Breaking news on March 09

Flying car-maker PAL-V of The Netherlands will set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat and has set a target of commencing production by 2021. PAL-V stands for Personal Air-Land Vehicle.

Over 40 residents of Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district who have returned from coronavirus-hit Iran and China will be kept in nine isolation wards, an official said on Monday.

District Development Commissioner (DDC), Budgam, Tariq Hussain Ganai, said 41 residents of Budgam, in central Kashmir, who arrived from Iran and China will be quarantined at 76-bed facilities established at nine isolation wards in the district.

In a significant development, the Maharashtra government on Monday decided to set the upper cap for the fares of app-based cabs of aggregators by approving the report of the Khatua Committee.

A Government Resolution (GR) stated that aggregators can surge their fare up to three times of the base fare of the black and yellow taxis, which is Rs 14.85 per km at present.

Madhya Pradesh's attempts to join the elite 'Basmati' league have failed once again as the Madras High court has dismissed the state's plea seeking
geographical indication (GI) tag for Basmati rice grown in areas falling under the state.

Amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Monday said it has adopted the practice of cleaning all its trains exhaustively at depots before putting them into passenger services everyday.

A man attempted self-immolation in a police station after a complaint was lodged alleging that he has been harassing a 14-year-old girl, police said on Monday.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P.Dhanapal has issued a notice to 11 members of the ruling AIADMK for defying the party whip, one of the law makers said on Monday.

A young woman was missing after a country boat capsized in river Hooghly in Howrah district on Monday, police said. The country boat, with nine persons on board, was going from Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas district to Bauria in Howrah district with members of a dance troupe when it capsized near Bauria, they said.

While eight others on board and the boatman managed to swim ashore to safety, a young woman was missing, the police said.

People performed Holika Dahan in New Delhi's Gol market area on Monday.

The Punjab government on Monday launched a mobile application to spread awareness about the precautions to be taken against coronavirus.

Justice R V More was on Monday administered the oath of office as a judge of the Meghalaya High Court Shillong, officials said. Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Mohamad Rafiq administered the oath to More. Moore was elevated as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 2006. He was recently transferred to the Meghalaya High Court.

The Meghalaya High Court would now have four judges.

Samples of the two foreign travellers who were kept under observation in Goa for suspected novel coronavirus infection tested negative on Monday evening, officials said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the money laundering case against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, is also looking at investments made by his three daughters -- Radha Kapoor Khanna, Roshini Kapoor and Rakhee Kapoor Tandon.

The Arunachal Pradesh government on Monday decided to screen all the students returning to the state from Delhi by a special train, an official statement said. The decision was taken during an emergency meeting chaired by Health Minister Alo Libang.

Four persons were killed when their motorcycle rammed into a stranded truck on national highway six in West Bengal's Howrah district on Monday, police said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday has seized the painting of former PM Rajiv Gandhi bought by Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. A letter written by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Kapoor in June 2010 confirmed the sale of the painting for Rs 2 Crore. The painting has been brought to ED office.

State-owned Union Bank of India on Monday announced reduction in its marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points across all tenors, effective March 11.

Delhi Metro services will not be available till 2.30 pm on Tuesday on account of Holi.

"On Holi (10th March 2020), metro services will not be available till 2:30 PM on all Lines of the Delhi Metro. Additionally, metro feeder bus service will not be operational on 10th March 2020," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said. 

Several legislators, including a few ministers, from Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, arrived in the city on Monday, amid reports of infighting in the party's state unit and allegations of poaching.

The Indian Army has rescued 390 people who were stranded at Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district due to heavy snowfall, a Defence official said here on Monday.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the new dates for board exams in violence-hit northeast Delhi. The CBSE Board Class 12 papers will begin from March 31, whereas, Class 10 exam will begin from March 21.

Lokesh Kumar Solanki arrested in connection with the Delhi violence case on Monday. He has disclosed information about his other associates; raids underway.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted protection to a newly married inter-caste couple from any coercive action and directed the police of Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to provide them adequate security due to the alleged threat to their lives from their family members.

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Karnataka High Court judge Justice S N Satyanarayana to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, also recommended the transfer of Justice Alok Singh from the Uttarakhand High Court to the Allahabad High Court.

Two US soldiers killed in Iraq clashes with IS on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday claimed to have solved the sensational murder case of a senior city-based lawyer with the arrest of two persons including his domestic help and recovery of various stolen items.

Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday ticked off the Congress, its alliance partner in Bihar, for an "open letter" reminding it of a "promise" made to the latter with regard to Rajya Sabha elections. RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha said the "open letter" by AICC in-charge for Bihar, Shaktisinh Gohil, was "written with a closed mind" and asserted that the party was looking forward to staking its claim to two seats in Bihar where elections will be held for five Rajya Sabha seats

The Supreme Court has taken note of "heaps of plastic bags and garbage" lying on both sides of railway lines in outer Delhi region and asked the Delhi government, civic bodies and Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority to make a concrete plan for its removal.

Petrol prices slipped below Rs 71-mark for the first time in eight months on Monday as India looks set to reap windfall from a price war among oil producers leading to international crude prices crashing by their biggest margin since the 1991 Gulf war.

More than 40,000 police personnel are being deployed across Mumbai to ensure that Holi celebrations on Monday and Tuesday pass off peacefully.

An Indian Air Force transport aircraft will be sent to Iran on Monday night to bring back Indians stranded in the coronavirus-hit nation, official sources said.

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said it has received Rs 48,856 crore of bids in the fourth long-term reverse repo operation (LTROs) conducted for an amount of Rs 25,000 crore with a 3-year tenor.

 Three militant associates of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit have been arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said on Monday.

The rupee on Monday slipped past the 74-level against the US dollar to settle at 74.14 (provisional), down 27 paise tracking heavy selling in domestic equity market amid rising concerns over coronavirus-led economic slowdown.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Monday announced launch of its locally assembled Scorpio pick-up vehicle in Kenya through a partnership with Simba Corporation, a leading commercial organisation in the country which is into motor vehicle sales and service.

Budget carrier IndiGo on Monday said it is cancelling flights to Doha till March 17, following travel ban imposed by Qatar on Indian nationals due to coronavirus scare.

The new terminal building at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, with a capacity to handle 1,200 passengers per day, almost three times more than the existing facility, is expected to become operational in six months, an official said.

Convict Vinay Sharma through his lawyer AP Singh has approached Delhi LG seeking to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. Advocate AP Singh has filed a petition under sections 432 and 433 Cr.P.C. seeking to suspend death sentence.

Iran announces 43 new coronavirus deaths, raising the toll to 237.

Ashraf Ghani sworn-in as the President of Afghanistan.

State-owned power giant NTPC has decided to extend the deadline for defaulting discoms for making payment of outstanding dues till Tuesday next week, post which electricity supplies will be snapped.

Air India Express on Monday said passengers can reschedule their tickets free of cost for all bookings made between March 12-31, in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

Gold on Monday traded marginally up by Rs 22 to Rs 45,063 per 10 gram in the national capital amid concerns of global economic slowdown.

The Opposition on Monday demanded immediate release of all political detainees in Jammu and Kashmir, especially three former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

Market benchmark Sensex plummeted over 1,941 points on Monday, wiping off investor wealth worth around 7 lakh crore, following global market meltdown triggered by rapidly-spreading coronavirus and free fall in oil prices.

Financial audits have failed repeatedly and the government should make cost accounting mandatory to keep a tab on non-performing assets at lenders, which can prevent cases like Yes Bank, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) said on Monday.

No fresh traffic was allowed on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for the second day on Monday to facilitate clearance of stranded vehicles including trucks carrying essential commodities to Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Nothing in past records of 3 ex-JK CMs to lend credence to Centre's 'false, self-serving' claim of threat to public safety: Oppn statement. 

We demand immediate release of all political detainees in Kashmir, especially 3 former J-K CMs: Joint statement by Opposition leaders

Delhi Police Crime Branch has detained Shah Alam, brother of the suspended AAP Councilor Tahir Hussain (accused in Intelligence Bureau Officer Ankit Sharma murder case).

The American business and financial services company, Moody's again slashed India's growth forecast for 2020 to 5.3 per cent on Monday.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in Srinagar meets family members of the students who are stuck in Iran.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) announces the names of KP Munusamy,  M Thambi Durai and GK Vasan of Tamil Maanila Congress as the nominees for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested Danish, a member of PFI (Popular Front of India), for spreading false propaganda during anti-CAA protests.

Supreme Court declines to entertain the plea seeking stay imposed on the arbitration proceedings relating to Lalit Modi and the property belonging to KK Modi Trust.

In view of coronavirus, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notification regarding stopping the marking of attendance on biometric machines at National Green Tribunal (Principal Bench) in Delhi with immediate effect till March 31, 2020.

The Crime Bureau of Investigation carried out searches at multiple locations in Yes Bank case on Monday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at Nirman Bhawan.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will not celebrate Holi, in view of coronavirus.

Government Communications Office of Qatar on Monday issued a statement saying, "In addition to Qatar Airways' announcement regarding flights to and from Italy, entry to Qatar is temporarily suspended for all those intending to travel from the listed countries, as of today."

"Decision affects individuals intending to enter from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand, including visas upon arrival, those with residence/work permit and temporary visitors."

Sensex plunges over 1,150 points amid rising worries of economic impact due to #coronavirus; Nifty below 10,700

Delhi Police Crime Branch is looking for suspended AAP Councilor Tahir Hussain's (accused in Intelligence Bureau Officer Ankit Sharma murder case) brother Shah Alam. His name has come out in the investigation process.

A level-II fire that broke out in Byculla has been doused by the firefighters. Fire tenders at the spot, cooling operation underway. No injuries reported. 

S Suresh Kumar, Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education announced that considering the advice received from the Health Commissioner, holidays have been declared for KJG/UKG classes in Bengaluru North, South, and Rural districts.

North Korea has fired three unidentified projectiles off its east coast, reports The Associated Press quoting South Korea’s military.