Latest News LIVE: Eleven dead in Pakistan Stock Exchange attack

Pakistan terror attack: 4 assailants were killed and Karachi stock exchange building evacuated. Stay tuned with Business Standard for the latest news of today

Gunmen attacked the Pakistani stock exchange building in the city of Karachi today and four assailants were killed, police said.

The gunmen attacked the building with grenades and guns, Pakistani media reported. The building is in a high security zone and also houses the head offices of many private banks.

In India, the Western Railway (WR) will add 40 additional suburban services to the existing 162 services currently running on the Mumbai Suburban section with effect from today. A total of 202 services will now be running on WR's suburban section.

Meanwhile, all normal activities will be allowed in Dehradun between 5 am and 8 pm every day starting today, according to the Dehradun District Magistrate. "The lockdown on Saturdays will no longer be in place but on Sundays there would be a weekly lockdown," the DM said.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

3:32 AM

Chinese troops now stepping up activity near Arunachal Pradesh

With Chinese and Indian troops eyeball-to-eyeball at seven places inside India’s claimed territory in Ladakh and Sikkim, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun stepping up activity opposite Arunachal Pradesh as well. Read more

An Indian Air Force fighter jet in Leh on Monday. Photo: PTI

3:29 AM

Covid-19 impact: MNCs strike big rental deals despite work from home push

Global firms such as Google, Accenture, and Intel, among others have signed several lease rental deals for office spaces in recent weeks notwithstanding the disruptions caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

What is interesting is the deals happened despite companies pushing for work-from-home set-ups and analysts expecting many of them to call off lease agreements. Read more

 

3:28 AM

Unlock 2.0 opens a small window; PM to address the nation at 4 pm today

The Centre on Monday issued guidelines for “unlock 2.0”, but the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in several parts of the country meant it stopped short of reopening schools, colleges, and coaching institutions.

 

International air travel and metro rail services will also continue to remain shut at least till July 31, and large congregations stay banned. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra decided to extend the lockdown in several parts of the states until July 31. Read more

3:27 AM

RBI to do buy-sell OMO of Rs 10,000 cr keeping in mind liquidity in banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be conducting a buy and sell open market operations (OMO) in bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore on Thursday.

 

While the central bank will be selling bonds maturing between 15 October 2020 and 29 April 2021, it will be buying bonds maturing between May 2027 and 5 December 2033, the central bank said in a statement. Read more

RBI

3:25 AM

Govt eyes higher RBI surplus this year as Covid-19 decimates tax revenues

With tax revenue shrinking owing to the pandemic, the Centre is expecting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transfer a higher-than-budgeted surplus for the second year in a row.

 

While last fiscal year was about capital reserves and the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan panel, this year the thinking at the Centre is that since the RBI has ramped up purchases of government bonds, the interest earned on them will be transferred to the exchequer as dividend.  Read more

3:24 AM

Q4 a red quarter for most of India Inc despite just seven days of lockdown

India’s mainstream companies, excluding lenders and software services, reported combined pre-tax losses during the January-March period (Q4) for the first time in at least 24 quarters. Though India was under lockdown for only seven days of the quarter, global demand and commodity prices began falling from February as Covid-19 was spreading in other countries. As a result, several manufacturers, especially of commodities, reported losses. Read more

3:23 AM

No goods from Chinese vendors is the new mantra for govt e-market place

After making it mandatory to display country of origin while registering new products on the government’s e-commerce platform, the Centre has sent out feelers to key government departments and ministries against purchasing products from Chinese vendors. Read more

3:22 AM

Digital strike: India bans 59 Chinese mobile apps on security threat

India has banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, including the popular SHAREit, TikTok, UC Browser, and SHEIN, citing them to be a security threat. The government invoked its powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and relevant provisions under IT Rules 2009 to block these apps, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on Monday. Read more

3:20 AM

Eleven dead in Pakistan Stock Exchange attack

Four heavily armed militants, believed to be of a banned Baloch terror group, on Monday made a brazen attempt to take over the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Karachi, killing four security guards and a police officer before being shot dead by security forces. The militants, who arrived in a car, opened fire and lobbed grenades at the main gate of the building situated in the city’s high-security commercial hub.

11:40 PM

G20 nations imposed 59 import-restrictive measures in 7 months: WTO

The G20 countries imposed as many as 59 trade-restrictive measures such asimport bans and stricter customs procedures during mid-October 2019 and mid-May 2020, according to a WTO report.

 

"During the mid-October 2019 to mid-May 2020 review period, G20 economies implemented 154 new trade and trade-related measures, 95 of them import-facilitating and 59 import-restrictive. Of these measures, 93 (about 60 per cent) were linked to the Covid-19 pandemic," it said. Tariff increases, import bans, stricter customs procedures, export duties and other such measures introduced during the review period affected 2.8 per cent of G20 trade, it added. Read more.

11:32 PM

Sonia Gandhi slams Centre over fuel price increase, Pradhan rebuts charges

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had to defend the government from charges made by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi that the Centre was profiteering from repeatedly raising petrol and diesel prices. She demanded a rollback, which was echoed by Congress units in many states.

 

Pradhan, however, said Congress-ruled states were equally responsible for an overall rise in oil prices, caused by the government’s low revenue collection because GST collections had been low because of the hit taken by business on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more.

11:16 PM

Tuticorin custodial death case: TN govt transfers case to CBI

11:13 PM

Unlock 2: Schools, cinemas to remain shut; flight services to be expanded

The government on Monday night issued guidelines for the month-long 'Unlock 2' -- the "phased re-opening" of activities that had been barred to contain the coronavirus spread in the country -- and said educational institutions, Metro Rail services, cinema halls and gyms will continue to remain closed.

 

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued detailed guidelines that will be applicable from July 1 after the 'Unlock 1' phase ends on June 30.

 

The fresh guidelines said schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till July 31.It added metro rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will also remain shut. Read more.

10:51 PM

Central govt has also reappointed existing five Additional Solicitor Generals (ASGs) for another 3 years in Supreme Court

10:51 PM

President Ram Nath Kovind approves re-appointment of KK Venugopal as Attorney General for India for a period of one year from July 1, 2020