ICMR says no payment made for Chinese test kits supplies
- India does not stand to lose a single rupee, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- the kits procured from China, whose delivered cost was ₹245 a test, were sold to ICMR for ₹600 a test — a mark up of 145%.
- Chinese Wondfo Biotech’s kits imported by Matrix Labs.
‘CBSE exams will be delayed’
- Pending exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education will only be held when the government decides to completely lift the lockdown, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank told students.
RBI opens ₹50,000 cr. liquidity tap for MFs
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a special window of ₹50,000 crore for mutual funds in view of the redemption pressure that the fund houses are facing.
- While announcing the window, the RBI said the liquidity stress was limited to high risk debt funds and the larger industry remains liquid.
- Under the scheme, the RBI will conduct repo operation of 90 day tenor at the fixed rate repo.
- Funds availed under this facility will be used by banks exclusively for meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds by extending loans, and for undertaking outright purchase of and/or repos against the collateral of investment grade corporate bonds, commercial papers, debentures and certificates of deposit held by the funds, the central bank said.
India among top 3 military spenders: report
- China’s military expenditure reached $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1% increase compared with 2018, while India’s grew by 6.8% to $71.1 billion,” the report said.
- In 2019, the top five largest spenders — U.S. ($732 bn), China, India, Russia ($65.1 bn) and Saudi Arabia ($61.9 bn).
- The $71.1 billion spent by India on defence in 2019 was 2.4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). India was at the fourth position in 2018 with Saudi Arabia at the third.