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?=BQ =4F34;78
T he RBI on Friday cut inter-
est rate by 75 basis points
and also provided a big relief to
the middle class by permitting
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the banks to allow a three-
month moratorium on pay-
ment of installments of all
term loans outstanding as on
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March 1, 2020.
During the moratorium
period, the borrower will not
be not required to make any
repayment to the banks. The
RBI decision will bring big
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reliefs to millions of borrowers
who are facing tough time
from income erosion due to the
lockdown.
A18P]]^d]RTSbcT_bc^aT[TPbT
The 75 basis point interest
rate cut by the RBI is the
steepest in more than 11 years
as it joined the Government
effort to rescue a slowing econ-
omy that has now got caught in
coronavirus whirlwind.
Announcing the measures,
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
predicted a big global recession
and said India will not be
immune. Global slowdown
could make things difficult for
India too, despite some help
from falling crude prices, Das
said, adding food prices may
soften even further on record
crop production. Aggregate
demand may weaken and ease
core inflation further, he noted.
The RBI cut repo to 4.4 per
cent, the lowest in at least 15
years. Also, it reduced the cash
reserve ratio maintained by
the banks for the first time in
over seven years. CRR for all
banks was cut by 100 basis
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?=BQ =4F34;78
A mid heartrending stories of
migrant workers trudging
hundreds of kms to return
home carrying sackful of good-
ies on their heads and facing
assault from the police, the
Centre has asked States to help
stranded workers.
The Ministry of Home
Affairs also issued advisory to
States and UTs to prevent mass
exodus of migrant and agri
labourers, industrial workers
and unorganised sector work-
ers. The Centre’s directive came
on a day 300 migrants were
found crammed in two trucks
. look into the issue of mass exo-
Meanwhile, the
Maharashtra Government has
come to the rescue of a 28-year
20?BD;4
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and Industry Minister Piyush
A186^eTa]^aBWPZcXZP]cP3PbPSSaTbbTbcWT\TSXPX]<d\QPX^]5aXSPh
points to release C1.37 lakh
crore across banking system.
The reverse repo rate was cut
by 90 bps to 4 per cent, creat-
ing an asymmetrical corridor.
The twin measure which
follow the C1.7 lakh crore relief
package announced by Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
on Thursday, are expected to
provide relief both the weaker
section of the society as well as
the middle class. The
Government may now come
up with another set of measures
to help the corporate India fight
the slowdown triggered by the
countrywide lockdown.
On moratorium decision,
the Central bank said it will not
result in asset classification
downgrade and will have no
0Va^d_^U\XVaP]cf^aZTabfP[Zc^cWTXaeX[[PVTbP\XScWT]PcX^]fXSTR^\_[TcT
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old Mumbai resident by issuing
him a special pass to drive close
to 2,300 km, cutting across
three States, and reach Kolkata
to attend his father’s last rites.
Home Minister Amit Shah
has spoken to some of the Chief
Ministers and asked them to
dus of migrant workers from
different parts of the country
after the announcement of 21-
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mid coronavirus scare has
German-based multinational
technology company, Robert
Bosch, claiming that it has
invented a fully-automated test
that diagnoses respiratory
pathogens, including COVID-
hours.
The test, working on Bosch
Healthcare Solutions’ Vivalytic
analysis device, can be per-
formed directly at points of care
— eliminating the need to
may also be isolated on site,
reducing the ability of the virus
to spread further, said the com-
pany in a statement. The device
can be used in all medical insti-
tutions, and meets quality stan-
Continued on Page 2
X]bcPVaP\R^\SPX[h_X^]TTa 84/4U8+-*4U*2 )6UYZKJGZ*839*KRNO
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Health put the figure to 724 in
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adverse impact on the credit
history of the borrowers.
The decision will cover all
regional, rural banks, co-oper-
ative banks, NBFCs, including
Housing Finance Companies,
but the banks will have the final
say in extending the benefit to
customers.
The liquidity measures
announced include auction of
targetted long-term repo oper-
ation of 3-year tenure for total
amount of C1 lakh crore at
floating rate and accommoda-
tion under Marginal Standing
Facility to be increased from 2
per cent to 3 per cent of
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
with immediate effect till June
30.
Combined, these three
day lockdown. Home Secretary
AK Bhalla has also issued an
advisory asking States and UTs
to take immediate steps to
provide adequate support,
including food and shelter, to
migrant agricultural labour-
ers, industrial workers and
other unorganised sector work-
ers during the nationwide coro-
navirus lockdown.
Continued on Page 2
8.30%RULV+HDOWK
6HF\+DQFRFNWHVWYH
?C8Q ;>=3>=
ritish Prime Minister Boris
B Johnson said on Friday that
he has tested positive for coro-
navirus after experiencing
“mild symptoms”, becoming
the first world leader to
announce the infection.
Minutes after Johnson’s
announcement, his health sec-
retary Matt Hancock tweeted
that he too was infected and
was in self-isolation.
In a video message posted
on Twitter, the 55-year-old
Johnson said he will continue
to lead the UK government’s
response to the deadly virus,
which has claimed 578 lives in
the country.
“Over the last 24 hours I
have developed mild symptoms
and tested positive for coron-
avirus,” Johnson said on
Twitter.
“I am now self-isolating,
but I will continue to lead the
government’s response via
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measures will make available a
total C3,74,000 crore to the
country’s financial system.
After cutting policy rates
five times in 2019, the RBI had
been on a pause since
December in view of high
inflation.
While the Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) of the RBI
originally was slated to meet in
the first week of April, it was
advanced by a week to meet the
challenge of coronavirus.
In a tweet, Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
welcomed the RBI Governor’s
decision saying that the macro-
economic fundamentals of the
Indian economy are sound,
and in fact stronger than what
they were in the aftermath of
the global financial crisis of
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n an alarming disclosure,
Iundisclosed
the Government has said an
number of over 15
lakh passengers who returned
from abroad during the last two
months may have skipped the
monitoring system put in place
for coronavirus surveillance.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv
Gauba has pointed to the States
that in the last two month,
more than 15 lakh international
travellers came to India but
there appears to be a gap in
their actual monitoring.
Gauba has asked States to
urgently strengthen the sur-
veillance of international trav-
ellers who entered the country
before the lockdown.
Interestingly, so far only
around 28,000 persons have
1aXcPX]´b?aX\T<X]XbcTa1^aXb9^W]b^]
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video-conference as we fight
this virus. Together we will beat
this,” he said.
Hancock, who is a key
member of Johnson’s coron-
avirus “War Cabinet”, said in a
video message that he will be
self-isolating until Thursday.
“Following medical advice,
I was advised to test for coro-
navirus. I’ve tested positive,”
Hancock posted on Twitter.
DA@CE"#
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2008-09.
“Appreciate @RBI
@DasShaktikanta’s reassuring
words on financial stability,” she
said.
The three-month morato-
rium on payments of term
loan installments (EMI) and
interest on working capital
give much-desired relief, she
added.
“...Slashed interest rate
needs quick transmission,” the
Finance Minister said in anoth-
er tweet.
Meanwhile, welcoming the
RBI’s decision to provide three
months moratorium on pay-
ment of term loans, Commerce
of need, the “move has pro-
vided a much needed relief to
people and businesses”.
Besides other measures to
help the economy facing lock-
down, the RBI announced steps
to release primary liquidity of
C1,37,000 crore in the banking
system and reduced cash
reserve ratio (CRR) by 100
basis points with effect from
March 28 for one year.
It can be noted that a few
States like Maharashtra had
urged all the departments to
pull out money from private
sector banks despite previous
communication from the RBI
not to do so.
Yes Bank witnessed mas-
sive withdrawals ahead of being
put under a moratorium by the
RBI, but has been reporting
normal activity since the
restrictions removed on March
18.
been tested for the coronavirus
infection. The fact that major-
ity of those who tested positive
have a travel history, the
Cabinet Secretary’s disclosure
should alert the States in iden-
tifying all those who returned
from abroad, quarantine and
test them in case of any symp-
tom for the infection.
In his letter to Chief
Secretaries of States and Union
Territories, Gauba said such a
gap in monitoring of interna-
tional passengers for coron-
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W ith Covid-19 cases
increasing by the day Thave been greatly exagger-
and likely to spike in the days ated,” Sir James Paul
to come, the Army has formed
responsive and agile Quick
Reaction Medical Teams
(QRMTs) which are on six
hours standby notice to
mobilise to help hospitals and
civil administration if needed,
Army Chief General Manoj
Naravane said here on Friday.
He also said contingency
plans are ready, adding this
responsibility will not affect its
operational readiness. The
Army has code named its anti-
Covid-19 operations as
Operation Namaste.
Highlighting some of the
measures taken by the Army in
the last few weeks, Naravane
said all field hospitals were
instructed to be ready to set up
a 45-bed isolation facility.
Continued on Page 2
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he coronavirus scourge
T continued to grow steadily
in the country with more than
100 confirmed cases reported
on Friday and the total tally
crossing 800. The Ministry of
the morning and didn’t revise
it till late in the night. Other
websites monitoring the Covid-
19 outbreak worldwide placed
the updated total count to 874
and Friday’s fresh cases to 147.
In an effort to ramp up the
health facilities to meet the
emergency, the Government
has given an order to a PSU to
provide 10,000 ventilators. “We
have given an order to a PSU
to provide 10,000 ventilators.
Bharat Electronics Limited
(BEL) has also been requested
to purchase 30,000 additional
ventilators in 1-2 months,” said
Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary,
Union Health Ministry.
At a Press briefing on coro-
navirus here, he said 75 new
cases of coronavirus and four
deaths have been reported in
the last 24 hours. However, the
Worldometer, run by an inter-
national team of developers,
researchers, and volunteers has
avirus “may seriously jeopar-
dise the efforts to contain the
spread of COVID-19,” given
that many amongst the persons
who have tested positive so far
in India have history of inter-
national travel.
“As you are aware, we ini-
tiated screening of interna-
tional incoming passengers at
the airports with effect from
January 18, 2020. I have been
informed that up to March 23,
2020, cumulatively, Bureau Of
Immigration has shared details
of more than 15 lakh incoming
international passengers with
the States/UTs for monitoring
for COVID-19.
“However, there appears to
be a gap between the number
of international passengers who
need to be monitored by the
States/UTs and the actual num-
ber of passengers being mon-
itored,” Gauba said in his letter.
The Government had
started monitoring of all inter-
national passengers who have
arrived in India in last two
months in the wake of the
coronavirus outbreak.
Continued on Page 2
3^]´c[Tcad\^daX]UTRch^da
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he rumours of my death
McCartney, the legendary
musical maestro, had once
borrowed the line from Mark
Twain to scotch the rumour of
his death. The sheer influence
of a canard — in the present
case that newspapers can act as
carriers of coronavirus — is as
pervasive and deadly as the
pandemic Covid-19, leading to
panic among newspaper read-
ers and vendors.
Therefore, it is high time
The Pioneer informed you
about facts, and measures we
have taken, when the life of our
esteemed readers is concerned.
While there is no data or sci-
entific truth — as clarified by
WHO too — in the rumour as
the entire process from print-
ing to packaging newspapers is
completely automated, thus
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estimated the Covid-19 cases to
be at 874 with 19 deaths and
147 fresh cases. The
Government has also launched
a coronavirus risk-tracking app
called ‘Corona Kavach.’
Jointly developed by the
Union Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology
and the Union Health Ministry,
the app uses a person’s location
to assess whether they are in
the high risk geographical zone
or not. The app is now available
for download — in beta — for
Android phones on the Google
Play Store, said a senior Health
Ministry official.
The Government also said
it will soon start its participa-
tion in solidarity trial that the
World Health Organization is
initiating. “Earlier we did not
do it because our numbers
were so small that our contri-
bution would have looked
minuscule,” said Raman R
5V]YZcVRUje`eRT\]V
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etailing the Delhi
D Government’s action plan
and reviewing corona updates
with senior health officials,
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal addressing a digital
Press conference on Friday
said five-member committee of
doctors have prepared action
plan to prepare for stage 3 out-
break of COVID-19 cases in
Delhi. Also, the CM said from
Friday, 325 Delhi Government
schools will be used to provide
free food to the homeless and
needy people.
He said the Delhi
Government is now feeding
nearly 20,000 people daily,
from Saturday we will be feed-
ing 4 lakh.
He said, “Till Thursday,
there were only 36 COVID-19
cases in Delhi. Today, three
more cases have been con-
firmed which has totaled the
cases to 39. Out of these 29
cases had a travel history and
10 are via local transmission.”
devoid of human touch, The
Pioneer has added an additional
layer of safety by spraying sani-
tisation on the paper during the
printing and by ensuring that
even vendors and delivery per-
sons are properly sanitised.
Also, the printing staff are
thermally scanned and sani-
tised daily, said The Pioneer’s
printing manager Indraraj.
Continued on Page 2
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0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T
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Gangakhedkar, Head of
Epidemiology and
Communicable diseases at
ICMR. On Friday, Kerala’s tally
reached 176 — the highest
number of cases so far.
Continued on Page 2
86KDVPRVW
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Washington: The US now
has more coronavirus cases
than any other country after
more than 16,000 COVID-19
infections were reported there
in a single day, taking the
number of patients in America
to over 85,600.
Globally, a total of 24,057
people have died due to the
novel coronavirus with Italy
standing at the top with 8,215
deaths, followed by Spain
(4,365) and China (3,169),
the varsity figures stated.
Kejriwal said the team of
doctors has submitted a
detailed SOP on the issue and
the Government is fully pre-
pared to deal with up to 100
patients per day and are prepar-
ing for 1,000 positive cases
daily in future.
Kejriwal said, “The situa-
tion is under control right
now, since there is a maximum
increase of 3-4 cases per day,
and there were also days when
no new cases were registered.”
Continued on Page 2
6DWLVK*XMUDO
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?=BQ =4F34;78
rchitect,
A painter,
muralist, sculptor
and graphic artist
Satish Gujral was
a product of the
experiences that he had had.
And he kept layering them till
the ripe old age of 94. While
events like the Partition and his
hearing impairment at the age
of eight influenced his art, he
never let these get the better of
him. Later he underwent a
cochlear implant and regained
his power of hearing after 62
years in 1998.
Indian art and architecture
greatly benefited due to Gujral’s
fickle-minded nature. Because
of his ability to get bored of
things easily, he kept changing
his profession, but perfected
each one of them. At the end of
it all, the man turned into one
of the most brilliant multi-
faceted personalities India has
ever seen.
Continued on Page 2
=4F34;78kB0CDA30H k<0A27!'!! ]PcX^]!
2XcZTf]efcV`aVcReZ`_d
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?=BQ =4F34;78
armers engaged in agricul-
F tural activities, wholesale
vegetable markets operated by
Agriculture Produce Market
Committee and manufacturing
and packaging units of fertilis-
ers, pesticides and seeds have
been exempted from the
purview of the 21-day lockdown
announced to combat coron-
avirus.
In additional guidelines
issued by the Home Ministry,
agencies engaged in procure-
ment of agriculture products,
including Minimum Support
Price (MSP/operations were
exempted from the lockdown)
mandis operated by the
Agriculture Produce Market
Committee or as notified by the
state government, farming oper-
ations by farmers and farm
workers in the field have been
exempted from the purview of
the lockdown, the fresh guide-
lines said.
Custom hiring centres
(CHC) related to farm machin-
6DWLVK*XMUDOQR
From Page 1
Though he wouldn’t agree
to it, art has remained his con-
stant love, even as he experi-
mented with it like no other
lover would. Over the years, he
constantly changed his medium
and materials in order to dif-
ferentiate his art from that of his
previous creation. Known for
creating some of the most
exquisite paintings, murals and
sculptures, Gujral was one of the
greatest as well as the most ver-
satile artists of India.
He also ventured into archi-
tecture, even as people criticised
him for doing so since he was
already successful as an artist.
Had he not ventured into archi-
tecture fearing failure, India
wouldn’t have got one of the
finest buildings of the 20th
century - the Belgium Embassy,
situated in New Delhi. He cre-
ated artworks with modern
techniques that were much
inspired from Indian culture
and tradition and Indian archi-
tecture.
Unlike many of his peers,
who went to Paris or London in
the early 1950s, Gujral went to
Mexico City to study with Diego
Rivera and Siqueiros. It was here
that he was exposed to the idea
of public art, which he imple-
mented later in his life and also
came in touch with artists Frida
Kahlo and Octavio Paz.
The Mexican Government
conferred Gujral with “The
Order of the Aztec Eagle”, an
honour given to foreigners ren-
9V]a^ZXcR_ed
e`acVgV_e day. Unable to find transport,
From Page 1
In an advisory to all States
and Union territories, the MHA
suggests that in order to miti-
gate the situation for unorgan-
ised sector workers, particularly
stranded migrant workers,
States/UTs need to explore
measures by involving various
agencies, including NGOs, to
provide food and shelter with
basic amenities like clean drink-
ing water and sanitation.
The Ministry has also
advised the States and UTs to
ensure that hotels, rented
accommodations, hostels etc.,
continue to remain functional
and delivery of essential items
is streamlined, so that stu-
dents, working women hostel
inmates etc, are allowed to
continue in existing facilities
observing precautions.
It has also asked States
and UTs to make arrange-
ments for uninterrupted supply
of essential commodities to
hotels, working women hostels
so that they continue to live in
existing facilities. The States
and UTs have also been advised
to make these vulnerable
groups aware of measures
taken by the Government,
including provision of free
foodgrains and other essential
items through PDS, and
streamline the distribution sys-
tem. The coronavirus-enforced
lockdown has triggered a mass
exodus of migrant workers
across the country.
The mass exodus of
migrant labourers, workers,
domestic help and other unor-
ganised sector workers with
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GDPDJHRUORVVWRDQ\SHUVRQDSXUFKDVHURIWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQRUQRWIRUWKHUHVXOWRIDQ\DFWLRQWDNHQRQWKHEDVLVRIWKLVZRUN$OOGLVSXWHVDUHVXEMHFWWRWKHH[FOXVLYHMXULVGLFWLRQRIFRPSHWHQWFRXUWDQGIRUXPVLQ'HOKL1HZ'HOKLRQO\5HDGHUVDUHDGYLVHGDQGUHTXHVWHGWRYHULI\DQGVHHNDSSURSULDWHDGYLFHWRVDWLVI\WKHPVHOYHVDERXWWKHYHUDFLW\RIDQ\NLQGRIDGYHUWLVHPHQWEHIRUH
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ery, manufacturing and pack-
aging units of fertilisers, pesti-
cides and seeds have also been
exempted from the lockdown so
are intra and inter-state move-
ment of harvesting and sowing
related machines like combined
harvester and other agriculture
and horticulture implements.
After Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's announce-
ment of the 21- days lockdown,
the home ministry on Tuesday
night issued the guidelines for
the enforcement of the nation-
wide lockdown.
The guidelines listed sever-
al services including government
and private offices that will be
out of bounds during the peri-
od, while exempting establish-
ments such as hospitals, ration
dering distinguish services to
Mexico and humanity.
His art touched people in
everyday objects.
His familiar works include
the alphabet mural on the out-
side wall of the Delhi High
Court. Among the best are his
two sculptures at the ITC
Maurya, New Delhi. Gujral cre-
ated a modernist mould with
Indianesque idioms. He also
designed the Belgian Embassy
in Delhi for which the Belgian
Government honoured him
with the Order of the Crown in
1983. He was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan for his con-
tributions. “Gujral’s was a ver-
satile practice spanning paint-
ing, sculpture and architecture.
RIP,” artist Ranjit Hoskote tweet-
ed, expressing his condolences.
Reactions from other peo-
ple in the art world came in as
well. Adwaita Gadanayak, DG,
NGMA, said, “India loses
Gujral, an eminent artist, sculp-
tor and architect. His brilliance
lay in his ability to use his cre-
ativity to the fullest in many
forms and ways. The NGMA
has his early painting of 1999 in
our collection. Highlight hap-
pened in 1952, when he got a
scholarship to study at the
revered Palacio de Bellas Artes
in Mexico City, where he was
apprenticed under renowned
artists Diego Rivera and David
Alfaro Siqueiros - who were
remarkable figures of the 20th-
century art scene. To have Frida
Kahlo and Octavio Paz as his
friends became the important
point of synergy.”
their families from different
cities continued on the third
hundreds of people, especially
daily wage workers and their
families, have been seen walk-
ing for days with little food and
water to reach their villages
from the cities. Incidents of
police lathicharge on them have
been reported from Uttar
Pradesh.
Thousands of migrant
labourers were seen crossing the
Delhi-Ghazipur border on
Friday.
In Maharashtra, the author-
ities have issued a special pass
and arranged a vehicle to a per-
son identified as Anindya Roy
to attend the last rites of his
father. His father Ashish Kumar
Roy, 61, died of cardiac arrest
early on Thursday. Left with no
options due to lockdown,
Anindya narrated his ordeal on
social media and urged people
to help him reach his hometown
by road. Roy also called up his
family in Kolkata and asked
them to send across his father’s
death certificate over email as
well as WhatsApp. He for-
warded the documents to
Maharashtra Transport
Commissioner Shekhar Channe
and narrated his problem.
Within minutes, Channe issued
a special pass enabling Roy to
travel through Maharashtra.
The similar case has hap-
pened in Delhi where officials
of Bihar Bhawan in Delhi also
issued a special travel pass and
arranged vehicle to a person to
attend his mother’s last rites in
Madhubani, in Bihar. Several
persons have approached to the
Telangana Government
through social media seeking
special passes or ‘no objection
certificate’ to attend final rites
shops, dairies, banks, insurance
offices, print and electronic
media. Delivery of all essential
goods including food, pharma-
ceuticals, medical equipment
through e-commerce has also
been exempted from the
purview of the lockdown.
"All enforcing authorities to
note that these strict restrictions
fundamentally relate to move-
ment of people, but not to that
of essential goods," the guide-
lines said.
Another set of guidelines
was issued on Wednesday giv-
ing exemption to several cate-
gories of people and services
from the purview of the lock-
down.
This is the third set of guide-
lines issued in last four days. A
series of Standard Operating
Procedures was also issued on
Thursday wherein the central
government has made it clear
that essential goods and services
should be made available to the
people asked state governments
to ensure their smooth func-
tioning.
5V]YZcVRUj
e`eRT\]V
dZefReZ`_ZW
_f^SVc treating up to 1,000 new cases
From Page 1
The CM said, “I had
formed a team of five doctors
under the chairmanship of Dr
Sareen, who is the head of ILBS
hospital. The team has done
brilliant work and submitted its
report yesterday, including a
comprehensive plan of action
on the preparations done in the
wake of the surge in COVID-
19 cases in Delhi. They differ-
entiated the action plan into
three stages, first is what can be
done if we get 100 new cases
every day, second is what can
be done if we get 500 new cases
every day, and third is what can
be done if we get 1,000 new
cases every day.”
“If we get 100 new cases
every day, the current health-
care system that we have is
enough to treat the surge. For
that, a detailed plan has been
created to see how many iso-
lation beds, ventilators, ICU
beds, testing mechanisms and
strength, ambulances, medical
staff such as doctors and nurs-
es, under each head of 100, 500,
and 1000 new cases every day.
They have also mapped a
mechanism on which private
of their relatives. A person
from Kurnool, is living in
Hyderabad, issued the No
Objection Certificate (NOC) by
the Telangana Government to
attend final rites of his mother.
In another case, a resident of in
Guntur district, was given a
special pass and provided vehi-
cle to reach his hometown
where his grandfather passed
away.
The UP Government has
also started arranging for buses
to ferry people who are coming
in from other States and are
stranded on the border districts.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar
administration on Friday said it
arranged over a dozen buses to
over 600 stranded people to
help them reach home during
the lockdown. These migrant
workers , including women
and children hailing from Bihar
and places in interior Uttar
Pradesh such as Etawah,
Auraiya, Kanpur, Aligarh,
Gorakhpur, Azamgarh were
picked up from the Yamuna
Expressway. In Jharkhand, a
group of 27 migrant labourers,
who worked in West Bengal’s
Hooghly district, walked to
reach Dumka. The labourers
said that no transport is avail-
able to reach their home in
Bihar’s Saharsa. In Thane,
around 40 migrant labourers
working in Mumbai were
stopped by police on Friday
morning for trying to escape to
Uttar Pradesh in a truck.
Worried over a large num-
ber of exodus of migrant work-
ers including farm labourers,
the Gujarat Government has
assured that migrant labourers
would be given food and
accommodation but won’t be
allowed to travel to their villages
during the 21-day lockdown.
DSSWPeTg_aTbbTbR^]RTa]
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C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108
aharashtra Chief Minister
M Uddhav Thackeray on
Friday expressed serious con-
cern that scores of people were
travelling by trucks and tankers
to various destinations in var-
ious parts of the State thus
exposing them to the threat of
contracting the pandemic.
Addressing the people
across the State live through
social media, Uddhav said in
the evening “We have taken
some bold steps to ensure
availability of essential com-
modities to the people. As part
of the exercise, we have asked
the shopkeepers vending the
essential commodities to keep
their establishments open for
24 hours. Soon after we took
these steps, I was asked to
learn that the people are trav-
elling by trucks and tankers”
Uddhav, who has been
speaking live to the people
almost on a daily basis, said:
hospitals to include in case of
the surge, where the ambu-
lances, ventilators and other
resources will come from, etc.
“We will start implement-
ing all these plans of action
once the cases rise from 100 per
day. We have a detailed plan of
per day. But, I hope that we
never reach this stage and I
hope and pray that the rise in
4-5 new cases will also decrease
in the future,” said Kejriwal.
For the poorest sections of
society, the Delhi Government
is providing free ration to the
people. Those who do not
have ration cards, are being fed
meals by the Delhi
Government in 224 night shel-
ters. “We were feeding nearly
20,000 people per day through
these night shelters until now,
but we also observed that the
number of people was rising. I
noticed some videos on the
social media of people who
could not get meals,” said the
CM.
Urging Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh migrants not to leave
the Capital, Kejriwal said his
Government will ensure time-
ly supply of food to daily
wagers and homeless.
“Those who do not have
ration cards, are being fed
meals by the Delhi
Government in 224 night shel-
ters. “I noticed some videos on
the social media of people who
could not get meals,” he said.
“To provide lunch and din-
ner facilities at 325
Government schools across
2c^jcVRUj
hZeYZedµ@a
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From Page 1
And also to create 10 bed
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facil-
ity exclusively for COVID-19 at
six-hour notice. In addition, 30
per cent Field Hospitals have
been kept on standby for con-
structing COVID-19 hospitals
in coronavirus hotspots, he
said.
Noting that at present
COVID-19 is in “preparatory
stage of impact in India” and
the country is making con-
certed efforts to prevent the
disease from establishing a
firm base, he said “next few
weeks will be crucial to prevent
negative effects of this deadly
mutant virus.”
On the possible contin-
gency options that may arise as
the cases continue to rise,
Naravane said, at this juncture,
it is difficult to say how the sit-
uation will develop. “However,
after having analysed the impact
of COVID-19 over last two-
three months in other countries,
one can start planning and
preparing for difficult times.”
On the Army’s operational
preparedness, he said the Army
has certain “inherent capabil-
ity” to rise up to various emer-
gency situations by virtue of
organisational structure and
training and in keeping with
that, the “Indian Army is plan-
ning and preparing to fight
COVID-19.”
While reviewing the situa-
tion on a daily basis, the Army
Chief said various advisories
and instructions have been
“People should relaise that
they face the health risk the
moment they stir out of their
homes. Hence, it is essential
for the people to stay at home.
While being at home, please
do not feel that you are pass-
ing through a crisis. Please
realise that the pandemic will
not enter your home. Hence
you please be where you are.
Please do not use unautho-
rised means to travel”
Uddhav's statement
should be seen in the context
of the State Government has
banned the movement of all
types of vehicles, excepting
trucks and other vehicles
transporting essential com-
modities, from one district to
another as part of the state-
wide lockdown . With no
other means of transport, the
people in many parts of the
state are defying the ban on
movement of people and trav-
elling by unauthorised trucks
and tankers.
Delhi. Every school shall be
able to feed around 500 bene-
ficiaries each day and each
night. The Government has
also increased the supply of
meals in the existing night
shelters from today.
“I have also instructed the
MLAs to ensure that no one in
their constituency suffers from
hunger. They should collabo-
rate with the society and pro-
vide food to all,” he said.
Kejrwial said, “Many social
and religious organisations
have come forward to help,
including ISKCON, Radha
Soami, gurudwara organisa-
tions, and many other organi-
sations are helping the
Government and also provid-
ing food in their personal
capacity. My thanks to all of
them on behalf of the people.”
Requesting people to
maintain social distance,
Kejriwal said the lockdown
will bear no results if people do
not indulge in social distancing.
“I have seen media stories on
our night shelters and how ben-
eficiaries are made to maintain
a considerable distance from
each other,” he added.
The Delhi Government
has started transferring pension
amount of Rs 5,000 to eight
lakh pensioners including
senior citizens, widow and dis-
abled in first phase.
“Today, we have trans-
ferred Rs 5,000 in the account
of pensioners, rest five thou-
sand will be transferred in first
week of April in second phase,”
Kejriwal said.
issued to the force to create
awareness and contain spread
of COVID-19. “Command
wise COVID-19 helpline num-
bers have also been given,” he
stated.
The Army currently has
wellness centres for evacuees at
Manesar, Jaisalmer and
Jodhpur and Army medical
facilities at Jhansi, Binnaguri
and Gaya have been kept on
standby with an additional col-
lective capacity of 1,600 beds.
Naravane said till now 372
evacuees have been treated at
Manesar and currently 82 are
under quarantine. At Jaisalmer
484 citizens who were evacu-
ated from Iran are under quar-
antine and another 277 at
Jodhpur, he added.
Meanwhile, the Army has
asked its personnel on leave to
extend their stay and not report
to their formations till April 15
in wake of the novel coronavirus
outbreak. This order was part of
the fresh advisory issued after
one soldier in Ladakh was test-
ed positive after he returned
from home where his father,
who had earlier returned from
Iran, was also tested positive.
The soldier has recovered.
Moreover, conferences and
seminars and temporary duty
of all ranks also stand cancelled
till April 15. Also, those work-
ing in the Army Headquarters
here are directed to work in
shifts to ensure less contact and
reduce footfall in offices.
Chipping in for the nation-
al effort to fight the pandem-
ic, 62 Cantonment Boards
spread over 19 States and
Union Territories, across the
country, with a population of
approximately 21 lakh (includ-
ing military and civil) have
geared up to the challenge.
H`^R_R^`_XWZgV
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ive persons, including a
F woman, were arrested on
Friday for beating policemen
who had tried to stop them
from mining sand illegally in
Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur
district during a statewide
curfew to contain the spread of
the new coronavirus, officials
said.
A police team found Phool
Devi, Sahil, Shekhar, Ashok
and Satish were mining sand in
Katgaon area and tried to stop
them. But the five attacked the
policemen with shovels, sticks
and stones, they said.
Three policemen were
injured.
The accused then fled
from the spot but were later
arrested and booked under
various charges including for
injuring public servants and
disobeying the curfew order.
A curfew has been
imposed in the state in the
wake of the coronavirus out-
break in the country.
5`_¶e]Ve tised vehicles. And the delivery
From Page 1
The newspaper copies, bun-
dled in sanitised brown
envelopes, are loaded into sani-
8`geafed ing a foreigner.Punjab has
From Page 1
Kerala is followed by
Maharashtra, where the number
of cases has climbed up to 147.
Five persons tested positive for
coronavirus in Maharashtra’s
Vidarbha region – four in
Nagpur city and another in
Gondia district, officials said on
Friday.With a fresh case in
Andhra Pradesh on Friday, the
total cases have now gone up to
12 in the State.
The number of cases in
Tamil Nadu has climbed to 29,
including six foreigners.
Three positive cases were
confirmed in Tamil Nadu on
Friday.
The number of cases in
Telangana has gone up to 59,
including 10 foreigners.
Karnataka has reported 55
cases of coronavirus, while the
number of cases in Gujarat has
climbed to 43, including a for-
eigner.
The number of cases in
Rajasthan has increased to 41,
including two foreigners. Uttar
Pradesh has reported 47 cases,
including a foreigner, while the
number of positive cases in
Delhi has gone up to 39, includ-
Instructions have been issued
to all the Cantonment Boards
to identify beds in hospi-
tals/health centres and guest
houses for any eventuality.
Presidents and Chief
Executive Officers of the
Cantonment Boards are in
constant touch with civilian
authorities in their respective
areas and providing required
assistance whenever needed.
All the advisories issued by
Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare are being strictly
adhered to by all the
Cantonment Boards.
All the Cantonment offices
buildings, residential areas,
school premises, libraries, parks
and markets are being sanitised
regularly. Residents are being
sensitised about the COVID-19
via public announcements
through loud speakers, infor-
mative notices, hoardings/pam-
phlets displayed at all promi-
nent places, offices and market
areas in cantonments.
Residents Medical Officers
are organising workshops for
all the personnel dealing with
essential services and demon-
strating precautions to be taken
in avoiding transmission of
COVID-19 and simultaneous-
ly preparing Cantonment
General Hospital (CGH) for
any emergencies. Action plans
have been prepared in the light
of directions of Director
General Defence Estates
(DGDE). All CGH are working
full time to provide required
medical assistance.
Cantonment Boards are
providing face masks, hand
gloves, sanitiser bottles to the
entire staff. All the hotels and
restaurants in cantonment
areas are directed to strictly fol-
low advisory.
%6(6DVNVFRQVXPHUV
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n the wake of the lockdown in
Imanual
Delhi, BSES has curtailed
services and requested
consumers to use digital medi-
um to reach out to discom for
redressal of any grievances.
In support of the measures
taken by the Government to
contain the spread of the
COVID-19, some of our ser-
vices, have been curtailed. “We
would not be registering
requests for new connections till
further orders. All existing
appointments are also being
postponed till further notice,” it
said in a statement.
“We are also using the lat-
est digital and online technolo-
gies to reach-out to our con-
boys, the only persons who
actually touch your newspa-
pers before delivering the same
at your doorsteps, have been
informed about the importance
of personal hygiene, particular-
reported 38 cases, while 30
Covid-19 cases have so far been
detected in Haryana, including
14 foreigners.
Madhya Pradesh has
recorded 20 cases, Ladakh
reported 13 each while Jammu
& Kashmir reported 18.
West Bengal has 10 Covid-
19 patients.
Chandigarh has reported
seven cases, Chhatisgarh has
registered six cases while
Uttarakhand has five, including
a foreigner. Three fresh cases of
coronavirus have been reported
from Bihar, taking the total
number of those who have test-
ed positive for the Covid-19 to
nine, the health department
said on Friday. Himachal
Pradesh has reported three cases
each, while two cases have been
detected in Odisha.’ Goa has
reported three coronavirus cases
while Puducherry, Mizoram
and Manipur have reported one
case each. The death toll due to
coronavirus in India also
climbed to 19 on Friday.
On Friday, a 65 year-old
man who had tested positive for
coronavirus passed away in
Tumakuru, Karnataka on
Friday.
He had travelled to Delhi by
"&]R\Y “I would, therefore, like to
From Page 1
Gauba said, “It is important
that all international passengers
are put under close surveillance
to prevent the spread of the epi-
demic.” He said the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) has repeatedly
emphasised the importance of
monitoring, and requested the
States and UTs to take imme-
diate steps in this regard.
7f]]jRfe`^ReVU\Zee`
eVde4`gZU"*Z_#&Yc
Z_gV_eVUSj8Vc^R_j
From Page 1
It can perform ten tests per
24 hours, and can be used by
medical workers who have not
specifically trained with it before.
The company will debut the test
at its Robert Bosch Hospital in
Stuttgart, before seeking other
use cases, said the statement.
“The special feature of the
Bosch test is that it offers dif-
ferential diagnosis, which saves
doctors the additional time
needed for further tests. It also
provides them with a reliable
diagnosis quickly so they can
then begin suitable treatment
faster,” says Marc Meier, presi-
dent of Bosch Healthcare
Solutions.
“We want the Bosch rapid
COVID-19 test to play a part in
containing the coronavirus pan-
demic as quickly as possible. It
sumers. Consumers can con-
nect to BSES through our dig-
ital platforms like BSES website,
Mobile App, Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp and through SMS,”
it said.
A senior BSES official said
that all physical distribution of
bills and meter reading is being
stopped till further notice and
consumers will be given provi-
sional bills. “We are closely
monitoring the situation in the
national Capital and taking all
appropriate measures to ensure
reliable power supply to our
consumers without compro-
mising the safety of our employ-
ees. We are in constant touch
with all the relevant stakehold-
ers on the evolving situation in
the national Capital,” he said.
ly sanitising their hands. They
have been provided with sani-
tisers and masks to ensure that
The Pioneer readers are absolute-
ly safe while touching or read-
ing the newspapers, said the cir-
culation head, Rajeev Gautam.
train on March 5 and returned
on March 11.
As per the Ministry data,
out of total Covid-19 deaths in
India, Maharashtra reported
three deaths, Gujarat three,
Karnataka two, while Madhya
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar,
Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal and
Himachal Pradesh reported one
death each.
Jammu & Kashmir also
reported its first Covid-19 fatal-
ity.A 60-year-old man, who had
tested positive for coronavirus
in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, has
died due to comorbid condi-
tions, an official said on Friday.
As many as 121
Government laboratories have
been approved by the Indian
Council of Medical Research to
conduct tests for deadly novel
coronavirus, the ICMR said on
its website on Friday.
In addition, there are 35 pri-
vate labs across the country for
conducting the tests in Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh,
Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir and Jharkhand.
Now, the total number of
facilities for cornavirus testing
has increased to 157, both pri-
vate and Government.
request you to ensure that con-
certed and sustained action is
taken urgently to put such
passengers under surveillance
immediately as per MoHFW
guidelines,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary also
urged the Chief Secretaries to
actively involve the district
authorities in this effort. The
screening of international
incoming passengers at airports
was done from January 18 in a
phased manner.
will speed up the identification
and isolation of infected
patients,” says Dr Volkmar
Denner, chairman of the board
of management of Robert
Bosch.
“Infected patients can be
identified and isolated faster,”
Bosch Chief Executive Officer
Volkmar Denner said in a state-
ment. To develop the test, Bosch
teamed up with Northern Irish
medical equipment maker
Randox Laboratories Ltd, its
partner on Vivalytic.
Detection of Covid-19 is the
key to stemming its spread. In
countries like Germany and
South Korea, where testing was
robust early on, fatality rates
have been comparatively lower
than in Italy and the US where
slow testing helped fuel the dis-
ease’s explosive growth.

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he Delhi Police
T Commissioner, SN
Shrivastva on Friday issued an
order approving the smooth
delivery of essential goods,
including food, groceries and
medicines, in the national
Capital.
The Government has only
exempted the movement of
essential services across the
country after the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
announced 21-day national
lockdown.
Earlier, when the curfew for
public safety was imposed, sev-
eral employees of e-commerce
firms had complained that
police were not allowing them
to ply on road.
On Wednesday, a meeting
between senior police officials
and e-commerce companies
was held where police said
they will allow these companies
to deliver food and groceries.
However, on Thursday,
Delhi Police Commissioner SN
Shrivastava released another
order withdrawing the online
firms to re-start their services.
Though the order also stated
that the police will revise the
guidelines for the online com-
panies.
?^[XRTbTaeTU^^Sc^_T^_[TSdaX]VcWT]PcX^]fXST[^RZS^f]P\XSR^a^]PeXadb_P]ST\XRX]=Tf3T[WX AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa
On Friday, the CP has again
issued an order complying with
the guidelines given by the
Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA). The MHA has said
while the country needs to be
in a “lockdown”, supply and
storage of essential goods,
including health infrastructure
and food must be allowed.
The Delhi Police order has
been forwarded to all the
SpecialCP’s, Joint CP’s and Addl
CP’s in Delhi. They will follow
the Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) that was given
by MHA on Thursday, the
order stated.
To prevent the spread of
coronavirus, people must
ensure social distancing while
maintaining the supply of
essential goods. Under the
MHA’s order, a ration shop
dealing with groceries, vegeta-
bles, fruits, dairy products,
meat, animal fodder, seeds and
pesticides will be allowed to sell.
It is also mentioned that
home delivery of food, phar-
maceuticals and medical equip-
ment is also operational.
The Delhi Police said they
will follow these orders and
won’t restrict the movement of
essential goods.
Under the SOP, restaurants
delivering food will also be
allowed to re-start their ser-
vices. Storage facilities like
godown will also bere-opened.
Since the manufacturing and
transport of many of the essen-
tial goods take place in differ-
ent cities, the Delhi Police will
also allow inter-city and inter-
state transport of all the goods.
The guidelines for the com-
panies providing essential
goods include ensuring social
distancing and showing valid
documents and ID proof to
police.
According to the SOP,
police must not shut ware-
houses where non-essential
goods are also stored. The
order states that retailers and
wholesalers store both essential
and non-essential goods, hence,
the warehouse facilities must
not be shut.
The retailers will also have
to give an undertaking saying
they will only deal with essen-
tial goods and will also have to
allow authorities to audit their
records. The employees engaged
in the supply chain of the goods
must have ID proof along with
e-pass, given by the government.
In the case of unorganised
sectors, the employees need to
take permission from the Delhi
government. The companies
have been directed to deploy
minimum staff to deliver goods,
conduct health check-ups of
employees and provide them
with protective gear.
According to the MHA
order, the State Government
can also open a 24x7 control
room to register complaints of
employees and people facing
issues with food supply.
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
F ollowing the COVID-19
scare, the public health
department of South Delhi
Municipal Corporation
(SDMC) has carried out sur-
veillance on 1,787 passengers
who visited Delhi from abroad.
A senior SDMC official
said all these people were asked
to isolate themselves and the
civic body keeps conducting
survey to check if they have
developed any symptoms of
coronavirus. "The official also
informed the Resident Welfare
Association (RWA) about these
persons so that they are not
allowed to go outside the
premises." he said.
Intensifying measures to
fight against coronavirus pan-
demic, the civic body has start-
ed distributing vitamin C tablets
being disturbed to 20,000 Safai
karamchairs for better immu-
nity.
All Deputy Health officers
have been instructed to use fog-
ging machines to spray mixture
of water with Sodium hypochlo-
rite one per cent to disinfectants
and sanitise the areas in all four
zones, he added.
The official said that the
nurses and DBC workers are
engaged in surveillance of pas-
sengers, who visited Delhi from
abroad through door to door
survey. The civic body is also
chalking out the strategy to train
around 400 malis for this sur-
veillance and door to door
work, he said, adding that they
will be trained to conduct a
household survey and prepare
a list mentioning the number of
patients suffering from
Covid19-like symptoms.
The civic body has also
deployed one dedicated tipper
in each zone to collect munic-
ipal solid waste from quaran-
28E821>3HC84BD?F8C740C4A84B
C>54437><4;4BB;01>DA4AB
BC055A4?>AC4AQ
=4F34;78
Iple,nlabourers
a major relief to migrant
and homeless peo-
South Delhi Municipal
Corporation has decided to
rope in big restaurants and
eateries to provide free food to
them during the three-week
lockdown.
The civic body has decid-
ed to arrange 20,000 food
packets with the help of hotels,
restaurants, mid day meal
tined homes. The municipal
staff will also be given Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE)
kit to protect them from catch-
ing infections.
The official said that 50
bedded hospitals at Kalkaji
Colony is ready with proper
arrangements of food, medi-
cines, Personal protective equip-
ment (PPE), laundry and other
facilities. The civic body has also
identified a community centre
at Sector-17, Dwarka for provi-
sion of quarantine facility with
50 beds strength to deal with
emergency situation.
kitchens and some NGOs and
distribute it among the needy
on daily basis.
The SDMC has also
released a account number
39238693858 (IFSC code -
SBIN0000631, SBI, Chandni
Chowk) where any individual,
group or company can con-
tribute fund which will be
utilised as per Government
rule to take measures to con-
tain spread of coronavirus
and also to help the affected
persons.

A[hbRPaaXTb %;fPV^]b^Ubd__[XTbX]#SPhbc^T]bdaT]^bW^acUP[[ 5DLOZD\VKHOSOLQHQXPEHUV %Q^^ZTS"#"!

BC055A4?>AC4AQ functioning. food grains, 42 wagons of On March 25th and 26th,
STcPX]TSU^a
WRDQVZHU&29,'TXHULHV
=4F34;78 During the situation of fruits and vegetables, 42 wag- 23097 wagons were loaded for

mid the three-week
A national lockdown period
due to coronavirus, 1.6 lakh
wagons of the Indian Railways
carried supplies to ensure
availability of essential com-
modities through its uninter-
rupted freight services in last
four days.
Of these, more than 1
lakh wagons of essential com-
modities were ferried by
Indian Railways to ensure
that the nation keeps running
and the supply chains keep
lockdown in various States,
Indian Railways Staff deployed
at various good sheds, stations
and control offices is working
on 24/7 basis to ensure that the
supply of essential items for the
nation does not gets affected.
A senior Indian Railway
official said that a total of
26577 wagons were loaded
for essential commodities like
food grains, salt, edible oil,
sugar, milk, fruits and vegeta-
bles, onion, coal and petrole-
um products on 23rd March,.
“This includes 1168 wagons of
ons of onions, 42 wagons of
sugar, 168 wagons of salt, 20
wagons of milk, 22473 wagons
of coal, and 2322 wagons of
petroleum products,” he
added.
While on 24th March, total
27742 wagons were loaded for
essential commodities. This
includes 1444 wagons of food-
grains, 84 wagons of fruits and
vegetables, 168 wagons of salt,
15 wagons of milk, 50 tanks of
edible oil, 24207 wagons of
coal, and 1774 wagons of
petroleum products.
essential commodities.
The official further said
that a close coordination is
being maintained with the
State Governments so that
rakes of essential commodities
are handled smoothly without
any delay, amidst various
restriction imposed in the
wake of Covid-19.
To monitor the uninter-
rupted movement of essential
commodities over Indian
Railway system, an emergency
freight control is working in
the Ministry of Railways.
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
s part of its efforts to contain the impact of
A Covid-19, Indian Railways has made two
24X7 helpline numbers 138 and 139 functional
to answer queries, provide assistance and to dis-
seminate relevant information to railway cus-
tomers and others during the 21-day lockout.
Indian Railways has opened a Railway Board
control cell to ensure seamless flow of information
and suggestions between Railway administration
and general public, a senior official said.
This control office would work round the clock
[^RZS^f]eX^[PcX^]
and shall be manned by a director level officer. “It NEW DELHI: The Delhi
would monitor calls received on the centralised rail- police on Friday registered
way helpline 139 and the decentralised railway more than 60 cases and
helpline 138, in addition to monitoring trends on
social media, especially Twitter to communicate
detained 3,432 people for vio-
lating Government orders dur-
and alleviate any difficulties faced by Railway cus- ing the coronavirus lockdown.
tomers and others by taking timely action. According to the data
Further complaints, suggestions or queries can also shared by the police, 65 cases
be mailed to railmadad@rb.railnet.gov.in,” he were registered under section
said. Dialing the number 138, the customers can 188 (for disobedience to order
directly be connected to the local railway division duly promulgated by public
so as to provide him the updated local and region- servant) of the Indian Penal
al information. Code till 5pm. SR
=4F34;78kB0CDA30H k<0A27!'!! ]PcX^]#
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;XTdcT]P]c6^eTa]^abP]S0S\X]XbcaPc^ab
?=BQ =4F34;78
hile the Modi
W Government is out to
battle the Covid-19 outbreak,
President Ram Nath Kovind
and Vice President M
Venkaiah Naidu on Friday
joined the action as they held
a video-conference with all
the Governors, Lieutenant
Governors and
Administrators “to find ways
to complement the efforts of
the Government of India and
the State Governments” in
meeting the challenges arising
from the outbreak of the pan-
demic.
The President exhorted to
the collective strength of the
society and urged Governors,
LGs and Administrators to
mobilise volunteers of Indian
Red Cross society, voluntary
and religious organisations
to contain the menace at the
earliest.
“President Kovind and
Vice President Naidu
expressed hope that the
Indian society’s inherent
strength of ‘sharing and car-
ing’ and the Government’s
measures would mitigate the
sufferings of the most vul-
nerable sections of the society,
particularly the workers of the
unorganised sectors and the
destitute,” a communiqué stat-
ed.
In the video-conference,
14 Governors and Delhi Lt.
Governor shared experiences
in their territories as their
areas were worst affected by
the pandemic.
The video conference was
conducted by the Vice
President and it brought out
the best practices initiated by
various States to mitigate the
people’s plight while enforc-
ing the lockdown in the coun-
try.
Maharashtra Governor
Bhagat Singh Koshiyari out-
lined the measures initiated
by the State administration to
combat the pandemic while
Kerala Governor Arif
Mohammed Khan lauded the
role of government, voluntary
organisations, medical pro-
fessionals, paramedics and
the police to act in coordi-
nated manner to persuade
people to maintain social dis-
tancing in Kerala. He recited
a couplet to emphasise the
:EbPRa^bb
R^d]cahc^f^aZPb
Xb^[PcX^]RT]caTb
?=BQ =4F34;78
A fter
con-
verting
t h e
c o m -
part-
ments of trains into isolation
centres, the Government on
Friday went ahead for its pre-
paredness to tackle the
Corona scare by announcing
to use the Kendriya Vidyalaya
Schools across the country as
a set up for isolation centres.
The Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sanghathan (KVS) dirceted its
regional offices to allow the
school infrastructure for mak-
ing Temporary Housing of
Suspected COVID-19 Cases.
"In view of the current sit-
uation created by COVID-19
in the Country, the KVS HQ
has directed all its Regional
Offices that on receipt of a
formal request from any
Defence Authority or District
Administration, the D y.
Commissioner/In-Charge
DC/Principal of KV con-
cerned shall allow the use of
Classrooms of Kendriya
Vidyalaya buildings for
Temporary Housing suspect-
ed COVID-19 cases," said a
KVS circular.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
rime Minister Narendra
P Modi’s televised March 24
speech, wherein he announced
a 21-day nationwide lockdown
to combat the spread of the
coronavirus disease, was
watched by 19.7 crore people,
more than those who watched
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fXcWcWT6^eTa]^ab;c6^eTa]^abP]S0S\X]XbcaPc^ab^UP[[cWTBcPcTbP]SD]X^]
CTaaXc^aXTbeXPeXST^R^]UTaT]RX]V^]XbbdTbaT[PcTSc^2>E83 (PcAPbWcaP_PcX
1WPeP]X]=Tf3T[WX^]5aXSPh
significance of social dis-
tancing.
Khan pointed out 1800
retired doctors and MBBS
students in the state have
enlisted for voluntary ser-
vices and 375 Psychologists
have been roped in to give
advice to those who find
quarantine as difficult phase
in their lives. “This is con-
sidered to be an innovative
move in Kerala worth emu-
lating for other states,” he said.
Karnataka Governor
Vajubhai Vala outlined how
almost 8,000 Red Cross
Society volunteers in the State
are working to spread aware-
ness about the disease.
Akshay Patra, a social organ-
isation, is also actively
involved in distributing food
packets all over the state.
While Satyadeo Narayan
Arya, Haryana Governor, said
that the state was fully pre-
pared to meet all challenges,
Lt Governor of Delhi Anil
Baijal said he and the
Delhi Chief Minister were
meeting every day to take
stock of the situation. At dis-
trict level, DCs and DCPs are
coordinating moves to facil-
itate the relief work and edu-
cate people about social dis-
tancing.
Gujarat Governor
Acharya Dev Vrat said that
quarantine facilities in the
State were being augmented
and State’s cooperative spirit
is invoked to launch
concerted efforts by govern-
ment, social and religious
organisations, private sector,
voluntary and cultural organ-
isations to pool in their
resources to meet the chal-
lenge.
8]SXPPbZbB00A2\T\QTabc^bTcd_R^\\^]T_[PcU^a\
=3A5VTcbQPcc[TaTPShU^a\b'#
?=BQ =4F34;78
fter taking the lead in bring-
A ing the South Asian
b\P[[R^aTcTP\b_TaQPccP[X^]
Association for Regional Co-
operation(SAARC) grouping
together to fight the coronavirus
menace, India has proposed set-
ting up of a common electronic
platform for all the member
nations to share expertise and
best practices to jointly combat
the spread of pandemic coron-
avirus. The move comes days
after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi strongly pitched for a
regional approach to deal with
the pandemic. The SAARC is a
regional grouping comprising
India, Bhutan, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh.
India made the proposal
for electronic platform at a video
conference of senior health offi-
cials of the SAARC on Thursday.
At an India-initiated video con-
ference of SAARC leaders on
March 15, Modi suggested that
health professionals of the mem-
ber nations could come togeth-
er to jointly fight against the
coronavirus pandemic.
"India proposed a shared
electronic platform for all
SAARC nations to share and
exchange information, knowl-
edge, expertise and best practices
for jointly combating the coro-
Indian Premier League finals.
“According to data shared
by @BARCIndia the speech by
PM @narendramodi on Total
Lockdown on 24th March had
highest TV viewership (unique
viewers greater than IPL Finals)
with more than 201 channels
carrying it,” Prasar Bharati
CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati
?C8
Governor of Telangana
Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan
informed the State is exten-
sively using social media to
spread awareness. She also
informed that Raj Bhavan
has also taken steps to provide
food to about 800 needy fam-
ilies living near Raj Bhavan.
The Vice President sug-
gested her to take help of
artistes, film stars, writers
and intellectuals to raise the
level of awareness among
people about the seriousness
of the pandemic. He advised
Tamil Nadu Governor
Banwarilal Purohit too to do
the same.
West Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar- informed
that Universities in the State
are ready to be utilised in case
of need while Bihar Governor
Phagu Chauhan talked about
State’s proximity to interna-
tional border that makes the
state rather vulnerable to
spread of the disease. He,
however, praised the manner
in which the Bihar
Government has been acting
to contain the Coronavirus.
Punjab Governor and
Administrator of Chandigarh
V. P. Singh Badnore informed
that Red Cross has been help-
ing to supply food
packets in Chandigarh and
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj
Mishra, informed that a fund
has been created to enable
people to make donations.
President Kovind urged
everyone to hold regular
stock-taking with the state
government and make con-
tributions in a way that the
battle again the Coronavirus
could be taken to a logical
end.
?=BQ =4F34;78
he National Disaster
T Response Force (NDRF),
the lead agency for tackling dis-
asters, is getting battle-ready
and has formed 84 small core
teams per battalion to be
deployed in case the Force's ser-
vices are required amid the spi-
ralling number of COVID-19
cases in the country.
The personnel of the
NDRF are also present in all the
COVID-19 state control rooms
as part of its preparedness,
information gathering and
assess work requirements to
tackle the viral epidemic.
The force is seeking to
equip 600 personnel in each
battalion with personal protec-
navirus epidemic," the Ministry
of External Affairs(MEA) said in
a statement.
It was informed that con-
siderable work has already gone
into the creation of the platform,
which could also serve as a
said in a tweet.
It said that the final match
of the Indian Premier League
(IPL) had a viewership of 13.3
crore people, while 19.7 crore
people watched
Modi's address on televi-
sion. “According to the data
shared by BARC India the
speech by PM Narendra Modi
2>E83 (>DC1A40:
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?=BQ =4F34;78
mid Coronavirus crisis,
the Government has
restricted sale and distribution
of anti-malarial drug ‘hydrox-
ychloroquine’ declaring it as an
essential drug to treat the
COVID-19 patients and meet
the requirements of emergency
arising due to the pandemic.
This means that any prepa-
ration containing the said drug
will have a warning label of
‘only prescription sale’ and
against self-medication.
Additionally, chemists would
need to maintain records for
name and address of the pre-
scriber, the name of the patient,
the name of the drug and the
quantity supplied and such
records shall be maintained for
three years and be open for
inspection.
The move to bring hydrox-
ychloroquine under restric-
tion category came after it was
found that people had started
hoarding the drug when a few
days ago, the national task
force for COVID-19 constitut-
ed by Indian Council for
Medical Research (ICMR) had
recommended as a preventive
medication.
The Union Ministry of
Health has now issued a noti-
fication in this regard.
In the order, the
Government declared that the
Central Government is "satis-
fied that the drug hydroxy-
chloroquine is essential to
meet the requirements of
emergency arising due to pan-
demic COVID-19 and in the
public interest, it is necessary
and expedient to regulate and
restrict the sale and distribu-
tion of the drug 'hydroxy-
chloroquine' and preparation
based thereon for preventing
their misuse".
"Now, therefore, in exer-
cise of the powers conferred by
Section 26B of the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act, 1940 (23 of
1940), the Central govern-
ment hereby directs that sale
by retail of any preparation
containing the drug
Hydroxychloroquine shall be
in accordance with the condi-
tions for sale of drugs specified
in Schedule H1 to the Drugs
and Cosmetics Rules, 1945."
As per the notification, the
drug specified in Schedule
H1 is labelled with the symbol
Rx which shall be in red and
conspicuously displayed on
the left top corner of the label,
and with a warning displayed
in a box with a red border.
A couple of days ago, the
Government had banned the
export of the anti-malarial
tion equipment (PPE). The
NDRF has informed the states
that it is on standby mode and
can be called in as and when
required, officials said.
The NDRF has a strength
of 12 battalions, each consist-
ing of 1,150 personnel and are
strategically located to cater to
any disaster as a first respon-
der.
Bihar and Tamil Nadu
have already sought NDRF
assistance for coronavirus pre-
vention exercise.
On Thursday, the Bihar
government had asked for two
NDRF teams to be on stand-
by in Patna and Munger for
support to the local police
and medical staff. Tamil Nadu
called NDRF to help in segre-
multipurpose vehicle to further
discuss and conduct activities
such as online training for emer-
gency response personnel, the
MEA said. The Indian side pro-
posed that till the electronic
platform is fully operational, a
on total lockdown on March 24
had the highest TV viewership
[unique viewers greater than
IPL finals] with over 201 chan-
nels carrying it,” Vempati said
on Twitter. Over 200 news
channels, including Prasar
Bharti-run Doodarshan, had
broadcast the telecast. The
PM’s televised address on
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gUQ[XQbT*BQXe\
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?=BQ =4F34;78
oting that people with
N disabilities (PwDs) are
more vulnerable due to their
conditions during the coron-
avirus crisis, which has
restricted peoples' movement,
the Government has issued
guidelines to the States to
ensure that the sector has a
smooth access to essential
support services including
caregiver, supplies and medical
aid at their doorstep.
The guidelines prepared
by the Department of the
PwDs under the Union
Ministry of Social Justice and
empowerment also stress on
ensuring easy accessibility of
the sector to their caregivers so
that they do not have to suf-
fer.
Meanwhile, following
intervention of the activists in
the sector and DPwDs , the
Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT) has exempt-
ed the PwDs from attending
the offices during the lock-
down period.
Shankutala Gamlin,
S ecretar y of the PwDs
Department, in a letter to the
State Chief Secretaries also
suggested the States to des-
ignate the State
Commissioner for PwDs as
the nodal authority for better
coordination with other
agencies for the welfare of the
sector.
While calling for setting
up of a 24X7 helpline num-
ber at State level exclusively
with facilities of sign language
interpretation and video call-
ing, Gamlin pointed out that
“COVID 19 is impacting the
entire population, but PwDs
are more vulnerable to the
disease due to their physical,
sensory and cognitive limi-
tations.
“As such, there is a need
drug to ensure sufficient avail-
ability of the medicine in the
domestic market.
The ICMR has recom-
mended the use of
Hydroxychloroquine for treat-
ing healthcare workers han-
dling suspected or confirmed
coronavirus cases and also
the asymptomatic household
gating people at railway sta-
tions.
The force has so far trained
nearly 28,000 personnel,
including those from the CISF
and other forces, and will con-
tinue with the routine every
day, but in smaller batches to
maintain social distancing.
The NDRF has been suc-
cessful in clearing a lot of
apprehension of the staff of
other forces about the coron-
avirus safety precautions and
has trained the staff across the
landports, airports and sea-
ports for the last one month on
how to wear PPEs, especially
the gloves and masks and how
to handle them, and the basic
aspects of social
distancing.
network of experts representing
the health services of all SAARC
countries may set up on
email/whatsapp to enable
exchange of all relevant infor-
mation on real time basis.
Terming the deliberations as
Tuesday garnered significant
hits on the social media as well.
The number of hits on
Doordarshan’s and Rajya
Sabha’s YouTube channels were
half a million and 0.1 million,
respectively.
Television rating agency
Broadcast Audience Research
Council’s (BARC) India’s rat-
to understand their disabili-
ty specific requirements, daily
living activities and take
appropriate and timely mea-
sures to ensure their protec-
tion and safety during situa-
tions of risk. Special care
should be ensured to children
and women with disabili-
ties.”
The exhaustive guideline
focus on do’s and don’ts for
the authorities while dealing
with the PwDs.
The States have been
asked to ensure all informa-
tion about COVID 19, ser-
vices offered and precautions
to be taken should be avail-
able in simple and local lan-
guage in accessible formats;
i.e. in Braille and audible
tapes for persons with visual
impairment, video-graphic
material with sub-titles and
sign language interpretation
for persons with hearing
impairment and through
accessible web sites.
Sign language inter-
preters who work in emer-
gency and health settings
should be given the same
health and safety protection
as other health care workers
dealing with COVID19
besides sensitizing normal
people about the needs of the
PwDs, says the guidelines.
Also, during quarantine
as well as during treatment,
essential support services,
personal assistance, and phys-
ical and communication
accessibility should be
ensured e.g. visually chal-
lenged persons, persons with
intellectual/ mental disabili-
ty (psycho-social) are depen-
dent on care giver support.
The guidelines also focus
on provisions for on-line
counselling mechanism to
de-stress PwDs as well as
their families to cope with the
quarantine period.
contacts of the lab-confirmed
cases.
The treatment protocol
recommended by the ICMR-
constituted National Task
Force for COVID-19 has been
approved by the Drug
Controller General of India
(DGCI) for restricted use in
emergency situations.
extensive and purposeful, the
MEA statement said "The enthu-
siastic and constructive partici-
pation by all SAARC member
states demonstrated the shared
commitment to work together to
defeat the challenge posed by the
coronavirus epidemic in the
region." The video conference,
chaired by India's Director
General of Health Services, delib-
erated on a wide range of issues
relating to the pandemic. The
Indian side also made a com-
prehensive presentation on the
country''s response, covering the
aspects of disease surveillance,
contact tracing, travel restrictions
and evacuation, risk assessment,
clinical management of patients,
treatment options and protocols
and safety of healthcare
providers. All other SAARC
countries also shared their own
experiences of dealing with the
COVID-19 challenge. "All coun-
tries also highlighted their spe-
cific vulnerabilities, capacities,
best practices, gaps in resources
and logistics, private sector par-
ticipation as well as levels of pre-
paredness," the MEA said.
It said community engage-
ment and participation was iden-
tified as an important element in
any anti-COVID-19 strategy to
augment the large-scale emer-
gency measures undertaken by
the governments in the SAARC
region.
ings indicate that the telecast
was watched by more viewers,
compared to Modi’s previous
speeches announcing demon-
etisation or the “Janata Curfew”.
The Prime Minister's
address to the nation on March
19, announcing a 14-hour
"janata curfew", garnered a
viewership of 8.30 crore people
?=BQ =4F34;78
hree days since the coun-
T trywide lockdown, senior
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
on Friday said that the 21-day
shutdown will devastate the
country's poor and weak. This
a day after Congress top lead-
ership appreciated the Centre's
C1.70 lakh crore package and
extended the party's coopera-
tion to fight COVID-19.
For her part, Congress
chief Sonia Gandhi offered all
her MPLADs funds to combat
the menace in her Lok Sabha
constituency, Rae Bareily.
Rahul also wrote to the
HRD Ministry to extend help
to residential students across
the country including those
stranded in his Parliamentary
constituency Wayanad in
Kerala. Rahul also contributed
Rs 25 lakh to combat Corona
menace in his constituency.
"It will deliver a heavy
blow to the India we love.
India isn’t black & white. Our
decisions have to be carefully
thought through. A more
nuanced and compassionate
approach is required to deal
with this crisis. It’s still not too
late," Rahul cautioned the gov-
ernment.A day after extending
her party's cooperation to the
Government in fighting the
pandemic, Sonia wrote to the
Rae Bareli District Magistrate
authorising the official to draw
as much funds as required in
dealing with the situation besies
providing sanitisers, masks and
medicines to the people of her
constituency.
"I appeal to the district
administration to distribute
masks and sanitisers to the
people and give extra care to
the daily wagers and the elder-
ly," the four-time MP from Rae
Bareli wrote to the DM.
She further said that she
?<<^SXcTa\bA18STRXbX^]
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?=BQ =4F34;78
s the Reserve Bank of
A India (RBI), country’s
central bank that regulates
entire banking system and
controls issue and supply of
Indian rupee, on Friday also
chipped in to ease out finan-
cial difficulties faced by the
consumers in the lockdown
situation, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi praised it
for taking “giant steps” to
cushion the impact of coro-
navirus on the economy.
"Today RBI has taken
giant steps to safeguard our
economy from the impact of
the Coronavirus. The
announcements will liqui-
date, reduce cost of funds,
help middle class and busi-
nesses", said the Prime
Minister.
Finance Ministry had in
last two days already taken a
slew of measures to relax
compliance issues and pro-
vide early financial assis-
tance to daily wagers,
labourers, women, senior
citizens and others in the
organised and unorganised
sections. A day before,
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitaraman
announced an economic
package worth 1.7 lakh crore
to give succour to the poor-
est of poor hit by the lock-
down in the wake of coron-
avirus spread in the country.
“The announcements
will improve liquidity, reduce
cost of funds, help middle
class and businesses”, Modi
tweeted after RBI governor
Shaktikanta Das announced
the steps to ease the situation
for the various segments of
consumers in the county.
BJP President Jagat
Prasad Nadda also appreci-
ated the central bank for tak-
ing measures amid the crisis.
across 191 television channels,
according to the BARC ratings.
Modi's address on abroga-
tion of Article 370 of the
Constitution on August 8 last
year had a viewership of 6.5
crore people across 163 chan-
nels, while his address on
November 8, 2016 announcing
demonetisation was viewed by
would do all that is required as
the MP from Rae Bareli to keep
the people safe and healthy.
She also requested the
administration to ensure that
nobody goes hungry in her
constituency.
Rahul, on his part, wrote to
HRD Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank to ensure
proper medical facilities for
residential educational insti-
tutions to which Pokhriyal
responded that the Ministry is
very sensitive on issues per-
taining to students and thus he
has already issued instruc-
tions to facilitate all facilities to
such students.
Rahul also requested the
Minister to facilitate regular
communication between stu-
dents of such institutions and
their parents.
“In the light of the the
national lockdown, a signifi-
cant number of students stay-
ing in hostels and other resi-
dential facilities of schools and
institutions of higher education
have been unable to go home.
I have received several requests
from parents to ensure the
wellbeing of their children
staying in residential facilities”,
Rahul said in his letter.
He said that 20 students
from his parliamentary con-
stituency, Wayanad, were
studying in Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalaya (JNV), Nainital, as
part of the migration pro-
gramme between linked JNVs
in different linguistic regions.
“I would also like to
request the Ministry to ensure
uninterrupted supply of basic
necessities, especially in resi-
dential schools like JNVs.
Further, adequate precaution-
ary measures should be adopt-
ed, and institutions must
ensure proper access to med-
ical facilities”, he added.
Nadda said that RBI has
taken many important deci-
sions to give support and sta-
bility to the Indian economy.
"RBI has slashed down
Repo rate, Reverse Repo rate
and Cash Reverse ratio to
give strength to the economy.
To help the middle class
RBI has given moratorium of
3 months and also waving off
interest. I welcome these
progressive and timely mea-
sures”, Nadda tweeted.
Finance
Nirmala
Minister
Sitharaman
acknowledged RBI
Governor’s efforts to bring
economic stability in the
country. Sitharaman, in her
tweet, stated that RBI's
announcement to provide
3-month moratorium on
payments of term loan
instalments (EMI) and inter-
est on working capital will
give much-desired relief. The
FM also said, "Slashed inter-
est rate needs quick trans-
mission".
“The macro economic
fundamentals of the Indian
economy are sound, and in
fact stronger than what they
were in the aftermath of the
global financial crisis of
2008-09…”, she said.
On Thursday,
Shaktikanta Das injected
C3.74 lakh crore liquidity
into the system through var-
ious measures. The central
bank announced a massive
75 basis points cut in repo
rates and slashed reverse
repo rate by 90 basis points
to 4 per cent.
It is expected that the
government may work out
an economic relief package
for India Inc in the light of
coronavirus crisis triggered
slowdown and loss to the
business community and
announce it soon.
5.7 crore people on 114 chan-
nels.
Technically called the
severe acute respiratory syn-
drome coronavirus-2 or SARS-
CoV-2, this novel coronavirus
causes the COVID-19 disease.
A novel virus is one that has
not been previously identified
in humans.
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He said if the State had not
taken these measures, the sit-
United States who have the best
health infrastructure.
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Thiruvananthapuram: A
junior IAS officer, Anupam
Mishra, who was recommend-
CSbYRUcVY\]Y^W\Yae_b´TUQ\µ
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nation has said that when he
was told to go into self-isola-
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lets have been shut down since
Wednesday morning as part of
the countrywide lock down,”
from the trucks.
GK Suresh Babu, Chief
Editor, Janam TV, said he
tion, he presumed it meant iquor has become a hot said Abhilash. whole thing smacked of mys-

T elangana continues to
report new Covid-19 cases
with 10 people testing positive
on Friday.
With this the number of
total positive cases in the state
has gone up to 59, Chief
Minister K. Chandrashekhar
Rao told reporters.
While the first case was
discharged after treatment, 58
others are undergoing treat-
ment at designated hospitals.
Besides this, 20,000 people
were quarantined either at
homes or in Government-run
facilities.
KCR, as the Chief Minister
is popularly known, said the
new cases were reported
despite lockdown and curfew.
:^[WP_daBWXaSX
uation would have turned
explosive.
Stating that there is no
cure for this disease, he said the
only weapon to fight this mon-
ster was self-restraint and
appealed to people to abide by
the restrictions imposed and
stay at home to stay safe.
The Chief Minister said he
spoke to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, who lauded
the steps taken by the state to
contain the spread of coron-
avirus and suggested more
measures. KCR said Modi
promised all help to the state in
combating the virus.
The Chief Minister said the
deadly disease had rattled
developed countries like the
C=VTcbbd_Tab_TRXP[ch
KCR quoted experts as
saying that if the disease was to
strike India on the scale seen in
the United States, China and
Spain, it could affect 20 crore
people.
He said the state had not
lost hopes and was fully geared
up to meet any situation. The
government prepared an action
plan to deal with any eventu-
ality.
Authorities have readied
1400 ICU beds while 11,000
people can be treated in isola-
tion wards. “Thus we have
12,400 beds for such patients,”
he said.
The Government has
ordered another 500
ventilators.
ed self-isolation in the wake of
his recent foreign travel, avoid-
ed his quarantine and was later
traced to his home in Uttar
Pradesh’s Kanpur city. He has
been suspended from service.
Kollam District Collector
BAbdul Nassar on Friday
morning submitted his report
to the Government and
Revenue Minister
Chandrasekheran recom-
mended action to the Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Later Vijayan, who is head
of all civil service officials,
suspended Mishra from ser-
vice.
Mishra, a 2016 batch IAS
officer, recently came to Kollam
to take up the charge of Sub
Collector. He informed his
superior that he had been
abroad and was asked to go for
self-isolation at his official res-
going to his residence in
Kanpur.
“This is a violation of pro-
tocol and I will submit the
report of his act to the state
government, who is autho-
rised to take further action,”
said Nassar.
State Fisheries Minister J.
Mercykutty, who hails from
E Kollam district, said this is a
clear case of a lack of social
commitment.
According to reports,
Mishra got married recently
and returned from Singapore.
On Thursday, the officials
found out that he was not pre-
sent in his official residence at
Kollam. He was traced with the
help of police to Kanpur.
Two different set of charges
will be there, one for escaping
from isolation and the other is
for violating departmental
L issue in Kerala, a State
known for its passion for the
‘material’. Thursday morning
saw a group of head load work-
ers (porters) ruthlessly beating
up a group of journalists who
shot video of the former
unloading crates of Indian
Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)
from trucks at Kozhikode
under dubious situation..
Abhilash and Mithun,
reporter and videographer of
Janam TV, a private TV news
channel, were covering the
action live following a tip off
from one of the head load
workers when they came under
attack.
“We were told by our
sources among the porters that
liquor meant for distribution
through Kerala State Beverages
Corporation (BEVCO) was
being unloaded into a building
The porters numbering 30
surrounded the TV crew and
began assaulting them for
shooting the pictures of the
‘action’. “The liquor was being
transported to another desti-
nation for selling in black mar-
ket for a premium as the stuff
would not be available for the
next 21 days,” said Abhilash.
He said though the porters
wore the uniform of CITU, the
militant trade union wing of
the CPI(M), they were activists
belonging to NDF and Popular
Front of India who had
switched over to the Marxist
camp recently. The NDF and
PFI are extremist Islamic
organisations having strong
presence in northern Kerala.
The police have registered
a case following the complaint
by Abhilash and Mithun. The
camera has been damaged
tery. “The District administra-
tion had declared Section 144
as part of the total lock down.
None of the porters were wear-
ing masks and they were vio-
lating the prohibitory order.
Moreover no police officials
were present at the spot which
itself was a violation pf the con-
ditions for unloading the
liquor. Even BEVCO’s staff
were not to be seen,” said
Suresh Babu.
Though a small posse of
policemen arrived at the spot
and saved the crew from fur-
ther attack, none of the porters
who attacked the journalists
have been arrested. Later, the
police registered case under
sections 144, 147, 323, 324, 308,
and 506 (1) of the IPC against
six persons.
Abhilash who came under
attack is a popular figure in the

cT\_[TbS^]PcT idence in Kollam, about 70 km rules, as he left his home sta- near Beach Road. There were beyond repairing, said Mithun State because of the reporting

R^a^]PW^b_XcP[*$
from the state capital. tion without informing his three truck loads of liquor and who had taken some sprightly he did from Sabarimala in

U^aeXadbaT[XTU
Nassar told the media on superior, Government sources there was no reason for unload- good shots of crates of liquor 2018 about the police brutali-
Friday that Mishra in his expla- said. IANS ing the same as all BEVCO out- being surreptitiously unloaded ty on the devotees.

Mumbai: Two prominent tem-

ple trusts in Maharashtra on
Friday donated C51 crore and
C2 crore to the Government for
S^RbP__^X]cTSX] SPh 7KLUGFRURQDYLUXV $_T^_[TX]9:bWXUcTS "]TfR^a^]P
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:D<0A274;;0?0=Q 274==08 ssect who were on a proselyti-

GHDWKPRUHYH
providing various kinds of zation drive in districts of
reliefs in the ongoing ‘war ith the number of people Madurai and Erode. “These
against virus’ in the state, offi-
cials said.
W diagnosed with COVID-
19 virus touching 35 in Tamil
persons are being tested for any
symptoms”, said Dr Baskar. have been shifted to quarantine rooms if they notice any person cP[[hPc#%
Jammu: At least 1,500 people people to call police control

The Shri Saibaba Sansthan
Trust, Shirdi (Ahmednagar)
announced a donation of C51
crore to the Chief Minister’s
Relief Fund (CMRF), its CEO
Arun Dongre said.
Besides, the SSST is already
providing free food to all
patients and their relatives at
the Shri Sainath Hospital,
Shirdi Orphanages, old age
homes, a shool for deaf and
dumb, destitutes and needy,
police personnel and others
through the Shri Sai
Prasadalaya, he added.
The Devasthan
Management Committee,
Kolhapur, which administers a
string of temples, has
announced a donation of C2
crore through the famed
Mahalaxmi Temple, here.
“An amount of C1.50 crore
has been given to the CMRF,
whileC50 lakh will go to the
Collector for enhancing various
Nadu on Friday, the State
Government took unprece-
dented steps to beef up the
department of health to meet
future challenges. A 500 bed-
ded super specialty hospital,
south India’s first exclusive
hospital for treating corona
patients started functioning in
Chennai on Friday.
Chief Minister Edappadi
Palaniswamy who held a day
long meeting on Thursday
with his council of ministers,
senior bureaucrats, district col-
lectors and police officers gave
clearance on Friday to appoint
500 doctors, 1000 nurses and
1508 para medical staff
(Laboratory Technicians) and
induct 200 new ambulances
into the fleet of government
run ambulance services.
Health Minister Dr C
Vijaya Baskar said on Friday
that the Chief Minister gave his
consent to appoint the new staff
Much to the relief of the
administration, eight preachers
from Thailand who were under
observation tested negative for
Corona virus, according to the
Madurai district administra-
tion. It was feared that the per-
son who succumbed to Corona
at Madurai on Wednesday
could have contracted the virus
from them as he had accom-
panied them for a number of
religious congregations.
The Corporation of
Chennai is deploying drones to
spray disinfectants in inacces-
sible regions in the metropolis.
The civic administration is
collaborating with Anna
University for deploying drones
in neighborhood areas where
there are no roads to reach the
housing complexes. According
to G Prakash, corporation
commissioner, the drones
would disinfect 50,000 sq meter
per day.
FDVHVLQ.DUQDWDND
Bengaluru: Karnataka recorded
third Covid-19 death and seven
new positive cases, which have
taken the state’s total to 62, an
official said on Friday.
“Till date, 62 Covid-19 pos-
itive cases have been confirmed
which include three deaths,”
said a health official.
A 60-year-old man from
Tumkur district succumbed to
coronavirus, becoming the third
such death in Karnataka.
Designated as the state’s
60th positive case, the deceased
man had travelled to Delhi by
train on March 13.
The Health Department has
since traced 24 high risk prima-
ry contacts and isolated 13 of
them at a hospital. Eight of
them tested negative and three
were healthcare professionals
who were home quarantined.
official statement said.
A 20-year-old Bengaluru
man with travel history to
Colombo returned to India on
March 15 to become the 57th
case.
The state’s 58th case is a 25-
year-old woman from the city
with travel history to London.
She returned to India on March
18. A 35-year-old woman,
Bengaluru resident and contact
of 25th case has emerged as the
59th coronavirus positive case.
Positive case number 60
was the sexagenarian who passed
away on Friday morning in
Tumkur. A 33-year-old woman
from the city tested positive as
the 61st case. She was a contact
of 25th case, a domestic help.
The final case from Friday
morning and Karnataka’s 62nd
case is a 22-year-old man from
centres in J&K to ensure social
distancing in the union territo-
ry, police said on Friday.
Among those shifted into
quarantine are 1,200 people who
have a foreign travel history
and 300 police recruits.
A batch of 300 police
recruits has been sent to a quar-
antine centre in Kathua district,
UT police chief Dilbag Singh
said here. Singh appealed to the
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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
on Friday said that the state has
a large population of stray
dogs and now with a total lock-
down on account of Covid-19,
in their area who could have
avoided the mandatory quaran-
tine after returning from abroad.
The police chief acknowl-
edged the cooperation of the
general public who had volun-
tarily come forward for quaran-
tine and also of those who had
called the police in different dis-
tricts to give information about
people who tried to jump quar-
antine. IANS
#\^aTcTbceTU^a
2^eXS (X]9:
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Srinagar: Four more tested
positive in J&K on Friday as the
total number of COVID-19
cases rose to 18 in the union
territory.
Government spokesman, Rohit
Kansal said four more have
Jaipur: Three more corona
patients were reported from
Rajasthan on Friday taking the
total tally to 46 in the state, said
state health officials.
The new positive cases
have been reported from
Jodhpur. One of them was a
room mate and co-traveller of
a person already found positive
on Thursday. They travelled
together from UK to Jodhpur,
said Additional Chief Secretary
Rohit Kumar Singh.
On Friday morning, two
new positive cases were report-
ed from Bhilwara. Both were
close relatives of a deceased
who had been tested positive
and died on Thursday evening
due to prevailing co-morbid
conditions. IANS
0a\hSXbcaXQdcTb
aPcX^]c^]TTSh

medical facilities in the district
to tackle Coronavirus,” the
Trust’s Assistant Secretary
Shivaji Salvi said.
Several other corporates
and private companies have
come forward to donate to the
CMRF for the Covid-19 war in
the past few days, besides tak-
ing up other community
initiatives.
IANS
who were recruited as pe the
guidelines prescribed by the
Medical Recruitment Board.
“This is the first of its kind
appointment drive in the State.
All new recruits have been
asked to join for duty within
three days in their own districts
itself taking into account the
total lock down in force till
April 14,” said Dr Baskar.
The minister also disclosed
that till Friday noon, a total of
The entire State wore a
deserted look on Friday as
vehicles, both private and pub-
lic stayed off the arterial roads.
Youths who were found freak-
ing out in the main thor-
oughfares were turned back by
the cops guarding the roads.
Those who violated the guide-
lines were asked to perform
“Thoppukaranam”, a kind of
brain yoga performed in front
of Lord Vigneswara as a mark
Karnataka’s 56th positive
case is a 10-month-old male
child from Dakshina Kannada
with no travel history to coron-
avirus affected countries.
“As per the preliminary
investigation, the child was taken
to Kerala by their family mem-
bers. The detailed investigation
is under process and six prima-
ry contacts have been traced and
are under house quarantine,” an
Uttara Kannada with travel his-
tory to Dubai.
All the new cases have been
admitted to designated hospitals
and their contact tracing has
begun. Positive cases one and
three have been discharged.
The state Health
Department has published an
advisory for travellers and fam-
ily members of the discharged
quarantine cases. IANS
they are in dire straits and the
local bodies should ensure that
they get food.
“We all know the dangers
if these stray dogs don’t get
food and if it happens, then it
will be bad for the society. So
we have asked all local bodies
in the state to ensure that they
do the needful and provide
food for them,” said Vijayan.
IANS
tested positive, out of whom
two have travel history abroad
and the other two have travel
history outside J&K. Kansal
said all the four who tested pos-
itive on Friday belong to
Srinagar district.
With this the total number
of COVID-19 patients has risen
to 18, four of whom are being
treated in Jammu while 14 are
being treated in Srinagar. IANS
X]:PbW\Xa
80=BQ BA8=060A
n its efforts to help the peo-
IIndian
ple during lockdown, the
Army said on Friday
that it has distributed rations
among daily wagers, migrant
workers and the needy in
Kashmir.

2,09284 passengers have been
H^VXbTcbd_ screened for corona virus and
274 persons have been admit-
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of obeisance.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had a telephonic con-

CTP\ c^ ted to various hospitals across

STP[fXcWRaXbXb
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath has
set up Team 11 to monitor the
situation in various sectors
amid COVID-19 and the sub-
sequent nationwide lockdown.
The various teams are led
by 20 IAS and five IPS officers.
The leaders of these teams
will report directly to the chief
minister, apart from holding
regular meetings.
The teams will oversee
working in medical, health,
revenue, labour, agriculture,
industry, law and order, animal
husbandry, rural development,
relief work, jail, industrial
development etc. IANS
HZeYWZgV_Vh
the state for further tests.
The person who died in
Kanyakumari on Thursday was
found free of corona virus. The
minister also disclosed that
the health officials have found
out more than 200 persons who
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Jaipur: As Bhilwara, the busi-
ness town of Rajasthan,
becomes corona epicentre reg-
istering the highest COVID-19
positive cases in the State,
Health Minister Raghu Sharma
told IANS that stringent actions
shall be taken against the doc-
tor of Bangad Memorial
versation with Edappadi
Palaniswamy on Friday about
the State’s preparedness to take
on Corona virus. According to
the chief minister’s office the
Prime Minister was briefed by
Palaniswamy about the steps
taken to check the disease.
centre, the minister said: “A few
guests from overseas had visit-
ed the house of Dr Alok Mittal
and they had brought the infec-
tion along. Surprisingly, the
doctor without getting the
things checked continued visit-
ing the hospital and diagnosed
the patients. He, himself though
C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108
ne more coronavirus-infected
O patient died in Mumbai on Friday,
even as an alarming 28 persons tested
positive for the pandemic taking the total
number of positive Covid-19 patients in
Maharashtra to 153.
The latest death took place at the P.D
Hinduja Hospital. “An 85-year-old doc-
tor underwent a CT SCAN at Saifee
Hospital and was diagnosed as diagnos-
tic for COVID-19. The Surgeon was
transferred to the special isolation facil-
ity at P.D Hinduja Hospital where he sub-
sequently died,” Dr. Vernon Desa,
Director (Medical governance and clin-
ical compliance) at Saifee Hospital said.
“All containment and surveillance
measures have been implemented to
ensure the safety of our staff, patients, and
visitors. Saifee Hospital reiterates that the
hospital is fully operational,” Dr Desa said.
With the latest death, the total num-
ber of Coronavirus deaths in Maharashtra
has gone up to six.
The coronavirus had claimed first life
in the state on March 17, when a 63-year-
old disease-infected had died at the
Kasurba Hospital. Subsequently, anoth-
er 63-year-old male patient, who had
been admitted to private hospital in
Mumbai died on March 21. Later on
March 24, a 65-year-old COVID-19
patient died at Kasturba Hospital in
Mumbai. On the same day, 65-year-old
woman died in a hospital at Navi
Mumbai.
In addition to these six deaths, there
was a COVID-19 recovered Philippines
national who also died, but since the caus-
es were different, he is not counted in the
Coronavirus death toll in the state.
In a highest-ever day’s positive
Covid-19 tally, as many as 28 persons—
including 12 members of a same family
living in Islampur town in Sangli district
of western Maharashtra – tested positive
for the Coronavirus on Friday. “With the
addition of these 12 members, 23 mem-
bers of a single family have contracted the
pandemic in Islampur town in Sangli dis-
trict,” official sources said.
In Mumbai, as many 9 new patients
– undergoing treatment at the Kasturba
Hospitlal – have tested positive. Of them,
six are from Mumbai, while one each
from Vasai, Thane and Gujarat. Of the
nine cases, five patients have history of
international travel, while in the remain-
ing four cases, patients have contracted
the epidemic from “close contacts”.
Four persons were diagnosed posi-
tive for Covid -19 in a Nagpur Hospital,
whole one person each tested positive in
Palghar, Kolhapur, Gondia and Pune.
In a related development, State
Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that as
many as 19 persons, who had earlier test-
ed positive for Covid-19 but recovered
later, had been discharged from various
hospitals as on Friday.
“As many as 4228 patients have under
Coronavirus tests in the state. Of the, the
reports of 4017 persons have come neg-
ative. 135 persons have tested positive,”
Tope said in a statement released in the
morning. However, the number of per-
sons who tested positive rose to 153 by
evening.
“Risking their lives, the doctors,
nurses and other staff members are work-
ing at various hospital treating coron-
avirus patients. They deserve to be com-
plimented. The state government is con-
sidering giving special allowance to all
them as a gesture of encouragement,”
Tope said.
Tope said that Maharashtra was fac-
ing a shortage of blood for the treatment
of the patients. “Hence, people should
come forward and donate blood, but by
maintaining the social distancing norms,”
the minister said.
Tope pointed out that since all
incoming flights to Maharashtra from
other parts of India, besides inter-state
travel had been closed due to the state
and national lockdowns, now the focus
was on locally acquired infections.

TRdVdFAeR]]j Hospital, whose negligence did not go on any foreign trav-

cVRTYVd%$
Lucknow: With five new cases
of coronavirus, the tally in
Uttar Pradesh has gone up to
43.
The daughter and two
other contacts of the Noida-
based Coronavirus positive
couple have also tested positive
for the infection in Lucknow.
The reports came in on
Thursday night.
The Covid-19 infection
was also confirmed in a Dubai-
returned man from Baghpat
district besides a person in
Agra.
State surveillance officer Dr
Vikasendu Agarwal said, “The
number of patients, who have
recovered from the infection, is
14. Three patients from Noida,
who were undergoing treat-
ment at different hospitals,
have been discharged.” IANS
caused the crisis.
“Taking legal action against
the doctor is very much in our
mind, however, priority is to
control the present situation.
Bangad Memorial Hospital shall
be seized, and a legal case shall
be taken against this hospital.
We are discussing this with
our health machinery,” he said.
Alok Mittal, the doctor has
been accused of the grave neg-
ligence as his inaction made the
coronavirus spread. He failed to
perform his due duties honest-
ly and did not act the way he
should have after receiving for-
eign guests at his residence, the
state minister said.
Mittal continued visiting
the hospital, testing patients
and meeting staff and friends
without getting himself quar-
antined when required, said
Sharma.
Speaking on how the par-
ticular hospital became the epi-
el, but continued interacting
with staff.
As the state government
now battles to keep the spread
in check, Sharma said that as a
doctor, Mittal should not have
gone to hospital and diagnosed
the patients in hospital but sur-
prisingly, he also travelled to
Udaipur during Holi and stayed
in a resort putting many lives in
danger.
Sharma said that the state
health machinery first wants to
control the situation in Bhilwara
where two patients who tested
positive for COVID-19 have
died on Thursday. Bhilwara
has 21 of the 45 positive cases
in the state so far.
Of the 21 patients reported
in this textile town, 15 are doc-
tors, nurses and other staff of
this hospital. Even the two
deceased who died in state on
Thursday were admitted in this
hospital. IANS
3_`cdQ[U`bUW^Q^dg_]Q^d_ >eTaWP[UcWT_^_d[PcX^]^U
X_c`YdQ\U^cebUXeRRiµcbUdeb^
Bareilly: Even as reports of police atrocities on those violating
6dYPaPcbdaeThTSU^aR^a^]P
the lockdown continue to pour in, the police are also getting acco- 80=BQ 60=378=060A The survey found that humanitarian grounds, facili-
lades for showing its human face. 37,885 people had travelled tated 250 state transport buses
The police responded promptly to the video message sent ujarat’s health department interstate, while 8,265 travelled and around 500 private vehicles
by a pregnant woman who was alone at home.
The woman, Tamanna, a 25-year-old a resident of Izzatnagar
G has surveyed more than
half the population of the State
abroad. Out of this, 118 have
been kept in surveillance on find-
for migrant labourers who were
walking on the highways and
area of Bareilly district, was expecting her first baby when her following the COVID-19 scare. ing symptoms of the disease. sent them to their destinations in
husband, Anees Khan, who works in Noida, got stuck there due Amid this crisis situation and 20,103 people have been quar- and outside Gujarat. But now not
to the lockdown. lockdown, the Chief Minister’s antined where 19,377 are at a single migrant labour will be
As the time for her delivery drew near, Tamanna, who lives relief fund received around C3.5 their homes and 575 have been allowed on the roads. The gov-
alone, was locked at home without any support. crore in donations. kept in government institutions. ernment is assuring them of pro-
With no one to help her, she sent a video message to police, Jayanti Ravi, Principal sec- FIR against 236 persons have viding food, water, shelter,” said
seeking their help. The police promptly responded and took retary, Health and family welfare been filed for violating quaran- Ashwini Kumar, the secretary of
Tamanna to a local hospital and got her admitted. Department, Gujarat said, “More tine,” added Ravi. the CMO.
The police also made arrangements for a taxi to bring her than 10,000 health workers are So far, there are 44 positive “We have also ensured that
husband Anees to Bareilly from Noida. Tamanna delivered a baby carrying out a door to door sur- cases in the State out of which 36 the factory owners, industry
boy on Thursday. The woman has now expressed her gratitude vey following the COVID-19 have travelled abroad. Out of the owners do not send their work-
on Twitter, thanking UP Police, specially SSP, Bareilly, Shailesh scare in the state. More than half rest 18, 16 came in contact with ers and labourers away due to the
Pandey, and additional DCP, Noida, Kumar Ranvijay Singh for the population of the state, that persons having foreign travel his- closure of their units. Gujarat
their help. is 3,50,69,926 people have been tory and two have interstate Chief Minister has ordered all
The woman said local police acted like her guardian angel covered under the survey so far travel history,” added Ravi. the district collectors to imple-
at a time when she thought she would die alone. IANS in the state. “The state government on ment this order,” added Kumar.
 ^_]X^]
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HUDOVWUXFWXUHLVEHLQJWHVWHG$QGZKLOHLWLV3ULPH0LQLVWHU1DUHQGUD0RGLZKR
JHWVWKHQDWLRQDODWWHQWLRQWKHZRUNGRQHE\VRPH2SSRVLWLRQ&KLHI0LQLVWHUVLQ n 2001, General Abdul Rashid
WKHLUUHVSHFWLYH6WDWHVSURYHVWKDWXQLWHGO\HDFKFRXOGOHDUQIURPWKHRWKHUDQGIRUJH
DXQLWHGIURQWZLWKWKH&HQWUH,QWKHSURFHVVZHDUHGHYHORSLQJLQQRYDWLYHPRG
HOVRIFULVLVPDQDJHPHQWWKDWPD\KROGXVLQJRRGVWHDGWRPDQDJHQRWRQO\WKLV
ZDYHRIWKHYLUXVEXWIXWXUHSDQGHPLFVDVZHOO2QHVXFK&KLHI0LQLVWHULV.HUDOD·V
3LQDUD\L9LMD\DQKHDGLQJD6WDWHWKDWKDVQRWRQO\WDPHGWKHGHDGO\1LSDKYLUXV
I Dostum, then a fierce warlord, the
first Vice President of Afghanistan
and a key political figure for the
northern Afghan provinces now,
apparently said the following to the Captain
of the US Army Special Forces ODA 595
fighting the Afghanistan war. The latter was
EXWFRQILQHGFKRNHGDQGFRQWUROOHGLW.HUDOD·VPRGHORIWHVWLQJILQGLQJLVRODWLQJ on a classified mission in the wake of the
DQGFRQWDFWWUDFNLQJZLWKDURXQGWKH\HDUIROORZXSVXUYHLOODQFHLVSD\LQJRIIUHVXOWV September 11 attacks that led to the fight
(YHQEHIRUHD&HQWUDOSDFNDJHWKH9LMD\DQ*RYHUQPHQWDQQRXQFHGDCFURUH for Mazar-i-Sharif. “There are no right
choices here. This is Afghanistan.
UHOLHIPHDVXUHDQGLVWKHILUVWWRJLYHVRPHGLJQLW\WRPLJUDQWODERXUHUVZKRDUH Graveyard of many empires. Today you are
KRPHOHVVDQGZLWKRXWIRRGSRVWORFNGRZQVE\RIILFLDOO\GHVLJQDWLQJWKHP6WDWH our friend, tomorrow you are our
JXHVWV1RWRQO\WKDWKDYLQJOHDUQWKDUGOHVVRQVLQGLVDVWHUPDQDJHPHQWGXULQJ enemy…You will be cowards if you leave.
And you will be our enemies if you stay.”
WKHIORRGV.HUDODLVDOVRRSHQLQJFRPPXQLW\NLWFKHQVDQGVKHOWHUVIRUWKHGLVSODFHG With close to 100 attacks in
7KLVLQFOXVLYLW\LVQRWMXVWDWRNHQLVPRUDSROLWLFDOSODQNWREHXVHGDWRSSRUWXQH Afghanistan post the signing of the US-
PRPHQWVWKH9LMD\DQ*RYHUQPHQWKDVDOZD\VWULHGWRLQWHJUDWHPLJUDQWZRUNHUV Taliban deal, the decree by Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani to release 1,500
SD\LQJWKHPWKUHHWLPHVWKHPLQLPXPZDJHLQRWKHU6WDWHVSURYLGLQJIRUWKHLUFKLO Taliban fighters and competing power axes
GUHQ·VHGXFDWLRQDQGHQUROOLQJWKHPIRUVHYHUDO6WDWHVFKHPHV7KH$UYLQG.HMULZDO in the country with Opposition leader
*RYHUQPHQWLQ'HOKLKDVHDVHGORFNGRZQSUHVVXUHVDOWKRXJKWKHFLW\LVRQHRIWKH Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani holding par- stance, New Delhi welcomed of the Taliban as a legitimate try, with involvement in the 28 Sikhs portrays the complexi-
allel inaugurals of the new Government in the pact between the US and the political player. Despite the security sector limited to train- ty of the challenge for India in
KRWVSRWVRI&29,'LQ,QGLDDQGFUHDWHGDWKUHHOD\HUHGUHVSRQVHPRGHORISUH Kabul, Afghanistan threatens to come full Taliban. During his first foreign Americans calling it an agree- ing Afghan officers in Indian mil- Afghanistan as the only legitimate
SDUHGQHVV,WKDVDOORZHGHWDLOHUV;RSHUDWLRQRIVKRSVVHOOLQJHVVHQWLDOSUR circle from its Taliban-ruled days. Indeed, trip, Indian Foreign Secretary ment “between the Islamic itary institutions, and a rather backer of the elected Afghan
YLVLRQVDQGPHGLFLQHVDQGLVFRQYHUWLQJDEDQGRQHGEXLOGLQJVDVHLWKHUVKHOWHUVRU 18 years later, the US is caught between the Harsh Vardhan Shringla reached Emirate of Afghanistan, which is restrained willingness to supply Government even as the US
coward-enemy binary, with the Taliban Kabul for a two-day visit and met not recognised by the US,” there military platforms and equip- purposefully recedes. If India
TXDUDQWLQHDUHDV,WHYHQKDVDJUDGHGDFWLRQSODQIRUWKHVSLNHLQFDVHVIURP spokesman Za-bihullah Mujahid announc- top Afghan political leaders a day is no denying the fact that the ment. Owing to recent develop- continues to guard its stakes, irre-
WRDQGXSZDUGVDQGKDVURSHGLQYROXQWDU\VHUYLFHVRISULYDWHGRFWRUVWRVWHP ing, “As per the US-Taliban agreement, our before the US-Taliban peace peace deal has brought a sense of ments, questions over the nature spective of the nature of the next
WKHWLGHRQFHWKHFDVHVULVH7KHIRXUODNKFRPPXQLW\NLWFKHQVLQVFKRROSUHPLV mujahideen will not attack foreign forces agreement was signed in Qatar legitimacy to the Taliban. This of India’s role in Afghanistan are Government over there, it should
HV IRU WKH SRRU ZLOO KRSHIXOO\ VWHP WKH H[RGXV RI GDLO\ ZDJHUV 7KH *HKORW but our operations will continue against the on February 29. The Indian compels a shift in New Delhi’s being acutely debated in the brace for a long resistance and
Kabul administration forces.” Moreover, as Ambassador to Qatar, P Afghan strategy. Indian strategic community. fight with the Pakistani deep state.
*RYHUQPHQWLQ5DMDVWKDQKDVVHWDQH[DPSOHLQ%KLOZDUDWKH6WDWH·VHSLFHQWUHRI the Trump administration has deliberate- Kumaran, was also an invitee of There are at least three fac- The Ghani-led Afghan As was evident in the gurudwara
WKHYLUXVE\ORFNLQJLWGRZQFRPSOHWHO\EHIRUHWKHQDWLRQDOGLNWDWDJJUHVVLYHFRQ ly concealed two written annexes of the deal the Qatari Government to the tors that point to India’s shifting Government in Kabul has bare- attack, Pakistan will intensify
WDFWWUDFLQJDQGQRZSRVVLEO\WHVWLQJHYHU\FLWL]HQLQFOXVWHUV&DSWDLQ$PDULQGHU from the public, much remains in the realm signing ceremony. policies in Afghanistan, albeit ly emerged from a divided elec- the use of the Haqqani network
of speculation regarding the details of the In November 2018, two without an endgame. First, India’s tion result and is faced with an and other terrorist factions that
6LQJKLQ3XQMDEWKH6WDWHZKLFKVHHVKLJKLQWHUQDWLRQDODUULYDOVFRPSOHWHO\FXWLW pact. This would lead one to make assess- Indian representatives participat- improved relations with the US uphill task in terms of thrashing it has a leverage on, as a front to
RIIEHIRUHDQ\RWKHU6WDWHKDG ments, whether or not the Taliban is liv- ed, non-officially, in the Moscow and its increasing convergences out the future of the country with attack India.
0HDQZKLOH0DPDWD%DQHUMHHLQ%HQJDOWUXHWRKHUVW\OHWRRNWRWKHVWUHHWV ing up to the end of the bargain, which is chapter of the Afghan peace with Washington have left little the Taliban, which has steadfast- The India-Afghanistan
almost impossible. talks, which included a high-level room for it to be on a side that’s ly refused to recognise its legiti- strategic partnership, among
GLVWULEXWLQJPDVNVDQGGUDZLQJFLUFOHVLQSXEOLFPDUNHWVWRHGXFDWHSHRSOHDERXW The US Secretary of State Mike representation from the Taliban. vehemently opposed to the latter. macy, calling it a puppet of the US other things, is based on a res-
WKHQRUPVRIVRFLDOGLVWDQFLQJ6KHKDVSOHGJHGQRIRRGVKRUWDJHDQGLVSUHSDU Pompeo’s latest dash to Kabul to reconcile Besides the fact that it doesn’t More so when China is becom- Government. Much is also con- olute Afghan Government in
LQJIRUWKHVXUJHZLWKPDNHVKLIWPHGLFDOIDFLOLWLHV2GLVKD&KLHI0LQLVWHU1DYHHQ warring parties in Afghanistan, to form a want to be in a camp opposite to ing a key player in Afghanistan. tingent on the release of the Kabul. At this juncture, with the
unity Government and begin intra- the US, an increasingly close part- US President Donald Trump, remaining 3,500 Taliban fighters certainty that the Taliban will
3DWQDLNPD\KDYHEHHQH[WUHPHO\ORZNH\EXWKDVEHHQRQHRIWKHILUVWWRVHWXS Afghanistan talks, did not see any progress. ner of India in global endeavours, during his recent visit to India, is as promised by the Ghani return to the corridors of power
DQHWZRUNRITXDUDQWLQHDQGFDUHFHQWUHVKLVSRVWIORRGPDQDJHPHQWKROGLQJKLP However, the Trump administration’s there is an apprehension in New said to have solicited support Government. Therefore, while in some form or the other, it is a
LQJRRGVWHDG,QIDFWJRLQJE\UHSRUWV6WDWHVDQG8QLRQ7HUULWRULHVZLWKPRUHWHVW threat of slashing $1 billion in assistance to Delhi about being left out of the from New Delhi for the Taliban New Delhi, Washington and no-brainer to conclude that New
Afghanistan has yielded some result with processes that are shaping deal. Second, America’s with- Kabul may still call for an Delhi needs dexterity than ever
LQJFHQWUHVDUHUHSRUWLQJKLJKHUFDVHVRILQFLGHQFH,QWKHHQGWKLVLVDELJWHVWRI the Ghani Government and the Taliban Afghanistan’s politics if the latter drawal from Afghanistan tacitly Afghan-owned and Afghan-led before. Add to this, the complex
HQGXUDQFHDQGOHDGHUVKLS,IZHSDVVWKLVWKHQZHPLJKWMXVWJREDFNWRFRRSHU agreeing to prisoner-swap, starting March continues strategic distancing thrusts a greater regional respon- peace process, it will be naïve not picture of China, which has
DWLYHIHGHUDOLVPWKDQDFRPSHWLWLYHRQH:HOIDULVPFRXOGEHVKDUHG 31. There has been little progress on the from the Taliban. sibility on India. This is not just to consider the return of a full- shown its willingness to invest in
issue of two parallel Governments in Pakistan’s role as one of the in correspondence to the emerg- fledged violence by the Taliban. Afghanistan. The US pullout,
Kabul. As the US is dealing with one of the facilitators in bringing the Taliban ing regional expectations on the For India, the most perti- therefore, can be an opportuni-

DeVaaZ_Xfa
worst pandemics in its history right now,
its resolve to leave Afghanistan in the next
14 months is going to further strengthen.
To this end, there are a few questions that
7KH,QGLDQVWDWHLVILQDOO\UHVSRQGLQJWRWKH need clear answers from India’s point of
view. What does the emerging situation
&RURQDYLUXVRXWEUHDNZLWKPRUHDODFULW\ mean for peace in Afghanistan and the larg-
to the negotiating table has fur-
ther shrunk New Delhi’s diplo-
matic heft, apropos Afghanistan
at the global high table. As such,
there are signs of greater skin in
the game in Afghanistan for
India to pre-emptively deal with
part of Afghanistan but also a pal-
pable realisation in its scheme of
regional leadership. Finally, hav-
ing a greater skin in the game for
India in Afghanistan, albeit with
deliberate moderations in its
role over there, seems to be the
nent question is: What kind of
leverage has Pakistan gained in
the entire gamble, in exchange for
its role in the US-Taliban talks,
given its influence over the
Taliban leadership and intentions
to maintain strategic depth in that
ty for India to fill the strategic gap.
But to do this effectively, it would
either require an enhanced secu-
rity apparatus in Kabul, whether
by partnering with another coun-
try or by itself. Both will have
tremendous and long-drawn

7
er regional stability in the region? How will an emerging politico-strategic best option for New Delhi as the country? Pakistan’s regaining of repercussions.
KH5HVHUYH%DQNRI,QGLD·V5%,DQQRXQFH the resultant geopolitical and geostrategic dynamic over there. choice is between being there and the “strategic depth” runs counter (Vivek Mishra is deputy direc-
PHQWWKDWLWZLOOLQIXVHFORVHWRCODNK space in Afghanistan be used by external Afghanistan has come full being left out. to all efforts to establish an influ- tor, KIIPS, Bhubaneswar, and
FURUHLQWRWKH,QGLDQILQDQFLDOV\VWHPWRGHDO powers? What should be India’s role in a circle — first the ouster of the India’s role in Afghanistan ential Indian presence in research fellow, ICWA, New Delhi.
ZLWK WKH &29,' SDQGHPLF LV ZHOFRPH new Afghanistan, where the Taliban has Taliban Government, then a since 2001 has largely been Afghanistan. Monish Tourangbam is assistant
gained renewed legitimacy? democratic Afghan Government focussed on the civilian recon- The recent heinous attack at professor Manipal University,
$ORQJVLGHLWVPRYHWRFXWWKHUHSRUDWHDQGUHGXFH Depicting a change from its earlier with security force, to the return struction of the war-torn coun- a gurudwara in Kabul that killed Karnataka)
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structure in a mess with an allo-
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,QIDFWZHZRXOGEHOXFN\LIZHUHJLVWHUDQ\JURZWKWKLVILQDQFLDO\HDU:KLOHWKH
*RYHUQPHQW·VHDUOLHUUHOLHISDFNDJHRICODNKFURUHZDVPHDQWWRKHOSWKHSRRU
3QbUV_bdXU`__bQ^TdXU]QbWY^Q\YcUT cation of less than two per cent of
the GDP? Why were adequate pre-
DQGGLVSRVVHVVHGWKH&HQWUDOEDQN·VPRYHPDNHVLWDPSO\FOHDUWKDW,QGLD·VFRQ Sir — This refers to the editorial, ventive measures not taken earli-
WXbaTUTabc^cWTTSXc^aXP[°C^cP[[^RZS^f]±<PaRW

“Total lockdown” (March 26).
VXPHUHFRQRP\LVZKDWNHHSVWKHZKHHOVRIWKHHFRQRP\JUHDVHG,WPD\LQFOXGH The 21-day lockdown to counter
DPLQXVFXOHQXPEHURI,QGLDQVEXWWKH\GRPDWWHU0DNLQJVXUHWKDWWKH\VWD\DIORDW the Coronavirus pandemic comes
DIWHUWKHFULVLVHEEVZLOOKHOSWKHSRRULQWKHORQJWHUPDVZHOO7KLVLVQRWPDNLQJ with the crippling effect of thou-
sands of people losing their jobs.
OLJKW RI WKH VLWXDWLRQ EXW VLPSO\ VWDWLQJ D IDFW 6HYHUDO LQGXVWULHV ZLOO EH EDGO\ Daily wage earners and those dri-
LPSDFWHG(YHQDIWHUGRPHVWLFDQGLQWHUQDWLRQDOIOLJKWVDUHDOORZHGDJDLQLWLVXQOLNH ving autos and taxis have to stay
O\WKDW,QGLD·VDYLDWLRQVHFWRUZLOOUHVXPHZLWKWKHQXPEHUVWKDWLWGLGEHIRUHIOLJKWV at home. They will find it hard to
VWRSSHG,WLVTXLWHOLNHO\WKDWWKHUHVWULFWLRQVRQIOLJKWVZLOOEHOLIWHGVORZO\EXWZLWK make ends meet. At present, we
cannot judge how the spread of
WKHFRQVXPHUHFRQRP\GHYDVWDWHGDQGWKHIDFWWKDWWKHUHDUHERXQGWREHWKRX the disease will affect the econo-
VDQGVRIZKLWHFROODUMREORVVHVLWLVXQOLNHO\WKDWYDFDWLRQWUDYHOZLOOSLFNXSDQ\ my but what is sure is that fallouts
WLPHEHIRUHDWWKHHDUOLHVW0DQ\SHRSOHDUHOLNHO\WREHKROGLQJRQWRFDVK will be severe. The Government,
too, cannot be blamed entirely for
UHVHUYHVIRUDZKLOHDQGRQO\SD\HVVHQWLDOVVXFKDVHGXFDWLRQDOIHHV3HRSOHPXVW this. For, we are in the midst of a
EHHQFRXUDJHGWRVSHQGEHFDXVHWKLVLVZKDWNHHSVFKHIVZDLWHUVKRXVHNHHSLQJ unique emergency, one we have
VWDIIDQGHYHQSLORWVHPSOR\HG never seen before. The bailout
plans of the Reserve Bank of India
:KLOHWKH5%,KDVDQQRXQFHGDPRUDWRULXPIRUWHUPORDQVDORWZLOOQRZGHSHQG as well as the Finance Minister
RQWKHEDQNVDQGRWKHUOHQGLQJLQVWLWXWLRQVWRDFWDQGSDVVRQWKHEHQHILWVWRWKH may not be enough. Some busi-
C
er in spite of the outbreak of the
!%8cXb_Ta_[TgX]VPbc^fWhcWTP]]^d]RT\T]cU^a disease in many other countries?
P! SPh[^RZS^f]fPb\PSTX]cWTbP\T\P]]Ta Yet, the Prime Minister urged
PbXcfPbS^]TSdaX]VST\^]TcXbPcX^]CWTRXcXiT]bfTaT Indians to beat plates and ring bells
VXeT]P[\^bc]^cX\Tc^bTcc[TS^f]CWT[^RZS^f]^aSTab in “honour” of those rendering
bW^d[SWPeTR^\TPUTfSPhbPV^CWT\XVaP]cf^aZ yeoman service in times of crisis.
TabbW^d[SWPeTQTT]VXeT]b^\TcX\Tc^aTcda]W^\T People did answer his call. Gullible
EXbdP[b^U[PQ^daTabb^\TfXcWQPQXTb^]cWTXabW^d[ Indians marched out to their bal-
STabfP[ZX]VWd]SaTSb^UZX[^\TcaTbc^aTPRWcWTXaW^\Tb conies and the streets with plates,
fT]ceXaP[^]cWTeTahUXabcSPh^UcWT[^RZS^f]PbcWTh pots, pans, bells and what not,
fTaTPbZTSQhcWTXaT\_[^hTabc^ePRPcTcWTXa`dPacTab bdbRT_cXQ[Tc^SXbTPbTb[XZT_]Td\^]XPP]ScdQTaRd[^ making a mockery of the idea of
5PX[X]Vc^VTcP]hcaP]b_^accWThbcPacTSfP[ZX]V bXb8UcWThPaT]^cX\\TSXPcT[h_a^eXSTSfXcW]dcaXcX^db social distancing.
FWPcWPbWP__T]TSRP]]^cQTaTRcXUXTS]^f1dcXc U^^ScWThRP]QTR^\TcWTT_XRT]caT^U2>E83 (8]SXP Rightly has a reputed journal-
XbfT[R^\TcWPcfXcW^dcP]hST[PhcWTD]X^]6^eTa]\T]c WPbT]^dVWU^^Sbc^RZbc^cXST^eTacWT2^a^]PeXadbRaX ist quipped that we have won the
RP\Td_fXcWPaT[XTU_PRZPVTf^acWC &[PZWRa^aTc^ bXbQdccWT_a^Q[T\Xb^U\P]PVT\T]cCWT50>TbcX\PcTb World Championship of Stupidity.
bWXT[ScWT_^^aSdaX]VcWT^]V^X]V2>E83 (_P]ST\ cWPc"_TaRT]c^URTaTP[bPaT[^bcX]8]SXPSdTc^X]TU As such, the directive to stay at
XR<P]hBcPcT6^eTa]\T]cb[XZT:TaP[PCP\X[=PSdDccPa UXRXT]cbd__[hRWPX]\P]PVT\T]cCWT6^eTa]\T]c\dbc home does not hold water. Those
?aPSTbWP]S?d]YPQWPeTP]]^d]RTSaT[XTU\TPbdaTbc^ QdhcWTbda_[dbU^^SP]SSXbcaXQdcTcWT\c^cWT]TTSh forced to venture outside out of
P[[TeXPcTcWTbdUUTaX]Vb^UcWTed[]TaPQ[TBTeTaP[BcPcT CWXbfX[[]^c^][hb^[eTcWT_a^Q[T\^UWd]VTaP]S\P[ need are being harassed on social
6^eTa]\T]cbP]SRXeX[b^RXTchVa^d_bWPeTQTT]_a^eXS ]dcaXcX^]QdcP[b^X\_a^eTcWTR^]SXcX^]^UcWTUPa\Tab media. It seems that while the
SHRSOH,QVWHDGRILQFUHDVLQJ*RRGVDQG6HUYLFHV7D[*67UDWHVPD\EHWKH ness sectors need direct support. X]VR^^ZTSU^^Sc^cWTW^\T[Tbb6XeT]cWTUPRccWPc (## BdYXc3T credit for any success goes to the
Jubel D’Cruz \X[[X^]^U^da_^_d[PcX^]PaTd]STa]^daXbWTScWThPaT :^[ZPcP Prime Minister, the failures are
*RYHUQPHQWVKRXOGFRQVLGHUUHGXFLQJUDWHVSDUWLFXODUO\RQKLJKYDOXHLWHPVVXFK Mumbai attributed to the common people.
DVDXWRPRELOHVWRHQFRXUDJHFRQVXPSWLRQ:HVKRXOGDOOXQGHUVWDQGWKDWWKH\HDU If people clanging utensils truly
ZLOOEHDGHDGORVVLQWHUPVRIHFRQRPLFJURZWK3URMHFWLRQVRIDWZRWKUHH CdbYSdQTXUbU^SU omy is threatening to slip into a It is now the duty and responsi-
EddUbcde`YTYdi revered doctors, they would not
recession. Amid the lockdown bility of every family member not have forgotten Kafeel Khan, who
SHUFHQWJURZWKPLJKWEHWRRRSWLPLVWLFLIWKHYLVLWRUIURP:XKDQVWD\VRQWLOOWKH call given by the Government to to step out and respect the is languishing in jail.
ZLQWHUZKHQWKHHQWLUHHFRQRP\FRXOGHYHQUHJURZ:HFDQRQO\KRSHWKDWWKHUH Sir — This refers to the editori- strictly stay indoors and stay restrictions laid down by the Sir — This refers to the editorial, Kajal Chatterjee
LVDUHERXQGRIVRUWVZKHQWKLQJVJHWEDFNWRQRUPDOZKHQHYHUWKH\GR$QGIRU al, “Total lockdown” (March 26). calm, this is an opportunity for Government to prevent further “Total lockdown” (March 26). Far Kolkata
The outbreak of Coronavirus the people to build deep bonds spread of the pandemic. from questioning what concrete
WKDWWRKDSSHQFRQILGHQFHKDVWREHNHSWKLJK7KHUHIRUHWKH5%,·VGHFLVLRQLVD has impacted the common man’s with their family members and Varun Dambal action was being taken to stop the BT]Shh^daUUTTSQPRZcc^)
SRVLWLYHIRU,QGLD1RZRYHUWRWKH,QGLDQFRUSRUDWHVHFWRUDQGWKHFRQVXPHU daily activities even as the econ- cherish the value of relationships. Bengaluru contagion, why is our health infra- [TccTabc^_X^]TTa/V\PX[R^\
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EDD1= 6D?C0
n his address to the nation on March 19, Prime
I Minister Narendra Modi announced the set-
ting up of an Economic Response Task Force
(ERTF) under the Union Finance Minister (FM),
Nirmala Sitharaman to come up with a package
of measures to alleviate the problems faced by
industries, sectors, businesses and workers due to
the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
The most seriously affected sectors, such as
aviation, transport, hospitality, tourism, retail,
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),
are looking for a host of concessions such as addi-
tional interest subvention (for instance, MSMEs
are demanding three-five per cent over and
above the two per cent that they are already get-
ting), moratorium on repayment of loans and inter-
est dues, relaxing the repayment schedules and lib-
eralising the norms for declaring a loan a non-per-
forming asset (NPA). At present, a loan is classi-
fied as a NPA if it is not paid within 90 days and
now the demand is for increasing this to 180 days.
The industries are also seeking reduction in
policy rate, the interest rate charged by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on loans given to
banks, by 50 basis points and reduction in the Cash
Reserve Ratio (CRR) to inject more liquidity into
the economy and so on. 7>F4E4AF4
However, the worst-affected are tens of mil- B7>D;30;B>=>C
lions in the “informal” sector such as street ven- crore farmers in the first week of April; already being done. The proposed relief 2019-20 at C12,00,000 crore) — fixed
14>1;8E8>DB>5
dors, craftsmen, construction workers, domestic C7458B20; an ex-gratia amount of C1,000 for the for construction workers and healthcare prior to the crisis — was highly unreal-
workers, agricultural labourers, the self-employed next three months in two instalments to from the respective funds is not amenable istic. Post-crisis, this may look like day-
and so on. They are in need of immediate finan- 8<?;820C8>=B>5 three crore widows and senior citizens; to any precise quantification. dreaming. With the inevitability of glob-
cial relief and in substantial measure. What 4E4=0;8<8C43 free gas cylinders to 8.3 crore women The increase in loan limit for al recession and lack of market appetite,
should be the relief amount per person? What will ?02:064C74 Ujjawala scheme beneficiaries for three Women SHGs is not a cash transfer or the target for proceeds from disinvest-
be its impact on the Budget? =4AE4B70CC4A8=6 months; and an increase of C20 in wage grant. The 24 per cent contribution to ment of its shareholding in Public Sector
India’s working population is about 40 crore. 2>E83 (70B rate of workers under the Mahatma EPF may sound attractive but is ham- Undertakings (PSUs) i.e. C2,10,000 crore
Of this, 94 per cent or 37.6 crore are in the infor- 2><40C0C8<4 Gandhi National Rural Employment strung by a rider; thus, even if the num- (a major source of non-tax revenue) is
mal sector. The national minimum wage of an F74=C74 Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to benefit ber of employees earning less than clearly out of reach.
informal worker is approximately C175 per day or 6>E4A=<4=C8B five crore people. C15,000 per month is 89 per cent of the Some experts have suggested that the
C4,550 per month (26 working days) and when s/he For construction workers, State total, the concerned establishment won’t Government may relax the fiscal deficit
BC0A8=60C0186
doesn’t get to work, s/he loses this much income. B7>AC50;;8=C0G Governments have been directed to use be eligible. The change of EPFO regula- (FD) target for 2020-21 by one percent-
For 37.6 crore workers, this comes to about the welfare fund for building and con- tion merely allows the worker to with- age point to release about C2,00,000 crore.
C1,70,000 crore per month. If the lockdown con- 2>;;42C8>= struction labourers (it has around draw his own money. But this can’t be viewed in isolation from
tinues for three months, the loss will be C5,10,000 0B8C8B0C C31,000 crore) to help people face eco- The remaining items offer some con- the existing fiscal position. If, deferred
crore. This should be the quantum of Direct C $&$2A>A4 nomic disruption because of the lock- crete financial benefit. Let us attempt to subsidy payments (DSPs), extra-bud-
Income Support (DIS). What has the FM offered? C74C0A64C5>A down. arrive at a number by putting relevant getary resources (EBRs) are included,
On March 24, for the industries and business- !!! 8=2A40B4 Likewise, the funds available under pieces together. already the FD should be six per cent (as
es, Sitharaman announced reliefs which are large- >5" ?4A24=C the District Mineral Fund (DMF) can be For a woman Jan Dhan account against the budgeted 3.5 per cent). The
ly “procedural.” These include extending the date >E4AC74;8:4;H used for testing activities, medical screen- holder, who is also the head of the house- steep decline in both tax and non-tax rev-
for filing returns (income-tax, Goods and Services 02CD0;3DA8=6 ing and providing healthcare to fight the hold, the value of 35 kg rice (for a fam- enue (courtesy the Coronavirus) will
Tax, customs, excise and statutory filings under the ! (!0C pandemic. ily of five people at five kg per person) increase it further.
Companies Act), reducing interest chargeable on C !2A>A4 Besides, under the Deen Dayal and one kg pulse is C955 (market price On top of this, a further relaxation
delayed payments, exemption from penalty, National Livelihood Mission (DDNLM), of rice: C35 per kg and pulse C80 per kg); of one per cent to meet expenditure com-
increasing threshold of insolvency filing and so on. ¯58G43?A8>AC> Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) will C500 ex-gratia; C500 value of subsidised mitments under PMGKS will lead to a
She also indicated that the financial package for C742A8B8B¯F0B get collateral-free loans up to C20 lakh gas cylinder and C600 increase in wage fiscal catastrophe. We may defeat the
affected sectors will be separately notified based 7867;H (up from C10 lakh earlier) to benefit under MNREGA. All put together, the Coronavirus eventually but the vast
on recommendations of the ERTF. D=A40;8BC82 630,000 SHGs. benefit comes to C2,555 per month. majority of the poor will be crippled by
On March 26, apart from providing insurance ?>BC2A8B8BC78B For the organised sector, the This is a good sum, though far below resulting high inflation (for the first time
cover worth C50 lakh for doctors, nurses, para- <0H;>>:;8:4 Government will pay the Employees’ the amount required to offset the loss of in decades, the Centre is asking the RBI
medics and sanitation workers, she announced the 30H3A40<8=6 Provident Fund (EPF) contribution of income resulting from the lockdown. to buy its bonds which in plain words
PM Gareeb Kalyan Scheme (PMGKS) aimed at both the employer and the employee or Besides, an overwhelming numbers of means “print new currency” and is
providing immediate assistance — in both cash and 24 per cent for three months. However, workers in the informal sector will be left inflationary), high interest rates, high cost
kind — to millions of poor. The scheme entails a this is only for those establishments with out; their benefit may at best be restrict- of capital to industry, plummeting real
total expenditure commitment of C1,70,000 crore. up to 100 employees, 90 per cent of them ed to five kg of free wheat/rice and one wages and so on.
The package includes giving five kg of earning less than C15,000 per month. kg pulse (that too subject to the capabil- All this points to a dire need for
rice/wheat per person per month for “free” to Further, the Employees’ Provident ity of the existing distribution network expediting reforms in all crucial areas viz.
around 80 crore people through the Public Fund Organisation (EPFO) regulation to supply these grains to the needy). food, fertilisers, fuel, power, irrigation,
Distribution System (PDS) plus one kg of preferred will be amended so that workers can However, we should also not be credit, taxation, banking and PSUs so as
and region-specific choice of pulse per household withdraw up to 75 per cent for contin- oblivious of the fiscal implications of even to result in a “sustainable” reduction in
for three months (this is in addition to the five kg gency expenditure as non-refundable a limited package. The nerve-shattering spending and achieve the desired buoy-
of rice/wheat already being given to them per advance or three months of wages in COVID-19 has come at a time when the ancy in tax revenue. But, for now, it seems
month); ex-gratia of C500 per month for three advance, whichever is less. This is Government is staring at a big shortfall all reforms have been put in the deep
months to Women Jan Dhan account holders to expected to benefit 4.8 crore workers. in tax collection. As it is, at C15,75,000 freezer.
benefit 20 crore women; release first installment Of the 10 items, payment under PM- crore, the target for 2020-21 (increase of (The writer is a New Delhi-based
'LUHFWRU,QGLDQ,QVWLWXWHRI*RYHUQDQFHDQG/HDGHUVKLS of C2,000 under the PM-KISAN scheme to 8.69
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t is often said that marketing is the
I link between (a segment of) soci-
ety’s needs and its economic
response patterns. However, one
major group of customers that has
largely been ignored by marketers is
persons with disabilities (PwDs) or
divyangs.
When the corporate strategy
guru CK Prahalad exhorted compa-
nies in the late 20th century to alle-
viate poverty and profit from the
“Bottom of the Pyramid”, the target-
ting horizon for corporates widened
ZUJO\_GTMY GTJZNK_]U[RJLOTJN[MKT[SHKXYULRU_GRGTJVXU[JI[YZUSKXY
significantly. Thus was opened a new
frontier which corporates had not
thought of till then. On similar lines,
today it might be worth looking at
special needs groups like PwDs as
profitable target segments in a
focussed manner.
According to the World Bank, the
size of this market is in the range of
approximately 15 per cent of the glob-
al population. That is to say, approx-
imately one billion people on the plan-
et are in dire need of products that can
help solve their problems of fitting in,
holding down jobs, or simply surviv-
ing with dignity. In India, the num-
ber of divyangs is nearly 2.7 crore. Add
to this another 150 million senior cit-
izens who also face varying degrees
of disabilities and impairments as they
age. A further impetus comes from
the knowledge that as lifespans
increase due to better healthcare
facilities, the proportion of senior cit-
izens will only increase in the future.
It might, therefore, be safe to surmise
that it is a lucrative-enough market to
pursue with earnestness. Are mar-
keters scanning the demographic
and divyang data well enough to
aggressively chase this segment?
Could it be a new frontier for early
starters in this domain?
Intervention experts who work
with PwDs have time and again
exhorted industry doyens to design
and develop assistive devices that will
help an individual to do something
that they otherwise might be inca-
pable of doing. It often helps people
overcome a handicap.
Some examples of assistive tech-
nologies are: Aids to help mobility like
wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes,
crutches, prosthetic devices, and
orthotic devices. Devices that help
hearing-impaired individuals
hear/hear more clearly. Aids to assist
cognitive functions in people with
memory, attention or information
processing challenges. Computer
hardware and software that enable
KISAN is merely a rehash of what is
individuals with mobility and senso-
ry impairments use computers and
mobile devices. Tools to help learn-
ers with disabilities participate in edu-
cational activities with the help of
automatic page turners, book holders
and adapted pencil grips. Also, closed
captioning via apps to help people
with hearing problems watch visual
content.
It can also include physical mod-
ifications in the built environment,
including ramps, grab bars, wider
doorways to enable access to build-
ings, businesses/workplaces and yel-
low strips to outline safe walking
areas. Plus, high-performance mobil-
ity devices made with lightweight
materials that enable divyangs to
play sports and be generally active
physically. Also, adaptive switches and
utensils to allow those with limited
motor skills to prepare food, consume
it and accomplish other related activ-
ities, are the need of the hour.
PwDs have the same range of
31 per cent over the likely actual during
aspirations, preferences and attitude
towards brands and products as peo-
ple without. And yet this niche mar-
ket is underserved. While the big
companies focus on the vast majori-
ty of the market, smaller firms and
entrepreneurs will do well to engage
with this niche segment.
People like to buy from people
who look like them. So divyangs may
be engaged in advertisements to
PwDs. Marketers should test-market
products on PwDs and their family
members or care givers to obtain pre-
cise feedback. Some researchers con-
tend that when companies marketing
to PwDs have divyang employees in
their organisation, it helps in connect-
ing with the target group as having a
varied customer base appears to be
more acceptable to PwD customers.
Marketers must also exhibit genuine
interest and concern for the PwD seg-
ment by engaging with disability-ori-
ented organisations and non-profits
in their activities. Marketing to PwDs
policy analyst)
needs appreciation of the fact that dis-
abilities are varied and a one-size-fits-
all approach will be counterproduc-
tive. For instance, a visually-chal-
lenged person’s needs would be quite
different from that of a mobility-
impaired one.
Marketers would also do well to
bear in mind that instead of trying to
bring new products, tweaking exist-
ing ones to improve accessibility
could be quicker. For instance, a
braille smartphone for the visually-
impaired; Artificial Intelligence- based
software that converts speech into text
for the hearing-impaired; cars
designed to allow wheelchair- bound
people to enter the vehicle directly
with the wheelchair and then drive sit-
ting in the wheelchair itself; voice/ges-
ture-activated home appliances for the
mobility-impaired; medicine boxes
with light/sound signals to help elder-
ly and memory loss individuals
remember to take/keep track of pre-
scribed drug schedules; spectacles-
mounted laser pointers for comput-
er keyboards for cerebral palsy
patients and so on.
There is an acute need for “assis-
tive technology products”, much more
than what marketers have cared to
explore. With Government policies
like Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
(Accessible India Campaign) in
motion since 2015, marketers could
deliver a better quality of life for PwDs
because there is now a structured
approach and framework available.
Importantly, such marketing must not
be pursued as a charity or philan-
thropic activity.
Divyangs value their self-esteem
and personal dignity just as much as
any other person. All that marketers
need to do is deliver value in the form
of access to an equal lifestyle at a rea-
sonable cost and there could be
found an ocean of loyal and proud
customers among the PwDs.
(The writer is Professor, Marketing,
Great Lakes Institute of Management)
=4F34;78kB0CDA30H k<0A27!'!! f^a[S'
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T he US now has more coro-
navirus cases than any
other country after more than
16,000 COVID-19 infections
were reported there in a single
day, taking the number of
patients in America to over
85,600, according to Johns
Hopkins University data.
Globally, a total of 24,057
people have died due to the
novel coronavirus with Italy
standing at the top with 8,215
deaths, followed by Spain
(4,365) and China (3,169), the
varsity figures stated.
America leads with 85,653
COVID-19 cases, followed by
China with 81,782 and Italy
with 80,589 infections, the data
showed. According to
Worldometer, the website that
records confirmed cases of
infection and deaths globally,
the US by Thursday night had
85,088 individuals infected
with coronavirus, of which
16,877 were added just in a sin-
gle day. A week ago, the num-
ber of confirmed cases were
8,000. It has dangerously
surged 10 times in the span of
a week.
With at least 263 deaths,
the US also reported most
number of fatalities due to the
contagion on a single day on
Thursday. At least 1,290
Americans have died due to
coronavirus so far, the website
reported. Over 2,000 coron-
avirus cases were reportedly in
a serious condition. The num-
ber of confirmed cases as well
as the deaths due to COVID-
19 are likely to increase sub-
stantially in the coming days.
In China, where the out-
break originated in December,
3,287 people have died due to
coronavirus pandemic while
8=@32=562E9E@==@G6C#&!!!
05?Q ?0A8B
T he coronavirus pandemic
has killed 25,066 people,
with Europe accounting for
most of the deaths, according to
an AFP tally at 1430 GMT
Friday based on official statistics.
Europe was the worst-hit
continent with 17,314 fatalities.
Italy had the highest numbers
of deaths in the world at 8,165,
followed by Spain (4,858) and
China (3,292).
At least 547,034 coron-
avirus cases have been regis-
tered around the world since
5aT]RW?aX\T<X]XbcTa4S^dPaS
December.
GLHLQKRXUVLQ6SDLQ
1aXcXbW7TP[cWBTRaTcPah<Pcc
05?Q <03A83
he death toll in Spain soared
T over 4,800 Friday after 769
people died in 24 hours, in what
5^aTXV]6^eTa]\T]cb^]5aXSPh
was a record one-day figure for
fatalities in the country, the gov-
ernment said.
Spain has the world's sec-
ond-highest death toll after
Italy, and has so far suffered
4,858 deaths, while the number
of cases jumped to 64,059.
Although the figures
showed a daily increase of near-
ly 8,000 new infections, the
CWTR^a^]PeXadb_P]ST\XRWPb
Bc^_bT]SX]V\T\TbAdbbXP]cT[TR^\bUXa\_[TPSb
Moscow: Russia's biggest tele-
coms provider on Friday plead-
ed with clients to stop sending
coronavirus memes and viral
videos, as networks began to
overload as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
9P_P]bRWTaahQ[^bb^\bPaTX]
BaX;P]ZPb\^bcbPRaTS
8]S^]TbXPbRaXbXbXbUPaf^abT
Italy has recorded 8,215 such
deaths. US President Donald
Trump attributed the spike in
the confirmed cases to the
large-scale testing of the dead-
ly disease.
"I think it's a tribute to our
testing," he said, adding "no one
knows what the numbers are in
China". Vice President Mike
Pence said it was important for
hospitals and labs testing the
samples to report back to the
Centre for Disease Control
and Federal Emergency
Management Agency so that
the Government has full visi-
bility to provide the President
with the best counsel.
The Abbott Laboratory
submitted to Food and Drug
Administration a national
request for approval of a point-
of-care test, he said, adding that
this would be the kind of test
where one could go to a doc-
tor and get the test done and
have the results in no more
than 15 minutes.
In an in interview with the
CNN, Anthony Fauci,
America's top infectious dis-
ease expert said it was difficult
to tell where the pandemic will
go and how long it will last in
the US. This is the relative per-
centage of asymptomatic infec-
tion — and it "influences every-
thing," he said.
uptick comes as Spain moves to
dramatically increase its rate of
testing, ordering millions of
new kits from around the world.
Despite the increase, the
rate of new infections appears
to be slowing, registering a 14
per cent increase compared
with 18 per cent on Thursday.
Even so, the number of
deaths over a 24-hour period
was far higher than Italy, which
counted 662 deaths in its last
update on Thursday night.
Italy has so far suffered 8,165
deaths as a result of the epi-
"Memes and keeping in
good spirits are important, but it
is important to be responsible
about using content online,"
MTS president Alexei Kornya
said in a statement on the com-
pany's website.
It influences transmission,
contact tracing, and the mea-
sures that the authorities need
to take. That's why the most
important thing to do now is to
conduct widespread testing
and collect more data, he
asserted.
He called for ratcheting up
the current level of contact
tracing and testing. "We've got
to do it better than we are now,"
he said. According to Deborah
Brix, coordinator for the White
House Coronavirus Task Force,
55 per cent of all new cases
continue out of the New York
— New York Metro area. This
includes New Jersey as well, she
said, expressing concern over
the coronavirus spread. "At
the same time, 19 of the 50
states that had early cases, but
have persistently low level of
cases and at this point have less
than 200 cases," she said.
Brix said the US had done
5,50,000 tests so far. "We are
still running somewhere about
14 per cent overall. That means
86 per cent of the people with
significant symptoms because
remember you had to have a
fever and symptoms to get
tested at this point. So still 86
per cent are negative," she said.
These are really important
facts for the American people,
Brix said.
demic with 80,539 people
infected.
Until Thursday night, Italy
had registered the largest num-
ber of declared cases until it
was overtaken by the United
States, where 85,991 people
have now tested positive for the
virus. Spain implemented a
stringent nationwide lockdown
on March 14 which will not be
lifted until at least April 11,
with the latest figures raising
hope that the measures to curb
the virus were beginning to
take effect.
"I'm not saying you should
stop watching films online or
participate in video conferences
for work," he said. But he called
on Russians to "refrain from
sending around funny but 'heavy'
videos via messengers to dozens
,Q,UDQIDOVHEHOLHIDSRLVRQ 562E9E@==C:D6D
ILJKWVYLUXVNLOOVKXQGUHGV E@#$():?:C2?
TEHRAN: Standing over the
still body of an intubated 5-year-
old boy wearing nothing but a
plastic diaper, an Iranian health
care worker in a hazmat suit and
mask begged the public for just
one thing: Stop drinking indus-
trial alcohol over fears about the
new coronavirus.
The boy, now blind after
his parents gave him toxic
methanol in the mistaken belief
it protects against the virus, is
just one of hundreds of victims
of an epidemic inside the pan-
demic now gripping Iran.
Iranian media report near-
ly 300 people have been killed
2>E83 (>DC1A40:
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DRjdZ_WVTeZ`fdUZdVRdVdcVT`X_ZdV_`S`cUVc`ccRTV
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hinese President Xi Jinping
C on Friday assured full sup-
port to his US counterpart
Donald Trump in fighting the
coronavirus as America
emerged as the next major
epicentre of the pandemic but
underlined that infectious dis-
eases did not recognise any
border or race.
Trump spoke to Xi over
telephone, days after the US
president angered Beijing by
referring to the coronavirus as
$VYLUXVWROOPRXQWVLQ1<PRUHKRVSLWDOVVRXJKW
0?Q =4FH>A:
resident Donald Trump and
P elected leaders in New York
are clashing again over the
depth of the state's coronavirus
crisis. Meanwhile, the outbreak
is taking its toll on the state's
civil servants, with the virus
claiming the lives of bus and
train workers and a civilian
employee of the New York
Police Department.
There are more than 6,000
hospitalised COVID-19
patients in New York, with
almost 1,600 in intensive care.
New York has logged a nation-
high of 519 deaths, and has
more than 44,000 confirmed
cases.
Here are the latest coronavirus
developments in New York:
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of contacts," straining the tele-
coms infrastructure. MTS has 80
million clients in Russia and has
seen a "considerable increase in
the load on the network," most-
ly in large cities, particularly
Moscow, Kornya said. AFP
and more than 1,000 sickened
so far by ingesting methanol
across the Islamic Republic,
where drinking alcohol is
banned and where those who
do rely on bootleggers. An
Iranian doctor helping the
country's Health Ministry told
The Associated Press on Friday
the problem was even greater,
giving a death toll of around
480 with 2,850 people sickened.
The poisonings come as
fake remedies spread across
social media in Iran, where
people remain deeply suspi-
cious of the government after
it downplayed the crisis for
"Chinese virus" and his
Secretar y of State Mike
Pompeo said China's ruling
Communist Party poses a "sub-
stantial threat" to Americans'
health and their way of life.
President Xi took a phone
call from President Trump, the
Chinese Foreign Ministry said
in a statement.
During the conversation,
Xi stressed that since the
COVID-19 outbreak began,
Beijing has acted in an "open,
transparent and responsible
manner and provided timely
MORE HOSPITALS
SOUGHT
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
the state wants to build four more
temporary hospitals in New
York City within weeks, before
coronavirus cases are projected
to peak. The state is seeking
authorization from the Trump
administration to add 4,000
beds in the Bronx, Brooklyn and
Queens. The hospitals would be
constructed at a horse track, a
city college, an expo centre and
a cruise ship terminal.
The requested conversions
are part of the state's broader
effort to quickly increase New
York's hospital capacity from
53,000 beds to up to 140,000
beds. The federal government
is already constructing a hos-
pital at a Manhattan conven-
tion center and a Navy hospi-
05?Q A><4
taly recorded a shocking spike in coronavirus deaths
Irecord
on Friday with 969 new victims, the worst daily
for any country since the pandemic began.
The infection rate however continued its down-
ward trend, with the civil protection agency report-
ing nearly 86,500 confirmed cases in Italy — a 7.4 per-
cent increase, down from around 8.0 per cent in pre-
vious days.
4`c`_RgZcfdW`f_UZ_
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?C8Q 14898=6
angolins that were smug-
P gled into China carry coro-
naviruses that are closely relat-
ed to the one behind the
COVID-19 pandemic, accord-
ing to a study which sheds
more light on the origins of the
deadly virus.
However, the study, pub-
lished in the journal Nature, said
the degree of similarity between
the virus in the small anteater
mammals, and the one causing
the pandemic is not sufficient to
suggest that the animals are the
intermediate hosts behind the
current outbreak.
According to the
researchers, including those
from The University of Hong
Kong, the findings suggest that
days before it overwhelmed the
country.
"Other countries have only
one problem, which is the new
coronavirus pandemic. But we
are fighting on two fronts
here," said Dr. Hossein
Hassanian, an adviser to Iran's
Health Ministry who gave the
higher figures to the AP. "We
have to both cure the people
with alcohol poisoning and
also fight the coronavirus."
For most people, the new
coronavirus causes mild or
moderate symptoms, such as
fever and cough that clear up
in two to three weeks. AP
updates on the outbreak to the
World Health Organization
(WHO) and relevant coun-
tries including the United
States".
After their telephonic talk,
Trump tweeted, "Just finished
a very good conversation with
President Xi of China.
Discussed in great detail the
CoronaVirus that is ravaging
large parts of our Planet.
"China has been through
much & has developed a strong
understanding of the Virus. We
are working closely together.
tal ship is due to arrive Monday
in New York City, a global
hotspot of the outbreak. "Were
looking far and wide, very cre-
ative, aggressive and finding all
the space that we can possibly
find," Cuomo said.
PUBLIC SERVANTS
FELLED BY VIRUS
The coronavirus outbreak is
taking its toll on New York City's
civil servants. Two people who
helped keep New York moving
during the crisis, bus operator
Oliver Cyrus, 61, and train con-
ductor Peter Petrassi, 49, were
killed by the virus Thursday,
according to their union.
Transport Workers Union
Local 100 President Tony Utano
called the two deaths in one day
"a terrible and incredibly sad
loss." He called transit workers
pangolins are a second mam-
malian host of coronaviruses.
They said the sale of pan-
golins in wildlife markets
should be strictly prohibited to
minimise the risk of future
virus transmission to humans.
While evidence suggests
that bats may be the reservoir
for the pandemic causing virus,
SARS-CoV-2, the researchers
said the identity of intermedi-
ate host animals — that could
have facilitated its transfer to
humans — remains unknown.
A seafood market linked to
early cases of the recent out-
break of respiratory disease
was cleared out shortly after the
outbreak began, the scientists
said, impeding the search for
the animal species that is the
source of the coronavirus.
05?Q C47A0=
ran on Friday announced
Inovel
144 new deaths from the
coronavirus, bringing
the official number of fatalities
to 2,378 in one of the world's
worst-hit countries.
"In the past 24 hours, we've
had 2,926 new confirmed cases
of COVID-19 infections across
the country," health ministry
spokesman Kianoush
Jahanpour said in a televised
news conference.
"This brings the overall
confirmed cases to at least
32,332," he added, noting that
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Much respect!" Trump wrote,
hours after he said the WHO of
has "very much sided" with
China on the coronavirus cri-
sis, asserting that many are
"true heroes" for continuing to
work during the pandemic and
he demanded the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority pro-
vide transportation workers
with protective masks.
"Dedication and duty does
not mean using transit workers
as cannon fodder," Utano said.
Fifty-year-old letter carrier
Rakkhon Kim died Wednesday
from COVID-19-related com-
plications, according to the
National Association of Letter
Carriers. Kim had delivered
mail for 23 years. He worked in
the Bronx and lived in
Northvale, New Jersey, accord-
ing to the union.
The New York Police
Department announced its first
coronavirus death on
Thursday. Dennis Dickson, a
department janitor, died from
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A Georgia couple who trav-
eled to India to adopt a
child have had to delay bring-
ing their new daughter back to
the United States after Indian
authorities locked down the
country because of the coron-
avirus. Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, on Tuesday
announced a three-week lock-
down in the country of 1.3 bil-
lion people, meaning that cit-
izens and visitors alike may
only leave their homes or hotels
for food, medicine or other
essential needs.
The order is meant to keep
the virus from surging and
overwhelming an already
strained health care system, but
it has also left Mike and
Whitney Saville of Auburn,
Georgia, with little hope of get-
ting back home with their
daughter Grace anytime soon.
The Savilles were sched-
uled to leave the country on
Thursday. But they said the US
Embassy told them the day
before that airlines were refus-
ing to help evacuate them and
hundreds of other US Citizens.
11,133 of those hospitalised so
far have recovered. Jahanpour
said nearly 2,900 of those
infected are in a "severe" con-
dition.
He said that the rising
number of confirmed cases
was due to Iranians increas-
ingly "self-declaring" symp-
toms and undergoing testing.
The ministry has repeat-
edly called on citizens to visit
a website and report potential
symptoms.
The data, together with
their phone number
and ID, is used to identify
potential cases.

0?
unhappy with the "very unfair"
praise by the global health
agency on Beijing's handling of
the COVID-19 outbreak in
the country.
complications of the disease,
Police Commissioner Dermot
Shea said. Dickson worked for
the department since 2006 and
spent 17 straight days cleaning
up police headquarters after
Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
The department, even as it
has been tasked with helping
police New York's social dis-
tancing rules, also continues to
see a spike in absences. On
Thursday, 3,674 officers called
in sick, accounting for about
10% of the force. As of
Thursday, 351 NYPD personnel
had tested positive for the virus.
The department's top
counterterrorism official,
Deputy Commissioner John
Miller, was hospitalized
Thursday, awaiting test results
after experiencing symptoms
consistent with COVID-19.
*OREH
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O ver 2,000 Indian nationals

are among the 16,900 for-
eign tourists stranded in Sri
Lanka due to the lockdown
imposed by the government
after the coronavirus outbreak,
official figures released here said
on Friday.
At 2,439, the Indians are the
highest among the number of
tourists stranded in the island
Lanka
WRGXHWRYLUXV81
nation followed by the Chinese
at 2,167, data from the Sri
Tourism
Development Authority said.
and
The data was released a day
after Sri Lanka said that it will
allow chartered flights from any
country to land here and fly out
their citizens stranded in the
country on a holiday or for
work purposes due to the coro-
navirus epidemic.
Sri Lanka shut its interna-
tional airports for incoming
flights since last week and the
people were asked to skip for-
eign travel in view of the coro-
navirus threat.
A limited number of out-
bound flights do still operate.
Sri Lanka has so far recorded
104 confirmed COVID-19
cases while another over 200
others are under observation.
Sri Lanka’s first known
COVID-19 was a female
Chinese tourist. She was cured
and departed early this month.
The first Sri Lankan nation-
al to be confirmed to carry the
virus was a tour guide who
worked with Italian tourists. He
was cured and left hospital this
week. The number of COVID-
19 cases across the globe has
skyrocketed to 531,860 and a
total of 24,057 people have
died so far. At 85,653, the US
now has the highest number of
confirmed coronavirus cases in
the world, surpassing China
and Italy. Nearly 1300 people
have died in the US due to the
disease. The coronavirus out-
break has highly impacted
tourism of Sri Lanka, a major
source of revenue for the coun-
try. This blow to the island
nation’s tourism comes after the
Easter Sunday attacks last year
that killed 258 people, includ-
ing Indians.
AFP Q Madrid
International travel will
likely fall by 20-30 percent in
2020 due to the novel coron-
avirus pandemic, putting mil-
lions of jobs in the global
tourism sector at risk, the
World Tourism Organization
said Friday.
This revises sharply lower
introduction of travel restric-
tions across the world” but
added it “should be interpret-
ed with caution in view of the
extreme uncertain nature of the
current crisis.” The body had
predicted at the beginning of
the year that international
tourism would grow by 3.0-4.0
percent in 2020.
“Tourism is among the
by just 0.4 percent in 2003 after
the outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
which killed 774 people
worldwide, it added.
Governments around the
world have restricted travel as
they scramble to contain the
spread of the disease which has
claimed over 23,000 lives
worldwide since it first

2W 8`gef_gVZ]d_VX`eZReZ_XeVR^W`cER]ZSR_eR]\d a forecast made on March 6 of

00?Q :01D;
fter months of deliberation, Afghan
A President Ashraf Ghani on Friday
announced his 21-member team to
negotiate peace with the Taliban, only
to have his political opponent reject it
as not inclusive enough.
Afghanistan’s political turmoil has
impeded each tentative step toward
negotiations with the Taliban — nego-
tiations that are supposed to come next
under a peace deal that Washington
signed with the insurgents last month.
The deal calls for the eventual
withdrawal of all 13,000 U.S. soldiers
from Afghanistan in exchange for guar-
antees from the Taliban to fight other
militant groups, including the Islamic
State group. The deal has been touted
as Afghanistan’s best chance yet of end-
ing its relentless wars.
But Ghani and his opponent,
Abdullah Abdullah, have been locked
in a power struggle that U.S. Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo could not resolve
during his emergency visit to Kabul ear-
lier this week.
Pompeo held talks with both Ghani
and Abdullah, who has also declared
himself president in a parallel inaugu-
ration ceremony earlier this month, but
made no headway in reconciling the
two. Washington subsequently said it
would cut $1 billion in assistance to
Afghanistan if the two leaders couldn’t
“get their act together.”
Ghani’s 21-member team is led by
the Masoom Stanikzai, former head of
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, who
was forced to resign last year. He quit
after a CIA-trained team under his com-
mand was found to have killed four
brothers they falsely accused of being
Islamic State operatives.
The special forces unit known as
Unit 02 still operates despite reports of
abuses, including one last year by the
Human Rights Watch, which docu-
mented what it says are mounting
atrocities by U.S.-backed Afghan spe-
cial forces.
a decline of just 1.0-3.0 percent
due to the travel restrictions put
in place to curb the spread of
the disease and economic fall-
out of the outbreak.
The drop in arrivals will
lead to an estimated loss of
$300-450 billion in interna-
tional tourism receipts,
almost one third of the $1.5
trillion generated in 2019, the
Madrid-based UN body said in
a statement.
The UNWTO said it had
revised its forecast to take into
account “the unparalleled
hardest hit of all economic sec-
tors,” the body’s secretary gen-
eral, Zurab Pololikashvili, said
in the statement, adding “it is
clear” that millions of jobs
within the sector are at risk.
The UNWTO noted that
small and medium-sized busi-
nesses make up around 80
percent of the tourism sector,
which “leads the way” in pro-
viding jobs for women, youths
and rural communities.
By comparison interna-
tional tourism arrivals declined
by 4.0 percent in 2009 during
the global economic crisis and
emerged in China late last
year. More than three billion
people around the world are
currently living under lock-
down measures.
Major cultural events and
business conferences have been
called off to limit contact
between people and airlines
have drastically cut back the
number of flights they offer.
International tourism
arrivals rose by 4.0 percent in
2019 to 1.5 billion, with France
the world’s most visited nation,
followed by Spain and the
United States.

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05?Q ;>=3>= kets had managed to record from a $2-trillion US stimulus
more gains. While the number bill that is making its way ?C8Q =4F34;78 across the country are opera-
?C8Q <D<108 Nifty managed to end with by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent tock markets on both sides of people contracting COVID- through Congress and is tional. With the impact of

arket benchmark BSE

M Sensex closed lower by
131 points or 0.44 per cent in
volatile trade on Friday, cutting
short its three-day winning
run due to deepening growth
concerns and a less-than-
expected moratorium on loans
announced by the RBI in its
monetary policy.
Stock markets had rallied
around 4 per cent in opening
trade in line with firm global
markets and ahead of the RBI
governor’s address.
However, stocks lost steam
after the policy announcement
with the benchmark indices
paring sharp gains. The 30-
share Sensex ended 131.18
points or 0.44 per cent lower at
29,815.59. It hit a high of
31,126.03 and a low of
29,346.99 in day trade.
The broad-based NSE
gains, closing higher by 18.80
points or 0.22 per cent at
8,660.25 as energy, FMCG and
select banking stocks advanced.
On a weekly basis, both the
indices closed in the red, mark-
ing their sixth week of losses
due to heavy selling after lock-
downs in major economies to
contain coronavirus spread.
“In such uncertain times,
instead of fresh funds entities
want to save their skin, RBI’s
relaxation of only 3 months
instead of 6 months for a mora-
torium on interest on loans and
working capital has disappoint-
ed many,” Jimeet Modi, Founder
and CEO, Samco Securities said.
In a bid to support the
economy during the pandem-
ic, RBI Governor Shaktikanta
Das unveiled a slew of mea-
sures, including its steepest
interest rate cuts in more than
11 years. The repo has been cut
— the lowest in at least 15 years.
Further, the Reserve Bank
reduced the cash reserve ratio
(CRR) for all banks by 100 basis
points to 3 per cent to release
C1.37 lakh crore across the
banking system. It also allowed
banks to put on hold monthly
instalment payments on all
term loans for three months.
The RBI is playing every
card in its pocket to prevent a cri-
sis-like situation by giving banks
the ability to lend more, but as
such no direct helping hand has
been given to ailing industries as
of now, Modi observed.
Axis Bank, ITC, NTPC
and M&M were among the top
gainers. Sector-wise, BSE
bankex, metal, power, IT and
healthcare indices ended on a
positive note while BSE tele-
com, auto, oil and gas, basic
materials and realty indices
ended in the red.
S of the Atlantic retreated
Friday as investors banked
profits from the week’s equities
rally sparked by massive gov-
ernment and central bank
action to bolster an economy
battered by the coronavirus
pandemic.
On Wall Street, the Dow
Jones index lost more than 700
points in early business, while
in Europe key indices were also
deeply in the red — although
still set for solid weekly gains.
“European markets have
pulled back... With caution
being the order of the day after
such a good rally,” said Neil
Wilson, chief market analyst at
trading group Markets.Com.
“Stimulus efforts have calmed
markets” this week, Wilson
said, noting however that
investors were looking to take
profits ahead of the weekend
pause. Earlier, Asian stock mar-
19 continues to escalate, the
support measures which the
G20 said amounted to $5 tril-
lion, have given traders hope
that the expected global reces-
sion will be sharp but short.
Even news that a record 3.3
million Americans claimed
unemployment benefits last
week — smashing the previous
all-time high of 695,000 in
1982 — was unable to derail the
more positive view.
Dan Skelly at Morgan
Stanley Wealth Management
said stocks, after being clob-
bered in recent weeks, were
now showing signs of bottom-
ing out. “While we do believe
this will be possibly the
sharpest recession in history, it
may also be the shortest, so
there is room to be optimistic
for a second-half rebound,” he
told Bloomberg TV. Support
this week has come largely
expected to be passed by the
House of Representatives
Friday before being signed off
by President Donald Trump.
“For investors, this package
should be good for US equities
and other risk assets as it
should leave US corporations
in a better position to weather
the economic downturn and
thrive in the rebound,” said
David Kelly, at JP Morgan
Asset Management. On
Thursday, Federal Reserve chief
Jerome Powell said the US
central bank would continue to
“aggressively” pump liquidity
into the economy.
The Fed’s promise to effec-
tively print cash has sent the
dollar tumbling this week and
it continued to fall mostly
across the board Friday — but
not against the euro which was
weakened by Germany’s rescue
package.
R ubbishing rumours of
branch closure, Financial
Services Secretary Debasish
Panda on Friday said bank
branches are committed for
necessary services during the
lockdown and there is no
shortage of cash.
The Department of
Financial Services requested
people not to believe rumours
of the closure of customer ser-
vice bank branches.
“Customer service bank
branches are operational &
will continue to provide ser-
vices. Sufficient cash across
branches & ATMs! Don’t trust
rumours of branch closures!
Customers requested to stagger
arrival at branches etc,” Panda
said in a tweet.
Later in the day, the Indian
Banks’ Association (IBA) also
denied the rumours and said
that about 1,05,988 branches
coronavirus being felt across
the country, the aim of IBA and
its member banks is to ensure
uninterrupted banking ser-
vices to customers.
“So, be rest assured that we
are doing our best and extend-
ing all the support you need, in
the best possible way we can.
We will continue providing
banking services to our valued
customers, however we appeal
to everyone to visit the branch
premises only in case of
absolute necessity. Our employ-
ees are also facing the same
challenges that you all are and
so, we are asking for your help
too,” IBA said.
The banking industry asso-
ciation made an appeal to cus-
tomers asking them to avoid
visiting branches for non-
essential services and make
most use of the mobile and
online banking channels.

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Mumbai: The rupee pared its
initial gains to settle 27 paise
higher at 74.89 (provisional)
against the US dollar on Friday
after the RBI announced various
measures to stimulate growth
amid coronavirus-induced lock-
down in the country.
Forex traders said stimulus
measures announced by the
RBI and FPIs turning net buy-
ers in capital markets boosted
investor sentiment. However,
there are still concerns over the
impact of coronavirus out-
break on the domestic as well
as the global economy.
The rupee opened on a
positive note at 74.60 and
touched a high of 74.35 in late
morning trade. Later it erased
the gains to end 27 paise high-
er at 74.89 against the
American currency.
During the day, the domes-
tic unit touched a high of
74.35 and a low of 75.40. The
RBI on Friday cut benchmark
interest rate by 75 basis points
to 4.4 per cent. PTI
cT[R^bc^UX[T\^]cW[h New Delhi: Moody’s Investors pares to 5 per cent economic
and repo-linked lending rate C1 lakh on a 30-year loan.
he country’s largest lender (RLLR), the bank said in a In the seventh bi-monthly
Service on Friday slashed its growth in 2019. In its Global TState Bank of India (SBI) on statement.
`dPacTa[haT_^acb monetary policy announced
New Delhi: Industry body
estimate of India’s GDP growth Macro Outlook 2020-21, Friday said it has passed on the
during 2020 calendar year to
2.5 per cent, from an earlier
Moody’s said India is likely to
see a sharp fall in incomes at
The EBR has been reduced on Friday, the RBI reduced the
entire 75 basis points (bps) repo
rate cut announced by the
to 7.05 per cent per annum
from 7.80 per annum, while
repo rate by 75 bps, the high-
est cut in 15 years, to 4.40 per
COAI has urged telecom reg- estimate of 5.3 per cent and said the estimated 2.5 per cent Reserve Bank of India. RLLR to 6.65 per cent per cent from 5.15 per cent.
ulator TRAI to grant at least six the coronavirus pandemic will growth rate, further weighing The new rates, to be effec- annum from 7.40 per annum. In March 2004, the RBI
weeks of additional time to tel- cause unprecedented shock to on domestic demand and the tive from April 1, will be applic- The bank said EMIs on eli- had reduced repo rate by one
cos to file monthly and quar- the global economy. pace of recovery in 2021. able for its borrowers availing gible home loan accounts percentage point or 100 basis
terly reports which are due in The estimate for 2020 com- PTI loans based on external bench- (linked to EBR or RLLR) will points.
April 2020.
The association cited mas-
sive efforts being undertaken
by telecom companies to over-
come “numerous operational
challenges” in order to keep
vital networks up and running
amid the 21-day nationwide
lockdown to counter the spread
of coronavirus.
In a letter to Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) Chairman RS Sharma,
the Cellular Operators’
Association of India (COAI)
said that it is “extremely diffi-
cult for our members to submit
various monthly and quarter-
ly reports on the due date as per
the requirements of TRAI as
most of these reports require
circle wise compilation and
their compilation in the current
environment will not be pos-
sible.” PTI

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New Delhi: Delhi
Division of Northern
Railways is working 24/7
for the supply of essential
Commodities. Operation
of freight trains is contin-
uing while passenger train
services are suspended in
wake of coronavirus
(COVID-19) commodities like foodgrains, salt, sugar, fruits & veg-
etables, fertilisers etc.are being loaded at Railway terminals.
During the lockdown in the country, essential staff i.e. Loco
pilots, Station Masters, Controllers, Goods Clerks, Maintenance
staff like Trackman, etc. is deployed at various good sheds, sta-
tions, control offices, etc. working on 24/7 basis to ensure that
the supply of essential items for the nation does not gets affect-
ed. These staff on duty are being provided with masks and san-
itizers and have been advised to follow social distancing even
while on duty.
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Among his architectural wonders is
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was selected by the International Forum ^UUTcd_e^YdUµ
Q^TbU\QdY_^cXY`cgU of Architects as one of the 1,000 best

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Born in Jhelum in pre-Partition
Punjab, Gujral was the brother of the
late Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral
and was awarded India’s second-high-
est civilian honour, the Padma
Vibhushan in 1999. The three Gujral
brothers belonged to a prodigious fam-
ily. Satish’s elder brother, IK Gujral, was
an important voice in the Congress
party and this family went onto to cre-
ate their own realms in the pages of
Indian history. Refugees after India’s
Partition, he would often recall how
they were given 200 square yards and
later, how a 600 square yard plot at
Nizamuddin was sold off and they
bought a piece of land at Jor Bagh for
an auction.
43D20C8>=0=3<4G82>
Gujral lost his hearing power at the
age of eight. But his inner creativity had
a resilience that was deep and resonant.
He studied at JJ School of Art in
Mumbai and was sent to Mexico on a
scholarship in 1952. His apprenticeship
with David Alfredo Siqueiros and
Diego Rivera, two artists who led that
country’s muralist movement became
the turning point of his artistic odyssey.
In an interview in 2000, he had said, “I
was a leftist in those days. I wanted to
paint on the walls like the Mexican
muralists. But later, I realised that art
shouldn’t be used as a propaganda.
Everything cannot be rebellious. I was
always given opportunities and was
grateful for them. I decided that art
must be a tool to initiate dialogue with
people. I started advocating public art
in my country. When I did murals on
the walls of Panjab University,
Chandigarh, Shastri Bhawan and
Oberoi Hotel, among many others, I
know I was recreating stories of expe-
rience and learning.”
His first job was of a graphic
designer in Shimla. While working, he
GLORY
painted refugees and their pain. “After
a long time, I realised that I didn’t paint
Partition but I painted my own suffer-
ings,” he had said in the same interview.
When he came back from Mexico
to Delhi, he wanted to sell his works. He
went to Ravi Jain’s Dhoomimal at
Connaught Place. At that time, there
was also Kumar Gallery (set up in 1956)
and he gave a few works to Virender
Kumar to begin the Kumar Gallery,
which stands as one of the best in the
built buildings in the 20th century all s the global Coronavirus outbreak spelt a
over the world. A series of museum closures and postponed
performances and concerts, India’s most-cele-
380;>6D414CF44=CA0643H brated tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain says
0=3B>;838CH that the humanity will need to come together
It was Gujral’s paintings that held to fight the pandemic.
“It is too early to tell what the effect of this
depths of contextuality. His subjects disease will be but it is clear that humanity needs
were concerned with the dialogue to come together and fight this. There needs to
between single tragic figures and build- be a serious focus on hygiene like washing hands
ings set down around them with all the
apparent solidity of a stated fact. This
every 20 minutes, drinking warm water every
few minutes, wiping all metal surfaces in the
a locked-in world, in which figures and
house and of course, keeping distance with other
people. If and when we survive this, then we can
buildings stand among the soundless
fall of shadows, so that the viewer’s
ask the government and big corporations to help
restart the support for arts,” he said when asked
inspection seemed like a trespass. There
was something hauntingly Indianesque
how we can sustain the arts in these trying times.
Hussain was part of a concert postponed
but he consciously refused to exploit tra-
ditional Indian styles. Perhaps, this
due to COVID-19, along with Indian classical
violinist Kala Ramnath and Carnatic musician
quality lay in the dry colour, the texture
that was sunburned and gritty, that was
Jayanthi Kumaresh, — “both top-shelf premier
artists representing both North and South
dragged across the surface to create a
uniform mat texture.
Indian music.”
Last month, Hussain had paid homage to
His paintings had subtleties of his father and guru Ustad Allarakha on his cen-
colour that played across their harsh tenary in the form of several multi-artist per-
surface like hints of a mirage in a dry formances that spanned a day.
desert. But they had an elusive quality “We had a multi-layered relationship. I was
that retreated into profundity too. his son, then his student, then his apprentice,
Eventually, their seeming solidity dis- then his colleague and finally his friend. I cher-
solved into sliding planes of colour. ish every moment that I spent with him. He was
and is the horizon I still reach for,” he said about
6D9A0;´b B2D;?CDA4B his father.
Satish Gujral’s wooden sculptures He hopes to reinstate the concert, once a
were a blend of India’s mythology and virus is contained and eradicated. “These con-
his brilliance lay in bringing in differ- certs are a way for us all to connect with each
ent mythic metaphors into his sculptur- other through music. When we are all cooped
al language. Created out of oil on burnt at home. This can be a welcome change to every-
wood, with leather, cowrie shells and one and keep their minds diverted to something
ceramic beads on ply board, this work positive when all one hears is about the virus
is an abstract representations of deities- and everyone is in tenterhooks worried about
interspersed with vermillion and gold their respective future,” he said.
colours. He explored the spatial elements Kala Ramnath added, “We musicians are
of depth and texture through a unique also worried but there is no point worrying and
technique and his multi-faceted, con- by doing these concerts, we are trying to say that
temporary sensibilities. what could be possibly better than music to keep
us all positive during such a time.”
B2>A=5>AC74?A>6A4BB8E4B °80=B[XUT
His scorn for the Progressives was
well known. He challenged the view that
the Progressives brought international
modernism to Indian art, a view
expressed in his autobiography. “The
idea of the Bengal school of a modern
Indian art was sound but its practition-
ers lacked the talent, the genuine inspi-
ration to carry it out. The progressive art
group could have given further impetus
to the idea of the Bengal school, but
killed it. What began in the 60s could
have begun in the 40s.”
“We relate modernity to the West;
what is not Western is not modern.
Judging by that yardstick, our moder-
nity is spurious. But if you judge the dif-
ference in attitudes to the past, the deter-
mination to infuse contemporary values,
then I would say modernism has always
existed. In the visual arts, its present
source would not be the progressive art
group but the Tagores,” was his obser-
vation.

2>=E4AB0C8>="<8=DC4B

YHow did you conceptualise
the show, Relatively Relatable?
What inspired it?
When you’re writing a
show, you don’t have to really
conceptualise it. There are two
ways to bring it out. First, you
spend a few months and write
down all the jokes that come to
your mind and find a scene for
it. It is actually a more fun way
to do it. Then, you eventually
get tired of doing that, so you
challenge yourself. It then starts
with the scene and you explore
it. I tried the first option. I just
kept writing for two years
about things that came into my
head and then seven to eight
months before the show, I
started thinking about how I
want to connect the dots. At
that time, I had a major crisis
in terms of my political beliefs
and philosophies and what
could get me through the crazy
times. The world seemed spilt
so I felt the need to talk about
that part in all of us.
YObservational comedy has
become the most mainstream
comic genre as it easily grabs
the attention of people who
are able to relate to what’s
being said. How did you
decide on your content and
write your script in a way that
everyday observations are
visible?
What’s great about obser-
vational comedy is that it’s
available to everybody. It’s the
same observation yet very few
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people find it. Everyone knows
the comic scene and strikes to
have the same observation.
The best observational jokes
seemingly are the most obvious
ones yet no one seeks it or digs
it specially. To all those who say
observational jokes are easy,
they are not. It’s not easy to
explore. I managed to do it as
I was aware of it. I take the
audience through seemingly
familiar parts of observation-
al jokes and then take them
somewhere else. Like Neil
Gaiman once said, “If your job
is of a storyteller, then take the
audience into a forest, guide
them and tell them it’s going to
be okay. And then you leave
them in that forest.” I have
wanted to do that with my
jokes. I want to have a broad-
er understanding of my obser-
vational jokes and then start
messing around with them,
with my character work and
start doing funny anecdotal
ones.
YAre such shows and online
entertainment industry work-
ing the best in the time of self-
isolation?
I can see most of the comic
creators trying to innovate and
³;XZT=TX[6PX\P] explore new ways to shoot
^]RTbPXS±8Uh^da themselves from home.
Although there are some who
Y^QXb^UP choose to go long-term and
bc^ahcT[[TacWT] maybe they are working on it
cPZTcWTPdSXT]RT and moving along. When the
world gets fine later, they will
X]c^PU^aTbcVdXST look foward to making it hap-
cWT\P]ScT[[cWT\ pen. There are some who are
Xc´bV^X]Vc^QT working on churning out more
frequent content — kind of a
^ZPh0]ScWT]h^d short-term deal. They keep on
[TPeTcWT\cWTaT² innovating as they are creative
8fP]cc^S^cWPc people and will go mad if they
don’t do anything, really. A lot
fXcW\hY^ZTb´ of stand-up comedians aren’t
able to go on stage due to the
situation. I am excited about
what they will come up with.
Y Earlier, comedy was only
looked at as something that’s
supposed to be funny and give
people a break from their
monotonous schedules.
Today, humour has become a
tool of dissent and some-
thing that could be used to
put across a strong perspec-
tive in a satirical way. What’s
your take on such a change?
It’s good. But I think it has
always been that way. When it
comes to Kerala, humour is the
greatest tool or weapon against
political propaganda. Maybe it’s
been the case with other states
as well, it is just getting high-
lighted today through social
media use. I think for the
longest time, humour through
cartoons and comics in news-
papers has also been the great-
est tool to represent a political
ideology or opinion. Stand-up
has just become another way.
YHow has the comedy indus-
try evolved in India? There
have been talent hunt shows
around dance and music but
Comicstaan was first of its
kind...
It’s about time because
stand-up comedy as a reality
show is already a known con-
cept internationally. And not
just stand-up, reality judge-
based contests have always
been around. I grew up in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala, watch-
ing a lot of comedy groups
doing comic sketches. They
have always been around. It’s
just that the format of stand-up
is new. Hence, the format of
Comicstaan seemed to be new
as well.
Mimicry artists have gone
through it and showcased their
comedy. It’s great because the
audience loves drama but they
need something that keeps
them hooked on in between
just like reality show dramas
such as Roadies or any other.
But here, Comicstaan is a
drama with comedy in
between. And it caters to peo-
ple of all ages.
YHow do you keep yourself
updated with the current
trends because as a comedian
you have to keep your content
fresh and contemporary with
the time?
I don’t agree you have to.
Though, yes, it helps. You
could speak on relevant things
but there are a million things
that will always be there and
could be watched. I feel you can
disconnect with the surround-
ings and still can come up with
something that works. It’s pos-
sible to not know what’s going
on in the world and have it
influence your work. You don’t
have to literally watch news
24x7 to be able to come up with
the content. There is still a lot
to speak about and make jokes
on in comedy. It could literal-
ly be about anything you like,
given it hits the audience.
(The episode, a part of
Amazon Funnies, a new visual
identity for Amazon Prime Video’s
Stand-up Specials, can now be
streamed on the platform.)
=4F34;78kB0CDA30H k<0A27!'!! eXePRXchj#'W^dabl
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P op star-composer Yo Yo Honey Singh
says staying away from the industry for
two to three years never made him nervous
about losing it. Asked about the fear of some-
one taking their place, he said, “I don’t want
to outdo anyone’s thought but staying away
from the industry for two-three years never
made me nervous or fear of losing it. The
time, I was away from 2017 till now, I com-
posed 60 songs.”
“And I never felt out of the scene
because people were still grooving to my
songs and loving my work. I am in the hearts
and DNA of my audience, and no one
changes that,” he added.
The singer has been vocal about his
struggles with bipolar disorder and alco-
holism. “I never let negativity reach me or
any other aspect of my life, may it be songs,
personal life or health. Talking about my
health was a way of keeping my larger fam-
ily and fans informed on my phase of life. I
have written songs on my experience; they
are more serious and philosophical. I will
release the songs to tell my story to people,”
he said.
Talking about his journey as a person,
the singer said, “Early years of my career, I
stretched and exerted myself extensively and
I knew it would eventually affect my health.
I have changed myself and my routine com-
pletely. Akshay (Kumar) sir is a huge inspi-
ration for me. I wake up early, I give myself
time to do my tasks and not rush myself into
it.”
Recollecting his experience touring
with Shah Rukh Khan in Australia, he said,
“We went on an Australia tour with Shah
Rukh Khan and there were protests against
me performing, saying that I promote alco-
hol. Shah Rukh sir stepped in and said that
if I don’t come, then this tour won’t happen
at all. After the show, we were partying in
my room and that’s when I wrote the song
Chaar bottle vodka. We made Shah Rukh lis-
ten to the track and he asked what kind of
NO EASY ANSWERS
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arenting is a daunting
P task for as there can be
several bumps along the
way. Right from being anxious
about the child touching each
of his/her milestone on time
to wondering about their
future and obsessing over
doing each thing perfectly,
this job has never been
easy. The dilemma,
between being a working
mom to set a good
example or a stay-at-
home one who can get
down on the floor and
play, is endless. There
are various other facets
of parenting where each
has a not-so-easy answer.
Actor Sandhya
Mridul’s series, directed
by Karishma Kohli,
Mentalhood, revolves
around different issues of
parenting — bullying,
health, child molestation
and much more. It
addresses difficult par-
enting issues while offer-
ing alternative perspec-
tives of motherhood.
The series revolves
around Karishma Kapoor
(Meira Sharma), who makes
her comeback and digital
debut with this, as a mother of
three with Sanjay Suri (Anmol
Sharma) who plays her husband.
The character is a former Miss
Kanpur who gave up her model-
ing aspirations to raise her children,
two planned and the third, an acci-
dent. After her husband’s transfer,
she sets up home in Mumbai. The
children get admission in a high-end
school where Karishma meets sever-
al other mothers trying hard to
ensure a good upbringing for their
kids. With not many avenues open in
terms of career, she starts a blog
Mentalmom, penning her day-to-day
learnings as a mother.
It also stars Sandhya (Anuja Joshi),
also known as Ajo, Shruti Seth (Diksha
Shah) as the Boho mom, Tillotama
Shome (Preity Khosla) as the “Naive”
Mom, Shilpa Shukla (Namrata
Dalmia) and Dino Morea (Akash).
In the first episode itself one could
see that while all the mothers are soft-
spoken and patient, Anuja stands apart
because of her bold and outspoken atti-
tude. “Yes, Ajo is different from the
other mothers and I was aware of it
from the very beginning. In fact, this
is one of the reasons I wanted to play
her. She’s layered and has various
shades — black, white and grey. She
tries to make her point sometimes but
at other times she’s hard to understand.
song is this and we said, ‘this is about the
four bottles of vodka that we finished last
night’.”
The Loca hitmaker feels people now get
offended easily. “I think people nowadays get
offended too quickly. As much I support the
freedom of expression, I still think that you
get judged on every single thing. In the past,
we had songs like Mehbooba mehbooba,
Choli ke peeche kya hai, Chumma chumma
and more, but they never got discussed of
being morally correct or not. As an artist,
it becomes difficult to please the audience
at large and be creative at the same time.”
The singer shared his thoughts in an
episode of By Invite Only, which airs on
zoOm. The singer isn’t against the current
remix trend, and said, “I think everyone is
original. Even though they are making
remix, they are all original.”
In a fun quickie session, Honey Singh
said, “If I would be single, would take Alia
Bhatt on a date with me.” When quizzed
about one Bollywood actor who is overrat-
ed, Honey gave a witty response, “Himesh
Reshammiya.” °80=B
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UHow does it feel to return for
the third series of American
Idol?
I truly enjoy everything
about this show. We really care
about the contestants and strive
to advise them the best way we
know how. We are artists too,
so we understand the load of
everything they are dealing
with — from performing, stage
presence to song selection.
When I joined the panel, two
years ago, it was a completely
new territory for me. I loved
American Idol in its early years
and I still do it. And when I
walked on the sets of the 18th
edition of the show as a judge,
I realised it's big time.
UWhat is the best part of
being a judge?
I would say I've been an
honest judge throughout all
three seasons. The best part is
to see kids and get inspired by
watching them perform. It is so
good when I get to see such tal-
ented people go far.
UHow do you break the news
to someone who is super
That’s something that I like about her. She
is such a crazy, neurotic and erratic char-
acter that I thought it would be fun and
it was,” says Sandhya.
However, when the script was narrat-
ed to her she didn’t jump into it but
thought and processed it for a while. As
an actor who wants to do versatile and
diverse roles, the fact that she hadn’t
played such a character before interest-
ed her. She says, “I thought it could be
an interesting role because it had a range
of things — something I always look for
in a character. I wanted to play Ajo with
instance where she yells at Karishma for
bringing chole bhature to the Parent
Teacher Association (PTA) meet as she
thinks they are unhealthy. To play some-
body who goes over the top is a challenge
in its self... so I was just testing if I can
pull this off. Also, Ekta (Kapoor) and
Karishma didn’t give me much of a
choice. They were very clear that they
wanted me for Ajo.”
Each episode of the series deals
with a different question and scenario, for
instance, the first one is on nutrition, the
second on bullying, the third on gender
and so on. While one might think that
each level demands a different prepara-
tion, the actor denies it. For Sandhya, it
is important to flow with the moment and
what’s happening at that point because
there’s so much fun in spontaneity.
“Honestly, there was no preparation. I’ll
be lying if I say I prepared for it. I am not
a method actor. I always flow with the
script and what the other actors are giv-
ing me. Though subconsciously there is
mental preparation of the issue that you
are dealing with to internalise the sensi-
tivity involved. But that’s all,” says she.
Anuja is a bully mom. She is referred
to as the uncrowned queen of the moms’
WhatsApp group and manages every
small task of her children’s lives. One
wonders if the actor relates with the role.
“Well I relate with Anuja to the extent that
quirky or they have no talent?
Quirky is great. We have to
say some things that are hard
to hear sometimes but it does-
n't have to be presented harsh-
ly.
UCan you tell us about the
dynamics between you, Lionel
Richie and Katy Perry?
We have come to know
each other very well after three
seasons. The shooting days are
very long and hectic. I think
our comraderie comes across
on the show. I'm having a blast
with them and respect what
they bring to the show. It's great
to work with them. We get to
I know mothers who are like her, but we
have nothing in common. Not her life,
lifestyle, mannerisms, most of her is not
me,” says she.
Though the actor says that there is
nothing in common, but her attitude does
seem to match. In real life we have seen
Sandhya taking strong stands. During the
#MeToo movement in 2018, the actor
made headlines as she accused actor Alok
Nath of sexual harassment. She even sup-
ported and took a stand for other actors
who were a part of the movement, too.
For Sandhya, the movement is still not
over. It will continue till women keep
coming out for their rights and justice.
“They shouldn’t be asked ‘why didn’t they
come out earlier’ or pushed to come out
or judged because they are coming out,”
says the actor before adding, “I took a
stand during the movement because it
was important to address the issue. We
made a huge impact which really shook
the system. It’s a huge start. A message
was sent out very clearly. A lot of people
will now think twice before doing any-
thing like this. I can say this because I per-
sonally know a lot of men who backed
off, apologised, are wary and trying to
change their ways. The men who weren’t
even aware that they were doing some-
thing wrong are now aware that they need
to deal with women differently.”
However, even after all this there are
people who say there is nothing of this
sort in India. The actor says it is like dis-
respecting the women who spoke up.
Giving a message to the women, she adds,
“Speak when you are ready. And I am
always there if anybody wants to consult
me. They can reach out to me. Don’t be
in a hurry because people are making you
feel so. You should speak only when you
are ready to. We really need to take action.
Not only women but even men. Merely
tweeting about the incident won’t help.”
A double role in Hu Ba Hu (2002),
a sister in Saathiya (2002), a strong cop
in Waisa Bhi Hota Hai (WBHH) (2003),
have fun with one another and
watch these kids, who are just
remarkable as they sing. It's
actually fun to give them advice
and critique them together. I
wish we could spend more
time helping them.
U E ach season has some
tweaks, what are we going to
get from this season of
American Idol?
Well, the important thing is
that we are seeing a lot of tal-
ent in children. However,
explaining them as to why and
how they haven't put the final
pieces of the puzzle together,
are the trickiest.
the actor has played a variety of charac-
ters but her favourite will always be Agni
Sinha from WBHH. “That project, cast,
experience and cinema will always be my
favourite. I am glad that I did that kind
of cinema. The film literally made me
jobless because I fell in love with it and
couldn’t find another such. And I just
couldn’t even try to do commercial cin-
ema (or rather what was called commer-
cial cinema at that time). I kept on try-
ing to choose work which was different.
I love films with good scripts, good char-
acter sketches and clear characterisation,”
says she.
Though the series acts as an essen-
tial guide for parenting, its entertainment
and thrill quotient has been questioned.
The internet is full of reviews which term
it a preachy show. However, Sandhya
remains unaffected as she doesn’t see the
reviews, ever. She says, “I do the best I
can with my acting playground and then
just leave it. If the audience like it, great.
The only reviews I probably care about
would be from my family, maybe. If peo-
ple feel it’s preachy, so be it. It deals with
a lot of issues and there are many peo-
ple who feel a show like this was impor-
tant. Many people love it. So I’d rather be
happy with that. However, I also feel that
criticism is good. I am happy with them.
Somebody told me that Ajo was over the
top and I was like ‘yes she was supposed
to be.’ But at the same time, it was a point
noted. So that’s the way it is.”
The actor’s creative process is to con-
stantly work on herself, connect with
everything, good or bad, and staying vul-
nerable and fragile. “If I can do that as a
human being then as an actor I’ll always
be authentic. More than preparing as an
actor my process is always fixing myself
as a human being and expanding as much
as I can. My preparation is mostly emo-
tional, physical, mental and spiritual fit-
ness,” adds she.
(The series is streaming live on
ALTBalaji and ZEE5.)
To watch dreams come true
in front of your very own eyes
is quite inspiring. Music is an
inspiration in itself. Some of the
songs can be very challenging,
obscure but most of the time the
contestants pick up the right one
for them. With each little per-
formance, they become bigger
stars and with each week, they're
able to reinvent themselves a lit-
tle bit more. They will be able
to even add a different element
each time they perform and pull
off new surprises for us. That
really sets this season apart.
(The 18th edition of the
show airs on on Star World on
Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm.)
=4F34;78kB0CDA30H k<0A27!'!! b_^ac !

‘DHONI WILL GET CHANCE IN T20 WC’

?C8Q :>;:0C0

S Dhoni’s much-anticipated
M comeback with the IPL may
not happen anytime soon in light
of the fast-spreading COVID-19
pandemic but his childhood coach
Keshav Ranjan Banerjee remains
hopeful that the ageing cricketing
hero will find a place in India’s T20
World Cup.
The lucrative T20 tourna-
ment’s 2020 edition, which had
already been postponed to April
15, is on the verge of cancellation
with the country in a 21-day
national lockdown.
Dhoni has been out of action
since India’s semifinal exit in the
World Cup in July last year.
“In the current scenario, IPL
looks unlikely and we will have to
wait for BCCI’s call. His (Dhoni’s)
position will become tough obvi-
ously. But my sixth sense says he
will get a chance in the T20 World
Cup, which will be his last,”
Banerjee said.
The Chennai Super Kings cap-
tain trained in Ranchi in the lead
up to IPL 2020 and also led their
training camp in Chennai before
the league was postponed.
“I spoke to him last after he
returned from Chennai and I’m in
constant touch with his parents.
He’s doing his fitness training and
is fully fit.
“Now let’s wait for the BCCI’s
decision. There’s no tournament.
ICC tournaments are off till June.
So we will have to wait and see.”
Head coach Ravi Shastri had
earlier said the IPL would decide
the fate of Dhoni, who will turn 39
in July.
But with IPL about to get
<PWT]SaPBX]VW3W^]X[XbcT]bc^8]SXPR^PRWAPeXBWPbcaX´bX]bcadRcX^]bSdaX]V_aPRcXRTbTbbX^]
shelved this year, the Indian greats
including that of Sunil Gavaskar
and Virender Sehwag, had raised
a question mark on the return of
the 2011 World Cup winning
skipper.
“True that he has not played a
tournament (since July 2019) but
for someone with 538 International
matches, I don’t think it would take
much time to adjust.”
“It would have been a differ-
ent scenario for a beginner. But it’s
not the case with Dhoni he has got
a wealth of experience. I think he
will get a last chance,” maintained
Banerjee.
“He is fully fit and trained in
Chennai for a week or so. Now
everything is closed in Ranchi, ear-
1228CfXccTa
lier he would train at the JSCA. But
now he’s confined at home and
making use of the facilities at
home. He has a gym, a badminton
court, and a running corridor.”
“I’m sure BCCI (presient,
selectors, captain) are aware of the
scenario. They will make the
announcement when it’s the right
time,” Banerjee added.
8?;QTbcc^da]ThU^aC!F2_aT_b);P]VTa
?C8Q BH3=4H
ustralia head coach Justin
A Langer feels the IPL is an excel-
lent platform to prepare for the T20
World Cup but conceded that
health is paramount as the league
may become another casualty of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Before this crisis started to
unravel, we were absolutely deter-
mined for our guys to play the
IPL,” Langer was quoted as
saying by foxsports.Co.Au.
“Because with the T20
World Cup coming up,
there’s no better
grounding, no better
practice, no better tour-
nament for them to get
ready for that,” he
added.
Australia’s Pat
Cummins, David
Warner, Aaron
Finch, Steve Smith
FTfX[[cP[ZPQ^dc8?;^]RT[XUTVTcbQPRZc^]^a\P[)A^WXc
?C8Q <D<108
port is least of priority at a time
SCOVID-19
when India fights against the
pandemic which has
brought life to a standstill, feels star
India batsman Rohit Sharma, who
wants to talk about IPL only after
normalcy returns.
Rohit, who has been out of
action for last two months due to
calf muscle injury was due for a
comeback in the cash-rich Indian
were to headline the IPL.
Langer, who is also a member
of the national selection panel,
insists he is not stressed about pick-
ing players as Australia have a well
settled side.
The Aaron Finch-led side
defeated South Africa 2-1 in three-
match T20 series in February.
“In terms of selection, I’m not
too stressed about it ... One or two
positions in our World Cup side are 9P\Tb0]STab^]fPa\bd_SdaX]V]TcbbTbbX^] 0?
up for grabs. It’s a very, very set-
tled team. We played great crick-
et against South Africa,” he added.
2_UVcd`_deZ]]R^SZeZ`fd
Australia are scheduled
to start their T20 World
e`a]RjW`c6_X]R_U
Cup campaign against 05?Q <0=274BC4A
Pakistan on October 24
in Sydney. ngland bowler James Anderson is deter-
The ICC have main-
tained the T20 World
E mined that the coronavirus will not end his
illustrious career as he focuses on keeping fit by
Cup will go ahead as per taking part in “virtual” training sessions with
planned but postponed his teammates.
the qualifying events on Anderson, 37, whose 584 Test wickets are
Thursday. the most taken by any paceman in the history
of the game, is nearing the end of his playing
days.
But the Lancashire veteran says despite hav-
ing no cricket to play until the end of May at
the earliest, the idea of not bowling profession-
Premier League, which has been ally again has not crossed his mind.
postponed till April 15 but stands “I’ve not actually thought about never play-
a good chance of getting cancelled ing cricket again,” he said during a conference
if prevailing situation continues.
“We should first think about
call on Thursday. “I feel like we will play again
and I will play again at some stage.
the country. The situation needs to “I’m still hungry to play, I’ve still got ambi-
get better first then we can talk tions to play for England.
about the IPL. Let life get back to “So I think the fact I’ve been able to do this
normal first,” Rohit said. for a long time and I get to play a sport as a job
The opener was responding to means when I do get to do that again, I’m real-
questions during an Instagram ly going to cherish it and enjoy every single
chat with teammate Yuzvendra moment of it.”
Chahal. With Britain under a coronavirus lockdown,
Anderson is keeping fit by working out on-line

0cW[TcTb`dP[XUXTSU^aC^Zh^!!fX[[ZTT_!! b_^cb
with teammates including fellow pacemen
Stuart Broad and Mark Wood.
“A few of the lads are training together vir-
tually,” he said. “I did a workout with Stuart
Broad and Mark Wood yesterday.
C>:H>) Athletes who had already qualified of an Olympics in peacetime. “We’ve all got Pelotons — the bikes. You can
for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before they However, there is no definite date yet compete against each other. Stuart came out on
were postponed will keep their places when for the rescheduled Games with Bach say- top this time, with me a close second and Mark
the showpiece takes place in 2021, sources ing Tuesday the Tokyo Olympics “must be Wood in third.”
said on Thursday. rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not Anderson made the most recent of his 151
Around 57% of the 11,000 scheduled later than summer 2021, to safeguard the Test appearances against South Africa in Cape
participants for Tokyo had already made health of the athletes, everybody involved Town in January before a broken rib ended his
sure of taking part when the International in the Olympic Games and the internation- tour prematurely.
Olympic Committee (IOC) pushed the al community”. That followed an Ashes campaign last year
Games back to 2021 due to the coronavirus Many Olympic sports, such as boxing, in which he bowled just four overs because of
on Tuesday. saw the vast majority of their qualifying a calf problem.
The IOC and 32 international sports tournaments either interrupted or can- Although he has long been a red-ball spe-
federations held a teleconference on celled due to the global health situation. cialist, Anderson said he would be prepared to
Thursday where it was decided to respect Others, such as sailing however, play white-ball cricket again, even in the new

822 _[P]]X]V
the qualification process. already had 90% of their competitors qual- Hundred competition.
“Thomas Bach (the IOC President) ified. Anderson has an ambassadorial role with
first explained the reasons for the postpone- “The allocated quotas remain allocat- the Manchester Originals, one of the franchis-

U^aF^a[SC!
ment of the Games, then said that the ath- ed,” confirmed another participant in es, but no contract.
letes qualified for Tokyo 2020 would auto- Thursday’s meeting. “I want to be playing cricket and if that is
matically be qualified for 2021,” one of the “Thomas Bach has confirmed that a the only cricket going on, if it’s the Hundred or

c^V^PWTPS
participants in the conference said.
“One of the main subjects was to know
when and how to organise the qualifica-
tions.
?C8Q =4F34;78 “In some federations, many sportsmen
and sportswomen are not qualified and it
takes at least three months for the Olympic
Games to organise them.”
The 2020 Tokyo Games were scheduled
for July 24-August 9, but after telephone dis-
cussions between Bach and Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint deci-
sion was taken for the first postponement
decision (on a new date for the 2021 event) the T20 Blast, I’d love to be involved in that,”
will be made within the next four weeks,” he said.
he said. “If there wasn’t any red-ball cricket this sum-
“Some said they prefer May 2021, oth- mer, it would be a long, long time for me to be
ers June ...” AFP ticking over in the nets.”

he all-powerful ICC Board on Friday

T
for its flagship tournaments, including 1F5UXaTQPRZPc³SXbP__^X]cX]V´eXadbRaXcXRXb\
1PaRPRdcfPVTb^U_[PhTab
discussed various contingency plans

World T20 and World Test

Championship in the wake of Covid-19
pandemic that has brought cricket to a
standstill.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was
India’s representative when it was being
speculated that a former Board president
would attend the meeting, held via video
conference.
The sporting world has been under
complete lockdown and several bilater-
al Test series under World Test
Championship also run the risk of
being cancelled.
“The impact of the pandemic on the
sport globally was discussed,” an ICC
release stated.
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney
said, “We continue to undertake a com-
prehensive business continuity and con-
tingency planning exercise which will
allow us to adapt to the rapidly evolv-
ing world in which we find ourselves.”
?C8Q =4F34;78
adminton World
B Federation said it is “dis-
appointing” that some play-
ers, including Indian star
Saina Nehwal, questioned its
“sincerity and motives”
when it continued with the
All England Championships
despite the rapidly-growing
threat of COVID-19 pan-
demic.
BWF’s decision to con-
duct the Super 1000 tourna-
ment in the wake of the
coronavirus outbreak came
for sharp criticism from the
top shuttlers of the world,
including Nehwal, who had
accused the sport’s adminis-
B_TRcPc^abT]cTa0aT]P1Xa\X]VWP\c^fPcRW0[[4]V[P]S>_T]UX]P[b 0?
trators of placing money
above players’ safety.
In an open letter, BWF
secretary general Thomas
Lund said the decision to go
ahead with the All England
Championships was based
on the best advice at that
time.
“It has been very disap-
pointing to see some mem-
bers of the badminton com-
munity speculate on the
sincerity and motives of the
BWF in this time of crisis,”
Lund wrote.
“Our number one con-
cern has always been the
health and safety of all of our
participants.
“However, at the same
time, we are deeply con-
cerned about the cancella-
tion of tournaments and
the flow-on effect this has on
elite players and coaches
whereby they could now be
in a position of temporary
unemployment and loss of
income.”
The coronavirus out-
break saw the postpone-
ment and cancellation of
several high-profile sports
events across the world.
While BWF too had
postponed a few tourna-
ments, it went ahead with
the All England
Championship as planned,
despite growing cases of the
rapidly spreading disease.
Top players had
slammed BWF for taking
the deadly disease “too light-
ly” and putting their lives at
“risk” by going ahead with
the tournament two weeks
ago.
India’s chief coach
Pullela Gopichand had
termed it a “wrong decision”,
former world number 8, H
S Prannoy called it “stupid”.
10A24;>=0) Barcelona have become
the first Spanish football club to offi-
cially announce a pay cut for play-
ers and club staff as the country
grapples with the coronavirus pan-
demic.
Sports in Spain has come to a
standstill and Barcelona had to
make the move so as to pay their
support staff. “Faced with this sce-
nario, the Board of Directors has
decided to implement a series of
measures to mitigate its effects and
reduce the economic effects of this
crisis,” said the club in its statement.
“Among the measures adopted,
it’s worth noting those related to the
workplace are motivated by the need
to adapt the contractual obligations
of the club staff to the new and tem-
porary circumstances that we are
experiencing.”
The club added the measures
include “a reduction of the working
day, imposed by the circumstances
and the protection measures carried
out, and, as a consequence, the pro-
portional reduction of the remuner-
ation provided for in the respective
contracts.”
The measure should lower the
club’s wage bill by around 25 percent
at a moment when it is not receiv-
ing any income through gate
receipts.
Barca also explained it would
make all of its facilities available for
use by the regional health ministry
to help the struggle against the coro-
navirus. AFP

While no decisions were taken as
any shifting of tournament or change of
dates involves gigantic logistical exercise
which needs meticulous planning at
every stage.
“The ICC management will contin-
ue our contingency planning around
ICC events and will also work with
Members to explore all options available
to us based on a range of scenarios con-
nected to the pandemic.”
When a Board member was asked
what happens if England, which is due
to host Pakistan and West Indies at home
is unable to do so, he said the matter of
points allocation will be referred to the
technical committee.
“It can’t happen unless an amicable
solution is reached. You might have
India playing six series and perched at
top and England get to play three due
to lockdown and tight FTP schedule.
You need a solution to distribution of
points and matter should be referred to
the technical committee,” a representa-
tive of a member said.
A couple of Board members felt that
World T20 in Australia is not under
threat as October is still some time away.
“If things are under control from
June, we can then work on a specific
contingency plan. Right now, ICC would
be working on various plans and would
come up with their proposals in course
of time,” the senior official said.
9dQ\iµcc`_bdc]Y^YcdUb´T_eRdVe\µ
_VUQb\i=QibUdeb^V_bCUbYU1
05?Q <8;0=
I taly’s sports minister
Vincenzo Spadafora on
Thursday said he was “very,
very doubtful” that Serie A
action would return as
hoped in early May.
Both Spadafora and
Italian football federation
chief Gabriele Gravina had
last week expressed their
hope that the championship
could resume on the week-
end of May 2.
“The forecasts that
made us think we could
resume sports competitions
in late April or early May I
think are a bit too opti-
mistic,” Spadafora told
Italian television station Rai
3. “I am very, very doubtful.
I can certainly say that if
there are conditions to
resume competitions in
certain circumstances, it
will certainly take place
behind closed doors.
“To date, it is unthink-
able to say that in May it is
possible to resume all com-
petitions regularly, espe-
cially with spectators.
“Even scientists have
no certainty about the evo-
lution of the epidemic. We
have to adapt our deci-
sions to changing situa-
tions.”
All sport in Italy has
been suspended until April
3. “The final decision will
be up to the FIGC (the
Italian football federation),”
the sports minister added.
“They could decide to
postpone games until the
late summer, but the situa-
tion is complicated, football
has taken a little longer than
others to understand the
crisis.”
He added: “We want to
be ready to start as soon as
it will be possible. Sport will
be one of the engines that
will allow us to revive this
country after the health
crisis.”
/LYHUSRROVSLULWVKLJKGHVSLWHORFNGRZQ .ORSS
05?Q ;8E4A?>>;
J urgen Klopp says the mood at
Liverpool is upbeat despite the coro-
navirus lockdown, even admitting he
has tried to copy Alex Oxlade-
Chamberlain’s dance moves to keep
himself occupied.
The Premier League leaders were
on the verge of their first top-flight title
for 30 years when English football was
suspended earlier this month.
The virus shutdown has since been
extended until at least April 30 but
Liverpool do not know when, or if, they
will get a chance to complete the job.
Klopp said his players’ spirits
remained high despite the frustra-
tions of having no football to play and
praised the efforts of his backroom staff
who are looking after the players’ fit-
ness.
“We spoke a couple of times, we
have a really intense, big, big group chat
— the whole of Melwood (training
ground) are in that,” he said, speaking
to the club’s website by videolink from
his home.
“The boys are really lively in that,
the boys are just interested in what
everybody is doing, comments on
what everybody is doing — if Ox is on
Instagram or whatever.”
Midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain
and his girlfriend, Little Mix singer
Perrie Edwards, performed a dance
routine, which she posted on social
media.
Teammate James Milner played up
to his “boring James Milner” tag by
posting a video of himself cutting his
grass with a ruler and scissors.
“I didn’t cut the grass but I tried the
dance of Ox,” said Klopp. “Not as bad
as you probably think. It’s very impor-
tant in these times that we all show we
take this situation seriously, but we are
human beings.”
Klopp praised the efforts of
Liverpool and other clubs in helping
support more vulnerable members of
the community during the current cri-
sis.
And he urged people to abide by
the lockdown.
“The only way to get football back
as soon as possible, if that’s what the
people want, the more disciplined we
are now the earlier we will get, piece by
piece by piece, our life back,” Klopp
said. “That’s how it is.”
“At one point we will play football
again as well, 100 percent,” he added.
“I couldn’t wish more for it because of
a few really good reasons, how you can
imagine. I can’t wait actually, but even
I have to be disciplined and I try to be
as much as I can.”
1adRTfP]cbVP\TbTeTah
SPhc^UX]XbWbTPb^]
;>=3>=) Newcastle United manager
Steve Bruce on Thursday suggested
playing games every day in a bid to get
Premier League season finished when
it is safe for the campaign to resume.
“We have to try and get this sea-
son finished, whatever that takes,
everybody wants that,” Bruce said in an
interview with Daily Telegraph.
“We can have a ‘Festival of Football’
month, games every day, teams play-
ing two or three games a week. “It is not
ideal, but if we can play 10 to 15 games
in December and the start of January,
we can do it to get this season finished.
“It probably means the start of next
season will be delayed, we will proba-
bly have to scrap one of the cup com-
petitions and do without a winter break,
but it can be done.
“However, we will find a way.”
Professional football in England has
been postponed until at least April 30,
and due to govt-ordered lockdown the
restart could be pushed back even fur-
ther. AFP