Greece has handed over the Olympic flame to Tokyo 2020 organisers at an event which was 'significantly scaled-down' due to coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony, which took place at Athens' iconic Panathenaic stadium, did not include the planned cultural ceremonies from Greece or Japan.

Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos handed the torch over to the Tokyo Organising Committee.

In the absence of spectators, Olympic gymnastics champion Lefteris Petrounias ran a lap with the flame and Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi lit a cauldron inside the all-marble Panathenaic stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896.

The flame was then handed to Tokyo 2020 representative Naoko Imoto, a swimmer who competed in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Imoto, a UNICEF representative, was reportedly a last-minute appointment as she already lives in Greece and did not have to travel from Japan.

Today is World Sparrow Day. Every year March 20 is observed as World Sparrow Day to raise awareness about the bird. The need for marking this day was felt due to the tremendous decrease in its population. The house sparrow is on the verge of extinction.

The initiative was started by Nature Forever Society (NFS) of India, founded by Mohammed Dilawar, an Indian conservationist. He started his work helping the house sparrow in Nashik. He was also named one of the Heroes of the Environment for 2008 by Time magazine for his efforts. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 in different parts of the world.

Increased use of pesticides, change in the pattern of buildings and gardens missing from the houses have become the main factors why the number of sparrows has declined sharply in the past few years. Also, the radiation from the mobile and the TV towers has also been a cause of death of sparrows. Birds navigate by sensing the earth's magnetic fields and mobile radiations are known to disturb them and interfering with bird's ability to move around.

Four convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case were hanged to death at Tihar jail in Delhi early this morning. The executions were carried out after the convicts exhausted every possible legal avenue to escape the gallows.

Delhi High Court and Supreme Court last night dismissed a last-minute plea by the convicts, paving the way for the execution. This is for the first time that four men were hanged together in Tihar Jail.  

Nirbhaya, a para-medic student, was gangraped by six men in a moving bus in South West Delhi in December 2012. One of the accused killed himself in jail and the sixth-  a juvenile - was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term. Reacting to the development, Nirbhaya's mother thanked Indian judiciary for doing justice to Nirbhaya and millions of women across the country.

COVID-19 economic response task force to be formed under Finance Minister: Modi

19In what is seen as sensitising the citizens with a word of caution on Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday. Prime Minister also announced the creation of ‘Covid-19 Economic Response Task Force’ under the Union Finance Minister. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet the Ministers for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Civil Aviation, MSMEs and Tourism on Friday to take feedback and assess the impact of Covid-19

Modi also asked businesses and high networth individual not to cut salary of their employees.

Stressing on resolve and restraint, while asking the citizens to follow ‘Janata Curfew’ from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday, he said: “Our experience of Janata Curfew will help us chart the way ahead for tackling coronavirus in India”.

Crisil on March 19 said that Arundhati Bhattacharya, the past chairman of State Bank of India, has submitted her resignation as independent director of the company effective April 15. In her resignation, Bhattacharya has indicated that the reason for her resignation is her decision to accept a full time role as chairperson and CEO in another company, the filing said.

"Bhattacharya, an Independent Director of the company, has submitted her resignation as a director of the company, which will take effect on April 15, 2020," Crisil Ltd said in a filing to BSE.

She has confirmed that there is no other material reason, other than the reason stated in her resignation, it added.

Defence Acquisition Council approved  procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force yesterday. The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is going to be the backbone of Indian Air Force in future.

While orders of 40 Tejas aircraft had been placed with HAL in initial configurations, DAC paved the way for the procurement of another 83 of the more advanced version of the aircraft from HAL. Our correspondent reports, this procurement will be a major boost to Make in India as the aircraft is indigenously designed.  The Defence Acquisition Council also accorded approval for acquisition of indigenous Defence equipment for about 1,300 crore rupees.

Bajaj Auto on Wednesday said its board has approved the re-appointment of Rajiv Bajaj as Managing Director and CEO of the company. The approval was given in board meeting held on Tuesday.

"Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director and CEO of the company, whose five-year term expires on March 31, 2020, has been re-appointed for a further period of five years with effect from April 1, 2020," the company said in a filing to BSE.

However, the re-appointment of subject to approval of the shareholders of the company at the ensuing annual general meeting, it said.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has advised people to follow basic protective measures so that they can keep themselves safe from the Novel Coronavirus. People should avoid participating in large gatherings.

If a person is experiencing cough and fever he/she should avoid close contact with others. People are advised not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth without cleaning their hands. Spitting in public places should be avoided.

All the persons should practice frequent handwashing with soap and water or use alcohol based hand rub. People should cover their nose and mouth with handkerchief/tissue while sneezing and coughing. Used tissues should be thrown into closed bins immediately after use. In case of fever, difficult breathing and cough, doctor should be consulted immediately. While visiting doctor wear a mask/cloth to cover mouth and nose.

World Bank has announced 14 billion US Dollars to assist companies and countries in their efforts to respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19. It has added 2 billion dollars to the initial package.

The announcement came amid fear of a major global recession in the wake of the coronavirus that has impacted more than 120 countries. The package will strengthen national systems for public health preparedness, including for disease containment, diagnosis and treatment, and support the private sector.

World Bank President David Malpass said, it is essential that we shorten the time to recovery. He added that the World Bank is committed to a fast and flexible response based on the needs of developing countries.

Yes Bank CEO-designate Prashant Kumar has assured customers that complete operational normalcy will be restored from 6 PM today. Stating that there are absolutely no worries on the liquidity front, Mr. Kumar said all the bank branches and ATMs have adequate supply of cash. He also clarified that there would not be any need to depend on external sources for liquidity.

Assuring depositors that there is no need to worry about the safety of their deposits, Mr. Kumar said customers will enjoy all the banking services as they did before the moratorium.