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    Deadlines moved, rules eased & Maharashtra tops 100 coronavirus cases: All that happened today

    Synopsis

    New restrictions were placed in many states, with the Election Commission deferring Rajya Sabha elections which were scheduled for March 26. India has reported 482 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump could be imminent.

    Delhi PoliceAFP
    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman government today relaxed a number of tax compliance rules for individuals and firms and also raised the threshold of triggering insolvency cases to Rs 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh.

    The government will also announce a fiscal package to help the economy face the impact of the coronavirus, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said in a video conference with reporters.

    New restrictions were placed in many states, with the Election Commission deferring Rajya Sabha elections which were scheduled for March 26.

    India has reported 482 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump could be imminent.

    Here are all the latest developments in India's fight against the deadly virus:


    THE NUMBERS SO FAR

    • 65-year-old patient dies in Maharashtra; total cases rises to 106, 12 cured
    • 2 more people test positive in West Bengal; total now 8
    • Tamil Nadu reports three fresh positive cases, total rises to 15
    • 9 symptomatic Air Asia passengers taken to hospital in Tamil Nadu, others taken to Air Force quarantine
    • North East reports 1st case as 23-yr-old tests positive in Manipur
    • 2 more positive cases confirmed in Kozhikode, Kerala
    • Two patients who tested positive in Ladakh cured
    • Three more tested positive in Telangana, taking the total number to 36
    • Two positive cases been confirmed Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
    • 3 more positive cases reported in Jalandhar
    • 2 people test positive in Srinagar, cases in J-K rise to 6
    • 4 more cases confirmed in Karnataka, total number now 38

    WorldIndiaTotal Deaths
    384,42949216,591


    ECONOMY BOOSTER

    Tax

    • For Financial year 2018-19, last date for returns extended to June 30, 2020. Delayed payments made till June 30, interest rate reduced to 9% from 12%
    • For delayed deposit of TDS, interest has been reduced to 9 % from 18%
    • Aadhaar-pan linking extended to June 30 from March 31
    • Vivaad se Vishwaas scheme extended to June 30. And no additional payment of 10% to be paid
    • All compliances under Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act, Benami Transaction Act, Black Money Act, Vivaad se Vishwaas, have been extended to June 30, 2020

    Banking
    1. Debit card holders can withdraw cash from any bank ATM free of charge for next three months
    2. Minimum balance requirement has been done away with
    3. Charges for digital trade transactions have been reduced

    GST
    1. All GST returns for March, April, May and composition returns extended to June 30, 2020
    2. For companies less than 5 cr no late fee and penalty to be charged. For above Rs 5 cr, only int at the rate of 9%

    Customs
    1. Sabka Vishwaas scheme for indirect taxes having last date till March 31 has been extended to June 30,2020. No interest to be levied
    2. Customs clearance till June 30 to work 24x7.

    Companies
    • Inrespect of the MCA21 registry, there is a moratorium being issued from April 1 till Sep 30 no additional fees for late filing.
    • There is a mandatory requirement for holding Board meeting. We are relaxing it for 60 days for the next two quarters.
    • For newly incorporated cos, additional time of six more months is being given for filing declaration of commencement of business
    • If there is a company director who does not comply with minimum residency requirement of 182 days, this was treated as a violation. It shall not be treated as one.

    Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
    1. Threshold of default raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore to prevent triggering of insolvency proceedings for SMEs
    2. If the current situation continues beyond April, Section 7, 9, 10 of the IBC will be suspended for a period of six months

    NEW RESTRICTIONS
    • Sikkim to be under lockdown from 6 am on Wednesday till March 31 to check spread of coronavirus
    • Lockdown comes into force in all districts of Haryana
    • All 30 districts of Odisha will under lockdown from Tuesday night to March 29
    • Complete lockdown has been imposed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
    • MP govt imposes curfew in Bhopal, Jabalpur
    • Manipur declares statewide indefinite curfew
    • Complete lockdown in Goa from midnight today till March 31
    • Curfew imposed in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district
    • UP govt announces complete lockdown till March 27th
    • West Bengal to be put under lockdown from 5 pm today till 31st March
    • Indefinite curfew in Himachal Pradesh
    • All subordinate courts in Uttarakhand closed form March 26 to April 4

    LIFE UNDER LOCKDOWN
    • Rajya Sabha secretariat shut till Friday
    • Election Commission defers Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 26
    • Delhi Airport's 9/27 runway closed
    • Shaheen Bagh protest site cleared by police
    • Tamil Nadu: Rs 1000 to all ration card holders, free rice, sugar, and other essential commodities
    • Bengal govt asks civic bodies to conduct door-to-door survey
    • Bengal Imams Association has urged all mosques to prohibit the entry of people in mosques
    • Separate lane at Noida Border to facilitate Emergency Services' Vehicles
    • Rajinikanth donates Rs 50 lakhs to Film Union workers
    • Andhra Pradesh class 10 exams postponed
    • Railways to release full salary to contractual workers during suspension of service
    • Centre asks states to allow veterinary hospitals, clinics to function amid lockdown

    HEALTHCARE UPDATES
    • Tamil Nadu announces one month of special pay to doctors, nurses & sanitation workers
    • India's first dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Mumbai, set up by Reliance Industries
    • Bhopal Memorial Hospital dedicated as COVID-19 hospital
    • 350-bed isolation ward for coronavirus cases to be ready in Chennai by Wednesday
    • J&K to convert a11 major hospitals into COVID-19 sanatorium
    • Uttarakhand govt takes over private hospitals
    • Kerala govt ramps up strength of govt doctors, appoints 276 more to tackle rising cases
    • Railways to use its production units to manufacture essential items for treatment of patients
    • 4 govt medical colleges in Uttarakhand reserved for coronavirus cases

    BUSINESS & MARKETS
    • Sensex breaks losing spree, ends 693 points up
    • FIR against Coca Cola factory in Himachal Pradesh for operating in violation of lockdown order
    • Barclays cuts 2020 crude forecasts by $12 on virus, OPEC+ deal collapse
    • No salary or leave deduction during domestic flights suspension period: IndiGo
    • Netflix to reduce traffic on telecommunications networks by 25%
    • DCB Bank to spend Rs 1 crore in next three months for India COVID 19 response
    • First Indian company gets license to sell commercial Covid-19 test kits
    • Reliance Industries offers hospital, Jio, fuel support
    • GHCL shuts yarn operations in Tamil Nadu
    • Hero Cycles earmarks Rs 100 crore contingency fund
    • Diageo India to make 3 lakh litres of hand sanitisers and donate masks
    • IKEA suspends online store
    • Anupama Venugopal Nadella, wife of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, donates Rs Rs 2 crore to distribute essential goods to poorer sections hit by lockdown
    • TVS Electronics halts manufacturing operations till March 31
    • Unilever to protect workers from sudden pay drop for up to 3 months

    AROUND THE WORLD
    1. SAARC video-conference to take place on March 26
    2. Cases in Pakistan rise to over 900; Railways suspend passenger trains
    3. Britain orders lockdown
    4. China to lift travel curbs on Hubei province, including Wuhan, despite spike in imported cases
    5. Angela Merkel's initial test shows negative
    6. 11 countries approach India to evacuate their nationals by operating special flights
    7. US First Lady Melania Trump tests negative
    8. 19 deaths in 1 day, Trump signs executive order to prevent medical supplies hoarding
    9. France death toll jumps 186 to 860
    10. UN chief urges immediate global cease-fire
    11. South Korea reports 76 new cases


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    ( Originally published on Mar 24, 2020 )
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