"So far, 17 states and UTs have integrated and three more states Odisha, Mizoram and Nagaland are also getting prepared. Total 20 states/UTs will be ready for the launch of ration card portability from June 1," Paswan told reporters.

Industry bodies such as CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM suggested a slew of measures and sought relaxations such as increasing working hours to 12 hours per day from the existing 8 hours per day to help them revive operations, according to a release by the Labour Ministry.

India has allowed discounting of prolonged stay period for determining the residency status in relief for NRIs.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged the Speaker to take an expeditious and positive decision on allowing meetings of parliamentary committees including PAC via videoconference given the importance of assessing the economic and social costs these sectors have suffered due to lockdown.

In a notification issued Friday, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) allowed tax exemption to donations under Section 80 G of the Income Tax Act, on the grounds that the structure would be a “place of historic importance and a place of public worship”.

Chairing a meeting to assess the impact of COVID 19 on Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited and Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited, Sonowal said that though the state has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the endeavour of the government’s power companies has yielded into a power surplus.

Rajan says ‘monetisation’ is a good option in the short-term and within reasonable limits.

Despite all our past glory, the “potential” India has, the love you have for your country, that answer won’t change. We don’t have money. Our people are poor. Our government is poor. Hence, when we carry out a lockdown like Europe or the US, we suffer more. For them, the lockdown creates an itch. For us, we bleed.

ET examines the labour reforms template of three states, which also seems to be part of efforts to lure companies looking to move out of China.

Mediamatic ETEN, a restaurant in Amsterdam, is offering a four-course vegetarian menu for diners -- served to guests while they sit in their own personal quarantine greenhouses.

The total of 103 deaths reported since Thursday morning include 43 in Maharashtra; 29 in Gujarat; eight in Madhya Pradesh; seven in West Bengal; five in Rajasthan; two each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh; and one each in Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

The nationwide lockdown, which has been in place since March to contain the spread of coronavirus, has rendered several unskilled labourers and daily wagers jobless. The IIM-A conducted the survey among 500 households in the city that earned less than 19,500 per month, the release in Ahmedabad stated.

The move by the excise department has come in the wake of lifting of certain coronavirus-induced curbs, which included allowing reopening of liquor shops. As the demand for alcohol has increased in Maharashtra, there is a possibility of liquor smuggling by inter-state organised syndicates, the official said.

'If the trial succeeds, it will become the success of Ayurveda.' 'If it's a failure, it's my failure alone.'

Early detection will bring down the mortality rate, the minister said, adding that the government plans to increase institutional quarantine facilities.