CIVIL SNIPPETS

NSA to be filed against 6 for harassing nurses #GS2 #Governance

The Uttar Pradesh government has said that six persons associated with the Tablighi Jamaat who have
been accused of misbehaving with women staff at the district hospital in Ghaziabad will be charged
under the National Security Act (NSA).

Though the government is yet to issue an official statement, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish
Awasthi attributed the direction to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“Ye na kanoon ko manenge, na vyavastha ko manenge, ye manavta ke dushman hai... [They don’t follow
the law or the system, they are enemies of humanity],” Mr. Awasthi said in an official WhatsApp group
quoting Mr. Adityanath.

The police had filed an FIR against the six persons who attended the Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation in
Delhi and were admitted to the MMG District Hospital.

Nurses there accused them of inappropriate behaviour and complained to Medical Superintendent
Ravinder Singh, who wrote to the Uttar Pradesh police.

Dr. Singh said the six were using obscene language and were making vulgar gestures at the staff. His
letter said that some of them were moving around in a state of undress and were demanding bidis and
cigarettes.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/nsa-to-be-filed-against-6-for-harassing-
nurses/article31253811.ece

Coronavirus toll touches 62; revised testing norms likely #GS3 #SnT
The number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the country with 336 new cases reported in the past
24 hours taking the total tally to 2,547, while 18 more deaths were reported, the Union Health Ministry
said on Friday.

India has registered 62 deaths due to COVID-19 so far, while 162 patients have been discharged.
Nationwide, 66,000 samples have been tested so far, which includes repeat tests on patients to confirm
health status.

“India, due to its early measures, had been able to keep its COVID-19 numbers low but one incident has
caused our numbers to rise, which highlights the need for absolute compliance. The 647 coronavirus
cases reported over the last two days are linked to the religious gathering of the Islamic sect Tablighi
Jamaat in Delhi. These cases are spread across 14 States. Some deaths have also been linked to this,”
Joint Secretary at the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said at the Ministry’s daily press briefing.
According to reports from State Health Departments, the total number of confirmed cases nationwide
was 2,947 with 2,655 active cases. The death toll rose to 83.

Maharashtra continued to report the most cases at 417, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi where
numbers have spiked to 411 and 386 repectively. Kerala reported 286 cases, while Telangana reported
229 cases.

Despite the rise in cases, Mr. Agarwal said the revised testing guideline is still under consideration and
would be released by Saturday. He added that the Ministry’s newly launched app — Aarogya Setu —
had been downloaded by 30 lakh people.

Rapid antibody test

In an interim advisory, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended the use of the rapid
antibody test in the country’s coronavirus hotspots. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting on
Thursday of the National Task Force dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. “Population in hotspot areas may
be tested using rapid antibody test. Antibody positives to be confirmed by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-
PCR) using throat/nasal swab, and antibody negatives to be quarantined at home,” the ICMR advisory
said.

The official said the Health Ministry was in touch with the States to trace, track, isolate and treat cases.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/coronavirus-toll-touches-62-revised-testing-norms-
likely/article31253800.ece

After PM’s call, energy authorities make plans #GS3 #SnT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for switching off electric lights at homes across the nation for nine
minutes at 9 p.m. on April 5, as a mark of demonstrating a collective will to fight the COVID-19
pandemic, has prompted energy authorities to swing into action.

The Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO), which runs the national load despatch centre, got
in touch with all the regional load despatch centres, which, in turn, asked constituent-States to prepare
plans for managing the power supply position in their States for the purpose. This led senior officials of
the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) and Transmission Corporation
(Tantransco) to discuss details of the plan that was being finalised, one of the officials said.

Mr. Modi’s call pertains only to the domestic lighting load and does not cover electricity consumption by
the domestic category on account of use of refrigerators or air-conditioners or television sets, the
officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, observed.

Energy industry officials added that the move is not likely to cause any major disruption in the power
distribution system.

As a thumb rule, lighting constitutes 50% of the domestic sector’s overall load.
If you take Tamil Nadu, for instance, the share of domestic consumers in overall electricity consumption
is about 18%. At the all-India level, it is 24%, according to “Energy Statistics 2019,” a document
published by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. This is why the situation
is manageable, point out the experts.

Even now, the ongoing 21-day lockdown has resulted in a perceptible reduction in peak demand.
Compared to the country’s evening peak demand of about 1.56 lakh megawatt (MW) a month ago, the
present demand according to the POSOCO is about 1.2 lakh MW.

In the wake of the Prime Minister’s call, the demand may go down by a maximum of 20,000 MW during
the nine-minute period. In India, the evening peak demand is measured at what is recorded at 7 p.m.
every day.

An official said that Tamil Nadu may see a maximum drop of 2,000 MW in demand during the nine-
minute-period, after which there would likely be a surge. Regulating the operation of several
distribution feeders and keeping ready hydel reservoirs (which can generate 650 MW almost
instantaneously) and gas-powered stations were among the measures being planned by the Tangedco.

One more reason for the assessment of the experts is the presence of an all-India grid, which comes
handy in transferring power seamlessly from one region to another and maintaining the frequency of
the country’s power network at about 50 Hz.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/after-pms-call-energy-authorities-make-
plans/article31253716.ece

Ensure that basic needs of poor are met: President #GS2 #Governance
Taking note of the problems faced by the homeless, the unemployed and the weaker sections of society
during the COVID-19 crisis, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday that the country would have have
to be extra sensitive towards their needs and ensure nobody is left hungry.

Stating that people had set an example by “showing exemplary courage, discipline and solidarity in the
fight against the COVID-19 pandemic”, the President expressed concern over two incidents — the
gathering of migrant workers in Anand Vihar and the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin —
that caused a setback to the efforts.

Speaking with the Governors and Lieutenant Governor (L-Gs) in a video-conference, the President asked
them to deliberate upon the ways and means to help the poor and needy.

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu also took part. He suggested that voluntary organisations could be
roped in to help.

The meeting also deliberated upon reports of doctors, health workers and police personnel coming
under attack in some parts of the country. “In the conference, there was unanimity that there is no
scope for laxity or complacency in fighting the invisible enemy. In this context, the President noted with
concern the incidents of attacks on doctors, health workers and police personnel in some parts of the
country,” a statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/ensure-that-basic-needs-of-poor-are-met-
president/article31253726.ece

Questions over foreign donations for PM-CARES #GS3 #Economy

The government has sent conflicting signals over the question of foreign donations to the new Prime
Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund.

Initially, Indian ambassadors were directed to mobilise donations from abroad, with SWIFT (Society for
Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) code details made available in order to accept such
contributions. However, the Centre has now seemed to take a step back, indicating that foreign funds
would be accepted only from individuals and foundations, with details of foreign donations
unavailable for now.

The PM-CARES Fund also does not seem to have any website with details of objectives, income and
expenditure as yet, raising concerns about its transparency and accountability.

Repeated queries on these issues sent to a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) remain
unanswered.

Public charitable trust

PM-CARES is a public charitable trust launched on March 28 as a “dedicated national fund with the
primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like the one posed by
the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected.

That statement, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first tweets on PM-CARES, included both an
IFSC code as well as a SWIFT code. However, the donation link on the PM’s website now says that
“account details for foreign donations will be available in 2-3 days”. Only the IFSC code is available on
the donation link.

Government sources now say that the “PM CARES Fund will simply accept donations and contributions
from individuals and organisations who are based in foreign countries.” . They pointed to an official
statement in August 2018 that contributions from “NRIs, PIOs and international entities such as
foundations would be welcome.”

While this seems to indicate that the PM-CARES Fund will not accept foreign funds from governmental
or corporate sources, it does seem prepared to accept unlimited tax-free donations from Indian
corporates.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/questions-over-foreign-donations-for-pm-
cares/article31253752.ece
Lockdown lifts Delhi’s air quality to a 5-year high #GS3 #Environment

The ongoing lockdown has pushed pollution levels in Delhi to a 5-year low and, across India, the number
of cities that recorded ‘good’ on the air quality index (AQI) jumped from 6 — on March 16 — to 30 as on
March 29, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.

PM 2.5, the most dangerous pollutant, measured at the pollution monitoring station in Anand Vihar,
New Delhi, ranged from 16 g/m³ - 42g/m³ (microgram per metre cubed) from March 25 to April 1, the
first week of the lockdown.

By comparison, PM 2.5 had ranged from 72-187g/m³ during the corresponding period last year, and 72-
171g/m³ in 2018.

In 2016, it spanned 49-116g/m³, station data on the website of the CPCB shows.

It wasn’t possible to compare the air quality index, which is a weighted average of the contribution of
several pollutants, in this week from that in previous years, as such data wasn’t available on the website.

Janata curfew report

The CPCB in a report on the impact of the ‘Janata curfew’ on March 22, said that on the day before, AQI
was ‘Moderate (101-250)’ in Delhi.

“Overall, up to 44% reduction in PM10 levels was observed in Delhi during March 22-23, 2020,
compared to previous day. The PM2.5 reduction was 8% on the curfew day but declined to 34% next day
owing to negligible combustion activities on March 22-23, 2020, in and around the city,” the report said.
The key factor that triggered the decline was the number of on-road vehicles, which contributed to a
51% reduction in NOx levels and a 32% reduction in carbon monoxide levels during March 22-23 as
compared to March 21.Unlike in the winter months, Delhi and other regions of the Indo Gangetic Plains
generally tend to have better air quality in March, aided by consistent wind and sunlight, which help
flush out pollutants.

“The impact of meteorological factors was partially favourable... however the reduction in air pollution
can be largely attributed to transport and commercial-industrial restrictions,” the CPCB said in its report.

Research studies have attributed the key sources of PM2.5 in summer to be: dust and construction
activities (35%), transport sector (20%) and industry (20%).

Lockdown effect

During the lockdown PM10 and PM2.5 levels were reduced by about 35-40%. The cessation of industries
contributed to this reduction by 10%, vehicles 10-15% and dust another 10-15%, the organisation
calculated.

As on March 29, a total 91 cities were under ‘Good’ (0-50) and ‘Satisfactory (51-100)’ categories, with 30
cities with ‘Good’ AQI values. However, Lucknow, Muzaffarpur, Kalyan, Guwahati and Singrauli were
under ‘Poor’ category during March 25-28.

High emission levels in Lucknow and Guwahati were noted for PM2.5, attributable to ‘local’ combustion
related activities. As on March 29, no city was under ‘Poor’ AQI (251-300) category.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/lockdown-lifts-delhis-air-quality-to-a-5-year-
high/article31253738.ece

Over two fold rise in domestic violence cases: NCW #GS2 #Governance
The first week of the nationwide lockdown, which has left many facing job losses, uncertainty over
salaries, forced isolation and stressed households, has resulted in a steep rise in violence against
women. The National Commission for Women (NCW), which receives complaints from across the
country, has recorded more than a two fold rise in gender-based violence.

The total complaints from women rose from 116 in the first week of March (March 2- 8), to 257 in the
final week of March (March 23-April 1). Complaints of rape or attempted rape have risen sharply from
two to 13, while cases of domestic violence have increased from 30 to 69 over the same comparative
period. Simultaneously, there has been an almost three fold increase in police apathy towards women’s
complaints, with the NCW receiving 16 complaints on the issue as compared to six earlier.

Similarly, complaints relating to the “right to live with dignity” too have doubled, rising from 35 cases to
77.
Such cases could pertain to discrimination on the basis of gender, class or caste or all three of them
combined.

Activists believe that these may only be the tip of the iceberg, as many women will not be able to reach
out because of restrictions on movement and lack of privacy inside homes.

Jagori, a Delhi-based NGO, which runs helplines for women victims of violence, has, in fact, experienced
a 50% drop in calls.

“Women need to be at ease to make calls for help,” said Jaya Velankar, director, Jagori. “They need
privacy, when they are certain that they will not be discovered by their family. But when the entire
family is at home, it is difficult for them to call the helpline,” she added.

“Lockdown can’t mean that you save me from a virus, but you expose me to other forms of violence,”
said Senior advocate and women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover. She said that groups will be making a
representation to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/over-two-fold-rise-in-domestic-violence-cases-
ncw/article31253750.ece

Plea seeks minimum wages for migrant workers #GS3 #Economy

The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the plight of migrant workers, especially in the
unorganised sector, during the lockdown and asked the Union government to respond by April 7 to a
petition demanding that Central and State governments pay them minimum wages.

A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao, through videoconferencing, took a serious note of a petition
filed by activists Harsh Mander and Anjali Bhardwaj, who said the declaration of the 21-day national
lockdown without prior information “precipitated an unprecedented humanitarian crisis” for migrant
workers, resulting in their mass exodus to their home towns.

The petition said the Centre and the States should, either jointly or severally, take responsibility to pay
migrant workers at least a week’s wages for their sustenance.

The Bench took suo motu cognisance of a letter sent by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra
highlighting the condition of hundreds of migrants stranded without jobs and essential items during the
lockdown that started from March 24. It is an attempt to enforce social distancing to prevent the
infection from spreading among the general population.

Mass exodus

However, shortly after the lockdown declaration, a mass exodus of panicked migrant workers was
witnessed. They were moving from the metros, where they had come for work, to their home towns.
The government has maintained that the panic was caused by 'fake' news. The Disaster Management
Act, 2005, mandates the Centre and the States to pay compensation to those who have suffered losses
during a disaster. The law requires the government to prepare a national plan to combat the disaster.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/plea-seeks-minimum-wages-for-migrant-
workers/article31253762.ece

Life turns turtle for MSMEs as lockdown chokes #GS3 #Economy

The lockdown ordered to stem the spread of COVID-19 has swept over millions of small and medium
enterprises in tier-2 and -3 cities and across India like a tsunami.

Moving people and machines to facilitate work- from-home (WFH) options became a daunting task for
many, as per industry executives of some mid-tier firms who narrate their harrowing experience.

In some cases, attempts to prove something as ‘essential’ turned into debates between business owners
and local administrators. Consequently, many enterprises and their employees, across places such as
Mysore, Hassan, Udupi, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Nagpur, Goa, Jaipur, Coimbatore and Salem
suffered in terms of lack of businesses continuity and clarity, physical hardship and mental stress.

“It was nightmarish for many companies operating in Coimbatore and Salem. We were running [around]
for permissions to move people and computers. We could easily move people and systems between
Bengaluru and Chennai, but in Salem, the rules were different. And eventually, we lost several days of
productivity and our employees suffered a lot,” explained Chocko Valliappa, CEO of IT services firm, Vee
Technologies that employs 5,000 people across Bengaluru, Chennai and Salem.

The situation was in stark contrast with the promises of many State governments that vie with each
other to attract investments to small cities in their regions.

Not enough time

Certain mid-tier firms are of the opinion that the lockdown came upon them all of a sudden though the
government would have been contemplating it at least a few days before it’s introduction.

“Over 300 of our employees in Bengaluru and Chennai were thrown out of their respective hostels soon
after the lockdown. We arranged some stay for them in Salem and tried to bring them to Chennai. But
authorities made us send them back,” said Mr. Valliappa, whose company supports hospitals in the U.S.
and in India by providing clinical documentation services.

Udupi-based Robosoft Technologies, a UX and UI application development and digital advisory firm, too,
said small firms had suffered huge disruptions after the lockdown.

Robosoft and its arm, 99Games, together employ 600 people across Mangaluru, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Rohith Bhat, founder- CEO at the company said, “Fortunately, we anticipated the trouble slightly in
advance. Some of our customers in Japan [gently] alerted us; therefore, three days before the first
lockdown call, we started moving our men and machines. But we went through a very tough time.
“Had we waited until the complete lockdown announcement, we surely would have faced huge
downtime issues like many others.’’

CII acts

Realising the gravity of the situation, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) sprang into action. It met
the respective State governments and industries departments to chalk out ways to ensure business
continuity for the entire MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) community in the country.

”We discussed a wide array of key topics with the Karnataka government and movement of people,
material and machines was one of them,’’ said Ramesh Ramadurai, vice chairman, CII-Karnataka.

The CII has urged all enterprises, which are still suffering connectivity or business continuity issues, to
reach out to the industry association for assistance.

Pradeep Bhargava, president of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA)
said most IT/ITeS firms in Pune were able to shift to WFH mode with relative ease; however, other firms,
including manufacturing companies, big and small, struggled as the task involved touchpoints with
facilities, staff, vendors and customers.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/life-turns-turtle-for-msmes-as-lockdown-
chokes/article31253664.ece

Foreign investors sell over Rs. 1 lakh-cr. securities in a month, for first time in
history #GS3 #Economy

For the first time in the history of the Indian capital markets, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold
securities worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore in a single month.
As per data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), the cumulative net outflow from the
debt and equity segments was pegged at Rs. 1.18 lakh crore in March — more than double the previous
high of Rs. 44,000 crore witnessed in June 2013.

Further, both the equity and debt segments have individually registered new highs in terms of monthly
outflows of Rs. 61,973 crore and Rs. 60,376 crore, respectively.

COVID-19 concerns

According to market participants, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has affected stocks worldwide is
the primary reason for such record outflows as foreign investors shy away from riskier assets and also,
emerging markets.

The global death toll of the pandemic had crossed the 50,000-mark with more than 10 lakh confirmed
cases. In India, the last few days have seen a greater rise in the number of new cases thereby adding to
investor concerns.

Incidentally, the impact of the record sales by overseas investors has been clearly visible in the stock
markets with the benchmark Sensex registering its worst monthly fall in over 11 years. In March, the 30-
share barometer lost a little over 23% (23.05% to be precise) which was the highest since October 2008
when it plunged 23.89%.

Currently, the Sensex, which closed at 27,590.95 on Friday after falling 674.36 points, or 2.39%, is
trading over 53% lower than its intraday record high of 42,273.87 touched in January.

Interestingly, buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs), which include banks, insurance
companies, mutual funds and domestic financial institutions, has been acting as a strong counter force
to the selling by foreign investors.

As per BSE data, March also saw the highest-ever monthly net purchases by DIIs who bought equities
worth Rs. 55,595.18 crore. This was again double that of the previous high of Rs. 26,033.9 crore
registered in October 2018.

In the current calendar year, while FPIs have sold equities worth Rs. 51,832 crore — they were net
buyers in January and February — DIIs have bought shares worth Rs. 74,554 crore.

Meanwhile, the voluntary retention route, or VRR, in debt securities, which was opened up for FPI
investments in January, has seen an inflow of Rs. 4,165 crore in March while hybrid securities saw a
marginal outflow of Rs. 19 crore, according to NSDL data.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/foreign-investors-sell-over-rs-1-lakh-cr-securities-
in-a-month-for-first-time-in-history/article31253666.ece

Indian rice exports suspended on supply chain disruption due to coronavirus

#GS3 #Economy
Indian rice traders have stopped signing new export contracts amid the nationwide lockdown to curb
the spread of coronavirus, as labour shortages and logistics disruptions have hampered the delivery of
even existing contracts, industry officials said.

The halt in exports from the world's biggest exporter is allowing rival countries such as Thailand to raise
shipments in the short term and lift global prices, forcing millions of poor consumers in Africa to pay
higher prices.

"Shipments have stalled as transport has become very difficult because of the lockdown. Drivers are not
coming and labour is not available at mills and ports," said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice
Exporters Association (REA).

Indian traders have stopped offering quotes to overseas buyers as they are not sure when they would
be able to ship their cargoes, four top exporters told Reuters.

India's export volumes have fallen by four to five times, said Prem Garg, chairman of the Lal Mahal
Group, which exports rice to more than 44 countries.

India will gradually pull out of a three-week lockdown in phases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

About 400,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice and 100,000 tonnes of basmati rice, meant for March-April
delivery, are either stuck at ports or in the pipeline due to the lockdown, exporters said.

New Delhi mainly exports non-basmati rice to Bangladesh, Nepal, Benin and Senegal, and premium
basmati rice to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

As Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar curbed their rice exports, demand for Indian rice surged, but
traders are not signing new contracts, said Nitin Gupta, vice president of trader Olam India's rice
business.

Thailand, the only key exporter to offer rice currently, has seen its export prices soared to their highest
in seven years this week. Before the lockdown, India was offering 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-
INBKN5-P1> at around $365 per tonne free-on-board basis. Thailand is now been offering the same
grade at around $540 per tonne.

"After the lockdown, there will be a huge demand for Indian rice, as India is in a sweet spot in terms of
offering competitive prices," said Olam's Gupta.

Since India has vast surplus stocks, it could start cashing in on demand once labour shortages ease, said
REA's Rao. India's rice exports in 2019 fell 18.1% from a year earlier to 9.87 million tonnes, the lowest in
eight years, as demand moderated from key Asian and African buyers.

India is likely to produce 117.47 million tonnes of rice in 2019/20 against an annual consumption of
about 100 million tonnes, with state inventories at 31 million tonnes. If the lockdown is extended, or the
pandemic spreads among key buying nations, denting demand, India's rice industry could suffer major
losses, said large exporter Vijay Sethia.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-8184671/Indian-rice-exports-suspended-supply-
chain-disruption-industry.html

Does BCG protect against coronavirus? New debate over old vaccine #GS3 #SnT
For millions growing up in India until the 1960s (when the smallpox vaccine came), BCG was the only
vaccine — one that literally introduced the concept of vaccines in the country. A limited rollout started
in 1948 in a bid to lower the tuberculosis burden, and went on to be expanded across the country.

Does this ages-old BCG vaccine also protect against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2)? That is a
question the scientific community worldwide has been discussing over the past few days, ever since a
study pending peer review made the claim, and another set of researchers then refuted it. A look at the
vaccine, and the arguments in the two studies:

The vaccine, its background

The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a live attenuated strain derived from an isolate of
Mycobacterium bovis and has been used widely across the world as a vaccine for tuberculosis. A live
attenuated vaccine means that it uses a pathogen whose potency as a disease producer has been
artificially disabled, but whose essential identifying characters, which help the body mount an immune
response to it, have been left unchanged.

India’s tryst with BCG vaccine is also the story of how vaccines entered post-Independence India. In a
2014 article in the Indian Journal of Medical Research on a ‘Brief History of Vaccines and Vaccinations in
India’, Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, who is associated with the World Health Organization, wrote: “In May
1948, the Government of India issued a press note stating that tuberculosis was ‘assuming epidemic
proportions’ in the country, and that it had ‘after careful consideration’ decided to introduce BCG
vaccination on a limited scale and under strict supervision as a measure to control the disease.

A BCG Vaccine Laboratory at King Institute, Guindy, Madras (Chennai), Tamil Nadu, was set up in 1948.
In August 1948, the first BCG vaccinations were conducted in India. The work on BCG had started in
India as a pilot project in two centres in 1948.”

By 1955-56, the mass campaign had covered all states of India. BCG remains part of the basket of
vaccines included in the Universal Immunisation Programme.

Researchers claimed that the BCG vaccine is reported to provide immunity against a large number of
respiratory diseases.

COVID-19 link, as claimed

Researchers from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) analysed the global spread of COVID-19,
correlated it with data from the world BCG Atlas that shows which countries have BCG vaccine coverage,
and came to the conclusion that countries with a policy for universal BCG vaccination have had a lower
number of cases than those like the US, where universal BCG vaccination was discontinued after the
incidence of TB came down, and Italy.

“Italy, where the COVID-19 mortality is very high, never implemented universal BCG vaccination. On the
other hand, Japan had one of the early cases of COVID-19 but it has maintained a low mortality rate
despite not implementing the most strict forms of social isolation. Japan (has) been implementing BCG
vaccination since 1947.

Iran had also been heavily hit by COVID-19 and it started its universal BCG vaccination policy only in
1984 potentially leaving anybody over 36 years old unprotected. Why did COVID-19 spread in China
despite having a universal BCG policy since the 1950s? During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976),
tuberculosis prevention and treatment agencies were disbanded and weakened.

We speculate that this could have created a pool of potential hosts that would be affected by and
spread COVID-19. Currently, however, the situation in China seems to be improving,” wrote the
researchers from the NYIT’s department of biomedical sciences.

The researchers claimed that the vaccine is reported to provide immunity against a large number of
respiratory diseases. They however advocated randomised control trials with the vaccine to see the
extent of immunity it can provide against the novel coronavirus, which was not known to the world until
December 2019.

“BCG vaccination has been shown to produce broad protection against viral infections and sepsis, raising
the possibility that the protective effect of BCG might be not directly related to actions on COVID-19 but
on associated co-occurring infections or sepsis. However, we also found that BCG vaccination was
correlated with a reduction in the number of COVID-19 reported infections in a country suggesting that
BCG might confer some protection specifically against COVID-19,” the NYIT researchers wrote.

Critique of the claim

Within days of the NYIT study, researchers from the McGill International TB Centre, Montreal wrote out
a critique, questioning among other things its methodology, the extent of COVID-19 spread globally at
the time the study was conducted, and some of the presumptions made. They questioned the premise
that a correlation essentially is one of cause and effect without any other possible explanation.

They wrote: “There is danger in citing that there is evidence that a century-old vaccine may boost
immunity in individuals, providing non-specific protection to other illnesses, and by extension protecting
against COVID-19 or reducing severity of its presentation based on this analysis alone. Accepting these
findings at face value has the potential for complacency in response to the pandemic, particularly in
LMICs (low and middle-income countries).

One needs only to look at how this has been portrayed in news outlets of several LMICs already; the
dangers of such portrayals misinforming the public should not be underestimated, for example, in
countries such as India, the wide BCG coverage offered by their universal vaccination policy may create
a false sense of security and lead to inaction.”
One of the contentions the McGill researchers make is that by the time the NYIT analysis was done, the
spread of COVID-19 had not really happened in the LMICs. It happened later. “For example, COVID-19
cases in India have increased from 195 on March 21 to 1,071 on March 31. In South Africa, cases have
increased from 205 on March 21 to 1,326 on March 31,” they noted. India’s cases crossed 2,500 on
Friday.

Said Dr K S Reddy, public health expert and president of the Public Health Foundation of India: “Inter-
country comparisons of longstanding and uninterrupted national programmes of BCG vaccination
suggest a benefit in reducing the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic, in contrast to those who do not
have such programmes or started late.

There is no direct antiviral effect but BCG could be an immunopotentiator which enables the body to
resist the virus better. However, correlation is not proof of causation and we need stronger evidence
which may be forthcoming in prevention trials started in some countries.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-coronavirus-new-debate-old-vaccine-6346285/

During India coronavirus lockdown, the laws that come into play #GS2
#GOvernance

During the lockdown, Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code has been widely invoked against those not
following it. In a communication to the states on March 24, the Home Ministry said persons violating the
containment measures will be liable to be punished under provisions of the Disaster Management Act
2005, besides Section 188 IPC. A look at these and related provisions:

For disobedience

Section 188 IPC deals with those disobeying an order passed by a public servant, and provides for
imprisonment ranging from one to six months. For those violating orders passed under the Epidemic
Diseases Act, Section 188 IPC is the provision under which punishment is awarded.

Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 provides for punishment for two kinds of offences:
obstructing any officer or employee of the government or person authorised by any disaster
management authority for discharge of a function; and refusing to comply with any direction given by
the authorities under the Act. Punishment can extend to one year on conviction, or two years if the
refusal leads to loss of lives or any imminent danger.

For spreading fear

Section 505 IPC provides for imprisonment of three years or fine, or both, for those who publish or
circulate anything which is likely to cause fear or alarm. Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act
provides for imprisonment, extending to one year, of those who make or circulate a false alarm or
warning regarding a disaster or its severity or magnitude.

For false claim to aid

Under Section 52, Disaster Management Act, whoever makes a false claim for obtaining “any relief,
assistance, repair, reconstruction or other benefits” from any official authority can be sentenced to a
maximum of two years imprisonment and a fine will be imposed on the person.

For refusing to do duties

In case of refusal or withdrawal of any officer who has been tasked with any duty under the Act, the
officer can be sentenced to imprisonment extending to one year. However, those who have written
permission of the superior or any lawful ground are exempt from such punishment. A case cannot be
initiated without the explicit sanction from the state or central government.

For refusing to help

Any authorised authority under the Act can requisite resources like persons and material resources,
premises like land or building, or sheds and vehicles for rescue operations. Though there is a provision
for compensation under the Act, any person who disobeys such an order can be sentenced to
imprisonment up to one year.

Legal shield

For any offence under the Disaster Management Act, a court will take cognisance only if the complaint is
filed by the national or state or district authority, or the central or state government. However, there is
another provision: if a person has given notice of 30 days or more about an alleged offence, and about
his intention to file a complaint, he or she can approach the court which can then take cognisance.

The Act protects government officers and employees from any legal process for actions they took “in
good faith”. Under the Epidemic Diseases Act too, no suit or other legal proceedings can lie against any
person for anything done or intended to be done under good faith.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-in-lockdown-the-laws-that-come-into-play-
6346379/

Medical masks, home-made masks, and what is recommended for whom #GS3
#SNT

EARLIER THIS week, the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government issued a detailed
manual on how to make home-made masks and recommended it to everyone, especially those living in
densely populated areas, to protect themselves from novel coronavirus disease. This was the first time
that masks were being officially recommended for everyone, even for those who were not infected or
were not in close contact with anyone infected.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier said that everyone “need not” wear masks. That
instruction still stands. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a similar standing recommendation,
that non-infected persons should wear masks only if they are caring for sick ones. The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has the same recommendation, though it is being reconsidered
now.

How do masks help?

By covering the nose and mouth, masks reduce the possibility of the virus getting inside the respiratory
tract. SARS-CoV2, the virus behind COVID-19 disease, is being transmitted through air droplets that are
released, for example, when an infected person coughs. Recent research published in the New England
Journal of Medicine said the virus could remain in the air for up to three hours.

The virus is also known to survive on plastic, steel and copper surfaces for several hours, and there is a
risk in people touching these surfaces and then touching their mouth or nose. A mask can be handy in
these kind of circumstances as well.

The virus is also being spread by asymptomatic patients. As such, in public places, one cannot be sure
whether an infected person is in close proximity or not.

So, what explains the previous advice against wearing masks?

The main reason is to ensure that there is no run on the professional quality masks that are needed by
healthcare professionals, who are at maximum risk because of their proximity to infected patients. As it
is, there is a severe shortage of professional masks globally, because of the huge demand.

The advice had come at a time when the virus was not known to stay in the air for any significant
amount of time. It was only in March that research was published showing that the novel coronavirus
can indeed survive in the air for up to three hours.

Until then, only patients, especially those who were prone to coughing, and those caring for a patient,
like family members or healthcare professionals, were advised to wear masks. The general public was
discouraged from wearing them. Now, the latest research is forcing a rethink.

How effective are professional masks?

The one in great demand is called N95, so named because it is able to block at least 95% of particles in
the air that are of the size 0.3 microns or bigger (1 micron is a millionth of a metre). A single SARS-CoV2
virus is typically up to 0.2 microns in size, so it can possibly penetrate the N95 mask.

But as Arnab Bhattacharya, a professor and Chair of Public Outreach at the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research in Mumbai, points out, the virus is enclosed in air droplets that are much bigger
in size. “What is getting spread are droplets, which are a few microns in size. Though there is a size
distribution, it is very unlikely that there are droplets that are less than 0.3 microns in size. So that way
the N95 is a very good barrier to virus entry,” he says.

Bhattacharya said N95s are much better than the typical surgical masks worn by medical staff whose
main purpose is to keep out large droplets of wearer’s saliva from going out, for example during a
surgery.
What about home-made masks?

Home-made masks might not be as effective in blocking outside particles as professional masks, but
they are nonetheless better than not having a mask at all. Simple masks made of cotton cloth do keep
out larger particles. And these can be washed and reused multiple times.

So what is the latest recommendation?

The manual issued by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser strongly recommends that people
wear home-made masks, though it does point out that this might not be sufficient. “Masks are effective
only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and
water,” it says, quoting the WHO. It says use of clean masks “will be vital” to stopping the spread of the
virus, and adds that these were “especially recommended for people living in densely populated areas
across India”.

The manual says a home-made double-layered mask made of 100 per cent cotton cloth was 70 per cent
as effective as a surgical mask in blocking small particles, even those that are five times smaller than the
novel coronavirus.

While the general advisories of the Health Ministry and the WHO remain unchanged, the CDC in the US
was expected to advise all Americans to start wearing cloth masks in public spaces, according a report in
The New York Times on Friday.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-medical-masks-home-made-masks-
recommended-6346396/

Fitch cuts 2020 GDP forecast to 30-year low of 2% #GS3 #Economy

Fitch has slashed India’s GDP growth forecast to a 30-year low of two per cent for the year 2020 in the
wake of business shutdown and lower consumer spending after the coronavirus breakout.

On the other hand, Acuite Ratings and Research has estimated that the 21-day lockdown will result in a
loss of GDP of almost $98 billion.

“Fitch now expects a global recession this year and recently cut our GDP growth forecast for India to 2
per cent for the fiscal year ending March 2021 after lowering it to 5.1 per cent previously, which would
make it the slowest growth in India over the past 30 years,” it said in a report on Friday.

Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank said in its outlook for financial year 2020-21 that India’s economic
growth is likely to slow to 4 per cent this fiscal on the back of the current global health emergency.

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/fitch-cuts-2020-gdp-forecast-to-30-year-low-of-2-per-cent-
6346419/
Govt relaxes e-way bill deadline, defers restriction of input tax credit #GS3
#Economy

The government has retrospectively extended the validity of e-way bill under Goods and Services Tax
(GST) regime that would have expired between March 20-April 15 to April 30. Also, in a move that will
ease the working capital requirements for businesses, the government has deferred the implementation
of 10 per cent restriction on availing input tax credit during February to August, which would then be
cumulatively adjusted in September.

With hundreds of trucks getting stranded across the country since March 15, when states started to lock
their borders down culminating into a national lockdown announced by the Centre, The Indian Express
had reported April 1 about transporters raising concerns over potential penalties arising from expired e-
way bills. Truckers were having e-way bills for goods in transit or in godowns, which were getting
expired and could not be renewed on due dates.

“…where an e-way bill has been generated under rule 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules,
2017 and its period of validity expires during the period 20th day of March, 2020 to 15th day of April,
2020, the validity period of such e-way bill shall be deemed to have been extended till the 30th day of
April, 2020,” the Finance Ministry said in a notification late Friday. The ministry also notified other
compliance related relaxations which were announced earlier.

According to notified e-way bill rules, every registered supplier requires prior online registration on the
e-way bill portal for the movement of these goods. The rules also specify that the permits for
convention cargo (other than over-dimensional carve) are valid for one day for the movement of goods
for 100 km, and in the same proportion for following days. Tax officials have the power to scrutinise the
e-way bill at any point during transit to check tax evasion.

In October last year, the GST Council had put a cap on input tax credit at 20 per cent of the eligible credit
for buyers whose suppliers did not upload invoices, which was then further curtailed to 10 per cent in
the GST Council meeting on December 18.

Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY said, “The relaxation for allowing cumulative reconciliation via-a-vis
month on month reconciliation for availing input tax credit was an imperative one to obviate higher cash
flows and to reap the benefit of the relief provided through extended timelines for filing of GST returns”

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/gst-e-way-bill-deadline-input-tax-credit-india-
lockdown-coronavirus-6347178/

Slowdown, COVID-19 pandemic take a toll— First time in 20 yrs: Direct tax mop-
up declines by over 8% #GS3 #Economy
Amid the ongoing economic slowdown, the government’s net direct tax collections have missed the
downward revised target for 2019-20 by Rs 1.42 lakh crore at Rs 10.27 lakh crore, a decline of over 8 per
cent from previous year’s receipts. The contraction in direct tax collections in the financial year, coming
just ahead of the COVID-19 spread in India and resultant lockdown impacting business operations across
the country, has been witnessed after a gap of 20 years. The Centre’s direct tax receipts had last seen a
year-on-year decline in 1998-99, when collections recorded a contraction of 3.5 per cent in that financial
year.

All the major centres recorded a dip, with Mumbai seeing a fall of 12 per cent in its collections, while
Bengaluru and Delhi recorded a slide of 10.1 per cent and 9 per cent in collections, respectively. Kanpur
and Bhubaneswar posted the steepest fall of over 17 per cent each among the 18 tax zones across the
country.

In the Budget for 2020-21, presented in February, the government had revised the FY20 growth target
for direct taxes to 2.9 per cent in the revised estimates from the initial 17.5 per cent in Budget estimate.
With this low level of tax collections, the targeted growth rate for the direct tax targets for the current
financial year is now at 28.3 per cent, a sharp jump over the assumed growth rate of 12.7 per cent at the
time of the presentation of the Budget.

On the indirect tax side too, the government has already missed its Goods and Services Tax (GST)
collections target.

A drop of 7.8 per cent in returns filing over last month, 4 per cent fall over last year in domestic revenue,
and a sharp 23 per cent contraction in revenue from imports led to the fall in GST collections in March
below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, with the Centre missing its RE for 2019-20 by Rs 22,204 crore at Rs 5.90
lakh crore.

With slippages on the tax front, the government is likely to miss its revised fiscal deficit target of 3.8 per
cent for 2019-20. As per the latest available data, the government’s fiscal deficit during April-February
increased to 135.2 per cent of the revised estimate for the fiscal year 2019-20.

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/india-economic-slowdown-coronavirus-impact-
direct-tax-6346413/