India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked India's 1.3 billion people to stay indoors for three weeks in the world's biggest lockdown, shutting down Asia's third-largest economy and leaving millions of economically vulnerable people without work.

The general officer commanding in chief (GOC-in-C) has been given full financial powers while corps and division commanders have been allowed to spend Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs, respectively, according to a Defence ministry order.

The 68-year-old patient has no travel history beyond Raipur, leading to fears that his infection may be a result of community transmission, officials said.

In a letter to the Rae Bareli district magistrate, Gandhi asked him to use the funds as per the requirement of the constituency.

All Union ministers have been assigned a state with the direction to maintain daily contact with district magistrates and superintendents of police on steps being taken to check the spread of coronavirus, which has infected over 700 people in the country...

The governor said the CCB is designed to ensure that banks build up capital buffers during normal times, that are outside periods of stress which can be drawn down, as losses are incurred during a stressed period.

In a joint digital media address with Lt Governor Anil Baijal, he said Delhi has reported 39 coronavirus cases out of which 29 contracted the infection during foreign travel and infected others on their return.

The former Telecom minister said it has become difficult for the department to continue with its services and postal employees are at crossroads and suffering inability as there is no work.

Railway officials said they have converted a coach stationed at the New Delhi depot into an isolation ward for Covid-19 patients after consulting medics as preparation of larger medical crisis.

A group of ten youths appealed for help from former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on twitter after they were stuck in Haryana's Hisar district due to the nationwide lockdown.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana scheme, an economic relief package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore to help the poor tide over financial distress.

Of the total calls, 200 were made by people residing outside Delhi and seeking passes to commute during the lockdown. Some callers said they did not have food supply while others said they did not have ration or money.

Swab reports of 180 persons with a history of foreign travel came out negative, following which they have been kept under home quarantine, he added.\

Professors at IIT Kanpur claim that while invasive ventilators are available at around Rs 4 lakh per unit in the market, this ventilator will be made at a cost of Rs 70000 per unit.

Several NGOs and companies have shown great enterprise and tried to ease the distress of marginalised individuals during the lockdown.

While authorities are trying to ensure that the spread of the disease is minimised through a slew of measures, including lockdown, contact tracing, isolation and testing, they are striving to identify limited localities where the infection is concentrated...