India

Amaravati(AP), Apr 26 (PTI) At a time when a bumper harvest was expected in the Rabi season, untimely rain in different districts of Andhra Pradesh left paddy crop in over 5,000 hectares damaged, causing distress to farmers.

Krishna and East Godavari districts suffered the major damage as partly harvested and also ready to harvest paddy was hit by the sudden rain on Saturday, official sources said.

Mumbai, Apr 26 (PTI) With jewellery shops shut due to the lockdown to control coronavirus, the demand for gold on auspicious Akshaya Tritiya is estimated to plunge by around 95 per cent and only negligible sales happening through digital mode.

Sharp rise in gold prices by over 52 per cent in the last one year is also a dampener.

Industry body for jewellers said that sales would only be 5 per cent compared to last year's Akshaya Tritiya, although Kalyan Jewellers is more optimistic and expected sales to be 10 per cent of the normal demand.

New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) As many as 33 staffers of a leading private hospital in east Delhi, including two doctors, nurses and paramedic staff, have tested positive for coronavirus over the last two weeks, sources said on Monday.

Max Healthcare group had announced two weeks ago that it was going to conduct tests for COVID-19 on all its employees and patients at its facilities across the country.

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27 (PTI): Over 1.5 lakh Non-Resident Keralites (NRK)s, stranded in various countries, have registered online for returningto the state, once the Centre gives the nod and air services resume

The Norka (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) department had commenced the registration process at around 6pm on Sunday and within an hour 25,000 had registered, government sources said.

Mumbai, Apr 27 (PTI) The Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced a Rs 50,000 crore special liquidity facility for mutual fund, days after Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund decided to close six debt schemes.

In a statement, the central bank said heightened volatility in capital markets in reaction to COVID-19 has imposed liquidity strains on mutual funds (MFs), which have intensified in the wake of redemption pressures related to closure of some debt MFs and potential contagious effects therefrom.

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Remaining risk-averse amid the coronavirus pandemic, overseas investors have withdrawn net Rs 10,347 crore from Indian capital markets in April so far.

Between April 1-24, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pulled out a net sum of Rs 6,822 crore from equities and Rs 3,525 crore from the debt segment, depositories data showed.

The total net outflow stood at Rs 10,347 crore.

Hyderabad, Apr 26 (PTI) A prolonged lockdown may possibly push million of Indians into the "margins of subsistence", former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Sunday while expecting a 'V' curved recovery once the COVID-19 crisis ends and the turnaround in India to be faster than some economies.

He was participating in a webinar on "History repeats - but differently- Lessons for the post Corona World," organised by the Manthan Foundation here, in which former Deputy Governor of RBI Usha Thorat took part.

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) With the Centre allowing reopening of neighbourhood and standalone shops, traders on Saturday sought more clarity for easier implementation of the order and urged states to issue necessary guidelines, without which shop owners would not be able to resume work.

The Retailers Association of India (RAI) said the government's order to allow reopening of shops is open to interpretation as terms like "market complexes" are not easily understood.

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) The lockdown in Delhi will not be relaxed beyond what the Union home ministry has suggested in its guidelines, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday and added that his government's focus is on bringing down COVID-19 infections in the city.

Addressing an online media briefing, the chief minister said, "We are going through difficult times. We will have to continue our efforts to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections in Delhi."

Raipur, Apr 25 (PTI) Shops selling agriculture-related goods, building materials and automobile parts among other things opened on Saturday in many districts of Chhattisgarh except those located in COVID-19 containment zones and inside shopping complexes, officials said.

The Union government on Friday had said that neighbourhood and stand-alone shops can reopen.