From the Newsroom: Centre announces additional Rs 2.65 lakh crore Covid-19 stimulus package

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, India announces additional Rs 2.65 lakh crore Covid-19 stimulus package; Moody's Investors Service says it expects India's economy to shrink by 8.9 per cent in the 2020 calendar year due to the Covid-19 pandemic; Karnataka approves to borrow Rs 7,438 crore for the Bengaluru suburban rail project; Actor Asif Basra found dead in Himachal Pradesh; RJD's Tejashwi Yadav elected leader of the Grand Alliance legislature, and a special court rejects default bail plea of businessman Deepak Kochhar.

Here are the top news of November 12, 2020:

The Centre on Thursday announced an additional Rs 2.65 lakh crore as part of a fresh Covid-19 stimulus package that includes Rs 65,000 crore of fertilizer subsidy, income tax relief to home buyers and developers and a new scheme to incentivise the creation of employment opportunities.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced an extension of emergency credit support of Rs 3 lakh crore announced under the first stimulus package to 26 other stressed sectors including hotels, tourism, travel, textile and others, as identified by the K V Kamath Committee.

The date of the loan support, which was going to expire on November 30, was also extended till March 31, 2021.

Moody's Investors Service said on Thursday it expects India's economy to shrink by 8.9 per cent in the 2020 calendar year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, compared to an earlier forecast of a 9.6 per cent contraction.

The revision comes as a rise in novel coronavirus cases slows in the world's second-most populous country, and economic activity picks up after a 23.9 per cent contraction in April-June, when consumer spending, private investments and exports collapsed during one of the world's strictest lockdowns.

The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday gave administrative approval to borrow Rs 7,438 crore for the Bengaluru suburban rail project that is being implemented jointly by the Centre and the state.

The money will be borrowed by a special purpose vehicle that has been set up to implement the Bengaluru suburban rail project, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said, briefing reporters.

While the Centre and state will contribute Rs 2,479 crore each, Rs 7,438 crore will be borrowed from lending agencies through the SPV.

Actor Asif Basra, known for starring in movies such as "Jab We Met", "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" and "Kai Po Che!", died on Thursday, the police said. He was 53.

The actor was found hanging in a private complex by the police and a team of forensic experts is on the spot, said SSP Kangra Vimukt Ranjan.

The police is investigating the case and further details are awaited, Ranjan added.

It is being reported that the actor had a property on lease for the past five-six years in McLeodganj, Upper Dharamshala, and used to visit the place regularly.

RJD's Tejashwi Yadav was on Thursday elected the leader of the Grand Alliance legislature party and promptly hit out at the NDA, claiming it won the assembly elections through "deceit".

Addressing a press conference, Yadav mocked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) has been relegated to the third position in terms of seat tally, and wondered whether the latter would "heed his conscience and give up his attachment to the chair".

A special court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected the default bail plea of businessman Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and an accused in money laundering case.

Deepak Kochhar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case.

The businessman, through his lawyer, applied for bail on merits as well as on account of default, claiming the prosecution has failed to file a charge-sheet in the case within stipulated period.

Source: DHNS/ PTI