Coronavirus Lockdown: Validity Of Driving Licenses That Expired On Feb 1 Extended Till June 30

Coronavirus: The validity of driving licences has been extended amid lockdown. (Representational)

Driving licenses and other motor vehicle documents that expired on February 1 will now be valid till June 30, the centre has said amid nationwide lockdown over coronavirus or COVID-19, which began last week to fight the highly infectious disease.

In an advisory, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has asked all states and union territories to consider documents like driving licenses, permits and registration papers as valid till June 30.

A week into the lockdown, the decision has been taken to facilitate people facing difficulties in renewing the validity of these motor vehicle documents due to closure of the state-run transport offices. The documents include permits, driving licence, registration or any other document issued under the Motor Vehicle Rules, according to the advisory. 

The centre has requested all the states to implement the advisory in "letter and spirit" so that people, transporters and organisations providing essential services do not get harassed.

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had permitted commercial banks and other financial lenders to allow borrowers to delay their loan repayments by a period of three months. The three-month moratorium means that no EMI would be deducted from the account of any loan borrower for the next three months. 

The RBI's announcement came a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared Rs 1.7 lakh-crore fiscal package to help the poor survive the 21-day countrywide lockdown.  

The centre last week also announced relaxation in the deadline for filing of income tax as well as Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns from March 31 to June 30. 

As a part of relief measures for farmers affected due to countrywide restrictions, the Agriculture Ministry on Monday extended the benefit of 2 per cent interest subvention to banks and 3 per cent prompt repayment incentive to all farmers till May 31 for all short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh given by banks. 

An official release issued by the Ministry said, "Due to restrictions imposed on movement of people, many farmers are not able to travel to bank branches for payment of their short term crop loan dues. Moreover, due to restrictions on movement of people and difficulty in timely sale and receipt of payment of their produce, farmers may be facing difficulties in repayment of their short term crop loans falling due during this period."

India on Monday reported the highest jump in number of COVID-19 cases with 227 people testing positive in less than 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to over 1,250. Thirty-two people have died so far.