Startups face slump in sales for the first time amid lockdown

• Companies such as Nykaa and FabAlley & Indya had to shut their retail stores and offices amid the 21-day lockdown
• The near future remains uncertain because of the unpredictability around containing the outbreak

Rapid testing for coronavirus meets red tape

• IDSP officials said the objective of stringent protocol is to avoid indiscriminate testing as kits are in short supply
• IDSP has now identified six more govt labs that can test for covid-19 and these must register on the ICMR portal

PM Modi calls for solidarity in fight against covid-19’s rapid spread

• PM Modi asks Indians to switch off their lights tomorrow and hold up a candle or diya in symbolic act, even as the lockdown begins to hurt the economy
• In this darkness spread by the pandemic, we must continuously progress towards light and hope, says Modi

Firms find logistics a challenge to delivery of products

Even after workers return, it will be a mammoth task to educate them about hygiene practices

Mumbai developers offer unsold homes for quarantine

• But most of the inventories cannot be legally occupied without necessary services such as power and water
• The offer by the city’s builders is well-intentioned, but there might be practical hurdles to converting incomplete or unsold residential units into quarantine facilities

ADB slashes India’s FY21 growth forecast to 4%, Fitch pegs it at 2%

• India’s growth projection by ADB is more optimistic than most other forecasters
• While rating agency S&P pegged India’s growth for FY21 at 3.5%, ICRA Research so far has the bleakest estimate of 2%

Aditya Birla Group donates ₹400 crore to PM-CARES Fund for covid-19 relief

• The group to also spend ₹100 crore towards CSR initiative and for supply of N95 masks, personal protective equipments and ventilators
• Aditya Birla Group has already started production of one million triple layer surgical masks

Covid-19 cases inch closer to 3,000 with Delhi seeing big jump

• Total cases shoot up to 2,978, with 555 new ones recorded on Friday; death toll at 78
• Delhi records 93 new cases on Friday, taking the total number in the capital to 386

Rise in cases sparks sell-off but fall in VIX indicates fear ebbing

• This week, the volatility index has fallen 21.43%, indicating that fear is ebbing. It fell by 7.91% to 55.3 on Friday
• Investors remained concerned over the rise in infections across the world and the potential economic fallout, say experts

Coronavirus: Kerala gets rapid-PCR testing kits from Pune

• The state is now set to become the biggest testing centre for the virus in India
• Further, Kerala’s existing testing centre at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram said it can now test as many as 3,000 samples in 24 hours

Will honour all job offers, no salary cuts: Flipkart CEO tells over 8k employees

During quarterly townhall, Kalyan Krishnamurthy assured staff that the company remains committed to its employees, vendors and seller-partners

NSDL, CDSL raise FPI limits for listed stocks to respective sectoral caps

With this, FPI limit in some stocks has climbed up to 100%, market sources said

As covid-19 cases rise, Centre releases emergency funds for states

• Home ministry sanctions Rs11,092 crores to states
• Centre steps up measures to expedite treatment and containment of the virus across the country

Explained: Grid challenges to the Sunday night blackout plan

• During the 9-minute lights out on 5 April, about 10,000-12,000 MW of power demand is expected to vanish
• Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), the national load despatch centre doesn’t have adequate electricity storage mechanisms

Confirmed coronavirus cases in India cross 2,500-mark, death toll at 62

• According to the updated health ministry data, 478 additional coronavirus cases were reported today. Out of these, 75 fresh cases emerged in Tamil Nadu
• Globally, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has soared past one million and fatalities have topped 50,000

Virus sparks a highway war between Kerala, Karnataka

• As Kerala reports a spike in the number of cases, Karnataka shuts roads to patients from state
• The closure was fuelled by Kerala’s attempt to admit Covid-19 patients in cities of Karnataka

Rumble in urban India’s RWA jungle

• Post lockdown, some housing societies have clearly overreached. But there has also been great community spirit
• RWAs have come under the scanner for overreach and even exclusionary behaviour. But some are also coming together to provide food and rations for out-of-work part-timers

RBI amends timings for debt markets from 7 April

The new timings stand revised for all markets

Kashmiris stay inside as Valley becomes an emerging hotspot

• A 35,000-bed facility has been set up to manage the crisis if the virus gets into the community infection stage
• The coronavirus came into the state from three different sources

India records highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases as tally reaches 2,547

• As many as 647 positive coronavirus cases have been reported so far from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin, the Centre said
• Death toll climbs to 62, according to health ministry

Moody's places IndusInd Bank's issuer ratings on review for downgrade

• It said that the review for downgrade reflects the downside risks to asset quality amid the deteriorating macroenvironment and financial market volatility

Banks ensure smooth withdrawals under the Garib Kalyan scheme on Day 1

• A banker from Central bank of India said that queues were not that long, thanks to the staggered disbursal of loans
• Bankers said that two things worked in their favour and helped lessen the load at branches at a time when the direct benefit transfers (DBT) have started flowing in

India’s coronavirus curve steepens, cases could reach 10,000 in ten days

Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have witnessed the biggest daily surge in coronavirus cases

Finance ministry releases ₹17,287 crore to states to fight Covid-19 outbreak

This includes ₹6,195 crore on account of ‘revenue deficit grant’ under 15th Finance Commission recommendations for 14 states

Air India shuts bookings for domestic and international flights till 30 April

'We are awaiting a decision post 14 April,' the airline spokesperson said referring to the last day of 21-day nationwide lockdown

Holidays spoil the liquidity promise of mutual funds

• The redemption from liquid funds works on a T+1 basis
• Investors should note that liquid funds have a graded exit load for redemptions made within 7 days of purchase

Xiaomi launches first Redmi fitness band in China: Details here

• The new band has been launched in four colours, green, black, blue, and red
• Xiaomi has even managed to provide an 1.08-inch AMOLED colour display

Italy sees signs of hope despite 766 new coronavirus deaths and toll at 14,681

• The number of people who have been declared fully recovered has soared by 17% to 19,758 over the past 48 hours
• The situation in some of Italy's worst-hit regions also appears to be gradually easing

Bajaj Auto launches BS6 version of Avenger Cruise 220: Details here

• The bike has been launched at a higher premium compared to the outgoing BS4 model
• The engine puts out 17.55 Nm of peak torque at 7000 rpm and churns out 19.03 PS of power

Covid-19: Nizamuddin meet linked to 647 cases in two days

• Total cases in Delhi have gone up to 386, with 93 patients testing positive on Friday
• Cases reported from 14 states, UTs, including Assam, Andaman & Nicobar, among others

Coronavirus claims more Spanish lives, but death rate slows

• The region around the capital Madrid has suffered far more infections and deaths than anywhere else in the country
• It was the first time in over a week that the figure fell from the previous day

Wuhan residents asked to stay home amid fears of coronavirus rebound

• Wuhan will resume operation of nearly 100 passenger trains starting April 8
• The city's public transportation has partly resumed services, and there are visibly more pedestrians and vehicles on the roads

The secret to the best roast chicken is already in your kitchen

Roast chicken is a dish that’s exceptional in its simplicity, a homey balm for these anxious times. The scent from the oven can stimulate a house in which people may have spent too much time together