1. Finance Minister attends the 2nd Extraordinary G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Virtual Meeting
- FM Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 2nd Extraordinary G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.
- The meeting will be under the Saudi Arabian Presidency
- To discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and coordinate efforts to fight it.
- India made an offer of $10 million after SAARC Countries meet.
2. POWERGRID commits Rs.200 Crore to PM CARES Fund
- Maharatna CPSE under Ministry of Power, GoI and Central Transmission Utility (CTU) has decided to contribute Rs.130 Crore to PM-CARES.
- CPSE = Central Public Sector Enterprises
- PM-CARES = Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations.
- Fund to support India’s fight against COVID-19.
- It also distributed food packets in slum areas to help the needy
3. Millions of people could be driven into poverty in East Asia and Pacific: World Bank
- For economic slowdown due to the pandemic.
- Will increase poverty in China and other East Asian-Pacific countries.
- The World Bank report projected that growth in the region would slow to 2.1% from 5.8%.
- IMF had said that the global economy has entered a recession.
4. Public sector banks announce deferment of EMI payments on loans
- Banks like SBI, Punjab and Sind Bank, Canara Bank, BoB have announced the offer of the moratorium to customers.
- CNB is providing collateral & margin free loan up to ₹20L to SHG
5. IIT Kanpur to develop prototype of portable ventilator to support medical infrastructure
- Ventilators only provide support and keep the lung inflated.
6. New direct tax regime kicks in from April 1, 2020
- NRIs who have more than ₹15 lakh income from Indian sources will be deemed as Indian residents.
- For the purpose of taxation if they had spent 120 days in India in the previous year.
- Earlier, the number of days was 182.
- Taxation of dividend in the hands of shareholders was introduced
7. Panel led by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant starts working on response strategy
- The Empowered Committee held a meeting on March 30 and saw attendees from the private sector and industry.
- Representatives from ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM, FICCI & CII were present
- CII = Confederation of Indian Industry
8. Govt slashes interest on PPF, NSC and other small savings schemes
- The Centre has slashed interest rates on small savings schemes by 70 to 140 bps for FY21.
- Interest rates on PPF have been brought down to 7.1% and for Kisan Vikas Patra to 6.9%.
- The interest rate on the girl child-focussed Sukanya Samriddhi scheme is 7.6%
- Initial rate on small savings schemes are revised on quarterly basis
9. MakeMyTrip launches ‘Stays for Saviours’ initiative to support healthcare providers
- To support temporary accommodation needs of the medical frontline at special rates.
- It will enable medical practitioners to book from over 900 hotel properties across 200 cities.
- Make My Trip CEO : Deep Kalra
- Headquarters : Gurugram, Haryana.
10. Affordable housing firm Aavas gets $60m from ADB
- ADB has signed an agreement to lend up to $60 million to Aavas Financiers Ltd.
- To improve access to housing finance for lower-income borrowers, particularly women.
- Aavas is one of the largest housing finance companies in India’s affordable housing segment.
- Aavas CEO : Sushil Kumar Agarwal
- Headquarters : Jaipur, Rajasthan
11. ‘Stranded in India’: New govt portal to help foreign tourists
- Union Tourism ministry launched a web portal.
- Portal is ‘stransdedinindia.com’
- To reach out to foreign nationals stranded in India owing to the lockdown.
- It consists of information around Covid-19 helpline numbers that foreign tourists can reach out for help.
- Minister of Tourism : Prahlad Singh Patel
- Constituency : Damoh, MP
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