Biz EOD: Precipitous fall in states' GST; Lockdown 3.0 revealed; auto sales hit zero for 1st time

Early bird numbers suggest coronavirus-afflicted lockdown has slashed April GST revenue of states such as Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam by as much as 80-90 per cent. The Centre has extended lockdown by two more weeks beyond May 3. India's $120 billion automobile industry registered unprecedented zero sales in the domestic market in April as the lockdown kept all factories and dealerships shut. Read for more top stories from the world of business and economy:

1. Precipitous 80-90% fall in states' April GST collections; Centre may see massive drop

Month's GST collections for Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam crashed due to coronavirus-induced lockdown; Centre's net April collections may drop from Rs 1 lakh crore to between Rs 45,000-55,000 crore.

2. Lockdown 3.0: No flights, no trains, no schools, no restaurants -- again!

Amid nationwide lockdown, while some relaxation has been given to those living in green zone areas, limited activity will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of zones

3. Govt holds back April GST numbers; announcement likely by May 5

It is likely that due to the 15-day window for filing returns without paying any interest, many taxpayers have not filed their returns yet which led to GST collections numbers for March transactions being very low till today

4. India's unemployment rate shoots to 23.5% in April: CMIE

India's unemployment rate shot up 14.8% to reach 23.5% in April, much higher than 8.7% reported in the previous month

5. Auto sales hit zero in April - first time ever

According to SIAM, manufacturers are clocking a revenue loss of Rs 2,300 crore every day and the cumulative figure for the month is in the vicinity of Rs 70,000 crore