The move comes after renewable companies made representations to the government to allow a blanket extension for six months to overcome supply-side disruptions in completing the projects.

She also encouraged the NDB to take appropriate steps to join the G-20 forum, along with the multilateral development banks and international financial institutions.

Ginning units are not keen on buying cotton since most of the workers have left for their villages and they do not have the capital to buy cotton and other processing units are also shut.

The unprecedented situation created by Covid–19 pandemic and lockdown announced by both the Union and state governments from March 24 has led to severe disruptions affecting the economy and impacting people at large and the MSME spinning mills.

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) had on April 19 issued a detailed standard operating procedure while allowing suitable deployment of their skills. As per Census, 2001, the total number of internal migrants in India was 309.385 million.

RBI notified that it will buy long-dated bonds maturing in 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030 while it will sell short-dated securities maturing between June 2020 and April 2021. Both the purchase and sale will be worth Rs 10,000 crore each.

The association also said hundreds of crores of unclaimed provident fund and employees state insurance corporation contribution lie in banks attracting interest.

In view of the massive disruption to economic activity due to Covid-19 impact and likely huge shortfall in revenues, the council felt that fiscal response to the crisis should be much more nuanced.

Pawar’s letter to Modi dated April 25 echoed similar demands raised by many states including Kerala and Punjab, and underlined the notion that cutting spending was hardly an option for states at this juncture.

The government has taken measures to contain expenditure, like freeze on its employees’ dearness allowance; it has also announced a relief package to support the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections.

Although there is no concrete proof, experts believe a large chunk of this is likely to be T-Bill purchases by the RBI from the secondary market.

The state government, in its order, said that the employees' salary for six days every month would be deducted for the next five months.

Besides, the state government will create new bank accounts for some 56 lakh farmers and issue 1.12 crore credit/debit cards to them by the next kharif season to enable them to avail crop loans and other government benefits.

The task force under economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty submitted its final report on the “national infrastructure pipeline” (NIP) to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

However, the Bench refused to interfere in the matter after the petitioners informed the judges that they were not personally affected and had filed the PILs in public interest.

Mills in Uttar Pradesh have produced 11.65 MT as on April 30, 2020, which is 3.72 lakh tonne higher than what was produced a year ago. Of 119 mills operated this year, 44 mills have ended their crushing. As many as 75 mills are operating as against 68 mills last year till April 30.

State governments seem to have collected the lowest-ever inflation-adjusted monthly tax revenue in April.

The central government will likely ramp up market borrowing in the second half of this fiscal, but may be forced to stick to its target for the first half at the moment.

The Centre’s bid to arrogate to itself the power to fix the wage floor for inter-state migrant workers in the name of uniformity across the country has hit a hurdle.

The Odisha government’s direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for farmers, Kalia, which was announced a few months before the Assembly elections last year, may be curtailed and subsumed in the PM-Kisan scheme run by the Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a crucial meeting with home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to firm up strategies for the financial sector in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

With the countrywide lockdown set to continue for two more weeks, banks have urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend the three-month moratorium on loans by another three months beyond May 31.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) believe the industry will bounce back in no time as they see demand for microcredit rising soon because of emergency loan requirements of their customers to restart businesses.

The government is considering a raft of relief measures, including setting up a Rs one lakh crore fund to expedite clearances of dues owed to MSMEs, guarantee on the enhanced limit of loans (up to 20%) and a mechanism to help them pay salaries to their employees.

At least 13 states hike VAT on petrol/diesel since mid-March, many make liquor costlier with new imposts.

Companies need to seek permission from the local administration – the office of the district magistrate – by submitting a host of information. Apart from the process being tedious and time-consuming, the final decision rests at DM's discretion.

Diesel prices in Delhi went up to Rs 69.39 per litre on Tuesday, a surge of Rs 7.10 per litres, as the state government increased the value added tax (VAT) on diesel from 17% to 30%.

The SARFAESI Act, which is now rarely being used after the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has come into existence since 2016, allows banks to seize, take control, manage and sell assets of defaulting borrowers without the intervention of any court/tribunal and also ensures speedy recovery.

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to hike prices of liquor by up to Rs 20, as it is readying itself to open liquor outlets on Thursday.

Following the devastating flood in 2018, the state had collected a flood cess which had fetched Rs 308.68 crore to the state exchequer.

Grappling with low revenues following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the UP government hiked the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel and increased the excise duty on liquor.

The issue faced by migrant workers took the centre stage as labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar met the representatives of 12 central trade unions (CTUs).

The e-way bill generated on or before March 24 and expiring during the March 20-April 15 period would now be valid till May 31.

"It is the time to review the policy of cross subsidisation of power as this plays a part in making our industries non-competitive,” former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said at an online panel discussion on the power sector.

There's not nearly enough original Arabic-language content online to keep young Arab kids entertained, so Syrian-born animation artist Reem Ali Adeeb and her sister Sandi set up Susupreemo, a YouTube channel designed to help Arabic-speaking kids weather the coronavirus lockdown through basic tutorials on drawing and such

The New Yorker took the feature reporting prize for Ben Taub’s piece on a detainee at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with judges saying the story offered 'a nuanced perspective on America’s wider war on terror.'

Several of the works honored in the arts explored race in American culture, including the music winner, Anthony Davis’ opera The Central Park Five. It tells of the wrongful conviction of five black and Latino teenagers for the 1989 assault on a white female jogger in Central Park. Five adult singers depicted the group as boys and men in Davis’ opera

The Italian baroque master’s 'Supper at Emmaus' is usually exhibited at London's National Gallery but, with that shut, Stanhope’s giant interpretation is now on show in Ladywell, southeast London

Schneider and collaborator Ralf Hutter combined the German language lyrics with synthesisers and drum machines to create 'krautrock,' which won Kraftwerk a legion of musician fans, including David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk and Kanye West

'Thanks for all you’re doing,' the artist said in a note for hospital workers. 'I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it’s only black and white.'

'Organised crime has many faces. The trafficking of cultural goods is one of them. It is not a glamorous business run by flamboyant gentlemen forgers, but by international criminal networks'

Celebrated wartime and celebrity photographer Tony Vaccaro, now 97, is getting over a bout with COVID-19. He attributes his longevity to 'blind luck, red wine' and grit

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed 'architect of rock ‘n’ roll' whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87

The Kona Electric is lightning quick from any speed to any speed, because the massive 395Nm of torque is delivered instantly by the electric motor, unlike a petrol/diesel vehicle where the engine needs to reach a particular RPM to deliver similar power

MG Motor is a British carmaker now owned by SAIC Motor of China. The Hector is its first product for the Indian market—and the company calls it India’s first internet car.

Electric truck by ABB showcased in Swiss capital, Bern.

The Seltos has a modern design, and one that the next-generation Creta (likely in 2020) could take some cues from.

Make no mistake, it still has a brake pedal, but in regular driving conditions you might not need to use it

The Kona Electric, the world’s first electric compact SUV, was launched in India last week. Priced Rs 25.3 lakh, it’s available for sale in 11 cities.

Our next EV will be developed on the dedicated Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), and that car will be launched globally in early 2021. That platform will be used for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs.