power for another 16 years, a step that must still be approved in a nationwide vote. It must be approved by the country's Constitutional Court and in a referendum set for April 22.
• Saudi Arabia extends travel ban to European Union and 12 nations including India. The government will also be suspending the entry to those coming from the aforementioned countries and entry to those who were in those countries within a time period of 14 days.
• Resolution passed to rename Aurangabad airport and Mumbai Central station. The Assembly on Friday passed a resolution to the Centre that the Aurangabad airport in Marathwada be renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport and to rename Mumbai Central railway station after the philanthropist Nana Shankarsheth, 

ECONOMY

• GST on mobile phones hiked to 18%. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the decision was taken not to increase the prices but to correct the inverted structure of duty on some products wherein the rate of tax paid on inputs purchased is more than the rate of tax on finished products on outward supplies.
• Govt raises excise duty on petrol and diesel
• Excise duty on petrol and diesel has been hiked by ?3 per liter as the government looked to mop up gains arising from fall in international oil prices.
• Moratorium on Yes Bank to be lifted on March 18. The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the reconstruction scheme for the bank as proposed by RBI, under which SBI will acquire a 49% stake in the ailing bank and current administrator Prashant Kumar has been appointed Managing Director and CEO.

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Trial shows success in treating drug-resistant TB. A small trial (Nix-TB) undertaken at three sites in South Africa to test the safety and efficacy of three oral drugs — bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid in 109 patients showed a treatment success rate of 90%.

SPORTS

• 2020 London Marathon postponed. This year’s London Marathon, which was supposed to take place on April 24, has been postponed to October 4 due to the global outbreak of coronavirus.