31 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1999 The film The Matrix is released
• 1985 The first edition of WrestleMania is held in New York
• 1889 The Eiffel Tower is opened

NATIONAL

• Delhi government to promote students till class 8 without exams. In a joint digital press conference with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia said the students of government schools will be promoted under the 'no detention policy'.

INTERNATIONAL

• Johnson and Johnson expects human trial of its Covid-19 vaccine by September. Through a partnership, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Johnson & Johnson together have committed more than $1 billion of investment to co-fund vaccine research

ECONOMY 

• Govt extends implementation of uniform stamp duty for capital market instruments to July 1. The finance ministry also clarified that there is no change in the financial year. "There is no extension of the Financial Year," said a finance ministry statement, clarifying that the notification issued by the department of revenue pertained to amendments in the Indian Stamp Act.
• RBI extends timings for daily reverse repo, MSF window for one month. After the revision, the operations can be conducted by participants throughout the day rather than the earlier focus on making the window open after the banking hours in the evening.
• China unexpectedly cuts reverse repo rate by most in 5 yrs to support virus-hit economy. The country has so far reported 3,304 deaths from 81,470 infections. Ma Jun, a central bank adviser told state media that China still has ample room for monetary policy adjustment.

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29 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 2004 Ireland becomes the first country to ban smoking in all workplaces
• 2010 Two Chechen suicide bombers detonate their devices in the Moscow underground
• 1912 Robert Scott makes his final diary entry

NATIONAL

• Maruti teams up with AgVa to scale up ventilator production. The company would work with AgVa Healthcare to rapidly scale up production of ventilators with intention of reaching a volume of 10,000 units per month.
• Indian Railways to give full refund for all tickets for journey period from 21st March - 14th April 2020. This is due to the cancellation of trains and ticket booking facility till 14th April 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19. The procedure for grant of refund shall be applicable on Counter booked PRS Tickets and E-tickets
• Period from 22 March to 14 April shall be treated under “Force Majeure”, Indian Railways. During this period no demurrage, wharfage, stacking, stabling, detention, and ground usage charge shall be leviable. Zonal Railways have been advised to coordinate with State Government authorities to ensure logistics support in order to keep up the essential goods transportation. 

INTERNATIONAL

• Alphabet to donate $800 mn in response to coronavirus outbreak. The company will provide $340 million in Google ad credits to small and medium businesses active on its platform and $250 million in ad grants.
• Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine opens for clinical trial on humans. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford, is based on an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Researchers have started screening healthy volunteers (aged 18-55) for their upcoming trial in England’s Thames Valley.
• Covid-19 impact, Moody's cuts South Africa's credit rating to junk status. The key driver behind the rating downgrade to Ba1 is the continuing deterioration in fiscal strength and structurally very weak growth, Moody's said. 
• China to share coronavirus data with US, Donald Trump. Xi assured full support to Trump in fighting the coronavirus as America emerged as the next major epicentre of the pandemic, but underlined that infectious diseases did not recognize any border or race. 

ECONOMY

• Tata Sons commits ₹1000 crore to fight coronavirus. Tata Sons, the principal holding company of Tata Group, has announced funding over and above ₹500 crores which will be used for setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients, knowledge management and training of health workers and the general public.
• RBI permits Indian banks operating IBUs to participate in NDF market. Banks may participate through their branches in India, their foreign branches or through their IBUs from June 1. NDF markets enable trading of the non-convertible currency, like a rupee, outside the influence of the domestic authorities.

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28 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1990 Jesse Owens receives the Congressional Gold Medal
• 1969 Greek poet Giorgos Seferis speaks out against the military junta
• 1963 Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds is released

NATIONAL

• Defaulters must settle dues within 15 days under Vivaad Se Vishwas scheme. India’s direct taxes body has clarified that defaulters need to settle their tax dues within 15 days from the time the disputed amount is mutually agreed upon, under its dispute settlement mechanism that has now been extended till June 30.
• Hydroxychloroquine now a schedule H1 drug. The sale of the drug from now on should be in accordance with the conditions for the sale of drugs specified in Schedule H1 to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
• Gujarat launches coronavirus app to track home-quarantined persons. Apart from GIS mapping, the app is equipped with 'Geo Fencing' to alert the authorities if the person moves away from a specific area. It will help us track the movements of around 20,000 persons who are under home quarantine.
• Robot to serve coronavirus patients in SMS hospital. A private firm has provided the robot to the SMS Hospital on a voluntary basis to provide food and medicines to the Covid-19 patients and to help the nursing staff and doctors to maintain distance from the patients.

INTERNATIONAL

• Italy records almost 1,000 virus deaths in one-day record. The infection rate, however, continued its downward trend, with the civil protection agency reporting nearly 86,500 confirmed cases in Italy, a 7.4 percent increase, down from around 8.0 percent in previous days.
• 300 Iranians dead after drinking industrial alcohol to cure coronavirus based on social media forwards. Iranian media reports more than 1,000 sickened so far by ingesting methanol across the Islamic Republic, where drinking alcohol is banned and where those who do rely on bootleggers.

ECONOMY

• Reliance to sell some April-loading crude cargoes in a rare move. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance has offered various grades of Middle East crude for sale in Asia's spot market, including grades such as Abu Dhabi's Murban crude and Qatar's al-Shaheen crude.
• Moody's slashes India GDP growth in 2020 to 2.5%. Moody’s Investors Service sharply cut India’s growth forecast for calendar 2020 to 2.5% from 5.3% estimated barely 10 days ago after the government ordered a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
• India’s forex reserves fall by a whopping $12 billion. The rupee hit an all-time low of Rs 76.15 against the US dollar on March 23 as foreign investors continued to withdraw money from domestic equity and debt market amid uncertainties due to the fast-spreading coronavirus.
• RBI reduces repo rates by 75 bps to 4.4%. The central bank advanced its monetary policy committee meeting and voted for a sizable reduction for the policy rate, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in a press conference in Mumbai.

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27 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1998 Viagra is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• 1994 Silvio Berlusconi rises to power in Italy
• 1977 The worst air crash in history occurs in Tenerife, Spain

NATIONAL

• Supreme Court to hear urgent cases via video. SC would continue to hear cases of “extreme urgency” through videoconferencing during the lockdown, keeping in mind physical distancing norms. The lawyer can present cases via videoconferencing at an allotted time.
• Election Commission allows use of indelible ink for stamping ‘home quarantined’. The Election Commission has allowed usage by health authorities for stamping ‘home quarantined’ on the hands of those suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, easing its policy of using the ink only for voting purposes.
• Finance Minister announces Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. Sitharaman announced, these measures are intended at reaching out to the poorest of the poor, with food and money in hands, so that they do not face difficulties in buying essential supplies and meeting essential needs.

ECONOMY

• Grievance redressal cell set up to resolve problems of food processing industry during COVID-19 lockdown. Smt.HarsimratKaur Badal said, that industry members facing any problem in operations and distribution of food products could send their queries to covidgrievance-mofpi@gov.in.
• Government to pay employer, employee’s PF contribution for 3 months. The government will pay the (EPF) contribution, 12% each for the next three months. The move will benefit over 4.8 crore employees in the organized sector.
• Call 1906 for LPG emergency, says IOC. The Indian Oil Corporation has rearranged its refining operations in keeping with the market situation and the refining operations would move in tandem with the withdrawal of the lockdown. All arrangements are in place to meet any rise in demand for LPG.
• US jobless claims hit 3.3 million, quadruple previous record. Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week - more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 - amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

INTERNATIONAL

• U.S. Senate unanimously passes $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. The U.S. Senate passed an unparalleled economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. 
• US Senate offers $58 bn aid to airlines as they struggle to stay afloat. The US Senate offered struggling airlines unprecedented aid that will help cover their staff wages, as carriers around the world seek state support and turn passenger planes into cargo liners in their desperate bid for revenues.

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26 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 2000 Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia
• 1995 The Schengen Agreement enters into force
• 1979 The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty is signed

NATIONAL

• British national given HIV antiretroviral drugs to treat COVID-19 now tests negative. The patient, who had earlier tested positive for COVID-19, responded well to the drugs combination of Ritonavir and Lopinavir, and his latest test results showed he has recovered, doctors at the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital, Kerala said.
• Cabinet nod for supply of extra subsidised foodgrains via ration shops. To ensure sufficient supply during the lockdown, the government has decided to increase the monthly quota of subsidized foodgrains by 2 kg to 7kg per person through ration shops for 80 crores beneficiaries.
• Panchayat Raj Bill passed. The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was passed in the Legislative Assembly, which aims to reduce the tenure of presidents and vice-presidents of gram, taluk, and Zilla panchayats from five years to 30 months.

INTERNATIONAL

• Spain’s COVID-19 toll surpasses that of China. Spain's death toll overtook that of China, rising to 3,434 after 738 people died over the past 24 hours. COVID-19 epidemic has now infected 47,610 people, the health ministry said.
• U.S. Senate, White House agree on $2 trillion Coronavirus rescue plan. The leaders of both parties announced an agreement on unprecedented emergency legislation to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the pandemic and would give direct payments to most Americans and expand unemployment benefits.
• Pakistan bans domestic passenger flights due to COVID-19. Pakistan has banned all domestic passenger flights to stop the spread of the COVID-19 after reporting nearly 1,000 cases in the country, just as Libya became the latest at-risk Mideast nation to report its first infection.

ECONOMY

• CCEA approves recapitalisation of RRBs. The government has approved capital infusion to the tune of Rs 1,340 crore for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). The Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar said that the recapitalization of RRBs will improve their Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio.

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25th March

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1995 WikiWikiWeb, the world's first wiki, is launched
• 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is assassinated by his nephew
• 1957 6 countries found the European Economic Community

NATIONAL

• India to be under complete lockdown for 21 days starting midnight, PM Modi. PM Modi explained that it was the only way of breaking the Covid-19 infection cycle. All other lockdown conditions, such as the availability of essential commodities, remain the same.
• Government expenditure system declared as essential service. Department of Expenditure said that the absence of staff should not be a reason for any delay or non-functioning of the payment and accounting systems, thereby ordering all offices connected with the payment functions to remain open on working hours.
• FM's key announcements to support the economy amid COVID-19. The government deferred deadlines for filing tax returns, extended a tax amnesty program and unveiled other relief steps while promising more measures to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.. Govt bans export of sanitizers, face masks with immediate effect
• This decision was taken as amid the coronavirus outbreak people resorted to panic buying in the market. The DGFT has also banned exports of all types of ventilators, including any artificial respiratory apparatus or oxygen therapy apparatus or any other breathing appliance or device.
• Karnataka government makes U-turn, no free food at Indira Canteen. Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said all Indira canteens will remain closed during the COVID-19 lockdown period to avoid gathering of a large number of people to avoid the rush near the canteen as it may lead to problems.

INTERNATIONAL

• Amazon teams up with Bill Gates-backed research group to deliver COVID-19 test kits. The Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network, a group of medical, public health and research organizations, is collecting nasal swabs from a sample of people across King County and Seattle to learn how the infection is spreading in the areas.

ECONOMY

• Facebook, Instagram reduce video quality to deal with internet overload. To deal with this load on internet infrastructure and to conserve bandwidth, Facebook has announced that they will be reducing bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in India, Europe, and Latin America over this peak period.

SPORTS

• Olympics postponed, to be held latest by 2021 summer. The Games were scheduled for July 24-August 9, but after discussions between IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint decision was taken for the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime.

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24 MARCH

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1999 For the first time in its history, NATO attacks a sovereign country
• 1965 Millions watch NASA spacecraft Ranger 9 crash into the Moon
• 1882 Robert Koch discovers the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis

NATIONAL

• Reliance sets up India’s first dedicated COVID-19 hospital. The company is enhancing its production capacities to produce 1,00,000 face-masks per day and a large number of personal protective equipment.
• AIIMS to shut down OPD from March 24 till further notice: Order. AIIMS had issued a circular postponing all non-essential elective procedures and surgeries and directed for only emergency life-saving surgeries with effect from March 21.
• Domestic flights to be suspended as India strengthens coronavirus lockdown
• Airlines will have to land domestic passenger flights at destinations by 11.59 pm on Tuesday, said a spokesperson for the aviation ministry on Monday, adding that the restrictions would not apply to cargo flights.
• Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill by voice vote without discussion. The Lok Sabha also adjourned sine die on Monday, earlier than scheduled in view of the coronavirus scare. Originally, it supposed to have been in session until 3 April.

INTERNATIONAL

• Lost sense of smell may be peculiar clue to coronavirus infection. Several patients who have had symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, but who have not been tested or are still awaiting test results, described losing their senses of smell and taste, even though their noses were clear and they were not congested. 

ECONOMY

• Govt amends law to get powers to raise excise duty on petrol, diesel by Rs 8/L in future. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved an amendment to the Finance Bill, 2020, to raise the limit up to which the government can raise special excise duty on petrol and diesel to Rs 18 per litre and Rs 12, respectively.
• Sensex hits lower circuit limit, halts trading for 45 minutes. BSE flagship plunged 2991.85 points, or 10 per cent, at 26,924.11 levels. The Nifty fell below the 8,000-mark, down 834.10 points, or 9.54 per cent. 
• Coronavirus: Axis Bank announces Rs 100 cr fund to fight pandemic. Private lender Axis Bank on Monday said it will set aside Rs. 100 crore to support its customers, employees, vendors and government agencies towards curbing the spread of coronavirus.
• RBI extends priority sector classification for bank loans to NBFCs. This is part of steps to provide support for financial sector entities by Reserve bank of India to deal with slowdown and aftermath of COVID-19