Newspaper Headlines: China Slams India's New FDI Rules, Calls It "Discriminatory" & Other Top Stories

The Times Of India is leading with China saying FDI ban by India is 'discriminatory', but the two countries continue to quietly work together to facilitate supply of medical equipment. The health ministry says 80% of COVID-19 cases were either asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, emphasising on the need to follow lockdown rules and maintain social distancing even within the family to avoid further spread of the infection.

Hindustan Times: The Centre has termed the coronavirus disease situation "especially serious" in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata and a few other areas while forming six ground teams to assess the situation and issue directions. China asked India to revise what it described as a "discriminatory" change in foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations aimed at preventing opportunistic takeovers of Indian firms amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Telegraph is leading with the Centre barring e-commerce firms from selling non-essential items during the lockdown, reversing its own four-day-old order that allowed online platforms to sell mobile phones, refrigerators and readymade garments. The Mamata Banerjee government exploring the possibility of allocating 5kg of rice for three months to those left out of a central scheme that covers only beneficiaries who fall under the food security act.

The Asian Age: As India recorded its biggest rise of positive cases of coronavirus in one day, with the majority being reported from four states, government decides to rush six inter-ministerial central teams to them. India's new norms for foreign direct investment from specific countries violate the WTO's principle of non-discrimination and are against the general trend of free trade, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said.