India Weekly News Round-up: March 21-27, 2020

We have seen some worrying updates this week. And, the center of focus has been the horrifying Coronavirus!

While there were many minor updates, the whole world and the internet pages were moving around the COVID-19 outbreak.

Here, we bring to you some updates that actually made the top headlines in India in this week (March 21-27, 2020):

1) India’s Janata Curfew Against COVID-19

The week began with the rounds of debates and series of updates on the country-wide lockdown in India. The government went a step ahead and announced the self-isolation drive called ‘Janata Curfew’ to contain the coronavirus outbreak in India. After this drive, the center decided to intensify measures and announced the complete country-wide lockdown till March 31, 2020. Within no time, the government decided to make it a continuous lockdown until April 14, 2020. Read More…

2) 200,000 Indians in Italy During COVID-19 outbreak

This was one major news update that added to the public concerns about coronavirus outbreak. Amid the horrifying incidents from Italy, news reports said 200,000 Indians resided in Italy during the virus outbreak from China. Given this fact, it would be a further challenge to the government in handling the returning Indians from the foreign destinations, especially Italy. Read More…

3) Broadband Speeds Take Hit

In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, companies have asked their employees to start supporting from home. While the work from home trend picked up, there was an update that said the broadband speeds are declining, with India’s fixed broadband speeds declining by 1.75 mbps. As of February 2020, India’s mobile performance ranking under the Speedtest Global Index was seen as 128th. Read More…

4) Indian Students in UK

In another update, Indian students in UK demanded the Indian Embassy in UK to get them evacuated immediately from UK. Stating that the situation in UK is worsening with each passing day, Indian students gathered at various airports there to fly off the country. However, authorities communicated them about the lockdown and made necessary arrangements for their safety until they reach here. Read More…

5) Finally, India’s First COVID-19 Test Kit!

On account of the growing number of COVID-19 positive cases, the government has finally decided to increase the speed and volume of COVID-19 tests across the country. To overcome the challenge of overdependence on imported kits, the country welcomed its first ‘Made in India’ COVID-19 test kit. The new kit promises to complete a COVID-19 test in just 2.5 hrs unlike 7 hrs with the imported kits. Read More…

6) WHO Praises India’s Efforts

Commending India’s efforts in fighting Coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged India to lead the world in fighting out the deadly coronavirus. Citing India’s past achievements in controlling polio, smallpox and others, WHO said India has to show some direction to the world nations in controlling the novel coronavirus too. Read More…

7) COVID-19 Relief Package

Amid the continued lockdown and rising public worries over income generation, especially among working class, the government has finally announced a relief package around Coronavirus. It has announced USD 23 billion as relief or financial stimulus package to battle the consequences of coronavirus outbreak. Read More…

8) ICMR Expands Testing Strategy

To control the fast-spreading coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said it will expand the strategy for COVID-19 testing process. In this regard, the Council invited price quotes from various COVID-19 test kit manufacturers and also added additional private labs to the existing government labs to work as test centers. Read More…

9) Indian Embassy in US Offers Yoga Classes

In a refreshment to the worrying Americans, the Indian Embassy in US announced free online yoga classes to make the self-quarantine time of Americans more productive in US. It is due to start the course from March 31, 2020, 5 days a week from Monday-Friday at 5PM every day. Read More…

10) RBI Gives Economic Relief

In a relief to the citizens of India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed all banks to not collect or deduct EMIs on loan repayments from individuals, for the next three months. However, this will not apply to dues on credit card payments. Read More…

Stay tuned to Indianera for more updates about India and its major happenings. Keep watching us for regular news updates!

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