=`T\U`h_ eZ]] >Rj $ e` ]`T\ gZcfd `fe - Daily Pioneer

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P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Union Government has decid- ed to extend the nationwide lockdown till May 3 cautioning that regulations would be enforced with “greater strict- ness” for next one week before “limited relaxation” could be considered from April 20 in certain areas for the “poor”. He said detailed guide- lines on relaxation would be issued by the Government on Wednesday. The Prime Minister, how- ever, did not unfold any eco- nomic plan or package for the country even though Chief Ministers have been urging him to provide urgent relief and initiate steps to revive cash flow in the economy. Modi prefaced the decision to extend the lockdown by claiming that India has done far better than the developed world in containing the pan- demic because of the timely measures initiated by his Government. However, health experts fear that numbers of positive cases are relatively low because of India’s low levels of testing and that the actual penetration of the infection levels could be higher. Modi said while from an economic point of view the measure looks costly right now, the Government’s foremost priority is to save lives. Lockdown has put a com- plete stop on economic activi- ties in the county with econo- mists observing that negative impact of the shutdown mea- sures on several essential sec- tors, including the mining, agriculture, manufacturing and utility areas appearing, to be much higher than expected earlier. According to an estimate, India may be losing close to 400 billion rupees daily due to the lockdown with an estimated loss amounting to as much as 8 trillion rupees during the past 21 days. It was expected that the Government would open up key sectors, including road, transport, reality, and provide relaxations to small and medi- um business to revive the economy which was already in a slowdown mood in the pre- coronavirus period. According to sources, the Government was considering a graded approach to opening up of economy and it would be announced it by April 20. In his fourth address to nation since the lockdown, Modi said relaxations for har- vesting seasons would be accorded to farmer to minimise their difficulties on account of the lockdown clamped since March 25 to contain coron- avirus. “Till May 3, all coun- trymen have to follow the lock- down. We have to follow dis- cipline during this period in the same manner that we have been doing so far,” Modi said. He asked public to imple- ment social distancing sin- cerely so that “new hotspots” of coronavirus are not developed which would put country “in greater crisis” and set more challenges for it. The Prime Minister said “greater strictness” would be enforced through the next week at State, district and man- dal level and situation would be analysed whether relaxation could be given after April 20. “Areas which do not devel- op hotspots will be given relax- ation with some riders and if lockdown rules are broken, the same will be withdrawn”, he said warning against “careless- ness”. “Easing the difficulty of poor people, farmers is among my top priorities”, said the Prime Minister. Modi suggested seven steps for the citizens during the lock down which include taking extra-care of senior citizens, adopt social distancing and wear mask, downloading Arogya app, feed poor and respect corona warriors. Against the backdrop of large-scale sacking of employ- ees in the country, particular- ly in the media sector, the Prime Minister also counselled employers to not to resort to retrenchment and advised them to pay salaries to employ- ees during the lockdowon dis- tress. Modi maintained that early measures taken by his Government had limited the damage done by the pandem- ic in the country in comparison to some of the developed coun- tries across the world. “The country has benefit- ed from social distancing and lockdown and that India is in a much better position than many other nations in Covid- 19 fight”, Modi said. Since the first lockdown of three-week, the unemployment rate has almost doubled to around 14.5 per cent, accord- ing data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a Mumbai based private think-tank. Experts feel the Government would need to strike a judicious balance between saving “lives” and ‘livelihood’ and open up eco- nomic activities in conjunction with “social distancing” which should be a new normal now. T he extension of the ongoing lockdown by nearly three more weeks on Tuesday coin- cided with India joining the group of 20 worst-affected nations with over 11,400 pos- itive cases. Globally, the total number of coronavirus cases has crossed 19 lakh while fatalities have risen to 1.19 lakh. With over 5.8 lakh cases, the United States is the worst affected country, followed by Spain (1.7 lakh), Italy (1.6 lakh), France (1.37 lakh) and Germany (1.30 lakh). In the US, the death toll has crossed 23,600, followed by Italy (20,465), Spain (17,756), France (14,967) and the UK (11,329). With more than 1,300 new Covid-19 infections reported in the past 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 11,477 according to figures collected from States till 11 pm on Tuesday. The death toll has risen to 390 while 1,316 patients have been cured or discharged. While it took the country 70 days to report its first 5,000 cases, the next 5,000 have come in just six days, indicating a rise in the doubling rate of the infection. According to the Worldometer, a website which monitors hourly rise of cases globally, India on Tuesday evening surpassed South Korea, Ireland and Sweden which have reported 10,564 cases, 10,467 and 11,445 respectively. In addition to front-ranking countries like the US and others, United Kingdom, China, Iran, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil , Russia, Portugal, Austria, Israel, and Sweden are ahead of India. Within the country, Maharashtra remain the worst affected State with 2,334 coro- navirus cases followed by Delhi (1,561), Tamil Nadu (1,173), Rajasthan (873) and Madhya Pradesh (604). The other worst affected States which reported three digit Covid cases included Telangana (562), Uttar Pradesh (558) and Gujarat (539). Of the total 390 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 178 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 43, Delhi at 28 and Gujarat at 26, shows the Health Ministry’s figures. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, said at a Press briefing here that India has 602 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals having 1,06,719 isolation beds and over 12,000 ICU beds are ready. In response to a query on the logic behind extending the nationwide lockdown till May 3 as announced by the Prime Minister he explained, “Our major effort is to break the chain of transmission. If there are no cases reported for 28 days from a particular area or the last negative case is report- ed 28 days ago, then we believe thate the chain of transmission has stopped as cases have stopped coming.” T he Congress on Tuesday launched a multi-pronged attack on the Modi Government for its handling of coronavirus crisis, even though it backed the extension of the ongoing lockdown till May 3. While the party accused the Modi Government of not doing anything for the poor, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said India conducted far less Covid tests than even the poorest of the poor nations. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the PM’s address was like “Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.” “Amazing PM address. Exhortation, rhetoric, inspiration... yet hollow on specifics! No financial package, no details, no concrete item. Neither for poor nor for mid- dle class, industry, businesses. Lockdown is good but cannot be end in itself! Where is sin- gle livelihood issue,” he asked. “After this: should we pray? We want concrete pal- liatives for these deprived class- es and even for middle class India and MSMEs,” he said. Former Union Minister P Chidambaram too welcomed the extension of lockdown but added that the livelihood and survival of the poor was not amongst Government’s prior- ities. In a series of tweets post- ed on Tuesday, Chidambaram said no money has been added to States after the economic package announced on 25 March. In an online Press confer- ence, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari told reporters that the Congress understands the inevitability of the lock- down and hence the party supports its extension. “But the Prime Minister did not address the concerns of the nation or said what the people wanted to hear about what the Union Government was doing for the people, Tewari said. “Those migrants who had left for their hometowns have completed the necessary 14- day lockdown. What are you going to do about them? Are you going to let them go home? Is there a calibrated plan for travel arrangements to reach home,” Tewari added. New Delhi: Services of all pas- senger trains and flights will remain suspended till May 3, officials said on Tuesday soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the nationwide lockdown to com- bat coronavirus will be extend- ed for another 19 days. T he Delhi Government on Tuesday joined hands with Google Map to help daily- wage workers, especially in the informal sector, who have lost their livelihood due to COVID -19, access over 1,047 food dis- tribution centres and night shelters in their mobile phones. The Government has also partnered with Map My India and these locations are available athttps://maps.mapmyindia.co m/corona and Move app. Welcoming the collabora- tion, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday tweeted, “As we prepare for an extend- ed lockdown, we are proud to work together with @GoogleIndia Maps in ensur- ing easy accessibility of all our food and night shelters.” T he number of Covid-19 cases reported in the State rose to 60 when five more per- sons tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. Of the five fresh cases, four are from Bhubaneswar and one is from Jajpur district. The new cases include a 50-year-old male from Jharpada (case no. 57), who is suspected to have come in contact with case number 42. His travel history said he gen- erally stayed at home between March 22 and April 13 but undertook occasional visits to near the Ganesh Mandap, Reliance Fresh (near over- bridge), Bomikhal and Rasulgarh markets to purchase groceries and vegetables. The other three persons (a 51-year-old man, a 70-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman) are from the Bomikhal area of the city. The travel history of the woman (case no. 58) said she remained at home in the Babylon Apartment in Jaya Durga Nagar of Bomikhal from March 22 to April 13; her symptomatic sample was col- lected from containment one during surveillance on April 5. On Tuesday, she was shifted to the KIMS COVID Hospital in the city. Case no. 59, the 70-year male also stayed in the Babylon Apartment from March 22 to April 14. His sample was col- lected on Tuesday. After testing positive, he was hospitalised on the day. The COVID-19 case-56 is a 61-year-old resident of Jafarpur in Jajpur district with a recent travel history to Kolkata. He was in home quar- antine since his return. After his samples were tested posi- tive, he was shifted to the Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack. This is the second case report- ed from Jajpur district. Some areas of Sanatrilochanpur and Saipur have been declared con- tainment zones, said Jajpur Collector Ranjan Kumar Das on Tuesday. Out of the total 60 cases reported so far in the State, the number of active cases is 41 while 18 patients are cured and discharged from hospitals and only one person has died of the disease. I n view of a possibility of rise in domestic violence during the lockdown period in the State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to keep a strict vigil on the habitual offenders. At a COVID-19 review meeting held here, Patnaik said that as domestic violence is also a major cause of concern during the lockdown, police should begin a process of iden- tifying the habitual offenders and extend help to the com- plainants through phone calls. According to DGP Abhay, in order to lodge complaint during the lockdown period, victims of domestic violence need not come to police stations. On receipt of tele- phone calls, police would reach the spot or home to collect complaints or FIRs and take necessary action. The victims can also approach police through the Odisha Police Citizen Portal and Sahayata Mobile APP. All cases of the domestic vio- lence during lock- down period would be investi- gated by the officer not below the rank of SI of police and all the cases would be supervised by an officer of rank of DSP or above. The Chief Minister on Tuesday also directed the police to ensure that field works of farmers and movement of their agricultural produce are not disrupted due to the enforce- ment of lockdown. Besides, Patnaik ordered for setting up of a COVID-19 hospital in each district in next one week. The Government has planned to keep a total of 6,000 beds ready at 36 places across the State to treat the patients by the end of this month, he pointed out. “I am pleased to see that the coronavirus statistics are levelling in the State and going down. That’s a very good sign. And those who are responsible for this including doctors, health workers, police and administrative officials, very well done!,” Patnaik said. D ue to the lockdown, a woman named Anjali Kar with her seven-year-old daugh- ter walked 228 km from Koira in Sundargarh to reach Jaraka in Jajpur district on Tuesday to meet her son, who is being treated at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack fol- lowing an accident. The woman was rescued on the way at Jaraka by social activist and Ansuman Trust secretary Himansu Sekhar Sahoo, who dropped her and her daughter by his vehicle at the hospital, which is 50 km away from Jaraka.

Transcript of =`T\U`h_ eZ]] >Rj $ e` ]`T\ gZcfd `fe - Daily Pioneer

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said the

Union Government has decid-ed to extend the nationwidelockdown till May 3 cautioningthat regulations would beenforced with “greater strict-ness” for next one week before“limited relaxation” could beconsidered from April 20 incertain areas for the “poor”.

He said detailed guide-lines on relaxation would beissued by the Government onWednesday.

The Prime Minister, how-ever, did not unfold any eco-nomic plan or package for thecountry even though ChiefMinisters have been urginghim to provide urgent reliefand initiate steps to revivecash flow in the economy.

Modi prefaced the decisionto extend the lockdown byclaiming that India has done farbetter than the developedworld in containing the pan-demic because of the timelymeasures initiated by hisGovernment.

However, health expertsfear that numbers of positivecases are relatively low becauseof India’s low levels of testingand that the actual penetrationof the infection levels could behigher.

Modi said while from aneconomic point of view themeasure looks costly right now,the Government’s foremostpriority is to save lives.

Lockdown has put a com-plete stop on economic activi-ties in the county with econo-mists observing that negativeimpact of the shutdown mea-

sures on several essential sec-tors, including the mining,agriculture, manufacturing andutility areas appearing, to bemuch higher than expectedearlier.

According to an estimate,India may be losing close to 400billion rupees daily due to thelockdown with an estimatedloss amounting to as much as8 trillion rupees during the past21 days.

It was expected that theGovernment would open upkey sectors, including road,transport, reality, and providerelaxations to small and medi-um business to revive theeconomy which was already ina slowdown mood in the pre-coronavirus period.

According to sources, theGovernment was considering agraded approach to opening upof economy and it would beannounced it by April 20.

In his fourth address tonation since the lockdown,Modi said relaxations for har-vesting seasons would beaccorded to farmer to minimisetheir difficulties on account ofthe lockdown clamped sinceMarch 25 to contain coron-avirus. “Till May 3, all coun-trymen have to follow the lock-down. We have to follow dis-cipline during this period in thesame manner that we havebeen doing so far,” Modi said.

He asked public to imple-ment social distancing sin-cerely so that “new hotspots” ofcoronavirus are not developedwhich would put country “ingreater crisis” and set morechallenges for it.

The Prime Minister said“greater strictness” would be

enforced through the nextweek at State, district and man-dal level and situation would beanalysed whether relaxationcould be given after April 20.

“Areas which do not devel-op hotspots will be given relax-ation with some riders and iflockdown rules are broken,the same will be withdrawn”, hesaid warning against “careless-ness”.

“Easing the difficulty ofpoor people, farmers is amongmy top priorities”, said thePrime Minister.

Modi suggested seven stepsfor the citizens during the lockdown which include takingextra-care of senior citizens,adopt social distancing and

wear mask, downloadingArogya app, feed poor andrespect corona warriors.

Against the backdrop oflarge-scale sacking of employ-ees in the country, particular-ly in the media sector, thePrime Minister also counselledemployers to not to resort toretrenchment and advisedthem to pay salaries to employ-ees during the lockdowon dis-tress.

Modi maintained that earlymeasures taken by hisGovernment had limited thedamage done by the pandem-ic in the country in comparisonto some of the developed coun-

tries across the world.“The country has benefit-

ed from social distancing andlockdown and that India is ina much better position thanmany other nations in Covid-19 fight”, Modi said.

Since the first lockdown ofthree-week, the unemploymentrate has almost doubled toaround 14.5 per cent, accord-ing data compiled by theCentre for Monitoring IndianEconomy (CMIE), a Mumbaibased private think-tank.

Experts feel theGovernment would need tostrike a judicious balancebetween saving “lives” and

‘livelihood’ and open up eco-nomic activities in conjunctionwith “social distancing” whichshould be a new normal now.

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The extension of the ongoinglockdown by nearly three

more weeks on Tuesday coin-cided with India joining thegroup of 20 worst-affectednations with over 11,400 pos-itive cases.

Globally, the total numberof coronavirus cases hascrossed 19 lakh while fatalitieshave risen to 1.19 lakh. Withover 5.8 lakh cases, the UnitedStates is the worst affectedcountry, followed by Spain (1.7lakh), Italy (1.6 lakh), France(1.37 lakh) and Germany (1.30lakh). In the US, the death tollhas crossed 23,600, followed byItaly (20,465), Spain (17,756),France (14,967) and the UK(11,329).

With more than 1,300 newCovid-19 infections reported inthe past 24 hours, the totalnumber of coronavirus cases in

India rose to 11,477 accordingto figures collected from Statestill 11 pm on Tuesday. Thedeath toll has risen to 390while 1,316 patients have beencured or discharged.

While it took the country70 days to report its first 5,000cases, the next 5,000 have comein just six days, indicating a risein the doubling rate of theinfection.

According to theWorldometer, a website whichmonitors hourly rise of casesglobally, India on Tuesdayevening surpassed SouthKorea, Ireland and Swedenwhich have reported 10,564cases, 10,467 and 11,445respectively. In addition tofront-ranking countries likethe US and others, UnitedKingdom, China, Iran, Turkey,Belgium, the Netherlands,Switzerland, Canada, Brazil ,Russia, Portugal, Austria, Israel,

and Sweden are ahead of India.Within the country,

Maharashtra remain the worstaffected State with 2,334 coro-navirus cases followed by Delhi(1,561), Tamil Nadu (1,173),Rajasthan (873) and Madhya

Pradesh (604).The other worst affected

States which reported threedigit Covid cases includedTelangana (562), Uttar Pradesh(558) and Gujarat (539).

Of the total 390 deaths,

Maharashtra tops the tally with178 fatalities, followed byMadhya Pradesh at 43, Delhi at28 and Gujarat at 26, shows theHealth Ministry’s figures.

Lav Agarwal, JointSecretary, Health Ministry, saidat a Press briefing here thatIndia has 602 dedicatedCOVID-19 hospitals having1,06,719 isolation beds andover 12,000 ICU beds are ready.

In response to a query onthe logic behind extending thenationwide lockdown till May3 as announced by the PrimeMinister he explained, “Ourmajor effort is to break thechain of transmission. If thereare no cases reported for 28days from a particular area orthe last negative case is report-ed 28 days ago, then we believethate the chain of transmissionhas stopped as cases havestopped coming.”

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The Congress on Tuesdaylaunched a multi-pronged

attack on the ModiGovernment for its handling ofcoronavirus crisis, even thoughit backed the extension of theongoing lockdown till May 3.

While the party accusedthe Modi Government of notdoing anything for the poor,former Congress chief RahulGandhi said India conductedfar less Covid tests than eventhe poorest of the poor nations.

Congress spokespersonAbhishek Singhvi said thePM’s address was like “Hamletwithout the Prince ofDenmark.” “Amazing PMaddress. Exhortation, rhetoric,inspiration... yet hollow onspecifics! No financial package,no details, no concrete item.Neither for poor nor for mid-dle class, industry, businesses.Lockdown is good but cannotbe end in itself! Where is sin-gle livelihood issue,” he asked.

“After this: should wepray? We want concrete pal-liatives for these deprived class-es and even for middle classIndia and MSMEs,” he said.

Former Union Minister PChidambaram too welcomedthe extension of lockdown butadded that the livelihood andsurvival of the poor was not

amongst Government’s prior-ities. In a series of tweets post-ed on Tuesday, Chidambaramsaid no money has been addedto States after the economicpackage announced on 25March.

In an online Press confer-ence, senior Congress leaderand former Union MinisterManish Tewari told reportersthat the Congress understandsthe inevitability of the lock-down and hence the partysupports its extension. “But thePrime Minister did not addressthe concerns of the nation orsaid what the people wanted tohear about what the UnionGovernment was doing forthe people, Tewari said.

“Those migrants who hadleft for their hometowns havecompleted the necessary 14-day lockdown. What are yougoing to do about them? Areyou going to let them gohome? Is there a calibratedplan for travel arrangements toreach home,” Tewari added.

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New Delhi: Services of all pas-senger trains and flights willremain suspended till May 3,officials said on Tuesday soonafter Prime Minister NarendraModi announced that thenationwide lockdown to com-bat coronavirus will be extend-ed for another 19 days.

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The Delhi Government onTuesday joined hands with

Google Map to help daily-wage workers, especially in theinformal sector, who have losttheir livelihood due to COVID-19, access over 1,047 food dis-tribution centres and nightshelters in their mobile phones.

The Government has alsopartnered with Map My Indiaand these locations are availableathttps://maps.mapmyindia.com/corona and Move app.

Welcoming the collabora-tion, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Tuesday tweeted,“As we prepare for an extend-ed lockdown, we are proud towork together with@GoogleIndia Maps in ensur-ing easy accessibility of all ourfood and night shelters.”

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The number of Covid-19cases reported in the State

rose to 60 when five more per-sons tested positive for thevirus on Tuesday. Of the fivefresh cases, four are fromBhubaneswar and one is fromJajpur district.

The new cases include a50-year-old male fromJharpada (case no. 57), who issuspected to have come incontact with case number 42.His travel history said he gen-erally stayed at home between

March 22 and April 13 butundertook occasional visits tonear the Ganesh Mandap,Reliance Fresh (near over-bridge), Bomikhal andRasulgarh markets to purchasegroceries and vegetables.

The other three persons (a51-year-old man, a 70-year-oldman and a 51-year-old woman)are from the Bomikhal area ofthe city.

The travel history of thewoman (case no. 58) said sheremained at home in theBabylon Apartment in JayaDurga Nagar of Bomikhal fromMarch 22 to April 13; hersymptomatic sample was col-lected from containment oneduring surveillance on April 5.On Tuesday, she was shifted tothe KIMS COVID Hospital inthe city.

Case no. 59, the 70-yearmale also stayed in the BabylonApartment from March 22 to

April 14. His sample was col-lected on Tuesday. After testingpositive, he was hospitalised onthe day.

The COVID-19 case-56 isa 61-year-old resident ofJafarpur in Jajpur district witha recent travel history toKolkata. He was in home quar-antine since his return. Afterhis samples were tested posi-tive, he was shifted to theAshwini Hospital in Cuttack.This is the second case report-ed from Jajpur district. Someareas of Sanatrilochanpur andSaipur have been declared con-tainment zones, said JajpurCollector Ranjan Kumar Dason Tuesday.

Out of the total 60 casesreported so far in the State, thenumber of active cases is 41while 18 patients are cured anddischarged from hospitals andonly one person has died of thedisease.

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In view of a possibility of risein domestic violence during

the lockdown period in theState, Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Tuesday directedthe Director General of Police(DGP) to keep a strict vigil onthe habitual offenders.

At a COVID-19 reviewmeeting held here, Patnaiksaid that as domestic violenceis also a major cause of concernduring the lockdown, policeshould begin a process of iden-tifying the habitual offendersand extend help to the com-plainants through phone calls.

According to DGP Abhay,in order to lodge complaintduring the lockdown period,victims of domestic violence

need not come topolice stations. Onreceipt of tele-phone calls, policewould reach thespot or home tocollect complaintsor FIRs and takenecessary action.

The victimscan also approachpolice through theOdisha PoliceCitizen Portal andSahayata MobileAPP. All cases ofthe domestic vio-lence during lock-down periodwould be investi-gated by the officer not belowthe rank of SI of police and allthe cases would be supervisedby an officer of rank of DSP orabove.

The Chief Minister onTuesday also directed the policeto ensure that field works offarmers and movement of theiragricultural produce are not

disrupted due to the enforce-ment of lockdown.

Besides, Patnaik orderedfor setting up of a COVID-19hospital in each district in nextone week. The Government hasplanned to keep a total of6,000 beds ready at 36 placesacross the State to treat thepatients by the end of this

month, he pointed out.“I am pleased to see that

the coronavirus statistics arelevelling in the State and goingdown. That’s a very good sign.And those who are responsiblefor this including doctors,health workers, police andadministrative officials, verywell done!,” Patnaik said.

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Due to the lockdown, awoman named Anjali Kar

with her seven-year-old daugh-ter walked 228 km from Koirain Sundargarh to reach Jarakain Jajpur district on Tuesday tomeet her son, who is beingtreated at the SCB Medical

College Hospital in Cuttack fol-lowing an accident.

The woman was rescuedon the way at Jaraka by socialactivist and Ansuman Trustsecretary Himansu SekharSahoo, who dropped her andher daughter by his vehicle atthe hospital, which is 50 kmaway from Jaraka.

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At this time of crisis, doctors,nurses, health workers,

sanitation workers, police,media personnel and all thepersons providing essentialservices are being treated asdemigods. But the hard work ofmany veterinary doctors andstaffs goes unrecognised.

The veterinarians are deliv-ering essential services unin-erruptedly during the currentlockdown period. Livestockfarmers and the society arebenefiting by their act.

All the veterinary hospitalsand dispensaries are open now,working with their full

strength. Besides, vet-erinary health care,immunisation andartificial insemina-tion; the veterinariansfrequently detour inorder to provide ser-vices at the farmers’doorstep.

Ve te r i nar i ansplay the pivotal role in provid-ing livelihood to the rural pop-ulace. They add to the state’sGSDP by contributing towardsproduction of milk, meat andegg. Had it not been the vet-erinarians, it would have beenvery difficult for us to get ani-mal protein in form of thesenutritious foodstuffs.

Most importantly, theywork as agents of public health.It’s only for the veterinarians,dreaded zoonotic diseases likeanthrax, rabies, bird flu, swineflu, Japanese Encephalitis etc.are under control. The veteri-narians of the state have done

a laudable job in total controlof the bird flu.

In the current pandemic,the veterinarians are toilinghard to provide animal health-care. The Union Governmenthad issued guidelines to get theveterinarians ready for the job.It had allowed three of the vet-erinary institutions in thecountry to go for COVID 19tests.

Veterinarians should getdue weight and recognition fortheir work towards maintain-ing public health, particularlyduring this time of crisis,viewed many.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

In view of a large number ofpeople working from home

due to COVID-19 lockdown,the State Government has beenrequested to permit function-ing of shops that sell, repair andservice mobile phones, com-puters and accessories on lim-ited days during lockdownperiod.

With the lockdown extend-ed till April 30, everyone has towork from home. So, mobilephones and laptops havebecome all the more importantnot only as a medium of stay-ing connected and getting workdone, but also as means ofentertainment and informa-tion. But what do you do whenyour mobile phone or laptop, orgod forbid, both malfunctionduring a lockdown?

With lockdown period

being extended, repair of mal-functioning mobile sets andcomputers and other acces-sories has become next toimpossible. While is the digi-tal infrastructure that is keep-ing the country connected andthe economy working duringthe period of lockdown, allow-ing the shops which run ICTproducts would go a long wayin helping people, said MAIT.

MAIT, the apex body rep-resenting India’s ICT sectorhas approached the OdishaGovernment to allow suchfacility in Odisha. MAIT isrecognised by the UnionGovernment as well as ICTindustry for its role in growthand development of IT hard-ware Industry. Several StateGovernments have allowedICT shops on Sundays, so thatpeople would be utilising theservices.

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Just a few months ago, no onein India would have imag-

ined people with facemasks onthe road, which is increasing-ly becoming a common sight;and well, one of relief. Therehave been tens of articles pub-lished in the recent days inreputed journals supportingits effectiveness in preventionof spread of novel coronavirusas well as refuting such claimscreating a lot of confusion inalready scared people in theseuncertain times.

But one thing that all theleading experts and scientistsagree is that face mask is effec-

tive in capturing the dropletscontaining millions of virusesreleased in the air following asneeze or a cough by a patientcarrying the virus whether suf-fering from symptoms such ashigh fever and cough or anunsuspecting asymptomaticcarrier.

The Government of Indiagave an advisory asking peopleto wear masks includinghomemade ones while goingout, to fight the invisible enemyof corona pandemic.

Few days ago, PrimeMinister Narendra Modiappealed to the public to usefacemasks while going out toprevent its spread and to helpothers. He reiterated that itdoes not have to be highly spe-cific facemasks such as N95masks which needs to be wornby health professionals treatingthe corona virus infectedpatients but simple homemade

and cloth masks can be effec-tive in eliminating the spreadof virus to a large extent.Millions of people followedGovernment advisory and PMModi’s appeal and it became amass movement called out bymany organisations.

The Prime Minister’s call tomake masks at home and dis-tributing it among the peoplewas taken up by the peoplefrom all faiths and political ide-ologies with lots of enthusiasm.The social media is floodedwith people including celebri-ties making masks and dis-tributing it. Inspired by noneother than PM Modi, I mademy own little contribution ofmaking a mask from cottoncloth at home and shared thevideo for public awareness.This noblegesture by millionsof Indians will help us all tomake up for the deficit ofmask in the market as well as

helping people to overcome theshortages and the Governmentcan redirect the surgical andother PPE (personal protectedequipment) related masks tothe frontline workers such asdoctors and nurses treatingpatients with corona virus.

What we know so far aboutthe corona virus is that a sig-nificant amount of peopleinfected by it do not suffer fromsymptoms such as high fever,cough and breathing difficul-ties but can still spread the virusto others, they may eventuallydevelop the symptoms or maynot. By using a face mask, theycan prevent the spread of virusthrough air, this associatedwith social distancing of twometres will be an effectivemeasure to contain the spreadof virus to others.

The homemade cottonmasks have many advantagessuch as they can be sterilised

easily at home to be reusedagain. Meanwhile, the worldopinion is changing in favourof mass use of facemask to pre-vent the spread of corona virusin the community. In somecountries such as Japan andSouth Korea, it is a commonculture to sight people wearingmasks while going out espe-cially during the flu season tolimit its community spread.

One thing is very clearabout the corona virus is thatthe virus droplets containingmillions of them linger on fordays in the air; so a facemaskwill surely protect people fromgetting it. However it is of para-mount importance that thefacemasks should be properlycleaned everyday while takingcare of handling it properly.And people should follow theprinciple of one facemask forone person and it should neverbe shared even among the

family members.Coronavirus global pan-

demic has come as a disastroussurprise for everyone with over16 lakhs of people gettinginfected from it and over 1 lakhdeaths and numbers areincreasing as we speak andscientists all over the world arestill trying to figure out its com-plete course and treatment withonly limited success so far. Thevaccines and the cure are beingworked upon and it might takemany months to get a cure ora vaccine. We have no otheroption other than followingthe age-old golden advice of“prevention is better than cure”.My sincere appeal to all is to fol-low Government ’s advisoryduring the lockdown, maintainsocial distancing and stay athome to save lives.

(Dr Biswal is a BJP MahilaMorcha State leader)

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Veteran tradeunion leader,

writer and colum-nist SouribandhuKar died at a hos-pital here onMonday night fol-lowing a brief ill-ness. He was 72and is survived byhis wife, three sonsand a daughter.

Kar was the general secre-tary of the Odisha unit of AllIndia Trade Union Congress(AITUC). An eminent CPIleader, he was actively involvedin the Left movement for manyyears.

CPI State secretary AsishKanungo and CPI(M) leaderJanardan Pati condoled Kar’s

death, terming it “a great lossfor the trade union move-ment”.

Kar, who worked in a bank,has also authored several booksincluding biographies. He washonoured with several awardsincluding the Odisha SahityaAkademi Award in 2012 for hisbiik ”Manabatara MahanTirtha”.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

The Bhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation (BMC) has

kept former Sambalpur MPand former MLA NagendraKumar Pradhan’s house hereunder quarantine.

The civic body has put

Pradhan’s residence atMadhusudan Nagar at Unit-IVunder quarantine from April 12to 25. Entry of outsiders to hishouse has been banned.

A total of 10 persons ofPradhan’s house have been putunder home quarantine.

�������� :3�:)�5,2)9

With the State Governmentdeciding to allow kendu

leaf operations during theongoing coronavirus-relatedlockdown period, it is expect-ed that a business of about Rs500 crore would be transactedthis year.

This decision would notonly boost the kendu leaf busi-ness, it would also bring smileon the face of nearly 10 lakhpluckers and labourers engagedin this trade.

While around 3 lakh quin-tal of kendu leaf is collected bythe

State Kendu LeafOrganisation and marketed bythe Odisha Forest

Development Corporation

(OFDC) every year, OFDCManaging Director RajivKumar expressed happinessover the decison.

Kendu leaf plucking wassupposed to start from April 15till May 15, but nobody wassure of the plucking and pro-cessig due to the lockdown.

Now, Malkangiri,Nabarangpur and Kalahandidistricts would l begin kenduleaf collection and other dis-tricts would follow them, aidsources.

While 50,000 quintals ofleaf are collected in these threedisticts, around 2.50 quintalsare collected and processedfrom other districts. They areexported to Sri Lanka andother countries.

There are 9, 00, 000 kenduleaf pluckers, 26,000 bindersand 27,000 temporary labour-ers working in this sector.

Last year, the StateGovernment had announcedRs 222 crore bonus and otherincentives for them for theLeaf Season 2018.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

As part of its drive to preventthe coronovirus spread in

the capital city, the BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC)on Tuesday deployed drones tospray disinfectants on a trialbasis.

Disinfectants were sprayedby drones in the stretch fromthe Raj Mahal Square to theSishu Bhavan Square, saidBMC Deputy Commissioner(Sanitation) Suvendu Sahu.

Earlier on Monday, thecivic body has asked peopleresiding in these areas not tostep out of their homes duringthe disinfection drive consid-ering the health hazards ofsodium hypochlorite.

An official said it is a chal-lenging task to regularly disin-fect various parts of the city inthe wake of the COVID-19pandemic. The drone would be

useful as it will help in reduc-ing the burden of workers.They also can be used in areaswhere human accessibility isdifficult.

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Aman here was arrested onthe charge of inciting racial

hatred on social media onTuesday.

According to reports,Anup Kumar Mondal of thetown tweeted objectionablecomments in the social media.The post said he was swearingand making anti-Muslim com-ments which went viral in thelocality.

Noting it as a serious issue,the Umarkote police promptlylodged an FIR, registered a caseunder Section 153 A of IPCand arrested Mondal. Theaccused was later released onpolice bail.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

The Union Government haslaunched a telegram chan-

nel with different helplinenumbers for different States toprovide information related tothe COVID-19.

The dedicated channelnamed 'MyGov CoronaNewsdesk', a cloud-basedmobile and desktop messagingapp, would provide accurateinformation about the various

initiatives undertaken towardscontrolling the currentCoronavirus Covid 19 pan-demic.

It would curb the spread ofinaccurate information acrossthe social media about theoutbreak.

Besides sharing factual dataand relevant news pieces, theapp would also enable sub-scribers to access and readcontent that was shared beforethey joined the channel, whichwill work for 24X7 and providecrucial updates regardingGovernment advisories, do’sand don’ts, guidelines forhygiene and sanitation, stan-dard operating proceduresacross various establishmentsand more.

In addition to this, thechannel, would provide detailson volunteers and individualswho want to donate towardsIndia’s fight against corona.The individuals who registerthemselves would be directlycontacted by the concernedauthorities ofStates/UTs/MoHFW.

People of Odisha strandedin other States can dial 0674-2392115 and 9438915986 (fordata messages). Similarly, peo-ple of other States stranded inOdisha can dial 18003456703for support.

For more informationrelated to volunteer/ donate forfight against corona, peoplehave been advised tmvisit:https://self4society.mygov.in/.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

The Citizens’ Action Group(CAG) on Corona here

has called for constitution of ataskforce to help the migrantworkers in view of the secondphase of lockdown in thecountry.

The forum is a collective ofeminent citizens, civil societyorganisations and public advo-cacy groups in Odisha seekingto help in the fight against thepandemic.

“We urge the PrimeMinister not lose time and setup a national task force, whichcould oversee inter-State coor-dination, monitoring and res-olution of issues relating tomigrant workers,” said CAGco-convenor Umi Daniel.

According to news reports,there are more than 2.4 millionmigrant workers who are cur-rently stranded in some 50,000

camps scattered across thecountry. Most of them werelooking to return home withthe hope that the lockdownwould end Monday. But nowwith lockdown getting extend-ed by a fortnight, we are notsure how impatience and anx-iety will shape the behavior ofthe stranded workers, saidDaniel, an expert on migration.

According to the CAG,the proposed national task-force should ideally be set upin the Prime Minister’s Officewith representations from keyCentral Ministries such asLabour, Home Affairs,Railways, Civil Supplies andConsumer Affairs and Healthand Family Welfare and theStates most affected by theissues.

The taskforce should holdperiodic reviews and providenecessary guidelines on han-

dling issues relating to migrantworkers. It should advise thelabour sending and recipientStates to exchange informationabout the stranded workersand coordinate their smoothmovement.

The suggestions of theforum for the OdishaGovernment are constitutionof a special State-level taskforcefor coordinating and reachingout to migrant workers both inand outside Odisha; identifi-cation of migrant workers liv-ing in distress in urban slums,mining clusters and otherGovernment and corporateprojects and provision of food,supplies and medical support;consideration of a specialemployment generation pro-gramme for migrant workersin urban areas; immediaterelease Rs 1,500 to workers reg-istered with the OdishaBuilding and Other

Construction Workers WelfareBoard; setting up panchayat-level information centers, reg-istration of migrant returneesand linking them up witheffective quarantine; designinga special social and economicpackage for migrant returneesand particularly familiesundergoing self-quarantine;district-level helplines to edu-cate on quarantine procedures,mental health support andaccess to Government sup-port; payment of MGNREGAwage in advance to those inquarantine, long-term liveli-hood and employment sup-port, legal and other supportthat may be needed formigrants who have been dupedin such times of distress andmechanism involving the StateLegal Service Authorities,Department of Labour andcivil society groups to registercomplaints.

$���� :3�:)�5,2)9

An incident has come to thefore where an Asha Worker

was critically injured beingattacked by a miscreant atAndharua village on the cityoutskirts here on Sunday.

Asha Worker SukantiNayak and many other womenhad gathered at a drinkingwater distribution point atMangala Sahi in the village.While Nayak asked all womento maintain social distancing toavoid coronavirus infection, ayouth named Deepu Nayakobstructed them to do so.When he was opposed, he beatSukanti severely. As a result,Sukanti was injured in herhead and ear. She was taken tothe Chandaka PHC.

Her husband Manoj Nayakfiled an FIR at the ChandakaPS. After release from hospital,Sukanti met the BhubaneswarBDO and the CDPO seekingher protection.

Villagers have demandedthat the miscreant be arrested.

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Even as gatherings at all reli-gious places have been fully

restricted during the ongoingcorona-related lickdown, peoplein rural areas in many parts ofBhadrak district were markedopenly flouting the guidelinesby congregating at variousHindu temples on the occasionsof Baisakhi, Maha BishubaSankranti and Hanuman Jayantiobserved on Monday.

Devotees queued up andand maintained no social dis-tancing at various temples inrural areas. As per lockdownguidelines, social distancing isthe only way to curb spread ofdeadly COVID-19. However attemples in Bhadrak and othertowns in the district, devoteesmaintained social distancing infear of police and administra-tive action.

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With power consumption comingdown due to the lockdown, the

Gridco would be forced to pay at least Rs55 crore per month towards Fixed CostLiability of surrendered power to the gen-erating plants.

Prior to the lockdown, the dailydemand of power was 3,300 MW whileit has gone down to 2,700 MW now dueto shutdown of industries and marketcomplexes.

The Gridco has signed PowerPurchase Agreements (PPAs) with gen-erating companies and the PPAs come intwo parts: Fixed Cost and Variable Cost.As the Gridco is not utilising the powerand surrendering it, the company wouldbe absolved of Variable Cost. But it hasto pay the Fixed Cost of installing powerproject which includes repayment oblig-ations to lenders.

The Gridco has entered PPAs with

nine inter-State generating stations(ISGSs). As it is surrendering power tothe ISGSs, it would have to pay the FixedCost unless PPAs are cancelled. However,the PPAs cannot be cancelled becauseafter the lockdown is over power require-ment would be increased.

So, for the month of March, theGridco would have to pay Rs 54.93 crorefor the surrendered power.

Apprehending such a scenario earli-er, Energy Secretary Bishnupada Sethihad brought it to the notice of ChiefSecretary Asit Tripathy to flag the issuewith the Union Ministry of Power.Accordingly, Tripathy has written toUnion Power Secretary Sanjeev NandanSahai to consider if the proposal ofcapacity charge/ fixed charge can bereduced by say 50% which can be workedout by deferment of their capital cost, viz.,Depreciation, Interest cost and RoE.

This deferred cost should be allowedto be recovered during the balance five-year tariff period, i.e. in 2021-24 on acase-to-case basis, Tripathy has pro-posed, stating that this can be done byback-to-back support, relief from thelenders and deferral on the recovery ofprincipal and interest repayments with-out additional interest charges levied onthe deferred payments.

However, the Ministry of Power hasnot responded in this regard to the State,said sources in the Department of Energy.

In the meantime, the Ministry ofPower has requested the NTPC to takea lenient view in case the power distri-bution companies (Discoms) fail to paytheir dues. The NTPC is also facing atough time due to the COVID-19 impactas the power surrender amount is steadi-ly going up because power consumptionis going down.

$���� ;3)9,� �$)

At the State Government’sinstance, a 110-bed COVID

hospital equipped with 10 ICUsis going to be established atJharsuguda. Preparations arein full swing to ensure that thehospital is operational by April24. The district administrationsaid an MoU was signed on onMonday with the HITECHMedical College to ensure oper-ationalisation of the hospital.

Doctors, staffs and medicalequipments would be providedthrough the CSR fund byVedanta Jharsuguda and theDistrict Mineral Fund.

Vedanta Jharsuguda hascommitted over Rs 2 crore tomobilise medical equipments,beds, ventilators and ICU bedsfor the hospital, which is beingdeveloped under the initiative ofthe Health Minister and withactive support by the BargarhMP and the Brajrajnagar MLA.

$���� :9)3�)/�9

At a time when peoplebelonging to all categories

are facing difficulties due to thecorona-induced lockdown,former Ganjam district BJPpresident Kanhu Charan Patihas urged the Ganjam districtadministration to waive rents ofBeMV houses and water cessfor three months.

In a letter to CollectorVijay Amruta Kulange, Patihailed all measures taken by thedistrict administration forcombating the deadly COVID-19.

Mentioning about relatedappeal of Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik, Pati urged theCollector to direct theBerhampur MunicipalCorporation (BeMC) to waiveoff three months' rent for shoprooms it has let out to small

vendors across the city. Pati demanded that the

BeMC should announce waiv-er of holding tax and water cessfor three months for all house-holds in the city.

Pointing out that manypoor families are yet to getration cards, the BJP leaderrequested the Collector to pro-vide rations and otherGovernment supports for threemonths in advance to themsoon. He too demanded simi-lar support for labourers, whowere engaged in malls, garages,travelcagencies, hotels and dif-ferent business units, but couldnot return home due to lock-down.

Pati expressed unhappi-ness that the decision of dis-tributing rations and pentionsfor three months at doorstepshas not been materalised yet.Rather, the dealers and officialsare distributing them at PDSpoints where social distancingis not being maintained at all.He urged the Collector to dothe needful in these regards.

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While the India Post hasbeen rendering many

essential services, includingduring the ongoing Covid-19crisis, the Government's moveto corporatise and privatisethe 166-year-old organisationhas created many apprehen-sions among its employees andthe common people.

In 2014, the Government

had constituted a Task Force onLeveraging the Post OfficeNetwork headed by formerCabinet Secretary TSRSubramanian. The committeesubmitted its report inNovemeber, 2014 recom-mending division of the IndiaPost into six units. i.e. (i)Banking and financial services(ii) Insurance (PLI/RPLI), (iii)Distribution of third partyproducts (Services on behalf ofprivate parties on paymentbasis), (iv) Management ofGovernment services (v) Parceland Packets and (vi) commu-nication delivery.

The first five units weredesignated as strategic businessunits and sixth unit was left todeliver mails at subsidisedrates. Under Department ofPosts, a holding company“India Post (Financial and

other services) CorporationLimited” was recommendedto be formed. The corporationwould consist of Board ofMembers and one Chairmanfrom the Board members. Allthe five separate subsidiarycompanies would also haveseparate Boards. In the courseof time, Government mightdisinvest its part of holdingand new corporation wouldraise fund from share marketand thereafter would also belisted in share market in future.

It was stated in the reportthat five subsidiary companieswould make profit and con-tribute to meet the loss ofsixth unit. The Task ForceCommittee also recommendedfor amendment of Indian PostOffice Act 1898 and to bringanother Postal Act, that is,“India Post (Financial and

other services)” CorporationAct for reorganisation of theDepartment of Posts by creat-ing a new corporate structure.In the meantime, the bankingand financial sector has beencorporatized since September1 2018 in the name of IndiaPost Payments Bank Limited asthe first PSU underDepartment of Posts with theCertificate of Incorporationfrom the Registrar ofCompanies, Ministry ofCorporate Affairs under theCompanies Act 2013. Now thedepartment has decided to setup an insurance company asanother strategic business unitin two years. It is well predict-ed that the age-oldGovernment establishment isrunning ahead rapidly on theway of corporatisation.

Notably, the Department of

Posts and Telecom was bifur-cated in 1986 as Department ofPosts and Department ofTelecom. Subsequently theBharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) was incorporated as atelecommunication companyin the year 2000. The fate ofBSNL and its lakhs of employ-ees and workers during thepreceding years is now onheadlines. This public sectorundertaking which was run-ning with profit till 2014, nowrunning with a loss of nearly Rs35,000 crore and for the firsttime in the BSNL’s history, thecompany has not been able topay salary to about 1.68 lakhemployees. In the meantime,nearly 80,000 employees havealready gone on voluntaryretirement service.

There are many apprehen-sions coming to the minds of

five lakh postal employeesworking in 1.55 lakh postoffices across the country.

Would the India Post,which is now running with a Rs15,000-crore deficit (FY 2018-19), not face the fate of BSNLin near future. Is corporatisa-tion of the India Post reallynecessary and the only way outto make it a profitable organi-sation? Does not theGovernment does think it as anessential service department?Besides, would the India Postnot lose its true spirit of pro-viding essential services to thecommon people after beingtransformed into a corpora-tion?

(The writer is NationalFederation of Postal Employees,Odisha State CoordinationCommittee chairman)

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The ongoing lockdown tocheck coronavirus spread

has created a lot of hardship tothe poor people living in slumsand informal settlements inBerhampur MunicipalCorporation (BeMC) area.

Among them, the domes-tic workers, rickshaw pullers,construction workers, strand-ed migrants, beggers, leprosypatients and the homeless havelost their daily wage and liveli-hood due to the Janata curfewand subsequent lockdown.

To mitigate the hardship,the Youth for SocialDevelopment (YSD) has iden-

tified many poor people withthe help of BeMC and Ganjamdistrict administration.

With the support from theOxfam-India, the YSD has tar-geted to feed 550 families slumsand started distribution of dryfoods to each family for amonth's need.

Each food basket includes25 kgs of rice, 3 kgs pulse, 1 litreoil, 2 kg soya bean, spices and1kg salt. Nearly 200 families inslums have received the pack-ets.

Many volunteers have beendeployed in those areas for cre-ating awareness among thecommunity on preventive mea-sures like social distancing,frequent hand washing, and theneed for staying at home tomitigate COVID-19.

The YSD has targeted tofeed more than 3,000 distressfamilies across 3 blocks in thedistrict. The staff and the vol-unteers of YSD have been spe-cially trained to remain safefrom the virus.

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As many as11 migrantlabourer trudging by foot

to their homes in Kolkata ofWest Bengal in the absence ofbuses and trains due to thelockdown were rescued by theGanjam district administra-tion on Monday.

All of them were later sentto an isolation centre.

The migrant workers wereengaged at a Governmentguesthouse in the Gopalpurarea. Following the lockdown,they were residing there.However, the middleman forwhom they were working forstopped providing food tothem, following which theydecided to return to their nativeplace.

But midway, officialsstopped them at a place underthe Chammakhandi police sta-tion on NH-16.

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Joining hands with the Government, localadministrations and people to fight COVID-

19, the Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) hasundertaken various activities ranging fromcommunity sensitisation on physical distancingand sanitisation to feeding the hungry across allits operational locations in three districts ofOdisha.

The company, through its CSR arm JSPLFoundation, has been providing cooked as wellas dry foods to distressed people and distributingmasks and personal hygiene products among thelocal community.

The JSPL Foundation has launched itsMission Zero Hunger programme in Angul,Barbil and Tensa. Every day, over 3,500 mealsare distributed at these three locations.

"Mission Zero Hunger is at the heart of JSPLFoundation’s sustainable development goals toend hunger and achieve Food Security," saidJSPL Foundation chairperson Shallu Jindal. Ason April 12, the foundation has distributed about

20,000 meals in the three locations.Besides, institutions like old age homes,

childcare home, shelter homes for destitutewomen and homes for special children are pro-vided with dry food.

SHGs, with JSPL Foundation support, arealso making and supplying phenyl and liquidherbal hand-wash to local institutions andhouseholds.

The JSPL, under its chairman NaveenJindal’s leadership, has contributed Rs 25 croreto the PM CARES fund.

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Some youths of Tarbha NAChave been working tireless-

ly to ensure that the destitute ofdifferent wards of the town donot go hungry during theongoing coronavirus- relatedlockdown period.

Sritam Bhusan Guru (28)has been spending from hisown pocket to feed 40 to 50needy people in the town.

Some of his friends toohave joined the crusade againsthunger by packing rice, dal,potato, onion, soap and otherdaily use goods and supplyingthem to the poor.

While most NGOs andindividuals prvide lunch tothe poor, Sritama and hisfriends ensure that they getbreakfast too.

Sritam appealed all tocome forward and do their bitfor the society during this cri-

sis periodPolice here are preventing

people in entering the NAC. Asa result, labours, homeless,poor and the working class arefacing several problems, includ-ing food shortage.

Among his friends, BisajitSahu, MotiranjanMahana,Nikhil Sahu, MukeshSahu, Abinash Sahu and PintuNaik have also contribued theirpocket money.

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Nayagarh district CollectorDr Poma Tudu has asked

Bhapur block and CommunityHealth Center (CHC) officialsto remain alert to tackle anypossible degree of coronavirusoutbreak.

Chairing a meetingthrough videoconferencing,the Collctor asked health work-ers and Anganwadi Workers toensure that all those who returnfrom outside the State gethealth check-up at the nearesthealth facilities and thereafter

they are put in 14 days' quar-antine at gram panchayat quar-antine halls. He requested allSarpanches and SamitiMembers to provide coopera-tion.

He advised police person-nel to ensure that no rush ofpeople occurs and social dis-tancing is well-maintained atmarkets. Among others, BDOSatya Sundar Rout, CHC In-charge Officer Dr AnnadaPrasad Tripathy, Dr SubhashreeKar, Dr Bhagaban Panda, andDr Satyabrata Sahoo were pre-sent.

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In view of two COVID-19positive cases found on a

single day in Sundargarh dis-trict and such cases rising inthe country, the demand for atesting centre for the deadlyvirus has mounted in the dis-trict.

While the two cases werereported from the Bisra area,reports of 12 samples have notyet reached. It cannot be saidif more samples would not besent for testing.

"If a testing will come upin Sundargarh district, peoplein the entire western Odishawill benefit ," viewed many.

According to sources, atotal number of 188 swabsamples from Sundargarh dis-trict had been sent to the

Regional Medical ResearchCenter (RMRC), Bhubaneswarby Saturday out of which 174samples were found negativeand two positive. The reportsof the rest 12 samples areawaited.

The two positives are nowin quarantine in the RourkelaCOVID hospital, said CDMOSK Mishra.

Sources said, although thesamples were sent on April 2,the reports received after ninedays on April 11. The delaywas due to the rush in theRMRC lab and other two test-ing centres.

According to sources,efforts have been initiated bythe Sundargarh districtadministration to open a test-ing centre at the Ispat GeneralHospital (IGH), Rourkela.

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C o r o n avirus forc-ing extend-ed periodsof lock-downs allover thecountry, theN T P CT a l c h e rKaniha is escalating measuresto prevent the spread of the dis-ease.

With a mass sanitizationdrive in its Township andadjoining areas, procurementof various essential medicalequipment like ventilators, pri-vate protective equipments(PPEs), sanitisers, gloves at itshospital has been undertaken.Creation of “COVID Corner”,separate isolation wards in the

hospital of the station has alsobeen made.

The Station is distributingmasks to all its employees,contract workers, associates,CHC Kaniha and BDO officefor distribution among needypersons. Cotton masks weredistributed in various villageslike Gadasila, Rangabeda andHariharpur etc. Till date, over10,000 masks have been dis-tributed, said a release.

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Days after India airliftedmore that 29 million

tablets of hydroxychloroquine(HCQ) to the US for its battleagainst the raging coronaviruspandemic there, the DonaldTrump administration recip-rocated the gesture by givingthe nod for sale of missiles andtorpedoes worth over 155 mil-lion dollars to India. Moreover,this approval on Monday camea few weeks after the twocountries inked two dealsworth over three billion dollarsduring the US President’s visitto New Delhi.

India is the biggest pro-ducer of the anti-malaria drugHCQ in the world and Trump,who believes that this drug willbe the “game changer” in bat-tling the pandemic, had urgedPrime Minister Narendra Modito lift the export ban on it. Therestrictions were imposed onMarch 25 and following requestfrom Trump and some otherworld leaders, the ban wasrelaxed last week.

Thanking Modi, Trumphad said on Wednesday lastweek said India's help duringthis crisis will not be forgotten.

Given this backdrop andalso the US President’s asser-tion during his visit to Indiathat his country is always will-ing to supply state-of-the-artweapons to the Indian armedforces besides forging closermilitary to military alliance, theUS administration on Mondaynotified the Congress of itsdetermination to sell HarpoonBlock II air launched missilesand lightweight torpedoesworth USD 155 million toIndia.

The sale of 10 AGM-84LHarpoon Block II air launchedmissiles is estimated to costUSD 92 million, while 16 MK54 All Up Round LightweightTorpedoes and three MK 54Exercise Torpedoes are esti-mated to cost USD 63 million,the Defense SecurityCooperation Agency said intwo separate notifications tothe Congress.

A determination in thisregard was recently made bythe US State Department fol-lowing a request for these twoweapons systems by the Indiangovernment, the Pentagon said.According to the Pentagon,the Harpoon missile systemwill be integrated into the P-8Ilong range maritime recon-naissance aircraft to conductanti-surface warfare missionsin defence of critical sea laneswhile enhancing inter-oper-ability with the United Statesand other allied forces.

The Indian Navy has eightP-8I aircraft and will go in forfour more such aircraft to

enhance its reach in the strate-gically important Indian Oceanwhere growing maritimeprowess of China is a matter ofconcern.

"India will use theenhanced capability as a deter-rent to regional threats and tostrengthen its homelanddefense. India intends to utilizeMK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes

on its P-8I aircraft.India will have no difficul-

ty absorbing this equipmentinto its armed forces," thePentagon said. While theHarpoon missiles will be man-ufactured by Boeing, the tor-pedoes would be supplied byRaytheon, the notification said.

The proposed sale, it said,will improve India's capability

to meet current and futurethreats from enemy weaponsystems. The MK 54Lightweight Torpedo will pro-vide the capability to conductanti-submarine warfare mis-sions.

In both the notifications,the Pentagon said the pro-posed sale of these equipmentand support will not alter thebasic military balance in theregion. According to the

Pentagon, this proposed salewill support the foreign policyand national security of theUnited States by helping tostrengthen the US-Indianstrategic relationship and toimprove the security of a majordefensive partner, which con-tinues to be an important forcefor political stability, peace,and economic progress in theIndo-Pacific and South Asiaregion.

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There was no relief for pas-sengers, either stranded or

unable to proceed with theirtravel plans. Passenger trains aswell as domestic and interna-tional flight operations willremain suspended till May 3,when the second lockdownperiod is scheduled to end, theCivil Aviation Ministry andIndian Railways announcedon Tuesday shortly after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sannouncement regarding theextension.

The Ministry of CivilAviation said in a statement,“All domestic and internation-al scheduled airlines operationsshall remain suspended till11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020”.

This means, by May 3international flights will bebarred for a total of 42 days anddomestic flights for 40 days.

The domestic airlineshave again decided not torefund the customers in cashfor their cancelled flights andinstead offer them with theoption of rescheduling of tick-ets for a later date without anyadditional fee.

The Indian Railways, for itspart, announced that all trainservices, barring special parceltrains and freight trains, willremain suspended till the lock-down ends on May 3.

However, there is no

restriction on cargo flights.The government has taken thehelp of passenger airlines likeAir India, IndiGo and SpiceJet,apart from BlueDart, for trans-portation of essential medicalsupplies within the country aswell as to Shanghai, HongKong and Colombo.

The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation banned interna-tional flights from March 23and the ban for domestic flightscame into effect two days later,on March 25.

Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri said therewere good reasons for thelockdown to be extended tillMay 3. "We can consider lift-ing restrictions on bothdomestic and internationalflights thereafter. I understandthe problems being faced bypeople who need to travel andrequest them to bear with us,"the minister tweeted.

It remains to be seen if theministry takes a decision onpassengers’ complaints of air-lines not offering refunds forcancelled flights and insteadgiving credit vouchers forfuture travel for the amountbooked. This has been a majorissue for the passengers.

While many people want-ed to know the status of theirflights since there was noupdate on the respective air-lines' websites, several othershave been demanding nothing

less than a full and immediaterefund.

Air India had earlier thismonth itself stopped takingbookings for flights in April.IndiGo, and its peers includingSpiceJet and GoAir, wereaccepting bookings for travelfrom April 15.

Several airlines such asGoAir, SpiceJet and IndiGohave given customers theoption of creating a creditshell for the amount of theircancelled flight ticket, a sort ofcoupon which can beredeemed within a year.Meanwhile, cancellation oftickets in many cases would

involve a deduction ofcharges, which would mean aloss on the part of the cus-tomer.

The Indian Railways, how-ever, said that full refund offare would automatically beprovided to its online cus-tomers for trains cancelled upto May 3, while those who havebooked at the counters canclaim the refund till July 31.Customers will also get fullrefunds of their tickets if theyare cancelling their advancebookings for trains not yet can-celled, it said.

It said no advance reser-vation of trains tickets, includ-ing e-tickets, will be allowed tillfurther orders. However, facil-ity of online cancellation willremain functional.

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Responsible for manufac-turing state-of-the-art

weapons and ammunition forthe armed forces, theOrdnance FactoryBoard(OFB)units are nowworking round the clock pro-ducing more than one lakhcoveralls to the frontline fight-ers of coronavirus pandemic.And pitching in the nationaleffort, the Defence Researchand DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) hasindigenously developedCOVID sample collectionkiosk costing about �1lakh.Both the premier organisationsare also manufacturing andsupplying sanisitisers to vari-ous agencies now engaged inthe battle against the disease.

Giving details of the con-tribution of the OFB factories,defence ministry officials saidhere on Tuesday the OFB hasstarted supply of coveralls con-forming to ISO Class 3 expo-sure standards. Manufacture ofinitial order of 1.10 lakh fromHLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) isin full swing. This order will becompleted in 40 days.

This is in addition to theFactories Board developingspecial two-metre tents which

can be used for medical emer-gency, screening, hospitaltriage and quarantine purpos-es. These are made up ofwaterproof fabric, mild steeland aluminium alloy. Supplieshave already started.

Similarly, manufacture ofhand sanitiser is on war foot-ing and more than 70,000litres have already been sup-plied to different agencies.Two test facilities for bloodpenetration test has beenestablished, one at Chennaiand another at Kanpur.

The OFB has also set aside280 beds in 10 hospitals forisolation. This has been doneas per Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare (MoHFW)requirement. The OFB is alsotrying to produce face masksas per pilot order quantityplaced by HLL.

More than 90,000 non-medical masks have beenmanufactured and distributed.Testing facilities for medicalmasks would also be in placeby this week.

As regards the DRDO,they said its Defence Research& Development Laboratory(DRDL), Hyderabad has devel-oped COVID SampleCollection Kiosk (COVSACK)in consultation with the doc-

tors of Employees' StateInsurance Corporation (ESIC),Hyderabad.

The COVSACK is a kioskfor use by healthcare workersfor taking COVID-19 samplesfrom suspected infectedpatients. Patient under testwalks into the Kiosk and anasal or oral swab is taken byhealth care professional fromoutside through the built-ingloves.

The Kiosk is automatical-

ly disinfected without the needfor human involvement, mak-ing the process free of infectionspread.

The COVSACK costsnearly �1lakh and the identi-fied industry based atBelgaum, Karnataka can sup-port 10 units per day. TheDRDO has designed anddeveloped two units and hand-ed over these to ESIC Hospital,Hyderabad after successfultesting.

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Aiming to ensure that thestudents are healthy and

motivated during the lock-down period, the HRDMinistry, Ayush Ministry andFit India initiative of SportsMinistry have come together tokeep the young ones across thecountry engaged with a seriesof indoor activities.

A senior HRD Ministryofficial said a online pro-gramme has been devised tomotivate them to take up fit-ness and healthy living as a wayof life as per the vision of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's 'FitIndia' programme.

The CBSE and Fit IndiaMovement have collaborated toprovide live fitness sessions byexperts for school studentsduring the lockdown. Thesesessions will be live on youtube,facebook, instagram daily from9.30am on April 15, for a peri-od of one month.

Students will be able tostream and download the livesessions from the YouTubechannel of Fit IndiaMovement. HRD MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’informed about this initiativethrough a tweet on Tuesday.

Further, under the direc-tion of HRD ministry, theNational Institute of Open

Learning (NIOS) has initiateda unique method to ensureeffective schooling to reach theunreached directly at doorstep. Content is being madeavailable online through sev-eral platforms of MHRD forvarious subjects from class 9thto 12th.

Along with Self LearningMaterial, 'Swayam' portal pro-vides video lectures and facil-ity of self-assessment. Thequestions and queries of thelearners are also being resolvedthrough discussions forum.

In addition, for those whodo not have much access tointernet, these video lecturesare telecast on MHRD

Swayamprabha TV channelswith Live sessions to interactwith their teachers and subjectexperts.

Those students who arepreparing for JEE and NEETcan benefit sitting at homethrough this initiative.

The learners can watchthe lesson-based educationalprograms on these DTHChannels and NIOS YouTubechannel and can ask ques-tions directly to the subjectexperts from their homethrough phone call on thenumber displayed during Livesession and through 'StudentPortal' of NIOS website direct-ly in live telecast.

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As the country prepares forthe harvest season in the

ongoing corona crisis, theIndia MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) will issueits first stage monsoon forecastfor the country on April 15(Tuesday). The forecast willgive a clear indication of thisyear’s monsoon rainfall duringJune-September. The four-month monsoon season isfrom June 1 to September 30.

According to the IMD,more definite picture willemerge through second stageforecast in last week of May orin first week of June. June 1 is

the onset date for monsoonover Kerala and it is likely toremain the same but the IMDwill change the reference datesfor some states and cities.

The Japanese and SouthKorean models have retainedtheir outlook for a reasonablygood monsoon for India, withthe former betting on a mod-erately positive Indian OceanDipole (IOD) nearer home tocontinue. One of the strongestpositive IOD events had lastyear driven the 2019 monsoonto a multi-year high, evendelaying its withdrawal fromthe country and deliveringrainfall of 110 per cent.

As per the IMD, after

1994 (110% of Long PeriodAverage (LPA)), rainfallreceived in 2019 (110 % ofLPA) is the highest seasonr a i n f a l l

received by the country as awhole.

The Centre has grantedcertain exemptions for theagriculture sector.

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The Eastern NavalCommand has ensured

that the joint-user airfield atVisakhapatnam remains openround the clock. The man-ning of the airfield has beenmodified to ensure that allrequisite safety services andairfield facilities continued tobe available. This ensured

that all special flights, as wellas, the cargo flight of SpiceJetcontinued its operationsunhindered. So far, 15 sortiesof the cargo flight have oper-ated since the lockdown hasbeen enforced. Further, theIndian Navy continued tomaintain its operational vigilcarrying out regular MaritimeSurveillance missions by dayand night.

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ALieutenant Colonel-rankArmy doctor has tested

positive for coronavirus afterhe contracted the diseasewhile treating patients here.Taking precautionary mea-sures, everyone who came incontact with the doctor hasbeen traced and all of themhave been isolated.

Giving details here onTuesday, sources said the doc-tor was part of anti-COVIDoperations here and is postedas part of the ArmyHeadquarters. He was active-ly involved in the anti-corona

operations like setting upinfrastructure and other facil-ities, they said.

With the present case,the total tally of those testedpositive has risen to fiveincluding another doctor inan army hospital in Kolkattain the 13 million strong army.

The first Army man to beinfected with Covid-19 was ajawan in Ladakh who con-tracted the infection from hisfather. The second case wasthat of another doctor inKolkata who had returnedfrom Delhi. One case eachfrom Dehradun and Punewere also reported.

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The CRPF has extendedthe leave of personnel

already on vacation till thelockdown to check the spreadof Covid-19 is over.

On March 21, the Forcehad ordered extension of leavetill April 15 in view of thethree-week lockdownannounced by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

The latest order camesoon after Modi on Tuesdayannounced extension of thelockdown till May 3.

"The matter has been

reviewed and in view of cur-rent scenario, it is herebydirected that Force personnelwho are away on leave shouldbe advised not to return forduty till lockdown period isover," reads a missive issuedon Tuesday and sent across allthe formations of the CRPF inthe country.

Earlier, the paramilitaryhad suspended grant of leaveto the personnel except incases of extreme emergency.In case of emergent situations,leave was to be granted for aperiod of not less than amonth.

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The Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF) that

secures the civilian airportsacross the country has sug-gested a slew of measures likesocial distancing and avoidingbunching of aircraft amongothers to ensure safety of pas-sengers once the Covid-19 lock-down is restricted and air ser-vices resume.

The suggestions forwardedto the Civil Aviation Ministryalso include need for passengersto carry necessary personalprotective gear like masks andgloves and equip all entry andexit gates at the airport withhand sanitiser bottle dispensers.

It said commercial flightsshould keep a seat vacantbetween two passengers in

order to ensure social distanc-ing.

Besides the CISF, theMinistry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) had invited sugges-tions from a host of stakehold-ers like airline operators, airportconcessionaire and Bureau ofCivil Aviation Security amongothers.

As per the CISF sugges-tions, the flight operators wouldrequire to record details ofhome/self/hospital quarantinehistory from the travellers.

If any passenger is seekingtravel after undergoing quar-antine, the CISF will screensuch person in isolation check-ing point. The check-in coun-ters should be opened in waythat there is sufficient gapbetween two desks to ensuredistancing.

Social distancing markersshould be indicated at variousareas of the airport and the pas-sengers will be offered sanitis-ers before occupying a seat inthe aircraft.

Counters for sale of masksand gloves need to be set upinside the airport. Airport oper-ator should detail a dedicatedteam of staff with thermometerat all entry and exit points of theairport to screen the passengers.

The airport operators havealso been advised by the CISFin the suggestion list that theyshould explore the feasibility ofplacing sanitising tunnels at theentry points to santisise the pas-sengers.

The Government had sus-pended commercial flight oper-ations from March 25 as part ofthe Covid-19 containment.

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The Ministry of Agricultureon Tuesday assured

exporters of Agri and Alliedcommodities of bringing farmexports back on track by iron-ing out the difficulties andhurdles faced by them due tothe nationwide lockdown.

Agriculture SecretarySanjay Agarwal said that thegovernment will look into allthe issues related to trans-portation, international freightand courier services will beconsidered for necessary reso-lution. The request of theindustry to open for function-ing and sector specific issueswill be taken up with theMinister Narendra SinghTomar and resolved appropri-ately, he assured.

According to officials pre-sent in the meeting, the mainproblems highlighted byexporters of all agri com-modities related to availabil-ity and movement of labour,inter-state transport

bottlenecks, shortage ofraw materials due to closureof mandis, phyto-sanitary cer-tification, closure of courierservices, thereby, hamperingmovement of shipping docu-ments, availability of freightservices, access to ports/yardsand clearance of goods forim-ports/exports.

The industry sought per-mission for low scale opera-tion with at least 25-30%strength to fulfil exportdemands they have in hand.The opening up of their oper-ation will also help thembook new orders as there isgreat demand of food items atglobal market due to Covid-19. Exporters, representativesof Associations of produc-ers/exporters of agri com-modities namely, Fruits,Vegetables, Basmati and Non-basmati Rice, Seeds, Flowers,Plants, Organic produce,Agriculture Equipment and

Machinery participated in themeeting.

India is a net exporter ofAgricultural & al l iedCommodities whose exportsduring 2018-19 were Rs. 2.73lakh crores. This sector hasalways been positive in bal-ance of trade.

“Export is very importantas besides earning preciousforeign exchange for the

country, the agriculturalexports help farmers/pro-ducers/exporters to takeadvantage of wider interna-tional market and increasetheir income.

Exports have also result-ed in increased production inagriculture sector by increas-ing area coverage and pro-ductivity,” the ministry said ina statement.

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Amid accusations by theOpposition of not doing

enough for the poor, theCentre on Tuesday outlinedthe welfare measures it hastaken so far. It said that morethan 32 crore poor peoplehave been given direct cashsupport of �29,352 crorefinancial assistance and 5.29crore beneficiaries have beengiven free ration of foodgrains under the �1.70 lakhcrore Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Yojana during thenationwide lockdown.

Rajesh Malhotra of theMinistry of Finance furtherhighlighted that 3,985 MT ofPulses have been dispatched tovarious states and union terri-tories for distribution even as1.39 crore cylinders werebooked under Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojana (PMUY)scheme and of these,

97.8 Lakh free cylindershave already been delivered tothe beneficiaries.

As many as one lakh mem-bers of Employees ProvidentFund Organisation (EPFO)have taken benefits of onlinewithdrawal of non refundable

advance from EPFO accountsamounting to �510 cr.

In order to provide supportto farmers in view of the lock-down �14,946 crore have beentransferred to 7.4 crore farm-ers towards first instalmentunder the PM-KISAN.

According to theAgriculture Ministry, duringRabi season 2020, NAFED hasprocured 1,21,890 MT Pulsesand Oilseeds on MSP for anamount of �595.52 crore,which has benefitted 89,145farmers. Under the PM-GKYabout 5516 MT of pulses hasbeen dispatched for deliveryto the States/UTs.

According to the Ministryof Finance, more than twocrore building and construc-tion workers have receivedfinancial support worth �3,071 crore.

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The Ministry of Labour andEmployment on Tuesday

said it has set up 20 controlrooms on pan-India basis toaddress wage-related griev-ances and to mitigate problemsfaced by migrant workers amidthe lockdown period to containthe coronavirus outbreak crisis.The workers, especiallymigrant labourers, are theworst among due to the lock-down as a large number ofthem either faced pay cut or jobloss.

These control rooms are setup in Patna, Raipur, Nagpur,Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata,Kanpur, Jabalpur, Hyderabad,Dhanbad, Guwahati, Delhi,Cochin, Dehradun, Chennai,Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar,Bangaluru, Asansol and Ajmer.

According to an

International LabourOrganisation assessment, 40crore informal sector workers inIndia could be pushed deeperinto poverty due to this lock-down.

The ministry said it wouldalso work to mitigate the prob-lems of migrant workers throughcoordination with various StateGovernments. These call centrescan be accessed by the workersthrough phone numbers,WhatsApp and e-mails.

The control rooms are beingmanaged by labour enforce-ment officers, assistant labourcommissioners, regional labourcommissioners, anddeputy chieflabour commissioners of therespective regions. The func-tioning of all 20 call centres isbeing monitored and super-vised by Chief LabourCommissioner (C) of HeadQuarter on daily basis, the min-istry said.

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Though the number of per-sons tested positive for

coronavirus in Tamil Nadureached 1204 by Tuesdayevening, the Tamil New Yearday brought some relief too tothe State. There has been areduction in the number ofpatients tested positive forcoronavirus. While on Monday98 persons were found to besuffering from the virus attack,Tuesday saw the number ofpersons tested positive comingdown to 31. This wasannounced by Dr Beela Rajeshin her daily press briefing atChennai.

A visibly relaxed Dr Rajeshsaid that the reduction in thenumber of persons tested pos-itive for corona-19 could be theimpact of the containmentactivities being pursued by theGovernment led by EdappadiPalaniswami. “This is animported disease which wasalien to tamil nadu. We havetaken all measures to containand restrict the spread of thedisease and our efforts arepaying off,” said the healthsecretary.

The Tamil Nadu govern-ment, which had declared theextension of the lock out tillApril 30 on Monday, welcomedthe Prime Minister’s announce-

ment that the national lock-down would be in place tillMay 3. Chief MinisterPalaniswami in a release onMonday has stated that sincethe lockdown has been extend-ed, rice card holders would getessential commodities for themonth of May free of costthrough the ration shops -rice, one kg sugar, one kg toordal and one kg edible oil.Besides, all unorganised sectorworkers including construc-tion workers would be given Rs1,000 per family. Migrantworkers from other stateswould get 15 kg rice, one kgtoor dal and one kg edible oilfree of cost.

The DMK said that boththe Tamil Nadu governmentand the Centre had failed thepeople during the crucial timeof the pandemic. “Whateverbeing done by the State andcentral Governments are notup to expectations,” said M KStalin, president, DMK.

Senior Congress leader PChidambaram, who is a formerfinance minister said theCentre should borrow Rs 30lakh crore and give it to theStates to help them tide overthe present crisis. Speaking toa private satellite news channelChidambaram said hadCongress been in power sucha situation would not havehappened.

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Malayalees all over theworld celebrated Vishu,

Kerala’s national festival as wellas the Malayalam New YearDay. Vishu falls on the first ofMedam (Mesham in Sanskritand Aries in English).

It also marks the beginningof agricultural operations in theState. The day begins withmembers of the family raisingup early in the morning to seethe pre-arranged Vishu Kani(the first sight of the day), a pic-ture or statue of Lord Krishnadecorated with jewelry, flowersfruits and gold or silver coins.

The family head offerscoins to each member of thefamily with the blessings thatthe recipient continues to getbountiful of prosperity inmonths and days to comethroughput the year.

Along with human beings,the cattle in the family are wor-shipped with Vishu Kani andthey are fed well. In the courseof the day, the family memberscomplete the daily chores andwear new garments popularlyknown as Vishu Kodi.

Yesteryears used to see thefamily astrologer coming call-ing with predictions/forecastsfor the remaining part of theyear and collect his due fromthe head of the house.“Pathayam (granary) will befull, there would be sufficientrains, cattle herds wouldincrease, there will be all -roundprosperity and no possibility of

any hardship,” the astrologerwould tell and explain themovement of stars and planetsfrom one position to another tosubstantiate his claims.

While this year’s Vishuwas a subdued affair in thebackdrop of the pandemic byname Corona Virus, one had tocall on the astrologers to findout what was in store for thecountry and the countrymen.PM Gopala Menon , Thanthrikand Sanskrit scholar and hisson Dr M G Gireeshan, aphysicist-turned-astrologer areof the view that bad time is notyet over for the world.

“Those who are born instars belonging to the threecentral planets (Aries, Leo, andSagittarius) are in for toughtimes. This is applicable topersons born under Aswathy(Aswani in Sanskrit), Bharani,Karthika(Krithika), Makam(Magha), Pooram (PoorvaPhalguni) , Uthram (UtharaPhalguni) , Moolam, PooradamPoorva Aashada) andUthradam (Uthara Aashada),”said Menon.

He said persons comingunder the judicature of othernine planets may not havemuch difficulties. Menon fore-casts that there would be a rep-etition in 2020 of what hap-pened with Jupiter in the lastcalendar year.

“The pandemic coronavirus was because of the tran-sition of Jupiter to Sagittarius.This year also there is a tran-sition of Jupiter to Sagittarius

followed by another transi-tion. This does not augur wellduring the November 2020 toMay 2021 phase. We can expectsome kind of pandemic ornatural disasters like flood orearthquakes during this phase.But life will return to normalafter May 2021,” he said.

Dr Gireeshan, a scientistwith nearly 200 innovations tohis credit ( including anti-piracy technology which couldbe used in film industry), saidwe can expect a comprehensivetransformation in the educa-tion sector this year. ‘There isall likelihood of the CentralGovernment ushering in cours-es meant for skill developmentand allowing the entry of for-eign universities to open shopin India. Ayurveda is likely totake precedence over others indays to come,” said DrGireeshan.

For those who describeastrology as hogwash, thephysicist in Dr Gireeshan hasthis to tell: “ColumbiaUniversity’s research team usedcomputer algorithms to assessa data base of health records ofmore than 1.7 million patientsfrom 1985 to 2013 and foundthat a person’s birth month isrelated to the development ofcertain health conditions. Thisfinding has been published inthe Journal of AmericanMedical InformaticsAssociaton,” he said.

We need to wait only tillNovember 2020 to see whetherthis comes true.

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Maharashtra – which has sofar accounted for highest

number of Covid-triggereddeaths and infected cases - hasa lot to worry about the rapidspread of Covid-19. For, thetotal number of deaths andinfected cases has more thandoubled in Maharashtra duringthe last five days, while the mor-tality rate has increased mar-ginally.

Till 10 am on April 14,Maharashtra reported 160deaths that resulted in mortal-ity rate of 6.84 per cent, whichis the third highest in the coun-try, according to an analyticalreport released by the stateMedical Education and DrugsDepartment (MEDD) here onTuesday.

Shockingly enough,Maharashtra accounts for near-ly half of the total number ofdeaths in the country whichstood at 339 on Tuesday, asagainst 160 deaths recorded byMaharashtra. Similarly,Maharashtra with 2340 positivecases-- has recorded the high-est number of infected cases inthe country, as against 1510 and1173 confirmed cases reportedby Delhi and Tamil Nadurespectively.

During the last five days,

Jharkhand and MadhyaPradesh have replaced Gujaratand Punjab as being the high-est and second highest in termsof the mortality rate ever sincethe outbreak of Coronavirus inthe country, while Maharashtraremains in the third position interms of Covid-19 deathsrecorded so far.

Incidentally, the total num-ber of deaths and infected caseshas more than doubled sinceApril 9. The deaths haveincreased from 72 to 160, whileinfected cases have increasedfrom 1135 to 2340. Similarly,the mortality rate has increasedfrom the earlier 6.34 per cent to6.84 per cent.

Jharkhand with two deathsand 24 infected cases hasemerged as the state with high-est mortality rate -- of 8.33 percent-- in the country, whileMadhya Pradesh with 43 deathsand 604 infected cases hasrecorded mortality rate of 7.12per cent – the second highest inthe country.

With 11 deaths and 167infected cases, Punjab -- whichhad on April 9 emerged as thestate with second highest mor-tality rate of 7.92 per cent -- hasbeen listed as the fourth interms of mortality rate (6.59 percent), while Gujarat with 26deaths and 539 infected cases

gone down from the first mor-tality position of 8.94 per centto 4.82 per cent.

Rajasthan with three deathsand 873 infected cases hasemerged lowest in terms ofmortality rate which is just0.34 per cent, while Keralawith three deaths and 345infected cases recorded the sec-ond lowest mortality rate of 0.79per cent.

Surprisingly, Uttar Pradeshwith five deaths and 558 infect-ed cases has done well by com-ing out as a state with fourthlowest mortality figure of 0.90per cent.

Tamil Nadu with 11 deathsand 1173 infected cases has alsofared well by emerging as a statewith third lowest mortality rateof 0.94 per cent.

The other states which havesucceeded in containing thenumbers deaths arising out ofCovid-19. The relatively lowmortality rates other statesinclude: Andhra Pradesh – 1.62per cent ( 7 deaths, 432 infect-ed cases), Delhi –1.85 per cent(28 deaths,1510 infected cases),Telangana –2.85 per cent (`16deaths,562 infected cases) andHaryana –1.62 per cent ( threedeaths,185 infected cases).

West Bengal with sevendeaths and 190 positive caseshas notched a mortality rate of

3.68 per cent, followed byHimachal Pradesh with justone death and 31 positive caseshas a mortality rate of 3.13 percent.

The Union Territory ofJammu & Kashmir with fourdeaths and 270 infected caseshas passed the muster by set-tling for a mortality rate of 1.48per cent. Karnataka with sixdeaths and 247 positive cases(mortality rate of 2.43 per cent)has registered mortality rate of2.43 per cent.

Bihar with one death and38 infected cases and Odishawith one death and 42 infect-ed cases have recorded mortal-ity rates of 2.63 per cent and

2.38 per cent respectively. Assam with one death and

31 infected cases has recordedmortality of 3.68 per cent,while the remaining north-eastern states with two cases inManipur, one case in Mizoram,one case in Arunachal Pradeshand two cases Tripura – haverecorded zero mortality rate.

The other states likeUttarakhand with 35 infectedcases, Chandigarh with 21,Union Territory of Ladakh with15, Andabar & Nicobar Islandswith 11, Chhattisgarh with 31,Goa with 7 and Puducherrywith 5 have not reported anydeath and their mortality ratezero.

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On a day when the nationwidelockdown was extended by the

Centre, Road, Transport andHighways Minister Nitin Gadkarion Tuesday assured the road infra-structure stakeholders that oncerestrictions are relaxed the Centrewill build roads at double the exist-ing pace.

Gadkari, in an official state-

ment, also called upon the indus-try to look upon the present crisisas a challenge and opportunity,especially as some countries arelooking to move away their invest-ments from China, and India can beone of the best options for them.

Gadkari said the highways con-struction which saw reachingrecord level in the last fiscal, shouldincrease pace by 2-3 times in com-ing years to meet growing needs ofthe infrastructure sector.

He said, Indian industry shouldlook at the current situation as ablessing in disguise and aim towardsimproving its export potential. Headded that bringing in liquidity inthe market is key at this time of cri-sis and to ensure that, NHAI hasalready started the process of set-tling all the pending claims andarbitration.

Talking about the doubling thepace of road and highway con-struction for FY 20-21, Gadkari

said the ministry is open to re-startprojects at various locations withthe condition that adequate mea-sures will be taken for safeguardagainst the spread of coronavirus.

The Minister also stated thattime taken in reaching decisionsshould be kept at the minimumpossible to avoid delays and direct-ed the NHAI and its arbitrationunits to decide matters within threemonths.

Gadkari also informed that

RBI has allowed rescheduling ofterm loans and working capitalfacilities.

Being also the Ministerincharge of Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises, Gadkari calledupon industry sector to work intandem with Government and thebanking sector.

He said he is striving to increasecredit guarantee to MSMEs to RsFive lakh crore from the presentlevel of about Rs one lakh crore.

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Bengal Government officialshave dismissed the

Monday’s skirmish on the out-skirts of Asansol leaving severalpolicemen injured as a “minoraffair that has been broughtunder control.”

Locals protesting the set-ting up of a quarantine centrein a school hostel at Churuliain industrial district ofBurdwan West clashed with thepolice leaving several men inkhaki injured, local sourcessaid adding a massive rein-forcement from Jamuria policestation in Asansol had to berushed in to bring the situationunder control.

The police even had to firetear-gas shells and resort tobaton-charge to bring thecrowd under control. The inci-dent left at least 10 copsinjured. The policemen havebeen hospitalized.

"It was a minor skirmishand has been brought undercontrol," a senior police officersaid adding.

Similar clashes had earlieroccurred at Parui in Birbhumdistrict where two groupsclashed with bombs and gunsover setting up of a quarantinecentre leaving one person deadearly this month.

The incident takes placeclose on the heels of UnionHome Ministry dashing offthree reminders to the BengalGovernment asking it toenforce lock-down more seri-ously and efficiently.

Elsewhere in Kolkatasenior Trinamool Congressleaders have chosen to dis-count” Governor JagdeepDhankhar’s lockdown jibes atthe Mamata BanerjeeGovernment “advising him tostand by the Government andinspire the people instead oftaking political potshots.”

The Governor had in ref-erence to the UnionGovernment’s letters to theState Government asking it toproperly enforce the lockdownhad said that the State was notkeeping him in the loop “aboutmeasures taken by it in fight-ing the corona outbreak.

He said that the ChiefMinister should “end the lock-down with Raj Bhavan,” adding“officials be held accountablefor lapses” in failing to enforcesocial distancing and allowreligious congregations asreferred to by the Centre. Healso asked the state governmentto shun politics and take MHAwarnings seriously.

Referring to the Governor’stweet a senior minister in theState Government said “let usdiscount what he says becausewe are engaged in dealing witha serious thing like corona.”

Meanwhile, the MedicineDepartment of the age-oldCalcutta Medical College wasshut down on Tuesday follow-ing reports corona infections.

It was the second suchdepartment after theGynaecology unit having to beshut on Monday following sim-ilar reports, sources said.Elsewhere another doctor atCharnock Hospital tested coro-na positive and had been sentfor treatment, sources said.The said hospital had alreadybeen sealed on Monday.

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With only six cases fromKashmir and two from

Jammu, the union territory ofJammu&Kashmir on Tuesdaypartially reversed the trend byrecording more number of fullyrecovered cases in comparison tothose who were tested positive.

However, panic grippedamong the staff and adminis-trative authorities of a privatehospital soon after a doctor anda sanitation worker, tested pos-itive on Tuesday afternoon inJammu.

The district authoritieslaunched contact tracing of freshpositive cases and also shiftedcontacts of other positive casesto dedicated quarantine cen-tres. So far, 30 cases, 21 fromKashmir and 9 from Jammuregion have recovered afterdefeating coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Health author-ities in Budgam district alsoheaved a sigh of relief after over50 samples of close contacts of apositive case tested negative. InBudgam district alone a totalnumber of 349 samples were col-lected so far. Out of which 286are negative, 11 positive andreports of 52 samples were stillawaited. In Udhampur too, outof 139 contacts test reports of 64high risk contacts have testednegative while 17 fresh sampleswere sent for testing.

According to a media bul-letin, the total number of pos-itive cases stood at 278 onTuesday. Out of this, a total num-ber of 244 active cases are under-going treatment across differentCovid-19 hospitals inJammu&Kashmir and 244patients are currently under hos-pital isolation and 365 underhospital quarantine.

In Srinagar, the districtauthorities completed sealedseveral -red-zone areas by rais-ing barricades.

Director Health ServicesKashmir, Dr Samir Mattoo in astatement said that an aggressivesampling process has beenlaunched in all the districtsacross Kashmir division statingthat Directorate was aiming totake 800 samples per day.

“The process will provide abig relief to the COVID-19patients and we will also be ableto provide rapid response in theirtreatment,” Dr Mattoo said.

He said that after Directorateof Health Services Kashmir(DHSK) trained 157 Lab tech-nicians from all Valley districts,the sample collection across theprovince has risen significantlyin the last five days.

“It has enormouslydecreased the burden of shiftingof suspects to CD hospital andSKIMS for testing,” he said,adding “Special Collectionbooths have been set up for thesafety of healthcare workers.”

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The Left parties, CPI(M) andCPI, on Tuesday criticized

Prime Minister Narendra Modifor not coming out with clearcut plans for the economic andrelief packages to the country,labour, poor people whileannouncing extension of lock-down to May 3.

“The Prime Minister listedseven tasks that the peopleshould implement during theextended lockdown. However,he did not spell out concretelywhat the Government will do,”said the CPI(M) politbureau instatement.

“The experience of thethree-week lockdown hasshown the large scale spread ofhunger and inadequate shelterfor a significant section of ourpeople. It is imperative that theGovernment must immediate-ly implement a �7,500 ex-gra-tia cash transfer to all non-Income Tax paying familiesand resort to universal distrib-ution of free foodgrains to allneedy people. The CentralGovernment must ensure thatno starvation deaths occur.

“The financial package of �1.7 lakh crore announced so faris very meager. It amounts toless than 1 per cent of the coun-try’s GDP. The cash transfers tovarious sections announced bythe FM have not materialised,”the CPI (M) said.

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Bengaluru: Karnataka registeredtwo more Covid-19 deaths 13new positive cases on Tuesday, tak-ing the state's overall tally to 260,an official said.

"As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday,cumulatively 260 positive caseshave been confirmed in the state,including 10 deaths and 71 dis-charges," said a health official.

A 76-year-old man fromBengaluru Urban, designated asthe 219th in the state, passed awayon Tuesday. In addition to Covid-19, he also suffered from severeacute respiratory infection (SARI).

Earlier on Tuesday, a 69-year-old man from Vijayapura suc-cumbed to the virus, designated asthe state's 257th case. The deceasedwas the husband of the 221st case.

From 5 p.m. Monday toTuesday noon, 11 new Covid-19cases and three deaths were regis-

tered.The two new cases which sur-

faced post noon on Tuesday arecontacts of earlier cases. Altogether,13 new cases surfaced on Tuesday.

Karnataka's 248th Covid-19positive case is a 43-year-old manfrom Bagalkot. He is a contact ofcases 186 and 165. A 32-year-oldwoman from same place withsimilar contact history is the 249thcase.

Next, a SARI affected 65-year-old man from Chikkaballapurabecame the 250th case in the state.

A neighbour of the 125th case,a 39-year-old woman fromBagalkot is the 251st case. The252nd case was the 65-year-oldman from Bengaluru Urban whodied on Tuesday.

A 26-year-old man who rodea two-wheeler from Anathapur dis-trict in Andhra Pradesh to the citya week ago tested positive as the253rd case.

A 10-year-old girl from

Kalaburagi emerged as the 254thcase. She is a contact of the 177thcase.

From the same place, a 51-year-old man, the brother of the205th case who has died, is the255th case. His brother was thestate's seventh coronavirus death.Similarly, a 35-year-old womanfrom the same place tested positiveas the 256th case. She is the neigh-bour of the 177th case.

The 257th case was the 69-year-old man who died of the viruson Tuesday. The last case forTuesday morning and the State's258th case is a 33-year-old manfrom Belagavi with Delhi travel his-tory.

Karnataka's 259th Covid pos-itive case is a 35-year-old womanfrom the city. She is a contact of the199th case. The last case forTuesday and the state's 260th caseis a 36-year-man from Bhatkar,Uttara Kannada, the husband ofthe 176th case. IANS

Agra: The coronavirus lockdown across theentire country it seems has not even sparedthe dead. It has also affected the cremato-riums and cemeteries where people used togather for the last rites of their loved ones.

Now only a few people are able to attendfunerals due to the social distancing andlockdown which has affected the conductof rituals and immersion of ashes.

Eight to 10 bodies are brought daily tothe crematorium at Tajganj in Agra, andmore people have started coming in sincethe last few days for the rituals.

IANS spoke to a crematorium workerhere who said that "only 4 to 5 people areallowed to come in for the funeral proce-dure. It is the same as before. No change hasbeen made."

"But earlier we used to give the ashes tothe kin in 2 days or used to give it to some-one within 3 to 4 hours in an emergency,but now people have to keep the ashes andthe main reason is the lockdown as peopledo not have facilities for cremation and bur-ial."

On being asked if he observed in any

changes in the cremation of people who dieddue to coronavirus, he said that the bodiesare cremated as soon as they arrive. It is donehurriedly and no customs are observed.

Manoj Kumar, who had come to attendthe funeral of a relative, told IANS that "thereis a lot of difference due to the lockdown.If there were any deaths in our area earlier,around 200 to 250 people would have gath-ered and all customs of cremation were fol-lowed, but now the situation has changeda lot, as barely 5 to 8 people are joining.According to custom, the head shaving ofmale relatives has to be done but now itcould not happen as the priests are afraidto come here, so we have not been able todo the ‘pooja' properly."

"Because of the lockdown, the remainscannot be taken to Haridwar. We do notknow how to follow the customs now," hesaid. When IANS spoke to a gravedigger ata cemetery, he also said that "there are nocrowds now, just a few people come andwhen the body is buried, we tell the fami-ly members to leave immediately."

IANS

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With absolutely no sign ofCovid-19 curve flatten-

ing, as many as 18 more per-sons died of coronavirus onTuesday, taking the total num-ber of deaths in Maharashtra to178 and a staggering 350 oth-ers tested positive for Covid-19in various parts of the state.

That the spread hasbecome rapid could be evi-denced from the an alarming359 infected cases that werereported during the day, takingthe total number of cases from2334 to 2684.

Of the total deaths,Mumbai accounted for 11deaths, taking the total num-ber of deaths in the state to 178and in Mumbai to 111.

Pune reported four deaths,while there was one deatheach in Ahmednagar andAurangabad. One remainingperson who died belong toanother state.

Of the 18 deaths reportedon Tuesday, 11 were men and7 women. Five of the deceasedwere aged over 60 years, while11 deceased were in the agegroup 40 to 60 years. The tworemaining deceased werebelow 40 years. “Eight out ofthese 11 patients (72%) hadhigh-risk comorbidities such asdiabetes, hypertension, asthmaand heart disease. One personwas suffering from cancer,

while another was sufferingfrom tuberculosis,” a state med-ical bulletin said in the evening.

Of total 350 infected casesreported on Monday, Mumbaiaccounted for 204, while therewere 15 cases from Pune.

“Out of 46,588 laboratorysamples, 42808 were negativeand 2684 have been testedpositive for coronavirus untiltoday,” the bulletin said.

“A total 5059 surveillancesquads were working todayacross the state and surveil-lance of 18.37 lakh populationwas done,” the bulletin said

In all, 229 patients havebeen discharged till date afterfull recovery.

Meanwhile, the state healthauthorities said that they werecarrying out a thorough searchof citizens who had attendedthe religious gathering atBanglewali Masjid atNizamuddin last month wasunderway at the level of all dis-tricts and municipal corpora-tions.

Of the Tablighi Jamaatevent attendees, 755 have beentested and 50 have been foundto be positive for Covid-19.

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The third decade of the 21st centu-ry has begun with a challenge ofimmeasurable magnitude.Practically, the entire productivehuman activity has come to a

screeching halt as nations have been underlockdown, forced as they are to confront aninvisible enemy that makes no distinctionbetween the rich and the poor, colour or creed,national boundaries, religious distinction orany other aspect of diversity/similarity. For theCoronavirus, every human being is just a tar-get, nothing more, nothing less.

For the first time, nations across theworld are on the same side in the war againstCoronavirus. Never before in contemporarytimes of great scientific and technologicaladvancements had human beings foundthemselves so inadequately prepared to tack-le an unprecedented situation. Never before,the daily routine of the people changed somuch as the compulsory social distancing,which has been necessitated to curb thespread of Corona, has done. Children findit so restrictive, people are worried, concernsand apprehensions are being shared.Helplessness is even being experiencedamong mature and seasoned people. Whilenations have come together to confront thedisease, we have not been able to arrive ata universally applicable counter strategy.

History may not record the Corona waras World War-III but its debilitating effort maybe far higher than the combined losses andsufferings inflicted by WW-I and WW-II.Though everyone is busy struggling for sur-vival and minimising the losses and impact,realisation is already dawning upon theconcerned and knowledgeable that it’s timeto have a fresh look on the epistemologicalstrategies being implemented in the humanpursuit of “progress, growth and develop-ment” in the post-colonial era. It ushered theera of globalisation, concentration of wealthamong the top few, enhanced measures of vio-lence and wars among nations and gave riseto an unprecedented armed race. The out-break of Caronavirus has made sensible peo-ple realise that no nuclear arsenals, noweapons of deterrence, military agreementsor defence treaties are of any use in every war.

The Corona interlude has created an envi-ronment of tension, turmoil and turbulenceacross the globe. The only ray of hope is thatfinally, human ingenuity would triumph overthe venomous virus intrusion but the worldafter this victory shall no more be the same,nor should it remain the same. Learning fromthese times, nations and people must thinkof alternative strategies. Interestingly, spend-ing rare undisturbed kinship with close onesin the confines of their homes, people arealready pondering seriously over the shape ofa post-Corona world. One could be sure thatafter the return of normalcy, new ideas andthoughts would emerge at the national andinternational level. The world must realise thatthe relationship between man and naturestands shattered; that man has failed in dis-

charging his/her responsibility tomaintain this sensitive life-givingbond with care and caution.

Instead, it indulged in wan-ton destruction of naturalresources. Clear warning signsappeared in terms of climatechange, rising pollution levels andtemperature, environmentaldegradation, depletion of theozone layer, among others. Theseissues were never seriouslyresponded to. And now, there isno way out but to devise long andshort term strategies to restore thevital link. It should be a survivalstrategy to ensure the very sur-vival of human race on earth andalso of the planet itself.

After WW-II, it was realisedthat brutality is no answer tohuman advancement.Consequently, global organisa-tions like the United Nations(UN), United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC), UNESCO,International LabourOrganisation (ILO), the WorldHealth Organisation(WHO)besides others were created. Allof these institutions were sup-posed to derive their ethos andethics from the Preamble of theUNESCO, which said, “Sincewars begin in the minds of men,it is in the minds of men that thedefences of peace must be con-structed.” It is very well knownthat in spite of appreciable con-

tributions, the structures so cre-ated could not construct “thedefences of peace in the minds ofman.” In essence, the crux of thechallenge before the nations,which are under the clutches andclaws of the enemy, is: Howshould we restructure the ideol-ogy of progress, development andgrowth to create a world ofpeace? This, to ensure equality ofaccess and success to one and alland bestow human dignity oneach human being without anydistinction or diversity.

But what would be the roleof India, its people, traditions andits ancient civilisation in accept-ing this global challenge?Expectations would be very highfrom our country as we are theonly civilisation which conceptu-alised/comprehended the critical-ity in sustaining the man-naturerelationship and the role inreshaping human life. MahatmaGandhi was convinced that Indiais essentially a land of duty andnot mere that of enjoyment.This articulation is very relevantin a globalised world that hasplayed havoc with nature andcontinues to do so withunscrupulous plundering of nat-ural resources only to satiate itsgreed of accumulation.

Here again, it was MKGandhi who summarised theessence of Indian philosophi-

cal perception when he wrotethat nature has sufficientresources to meet the needs ofeveryone but not the greed ofanyone. The hope for a futurebeyond Corona emerges fromanother visionary statement, “Ifeel that India’s mission is dif-ferent from that of others.”

He elaborated further, “Indiais fitted for the religious suprema-cy of the world. There is no par-allel for the process of purifica-tion across the globe that thiscountry has voluntarily under-gone. India is less in need of steelweapons; it has fought withdivine weapons… History sup-plies numerous instances toprove that brute force is nothingbefore soul force.” Is this not thetime for a global resolve thatweapon of steel and brute forcemay just be of no consequence insome of the toughest situations?Something more may be neces-sary. Can India take a lead?

First, it must accept this as itsmoral and ethical responsibility,as the inheritor of a culture andthe most illustrious civilisation inthe world. To ascertain its emerg-ing global role in evolving newglobal strategy it must revert toGandhi, who gave a “call foradventure” in the Young India ofMay 6, 1926, which very clearlyarticulates how to proceed ahead:“If we are to make progress, we

must not repeat history but makea new one.” We must add to theinheritance left by our ancestors.We must ask: If we may makenew discoveries and inventionsin the phenomenal world, mustwe declare our bankruptcy in thespiritual domain? Is it impossi-ble to multiply exceptions so asto make them the rule? Mustman always be brute first andman after, if at all?

The UN was created afterHiroshima and Nagasaki, a clas-sic example of “brute force.” Thesincerity of purpose and com-mitment to the cause was notthere at any stage. It needed aspiritual bent of mind, a genuinedesire to stick to the word andspirit of the global resolve. Wemust learn from history of therecent past.

One may like to recall whysuch expectations emerge fromdifferent groups within Indiaand also from those abroad who“know our country.” The ancientIndian civilisation earned glob-al appreciation for some of itsphilosophical foundations ofeternal nature. These includeYavadjeevait Adhiyate Viprah;Lokah Samastah SukhinoBhavantu; Sarva Bhuta HiteRatah and several others. Onceone internalises the basic importof ancient Indian civilisation,the aspects of essential unity ofall human beings, in spite of vis-ible diversities and variations ofnumerous kinds, emerge veryclearly in practical terms.

This universal vision pavedthe way for acceptance — notmere tolerance — of all religionsand faiths, respect for the faith ofothers. It was also realised veryearly in the Indian civilisation thathuman beings must establish alasting kinship based upon thebasics of respect for othernessand resolve to move aheadtogether, to live and let everyoneelse also live a better, decent, dig-nified and satisfying life.

To comprehend universalhuman obligations, three debtsthat every human being weredestined to repay were articu-lated in clear terms: Debt to theparents and ancestors; to thelearned and knowledge cre-ators; and to the forces ofnature.

Human beings have persis-tently faltered on all the three.Hence, they are forced to facethe fury of the nature. This isthe right time that India, theoriginator of these eternal val-ues, relearns its lessons, acceptsglobal responsibility to makeothers comprehend it and cre-ate a new world in which spir-itualistic pursuits would deter-mine the extent of materialityacquisition that human beingsneed, not greed.

(The writer works in educa-tion and social cohesion)

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Coronavirus has turned PMinto a team player” (April 14) byKalyani Shankar. The writer’sobservation about Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s image makeoverholds good given that his earlierpublic persona of a belligerentorator has undergone a sea-change for the better. He hasbecome more polite and humble.Be it his public apology for theharsh Coronavirus lockdown orhis show of confidence with sev-eral bigwigs and political adver-saries, all of his actions prove thathe is a changed man.

To be honest, had the PrimeMinister not taken timely prag-matic and precautionary mea-sures to fight the global pandem-ic, the number of Coronavirusinfection cases as well as the resul-tant fatality rate would have beenmuch higher than the US, Italyand China, who have been facingthe brunt of the epidemic. Nowthat the lockdown has beenextended till May 3, efforts mustbe made to check its exponentialspread.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Sir — It is appalling that the ryotsare destroying their vegetableproduce due to their inability to

transport and market them in thewake of lockdown. Vegetablesbeing perishable commodities,they start rotting in the heat andwithout storage. With the coun-

try waging a relentless fightagainst COVID-19, the destruc-tion of vegetables will compoundexisting difficulties. TheGovernment must buy the veg-

etables at a reasonable rate anddistribute them to the people whoare in dire need of it.

The Government must alsosensitise the people that destruc-tion of crops for whatever reasonsis not permissible. It must not cre-ate a situation where the farmersare obliged to destroy the eatablesfor want of fair return on theirinvestments in agriculture.

KV SeetharamaiahHasaan

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Sir — It is distressing to note thata group of Nihangs chopped offan officer’s hand in Punjab’sPatiala. The cop was only per-forming his duty. In this hour ofnational crisis, we must be grate-ful to the frontline warriors, thepolicemen, the medical fraterni-ty and those supplying essentialsto the people. The Nihangsshould be severely punished forthis brutality. Otherwise peoplewill have no fear in committingsuch crimes.

NR RamachandranChennai

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On February 23, Italy recorded around 150 pos-itive cases of COVID-19. Within a week, thatnumber touched 3,000 and four days later it

had surpassed 7,000. What happened in Italy afterthat was surreal as the numbers and deaths mount-ed exponentially. It was the same with the US whichhas turned into a hotspot after President DonaldTrump ignored repeated warnings by scientists, doc-tors and experts to act in time and impose a lock-down. The businessman in Trump prevented thePresident from paying heed and he chose the econ-omy over lives and at one point even considered let-ting the Coronavirus “wash over” the US in keep-ing with the “herd immunity” theory that manyexperts were propounding.

Worldwide, too, the numbers are going up eachday with the cases touching 19,31,261 and 1,20,134casualties. What is even more worrying is that Chinaand South Korea have seen cases resurfacing, giv-ing this nightmare another dimension altogether. TheWorld Health Organisation (WHO), which haddeclared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, andhas come under fire for allegedly covering it up ini-tially on China’s behest has now announced that theCoronavirus is 10 times more dangerous than theSwine flu . But, despite the world health watchdog’swarning in early March, it had taken over two weeksfor world leaders to take comprehensive action tocurb the spread of the Coronavirus. By that time itwas too late and too little. Now, as the number of casesis spiralling, countries across the world have reced-ed into a lockdown. India, which began its shutdownfrom March 25 for 21-days, has now extended itslockdown till May 3.

It is now more than ever that the world is look-ing up to its policy makers for tackling the spreadof COVID-19. However, as more countries across theworld impose heavy restrictions on their citizens andstress upon the urgent need for social distancingamidst this growing pandemic, there are still manycountries that haven’t completely acknowledged theimpact of this virus. Such inward and self-centeredpolicies of nations have severely limited the globalconsistency of action in such a trying time as this.

A global health crisis like COVID-19 goesbeyond borders and the need of the hour is unanim-ity across the world. In a short span of time, the virushas spread rapidly through the world and with eachpassing day, the pandemic lays bare the inadequa-cies of healthcare systems and crisis unpreparednessacross the globe.

From infrastructure and medical technology toresources and administration, there are glaring insuf-ficiencies in the healthcare industry. Europeancountries with developed healthcare systems havefailed to battle the enormity of this pandemic. TheUK took a different approach towards dealing withthe problem by experimenting with the “herdimmunity.” However, this approach backfired on theUK as the number of cases in the country soaredwhile their National Health Service struggled to keepup. Even though now the UK has imposed a full-fledged lockdown, a crucial period when the spreadof the virus escalated was spent without active admin-istrative action. This existing introversion of ideolo-gies to tackle global health emergencies has led toan unsynchronised response of countries in tacklingthe crisis. There has not only been a delay in actionresponse but also a failure in delivery of productiveaction making it extremely difficult for countries to— at this stage — flatten the curve. In an era of suchpopulist inward-looking ideologies, there is a needto revamp our crisis management strategies and lookoutward to avoid a situation where the internalmachinery reaches the edge of a collapse.

In India, the COVID-19 pandemic hasgradually been exposing the neglected stateof healthcare. WHO executive director JRyan recently referred to India as a coun-try with immense capacity when it comesto eradicating epidemics. His reference wasin line with India’s contribution in eradi-cating polio and smallpox. In addition tothat, Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO’s RegionalEmergencies Director, commended Indiaon its comprehensive and robust action-plan to tackle COVID-19. However,healthcare in India has for most partremained an ignored industry. Less thanthree per cent of the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) is allocated to healthcareand the country is perpetually dealing witha shortage in medical resources and infra-structure.

According to the Government, Indiahas about one doctor per 1,500 citizenswhile the WHO recommends one doctorper 1,000 residents. In rural areas, wheretwo-thirds of Indians live and rely almostsolely on Government hospitals, the ratiois one doctor to more than 10,000 people.

These statistics are haunting whenevaluating the action response required totackle a pandemic such as COVID-19which is growing by the minute. Moreover,India faces a problem of plenty within aninformal sector of residence and profes-sion where crowd control is difficult.

For instance, 49 people from thefamous Dharavi slum in Mumbai weretested positive for COVID-19 and therehave been five deaths till now. This slumcould turn out to be India’s biggesthotspot. The nationwide lockdown thatIndia is currently experiencing is one stepin ensuring social distancing and break-ing the chain of transmission of theCoronavirus. However, in a slum likeDharavi, social distancing cannot be prac-tised and contact-tracing is very difficult.The challenge is manifold without ade-quate resources to know the extent ofspread of the virus.

Until a couple of weeks ago, India hadonly 52 official testing centres for COVID-19 but now that number has gone upslightly. In Tuesday’s address to the nation,Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured

people about the arrangements to fight theCoronavirus pandemic in India. “It is saidthat around 1,500 beds are required for10,000 COVID-19 patients. In India, wealready have made arrangement for onelakh beds. More than 600 dedicatedCOVID hospitals too are there. These facil-ities are being expanded speedily,” he said.For a population of 1.3 billion, that num-ber still falls way off the mark. We are ata point where the nation is entirely depen-dent on internal policies to drive the healthmarket. On the other hand, a coordinat-ed global lockdown could have avoidedpanic and given countries time to strength-en healthcare systems.

Another point of worry that hasemerged amid this crisis is the supply-chain disruption especially in the healthsector. Countries which have been severe-ly affected by the pandemic have resort-ed to sealing borders and enforcing com-plete lockdowns, which is an entirelyunprecedented situation. Most nationsdon’t have a support system or infrastruc-ture to manage such large-scale disruptionsin the supply-chain of essential goods,especially pharmaceutical and medicaldevice companies. International collabo-ration on delivery of essential services likemedical equipment and pharmaceuticalscould go a long way in ensuring availabil-ity of these services during a crisis.

India is popularly known as the phar-macy of the world. In this regard, Indiacould particularly look at expanding itspharmaceutical industry into a morerobust operation that caters not only todomestic but also international needs inthe time of crisis. The recent decision toallow export of anti-malarial drugs chloro-quine to other nations in need is a stepin the right direction. The Governmentneeds to rope in experts in the industryfrom the world-over to develop policiesthat expand the market significantly andalso make it self-sufficient during a timeof crisis. This could create a mutually ben-eficial global platform wherein all agenciescan be timely brought in to effectively tack-le a public health emergency. For long,India’s protectionist economic tendencieshave prevented this from happening

which emphasises upon the need for a pol-icy revamp even more.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything,it is that we need to initiate an active unit-ed response where world bodies cometogether to develop long-lasting policieswhich can be played out during publichealth emergencies. It has become imper-ative to incorporate globalisation in poli-cy narratives and work actively towardsproviding comprehensive solutions toworld problems.

A simple case study of the turn ofevents in Italy would clarify the importanceof preparing a comprehensive strategy oftesting, tracking and self-isolation to fightCOVID-19. While Italy wasn’t prepared,it gave other countries the time to do so.Unfortunately, the lack of coordination indealing with this crisis on a global level hasslowed down the fight against COVID-19today. Even though ultimately countrieshave resorted to a lockdown to curb thespread of the Coronavirus, the actionresponse in the interim has been lack-adaisical.

Significantly, Modi roped in SAARCleaders to develop a strategy to deal withthe growing COVID-19 pandemic. Thediscussion revolved around creating a glob-al fund to tackle COVID-19 in the regionand also to be better prepared for thefuture. Taking a cue from that, steps needto be taken at the stakeholder level to devel-op more inclusive strategies for when dis-asters hit. East-West collaboration lies atthe core of this strategy. One way to moveforward in this regard is for policymakersto think globally and act locally. There isa need to break out of existing tradition-al practices and align with the global view-point while thinking of implementation onthe grassroot level. We live in a world withextensive cross-country interaction andmovement. It is essential now to be awareof possible health threats that mightrequire a coordinated policy narrative todeal with. Countries should focus on pol-icymaking at a local level while integrat-ing and defining these policies at a glob-alised macro level.

(The writer is Co-founder andManaging Partner, SPAG)

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The ongoing COVID-19 pan-demic has instilled a new-foundrespect for the environment

among the people of India and theworld at large.

As people stay barricaded insidetheir homes, the value of taking a sim-ple walk in the park, soaking in the sunand the greenery, admiring the flow-ers and listening to the chirping of thebirds, is driven home like never before.

What was taken for granted earli-er has become a shockingly difficult

task to accomplish. Given the consid-erable health risk involved in steppingout of the house due to possible expo-sure to COVID-19, and, of course, theadditional risk of inviting the ire of thepolicemen tasked with the job ofkeeping citizens indoors during thenationwide lockdown, it is well nighimpossible to enjoy this simple pleasureof life. However, as we ponder overmankind’s behaviour in hindsight(during this enforced break fromactivities), taking nature and the envi-ronment for granted seems nothingshort of a sin now.

This respect and value beingaccorded to nature is new-found,because as recently as the first week ofFebruary, all the nations of the worldcontinued to turn a blind eye to envi-ronmental well-being. They went onmindlessly exploiting natural resources,guzzling fossil fuel, carelessly dispos-ing plastics and other non-biodegrad-able waste in landfills, rivers and pol-luting ground water and even the

oceans and mountains. Even as one nation after another

fell prey to COVID-19, otherCoronavirus-free countries did notcomprehend the danger ahead andpeople went about their routinesunperturbed, powered by greed andconsumerism. Now, the Coronavirushas brought almost the entire world toa standstill and our crimes againstnature are staring us in the face. Inmore ways than one, this crisis hadbeen in the making for quite some time.Rising levels of consumerism paved theway for the environment to be exploit-ed and compromised on a systematicscale for long.

Interestingly, according to a pan-India study commissioned by theMahindra Group in 2019, Indians arevery well aware of the human impacton the environment. The study sawfour out of five Indians confirming thatthey were aware of the consequencesof their actions on the environment andclimate change. The study further

revealed that 83 per cent of the respon-dents evinced interest in makinglifestyle changes towards a more sus-tainable living, while 70 per cent dis-played sufficient awareness of waterconservation. However, despite theawareness, the respondents could notelucidate how they were going to takesteps to reduce/prevent the negativeimpact of their lifestyles on the envi-ronment. So, all the awareness regard-ing climate change and the state of theenvironment is unable to alter humanbehaviour and ensure that people tryto lead a low carbon foot-print lifestyle.For this to happen there needs to be amajor change in attitudes, wherein con-scious, environment-friendly con-sumerism replaces the current patternof consumerism which is self-servingand oblivious to environmental conse-quences.

As of now, mankind’s exploitativeforays into nature’s domains haveresulted in the release of harmfulpathogens that were hitherto unknown

to mankind. The hunt for exotic ani-mals that can be sold for a premiumin wet markets has put man in thecrosshairs of virulent viruses searchingfor a host. The Coronavirus pandem-ic is a result of this form of mindlessconsumerism.

This cavalier attitude towardsnature and abject consumerism havemade the world shoot itself in the legand this has to stop now.

Consumerism that spells doom forhumanity has to be urgently replacedby alternativism, where sustainablelifestyles become the norm ratherthan the exception. Governmentsacross the world must provide sustain-able alternatives for humans to adoptso that the livelihoods and lifestyles thatresult in compromising the environ-ment are phased out.

This not only means changingone’s buying behaviour by shifting togreen products but also means that suf-ficient efforts must be made to preventwastage, be it of food, water, electrici-

ty or any natural resources. Forinstance, there is need to ask all the five-star hotels across the world to not throwunused food at the end of a businessday and instead give it to the poor. Thisact alone will feed millions of hungrypeople and will also lead to saving oftrillions of litres of water that is usedin growing more food.

According to EcoBusiness, cur-rently 25 per cent of the food that pass-es through global five-star kitchens iseventually thrown out, this is the hall-mark of irresponsible consumerismand it needs to be replaced with a con-scious one. Lastly the mindlessexploitation of natural resources has tostop. Else, we should prepare for a grimfuture where overexploitation of foodresources leads to depletion, forcinghumans to look for other, more uncon-ventional sources of food. Then pan-demics like the Coronavirus willbecome a routine affair.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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When China’s first ship-ment of coronavirus

medical aid landed in Belgrade,the president of Serbia wasthere to kiss the Chinese flag.In Hungary, officials haveplayed down assistance fromthe European Union andpraised Beijing’s help. In theCzech Republic, its presidentsays that only China was thereduring the virus spread.

While elsewhere Chinatries to polish an image tar-nished by its initial handling ofthe coronavirus outbreak,Beijing has no problem main-taining its hard-won influencein parts of Eastern Europe,where it battles for clout withthe EU as well as with Russia.

China was criticized in theWest for its early mishandling

of the health crisis due topolitically motivated foot-drag-ging while the virus racedthrough a major province andits capital, Wuhan. Now it isseeking to change perceptionsthrough “mask diplomacy” —a combination of soft powerpolicy, political messaging andaid shipments — to portrayBeijing as a generous and effi-cient ally.

China for years has beenincreasing its political and eco-nomic influence in southeast-ern Europe through its Belt andRoad global investment pro-jects. Its image-polishing afterthe outbreak found fertileground in places like Serbia andHungary, whose populist lead-ers nurture close ties withBeijing or Moscow.

The aid shipments alsodrew praise in Italy, Spain, the

Netherlands, Slovakia and theCzech Republic, although somevirus test kits and face maskspurchased from Chinese com-panies caused a stir becausethey didn’t meet local stan-dards.

“We must be aware there isa geopolitical component,including a struggle for influ-ence, through spinning and thepolitics of generosity,” EU’s topforeign policy official JosepBorrell recently wrote in a

blog, referring to China.“Armed with facts, we need todefend Europe against itsdetractors.”

Chinese officials haverepeatedly rejected claims thatBeijing is seeking political gains

by providing medical aid toother countries amid the virus,saying the allegations result fromdeep-rooted misperceptions ofChina’s goals in the West.

Chinese Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Hua Chunyingsaid Beijing is doing what it can“to help those countries andpeople affected ... to save andsafeguard people’s lives andhealth to the greatest extentacross the world.”

In Serbia, a candidate forEU membership, officials andstate-controlled media haveplayed down the millions ofeuros in grants and loans fromBrussels while praising Chinesedeliveries, donations and salesof supplies. Opposition groupshave demanded that the aidfrom China be disclosed andstacked up against the EU’sapparently much larger assis-

tance, but those calls havebeen ignored.

The pro-China narrativeincluded billboards supportingChinese President Xi Jinping,whom Serbian PresidentAleksandar Vucic routinelydescribes as his “brother,” aswell as suggestions that a mon-ument be erected to honorBelgrade’s friendship withBeijing.

“European solidarity doesnot exist. Only China can help,”Vucic said last month whileannouncing a nationwide stateof emergency that gave himexpanded powers in the healthcrisis. The EU’s executive arm,the European Commission,has pledged 15 million euros inimmediate support for Serbia’shealth sector, plus 78.4 millioneuros to help with its social andeconomic recovery.

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Russian President VladimirPutin has said that the mil-

itary could be deployed to helptackle the coronavirus pan-demic in the country, after thenumber of cases in the coun-try rose sharply.

On Monday, Russia record-ed its largest daily rise in con-firmed cases, with 2,558 newinfections, taking the total to21,102, with the vast majorityof those in Moscow, the BBCreported.

The death toll currentlystood at 210.

“We see that the situationis changing almost daily and,unfortunately, it is not chang-ing for the better,” the BBCquoted Putin as saying duringa video meeting with top offi-cials on Monday.

“The number of sick peo-ple is increasing, includingmore and more cases specifi-

cally of the severe form of thedisease. The next few weekswill be decisive in manyrespects,” he added.

He also pointed to otherEuropean countries, such asItaly, that have utilised themilitary in their response to theglobal health crisis.

“We need to use this expe-rience,” he said, adding: “Thecapabilities of the Russian

Defence Ministry, if necessary,can and should be used here.”

Although Russia’ death tollwas far lower than in manyother European nations such asItaly, Spain and France, expertshave warned the country wasin the early stages of the epi-demic.

Lockdown measures havebeen introduced in the capitalMoscow, the worst-hit area, as

well as several other regions.People have been asked to

stay at home unless there wasan essential reason for them togo out. Moscow has intro-duced an electronic systemthat issues permits to peoplewho need to leave their homes.

But it has been beset bytechnical issues, which officialshave blamed on cyber-attack-ers, said the BBC report.

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An Italian woman who tookher pizza-sized turtle out

for a walk has been fined 400euros ($440) by the Romanpolice for breaking strict coro-navirus confinement rules.

Italians need a justifiablereason to be out on the streetin the middle of a pandemicthat has officially claimed morethan 20,000 lives in theMediterranean country sinceFebruary. Taking your dog outfor a walk is viewed as a goodenough reason to leave yourhome.

But it seems taking yourturtle out for one is not. TheRoman police said “the 60-year-old woman was caught

outside her home without a jus-tifiable reason” and fined. “Thewoman was walking with a tur-tle,” the police statement said.Roman police spokesmanNunzio Carbone told AFP thatthe woman was fined 400 eurosbecause it was “not a justifiableexcuse”.

Italian authorities reportedissuing a record 16,545 fines onEaster Monday -- a nationalholiday in the largely Catholiccountry. Another 13,756 fineswere issue on Sunday. Italianshave been joking on socialmedia about renting out theirdogs to anyone who was goingstir crazy and needed a goodexcuse to go out. Carbone saidthe turtle was “as big as a pizza”but not wearing a leash.

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Strong alcoholic drinks canbe used “when absolutely

necessary” instead of handsanitiser in Japanese hospitals,authorities said, as suppliesrun dry as a result of the coro-navirus pandemic.

Spirits with an alcoholproof of between 70 and 83percent can be substituted tosterilise hands under new rulesset out in a health ministrydocument obtained by AFP onTuesday.

Some vodkas are thatstrong, but traditional Japanesetipples such as sake and shochu

do not make the grade — at amaximum alcohol proof ofroughly 22 and 45 percentrespectively.

But some sake makers havebegun producing strongeralcohol products tomeet the demand forsanitiser. Japan bev-erage giant Suntory isalready manufactur-ing sanitiser in theUnited States, thecountry hardest-hitby the outbreak.Under Japanese regu-lations, liquidsdesigned for disinfectionshould contain between

76.9 and 81.4 percent alcoholcontent.

Any more than this is lesseffective and should be diluted,officials say. Japan has so far

been spared thedisastrous out-

breaks seen inEurope and theUS, but a recentspike in cases— especially inTokyo — hasraised concerns.The virus haskilled 109 peo-ple domestical-ly and infected

more than 7,600.

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US President Donald Trumphas hinted that there would

be consequences for China’salleged misinformation to theinternational community andthe WHO on coronavirus, thatoriginated from its Wuhan citylast year, and has claimed1,25,007 lives with nearly twomillion infections globally.

Trump shot back at areporter on Monday during hisWhite House press conference

on coronavirus when repeat-edly asked why there are noconsequences for China.

“How do you know thatthere are no consequences?”Trump asked.

“I wouldn’t tell you. Chinawill find out. Why would I tellyou?” Trump replied whenrepeatedly asked if China wasgoing to face the consequencesof the alleged misinformation.

“You’re going to find out,”Trump said as members of theUS Congress ramped up their

rhetoric and move againstChina. Senator Steve Dainessent a letter to Trump urginghim to end the US govern-ment’s reliance on medicalsupplies and equipment fromChina and bring back drugmanufacturing jobs to Americain response to the Covid-19pandemic. “The Covid-19 pan-demic has made clear howrelying upon China for medi-cine or essential medical equip-ment and components is detri-mental to our national securi-

ty and endangers publichealth,” Daines wrote.

“It is critically important toensure that legislation is fullyimplemented as quickly as pos-sible and that the US continuesto be the world leader in bio-medicine, pharmaceuticaldevelopment, and medicalinnovation,” he wrote.

Four Republican lawmak-ers on Monday introduced alegislation to reduce thereliance on China.

Protecting our

Pharmaceutical Supply Chainfrom China Act gives compa-nies economic incentives tomanufacture pharmaceuticalsand medical devices in theUS, makes it easier to knowwhich country a drug camefrom by creating a list of thecountry of origin of all drugsmarketed in the United States,and prohibits federally quali-fied health facilities from pur-chasing pharmaceutical prod-ucts from China, it said.

“Relying on the Chinese

Communist Party—whose liesabout coronavirus created thepandemic we now face—foressential medicines is danger-ous and short-sighted. As with5G networks, when it comes tomedical supply chains, nation-al security must take prece-dence. China is an adversarythat will use any US depen-dence as blackmail to achieveits nefarious goals,” saidCongressman Liz Cheney.

China ran a disinformationcampaign to cover up the coro-

navirus crisis for weeks, putting the rest of the world at a disadvantage incombating the spread, alleged Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

“We have become far toodependent on China, and it istime that we equip our domes-tic pharmaceutical and medicaldevice manufacturers to beable to efficiently produce theseitems here in the United States,”she said. Congressman MikeGallagher alleged that the

Chinese Communist Party’soutrageous threats to with-hold life saving drugs from theUS endangers public health andshould open eyes to the dan-gerous over-reliance on Chinain medical supply chain.

“This is a national securi-ty imperative that to manyAmericans, is a matter of lifeand death. It’s past time for usto develop an aggressive plan tomove critical pharmaceuticalsupply chains away fromChina,” he said.

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London: British ForeignSecretary Dominic Raab hassaid that the British governmentdoes not expect to make changesto coronavirus lockdown restric-tions this week, it was reported.

Raab, who is deputising forPrime Minister Boris Johnson ashe recovers from coronavirus,said on Monday that a meetingof scientific advisers would takeplace to review evidence relatingto the current lockdown restric-tions, reports the BBC. He saidthat easing restrictions too earlywould “risk a second wave” ofinfections. Responding to claimsthe government lacked an exitstrategy, Raab said it was “cru-cially important that we do nottake our eye off the ball or thepublic’s focus” off social dis-tancing measures. IANS

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The novel coronavirus haskilled more than 1,20,000

people worldwide, nearly 70percent of them in Europe.

US: Outside the epicentresof New York and New Jersey,the US coronavirus infectioncurves were “starting toplateau”, the White House taskforce indicated even as thecountry’s death toll hasincreased to 23,608 and somestates on the east and westcoasts began collaborating onstrategies to reopen theireconomies.

Of the 23,608 US deaths,New York’s coronavirus deathtoll alone topped 10,000 but aglimmer of hope emerged asnew hospitalisations contin-ued to slow. Monday markedthe first time in a week that thedaily toll dipped below 700.

Chicago and Boston case-

loads were now emerging asnew concerns while social dis-tancing measures blanket vir-tually all of America in varyingdegrees of stringency.

Britain: The number ofpeople who have died in hos-pital in Britain from the coro-navirus rose to 12,107, accord-ing to health ministry figurespublished on Tuesday. There isan increase of 778 deaths on theprevious day and official figuresalso showed that the number ofpeople who have tested positivefor Covid-19 has reached93,873.

Spain: Spain’s death tollfrom the novel coronavirustopped 18,000 on Tuesday, asthe rise in new infectionsdropped to its lowest levelsince the country imposed anationwide lockdown lastmonth. The 567 new deathsreported by the health ministry

were slightly up from Monday’sdeath toll and they take thetotal number of fatalities to18,056 — officially third in theworld behind the United Statesand Italy. The number of newinfections rose by just over

3,045, or 1.8 percent, to172,451, the smallest increasesince the country of around 47million people imposed anationwide lockdown onMarch 14 to curb the spread ofthe virus.

Iran: Iran said on Tuesdaythat the number of lives lost inthe country to the novel coro-

navirus dropped to double fig-ures for the first time in onemonth. Health ministry

spokesman KianoushJahanpour said 98 deaths fromthe COVID-19 disease wererecorded in the past 24 hours,bringing the overall count to4,683. “Unfortunately, we lost 98of our compatriots infectedwith the disease... but after amonth of waiting, this is the firstday that the death count hasbeen double figures,” he told atelevised news conference.

Sweden: Sweden onTuesday reported that morethan 1,000 people had diedfrom the novel coronavirus, asa group of experts attacked theauthorities’ approach to thecrisis. Sweden’s Public HealthAgency said it had recorded atotal of 11,445 confirmed casesof COVID-19 and 1,033 deaths.And it warned that because notall deaths had yet been report-ed over the four-day Easterweekend, the true numbermight be higher.

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The IMF on Tuesday slashedIndia’s projected GDP

growth to 1.9 per cent in 2020from 5.8 per cent in January, asthe global economy hits theworst recession since the GreatDepression in the 1930s due to the raging coronaviruspandemic that has nearlystalled all economic activitiesacross the world.

With this subdued forecast,India is likely to record its worstgrowth performance since the1991 liberalisation. But theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF), in its latest edition of theWorld Economy report, saidIndia and China are the onlytwo major countries, which willregister a positive growth rate.

The IMF has projected agrowth rate of 1.2 per cent forChina in 2020 — the slowestin more than four decades.

However, the two Asiangiants are likely to bounceback strongly in 2021 withIndia expected to grow at 7.4per cent and China at 9.2 percent. “We project global growthin 2020 to fall to -3 per cent.This is a downgrade of 6.3 per-centage points from January2020, a major revision over avery short period,” Indian-American Gita Gopinath, theIMF Chief Economist said,adding that the COVID-19pandemic will severely impactgrowth across all regions.

The Great Depression wasthe worst worldwide econom-ic downturn that lasted for 10years from 1929, beginning inthe US when the New YorkStock Exchange on Wall Streetcrashed and wiped out millionsof investors.

Most countries, in theadvanced economy group, areforecast to contract this year,including the US (–5.9 percent), Japan (–5.2 per cent), theUnited Kingdom (–6.5 percent), Germany (–7.0 per cent),France (–7.2 per cent), Italy(–9.1 per cent), and Spain (–8.0per cent), the IMF report said.

Even with a sharp reboundin the remainder of the yearand sizable fiscal support, theChinese economy is projectedto grow at a subdued 1.2 percent in 2020.

The IMF said severaleconomies in the region wereforecast to grow at modestrates, including India (1.9 percent) and Indonesia (0.5 percent), and others are forecastto experience large contrac-tions (Thailand, –6.7 per cent).

In January, IMF projectedIndia’s growth at 5.8 per cent in2020 and 6.5 per cent in 2021.

On Tuesday, the IMF said

that other regions are pro-jected to experience severeslowdowns or outright con-tractions in economic activi-ty, including Latin America(–5.2 per cent) — with Brazil’sgrowth forecast at –5.3 per centand Mexico’s at –6.6 per cent;emerging and developingEurope (–5.2 per cent) withRussia’s economy projected tocontract by –5.5 per cent.

The Middle East andCentral Asia (–2.8 per cent)with Saudi Arabia’s growthforecast at –2.3 per cent, withnon-oil GDP contracting byfour per cent, and most

economies, including Iran,expected to contract; and sub-Saharan Africa (–1.6 per cent)with growth in Nigeria andSouth Africa expected at –3.4per cent and –5.8 per centrespectively.

This is a crisis like noother, and there is substantialuncertainty about its impact onpeople’s lives and livelihoods,Gopinath said. A lot dependson the epidemiology of thevirus, the effectiveness of con-tainment measures, and thedevelopment of therapeuticsand vaccines, all of which arehard to predict.

In addition, many coun-tries now face multiple crises —a health crisis, a financial cri-sis, and a collapse in com-modity prices, which interact incomplex ways, she said.

Assuming the pandemicfades in the second half of 2020and that policy actions takenaround the world are effectivein preventing widespread firmbankruptcies, extended joblosses, and system-wide finan-cial strains, Gopinath said theIMF projects global growth in2021 to rebound to 5.8 per cent.

This is a truly global crisisas no country is spared,Gopinath said. Countriesreliant on tourism, travel, hos-pitality, and entertainment fortheir growth are experiencingparticularly large disruptions,she added.

The emerging markets anddeveloping economies faceadditional challenges withunprecedented reversals in cap-ital flows as global risk appetitewanes, and currency pressures,while coping with weakerhealth systems, and more lim-ited fiscal space to providesupport. Moreover, severaleconomies entered this crisis ina vulnerable state with sluggishgrowth and high debt levels, theIMF chief economist wrote.

According to the WorldEconomic Report, the reboundin 2021 depends critically on thepandemic fading in the secondhalf of 2020, allowing contain-ment efforts to be graduallyscaled back and restoring con-sumer and investor confidence.

Significant economic pol-icy actions have already beentaken across the world, focusedon accommodating public

health care requirements, whilelimiting the amplification toeconomic activity and thefinancial system.

The projected recoveryassumes that these policyactions are effective in pre-venting widespread firm bank-ruptcies, extended job losses,and system-wide financialstrains, it said. India is likely torecord its worst growth per-formance since the 1991 liber-alisation this fiscal year as thecoronavirus outbreak severelydisrupts the economy, theWorld Bank said on Sunday.

India’s economy is expectedto grow 1.5 per cent to 2.8 percent in the 2020-21 fiscal whichstarted on April 1, the WorldBank said in its South AsiaEconomic Focus report. It esti-mated India will grow 4.8 percent to 5 per cent in the 2019-20fiscal that ended on March 31.

Hanoi: Forced apart by the coron-avirus pandemic, Southeast Asianleaders linked up by video on Tuesdayto plot a strategy to overcome a cri-sis that has threatened theireconomies and kept millions of peo-ple in their homes under lockdowns.

The 10 leaders of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations heldfurther talks later in the day, alsothrough video conferencing, withtheir counterparts from China, Japanand South Korea, who expressed sup-port in helping ASEAN fight thecoronavirus. Vietnam, ASEAN’sleader this year, has postponed an in-person gathering tentatively to June.

“It is in these grim hours that thesolidarity of the ASEAN communi-ty shines like a beacon in the dark,”Vietnamese Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc said in an opening

speech. Containment efforts haveplaced the pandemic “actually undercontrol”, he said, warning againstcomplacency, with a number ofmember countries, includingIndonesia and the Philippines, fear-ing spikes in infections after large-scale testing is conducted.

Founded in 1967 in the ColdWar era, ASEAN — a diverse blocrepresenting more than 640 millionpeople — has held annual summitsof its leaders and top diplomats withceremonies steeped in tradition,protocol and photo-ops.

Derided as a talk shop by critics,the bloc is known largely for pho-tographs of its leaders locking armsat annual meetings in a show of unitydespite often-thorny differences.

Diplomats say that unity is nowcrucial as the region battles COVID-19, the disease caused by the coron-avirus. All of ASEAN’s memberstates have been hit by infections,with the total number of confirmedcases reaching more than 20,400,including over 840 deaths, despitemassive lockdowns, travel restric-tions and home quarantines.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiangsaid the pandemic has had a severeimpact on the global economy, buthe told fellow leaders that theircountries have jointly confrontedpast crises and have braced for con-tingencies. AFP

Kiev: A wildfire that has beenraging for several days in theChernobyl exclusion zone inUkraine was now just a fewkilometres from the abandonednuclear plant, according toreports.

Hundreds of firefighterswere battling the forest firewhile officials insisted therewas no risk to the ruined reac-tor and nearby nuclear wastestorage facilities, the metronespaper reported on Tuesday.

While forest fires are com-mon in the exclusion zone,Greenpeace Russia said thisblaze, which broke out 10 daysago, is the worst since the 1986nuclear explosion.

The campaigners said satel-lite images showed the fire at itsclosest point was just 1.5 kmfrom the protective dome overthe ruined reactor. IANS

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India Inc on Tuesday said thenationwide lockdown exten-

sion was necessary to avert ahumanitarian crisis, but insist-ed on the need for a stimuluspackage to rebuild the econo-my hit hard by the Covid-19pandemic.

Earlier in the day, PrimeMinister Narendra Modiannounced that the currentlockdown will be extended tillMay 3, saying it is necessary to contain the spreadof the novel coronavirus in thecountry.

He said detailed guide-lines on implementation of the new lockdown will beannounced on Wednesday, and some relax-ations may be allowed afterApril 20 in places where thereare no hotspots.

The catastrophic effect ofthe lockdown on the overalleconomy and livelihoods oflakhs of migrant workers trig-gered severe concerns follow-ing which a number of statechief ministers in their video

conference with Modi onSaturday sought some sort ofrelaxation for a number ofsectors.

Late last month, the gov-ernment announced a Rs 1.7lakh crore package aimed atproviding relief to those hithard by the lockdown as well asan insurance cover for health-care professionals handlingvirus infected people.

“Estimates show that Indiamay be losing close to Rs40,000 crore daily due to thenational lockdown with anestimated loss amounting to Rs7-8 lakh crore during the past21 days,” said Ficci PresidentSangita Reddy.

Further, it is also expectedthat close to 40 million jobs areat risk during the period April-Sept 2020. Hence, an urgentrelief package is also critical,she said.

She observed that thePrime Minister’s directions ongraded opening will help startsome production activity toensure that as soon as lock-down opens, there are noshortages faced.

New Delhi: Finance Ministry onMonday held a review meetingwith the heads of public sectorbanks, and instructed them toextend all possible help to all sec-tors of the economy within pru-dential guidelines to tide over cri-sis following Covid-19 outbreakand consequent lockdown.

The review meeting —held via video conference —reviewed banks functioningduring the lockdown and alsotook stock of liquidity situation,sources said. The ministryasked the banks to devise strat-egy for the post lockdownperiod and readiness for meet-ing the future challenges. Thetwo-hour long meeting tookstock of disbursement of finan-cial assistance through directbenefit transfer (DBT) underthe Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Yojana to help poor anddaily wagers to sustain duringthe lockdown triggered by out-break of Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of the Rs 1.70 lakhcrore relief package, theGovernment announced cashdoles to women, poor seniorcitizens and farmers to mitigatethe hardships faced due to thelockdown. PTI

London: World oil prices dropped in volatiletrade on Tuesday as traders shrugged off newsthat crude producers agreed to cut productionover the weekend, traders said.

Futures had earlier risen after US PresidentDonald Trump indicated Monday that pro-ducers were considering cutting 20 million bar-rels per day — more than double the announcedfigure.At about 1100 GMT, European bench-mark London Brent North Sea oil for deliveryin June dipped 0.4 percent to trade at $31.61 perbarrel. AFP

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Former President BarackObama endorsed Joe Biden

in a video on Tuesday, givingthe presumptive Democraticpresidential nominee a boostfrom the party’s biggestfundraiser and one of its mostpopular figures.

“I believe Joe has all thequalities we need in a presidentright now,” Obama said in anearly 12- minute video, tout-ing him as a “close friend” andlauding him for his persever-ance and compassion.

Obama and Biden are closefriends from their two terms inthe White House, when Bidenserved as vice president. Bidenleaned heavily on his affiliationwith the former presidentthroughout the Democraticprimary, framing his pitch as an

extension of Obama’s presi-dency. In recent weeks, he hastold donors he’s been in touchwith Obama about his vice-presidential pick.

The endorsement marksObama’s return to presidentialpolitics more than three yearsafter leaving the White House.He rarely talks directly abouthis successor, President DonaldTrump, and avoided interven-ing in the Democratic prima-ry. The field at one pointspanned nearly two dozen can-didates and Obama offeredprivate counsel to anyone whoasked it, but but made noefforts to bolster an individualcampaign — including Biden’s.

But Obama has been fol-lowing the Democratic raceclosely from the sidelines andis eager to take a more activepublic role in the campaign.

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North Korea on Tuesdayfired several suspected

cruise missiles towards the sea,the South’s military said.

The “multiple projectiles”fired from Munchon in the eastof the country were believed tobe “short-range cruise mis-siles,” the Joint Chiefs of Staffsaid in a statement.

The test comes a day beforethe nuclear-armed Northmarks the 108th anniversary ofthe birth of its founder Kim IlSung, grandfather of the cur-rent leader Kim Jong Un.

It also comes a day beforethe South holds parliamen-tary elections, and at a timewhen the world’s attention has

been largely focussed on thecoronavirus pandemic, whichPyongyang insists it has so farescaped.

The North has repeatedlytested ballistic missiles in recentyears, which climb high abovethe Earth, often into space,before being brought downtowards their targets at highspeed by the force of gravity.

Its arsenal includes ICBMs(intercontinental ballistic mis-siles) that are capable of reach-ing the whole of the US main-land. In contrast cruise missilestravel at low altitudes — some-times just a few metres (feet)above the surface, makingthem hard to detect — and arepowered throughout theirf light. Sometimes highly

manoeuvrable, they needsophisticated guidance systemsto bring them to their targets.

Tuesday’s missiles travelledover the Sea of Japan, alsoknown as the East Sea, beforecoming down in the water, theJCS said. “South Korea and USintelligence authorities areclosely analysing related issues,”they added.

The North is subject tomultiple UN Security Councilsanctions over its bannedweapons programmes.

It has carried out a series ofweapons tests in recent months,often describing them as multi-ple launch rocket systems whileothers have called them ballis-tic missiles. Pyongyang has firedcruise missiles in the past. In

June 2017 it hailed the success-ful test of a what it called a newtype of surface-to-ship cruisemissile designed to hit “anyenemy group of battleships”that threatened North Korea.

That launch hit targets inthe Sea of Japan, it said, andtook place the week after twoUS aircraft carriers, the USSCarl Vinson and USS RonaldReagan, took part in navalmanoeuvres in the area.

Those missiles flew some200 kilometres, which analystssaid was an improvement on a2015 test that flew only 100kilometres. North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un and USPresident Donald Trump trad-ed mutual insults and threats ofwar during 2017, sending ten-sions soaring.

The South’s PresidentMoon Jae-in used thePyeongchang Winter Olympicsin his country to broker arapid diplomatic rapproche-ment and a series of summits followed.

Moscow: The trial of a formerUS marine accused of spyinghas begun behind closed doorsin Moscow, 16 months after hisarrest, a media report said.

The Russian governmenthas said that Paul Whelan wascaught “red-handed” with statesecrets, the BBC reported onMonday. The American couldbe facing up to 20 years inprison. FSB security officersburst into Paul Whelan’s roomat a central Moscow hotel inDecember 2018.

He was detained with aUSB flash drive which the FSBhas said that contained secretinformation.

Whelan, who has visitedRussia many times, had previ-ously told the BBC that an oldfriend had turned up at hisroom uninvited and plantedthe drive. PTI

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�����445*< &�, �)�5 "� E�E*5�10�4**5�>*�')5� &Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF)announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to helpthem free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “Thisprovides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable membersto cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase overthe next six months and will help them channel more of theirscarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical andother relief efforts,” IMF Managing Director KristalinaGeorgieva said in a statement.

The IMF board approved the debt relief for the countries,nearly all in Africa, but also Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal andHaiti. The fund together with the World Bank have called forrich nations to stop collecting debt payments from poor coun-tries from May 1 through June 2021. AFP

9:�! ������$��� �����!���&������#������2��!�9;<� "���Washington: Finance ministersand central bankers from G7countries said on Tuesday theyfavor a temporary halt to debtpayments from the world’spoorest countries, but only ifG20 Governments also agree.

Noting that poor countriesface the most hardship in try-ing to deal with the coron-avirus pandemic, the Group ofSeven advanced nations said itstands “ready to provide atime-bound suspension ondebt service payments” owedto their governments “if joinedby all bilateral official creditorsin the G20 and as agreed withthe Paris Club.” AFP

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The Indian Institute of TechnologyMandi has signed a Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) with Shri LalBahadur Shastri Government MedicalCollege & Hospital (SLBSGMCH), NerChowk, Himachal Pradesh, on April 112020, to help tackle COVID-19 in theHimachal Pradesh region. Under thisMoU, the Institute has extended its sup-port to set up a real-time PolymeraseChain Reaction (PCR) laboratory fordiagnosing Coronavirus at SLBSGMCH.

For this purpose, IIT Mandi hasalready provided a real-time PCRmachine along with few other equip-

ment as well as trained personnel toSLBSGMCH. This is to set up the real-time PCR reactor and data analysis,which is one of the crucial steps for diag-nosis, after Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) iso-lation.

This sophisticated instrument willbe solely used for COVID-19 diagno-sis and will help in ramping up the test-ing process by analysing 100 samples ifrun for 24 hours continuously. Ifrequired, it can be increased to thecapacity of conducting up to 1000 sam-ples per day for the detection ofCOVID-19. SLBSGMCH will startanalysing the COVID-19 samples aftergetting approval from the ICMR.

The Institute of CompanySecretaries of India has

committed to extend itsunstinted support to the ini-tiative of the Government, tobattle the biggest pandemic ofmodern times.

In furtherance to the firsttranche of collective benefi-cence of �25 lakh, from it’semployees and members, theinstitute made another humblecontribution of �5 crore fromthe Corpus of ICSI to the PMCares Fund on April 9, 2020.

As a proponent of“Together we can, together wewill”, the institute has left no

stone unturned in creating aresponse plan for its employees,members and students to mit-igate the vulnerability of thecurrent situation.

While acknowledging thecontinuous efforts made bythe various stakeholders ofICSI, President ICSI, CS AshishGarg said: “We extend ourheartfelt appreciation to allour members, students,employees and other stake-holders for standing up to theoccasion and supporting thecause and hope that we shallcontinue to support the causein times to follow.”

Many students, young profes-sionals, and start-ups confuse

business law and corporate law tobe one and the same thing; where-as in reality, the two, at most, canbe said to be two sides of the samecoin. Organisations need advisorswho understand the differencebetween both the laws, to helpthem make well-informed deci-sions.

Incomplete knowledge is oneof the main reasons why so manypeople are unable to recognise thedistinct nature of the two laws.While it is true that on surface,business and corporate may seemto mean the same thing, people,especially law students and younglaw professionals need to keep inmind that law is a very vast field,containing several branches. Onlyby studying the subject in depth,they can understand the complex-ity and identify the subtle differ-ences.

Varied regulators for the busi-ness and corporate law

There is no denying the factthat both business and corporatelaw are meant to protect variousorganisations and companies in a

number of settings. However, dueto the different nature of the twolaws, they are governed by differ-ent regulatory bodies.

The business law is governedby the central and StateGovernment. But at the same time,the central and State Governmentsplay very different roles in gov-erning the business law. The cen-tral Government mainly looksafter the laws concerning work-place security and stock purchas-es. And, the state government reg-

ulates any additional laws requiredto streamline the process.

The corporate law, on theother hand, is administered andregulated by the MCA, aka, theMinistry of Corporate Affairsthrough the Companies Act (2013).Herein, the Companies Act regu-lates a number of laws including,incorporation and responsibilitiesof the company, dissolution of thecompany, and directors and theirroles in the company.

What exactly do business law

and corporate law do?Business law is usually more

commonly used than corporatelaw. It provides a broad range oflegal influence to any business. Anylaws concerning contracts betweendirectors, employees or clients, orrelated to employment, tax, or anyother transaction are coveredunder the umbrella of business law.

Mergers, acquisitions, rules forcompany formation, and share-holder rights are also parts of thebusiness law only. The business law,

thus, takes care of the basic legali-ties required for a company's estab-lishment.

Corporate law, on the otherhand, sets and provides the basicguidelines to streamline the pur-chase, sales, and distribution ofgoods and/or items in the market.Corporate law also deals withbureaucratic procedures prevalentin the international selling markets.

Many companies tend to over-look the corporate law and thus endup in a legal warfare. This is the solereason why many multinationalcompanies now hire an in-housecorporate lawyer to help themavoid these minor yet significantcorporate law breaches while deal-ing in the marketplace.

Both corporate and businesslaws have significant effects oncompanies, and play a crucial rolein maintaining a successful businessflow. With clear understanding,companies can hire the right attor-ney, and as far as students are con-cerned, they can separate each cat-egory and choose what step to takefurther on their career ladder.

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Over the last two decades, thestudy of entrepreneurship hasexpanded from just the study

of entrepreneurs and market researchto a much broader subject. Now, thestudy also incorporates entrepre-neurial behavior patterns of an indi-vidual, a company and the market,start-ups, and scale-ups, the differentbusiness partnerships, societal andeconomic development, and others.Students are showing immense inter-est in becoming entrepreneurs thanworking for someone else.

India has become the third-largeststart-up ecosystem and numerousstart-ups are emerging every daywith the hope of rising to the top.Universities are making an effort tobring the right infrastructure in placeto enhance entrepreneurship educa-tion. The number of universities nowoffering the entrepreneurship courseis slowly rising and soon we will belooking at more reformed programsthat also help second-third generationentrepreneurs to help scale their busi-ness.

Let us look at the five trendingchanges that promise to uplift theinnovation and entrepreneurialecosystem:

Incorporate entrepreneurial eco-system and learning: The universitiesand colleges have started acknowl-edging and providing entrepreneur-ial courses, and are now focusing onbuilding an advanced curriculum

that will form the heart of this uniqueprogram. More experiential learning,implementation of innovative ideas,live projects, building business mod-els, facing real-world challenges, out-side classroom learning, is what willencourage and prepare the studentsfor what the market has to offer.

Inclusiveness and mass reach:Institutions have started marketing thebenefits and learning of entrepre-neurial education. Since, when itcomes to business, we see more malecandidates and also people who havemoney to invest, the whole marketingstrategy is based out on the awarenessof investors available for financial sup-port and how women can benefit andmake this career choice their own. Thewhole start-up scenario needs diver-sity and inclusion, which is nowbeing worked upon and is open to allthose who has a mind for business.

Building innovation labs and

creative workspace: The next thinginstitutes are looking forward to isbuilding innovation labs and work-space where the students have thetools, materials, and training theyneed to create prototypes and playaround with innovation. A few col-leges have already established suchspaces inside their campus for the bet-terment of the students. We are look-ing at more communities coming for-ward and building such an innovativespace where the students get to nur-ture their innovation potential.

Boot camps and competitions: Abudding entrepreneur needs the pushto do his best. Rigorous training pro-grammes should be conducted fre-quently that enrich the students withnew ideas, techniques, resources, net-works, investors, tools, infrastructure,and the right mentor is what will drivethem launch their start-ups and makeit a flourishing business. Competitions

with other budding entrepreneursover innovative products and serviceswill give them the boost they need toideate and strategise. The boot campswill help the students grow a businesssense, talk to investors and grow theirnetwork on a national and global plat-form.

Going global: Global problemsneed global solutions. Institutionsand Governments have started col-laborating on using young minds tothink and act globally. Budding entre-preneurs now think of problems froma global angle and are coming up withsolutions that may eradicate somemajor global issues like pollution,global warming, and the availabilityof clean water. The Government hasstarted grants and is investing in suchprojects so that entrepreneurs can pre-sent them in front of a Global forum.

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Internship programmes are agreat way for graduates to

learn how organisations workin practice. While graduateshave a lot of theory under theirbelts, internship programmeshelp them translate it intopractical knowledge.Internships also present themthe opportunity to networkwith industry peers; often, thisvery networking results in afull-time job. In fact, an intern-ship is widely regarded as thefirst step towards working full-time with an organisation.

Here are some ways inwhich an internship benefitsgraduates.

Experience first-handknowledge: Theory and prac-tice are two very differentthings. What is possible theo-retically often fails in practiceand vice versa. However, that isnot the case when studentsbecome interns; it is only thenthat they are able to translatelearnings into practice.

Student have a world oftheory under their belt. Byjoining a company, they willunderstand how knowledgegained in a university will beapplied at a workplace. Theywill also gauge the workings ofan organisation. Interns can testthe dynamics of an office envi-ronment to understand thekind of people they will workwith in the future. They willunderstand what types of skillsthey will need to excel profes-sionally. Back in college, theycan think over their experienceand determine what they needto become successful leaders.

The necessity of a net-work: Networking plays a hugerole in building a successfulcareer. It is fair to say that thereis nothing more crucial. Thosewho learn how to network

arm themselves with contactsthat will helpful in the future.

Without a secure network,even the most gifted profes-sionals will struggle in theircareers. With the help of a reli-able system, even an averageemployee can reach the upperechelons of an industry. Aftera point in a person’s career, theright mix of talent and networkis required to achieve success.

Learn leadership skills:Having excellent leadershipskills is almost a prerequisite forsuccess in any domain. In fact,every company needs a goodleader. Achieving goals anddriving large teams is impossi-ble without excellent leadershipskills.

During an internship,graduates get the chance to seeleadership in action. They seefirst-hand the qualities of greatleaders. An intern is usuallypart of a team and is expectedto learn and contribute to thecollective efforts. They areexceptionally well-poised togain because they are youngand adaptable. By observingthe actions of leaders, internslearn how to manage teamdynamics.

Build a résumé andimprove skills: When it istime to look for a full-time job,where one interned becomesvital. Organisations like to hirepeople who have interned inleading organisations.

An intern has the advan-tage of adding the name of thecompany where they internedto their résumé. They also getto add to their CV the kinds ofjobs they did and what theylearnt. Recruiters look for thosewho have demonstrated theireffectiveness in internships.

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As schools and collegesaround the world

have shut down to limitthe coronavirus outbreak,college authorities andeducators around theglobe have shifted itsfocus to the online medi-um.

With online classesbeing the norm today,Board Infinity, a careertech startup has intro-duced micro-learning in

personal finance & invest-ment planning, datastructure & algorithms, AI& ML, product manage-ment, placement &internship preparation,and python for data sci-ence.

These modules areavailable from 10 hours to20 hours depending uponthe learners' needs.Students can thus masterthe fundamentals fromthe comfort of their homeand at an affordable cost.

On successful comple-tion, the learners alsoreceive a digital certificatefor each program.

In addition, the stu-dents have the advantageof live classes & mentoringfrom the industry expertsto strengthen the funda-mentals of each course.

Speaking on this occa-sion, Sumesh Nair, Co-Founder of Board Infinitysays, “COVID-19 hasthrown life out of gear foreveryone, whether it is

business, parents or stu-dents. But thanks to tech-nology, students are ableto enhance their skills &continue their education.Keeping this in mind, wehave introduced a shorterduration programme forstudents & working pro-fessionals to continuetheir learning and getaccustomed to new-ageskills. This is a great timeto upskill till the marketpicks up in the upcomingquarters.”

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The IP University invites onlineapplications for admission to 21

seats of MTech (Engineering Physics)available at the University School ofBasic & Applied Sciences. The lastdate of submission of application forthis programme is April 17, 2020.

The eligibility to apply for thisprogramme is either BTech in elec-tronics, computer science or postgraduate in physics or maths.

The admission in this programmewill be given on the basis of CommonEntrance Test (CET) conducted bythe university.

GATE qualified candidates will be

given first preference in admission inthe programme. All GATE qualifiedcandidates admitted in the pro-gramme will be given a scholarshipof �12,400 per month as per AICTEnorms.

The admission brochure, onlineapply option and other details in thisregard are available on the universi-ty’s website www.ipu.ac.in.

This programme has beendesigned to bridge the gap betweenphysics, enginering and technology.IP University is the first university inthe country which is running thiscourse.

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The Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) fellowship was announcedfor the year 2019-2020 on March 20, 2020. KVPY is a two-stage exam, a

National Programme of Fellowship in Basic Sciences, initiated and funded bythe Department of Science & Technology, Government of India to attract excep-tionally highly motivated students for pursuing basic science courses andresearch career in science.

Students studying in Class XI/XII & first year of graduation are eligibleto appear in the exam. The objective of the programme is to identify studentswith talent and aptitude for research; help them realise their academic poten-tial; encourage them to take up research careers in Science.

This year, 28 students secured KVPY fellowship from FIITJEE PunjabiBagh Centre. Harshvardhan Agarwal, resident of Sonipat in Haryana, study-ing in Class XII, secured All India Rank 3.

“KVPY is an extremely prestigious exam as it assesses a student’s com-petency in science & maths oriented towards scientific research.” said ecsta-tic Partha Halder, Centre Head of FIITJEE, Punjabi Bagh Centre.

Acrisis comes with the abili-ty to always leave its impacton education in one way or

another. Be it the cloud of chokingsmoke or the anti-CAA riots andnow Coronavirus, educationalinstitutions are always the first tobear the effect in the wake of anyforthcoming crisis. But it’s time thattoday’s educators rethink highereducation for a world that’s beingoverturned by technology.

The unprecedented pace ofsocietal change is proportionatelycarving the need for reform moreurgently than ever. This comes withpressure on higher education as theengine of progress, both in premieras well as mid-level educationalinstitutions, in a knowledge-basedeconomy to urge a seamless tran-sition into the digitalisation of tra-ditional schooling methods.

This begins with embracingstackable, online learning, which isa yielding way that provides bothflexibility and affordability whichin turn increases access to univer-sity curricula while also allowingstudents to engage in learning. Butdespite the ample benefits that thisinnovative concept has to offer, westill think of ways that can improvethe learning process and makeonline education seem seamless?

There was a time when teach-

ing efficiency was typically beingdetermined by the money, timeand resources that are crucial forobtaining desired results. Whichmeant that the learning processbecomes better if fewer expensesand less time is involved. If you lackthe required finances for develop-ing exceptional online learningmethod then the good practicewould be to seek help from reliablecompanies, and their solution isaffordable in nature.

A digitally-powered ecosystemcould seamlessly connect experteducators from academia or indus-try to deliver all the custom learn-ing programmes for students, evenin the state of pandemics at anaffordable price point. After all, thewhole essence of the state-of-arteLearning system is not just basedon the modules but also theamount of money that one is suf-ficiently willing to spend on mak-ing it worthwhile.

All this is because of the factthat pedagogy of online educationsystem is somewhat akin to thegiants of the internet and it mustfinally be treated as a core business,where the educational institutionswill need appropriate budgetingalong with the potential resourcesto pull of these demands. So,bringing in the affordability factor

deepens the global mandate thatonline education's potentialbecomes complementary.

The next in line is to carry avery effective approach which pre-cisely directs every aspect of onlineeducation including the teaching,curriculum, practice, administra-tion, technology and even aligns

with the institutional culture inorder to leave a positive impact onthe overall method of learning

No matter how advance oreven unique the overall e-learningsystem might be, it should alwaysbe supported by a team of highlyskilled as well as competent teach-ers who are willing to create cours-es and teaching material accordingto the requirement of the students— be it comprising of a disciplinedschedule or a well-thought assess-ment and curriculum, this wouldmake the online learning processas seamless as it can get.

We’re fortunate to have thetechnology at our disposal to cre-ate a virtual learning system whichcordially allows us to engage andcollaborate just as well as we werepresent in the classroom. It is note-worthy to see the variety of activ-ities that are now possible onlineand allow through an effectivelearning environment.

The most formative practice isthat the teachers utilise a combi-nation of both synchronous andasynchronous activities, fabricatinga thorough blend of online learn-ing styles by using newer and morecollaborative video and audio tools.Operating with a mix of theseactivities will help in making thecontent more exciting and inter-

esting, ultimately increasing stu-dent engagement with both theteacher and the other leaners.

It is only wise to acknowledgethe growing importance of mobilelearning for online teachers, withstudents natively getting accus-tomed to using their mobiles notjust for gaming and connecting butalso for learning. It is to be admin-istered that mobile learning holdsan edge over learners, allowingthem to learn on the go and accessup-to-date course materials alongwith all the relevant content any-where, anytime.

With the bite-sized informa-tion available readily which can bedigested quickly and at ease, learn-ers can really dig deep to workthrough the entire course materi-al at their own sweet pace, facili-tating both productivity and per-formance.

To make the transition seam-less, make sure that you impartonline education in a way that canbe easily accessed via mobilephones, laptops, and iPads to max-imise your teaching methods anddemonstrate to the learners thatyou are in prior touch with themodern workforce along with itsrelevant technology.

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The PGDM stands for Post GraduateDiploma in Management. It is con-cerned with the teachings of Master’s

of Business Administration on a higher leveland a more practical way. In India, wherenew companies are emerging every day, itis important for companies to hire peopleof the highest calibre and proficiency.Amidst this pandemic quite a few expertsare of the view that the post-pandemicworld will see a huge rise in start-ups simul-taneously creating a huge demand for freshmanagement graduates that can stand tallin the changed market scenario.

Unlike an MBA which is pretty com-mon these days, we can see a lot of youngindividuals moving towards the PGDMprogramme which is the upgraded and amore relevant version of MBA. Historicallyspeaking a person holding a PGDM degreeis more likely to score a higher position ina company because of his practical acumen.This is true because of the skillset impart-ed and diversified teaching methods usedin PGDM curriculum. As soon as the mar-ket opens after the lockdown the corporateworld will start to look out for managerswith diverse skillsets further enhancing therelevance of a PDGM programme becauseduring this programme the graduatesdevelop the right skills that make themmore suitable for coping up with thechanged environment. Here are five PGDMskills can promote inclusion and diversityin the corporate world.

PGDM is and will always be anindustry-oriented programme: Due to theautonomous nature of the institutions thatoffer PGDM program, the curriculum isalways industry oriented and as the indus-try is changing amidst this pandemic so isthe pedagogy of these institutions. An indi-vidual holding a PGDM degree will beequipped to cope with the dynamic envi-ronment that is soon to come because hewill already be in close proximity with theleaders and corporations already riding thischange.

Practical approach: The PGDM hasbeen designed for practical usage — the stu-dents not only learn theoretical knowledgeof the concepts but they get to apply those

principles in real-life situations as well. Whatbetter course during these changing times.

Preference for higher studies:Companies in India and abroad tend to pre-fer candidates of PGDM over MBA formanagerial positions because of the verynature of the course. The PGDM graduatesare more adaptable and dynamic.

Faculty with industry exposure: AsPGDM is a PG course, the faculty whoteaches these subjects are among the bestpeople in their field of work. Most of thefaculty members that you see here wouldbe people with a lot of industry exposure.This breaks the convention of teaching andbrings out the best in both the students andteachers as they groom the students usingtheir personal experience and practicalknowledge of the industry.

Job-related skills: The practical knowl-edge received by a student is the mostimportant factor in his journey towards suc-cess, a PGDM course ensures just that, andas the times change so will the teaching pat-tern in a PGDM course. It will be modelledto become more in sync with the marketand will prepare the students for actual jobs.The skillsets they have will go a long wayin their journey towards success andachievements.

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Applications are invit-ed from highlyskilled candidates

from across the globe haveto manage their finances foran undergraduate course byapplying for InternationalUndergraduate EntranceScholarships sponsored bythe University of Guelph,Canada for the academicsession 2020-2021.

Eligibility: Mustremain registered in full-time studies and achieve aminimum 80.0% average intheir previous academicyear of full-time study (typi-cally fall/winter). Attach thefollowing documents: CV,Proof of language proficien-cy (international candi-dates) and Contact infor-mation (email, address,phone).

Language require-ment: The candidate shouldhave a very good commandof the English language.Therefore, the applicationshould be written inEnglish.

Award: $5,500 – $8,500How to apply: In order

to apply for the opportunity,candidates must submit theapplication form to the uni-versity.

Application deadline:June 1, 2020.

The Swansea UKinvites applications for itsfully-funded MBACentenary Internationalfor academic year 2020-2021. This scholarship isopen to students of anynationality.

The programme offers£20,000 to excellent aspi-rants towards tuition fees.

Eligibility: Must befully self-funding yourstudies. Students are alsorequired to have an under-graduate degree or equiva-lent with at least a 2:1.

Must have accepted anoffer to study on the MBAcourse at the university.

Applicants must createand submit 4-5 minutevideo (mp4), 4-5 minutepodcast (mp3), 1,500 worddiary entry (doc, pdf orppt). Include full name andstudent number in submis-sion. Submit their certifi-cates, CV and academictranscripts.

Language require-ment: Applicants fromoutside the home countrywill often need to meetspecific English languagerequirements in order tobe able to study at the uni-versity.

How to apply: Submitcompleted documents [email protected].

Application deadline:It is June 30, 2020.

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Veteran India batsman Suresh Raina onTuesday said MS Dhoni was trying toinnovate a lot while batting during the

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp which gotcancelled midway due to the COVID-19pandemic. There has been a lot of debateabout Dhoni’s future if the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) does not eventually see the lightof the day due to the lockdown gettingextended till May 3.

“He was batting really well. Cricket is stillleft in him. He has looked innovative. Weplayed practice games and those sixes are asbig as they were. Three hours of batting inthe evening, that too, in Chennai heat is noteasy and we did that (during the camp). Ifyou ask me, Mahi bhai is batting brilliant-ly,” Raina said in an Instagram Live session.

“His body is not showing signs of age-ing. He was looking different and was try-ing to do something else, something differ-ent, new. So people will get to know whenthey see him,” said Raina who won the 2011World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophyunder Dhoni’s leadership.

Raina further said he is still hopeful ofa comeback in the T20 team ahead of theWorld Cup, slated to be held in October.The 33-year old also slammed the selec-tors for not providing enough reasonas to why he was dropped after theEngland tour in 2018.

“I have played for 14-15 years.Under Mahi bhai then Dada(Sourav Ganguly)..they alwaysused to tell me what was wrong.Virat (Kohli) also does that butthe selectors don’t all thetime.

“They shouldhave taken moreresponsibility(when dealingwith) seniorplayers. Youneed to knowthe reason whyyou are not bat-ting in nets onefine morning.

Someone has to give us detail where to bat,what to do?” said Raina who has played 18Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20s for India.

Putting his weight behind youngwicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant,Raina said he is lacking in confidence atthe moment and seniors need to guidehim.

“Rishabh Pant is very talented.Someone has to step up and guide him.When I used to play, Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh)paa used to tell me, ‘you make mistakesand we will guide you’. So Rishabhshould be backed. He has hundredsabroad and he is not a fluke player.Somewhere I think he is not gettingconfidence..he is missing something,”

he said.

IPL 2020 POSTPONEDINDEFINITELY

The BCCI onTuesday told IPL fran-chises that the eventstands “postponed indef-

initely” after the lock-down to combat theCOVID-19 pan-demic was extendedtill May 3, leavingno scope for theleague to take place

during its designatedwindow.

While the development hasn’t beenofficially announced as yet but it is learntthat the BCCI has reached out to all thestakeholders, including the eight franchis-es and the broadcasters, to convey that theevent stands “postponed and not cancelled”.

“Yes, the BCCI has intimated us that IPLhas been postponed for the time being butthey are hopeful of finding a window later

this year as and when things normalise,”a veteran franchise official said.

It is understood that BCCI presidentSourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shahwere waiting for the government direc-tive and once the lockdown was extend-ed till May 3 on Tuesday, they saw nopossibility of holding the IPL during itstraditional April-May window.

Melbourne : Former Australia captain AllanBorder has given a thumbs down to the conceptof Australia hosting the ICC WorldT20 in emptystadiums in the wake of the COVID-19 pandem-ic. Currently, the Australian government hassealed its border for six months till September 30to deal with the global health crisis.

With the flagship event starting October 18,there are speculations that Cricket Australia mightbe forced to conduct matches in empty stadiums,something that is not acceptable to the World Cupwinning former skipper.

“I just can’t imagine playing at empty stadi-ums ... It defies belief,” he told Fox Sports News.

In fact, Border said that he doesn’t see theWorld T20 happening if spectators are not allowedinside the stadiums as the purpose of the sportis lost. “Having teams, support staff and every-one else associated with the game wanderingaround the country, playing games of cricket, butyou can’t let people into the grounds. I just can’tsee it happening,” Border said.

For him, it’s an either-or situation for CricketAustralia. “It’s either you play it and everyone justgets on with the job and we’re past this pandem-ic or it just has to be cancelled and you try to fitit in somewhere else,” said the 64-year-oldBorder. PTI

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Cricket in front of emptystands came up for dis-

cussion between Australianoff-spinner Nathan Lyonand pacer Mitchell Starcwith both wondering howIndian captain Virat Kohliwould adapt to such anatmosphere if their Testseries this year is held with-out fans.

India are set to play afour-match Test series inAustralia later this year.But with the COVID-19pandemic wreaking havoc,speculation is rife that thegames could be held behindclosed doors.

This led Lyon andteammate Mitchell Starc todiscuss how Kohli’s on-fielddemeanour would changewithout the backing andnoise of the crowd, some-thing the Indian captainthrives on.

“He’s probably goodenough to adapt to any sce-nario. But I was talking toMitch Starc the other dayand we actually said that ifwe are playing with nocrowd, it’ll be quite amazingto see Virat trying to rev upthe (empty) seats,” Lyonwas quoted as saying bycricket.Com.Au.

“It’s going to be a littlebit different, but Virat is asuperstar. He’ll be able toadapt to any climate thatwe’re able to play in,” Lyonadded.

Sports calendars havebeen shredded worldwide,including international anddomestic cricket all over.

The 32-year-old Lyon isstill excited by the prospectof the series against India.

“I’m excited about theprospect of India comingout to Australia, it’s upthere with the biggest seriesalongside the Ashes.They’re an absolute power-house of the cricket world,and to have those guys outhere is going to be fantastic,”he said.

Lyon remains hopefulthat the home series will goahead, with or without fans.

“Playing in front ofcrowds or no crowds is outof our control, we’ve got tofollow the advice of all theamazing medical people

around the world.“I haven’t thought about

no crowds or massivecrowds, it’s just about theopportunity of playingagainst India again,” he said.

Australia tasted theirfirst Test series loss to Indiaon home turf in 2018-19when Kohli’s men handedthem a 2-1 defeat.

However, with the likesof Steve Smith and DavidWarner, who were undersuspension last time, andMarnus Labuschagne, theAustralian batting unitseems pretty solid now.

“They had the woodover us last time they cameover here but we’re a muchstronger Australian cricketside at the moment, and I’mjust unbelievably excitedabout playing them here athome.”

‘PUJARA NEW WALL’Apart Kohli, Lyon also

heaped praise onCheteshwar Pujara and hastermed him as ‘new wall’ ofTeam India.

Pujara was one of themain architects of India’sfamous win in 2018-19. Hescored three centuries andwas the leading run-getterin the four-match rubber.

According to Lyon,Australia need to reassesstheir approach to Pujaranext time around.

“I think Pujara fliesunder the radar a little bitwhen you look at theIndian side,” Lyon said.

“Obviously you look atRahane and Virat and theseguys. But Pujara is a wall.He’s the new wall I shouldsay. It helps that he playedexceptionally well last timeout here. He adapted hisgame. He had a bit of luckwhich is what you needwhen you’re playing at thetop level.

“He obviously playedhis absolute backside off,which for India was good tosee but we’re going to haveto make sure that come thissummer we have to comewith some new plans tocombat Pujara. As I said, heflies under the radar a lit-tle bit — he definitely won’the flying under the radarcome this summer,” headded.

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Former Indian batsman VVSLaxman has rejected the idea

of having four-day Test matches,saying reducing the length of thegame by a day will reduce thechances of it yielding the desiredresults.

“I am not really a fan of thisfour-day Test cricket, five days fitsperfect because it gets moreresults and reducing it the fourdays will not achieve the desiredresults according to me,” Laxmansaid while speaking on StarSports Cricket Connected show.

“Another point aspect is thetoss, especially during the over-seas tour the captain from the vis-iting side gets to decide what hewants to choose because we

want to see teams travelling andwinning matches on away turfwhich makes it more interestingfor spectators,” he added.

The ICC cricket committeeis considering having four-dayTests a part of the World TestC’ship from 2023. The ICC’sincreasing demand for eventwindows, the proliferationof domestic T20 leagues,BCCI’s demands for itsown sizeable share ofbilateral calendar space,and the costs of stagingTest series are all saidto be the factors con-tributing to themove.

Meanwhile onthe same show,former England

captain Nasser Hussain believesthat quality of pitches and spec-tator experience is key to preserv-ing Test cricket.

“The keys areas I can pin-point to one’s pitches is that ifthey are flat, like one inCambridge which years agowhen Jimmy Anderson got 90

odd runs from 600 balls.The games on these pitch-es are boring and old

school. Those days have gotto go in Test match cricket,300+ score in first inningswhere the ball slightly domi-

nates back making it great forviewing and crowd experi-ence. The match gives a valueadd to the tickets boughtand England Test matchticket are not cheap.”

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Tokyo organizers on Tuesdaysaid that they have no ‘B Plan’

in the event the Olympics needto be postponed again becauseof the coronavirus pandemic.

Masa Takaya, thespokesman for the TokyoOlympics, said organizersare proceeding under theassumption the Olympicswill open on July 23, 2021.The Paralympics follow

on August 24.Those dates were set

last month by theInternational Olympic

Committee and Japaneseofficials after the coron-avirus pandemic made it

clear the Olympics could

not be held as scheduled this sum-mer.

“We are working toward thenew goal,” Takaya said on a telecon-ference call with journalists.

“We don’t have a B Plan.”The severity of the pandemic

and the death toll has raised ques-tions if it will even be feasible tohold the Olympics in just over 15

months. Several Japanese journal-ists raised the question on the call.

“All I can tell you today is thatthe new games’ dates for both theOlympic and Paralympic Gameshave been just set up,” Takayasaid.

“In that respect, Tokyo 2020and all concerned parties now aredoing their very best effort todeliver the games next year.”

IOC President Thomas Bachwas asked about the possibility ofa postponement in an interviewpublished in the German newspa-per Die Welt on Sunday.

He did not answer the questiondirectly, but said later that Japaneseorganizers and Prime MinisterShinzo Abe indicated they “couldnot manage a postponementbeyond next summer at the lastest.”

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Aleading Italian doctor spe-cialising in infectious

diseases said on Mondayhe would be against SerieA restarting its seasonnext month.

Football across thecountry, which hasrecorded more than 20,000deaths from the coronaviruspandemic, has been postponedsince March 9 due to the out-break.

According to local reportsthe league could begin again at

the end of next month, withplayers returning to training onMay 4.

“If I had to give a techni-cal view, sincerely it would notbe a favourable one. That beingsaid, it will be of course for thepoliticians to decide,” saidGiovanni Rezza, the head ofinfectious diseases at Italy’sNational Institute of Health.

“I’ve heard certain peoplepropose more strict observa-tions with players tested everyfew days. But sincerely it seemsto me a slightly far-fetched the-ory. And we’re almost in Mayalready.

“It’s obvious that politicswill decide. But it’s a sport thatinvolves contact and that con-tact could imply a certain riskof transmission.”

The Italian FootballFederation (FIGC) is setto meet on Wednesdayto discuss the medicalprotocols surroundingplayers training again,with lockdown measuresin the country extended

to May 3.“We’ll start, I hope, at the

start of May with tests to makesure the players are negativeand that training can start,” theFIGC’s president GabrieleGravina told Sky Sport.

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Chelsea andManchester City

are reportedly interest-ed in signing Germanycaptain Manuel Neuer,whose contract exten-sion talks have stalled atBayern Munich,according to Kickermagazine.

The goalkeeper’scurrent deal expires inJune 2021 and Neuer,34, is said to be angrythat details of the rene-gotiations have beenleaked to the Germanpress, according toKicker.

Germany’s top-sell-ing daily Bild claimsthat Neuer’s agentThomas Kroth hasasked Bayern for asalary for his client of20 million euros ($22million) per season.

If the talks fail, clubcaptain Neuer could befree to leave Bayern inJune and attract theinterest of the PremierLeague clubs.

Kicker’s chiefreporter KarlheinzWild says the“willingness toresume negotia-tions” is weakon both sidesb e t w e e nBayern andNeuer.

“It couldstill takeweeks, evenmonths, before a finaldecision is taken.Positions have sofar become toohardened.”

According toBild, Neuer reported-

ly wants a contractextension until 2025,but Bayern are onlyprepared to offer a dealuntil 2023 — when hewill be 37 years old —with the option of anextra year.

The leaking of thedetails of Neuer’sdemands has ‘seriouslyshaken’ the trustbetween the player andhis club, according toKicker.

Neuer, who helpedGermany win the 2014World Cup title, hasbeen named worldgoalkeeper of the yearfour times.

He has kept 191clean sheets in 373appearances for Bayernsince joining fromSchalke in 2011 andmade 92 appearancesfor Germany.

�������� The remaining 28matches of the suspended I-League is set to be cancelledin the wake of the extensionof nationwide lockdown.

Mohun Bagan will beofficially crowned the I-League champions as theyhave already clinched thetitle with four rounds left inthe competition.

A top official of the AllIndia Football Federationsaid that a formal decision tocall off the remaining match-es of the I-League is expect-ed to be taken in a video callmeeting on Thursday.

The other issues to besorted out are determiningthe second and third placeclubs as well as the team to berelegated to second division.

There is a three-way raceamong East Bengal, MinervaPunjab (both with 23 pointsfrom 16 matches) and RealKashmir (22 points from 15matches) for the runners-upslot. With cancellation ofremaining matches on cards,the AIFF meeting will have totake a call on a likely split ofthe prize money among thesecond and third placedteams. PTI

$������A decision on whether to goahead with June’s French FormulaOne Grand Prix behind closed doorsor to postpone or scrap the event willbe made in the coming days, organ-isers said.

The grand prix scheduled forJune 28 is the first race on therevised Formula One world champi-onship calendar with nine racesalready scrapped or suspended.

Following French PresidentEmmanuel Macron’s announcementthat the lockdown in France will beextended until May 11 and publicgatherings banned until mid-July, aspokesman for the race organiserssaid that they “have been studying allscenarios” including postponementor staging the event behind closeddoors. AFP

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Former ManchesterUnited star Marouane

Fellaini was discharged onTuesday after spendingmore than three weeks in aChinese hospital beingtreated for coronavirus.

The 32-year-old mid-fielder, the only playerknown to have contractedthe disease in the Chinese

Super League, will nowspend 14 days in quarantinefor further observation, hisclub Shandong Luneng said.

The Belgium interna-tional said on March 22 thathe had tested positive forthe virus, having justreturned to China, butassured fans that he wasfeeling fine.

In an Instagram updateon Tuesday, he wrote: “The

time has come for me tothank from the bottom ofmy heart the medical staffof the hospital, their nurs-ing staff as well as my cluband its medical staff for tak-ing such good care of mewith so much kindness andfor ensuring my comfortwhilst there.

“The hardest part isbehind me! Let’s keep fight-ing, it’s important.”

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Afinisher of repute himself, former Australia batmanMichael Hussey believes India’s World Cup-winning for-

mer captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s “unbelievable power”and “self-belief ” make him the greatest of all time in that role.

“Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the crick-eting world has ever produced,” Hussey told Sanjay Manjarekaron ESPNcricinfo.

“Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition cap-tain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knowsthat when he needs to clear the ropes he can do it. He hasthat kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn’t have that kind of beliefin myself.”

The 44-year-old Hussey said he also picked up a trick ortwo about chasing from Dhoni while playing for ChennaiSuper Kings.

“I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over. And Ilearnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes thathe who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep hiscool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowleras well.”

Talking about the traits of great players, Hussey said: “Theydon’t hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they moveon quickly. They don’t let a loss or a win hamper their think-ing. They are always consistent, and level headed whether it’sMS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting”.

Dhoni led the CSK to three IPL titles besides winning thenow-defunct Champions League T20 twice.

Asked what is the reason behind three-time championsCSK’s consistent run in the IPL, Hussey said: “Supportive own-ers who let the coach (Stephen) Fleming and captain Dhonidecide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between thecoach and the captain, Dhoni’s leadership.

“This has built an excellent continuity in the team. Andonce you have continuity, you build relationships and trustthat otherwise takes time to grow.”

However, Hussey believes it will be more challenging forCSK to build a new team once Dhoni hangs his boots.

“I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involvedin some way or the other. However, whenever the change ofguard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, builda brand new team, and use their existing philosophy as theyenter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be morechallenging in current times,” he said.

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