Coronavirus India Latest News Updates State-Wise: Coronavirus death toll touched 507 and the total number of those infected reached 15,712 in India, the Union Health Ministry said in a latest update on Sunday. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 12,974, while 2,230 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, it added. The total number of those infected also includes 77 foreign nationals. While no new case has been reported in Mahe in Puducherry and Karnataka’s Kodagu in the last 28 days, 54 other districts in 23 states and Union Territories have reported not a single coronavirus case in last 14 days, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said in a regular press briefing today.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that there will no relaxation in lockdown as of now. Addressing a press conference via video conference, Kejriwal said that after assessing the prevailing situation in Delhi, it has been decided not to permit any relaxation of the lockdown, as of now. “Currently, lockdown is necessary. No relaxations should be given in the hotspots in the city. On 27th April, a review meeting will be held again,” Kejriwal said. Coronavirus cases in Delhi have reached 1,893.

Protesting against proposed resumption of toll on national highways from Monday, transporters' apex body AIMTC on Sunday said it will adversely affect rabi crop procurement, adding that over 85 per cent transporters are cash-starved small operators who are not able to sustain toll fee. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the apex body for transporters that represents about 95 lakh truckers and transport entities, sought suspension of toll till May 3.

After temporarily suspending toll collection on national highways across the country from March 25 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to resume toll collection from Monday, a move that is being opposed by transporters.

As per inputs received from across the country, procurement of rabi crop will be disturbed, as more than 85 per cent, finance-starved small operators can't sustain toll burden starting April 20. Tolls must be suspended at least till May 3," All India Motor Transport Congress President Kultaran Singh Atwal said seeking the PMO's intervention.

Atwal said that more than 85 per cent of the transport fraternity have one to five vehicles and about 65 per cent of them are self-employed owner drivers.

NEW DELHI: Underlining that the lockdown situation was "extremely dynamic", the Home Ministry said on Sunday the decision to allow sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms was withdrawn after it was felt that the list of goods was extensive and may impact the curbs imposed to fight COVID-19.

Addressing a press conference, MHA Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the situation was "extremely dynamic" and decisions are being reviewed "almost on daily basis".

"As you realise, some restrictions are necessary in our campaign against coronavirus. When the list of non-essential goods and overall situation was reviewed, it was felt that the list was pretty extensive. If we permit all goods, it may impact lockdown. Accordingly, the decision was reviewed," she said.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding non-essential items from sale by e-commerce companies from the consolidated revised guidelines, which listed the exemption given to the services and people from the purview of the lockdown.

The order said the clause --'E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions' -- is excluded from the guidelines. The previous order had said such items were allowed for sale through e-commerce platforms from April 20.

Harvesting is in its peak in Haryana, Punjab, UP and is likely to be completed by the end of April 2020. Punjab has deployed 18000 combines and Haryana has deployed 5000 combines for harvesting and threshing. Of the pulses sown in 161 lakh ha, harvesting has been completed for gram, lentil, urd, mung and field pea.

Amid the lockdown, government has allowed farm activities to continue, which has resulted in minimum disruption in harvesting activities of winter crops and sustained sowing of summer crops, sown between March and June - the intervening period between Rabi and Kharif crops.
Of the Rabi crop harvesting, out of total wheat sown in 310 lakh ha, 63-67% has already been harvested in the country.
“Statewise harvesting has also increased and reached to 90-95% in Madhya Pradesh, 80-85% in Rajasthan, 60-65% in Uttar Pradesh, 30-35% in Haryana and 10-15% in Punjab,” said an agriculture ministry official.

For the states of Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana and Uttarakhand, 92-98% harvesting has been completed. In Uttar Pradesh, 75-80% has been completed and this will continue till mid May 2020.

Rabi Rice sown in 28 lakh ha over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal is in the initial stages of harvesting since the grain is still in the filling stage and harvesting times would vary.

Earlier today, the government has revised its order in which e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart and others were allowed to operate. In its latest notification on Sunday, the Home Affairs Ministry has prohibited the supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies during lockdown 2.0.
Coronavirus cases in India: The coronavirus cases reached 16,116 and the death toll jumped to 519 in India on Sunday. According to the Health Ministry, 2,301 cases have recovered from the deadly illness. 
Meanwhile, the Delhi government during the day announced that there will be no relaxation in the ongoing lockdown. A decision will be taken on easing the restriction after a review on April 27. The Maharashtra government, however, announced that it will allow limited financial activities to resume from Monday. 

World update on coronavirus: The worldwide death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 160,784, according to a tally from official sources compiled by Worldometer. More than 2,332,456 declared cases have been registered in 193 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December.

Transported 1,150 tonnes of medical items during lockdown: Rlys

Railways has transported 1,150 tonnes of medical items during the lockdown period across the country, the national transporter said on Sunday, adding that they include medicines, masks, hospital items and other medical commodities. It said the items were being ferried through its timetabled parcel services to strengthen government's efforts in managing the challenges and adverse impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. At almost 400 tonnes, the Northern Railway ferried the maximum items followed by Western Railway (328.84 tonnes) and Central Railway (136 tonnes).

Currently, GST rate on ventilator is 12 per cent; on mask, it is 5 per cent; on test kits, it is 12 per cent; on sanitiser, it is 18 per cent; and on PPE, it is 5 per cent (costing up to Rs 1,000) and 12 per cent (if the cost is more that Rs 1,000 per piece).

The government is unlikely to exempt GST on medical items like ventilators, PPEs, masks, test kits and sanitisers, as it would lead to blocked input tax credit (ITCNSE 0.94 %), thereby increasing the cost of manufacturing and increase the price for consumers. There have been demands from certain sections to exempt GST on certain items like ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPEs), masks, test kits and sanitisers that are essential items for treatment of COVID-19 saying that GST exemption on these items would lead to reduction in prices.

Currently, GST rate on ventilator is 12 per cent; on mask, it is 5 per cent; on test kits, it is 12 per cent; on sanitiser, it is 18 per cent; and on PPE, it is 5 per cent (costing up to Rs 1,000) and 12 per cent (if the cost is more that Rs 1,000 per piece).Sources said GST exemption on such items would lead to blocked input tax credit (ITC), thereby increasing the cost of manufacturing and a higher price for consumers.GST exemption on such items would jeopardise the interest of the industry and would not result in any significant gains to consumer, they said adding that in the past, GST exemption on sanitary napkin has led to similar situation for the domestic manufacturers.The sources said that while consumers do not gain from GST exemption on these items, the compliance burden would increase for manufacturers as they would be required to maintain separate account of inputs, input services and capital goods used for manufacture of these items. In case, they are not in a position to maintain separate account, they shall be required to reverse the input tax credit on all inputs/ input services used in manufacture of exempted PPE after applying detailed calculations. ..

Four cases reported in SAS Nagar of Punjab today

4 positive cases reported in SAS Nagar of Punjab today. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 238, including 16 deaths and 35 cured: Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Punjab.

Delhi Police constable tests positive for coronavirus

A Delhi Police constable has tested positive for coronavirus, a senior officer said on Sunday. A resident of Delhi, the constable was immediately quarantined and asked not to visit his home, the officer said. He was posted at Tilak Vihar police post under Tilak Nagar Police Station in west district of the national capital. "His test was conducted on April 17 at the DDU dispensary in Tilak Vihar and he tested positive on April 18," the officer said. His family members and his colleagues who came in contact with him have been asked to isolate themselves at home, he said, adding that the constable was "fine and doing well". So far, at least eight police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 and one of them has recovered.

COVID-19: 12-day-old girl tests positive in Bhopal in MP

A 12-day-old girl has tested positive for the coronavirus in Bhopal on Sunday, with health officials stating that she may be the youngest COVID-19 patient in Madhya Pradesh. She was born on April 7 and her father said it was possible she got the infection from a woman health worker who was on duty during the birth and tested positive later. "The mother and the infant tested positive on Sunday," Bhopal's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Prabhakar Tiwari told PTI. The girl's father said, "She was born in government- run Sultania Janana Hospital on April 7 and it was a caesarean delivery. Mother and child were discharged and came home on April 11. I read in the papers the next day that a woman health worker who was on duty during my wife's stay and delivery had tested positive."

2 new cases reported from Kannur and Kasaragod districts in Kerala

2 COVID-19 cases reported from Kannur and Kasaragod districts today.   The person from Kannur returned from Abu Dhabi and the person from Kasargod returned from Dubai. 13 people recovered today, 270 people have recovered so far: Office of Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja

Afghan Defence Minister thanks India for medicines

Ambassador of India to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar today handed over the consignments of 300,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine and 70,000 tablets of paracetamol tablets to Minister of Public Health Ferozuddin Feroz.

Lockdown to have huge impact on heavy appliances sector: Godrej

The heavy appliances sector will take a massive beating due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and the muted sales preceding it, a top official of Godrej Appliances said on Sunday. Even after the curbs are lifted, social distancing norms and an overall fear of the pandemic may keep people away from the stores for some time, he said. "The heavy appliances industry will be impacted by a significant loss of up to 60 per cent in March and almost 100 per cent in April. These two months put together contribute close to 25 per cent of the annual revenue," Godrej Appliances Business Head and EVP Kamal Nandi told PTI. The demand for products such as ACs, refrigerators and air coolers are usually high during this period, he said. The Indian appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market was at Rs 76,400 crore in 2019, according to a research report.

Lockdown: Over 55k cases, 11k arrests in Maha for violations

Over 56,000 offences have been registered and more than 11,000 people arrested in Maharashtra since March 22 for violation of lockdown norms in place for the coronavirus outbreak, a state home department official said on Sunday. While 55,393 cases have been lodged for disobedience under section 188 of the IPC, another 1,051 are for illegal transport during the lockdown, an official said. "We have arrested 11,645 people, seized 36,935 vehicles and collected fines worth Rs 2,06,73,644 since March 22. We have arrested 301 people for 105 incidents involving assault on policemen on duty," he informed. A total of 567 people were found flouting quarantine orders, he added.

44 new coronavirus cases in AP, tally climbs to 647

The number of positive cases in Andhra Pradesh climbed further up on Sunday to 647 in the last 24 hours and the toll to 17. In all, 44 new cases were added to the tally in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday, as the state government said a record 5,508 tests were carried out during the period. With a total of 65 discharged and 17 deceased, the number of active coronavirus cases in the state stood at 565. According to the state Covid-19 Dashboard, an aggregate of 26,958 tests were carried out till date, of which 26,311 turned negative. Of the 75 coronavirus positive cases reported in Krishna district, Vijayawada alone had 60.

Death toll in Karnataka goes up to 16

Two COVID-19 related fatalities reported in Karnataka, death toll in state increases to 16: Health Department.

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