Nearly 72 per cent of outstanding bank credit and 62 per cent of deposits are in the red zone districts and any delay in restarting of economic activity could put pressure on the lenders' balance sheet and asset quality, says a report.

For the past few months, the surge in agribusiness and rural sales has been the driving factor of the future growth potential of FMCG businesses in India. Rural contributes 35-40 percent of overall sales value. About 65 percent of Indians live in villages and small towns.

India Government has announced that amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, if any salaried individual requires funds out of his or her provident fund (PF), they can do so. This relaxation has been extended by another 3 months.

HAPPENINGS TODAY:
In Brief: From Around The World, And India

IRCTC ticket bookings to open soon...
Covid-19 lockdown: The bookings for special trains that will travel to major stations, with selective stoppages, will start from 4 PM onwards on May 11.

With 1,752 new positive cases in the last 24 hours, India recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the country’s tally to 23,452. 

Many from the film fraternity including actors Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Farhan Akhtar, Parineeti Chopra, Richa Chadha, veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar, filmmakers Reema Kagti, Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Kashyap, and Hollywood actor John Cusack expressed solidarity with the students against the police action amid protests against the contentious Act.

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 with 125 members voting for it and 105 voting against it. The bill seeks to fast-track citizenship to persecuted minorities coming to India from three neighbouring countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan excluding Muslims.

Curfew was imposed in Guwahati for an indefinite period and mobile internet services was suspended in 10 districts in Assam as protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) continued to rock the state on a day the legislation was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.

 Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis handed over his resignation to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday evening, a sharp contrast to the quiet oath ceremony held at Raj Bhavan less than 80 hours earlier that had marked the beginning of his short-lived second term.