The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government will present its budget for the financial year 2020-21 on Monday in a single day session, even as the city remains under lockdown due to coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The five-day assembly session has been curtailed to one day where the budget will be presented and passed. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the budget. Sisodia will table the Economic Survey and a report on the outcome of the previous budget, following which the Arvind Kejriwal-led government will present the first budget of its second consecutive term. The budget is expected to focus on the guarantee card presented by Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the run-up to elections. The card includes promises like

As the ending of the financial year draws nears, Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday urged the Centre to announce relaxation in the time frame for filing tax returns as the country braces for a battle with the coronavirus pandemic. "The country's businessmen, salaried employees and chartered accountants have the burden of the final week of the financial year along with that of coronavirus. The government should immediately announce relaxations without any extra fines or charges and also additional time frame and relaxation in rules in filing returns, thereby freeing the taxpayers of the fear of government," Yadav's tweet on Monday read (translated from Hindi). The financial year 2019-20 will come to a close on March 31. Business and commercial activities have ta

Viewers of Hindi entertainment channel Star Bharat were taken aback on Friday when some of their favourite shows were halted with a promise that they would be back soon. With the spread of Covid-19 and various government advisories to avoid crowds, several films and television industry bodies have called for the cancellation of shooting and production activities, leading to a crunch in episodes for daily shows. This includes shoots for films, TV programmes and shows for digital formats. "Some fiction makers do have some bank of episodes to last for the next week or so but after that, the re-runs will start," said Abhishek Rege, chief executive officer at production firm EndemolShine India, adding that the losses for the broadcast industry will be huge even if people watch re-runs. The postponement of the India

A group of startup entrepreneurs in Bengaluru is developing an app and creating technological solutions to help the government track and monitor people in-home quarantine and contain the spread of Covid-19. One such solution called ‘Q-app’ or quarantine app, expected to go live this week aims to live-track that in-home quarantine as well as provide colour-coded information to identify areas with a large number of positive cases. “This is to enable people to self declare their home quarantine and then use that to build a zoning strategy which the government could use," said Mekin Maheshwari, founder, Udhyam Learning Foundation. There is an urgent need for such solutions as people have been violating home quarantine conditions posing a threat to India's already strained public healthcare system. “The

McDonald's will suspend dine-in operations at its outlets in Delhi till 31 March following the Delhi government's order seeking a city-wide closure of restaurants. The local arm that operates the American fast-food chain’s restaurants in north and east India said its outlets will serve as take-away joints and will continue to facilitate home deliveries in the capital. McDonald's joins that too suspended dine-in at its eateries in Delhi in response to the government's recent directive; even as it advised customers to order its meals online. On Thursday, New Delhi directed dine-in restaurants in the city to close down till 31 March in its latest attempt to fight the deadly coronavirus, a move that could impact the city's over 3 lakh people employed in the city's food services industry. Restaurants are allowed to

Fitch ratings the international agencies forecast for India to 5.1 per cent from 5.6 per cent for 2020-21 as Covid-19 hits sentiment and supply chain disruptions in China impact input-dependent Indian manufacturers. Standard and Poor (S&P) had slashed its 2020 growth projection for India to 5.2 per cent from 5.7 per cent as it fears that the Asia Pacific region may slide into recession as countries implement strict lock-downs to contain the -19 pandemic. Moody’s and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have recently cut their 2020 growth projections for India to 5.3 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively. Fitch said although the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India was low, given the size of its population, it was picking up. This scenario assumes the number of people affected

All four death row convicts in 2012, Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case were executed at 5:30 am today. A few hours earlier, the Supreme Court had dismissed their final petition in a hearing past midnight, bringing the curtains down on a 7-year-old case that had left the nation in shock. In a bid to stave off the final fate, the convicts had petitioned the Delhi High Court, where their lawyer cited coronavirus, among other things, for lack of proper documents and hurriedly filed an appeal. A trial court had already declared that they had run out of all legal options of stopping their execution. Being hanged at Tihar Jail in Delhi on Friday morning, the four convicts named Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh spent a few hours in separate cells in isolation. This was the first time in the histo

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made nine requests to India for nine days of Navratri to ‘resolve and restraint’ to fight novel coronavirus. He asked people to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible while underscoring the dangers of coronavirus, saying the world has never seen a crisis as grave as this. The biggest highlight of the PM's address on coronavirus was the Janta Curfew on March 22. Here are the 9 requests that PM Modi has made to India in the fight against Coronavirus: Each and every Indian should remain alert and aware. Don’t take a step out unless necessary needs. The 60-65 years old person should stay inside their homes. Follow Janta Curfew from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22. On March 22 at 5 pm for five minutes, thanks to the supportive service provider by clap