US helps India with $5.9 million for Covid-19, RBI announces slew of measures: 10 points

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Updated: Apr 17, 2020 17:21 IST

Coronavirus cases in the country are inching toward the 13,500-mark. On Friday, the Ministry of Health updated the number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 13387 which includes 11201 active cases, 1748 recoveries and 437 fatalities.

India seems to have reported a jump in the number of patients recovering from novel coronavirus. As much as 13% of Covid-19 patients have recovered so far. The number of recoveries has gone up from last week’s 8%.

On Friday, India entered the third day of the extended lockdown which will come to an end on May 3.

Here are the top developments:

1. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday gave an address and made key announcements amid the coronavirus crisis.

2. “The policy repo rate remains unchanged at 4.4 per cent, and the marginal standing facility rate and the bank rate remain unchanged at 4.65 per cent,” the RBI governor said.

3. Das said the RBI sees retail inflation falling below its targeted 4 per cent by the second half of the current fiscal year.

4. Das announced a 30 per cent increase in the ways and means advances limit to aid state governments in tackling the coronavirus crisis.

Watch | RBI cuts reverse repo rate by 25 bps, expects 7.4% GDP growth in 2021-22

5. According to the RBI, vehicle production and sales declined sharply in March amid the coronavirus lockdown. Das said that electricity consumption across the country has seen a dip.

6. Das said banks shall be exempted from making dividend payment in the light of financial difficulties posed by the coronavirus crisis.

7. The US State Department has said that America has helped India with nearly $5.9 million in health assistance to battle the spread of Covid-19.

8. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said that private schools will not be allowed to increase fees during the coronavirus lockdown. They can only charge the tuition fee until schools reopen.

9. Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has emerged as Covid-19 hotspot with around 300 cases surfacing in a single day.

10. Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the country’s largest pension fund manager EPFO has disbursed around Rs 946.49 crore. In just 15 days, around 3.3 lakh claims for voluntary withdrawals have been processed.