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rime Minister Narendra
P Modi on Tuesday said the
Union Government has decid-
CPZTRPaT^UT[STabPcW^\T
ed to extend the nationwide
lockdown till May 3 cautioning
that regulations would be
enforced with “greater strict-
ness” for next one week before
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“limited relaxation” could be
considered from April 20 in
certain areas for the “poor”.
5^[[^f0HDB7X]bcadRcX^]bc^
He said detailed guide-
lines on relaxation would be
issued by the Government on
3^f][^PScWT0Pa^VhPBTcd
Wednesday.
The Prime Minister, how-
ever, did not unfold any eco-
nomic plan or package for the
CahP]SWT[_Pb\P]h_^^a
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
ATb_TRccWT_T^_[T^]cWTUXT[S
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-
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ttar Pradesh witnessed a
U spike in fresh coronavirus
cases with 102 testing positive
and three succumbing to
COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Among the fresh cases,
nine are from the hotspots in
the state capital.
With this, the total number
of COVID-19 patients jumped
to 660 and the death toll due to
the coronavirus rose to eight in
the state, according to an offi-
cial.
Among the latest COVID-
19 deaths, two were reported
from Agra and one from
Moradabad.
Chief Medical Officer of
Agra, Dr Mukesh Vats, the two
COVID-19 patients who died
in the district were females
aged 45 and 60 years.
“One had cancer in the ter-
minal stage and the other had
cerebral haemorrhage. The two
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ll hell broke loose on
A Tuesday evening as thou-
sands of restive migrant work-
ers from other States gathered
at Bandra Railway Terminus in
a desperate hope that they
would able to head back to
their native villages and towns,
thus throwing social distancing
norms to the wind during the
extended lockdown period.
Hours after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in his address
to the nation extended the
lockdown by another 19 days
i.e, till May 3, thousands of
somewhat distraught migrants,
who were expecting Modi to
relax the lockdown to an extent
that the Government would
run some special trains for
them to go back their native
places, staged a dharna in front
of the Bandra railway station
for an hour, demanding that
they be allowed to return to
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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
were admitted to a private
hospital where they caught the
infection from a patient admit-
ted in the ICU who was later
referred to Mathura where he
tested positive” he said, adding
that as both of them were crit-
ical, their immunity levels were
low and they caught the infec-
tion.
The CMO said that they
had closed the private hospital
and would convert it into a
quarantine unit. “Seven staff
members of the hospital have
tested positive for coronavirus,”
he said.
Agra has reported the max-
imum fatalities in the state
with three people succumbing
to the infection in the district
till now.
State Surveillance Officer
Dr Vikasendu said the remain-
ing five deaths were reported
from Basti, Meerut,
Bulandshahr, Varanasi and
Moradabad.
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_[PRTbPUcTa?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SXP]]^d]RTScWTTgcT]bX^]^U]PcX^]fXST[^RZS^f]cX[[<Ph"X]cWTfPZT^U
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their native places.
Earlier, around 4 pm, the
migrants, who had begun to
gather at different places in
Mumbai before the PM
addressed the nation, began to
arrive at the Bandra Railway
Terminus, from where several
outstation trains depart.
Continued on Page 6
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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
A man who had died in
Kanpur on Monday also tested
positive for coronavirus on
Tuesday.
An official release of the
state Health department said
102 fresh cases of coronavirus
were reported on Tuesday, of
which 70 cases are of people
who had attended a large reli-
gious congregation in Delhi’s
Nizamuddin area last month.
Among the 660 coron-
avirus cases in UP, 375 are
attendees of the religious con-
gregation, it said, adding that
the positive cases had been
reported from 44 districts of
the state.
On the rise in cases,
Principal Secretary (Health)
Amit Mohan Prasad said those
who died of COVID-19 were
also suffering from other health
problems.
“They are mostly elderly or
had some medical condition,”
he said.
DZ^Z]RcRX`_jZ_DfcRe
Surat: Hundreds of migrant
workers gathered in Surat on
Tuesday evening, demanding
that they be sent to their native
places despite lockdown, police
said.
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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-
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?=BQ =4F34;78
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
?C8
The migrant workers gath-
ered in Varachha area of the
city and sat on a road demand-
ing that they be allowed to go
to their native places, police
said.
2G6?F6D"#
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he Congress on Tuesday
Government for its handling of
While the party accused
the poorest of the poor nations.
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
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,
ac`_`f_TVU4`gZUdZX_
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0A270=09H>C8Q =4F34;78
f you have smell and taste
I loss, you are 10 times more
likely to have Covid-19 infec-
tion than others, though high
fever remains its most common
first sign. According to a study
published in the journal
International Forum of Allergy
& Rhinology, the sensory
return typically matched the
timing of disease recovery.
The rate of recovery of
smell and taste was high and
occurred usually within two to
four weeks of infection, said the
study.
“Based on our study, if
you have smell and taste loss,
5P\X[XTb^Uf^aZTab[^^ZUa^\cWTXa
amongst Government’s prior-
March.
?C8
‘livelihood’ and open up eco-
nomic activities in conjunction
with “social distancing” which
should be a new normal now.
?`ecRZ_dW]ZXYed
UfcZ_X]`T\U`h_
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.
3T[WX0bbT\Q[hbcPUU\T\QTabdbTSa^]Tc^b_aPhSXbX]UTRcP]cX]EXeTZEXWPaPaTP
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and Sweden are ahead of India.
Within the countr y,
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
you are more than 10 times
more likely to have Covid-19
infection than other causes of
infection. The most common
first sign of a Covid-19 infec-
tion remains fever, but fatigue
and loss of smell and taste fol-
low as other very common ini-
tial symptoms,” said Carol Yan,
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T launched a multi-pronged
attack on the Modi
coronavirus crisis, even though
it backed the extension of the
ongoing lockdown till May 3.
the Modi Government of not
doing anything for the poor,
former Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi said India conducted
far less Covid tests than even
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
AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa
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,
MD, an otolaryngologist and
head and neck surgeon at UC
San Diego Health, lead author
of the study.
“We know Covid-19 is an
extremely contagious virus.
This study supports the need to
be aware of smell and taste loss
as early signs of Covid-19,” it
said.
Yan and colleagues sur-
veyed 1,480 patients with flu-
like symptoms and concerns
regarding potential Covid-19
infection who underwent test-
ing at UC San Diego Health
from March 3 through March
29, 2020. Within that total, 102
patients tested positive for the
virus and 1,378 tested negative.
The study included responses
from 59 Covid-19-positive
patients and 203 virus negative
patients.
Continued on Page 6
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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
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.
Continued on Page 6
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 Agar wal, 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
that the chain of transmission
has stopped as cases have
stopped coming.”
Continued on Page 6
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?=BQ ;D2:=>F
fter Prime Minister
A Narendra Modi
announced the extension of
nation-wide lockdown till May
3, Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath ordered enforce-
ment of the second phase of the
lockdown with full force across
the state, maintaining that it
was necessary to ensure health
and future of the citizens.
He also exhorted people to
follow the lockdown restric-
tions seriously.
In his directive to the
COVID Team-11 on Tuesday,
the chief minister said that as
the harvesting season was
underway and crop procure-
ment would start from April
15, officials should ensure that
farmers did not face problems
in transporting their produce to
markets.
The officials were also
directed to start emergency
medical services, protect health
workers during their duty and
alert them against infection.
The chief minister also
asked officials to impart
training to nursing and para-
medical staff, NCC cadets
and NSA volunteers at district
level.
“There is no shortage of
food grains in the state. Since
the second phase of lockdown
begins on April 15, availabili-
ty of free ration should be
reviewed at the state level.
'HFLVLRQWRUHVWDUWGHYHORSPHQWZRUNSXWRQKROG
Lucknow (PNS): Pending develop-
ment works which were to re-start from
Wednesday after the completion of
lockdown period, have once again
been put on hold after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced
phase two of lockdown to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus.
Earlier on Monday, head of the con-
>eTa %`dPaP]cX]TS
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midst coronavirus scare, a good news trick-
A led in from Siddharthnagar on Indo-Nepal
border where as many as 16,724 quarantined peo-
ple were released on Tuesday.
Siddharthnagar officials disclosed on Tuesday
that 19,710 persons arriving from other places
and metro cities were quarantined as precaution-
ary measure. Of these, 12,329 had been quaran-
tined in their houses, 7,351 in isolation centres
and 40 in government hospitals. While 2,986 per-
sons were still quarantined, the remaining
16,724 were released from after they did not show
any symptoms of the virus.
So far no individual has tested positive for
COVID-19 in the district.
Meanwhile, Basti range IG Ashutosh Kumar
was directed to work in Siddharthnagar till
Thursday next and ensure that no one crossed
over from Nepal and entered India. The porous
Indo-Nepal border has been sealed by the gov-
ernment.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Balrampur, 10
persons were detained for violating safety norms
to avert spread of coronavirus.
Superintendent of Police of Balrampur, Dev
Ranjan Verma, said that social distancing was
being strictly enforced in the district.
Apart from medical stores, ration shops and
petrol pumps, gas agencies and seed stores were
directed not to sell items to customers who came
without masks. Verma said that action was being
taken against those coming out of their homes
without masks and in this process, Kamlesh,
Suraj, Ramesh Kumar, Ranjit Kumar and Sanjay
Kumar were arrested in Rehra Bazaar police sta-
tion area.
On the other hand, Mohammad Adnan,
Ram Gopal, Haider Ali, Manoj Kumar,
Ehsanullah and Dhokhe were arrested in Sadullah
Nagar area.
Verma said that the hands of the arrested were
sanitised and they were made to put on masks.
Masks are being distributed to people with
the help of journalists and social workers.
<PhPQPRZb2T]caT^][^RZS^f]!fXcWaXSTa
?=BQ ;D2:=>F
ven as Prime Minister
E Narendra Modi extended
the lockdown to fight coron-
avirus pandemic across the
country till May 3, Bahujan
Samaj Party chief Mayawati,
while paying her tributes to Dr
BR Ambedkar on his 129th
birth anniversary, said that her
party would support the prime
minister’s decision on the con-
dition that it does not create
problems for the citizens.
“The BSP will support if
the Centre extends coronavirus
lockdown while keeping in
mind the interest of the public.
The government must consid-
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biding by the lockdown,
A political leaders of varied
hues paid floral tributes to
Babasaheb Bhimrao
Ambedkar on his birth
anniversar y with Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath tak-
ing the lead and paying
homage to the Dalit icon at his
5, Kalidas Marg official resi-
dence in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party state
president Swatantra Dev Singh
also paid tributes to Dr
Ambedkar at his residence
while party general secretary
(organisation) Sunil Bansal
paid tribute to the Dalit icon
at BJP state headquarters. 2WXTU<X]XbcTaH^VX0SXchP]PcW_PhX]VU[^aP[caXQdcTc^1PQPBPWTQ1WX\aP^0\QTSZPaX];dRZ]^f^]CdTbSPh?X^]TTa
In a statement issued on
Tuesday, Swatantra Dev Singh needy during this period. among the poor in Basti to
said that party workers would “As decided earlier, party mark the party’s commitment Bahadur Pathak too offered
follow the lockdown-02 in workers distributed food and to helping the poor and needy,” tributes to Dr Ambedkar at his
toto and help the poor and other essentials like soap he said.
Besides, officials should mon- navirus positive cases had been
itor the supply chain seriously reported from these areas.
in the hotspots,” he said. “Apart from the govern-
Later, in his press briefing, ment, the district magistrates
Additional Chief Secretary have also worked for identify-
(Home) Awanish Awasthi said ing hotspots in their jurisdic-
that the state government had tion and their number has also
identified 149 coronavirus increased. In this way, 68
hotspots in 15 districts, affect- hotspots under different police
ing a population of over 10 stations of 45 districts have
lakh, in the first phase. been identified. Till Tuesday, 80
He said a total of 443 coro- coronavirus positive cases were
struction committee set up by the gov- down till May 3,” Maurya said on
ernment and Deputy Chief Minister Tuesday.
Keshav Prasad Maurya had announced Talking to media persons, the
to start construction work across the deputy chief minister said that the date
state from Wednesday. for starting work would be decided after
“The decision to resume construc- studying the guidelines to be sent by the
tion works from April 15 in UP stands Centre on Wednesday.
cancelled in view of the prime minis- However, Maurya appealed to the
ter’s announcement to extend the lock- people to follow the lockdown norms
=`T\U`h_W`cTVd^R_j
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he lockdown has forced people to
T go for occupational change.
Roadside carpenters, scrap dealers and
barbers left jobless in recent weeks due
to lockdown have now opted for hawk-
ing vegetables in residential colonies,
giving a stiff challenge to routine
hawkers.
Chunnu was a carpenter before
lockdown was enforced. He worked
from a roadside shop and used to fix
sofas, repair chairs and other furniture
and earned between Rs 400 and Rs 500
per day. But things changed after the
lockdown was imposed.
“After being told that I cannot open
my shop, I stayed home for a few days.
After I exhausted my savings, my
friend suggested that I should sell veg-
etables in residential colonies as peo-
ple were afraid to come out. That is
what I am doing now,” he said.
Chunnu now earns Rs 200 per day
but pays Rs 50 as rent for the cart. “Still,
I am earning something which can take
care of my family of two kids, wife,
mother and two younger brothers,” he
said.
Similarly, Rafiq was a scrap deal-
er before March 25. He used to visit
colonies, purchasing old newspapers
and scraps, including coolers, machines
etc.
“I have been in the scrap business
for more than a decade. After lock-
down, I opted for selling fruits and veg-
etables on a cycle-cart. From the sav-
ings I purchased vegetables and now I
sell them in the same colony where I
used to buy scrap,” Rafiq (27) said.
Even Mudassar, a barber working
from a roadside shop in Bhoothnath
er the condition of the poor, down, Dalits and most back-
labourers, farmers and other ward communities were in
working class and provide help pain and their condition had
during lockdown,” the BSP
chief said in a statement issued
only worsened.
“Most of the Dalits and
on Tuesday. most backwards were among
On the occasion of those who had to flee different
Ambedkar Jayanti, Mayawati parts of the country during
also said, “I pay respects to Dr lockdown. Of the migrant
Ambedkar on behalf of the BSP labourers fleeing due to lock-
and crores of his followers. He down, 90 per cent were Dalits
spent his life ensuring that and backwards,” she said.
Dalits, tribals and marginalised Mayawati said that the gov-
communities lived with self- ernment did not make arrange-
respect. The BSP was estab- ments to provide transport to
lished on this day in 1984 to migrant labourers and now
fulfil his dreams.” several thousands such work-
In her address, the BSP ers were on the verge of starva-
chief also slammed the govern- tion at shelter homes.
ment, alleging that due to lock- Demanding that the gov-
?aXhP]ZPR^]RTa]^eTabW^acPVT^UcTbcX]VZXcb
Lucknow (PNS): After stressing
to increase testing for COVID-
later, she again reminded the
government on the shortage of
Lucknow on Wednesday.
Slamming the ruling BJP at the
19 in Uttar Pradesh, Congress testing kits. Centre and UP, UP Congress
general secretary Priyanka Meanwhile, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar `Lallu’ said
Gandhi Vadra expressed concern celebrated the birth anniversary that the marginalised sections
over the shortage of testing kits
in the state. She also referred to
of Dr BR Ambedkar in a som-
bre manner, distributing food
were the worst sufferers of lock-
down as the government had
tests reports of five persons who and safety kits to safai karma- failed to cater to their food and
tested positive for coronavirus charis, poor and Dalits in other basics for survival.
after their deaths. Taking to
Twitter on Tuesday, Priyanka
posted: “I wrote a letter to the
Chief Minister and requested to
increase testing. Reports of five
people have come positive for
coronavirus after the death of
patients in UP. Testing is still
poor. Make the testing system
rapid and orderly. Maximum
testing can only give us correct
picture.” Earlier on April 10,
Priyanka had written to Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath urging
him to increase capacity of test-
ing and treatment of COVID-19
patients in the state. Two days
BJP general secretary Vijay
home.
reported from these hotspots,” said.
the additional chief secretary Awasthi said that till date
said. 17,585 FIRs for lockdown vio-
“The chief minister has lation were lodged while 404
appealed to citizens to down- FIRs against 506 people were
load the Aarogya Setu app registered under Essential
which has been downloaded by Commodities Act.
millions of people in Uttar “Taking action against fake
Pradesh. He specially appealed news, 12 accounts of TikTok,
to the youth, government offi- one of Facebook, two of
cials and employees and Tweeter and one of WhatsApp
doctors to use this app,” he have been blocked,” he said.
strictly, ensure social distancing and stay
indoors.
Earlier on Monday, the committee
had decided to start construction work
on Purvanchal and Bundelkhand
expressways, Gorakhpur Link
Expressway and other important pro-
jects of the Yogi Adityanath government
from April 15.
market, has opted to sell vegetables in
the nearby residential colonies.
But goings have not been easy for
them and problems have now started
cropping up.
Hawkers, who have been in the
business and selling in the area, have
started objecting to this ‘intrusion’ by
‘outsiders’. They even complained to the
local corporator and the police.
“These people have switched to this
business as the state government has
announced financial help for hawkers
and roadside sellers. Recently, Rs 1,000
each was sent into the accounts of daily
wagers and these guys have been eye-
ing this money,” said Mahipal, a regu-
lar vegetable vendor. He admitted that
their daily business had suffered due to
the newbies. The second problem the
new vendors have been facing is that
majority of buyers distancing them-
selves due to their faith. Majority of the
new vendors are Muslims and they say
that non-Muslims are avoiding them
as videos have gone viral showing
Muslim sellers spitting on vegetables
and fruits.
“Many Hindu buyers hesitate to
purchase fruits and vegetables from us.
It is not the case with all Hindus but
some ask our name before making the
purchase. Some start conversing with
a ‘Ram Ram’ salutation and when we
do not respond, they ask ‘Musalman hai
kya’ and then walk away,” said Rafiq.
A video has gone viral asking ven-
dors to come with their identity cards
while in another video, people are seen
discussing purchase of goods only
from Hindu vendors. Caption:
Chunnu, a carpenter, selling vegetable
at a government colony in Indira
Nagar.
ernment make arrangements
for daily wagers, she said that
caste discrimination was mak-
ing life difficult for Dalits and
most backwards.
The BSP chief also hit out
at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) in Delhi, alleging that
they did everything to get votes
during elections but failed to
provide respite to daily wagers
during lockdown and instead
ferried them to Delhi-UP bor-
ders, rendering the situation
grim.
“This kind of behaviour
meted out to Dalits and back-
wards could only be avoided in
future if the key of power was
with the Dalits,” she said.
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N ine more people from

hotspot areas of the state
more than five. Make sure at
least 50 ul of each sample is
used in extraction and not to
use the technique for samples
gQc^UUT_VdXUX_ebµ cV^RZ_dfdaV_UVU
Lucknow (PNS): The UP
Metro Rail Corporation ser-
capital tested positive for coro- coming from areas with more ?=BQ ;D2:=>F vices will remain suspended
navirus on Tuesday. They than two per cent positive till May 3 in view of the lock-
included eight men and one cases,” she said. he difficulties which they down extension. UPMRC offi-
women from Nazirabad and
Sadar areas.
Incharge of Infectious
Diseases Cell Dr D Himanshu
T are facing notwithstand-
ing, people from diverse sec-
cials urged people to stay
indoors and maintain social
These patients have been said the oxygen intake of the tions and professions unani- distancing, which is essential
admitted to Shyama Prasad patient has to come to a certain mously backed the extension in the fight against coron-
Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital and 7TP[cWf^aZTab^]PeXbXcc^ level before he could be in the of lockdown, saying it was the avirus. UPMRC managing
at GCRG Hospital in BKT. <^ST[7^dbT;Pc^dRWT safe zone. On how the body of need of the hour. director Kumar Keshav said,
According to Divisional a^PS^]CdTbSPh ?X^]TTa a COVID-19 victim is hand- KGMU Vice-Chancellor “We have ensured preventive
Commissioner Mukesh ed over the the kin, he said they Dr MLB Bhatt said containing measures in compliance with

.*08SDQHOWRSUREH
Meshram, the total count of have to follow a protocol. the spread of the disease would the directions of Prime
Lucknow has climbed to 42, “All the openings —nasal be a challenging task to save Minister Narendra Modi.
seven of whom have been dis- or oral — packed with lives. “What will be the impact Stringent restrictions are

charged while 35 are under
treatment. Head of KGMU’s
Microbiology department Dr
Amita Jain said they will short-
ly begin pool testing of samples
on pilot basis. “Pool testing
means the testing of samples in
batches of ten instead of one at
a time, which can help in sav-
ing both time and resources,”
she said.
She said she did not recom-
mend pool testing for areas
where large number of patients
have been detected. “We won’t
advice pool testing in Agra. We
will start with areas in which
there have no positive cases,”
she said. Dr Jain pointed out
that one has to use some dis-
cretion in using this technique.
“We have advised labs to only
pool fresh samples and not
FDXVHRIQHJOLJHQFH
Lucknow (PNS): The KGMU
administration has set up a
committee to probe under
what conditions a COVID-19
patient was admitted to the
Trauma Centre before being
checked up in the triage area,
due to which 12 doctors and
15 other staff members had to
be quarantined. KGMU Vice-
Chancellor Dr MLB Bhatt
said the committee, headed
by Pro-VC and consisting of
four professors, would probe
into the cause of negligence.
He said they had received
a list of 52 staff members who
might have come in contact
with the patient, but many of
them were found to be with-
out infection. “Currently, 12
doctors and 15 staff members
are in quarantine,” he said.
The KGMU has also set
up a screening area at the
Geriatric department in front
of the Trauma Centre. Media
spokesperson Dr Sudhir
Singh said all the patients
coming to the Trauma Centre
have to first report at the
screening centre in the
Geriatric department where
they would be told as to
which area they have to
report to — fever clinic or
treatment area. The triage
area KGMU is already func-
tional at the Neurology
department,” he said.
hypochlorite solution and then
the body is covered with a cloth
soaked in hypochlorite solu-
tion. The body is then kept in
a bag which is again sprayed
with hypochlorite solution,” he
explained.
“Four PPE (personal pro-
tective equipment) kits and an
ambulance are given to four
family members and they are
given in writing as to what they
have to do when they reach the
place of cremation. They can
see the face but they are not
supposed to touch it and have
to perform the rituals from a
safe distance. We also specify
the number of people who
could be present at the time of
cremation. However, there is no
harm in collecting the ashes of
the COVID-19 victim,” he said.
on economy or inconvenience
to people is a different issue but
as a doctor, what I can say is
that it is very important step
taken by the Central govern-
ment,” he said. He added that
the lockdown has not allowed
exponential and steep rise in
cases as compared to other
countries. “Our first case was
in the last week of January and
now we have over 10,000 cases,
which is a big achievement,” he
said, emphasising that the pop-
ulation of India is four times
that of the USA.
“Culturally, socially, eco-
nomically and considering
the other aspects of demogra-
phy, we are at a big disadvan-
tage, yet we have been able to
contain the spread because of
lockdown and other restric-
tions. We have a very large pop-
ulation and highly dense areas
such as slums with a really vul-
nerable population and hence
lockdown extension was
required,” he said.
Vice-Chancellor of AKTU
VK Pathak also said that the
extension of lockdown was
necessary. “India has controlled
COVID-19 spread in a big
way and had we not gone for
the lockdown, we would have
lost the plot. As for the acade-
mic session, online classes are
going on. Students are having
network and bandwidth issues
but we are somehow managing.
Entrance exams and new ses-
sions will be slightly delayed,”
he said. Surbhi Sahai, who
runs a coaching institute, said
the Central government took a
good decision because it was
the only way through which
coronavirus could be contained
in a densely-populated country
like India. Regarding studies,
she said they have settled down
for an e-format process com-
fortably, holding online class-
es. President of Adarsh Vyapar
Mandal Sanjay Gupta said
lockdown extension was
required to contain the spread
of coronavirus. “However, we
are waiting for the detailed
guidelines which will be
released on Wednesday. We
want the government to waive
the interest on bank loans
taken by traders and issue
directives for giving half the
salaries to employees in current
times so that we are able to tide
over the crisis,” he said.
vital to control the spread of
COVID-19 and to safeguard
ourselves from this
pandemic.”
Meanwhile, managing
director of Uttar Pradesh State
Road Corporation (UPSRTC)
Raj Shekhar also said there
would be no bus services till
May 3. “All kinds of bus oper-
ations will remain suspended
till May 3. Only the buses, as
required by the district admin-
istration for emergency oper-
ations, will be available on
demand,” he said.
UPSRTC also also direct-
ed the staff to maintain the
lowest possible manpower at
the depots and workshops for
regular maintenance and
emergency operations, as and
when required.

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KGMU doctor was duped of Rs 21,000 while

A doing online shopping on Monday evening.
According to complainant Dr Prashant Bafna of
Unitech Heritage (Madan Mohan Malviya road), he
was doing online shopping around 7.30 pm on
Monday when a man, who he identified as Praveen
Kumar, played some cyber tricks and duped him
of Rs 21,000. “I got a message from my bank account
(KGMU branch) regarding deduction of the
amount. I immediately contacted the police and
lodged a case in this connection,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Saadatganj police on Tuesday
arrested an accused, who was wanted in connection
with the double murder (on April 5) and was
absconding ever since. The accused, identified as
Mohammed Shanu, is the cousin of the girl, Sufia
(20). On the fateful day, Sufia and her lover
Mohammed Malik (34) were battered to death in
her house. Girl’s father Usman, uncle Suleman,
brother Danish, cousins Ranu and Mohammed
Shanu were accused of murder. On the day of inci-
dent, the police had arrested four persons while
Shanu absconded. Meanwhile, the Gosainganj police
on Tuesday arrested the prime accused in connec-
tion with the attack on the house of a woman some
time back. The accused was identified as Mohit
Shukla of Gosainganj. The police said Mohit and his
supporters had attacked the house of the victim and
even attempted to kill her by opening fire.

H>DC774;35>ABC0;:8=668A;
A youth was arrested for stalking a girl in order
to force her to marry him, in Jankipuram on
Tuesday. The accused was identified as Siraj Khan
of Jankipuram. As per reports, the girl works at a
grocer’s shop and Siraj met her when he went there
for shopping. He had a crush on the girl and start-
ed frequenting the shop. In due course of time, he
started stalking the girl whenever she stepped out
of her house or the workplace. A couple of days
back, he showed her some morphed photos and
threatened to upload the same on social media if
she did not agree to marry him. However, the girl
ignored his threats.
On Monday, Siraj stopped the girl on the way
and proposed to her. The girl confronted him and
it led to an argument between them. Siraj alleged-
ly slapped the girl and damaged her mobile phone
when she tried calling police. She later sought police
help and Siraj was nabbed on Tuesday. He report-
edly owned up his crime and claimed that he was
friends with the girl.

7ULEXWHVSDLGWR$PEHGNDU
Lucknow (PNS): An online lecture was organised at
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) on
the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on Tuesday. Former
chairman of SC/ST Commission Brij Lal delivered a
keynote address on “Relevance of Babasaheb in the pre-
sent scenario.” He delivered his lecture through
BBAU’s social media platform. Vice-Chancellor
Acharya Sanjay Singh paid floral tributes to Ambedkar’s
statue on the occasion and also addressed the students
online.
“We all know Babasaheb as the father of Indian
Constitution but he was the master of a multi-faceted
personality. He was a great economist, law scholar, social
reformer and politician. The credit of special provisions
in the Constitution for the uplift of women and enforc-
ing labour law goes to Babasaheb,” Singh said. He also
discussed Ambedkar’s foresightedness and explained
how the first Law Minister of Pakistan, Jogendra Nath
Mandal, did not follow Babasaheb’s advice and had to
return to India as his country faced problems.

;DE2P__aXbTS^Ubh[[PQdbR^eTaTS
Lucknow (PNS): Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow
University AK Rai presided over a meeting through
video-conferencing with 70 faculty members,
including all HoDs, deans & additional deans, coor-
dinators of various institutes and departments, con-
troller of examination and registrar. Deans of dif-
ferent faculties and all HoDs said that on an aver-
age, 80-90% courses in all departments have been
covered through online classes and e-content.
“Practical classes, courses that need data collec-
tion for dissertation writing and tutorial classes to
revise course material and clarify doubts of students
will require a period of at least 20 days after the uni-
versity reopens,” LU media spokesperson said.
;D2:=>F8F43=4B30H k0?A8; $!! bcPcT#
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?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824QE0A0=0B8
midst tight security
A arrangements, the last day
of lockdown-1 passed off
peacefully here on Tuesday.
However, as the lockdown-2
would continue till May 3, at
some places rush of people was
seen to purchase essential arti-
cles. As it was expected that the
period would be extended,
good number of residents even
from four hotspot areas came
out of their homes to get nec-
essary items. In hotspot areas,
the residents are allowed to
come one by one during sched-
uled time in morning and
evening to get articles from
outside of sealed areas.
Meanwhile, ADM (Civil
Supply) and District Supply
Officer (DSO) have notified
that the date of passes valid till
April 14 has been extended till
May 3 in view to distribute
essential articles to the people.
Even several minutes prior
to 10 am the roads turned total-
ly empty in this parliamentary
constituency of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to listen his
9VRgjcfdYReGZdYVdYhRcXR_[
?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824QE0A0=0B8
he biggest foodgrain mar-
T ket of entire Purvanchal
(eastern UP), Visheshwarganj
witnessed heavy rush not only
of retailers but also of general
customers, immediately after
the extension of nationwide
lockdown till May 3 by the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
while he was addressing the
nation on Tuesday. Despite all
the repeated announcements
from the district administration
regarding quick remedial of all
the problems relating to the
supply of food and other essen-
tial items, the rush seen in
Visheshwarganj has raised an
eyebrow of many.
According to the District
Magistrate (DM) Kaushal Raj
Sharma, an integrated war
room has been set up at Nagar
Nigam located Smart City’s
Integrated Command &
Control Room from where one
can get one’s supply by ringing
phone no. 0542-2508585 and
toll free number 1077 but the
system does not appear much
effective because a majority of
local residents are neither much
aware of all these arrange-
5O\VH[WHQGVVXVSHQVLRQRISDVVHQJHUVHUYLFHV
?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q0;;070103
ith Prime Minister
W Narendra
announcing the extension of
Modi
the nation-wide lockdown in
the fight against the deadly
coronavirus to May 3, the
Indian Railways has extended
the suspension of its passenger
train services till May 3. All
passenger train services of the
Indian Railways — mail,
express, premium trains, pas-
senger trains, suburban trains
and metro rail — will remain
suspended till May 3. It said full
refund would automatically be
provided to the online cus-
tomers for trains cancelled up
to May 3, while those who had
booked tickets at the counters
could claim refund till July
31.The customers would also
address to the nation. With the
announcement of extension of
lockdown period, all the pos-
sibilities of restarting of con-
struction work were halted
totally and now the residents
are waiting for proposed guide-
lines to be issued on
Wednesday to know what and
where some relaxation may be
given after April 20. It is a
tough time for the administra-
tion to ensure all the arrange-
ments to continue perfectly in
the coming next three weeks.
Senior officers were seen visit-
ing various places to inspect the
lockdown effectiveness and
ensure smooth distribution of
essential items. Earlier,
Divisional Commissioner (DC)
Deepak Agrawal inspected
Varanasi Junction (Cantt.) rail-
way station, Lanka and
Ramnagar areas to see the
arrangements of distribution of
articles among the poor people.
He said that from Wednesday,
at all the fair price shops,
Antodhya and ration card
holders would be given five kgs
rice free-of-cost.
Sanitation and fogging
ments nor ready to respond to
such new techniques of getting
home delivery. DM said that
the toll free number is working
on IVR system through which
one can get solutions of one’s
foodgrain, health, police, Nagar
Nigam and other related prob-
lems.
Though all these arrange-
ments could not see much
effective during lockdown-1, it
is expected that there would be
suitable changes by the local
administration by understand-
ing the nature of locals during
get full refunds of their tickets
if they were cancelling their
advance bookings for trains not
yet cancelled, the Railways
said. It also said that no
advance reservation of train
tickets, including e-tickets,
would be allowed till further
orders. However, facility of
online cancellation will remain
functional. Resumption of train
services as may be warranted in
consideration of public safety,
keeping in view the emerging
situation shall be announced in
due course by the Railway
Board. It was also decided by
the Railway Board that the
period from 22-03-1920 to 03-
05-1920 shall be treated under
force majeure and none of the
following mentioned charges
shall arise for this period:
demurrage, wharfage, stacking,
work continued in different
parts of the city. Sanitisation
work was done by five vehicles
of Fire Brigade while Health
department teams made anti-
larva spraying at 14 places,
sodium hypo-chloride at 27
places apart from massive fog-
ging in two areas. In compar-
ison to other places, the strict
restrictions continued at all
the four sealed hotspots includ-
ing Madanpura, Bajardiha,
Lohta and Gangapur. In
Varanasi, so far nine positive
cases came into the light, out of
them two were recovered well
and discharged, while one died.
Six others are still being treat-
ed at isolation ward at Pandit
Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU)
Government Hospital,
Pandeypur.
Meanwhile, DM Kaushal
Raj Sharma has instructed all
the persons who have symp-
toms like coronavirus to go to
DDU at Pandeypur or
Community Health Centre
(CHC) at Shivpur for test, oth-
erwise, legal action would be
taken against them.
Intensifying the testing process,
lockdown-2 period. Besides,
though the administration is
also providing telemedicine
facilities through WhatsApp, it
also did not see much effective
as still a large number of locals
are not using such social media
platforms for getting consulta-
tion of their health related
issues. At many place, the cops
were seeing checking the vehi-
cles of those involved in violat-
ing the norms apart from
penalising some and the
administration claimed that
the police personnel are keep-
stabling, demurrage in case of
private/jointly owned stock,
demurrage on parcel traffic,
wharfage on parcel traffic,
detention charge in case of con-
tainer traffic, ground usage
charge in case of container traf-
fic.
SAMPLES SENT FOR
TESTING: Samples of 25 doc-
tors and medical staff working
at level 1 Hospital in Kotwa,
about 35 km away from
Prayagraj, where nine corona
positive patients were admitted,
have been sent for testing, an
official said. As a precaution-
ary measure, the samples of
these doctors and medical staff
who are already quarantined,
have been sent for testing, said
Nodal Officer , Dr Rishi Sahai.
According to the official results
of 33 samples sent on Sunday
by mobile ward flu clinics and
doorstep screening medical
teams 9394 patients were
examined on Monday, out of
them 635 were suffering from
general flu, while 12 suspects
were referred for COVID-19
test. Besides, the people of
rural areas in all the eight
blocks of the district, village flu
clinic/ door step screening
medical teams are also being
examined and it was found that
out of 2795 people, as many as
353 were suffering from gener-
al flue and 67 were referred for
COVID-19 test.
Earlier, in view to make its
action more stringent, the dis-
trict police lodged five FIRs
against eight persons for violat-
ing the lockdown on Monday.
As many as 12 persons were
arrested under Section 151
CrPC. During checking at 14
border points and 49 police
barriers, 1252 vehicles were
challaned apart from seizing of
12 vehicles. Since the imposing
of lockdown, 186 FIRs have
been lodged against 312 per-
sons and 436 were arrested
under Section 151 of CrPC.
ing watch on people on a big
screen through CCTV cameras
at Integrated War Room. On
Monday, as many as 230 com-
plaints were received and max-
imum of 129 were related to
food and ration supply.
At Varanasi Development
Authority (VDA), the informa-
tion regarding cooked food
packets are being received. At
IGRS Portal it is claimed that
2,256 complaints including 63
on Monday received so far
and all of them have been dis-
posed off. The DM also
informed that 19,988 food
packets were distributed which
included 9,493 during morning
hours and 9,495 during evening
hours.
Besides, by Sadar tehsil
10,201 ration kits including 302
on the day were distributed
among the poor and needy
people. In all the three tehsils
of the district, 1,4782 ration
packets were distributed so
far.
Meanwhile, the DM, along
with VDA Vice-Chairman
Rahul Pandey, himself inspect-
ed food/ ration packet distrib-
ution at Jaitpura police station
and outpost.
for testing was still awaited.
Reports made available by
office of the Chief Medical
Officer Prayagraj Dr GS Bajpai
said till now samples of 242
people have been sent for test-
ing of which reports of 131
have been received of which
130 had tested negative.
Further, till now information
about 990 people of having
returned from abroad had been
received of which 911 had
been located and testing done
on them while efforts were still
on to trace the remaining 79.
Meanwhile, DM Bhanu
Chandra Goswami said sample
of even those persons who
exhibit even one of the symp-
toms of Covid-19 infection
including dry cough, fever,
sneezing etc would be sent for
testing.
7`Tfd`_Y`eda`ed+<R_afc5>
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anpur District Magistrate
K Dr BR Tiwari said focus on
coronavirus hotspots had been
increased and with the opening
of COVID-19 laboratory in the
city, all coronavirus suspects
would be tested.
The district magistrate held
a meeting with officials on
Tuesday to work out ways to
implement lockdown for the
next 20 days in an effective
manner. He said in the red
zones, door-to-door health sur-
vey and testing of suspects
would be done out to identify
the coronavirus positive cases.
He said special focus being
given on red zone and the area
was being sanitised with jetting
machines. Saying that the
next 20 days would be crucial,
Tiwari appealed to the people
to cooperate with the admin-
istration to check the spread of
the deadly virus.
He said Kanpur was an
industrial hub and so special
arrangements had been made
to maintain the supply of essen-
(LJKWVWXGHQWV
WHVWSRVLWLYH
KANPUR (PNS): Eight
madarsa students have also
been tested infected from coro-
navirus on Tuesday. With this,
the number of persons infect-
ed from coronavirus in the city
reached to 20. One of them was
tested corona positive after his
death on Monday evening,
while an elderly man had
already been sent to home
after treatment. Rest 10 coro-
na infected patients were
already admitted in the isola-
tion and ICU of COVID-19
Hospital. Now, eight madarsa
students were also being shift-
ed to COVID-19 Hospital on
Tuesday. According to reports,
17 students of Katihar (Bihar)
were staying at the madarsa
Sheikh Hidayatullah of
Machhariya (Naubasta). Police
and officials of Health depart-
ment had quarantined them at
the Naraina Medical College,
Panki. Two days ago, the team
of Health department had col-
lected swab samples of all the
students. At the newly set up
COVID-19 lab at the GSVM
Medical College, samples of 43
corona suspects were sent for
testing. In the test reports
revealed late on Monday night,
12 students were suspected to
be infected from coronavirus.
On Tuesday, on the retesting of
samples of these 12 students,
eight were tested infecting from
coronavirus. Principal of
GSVM Medical College Dr
Arti Lalchandani said in the
testing of 43 samples, eight
madarsa students were tested
corona positive. She had
already informed the District
Magistrate and CMO about it.
)RUHLJQHUVZKRZHUHSDUWRI-DPDDW
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he members of Tablighi
T Jamaat who had come to
India from Indonesia and
Thailand will not be able to
leave the country even after
their quarantine period is over.
The move was taken after a
lookout notice was issued
against them by Prayagraj
police.
As many as 16 foreign
nationals, all part of Tablighi
Jamaati were quarantined in
Prayagraj after one of them
who had visited Nizamuddin
Markaz in New Delhi tested
1&5UHPHPEHUV'U$PEHGNDU
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midst its fight against
A COVID-19, the North
Central Railway (NCR)
remembered Dr Bhimrao
Ambedkar on his 129th birth
anniversary on Tuesday.
The NCR also surpassed
one lakh downloads of
Aarogya Setu app by the rail-
way fraternity. The NCR has set
a target of 1.25 lakh downloads
of the app to keep COVID-19
at bay.
The North Central Railway
remembered Bharat Ratna
Baba Saheb Bhimrao
Ambedkar on his 129th birth
anniversary.
North Central Railway and
tial commodities. He said sani-
tisation campaign had also
been stepped up.
The district magistrate said
that in view of the hooch
tragedy and incidents of sale of
illicit liquor, the district admin-
istration and the excise depart-
ment were conducting raids to
not only identify illicit liquor
manufacturing units but also
prevent unauthorised sale of
liquor in the city. He said with
the support of Kanpur Nagar
Nigam, sanitising work had
been stepped up further. He
said an appeal was being made
to people, especially women
and children, to inform the
administration about illicit
liquor brewing units on
18001805159 or to police con-
trol room number 112.
Tiwari said all efforts were
being made to ensure there was
no problem in availability of
essential commodities espe-
cially dairy products. He, how-
ever, asked people to maintain
social distancing while buying
or taking groceries.
Meanwhile, the district
J`feYhZeYT`c`_RgZcfd
Z_WVTeZ`_UZVd
?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q:0=?DA
youth who died here on
A Monday evening tested
positive for coronavirus infec-
tion on Tuesday. He is the first
patient in the city to test posi-
tive for coronavirus infection
after his death.
Police sealed the private
hospital where the youth
underwent treatment for two
days. At the same time, raids
were being conducted to locate
the people who had come in
contact of the deceased youth.
According to reports, the
brother of a mutawalli of
Tikunia Park mosque in
Colonelganj was admitted to a
private hospital in Chunniganj.
Suspecting him to be a
COVID-19 patient, some per-
sons had informed the police
about him.
As the youth was suffering
from kidney ailment and dia-
betes, he was admitted to the
ICU of the private hospital.
After his condition started
deteriorating, he was shifted to
the Covid-19 hospital of LLR
(Hallet) hospital on Saturday
evening.
District Magistrate Dr BR
Tiwari and Senior
Superintendent of Police Anant
Deo had visited the hospital
and asked the doctors to send
the youth’s swab sample to
Lucknow for testing. But before
the test report could come, the
youth died on Monday
positive for coronavirus. While
seven from Indonesia were
found staying at Abdullah
Masjid near railway station,
nine from Thailand was stay-
ing at Hera Masjid in Kareli.
One of them who tested
positive of COVID-19 is cur-
rently undergoing treatment in
Prayagraj. An FIR was also
lodged against them at
Shahganj and Kareli police sta-
tions under Epidemic Act and
other relevant sections. Their
passports were also seized by
police. Senior Superintendent
of Police (SSP) Satyarth
Aniruddha Pankaj said the
report had been forwarded to
Northern Railway General
Manager Rajiv Chaudhry high-
lighted the role of Baba Saheb
in shaping Indian society and
Constitution through the daily
video conference held with
senior officials.
Chaudhry said that initia-
tives taken by Dr Bhimrao
Ambedkar influenced various
spheres of life in a great way
and transformed the way India
looks today .
All officers present in the
video conference paid their
tributes to Dr Ambedkar.
Different unions and associa-
tions also paid homage to Dr
Ambedkar while observing
social distancing protocol.
The Railway Board has
magistrate paid rich tributes to
Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth
anniversary at the collectorate.
B0=8C8B0C8>=3A8E4
8=C4=B85843
Meanwhile, Kanpur
Municipal Commissioner
Akshay Tripathi on Tuesday
said that all the jetting
machines had been pressed
into service to carry out sani-
tisation. He said every area was
being sanitised, especially the
coronavirus hotspots.
Tripathi also appealed to
the hospitals and nursing
homes to refrain from throw-
ing biomedical waste in gener-
al garbage. He said three nurs-
ing homes had been fined and
warned those that were dispos-
ing of the biomedical wastes in
domestic garbage bin and said
strict action would be taken
and fine would be imposed in
case the hospital, nursing home
or clinic was found to be
throwing bio-medical waste.
He said there were specif-
ic norms for disposal of bio-
medical waste and the officials
evening.
On Tuesday morning, the
report sent by Sanjay Gandhi
Post-Graduate Institute of
Medical Sciences in Lucknow
confirmed that the deceased
was coronavirus positive. This
stunned the officials of health
department and district admin-
istration. Sources said that
some Tablighi Jamaatis had
stayed in Tikunia Park mosque.
After the death of the
youth, Samajwadi Party MLA
Irfan Solanki reached the hos-
pital to collect the body.
Officials of district administra-
tion were also present when the
deceased was laid to rest.
2<>) 2>=C02CB
@D0A0=C8=43
Chief Medical Officer Dr
AK Shukla said the first con-
firmed COVID-19 death had
been reported from city’s
Apollo Hospital and this man
was a relative of a member of
Tablighi Jamaat and had stayed
in the city for three days from
March 18 to 20. The deceased
was from the coronavirus red
zone. He was buried as per pro-
tocol under supervision of gov-
ernment officials as per strict
medical norms.
Dr Shukla said the doctors
and staff of the hospital where
the deceased was treated had
been quarantined and their
swab samples were taken for
tests to confirm if there was any
coronavirus infection among
senior authorities for blacklist-
ing the foreigners who were
part of the Jamaat.
A lookout notice had been
issued against them following
which they will not be able to
leave the country until investi-
gation against them are over,
the SSP added.
Meanwhile, a total of 98
persons kept in quarantine for
a period of 14 days were sent
back home in buses of Uttar
Pradesh State Road Transport
Corporation (UPSRTC) in
Prayagraj on Tuesday.
About 98 persons, all res-
idents of different tehsils of
Prayagraj kept in quarantine at
advised that Arogya Setu app
developed by the Ayush
Ministry should be down-
loaded by railway employees
and their family members to
intensify the fight against
COVID-19. It has also advo-
cated Ayush protocol for boost-
ing immunity.
The NCR has been leading
in producing in-house reusable
face covers and sanitiser. Now
it has decided to take up pro-
duction of coverall using spec-
ified fabric, stitching procedure
and sealant to make it imper-
meable by following quality
assurance plan (QAP) issued by
Jagadhari workshop which has
already taken up bulk produc-
tion after sample prepared by
had been issued strict orders to
take action against any erring
nursing home or private hospi-
tal. He said disposing of the
biomedical waste with the
domestic waste was in fact
inviting the spread of an epi-
demic. Tripathi said the impact
of biomedical waste on water,
soil, air quality, the environ-
ment, and human health was
dangerous. He said hospitals
and nursing homes generate
increasing amount of biomed-
ical waste in an unscientific
manner and as such, poor
waste management practices by
these institutions cause expo-
sure to health hazards and
actual environmental prob-
lems. He said when the Kanpur
Nagar Nigam staff were mak-
ing every effort to keep the city
clean, throwing of biomedical
waste was a matter of concern.
Meanwhile, rousing wel-
come was given to the cops
during their route march which
passed through Generalganj
Bajaja, Lathi Mohal, Sirki
Mohal, Satranji Mohal and
Nayaganj on Tuesday morning.
them and the relatives.
The CMO said around 100
people who were in contact
with the deceased had been
rounded and put under strict
quarantine and entry and exit
from these red zones had been
totally banned. Dr Shukla said
with the first COVID-19 death
from Kanpur the total number
of coronavirus positive cases
had reached 12. He said on
coming to know that a person
had died with COVID-19
symptoms, a special team had
visited and carried out the
inspection and put the body in
a polythene bag after sanitising
it. He said this man had been
admitted to this hospital with
pulmonary problems and on
getting news that he died, his
test was carried out which
turned positive.
The CMO said higher
authorities. had been informed
about this death.
Meanwhile, the district
authorities are keeping an eye
on the hotspots with drones to
ensure that ono one comes out
of house. Later, the police
authorities addressing the press
persons said the lockdown in
these red spots was being
enforced more strictly. They
said that in other areas of the
city from where no fresh case
of coronavirus has been report-
ed, people will remain under
lockdown but with the facility
of obtaining essential com-
modities, milk and dairy sup-
plies from the nearest market.
KP Community Centre after
they returned from Delhi,
Noida, Lucknow post
announcement of lockdown
on March 24. District
Magistrate Bhanu Chandra
Goswami got medical exami-
nation of all the 98 persons
done before they were sent to
their homes. Similarly, 166
persons, all residents of
Pratapgarh district who were
kept in quarantine at St
Anthony’s Inter College were
also sent back home on
Monday evening after comple-
tion of 14 day period and
clearing of medical examina-
tion.
Northern Railway Workshop
was approved by DRDO
Gwalior.
The NCR has already
arranged the required fabric
and other materials and the
first sample was successfully
prepared by Jhansi workshop
and Rail Spring Karkhana
Sithauli (Gwalior) with com-
bined efforts on Tuesday.
NCR will now take up
bulk production of coverall, the
most important part of PPE
(personal protective equip-
ment) at Gwalior and Jhansi
and has targeted to make 2,000
coveralls in first phase and the
production would be further
scaled up to meet requirement
of the critical PPE.
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n order to check the spread
Imovement
of novel coronavirus the
of all passenger
trains (premium/ mail/express
trains, passenger trains,
demu/memu trains) will
remain cancelled till May 3 as
per a decision taken by the
railway administration.
Any type of ticket booking
and e-ticket booking will not be
done till the next order.
However, online ticket cancel-
lation facility will remain avail-
able.
All UTS and PRS counters
will remain closed until further
notice. A full refund will be
given for tickets of cancelled
>UUXRXP[b\PZT_T^_[TPfPaTPQ^dc2^eXS (
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istrict Magistrate
D Awadhesh Kumar Tiwari
along with Superintendent of
Police Manilal Patidar visited
Kamalpura and Mohari villages
and others under Kulpahar
tehsil area and made the peo-
ple aware about coronavirus
pandemic.
They reached the tehsil
distributed masks and sanitis-
ers among the lekhpals and
other employees and instruct-
ed them to take special pre-
cautions while working. On
this occasion they appreciated
CaXQdcTb_PXSc^0\QTSZPa
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ributes were paid to archi-
T tect of Indian Constitution
and social reformer Dr BR
Ambedkar on his 129th birth
anniversary by BSP leader and
former Nagar Palika chairman
Vijay Chaudhary by garlanding
his statue at his house who also
recalled his contribution to
the nation. Reports said that
senior political leaders of dif-
ferent political parties also paid
tributes to Dr Ambedkar on his
birth anniversary by garlanding
his statue at their homes and
offices.
Meanwhile former chair-
man Nagar Palika Orai, Girja
Chaudhary, Sunny Chauhan
(member of Ward No 10),
ward member Rajpal Singh
Chandel, and social workers
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anda MLA Praksh Dwivedi
B said that he had distributed
140 ration kits among the poor
and needy at Khurhand railway
station and in Durgapur village.
MLA Dwivedi said that no
one should remain hungry.
Dwivedi said that he was try-
ing at his level best to serve
the people of Banda Vidhan
Sabha area at this crucial
time. MLA said that he had
resolved to distribute ration
kits and lunch packets among
the poor and needy on a daily
basis. MLA Dwivedi said
that 4,300 lunch packets were
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he body of a married
T woman was found lying in
the verandah of the house in
Nayagaon under the
Dhaurahra Kotwali area of the
district. According to a report
received here, the body of
Asma (25), wife of Zuber, a res-
ident of Nayapurva village
under the Kotwali area, was
found lying in the verandah of
her house. When the villagers
came to know about it they
informed Jalaluddin, uncle of
the deceased, who was living in
the village. Thereafter
Jalaluddin informed Asma’s
maternal family in Prithvipurva
under the Motipur police sta-
tion in Bahraich district. On
getting information when the
father of the deceased, Noor
Mohammad, reached there he
found Asma’s body lying in the
verandah of the house. Noor
Accusing her husband of
dowry murder Mohammad
lodged a complaint at the kot-
wali in this connection. When
contacted inspector-incharge
Hariom Srivastava said that on
the basis of the father’s com-
plaint the body of the deceased
had been sent and sent for the
trains. In this sequence there
was an arrangement for full
refund of the tickets of those
trains which had not been
cancelled yet.
However during the lock-
down the movement of goods
trains and parcel express trains
will continue to carry food
grains and other essential mate-
rials from one place to anoth-
er in the country.
20B4A468BC4A43
A married woman died
under suspicious condition in
Bhaksa village under the
Sahajanwa police station on
Sunday night.
However, her husband
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Vicky Parihar, Kailash Prajapati,
Pinku Seth and Raju also paid
tributes to Dr Ambekar at their
respective houses.
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distributed among the poor
at Chhoti Bazar, Khutla,
C h h ipt a h r i, R a hu n iy a ,
post-mortem examination after
conducting a ‘panchnama.’ The
cause of death would become
clear only after getting the
post-mortem examination
report. A case had been regis-
tered in this connection on the
basis of a complaint received in
this regard.
5>A4BC1DA=C
More than 30 hectares of
forest was burnt in a fire which
broke out in the core zone of
Kishanpur Sanctuar y of
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTH).
The fire broke out in the
Chaltua and Semal Phata for-
est blocks of the sanctuary.
On receiving information
DD Manoj Sonkar along with
several teams of forest person-
nel led reached the spot.
Attempts were made to extin-
guish the fire with the help of
tankers apart from the fire
blower system. The forest
department staff had to call a
fire brigade later. The flames
could be controlled after bat-
tling for several hours. DTR’s
field director Sanjay Pathak
said that about 30 hectares of
forest and grassland had been
damaged in the fire. He said
claimed that she had commit-
ted suicide. Her inlaws cre-
mated the married woman in
on Monday without informing
her family members.
Accusing her inlaws of
murdering her the brother of
the deceased has got a case reg-
istered against them in this
connection. According to a
report received here, Anuradha
(32), a resident of Gau Redih
village under the Chiluatal
police station, was married to
Chandrajit Yadav, a resident of
Bhaksa village in Sahajanwa in
the year 2010. It was alleged that
since marriage there was con-
stantly harassed by her inlaws
for dowry. Anuradha’s brother,
Vikas Yadav, said that he had
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F orty litres of illicit liquor was
recovered from the posses-
sion of a culprit and unearthed
a factory for manufacturing it
here.
According to a report
received here police also recov-
ered equipment being used to
manufacture liquor during a
joint raid of police and excise
department conducted at vil-
lage Berrav under the leader-
ship of Additional
Superintendent of Police (ASP)
LKB Pal and under the super-
vision of Circle Officer (CO)
Baberu Rajeev Pratap Singh,
Station House Officer (SHO)
Baberu Kotwali Tara Singh
Patel and excise inspector
Sudhanshu Chaudhari here on
?X^]TTa
Aliganj, Jawahar Nagar, Civil
Lines, Gayatri Nagar, Station
Road, Roadways, bus stand,
that the cause of the fire would
be investigated.
5867C0608=BC
2>A>=0E8ADB
Superintendent of Police
Poonam has decided to donate
a month’s salary to fight against
coronavirus. SP had also made
an appeal to all police officers
and employees to come forwad
and contribute to the cause. As
a result all policemen and offi-
cials extended their help. The
station house officers (SHOs)
had donated a week’s salary and
policemen a day’s pay of theirs
to the Corona Disaster Fund.
The donation amount was
about C35 lakh. The SP said
that this amount would be
handed over to the DGP which
would be sent to the Corona
Disaster Fund. Additional
Superintendent of Police (ASP)
Shailendra Lal, Circle Officer
(CO) City Vijay Anand, CO
City Vijay Anand, CO
Dhaurahra Abhishek Pratap,
CO Gola, RK Verma, CO
Mohammadi, Pradeep Yadav,
CO Mitauli, Shitanshu, CO
Nighasan and CO Palia too had
donated their week’s salary.
All police station incharges
also given C50,000 in the year
2015 so in order to check her
harassment. Despite this fact
they continued to harass her.
He alleged after strangulating
they burnt her body was burnt
to destroy the evidence .
Anuradha has a seven-year-
old daughter and a five-year-old
son. During police interrogation
her daughter said that her par-
ents had been quarrelling for the
past three days and her father
was having food at their relative’s
house. Police was looking into
it. Circle Officer (CO)
Campierganj Dinesh Singh said
that the incident was being
investigated. He said that the
accused would be arrested
soon.
sub-divisional magistrate
(SDM) Kulpahar Mohammad
Avesh for getting as many as
1,500 ration kits collected with
the support of people for free
distribution among public.
They called upon the people of
the district to extend their
support to each other in view
of the Covid-19 outbreak.
On the occasion they also
asked all the employees to
install the Arogya Setu App on
their smartphones which
would which warns people if
they come in contact with
novel coronavirus positive per-
son.
Monday. This information was
given to The Pioneer by police
chief Siddharth Shankar
Meena.
He said that he had direct-
ed all COs, SHOs and SOs to
conduct the raids at the sus-
pected hideouts the people
involved in manufacturing illic-
it liquor in their respective
areas. SP Meena said that this
team got destroyed two quin-
tals lahan on the spot and
arrested the culprit identified as
Rakesh Kushwaha alias Pappu,
son of Ramraj Kushwaha, a res-
ident of Berrav village. SP
Meena said that a case under
Section 60 (2) of the Excise Act
has been registered at the
Baberu Kotwali. SP Meena
appreciated the good work of
police and excise teams.
Shukul Kuwan, Sarvodaya
Nagar areas of the city. Those
who distributed ration kits and
lunch packets were Ram
Krashna Shukla, Dr Anil
Tripathi, Prem Swaroop
Dwivedi, Rishi Awasthi Raka,
Munnilal Chaurasiya,
Amarmani Tiwari, Vinod Singh,
Raghav Tiwari, Anjani Dwivedi,
Sharda Pandey, Suresh
Agnihotri, Deependra Mishra,
Dharmendra Kumar Dwivedi,
Pankaj Awasthi, Anurudha
Tripathi, Pushkar Dwivedi, Rajat
Seth, Swadesh Shivhare Golu,
Rahul Dwivedi, Ram Manohar
Yyadav, Neeraj Tripathi and
Santosh Rajput.
had given their week’s salary,
police outpost incharges and
constables had given day’s pay
of theirs.
<0=H8=9DA43
Many persons were injured
when two groups clashed with
each other here recently.
According to a report
received here, a dispute over
pond was going on between the
families of Aftab Khan and
Kallu in Patti Ram Das Kheri
Town township. The matter
was pending in the court. On
the said day Kallu was cleaning
the pond to which Aftab Khan
objected. This led to an argu-
ment between them. Later peo-
ple from both the groups
brought lathis and sticks and
attacked each other. In the
clash Aftab, Anas, Adal, Fazal,
Kallu, Hashim, Farookh,
Qasim and Saddam from both
the sides were injured. Station
Officer Sunil Kumar Singh
said that the injured had been
sent to district hospital for
treatment. Both the sides had
lodged complaints against each
other following which a case
was registered in this connec-
tion.
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o m m i s s i o n e r
C Chitrakootdham division
Gaurav Dayal expressed great
concern over unnecessary delay
in purchase of equipment
required for quaran-
tine process.
Commissioner inquired
from Additional Director
Medical and Health about the
purchase of the equipment for
the purpose. When Additional
Director informed that
demand has been raised,
Commissioner expressed his
resentment over the delay in
the purchase of the equipment
and directed him to purchase
them at the earliest.
Commissioner Dayal was
reviewing the progress of the
arrangements made by the
Health department and oth-
ers to combat Covid-19 in
the Chitradkootdham divi-
sion. Commissioner told The
Pioneer that he had instruct-
ed AD Medical and Health
to send the demand for per-
sonal protective equipment
(PPE) like masks, gloves and
sanitisers to the govern-
ment. Commissioner Dayal
said that he has directed
D eputy Direc tor Mandi
2^a^]PfPaaX^abR^]cX]dTc^S^TgT\_[Pahf^aZ
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eeping the outbreak of
K novel coronavirus in mind
the railwaymen of North
Eastern Railway are doing var-
ious works to prevent the infec-
tion during this ongoing lock-
down period, ensuring that
essential commodities reached
from one place to another
besides providing food to the
hungry, needy, poor and help-
less people.
In order to boost the
morale of the railwaymen who
are doing their tasks related to
railway besides other human-
itarian works at this juncture
the North Eastern Railway
administration was declaring
‘Corona Warriors of the Day’
every day. In this series on
April 12 one personnel each
from the three divisions of the
North Eastern Railway were
selected for this honour.
Reports said that Amit
Kumar Rajak, working on the
post of senior section officer
(Expenditure) in the Accounts
department of the Divisional
Office of Varanasi division,
during this lockdown period
did the work related tothe
salaries of railwaymen. Besides
he also cleared the bills con-
cerned with special imprest for
5DWLRQNLWVJLYHQWRSRRUQHHG\
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ation kits were distributed
R among 40 poor and needy
people by Jaspura Station
Officer Alok Singh in Japura
town on Tuesday.
SO Alok Singh told The
Pioneer said that he observed
during his routine rounds of
the town that these 40 families
were facing the problem of
livelihood.
He said that therefore he
decided to distribute ration
kits among these poor and
needy persons. He said that it
&RURQDZDUULRUVKRQRXUHG
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Sandenior Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Manish Gupta
general secretary Akhil
Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar
Mandal (ABUVM) Amit Seth
Bholu honoured corona war-
riors by garlanding them for
their contribution to the soci-
ety in the fight against Covid-
19 at Maheshwari Devi Road
here. These leaders garlanded
policemen, doctors and sani-
tary workers and showered
flowers on women sanitary
workers for their contribution
to battle Covid-19.
Senior BJP leader Manish
Gupta said that they all were
the real heroes today as they
were contributing a lot to the
society. Gupta said that they all
were rendering their services
round the clock. General
Secretary ABVM Amit Seth
Bholu said that honouring
corona warriors would give
them more courage to fight
against Covid-19.
2^\\XbbX^]Ta2WXcaPZ^^cSWP\SXeXbX^]6PdaPe3PhP[aTeXTfX]VcWT_a^VaTbb^U
PaaP]VT\T]cbQh7TP[cWST_Pac\T]cP]S^cWTabc^R^\QPc2^eXS (X]1P]SP
Parishad to make elaborate
arrangements to facilitate
smooth purchase of wheat
from farmers at all Mandi
Samitis of the division which
was to b e star ted f rom
Wednesday. Dayal instruct-
ed him to ensure the imple-
mentation of social distanc-
ing among the farmers dur-
ing this purchase process.
Commissioner Dayal said
that instructions had also
been issued to ensure that
0\Xc:d\PaAPYPZbT]X^abTRcX^]
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Covid-19 and expenses bills
related to Covid-19 besides
those related to expenditure on
cleaning etc. In addition he dis-
tributed face masks and sani-
tisers among his fellow railway
personnel to prevent corona
infection. For this commend-
able work, Amit Kumar Rajak
was declared the ‘Corona
Warriors of the Day’ of
Varanasi Division. Likewise at
the Aishbagh depot of
Lucknow division, the tower
wagon driver Shivjanam
Vishwakarma performed the
important work of transporting
the staff and necessary materi-
B>9Pb_daP0[^ZBX]VWSXbcaXQdcX]VaPcX^]ZXcbP\^]VcWT_^^aP]S]TTSh_T^_[TX]
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Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) district president
Ramkesh Nishad along with
party leader Swadesh Shivhare
Golu handed over a memo-
no shopkeeper was involved
in blackmarketing and
hoarding of the wheat in the
division.
Commissioner Gaurav
Dayal asked him to issue
instructions to all officers
incharge of mandis to make
the arrangements for shade
and drinking water for the
farmers in their mandis.
Dayal said that Assistant
C ommissioner Medicine
department was directed to
BWXeYP]P\EXbWfPZPa\PSaXeTac^fTa
fPV^]0XbWQPVWST_^c;dRZ]^f
als while continuously moving
the tower wagon from
Aishbagh to Biswan and
Sitapur during the lockdown
period to check coronavirus.
Vishwakarma’s work was laud-
able, for which he was declared
the ‘Corona Warrior of the Day’
of Lucknow division.
Besides senior section
engineer Hariraj Singh, work-
ing at the carriage depot,
Ramnagar of Izzatnagar divi-
sion, in addition to his sched-
uled daily works, constructed
a non-contact type sanitisation
system to protect the employ-
ees there from the novel coro-
?X^]TTa
?X^]TTa
randum to District Magistrate
Banda and requested him to
solve problems of people.
Nishad said that a memoran-
dum had been handed over
DM Amit Singh Bansal in this
regard and he had assured him
that the problem of water sup-
issue instructions to drug
inspectors of the division to
keep a close watch over the
m e d i c a l s tore s i n t he i r
respective areas in order to
ensure availability of medi-
cines. Dayal said that black-
marketing of medicines should
be monitored and required
action should be taken against
the owners of medical stores.
Dayal said that instructions had
also been issued to him to
ensure that the social distanc-
ing norms were followed in all
chemist shops. Commissioner
said that superintendent of
post office main branch has
been asked to speed up the pay-
ment process through EPS sys-
tem in order to unwanted
crowd at the post offices.
Commissioner advised the offi-
cials to encourage and motivate
people to down load Arogya
Setu App for their own well
being.
Commissioner said that
he had directed all officials and
others to wear masks and
implement social distancing
norms while doing their rou-
tine work. Commissioner
Dayal said that the government
had issued directions to pur-
chase wheat at C1,952 per quin-
tal and it should be followed.
7PaXaPYBX]VWbT]X^abTRcX^]T]VX]TTa
RPaaXPVTST_^cAP\]PVPa8iiPc]PVPa
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navirus infection with the help
of which the hands can be
washed by pressing the foot
paddle with the toe.
This excellent work done
by Hariraj Singh to prevent
coronavirus infection was
indeed praiseworthy. For it
Hariraj Singh was declared the
‘Corona warriors of the Day’ of
Izzatnagar. Railway workers
who continue to do such com-
mendable work during the
lockdown period will be hon-
oured by the North Eastern
Railway administration. The
NER was proud of such
employees.
was the joint responsibility of
all of us to ensure that not a sin-
gle person in our locality or
neighbourhood remained
hungry. The SO said that he
had advised them to remain at
home and follow the instruc-
tions of the lockdown for their
own welfare. Singh said that he
had given them his mobile
number and told them that
they could call him during an
emergency.
SO Singh said that efforts
were being made to get lock-
down guidelines implemented
in the town successfully.
ply would be solved in differ-
ent areas of the city on top pri-
ority.Nishad told mediaper-
sons that more than four dozen
people had complained about
irregular water supply in dif-
ferent areas of the city which
was causing problems. Nishad
said that he was taking regular
rounds of the district along
with party activists and observ-
ing the arrangements made
for the poor and needy by the
administration and party
workers. District president
lauded the regular distribution
of ration kits among the needy
and poor by Banda MLA
Prakash Dwivedi. Nishad said
that he himself had distributed
ration kits and lunch packets
along with MLA Prakash
Dwivedi. He appreciated the
efforts of Banda MLA was
making regularly to help the
poor and needy persons in the
district. Prominent among
those present on the occasion
were Akhilesh Dixit, Dilip
Gupta and Ajay Tiwari.
;D2:=>FkF43=4B30H k0?A8; $!! ]PcX^]%
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New Delhi: As the world grap-
ples with the coronavirus pan-
demic, researchers have found
the presence of a different kind
of coronavirus — bat coron-
avirus (BtCoV) — in two bat
species from Kerala,
Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry
and Tamil Nadu, according to
a first of its study by the Indian
Council of Medical Research
(ICMR).
According to the study
published in the Indian Journal
of Medical Research, there is no
evidence or research to claim
that these bat coronaviruses can
cause disease in humans, said
Dr Pragya D Yadav, Scientist at
the National Institute of
Virology (NIV), Pune and also
the first author of study.
Twenty-five bats of
Rousettus and Pteropus species
from Kerala, Himachal
Pradesh, Puducherry and
Tamil Nadu were found positive
for BtCoV in Kerala,
Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry
and Tamil Nadu.
"These bat coronaviruses
have no relation with SARS-
CoV2 responsible for the
COVID-19 pandemic," Yadav
said, adding that Pteropus bat
species were earlier found pos-
itive for Nipah virus in 2018
and 2019 in Kerala.
"Bats are considered to be
the natural reservoir for many
viruses, of which some are
potential human pathogens. In
India, an association of
Pteropus medius bats with the
Nipah virus was reported in the
past. It is suspected that the
recently emerged severe acute
respiratory syndrome coron-
avirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also has
its association with bats," the
objective of the study titled
'Detection of coronaviruses in
Pteropus and Rousettus species
of bats from different states of
India' stated.
"In the present scenario of
changing demography and eco-
logical manipulations, it is chal-
lenging to have checks on the
encounters of bats with other
animals and humans," the study
stated, highlighting that the
need for active and continuous
surveillance remains crucial
for outbreak alerts for bat-
associated viral agents with
epidemic potential, which
would be helpful in timely
interventions.
"Although CoVs in the
subfamily coronavirinae do not
usually produce clinical symp-
toms in their natural hosts
(bats), accidental transmission
of these viruses to humans and
other animals may result in res-
piratory, enteric, hepatic or
neurologic diseases of variable
severity. It is still not under-
stood as to why only certain
CoVs can infect people," the
study said.
The scientists stressed on
the need of proactive surveil-
lance of zoonotic infections in
bats.
The detection and identifi-
cation of such viruses from bats
also recommends cross-sec-
tional antibody surveys (human
and domestic animals) in local-
ities where the viruses have
been detected. PTI
0Xa[X]Tb^UUTabaPX]RWTRZ µ6WDUVSODQHWDU\PRYHPHQWV
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RP]RT[[TSU^a[^RZS^f]
Mumbai: With the central
government extending the
lockdown to May 3 and sub-
sequently suspension of all
commercial passenger services
till then, domestic airlines have
again decided not to refund the
customers in cash for their
cancelled flights and instead
offer them rescheduling of
tickets for a later date without
any additional fee.
India had imposed a 21-
day lockdown from March 25
to curb the spread of the coro-
navirus pandemic.
Consequently, all domestic
and international commercial
passenger flights were sus-
pended for this time period.
However, most of the air-
lines had been taking bookings
except national carrier Air
India for domestic flights for
the period beyond April 14.
After Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced
the extension of lockdown till
May 3, the aviation regulator
DGCA issued a circular stating
all international as well as
domestic flights will remain
suspended during the lock-
down.
“Following orders from
the Ministry of Civil Aviation
issued to all airlines, we have
extended the suspension of our
operations until May 3, 2020.
“We are in the process of
cancelling the affected book-
ings and we will offer cus-
tomers free of charge resched-
uling to another date until
December 31, 2020,” a Vistara
spokesperson told PTI in
statement.
The customer, however,
will have to pay the fare dif-
ference, if any, at the time of
rebooking, the airline said.
A GoAir spokesperson
said that it has already “fac-
tored in” these type of scenario
and that the airline will review
its earlier scheme of providing
rescheduling free of cost at a
later date while protecting
their existing bookings for one
year.
“In accordance with the
Prime Minister’s instructions
and the DGCA’s circular, GoAir
has suspended all its flights till
May 3,” GoAir said in a state-
ment on Tuesday. PTI
:D<0A274;;0??0=Q :>278
alayalees all over the
M world celebrated Vishu,
Kerala’s national festival as well
as the Malayalam New Year
Day. Vishu falls on the first of
Medam (Mesham in Sanskrit
and Aries in English).
It also marks the beginning
of agricultural operations in the
State. The day begins with
members of the family raising
up early in the morning to see
the pre-arranged Vishu Kani
(the first sight of the day), a pic-
ture or statue of Lord Krishna
decorated with jewelry, flowers
fruits and gold or silver coins.
While this year’s Vishu
was a subdued affair in the
backdrop of the pandemic by
name Corona Virus, one had to
call on the astrologers to find
out what was in store for the
country and the countrymen.
PM Gopala Menon , Thanthrik
and Sanskrit scholar and his
son Dr M G Gireeshan, a
physicist-turned-astrologer are
of the view that bad time is not
yet over for the world.
“Those who are born in
stars belonging to the three
central planets (Aries, Leo, and
Sagittarius) are in for tough
times. This is applicable to
persons born under Aswathy
(Aswani in Sanskrit), Bharani,
Karthika(Krithika), Makam
(Magha), Pooram (Poorva
Phalguni) , Uthram (Uthara
Phalguni) , Moolam, Pooradam
Poor va Aashada) and
Uthradam (Uthara Aashada),”
said Menon. He said persons
coming under the judicature of
other nine planets may not
have much difficulties. Menon
forecasts that there would be a
repetition in 2020 of what hap-
pened with Jupiter in the last
calendar year.
“The pandemic corona
virus was because of the transi-
tion of Jupiter to Sagittarius.
This year also there is a transi-
tion of Jupiter to Sagittarius fol-
lowed by another transition.
This does not augur well during
the November 2020 to May
2021 phase. We can expect
some kind of pandemic or nat-
ural disasters like flood or earth-
quakes during this phase. But
life will return to normal after
May 2021,” he said.
Dr Gireeshan, a scientist
with nearly 200 innovations to
his credit (including anti-pira-
cy technology which could be
used in film industry), said we
can expect a comprehensive
transformation in the education
sector this year. ‘There is all like-
lihood of the Central
Government ushering in cours-
es meant for skill development
and allowing the entry of for-
eign universities to open shop
in India. Ayurveda is likely to
take precedence over others in
days to come,” said Dr
Gireeshan. For those who
describe astrology as hogwash,
the physicist in Dr Gireeshan
has this to tell: “Columbia
University’s research team used
computer algorithms to assess a
data base of health records of
more than 1.7 million patients
from 1985 to 2013 and found
that a person’s birth month is
related to the development of
certain health conditions. This
finding has been published in
the Journal of American
Medical Informatics
Associaton,” he said.
We need to wait only till
November 2020 to see whether
this comes true.

0RGL¶VWUDGLWLRQDO0DQLSXUL
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Imphal: “Meitei Lengyan’’, a
traditional Manipuri scarf,
worn by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi while address-
ing the nation on Tuesday
grabbed much attention espe-
cially in the northeastern state.
While announcing that the
coronavirus-triggered lock-
down has been extended till
May 3, the prime minister was
wearing the stole, also known
as “Leiroom phee” and used
mainly by men.
Modi also changed the
profile picture of his official
Twitter handle to one showing
him using the Lengyan as a
facemask.
Presented to guests at cer-
emonies, the scraf comes in dif-
ferent colours and generally has
a wide red border.
Manipur Governor Najma
Heptulla, Chief Minister N
Biren Singh, opposition
Congress spokesman
Ningombam Bupenda Meitei
and common people noted
with happiness that the prime
minister had donned the
Lengyan, considered a cultur-
al symbol of the state.
“I was very happy to see it.
It shows our prime minister
cares for the Northeast,”
Heptulla said.
The chief minister tweeted:
“My sincere appreciation and
salute to the Hon’’ble PM
@narendramodi ji for using
Manipuri Meitei Lengyan
which is a traditionally and cul-
turally symbolic one, while
addressing the nation today.
“It shows how much our
PM loves and care for the NE
particularly Manipur.”
Singh also shared a photo-
graph of Modi using the
Lengyan as a facemask.
Thanking Modi for extend-
ing the nationwide lockdown
till May 3 to fight against coro-
navirus, the CM said, “We will
follow his will, vision and
advice in the fight against the
dreaded COVID-19 outbreak.
#IndiaFightsCorona
#StayHomeStaySafe.” PTI
AT\^eT '6BC^]PSb^]Qa^PSRPbc
\TSXP^aaTSdRTXcc^$)=10c^5<
?C8Q =4F34;78
he News Broadcasters
T Association on Tuesday
urged Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman to
remove the 18 per cent GST
on advertisements on broad-
cast media or reduce it and
bring it at par with the print
media industry at 5 per cent
in the wake of the financial
constraints being faced by the
industry.
NBA president R ajat
Sharma, in a letter to
Sitharaman, said in order to
ensure social distancing and
for ensuring the safety of the
editorial personnel, the news
broadcasters have had to take
various steps which have
resulted in the operating costs
going up exponentially during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You will appreciate that
advertisements are an integral
and essential part of the busi-
ness and the main source of
revenue for the news broad-
casters which has come under
severe pressure during this
pandemic/lock down,"
Sharma said.
Advertising agencies are
putting huge pressure to defer
the payments to broadcasters
and to allow more time over
and above the 60 days credit
period, he said, adding that
the recovery of bills is going
to be hugely challenging,
while facing an even bigger
task of almost zero or
negligible income in the next
30-90 days.
"While the news broad-
casters are coping with the
financial problems of recovery
of dues, we are also faced with
serious problems of advertis-
ing inventory/release orders
being cancelled and invento-
ry bookings being less than 50
percent for even the top-rated
news channel," Sharma said.
Poor recovery and lack of
future income would mean
that the news broadcasters
would have to weather the
storm for two or three quar-
ters and hope for a partial
recovery towards the end of
the financial year, he said in
the letter.
"In these trying circum-
stances, as part of the stimu-
lus package, we request you to
kindly remove the 18 per cent
GST on advertisements or
reduce it and bring it in par
with the print media industry
i.e. at 5 per cent," Sharma said.
It may also be kept in
mind that the news genre has
been recognized as an "essen-
tial service" in various gov-
ernment circulars and
advisories and also by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
in his speech to the nation,
he said.
"We are sure the
Economic Response Task
Force under your leadership
will consider the request of the
news broadcasters favourably
and give the much-needed
relief for the survival of the
industry," he said.
6SDUVHWHVWLQJ
UHOLHIIRUQRQH
From Page 1
Stating that the country has
very low level of testing for
coronavirus infection, Rahul
said with only 149 tests per mil-
lion population, India is cur-
rently in the company of coun-
tries like Laos, Niger and
Honduras.
“India delayed the pur-
chase of testing kits & is now
critically short of them,” Rahul
said on Twitter.
“With just 149 tests per
million Indians, we are now in
the company of Laos (157),
Niger (182) & Honduras (162).
“Mass testing is the key to
fighting the virus. At present
we are nowhere in the game,”
he added in his tweet.
Taking on Modi over the
seven-point strategy, Congress
chief spokesperson Randeep
Singh Surjewala questioned
what was the Union
Government’s roadmap for
tackling the pandemic, access
of healthcare workers to PPEs,
for migrant labourers, agri-
culture, unemployment and
micro small medium enter-
prises.
B\T[[cPbcT[^bb
\^bc_a^]^d]RTS
From Page 1
Yan said the study demon-
strated the high prevalence
and unique presentation of
certain sensory impairments
in patients positive with the
pathogen. Of those who
reported loss of smell and
taste, the loss was typically
profound, not mild.
“Our study not only
showed that the high inci-
dence of smell and taste is spe-
cific to Covid-19 infection, but
we fortunately also found that
for the majority of people
sensory recovery was general-
ly rapid,” said Yan.
Among the Covid-19
patients with smell loss, more
than 70 per cent had reported
improvement of smell at the
time of survey and of those
who hadn’t reported improve-
ment many had only been
diagnosed recently.
Interestingly, the
researchers found that persons
who reported experiencing a
sore throat more often tested
negative for Covid-19.
In an effort to decrease
risk of virus transmission, UC
San Diego Health now
includes loss of smell and
taste as a screening require-
ment for visitors and staff, as
well as a marker for testing
patients who may be positive
for the virus, said a statement
from Eurekalert.
Other known symptoms
of Covid-19 include fever,
fatigue, cough and difficulty
breathing. Respondents in
Yan’s study were most often
persons with milder forms of
Covid-19 infection who did
not require hospitalisation or
intubation.
The findings, she said,
underline the importance of
identifying early or subtle
symptoms of Covid-19 infec-
tion in people who may be at
risk of transmitting the disease
as they recuperate within the
community.

CVdeZgV^ZXcR_ed]`dV
aReZV_TVdeRXVac`eVde
From Page 1
Before long, the crowds
swelled to anywhere 4,000 to
5,000 people.
Disappointed by the lack of
announcement from the Prime
Minister to make available trains
for them to head back home, the
aggrieved migrants - who are
mostly from north-Indian States
-- staged a dharna in front of the
Bandra railway station, flouting
the prohibitory orders banning
the assembly of four or more per-
sons enforced all over the State.
In an apparent intelligence
failure, the police personnel
deployed in relatively small num-
bers were taken by surprise to see
such large crowds arriving at the
Bandra railway terminus.
However, they called for addi-
tional reinforcements to control
the crowds. After exhorting the
crowds of migrants to disperse,
the police resorted to mild lathi-
Significantly enough, the
two-hour-long high-voltage
drama took place in front of the
Bandra Railway Terminus which
is barely two kilometres away
from “Matoshri”, the private res-
idence of Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray at Kalanagar, Bandra
(east).
Reacting to the explosive
emerging situation at the Bandra
railway station, Shiv Sena leader
and State Tourism Minister
Aditya Thackeray swiftly took to
twitter, to blame the Modi
Government for the situation.
“The current situation at Bandra
Station, now dispersed or even
the rioting in Surat is a result of
the Union Govt not being able to
take a call on arranging a way
back home for migrant labour.
They don’t want food or shelter,
they want to go back home,”
Aditya tweeted.
Aditya followed it up with
station, laid the blame squarely at
the door of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi who, he said, had
let down the migrant workers
who were hoping that Modi
would make an announcement
that would facilitate them to
return to their native places.
“Migrant labourers come to
Maharashtra in large numbers
from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
and other northern States. Today,
they were hoping that the Prime
Minister would make some
announcement which would give
them an opportunity to return to
their native places. In that hope,
the people had gathered in large
numbers in front of Bandra rail-
way station,” Deshmukh said.
“Following today’s decision,
the States are being sealed and
people are being not allowed to
go from one State and another
State... The migrants were hop-
and to how many people can any
Government keep feeding freely,
is there no alternative?”.
Maharashtra State Congress
spokesperson Sachin Sawant said
that had the Prime Minister
given time to the migrants to
return home, they would not
have come to the streets like in
Mumbai, Delhi, Surat and other
places.
“The State Government can
provide them food, but cannot
send them to their homes in view
of the lockdown,” Sawant said.
Trade Unions Joint Action
Committee Maharashtra con-
vener Vishwas Utagi was equal-
ly critical of the Prime Minister.
He said that there are over two
million migrants stuck in
Mumbai since the March 25
lockdown, besides 3,000 fisher-
men stranded at Gholvad in
south Gujarat.
“They have no food, no
3TPcWbeTRPbTbS^dQ[TX]<PWPX]$SPhb
C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108
aharashtra – which has so far
M accounted for highest number of
Covid-triggered deaths and infected
cases - has a lot to worry about the rapid
spread of Covid-19. For, the total num-
ber of deaths and infected cases has more
than doubled in Maharashtra during the
last five days, while the mortality rate has
increased marginally.
Till 10 am on April 14, Maharashtra
reported 160 deaths that resulted in mor-
tality rate of 6.84 per cent, which is the
third highest in the country, according
to an analytical report released by the
state Medical Education and Drugs
Department (MEDD) here on Tuesday.
Shockingly enough, Maharashtra
accounts for nearly half of the total num-
ber of deaths in the country which stood
at 339 on Tuesday, as against 160 deaths
recorded by Maharashtra. Similarly,
Maharashtra with 2340 positive cases--
has recorded the highest number of
infected cases in the country, as against
1510 and 1173 confirmed cases report-
ed by Delhi and Tamil Nadu respectively.
During the last five days, Jharkhand
and Madhya Pradesh have replaced
Gujarat and Punjab as being the high-
est and second highest in terms of the
mortality rate ever since the outbreak of
Coronavirus in the country, while
Maharashtra remains in the third posi-
tion in terms of Covid-19 deaths record-
ed so far.
Incidentally, the total number of
deaths and infected cases has more than
doubled since April 9. The deaths have
increased from 72 to 160, while infect-
ed cases have increased from 1135 to
2340. Similarly, the mortality rate has
increased from the earlier 6.34 per cent
to 6.84 per cent.
Jharkhand with two deaths and 24
infected cases has emerged as the state
with highest mortality rate -- of 8.33 per
cent-- in the country, while Madhya
Pradesh with 43 deaths and 604 infect-
ed cases has recorded mortality rate of
7.12 per cent – the second highest in the
country.
With 11 deaths and 167 infected
cases, Punjab -- which had on April 9
emerged as the state with second high-
est mortality rate of 7.92 per cent -- has
been listed as the fourth in terms of mor-
tality rate (6.59 per cent), while Gujarat
with 26 deaths and 539 infected cases
gone down from the first mortality posi-
tion of 8.94 per cent to 4.82 per cent.
Rajasthan with three deaths and 873
infected cases has emerged lowest in
terms of mortality rate which is just 0.34
per cent, while Kerala with three deaths
and 345 infected cases recorded the sec-
ond lowest mortality rate of 0.79 per cent.
Surprisingly, Uttar Pradesh with
five deaths and 558 infected cases has
done well by coming out as a state with
fourth lowest mortality figure of 0.90 per
cent.
Tamil Nadu with 11 deaths and 1173
infected cases has also fared well by
emerging as a state with third lowest
mortality rate of 0.94 per cent.
The other states which have suc-
ceeded in containing the numbers deaths
arising out of Covid-19. The relatively
low mortality rates other states include:
Andhra Pradesh – 1.62 per cent ( 7
deaths, 432 infected cases), Delhi –1.85
per cent( 28 deaths,1510 infected cases),
Telangana –2.85 per cent (`16 deaths,562
infected cases) and Haryana –1.62 per
cent ( three deaths,185 infected cases).
West Bengal with seven deaths and
190 positive cases has notched a mor-
tality rate of 3.68 per cent, followed by
Himachal Pradesh with just one death
and 31 positive cases has a mortality rate
of 3.13 per cent.

charge.
The senior police personnel
also appealed to the migrant
workers that it was in their inter-
est that they stayed back in the
another tweet which was some-
what mild in nature. “The
migrant labour issue persists
everywhere. Even as we house
more than 6 lakh migrant labour,
ing against hope that the Prime
Minister would make an
announcement that would facil-
itate them to return to their
native places. But, the Prime
:_UZRR^`_X#!
work, no homes, no transport to
go home. How can they survive? are done in accordance to the sam-
The Government machinery is pling criteria.
not responding to the challenge “If we test randomly, then our
and this is a human tragedy in testing kits would not be utilised for

State. “The State Government has
made all arrangements for his
stay and will take care of needs
like shelter, food and drugs in the
coming days,” a senior police offi-
cer announced.
At one stage, Congress MLA
Zeeshan Siddique also tried to
calm the migrants down, by
appealing to them to disperse and
promised to take up their issue
with the Maharashtra
Government.
The situation began to return
to normal slowly. At round 6 pm,
Mumbai Police spokesperson
and Deputy Commissioner of
Police Pranaya Ashok announced
that “the crowds had dispersed”.
The local police officials also said
that the situation in front of the
Bandra railway station “is very
much under control” and steps
were afoot to sanitise the entire
area as a precautionary measure.
with breakfast lunch and dinner,
the Union and State Govts are
coordinating on further relief for
the same. We will continue to
ensure the comfort of all migrant
labour in our camps,” he said.
In his third tweet put appar-
ently after he was reined by his
Chief Minister-father Uddhav
Thackeray, Aditya acknowledged
that the Centre had taken cog-
nisance of the situation. “The
Centre has taken immediate cog-
nisance of the issue and is assist-
ing the State actively. We under-
stand the Catch 22 situation the
Centre and the States face. I’m
thankful to PM & HM for under-
standing the situation, while try-
ing to ensure the safety of home
States of migrants,” he said.
State Home Minister Amit
Deshmukh, who was all fire and
brimstone when he reacted to the
situation at the Bandra railway
Minister let the migrants down
badly. That was the reason for the
presence of migrants in front of
the Bandra railway station,” the
State Home Minister said.
Deshmukh and Mumbai
Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh
said that Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray had discussed with
Modi the issue of sending the
migrants to their homes, but the
Centre had announced extension
of the lockdown till May 3 with-
out addressing the concerns of
the migrant workers.
Former Mumbai Congress
president Sanjay Nirupam was
matter of fact when said: “This
was bound to happen. People
have no food to eat. They are
being prevented from returning
to their native villages. For how
long can they remain like this?
The Government’s figures are
merely on paper… For how long
other parts of the country also,”
Utagi said.
Meanwhile Opposition BJP
MP Poonam Mahajan demand-
ed that the State Government
take special measures to look
after the migrants in Mumbai.
“The State Government has failed
on this front. That’s why saw
chaos in front of the Bandra rail-
way station,” she said.
Slamming the State
Government for its failure to
enforce prohibitory orders lead-
ing to chaos in front of the
Bandra railway station, former
MP and BJP State vice-president
Kirit Somaiya said: “Whatever
happened in front of Bandra rail-
way station is matter of deep con-
cern… What about intelligence?
The State Government must take
this incident seriously and mod-
ify its schemes to provide food to
the migrants”.
h`cdeYZe_ReZ`_d
From Page 1
The 28-day period has originated
from the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare’s containment plan.
According to this, the containment
plan would only be scaled down if no
Covid-19 case confirmed by a sec-
ondary laboratory is reported from
the geographic quarantine zone for at
least four weeks after the last con-
firmed case has been isolated and all
his contacts have been traced for up
to 28 days.
“The containment operation shall
be deemed to be over 28 days from the
discharge of the last confirmed case
(following negative test as per the dis-
charge policy) from the designated
health facility, i.e., when the follow up
of hospital contacts will be complete,”
said the Ministry in a strategy docu-
ment.
The Cluster Containment Strategy
would be to contain the disease with-
in a defined geographical area by early
detection of cases and breaking the
chain of transmission.
Responding to a query on India
lagging behind on the testing front as
compared to other countries, an
Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) official said that if somebody
is eligible for testing, then he/she will
certainly be tested.
“If we are not able to find people
to test for the disease, it shows that the
number is falling or the number is
low. It is difficult to say. We don’t say
no to anybody for testing,” the ICMR
official said. Agarwal added that tests
the people who need to be tested. We
have also increased our sampling
zone -- patients with severe acute res-
piratory infections (SARI) have been
included. We have also introduced
rapid diagnostic kits in the field. We
have expanded the overall process of
testing,” Agarwal said.
He said advanced screening pro-
cedures, prior to January 30, have
played a major role in managing
t he de adly infec tion in t he
country and that “We are also expand-
ing our testing through rapid diag-
nostic kits.”
More than 2 lakh Covid-19 tests
have been conducted so far, said
Raman R Gangakhedkar, senior sci-
entist from Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR). Additionally, we are
ordering close to about 33 lakh kits for
RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-
Polymerase Chain Reaction) and 37
lakh rapid kits are expected to come
at any point in time, he said.
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here was no relief for pas-
T sengers, either stranded or
unable to proceed with their
travel plans. Passenger trains as
well as domestic and interna-
tional flight operations will
remain suspended till May 3,
when the second lockdown
period is scheduled to end, the
Civil Aviation Ministry and
Indian Railways announced
on Tuesday shortly after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's
announcement regarding the
extension.
The Ministry of Civil
Aviation said in a statement,
“All domestic and internation-
al scheduled airlines operations
shall remain suspended till
11.59 pm of 3rd May 2020”.
This means, by May 3
international flights will be
barred for a total of 42 days and
domestic flights for 40 days.
The domestic airlines
have again decided not to
refund the customers in cash
for their cancelled flights and
instead offer them with the
option of rescheduling of tick-
ets for a later date without any
additional fee.
The Indian Railways, for its
part, announced that all train
services, barring special parcel
trains and freight trains, will
remain suspended till the lock-
down ends on May 3.
However, there is no
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he Ministry of Agriculture
T
on Tuesday assured
exporters of Agri and Allied
commodities of bringing farm
exports back on track by iron-
ing out the difficulties and
hurdles faced by them due to
the nationwide lockdown.
Agriculture Secretar y
Sanjay Agarwal said that the
government will look into all
the issues related to trans-
portation, international freight
and courier services will be
considered for necessary reso-
lution. The request of the
industry to open for function-
ing and sector specific issues
will be taken up with the
Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar and resolved appropri-
ately, he assured.
According to officials pre-
sent in the meeting, the main
problems highlighted by
exporters of all agri com-
modities related to availabil-
ity and movement of labour,
inter-state transport
bottlenecks, shortage of
raw materials due to closure
of mandis, phyto-sanitary cer-
tification, closure of courier
services, thereby, hampering
movement of shipping docu-
ments, availability of freight
services, access to ports/yards
and clearance of goods forim-
ports/exports.
The industry sought per-
mission for low scale opera-
tion with at least 25-30%
strength to fulfil export
demands they have in hand.
The opening up of their oper-
ation will also help them
book new orders as there is
great demand of food items at
global market due to Covid-
19. Exporters, representatives
of 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
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iming to ensure that the
A students are healthy and
motivated during the lock-
down period, the HRD
Ministry, Ayush Ministry and
Fit India initiative of Sports
Ministry have come together to
keep the young ones across the
country engaged with a series
of indoor activities.
A senior HRD Ministry
official said a online pro-
gramme has been devised to
motivate them to take up fit-
ness and healthy living as a way
of life as per the vision of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's 'Fit
India' programme.
restriction on cargo flights.
The government has taken the
help of passenger airlines like
Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet,
apart from BlueDart, for trans-
portation of essential medical
supplies within the country as
well as to Shanghai, Hong
Kong and Colombo.
The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation banned interna-
tional flights from March 23
and the ban for domestic flights
came into effect two days later,
on March 25.
Civil Aviation Minister
Hardeep Singh Puri said there
were good reasons for the
lockdown to be extended till
May 3. "We can consider lift-
ing restrictions on both
domestic and international
flights thereafter. I understand
the problems being faced by
people who need to travel and
request them to bear with us,"
the minister tweeted.
It remains to be seen if the
ministry takes a decision on
passengers’ complaints of air-
lines not offering refunds for
cancelled flights and instead
giving credit vouchers for
future travel for the amount
booked. This has been a major
issue for the passengers.
While many people want-
ed to know the status of their
flights since there was no
update on the respective air-
lines' websites, several others
have been demanding nothing
D]X^]6^ec^dc[X]Tb
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mid accusations by the
A Opposition of not doing
enough for the poor, the
Centre on Tuesday outlined
the welfare measures it has
taken so far. It said that more
than 32 crore poor people
have been given direct cash
support of C29,352 crore
financial assistance and 5.29
crore beneficiaries have been
given free ration of food
grains under the C1.70 lakh
crore Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Yojana during the
nationwide lockdown.
Rajesh Malhotra of the
Ministry of Finance further
highlighted that 3,985 MT of
Pulses have been dispatched to
various states and union terri-
tories for distribution even as
1.39 crore cylinders were
booked under Pradhan Mantri
Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
scheme and of these,
97.8 Lakh free cylinders
have already been delivered to
the beneficiaries.
As many as one lakh mem-
bers of Employees Provident
Fund Organisation (EPFO)
have taken benefits of online
withdrawal of non refundable
Machinery participated in the
meeting.
India is a net exporter of
Agricultural & allied
Commodities whose exports
during 2018-19 were Rs. 2.73
lakh crores. This sector has
always been positive in bal-
ance of trade.
“Export is very important
as besides earning precious
foreign exchange for the
The CBSE and Fit India
Movement have collaborated to
provide live fitness sessions by
experts for school students
during the lockdown. These
sessions will be live on youtube,
facebook, instagram daily from
9.30am on April 15, for a peri-
od of one month.
Students will be able to
stream and download the live
sessions from the YouTube
channel of Fit India
Movement. HRD Minister
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
informed about this initiative
through a tweet on Tuesday.
Further, under the direc-
tion of HRD ministry, the
National Institute of Open
less than a full and immediate
refund.
Air India had earlier this
month itself stopped taking
bookings for flights in April.
IndiGo, and its peers including
SpiceJet and GoAir, were
accepting bookings for travel
from April 15.
Several airlines such as
GoAir, SpiceJet and IndiGo
have given customers the
option of creating a credit
shell for the amount of their
cancelled flight ticket, a sort of
coupon which can be
redeemed within a year.
Meanwhile, cancellation of
tickets in many cases would
involve a deduction of
charges, which would mean a
loss on the part of the cus-
tomer.
The Indian Railways, how-
ever, said that full refund of
fare would automatically be
provided to its online cus-
tomers for trains cancelled up
to May 3, while those who have
booked at the counters can
claim the refund till July 31.
Customers will also get full
refunds of their tickets if they
are cancelling their advance
bookings for trains not yet can-
celled, it said.
It said no advance reser-
vation of trains tickets, includ-
ing e-tickets, will be allowed till
further orders. However, facil-
ity of online cancellation will
remain functional.
advance from EPFO accounts
amounting to C510 cr.
In order to provide support
to farmers in view of the lock-
down C14,946 crore have been
transferred to 7.4 crore farm-
ers towards first instalment
under the PM-KISAN.
According to the
Agriculture Ministry, during
Rabi season 2020, NAFED has
procured 1,21,890 MT Pulses
and Oilseeds on MSP for an
amount of C595.52 crore,
which has benefitted 89,145
farmers. Under the PM-GKY
about 5516 MT of pulses has
been dispatched for delivery
to the States/UTs.
According to the Ministry
of Finance, more than two
crore building and construc-
tion workers have received
financial support worth C
3,071 crore.
country, the agricultural
exports help farmers/pro-
ducers/exporters to take
advantage of wider interna-
tional market and increase
their income.
Exports have also result-
ed in increased production in
agriculture sector by increas-
ing area coverage and pro-
ductivity,” the ministry said in
a statement.
Learning (NIOS) has initiated
a unique method to ensure
effective schooling to reach the
unreached directly at door
step. Content is being made
available online through sev-
eral platforms of MHRD for
various subjects from class 9th
to 12th.
Along with Self Learning
Material, 'Swayam' portal pro-
vides video lectures and facil-
ity of self-assessment. The
questions and queries of the
learners are also being resolved
through discussions forum.
In addition, for those who
do not have much access to
internet, these video lectures
are telecast on MHRD
2>E83 (>DC1A40:
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F0B78=6C>=
ays after India airlifted
more that 29 million
tablets of hydroxychloroquine
(HCQ) to the US for its battle
against the raging coronavirus
pandemic there, the Donald
Trump administration recip-
rocated the gesture by giving
the nod for sale of missiles and
torpedoes worth over 155 mil-
lion dollars to India. Moreover,
this approval on Monday came
a few weeks after the two
countries inked two deals
worth over three billion dollars
during the US President’s visit
to New Delhi.
India is the biggest pro-
ducer of the anti-malaria drug
HCQ in the world and Trump,
who believes that this drug will
be the “game changer” in bat-
tling the pandemic, had urged
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to lift the export ban on it. The
restrictions were imposed on
March 25 and following request
from Trump and some other
world leaders, the ban was
relaxed last week.
Thanking Modi, Trump
had said on Wednesday last
week said India's help during
this crisis will not be forgotten.
Given this backdrop and
also the US President’s asser-
tion during his visit to India
that his country is always will-
ing to supply state-of-the-art
weapons to the Indian armed
forces besides forging closer
military to military alliance, the
US administration on Monday
notified the Congress of its
determination to sell Harpoon
Block II air launched missiles
and lightweight torpedoes
worth USD 155 million to
India.
The sale of 10 AGM-84L
Harpoon Block II air launched
missiles is estimated to cost
USD 92 million, while 16 MK
54 All Up Round Lightweight
Torpedoes and three MK 54
Exercise Torpedoes are esti-
mated to cost USD 63 million,
the Defense Security
Cooperation Agency said in
two separate notifications to
the Congress.
A determination in this
regard was recently made by
the US State Department fol-
lowing a request for these two
weapons systems by the Indian
government, the Pentagon said.
According to the Pentagon,
the Harpoon missile system
will be integrated into the P-8I
long range maritime recon-
naissance aircraft to conduct
anti-surface warfare missions
in defence of critical sea lanes
while enhancing inter-oper-
ability with the United States
and other allied forces.
The Indian Navy has eight
P-8I aircraft and will go in for
four more such aircraft to
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?=BQ =4F34;78
he Ministry of Labour and
T Employment on Tuesday
said it has set up 20 control
rooms on pan-India basis to
address wage-related griev-
ances and to mitigate problems
faced by migrant workers amid
the lockdown period to contain
the coronavirus outbreak crisis.
The workers, especially
migrant labourers, are the
worst among due to the lock-
down as a large number of
them either faced pay cut or job
loss.
These control rooms are set
up 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
Swayamprabha TV channels
with Live sessions to interact
with their teachers and subject
experts.
Those students who are
preparing for JEE and NEET
can benefit sitting at home
through this initiative.
The learners can watch
the lesson-based educational
programs on these DTH
Channels and NIOS YouTube
channel and can ask ques-
tions directly to the subject
experts from their home
through phone call on the
number displayed during Live
session and through 'Student
Portal' of NIOS website direct-
ly in live telecast.
?=BQ =4F34;78
esponsible for manufac-
R turing state-of-the-art
weapons and ammunition for
the armed forces, the
Ordnance Factor y
Board(OFB)units are now
working round the clock pro-
ducing more than one lakh
coveralls to the frontline fight-
ers of coronavirus pandemic.
And pitching in the national
effort, the Defence Research
and Development
Organisation (DRDO) has
indigenously developed
COVID sample collection
kiosk costing about C1lakh.
Both the premier organisations
are also manufacturing and
supplying sanisitisers to vari-
ous agencies now engaged in
the battle against the disease.
Giving details of the con-
tribution of the OFB factories,
defence ministry officials said
here on Tuesday the OFB has
started supply of coveralls con-
forming to ISO Class 3 expo-
sure standards. Manufacture of
initial order of 1.10 lakh from
HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) is
in full swing. This order will be
completed in 40 days.
This is in addition to the
Factories Board developing
special two-metre tents which
;c2^[^]T[0a\hS^Rc^a
cTbcb_^bXcXeTU^aR^a^]P
?=BQ =4F34;78
Lieutenant Colonel-rank
A Army doctor has tested
positive for coronavirus after
he contracted the disease
while treating patients here.
Taking precautionary mea-
sures, everyone who came in
contact with the doctor has
been traced and all of them
have been isolated.
Giving details here on
Tuesday, sources said the doc-
tor was part of anti-COVID
operations here and is posted
as part of the Army
Headquarters. He was active-
ly involved in the anti-corona
enhance its reach in the strate-
gically important Indian Ocean
where growing maritime
prowess of China is a matter of
concern.
"India will use the
enhanced capability as a deter-
rent to regional threats and to
strengthen its homeland
defense. India intends to utilize
MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes
International Labour
Organisation assessment, 40
crore informal sector workers in
India could be pushed deeper
into poverty due to this lock-
down.
The ministry said it would
also work to mitigate the prob-
lems of migrant workers through
coordination with various State
Governments. These call centres
can be accessed by the workers
through phone numbers,
WhatsApp and e-mails.
The control rooms are being
managed by labour enforce-
ment officers, assistant labour
commissioners, regional labour
commissioners, anddeputy chief
labour commissioners of the
respective regions. The func-
tioning of all 20 call centres is
being monitored and super-
vised by Chief Labour
Commissioner (C) of Head
Quarter on daily basis, the min-
istry said.
?=BQ =4F34;78
s the country prepares for
A the harvest season in the
ongoing corona crisis, the
India Meteorological
Department (IMD) will issue
its first stage monsoon forecast
for the country on April 15
(Tuesday). The forecast will
give a clear indication of this
year’s monsoon rainfall during
June-September. The four-
month monsoon season is
from June 1 to September 30.
According to the IMD,
more definite picture will
emerge through second stage
forecast in last week of May or
in first week of June. June 1 is
can be used for medical emer-
gency, screening, hospital
triage and quarantine purpos-
es. These are made up of
waterproof fabric, mild steel
and aluminium alloy. Supplies
have already started.
Similarly, manufacture of
hand sanitiser is on war foot-
ing and more than 70,000
litres have already been sup-
plied to different agencies.
Two test facilities for blood
penetration test has been
established, one at Chennai
and another at Kanpur.
The OFB has also set aside
280 beds in 10 hospitals for
isolation. This has been done
as per Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MoHFW)
requirement. The OFB is also
trying to produce face masks
as per pilot order quantity
placed by HLL.
More than 90,000 non-
medical masks have been
manufactured and distributed.
Testing facilities for medical
masks would also be in place
by this week.
As regards the DRDO,
they said its Defence Research
& Development Laboratory
(DRDL), Hyderabad has devel-
oped COVID Sample
Collection Kiosk (COVSACK)
in consultation with the doc-
operations like setting up
infrastructure and other facil-
ities, they said.
With the present case,
the total tally of those tested
positive has risen to five
including another doctor in
an army hospital in Kolkatta
in the 13 million strong army.
The first Army man to be
infected with Covid-19 was a
jawan in Ladakh who con-
tracted the infection from his
father. The second case was
that of another doctor in
Kolkata who had returned
from Delhi. One case each
from Dehradun and Pune
were also reported.
on its P-8I aircraft.
India will have no difficul-
ty absorbing this equipment
into its armed forces," the
Pentagon said. While the
Harpoon missiles will be man-
ufactured by Boeing, the tor-
pedoes would be supplied by
Raytheon, the notification said.
The proposed sale, it said,
will improve India's capability
28B5R^\Tbd_fXcW
b[Tf^U\TPbdaTb
?=BQ =4F34;78
he Central Industrial
T Security Force (CISF) that
secures the civilian airports
across the country has sug-
gested a slew of measures like
social distancing and avoiding
bunching of aircraft among
others to ensure safety of pas-
sengers once the Covid-19 lock-
down is restricted and air ser-
vices resume.
The suggestions forwarded
to the Civil Aviation Ministry
also include need for passengers
to carry necessary personal
protective gear like masks and
gloves and equip all entry and
exit gates at the airport with
hand sanitiser bottle dispensers.
It said commercial flights
should keep a seat vacant
between two passengers in
the onset date for monsoon
over Kerala and it is likely to
remain the same but the IMD
will change the reference dates
for some states and cities.
The Japanese and South
Korean models have retained
their outlook for a reasonably
good monsoon for India, with
the former betting on a mod-
erately positive Indian Ocean
Dipole (IOD) nearer home to
continue. One of the strongest
positive IOD events had last
year driven the 2019 monsoon
to a multi-year high, even
delaying its withdrawal from
the country and delivering
rainfall of 110 per cent.
As per the IMD, after
EXbPZWP_Pc]P\Y^X]cdbTa
PXaUXT[Sc^QT^_TaPcX^]P[
a^d]ScWTR[^RZ
?=BQ =4F34;78
he Eastern Naval
T Command has ensured
that the joint-user airfield at
Visakhapatnam remains open
round the clock. The man-
ning of the airfield has been
modified to ensure that all
requisite safety services and
airfield facilities continued to
be available. This ensured
tors of Employees' State
Insurance Corporation (ESIC),
Hyderabad.
The COVSACK is a kiosk
for use by healthcare workers
for taking COVID-19 samples
from suspected infected
patients. Patient under test
walks into the Kiosk and a
nasal or oral swab is taken by
health care professional from
outside through the built-in
gloves.
The Kiosk is automatical-
;TPeT^U2A?5_Tab^]]T[
P[aTPSh^][TPeTTgcT]STS
?=BQ =4F34;78
he CRPF has extended
T
the leave of personnel
already on vacation till the
lockdown to check the spread
of Covid-19 is over.
On March 21, the Force
had ordered extension of leave
till April 15 in view of the
three-week lockdown
announced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
The latest order came
soon after Modi on Tuesday
announced extension of the
lockdown till May 3.
"The matter has been
to meet current and future
threats from enemy weapon
systems. The MK 54
Lightweight Torpedo will pro-
vide the capability to conduct
anti-submarine warfare mis-
sions.
In both the notifications,
the Pentagon said the pro-
posed sale of these equipment
and support will not alter the
basic military balance in the
region. According to the
order to ensure social distanc-
ing.
Besides the CISF, the
Ministry of Civil Aviation
(MoCA) had invited sugges-
tions from a host of stakehold-
ers like airline operators, airport
concessionaire and Bureau of
Civil Aviation Security among
others.
As per the CISF sugges-
tions, the flight operators would
require to record details of
home/self/hospital quarantine
history from the travellers.
If any passenger is seeking
travel after undergoing quar-
antine, the CISF will screen
such person in isolation check-
ing point. The check-in coun-
ters should be opened in way
that there is sufficient gap
between two desks to ensure
distancing.
1994 (110% of Long Period
Average (LPA)), rainfall
received in 2019 (110 % of
LPA) is the highest season
r a i n f a l l
that all special flights, as well
as, the cargo flight of SpiceJet
continued its operations
unhindered. So far, 15 sorties
of the cargo flight have oper-
ated since the lockdown has
been enforced. Further, the
Indian Navy continued to
maintain its operational vigil
carrying out regular Maritime
Surveillance missions by day
and night.
ly disinfected without the need
for human involvement, mak-
ing the process free of infection
spread.
The COVSACK costs
nearly C1lakh and the identi-
fied industr y based at
Belgaum, Karnataka can sup-
port 10 units per day. The
DRDO has designed and
developed two units and hand-
ed over these to ESIC Hospital,
Hyderabad after successful
testing.
reviewed and in view of cur-
rent scenario, it is hereby
directed that Force personnel
who are away on leave should
be advised not to return for
duty till lockdown period is
over," reads a missive issued
on Tuesday and sent across all
the formations of the CRPF in
the country.
Earlier, the paramilitary
had suspended grant of leave
to the personnel except in
cases of extreme emergency.
In case of emergent situations,
leave was to be granted for a
period of not less than a
month.
Pentagon, this proposed sale
will support the foreign policy
and national security of the
United States by helping to
strengthen the US-Indian
strategic relationship and to
improve the security of a major
defensive partner, which con-
tinues to be an important force
for political stability, peace,
and economic progress in the
Indo-Pacific and South Asia
region.
Social distancing markers
should be indicated at various
areas of the airport and the pas-
sengers will be offered sanitis-
ers before occupying a seat in
the aircraft.
Counters for sale of masks
and gloves need to be set up
inside the airport. Airport oper-
ator should detail a dedicated
team of staff with thermometer
at all entry and exit points of the
airport to screen the passengers.
The airport operators have
also been advised by the CISF
in the suggestion list that they
should explore the feasibility of
placing sanitising tunnels at the
entry points to santisise the pas-
sengers.
The Government had sus-
pended commercial flight oper-
ations from March 25 as part of
the Covid-19 containment.
received by the country as a
whole.
The Centre has granted
certain exemptions for the
agriculture sector.

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he third decade of the 21st centu- The UN was created after
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DQWLQHFRQGLWLRQFDPHPXFKPXFKODWHUWKHORFNGRZQZDVLPSRVHGDEUXSWO\ screeching halt as nations have been under
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MREORVVHVIRRGULRWVDQGSURORQJHGVXVSHQVLRQRIHFRQRPLFDFWLYLW\7KLVLV Coronavirus, every human being is just a tar-
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WKDQDVNLQJXVWRORRNDIWHUWKHROGDQGWKHSRRU7KHFLYLOVRFLHW\NQRZVZKDW it so restrictive, people are worried, concerns
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WULHVKDYHGRQHLWDQGVRPHH[SHUWVKDYHHYHQVXJJHVWHGERUURZLQJV$OWKRXJK History may not record the Corona war
WKH2SSRVLWLRQ&RQJUHVVGRHVQ·WKDYHPXFKSROLWLFDORUHPRWLRQDOKHIWQRZLW as World War-III but its debilitating effort may
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GLGUDLVHWKHULJKWTXHVWLRQVDERXW´WDUJHWWHGPRQHWDU\LQMHFWLRQV.H\QHVLDQVSHQG sufferings inflicted by WW-I and WW-II.
LQJORRVHQLQJWKH)05%DQGVRRQµ$OVRE\VD\LQJWKDWGLVWULFWVWKDWGRZHOO Though everyone is busy struggling for sur-
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realisation is already dawning upon the
RXWQRSODQIRUWKRVHWKDWDUHZRUVWKLW$UHSHRSOHOLYLQJKHUHWREHFRQGHPQHG concerned and knowledgeable that it’s time
IRUWKHLUJHRJUDSKLFDOFKRLFHRUDUHWKH\WREHWHVWHGDJJUHVVLYHO\WUHDWHGDQG to have a fresh look on the epistemological
WKHLQIHFWLRQIUHHPDGHWRVLJQXSIRU]RQDOZRUNSHUPLWVZLWKJLYHQSURWRFROV" strategies being implemented in the human
%XWWKHUHZDVQRVXFKDVVXUDQFHRUHYHQLQWHUHVWIRUWKRVHORFNHGRXWLQGHIL pursuit of “progress, growth and develop-
ment” in the post-colonial era. It ushered the
QLWHO\7KH\DOPRVWVHHPHGOLNHEHLQJDWHVWVXEMHFWXQGHUVXUYHLOODQFHLQ&KLQD era of globalisation, concentration of wealth
:KLOHUXUDOKDUYHVWLQJDQGDJULFXOWXUDOZRUNKDYHEHHQUHVXPHGLQSODFHVLQGXV among the top few, enhanced measures of vio-
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to an unprecedented armed race. The out-
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WKLQJVDUHQRWVRZHOIDULVWWKHUHHLWKHU7KHUHDUHFRPSODLQWVRILQDGHTXDWHUDWLRQV weapons of deterrence, military agreements
or defence treaties are of any use in every war.
FUDPSHGFRQGLWLRQVDQGFRPPRQWRLOHWVZKLFKWKH\ZDQWWRHVFDSHLQWKHDEVHQFH The Corona interlude has created an envi-
RIJDLQIXOHPSOR\PHQW7KH\ZRXOGUDWKHUEHKHDOWK\LQWKHVXEVLVWHQFHHFRQ ronment of tension, turmoil and turbulence
RP\RIWKHLUYLOODJHKRPHVWKDQULVNLWLQDOLHQFLWLHVDQGWRZQVWKDWZHUHWKHILUVW across the globe. The only ray of hope is that
finally, human ingenuity would triumph over
WRWXUQWKHPRXW-REORVVHVDUHQRWRQO\DERXWWKHXQRUJDQLVHGVHFWRUWKH\DUH the venomous virus intrusion but the world
KDSSHQLQJLQWKHRUJDQLVHGVHFWRUWRR%HLWKRVSLWDOLW\WRXULVPUHWDLOPDMRUV after this victory shall no more be the same,
RUPHGLDWKHYDSRXULVDWLRQRIYLVLEOHSURGXFWVKDVPHDQWWKDWFRPSDQLHVDUH nor should it remain the same. Learning from
these times, nations and people must think
VODVKLQJVDODULHVIXUORXJKLQJHPSOR\HHVRUUHWLULQJWKRVHRQWKHFXVSRIWKHLU of alternative strategies. Interestingly, spend-
VXQVHW\HDUV6PDOOEXVLQHVVHVKDYHDOOEXWZUDSSHGXS$QGWKLVLVMXVWWKUHH ing rare undisturbed kinship with close ones
ZHHNV,ILQGHHGWKHVSLUDOPHULWVDQH[WHQGHGORFNGRZQWKHQDQHFRQRPLFSDFN in the confines of their homes, people are
already pondering seriously over the shape of
DJHPXVWEHLQSODFH,WFDQQRWFRPHLQDSLHFHPHDOPDQQHURUDPHDVXUHG a post-Corona world. One could be sure that
ZD\WRJDLQSROLWLFDOPLOHDJHODWHU0RGLWKH30KDVWRDSSHDUDVHYHU\ERG\·V after the return of normalcy, new ideas and
EHQHIDFWRUQRWRIKLVFRQVWLWXHQWV$SDQ,QGLD79VSHHFKLVWKHEHVWSODWIRUP thoughts would emerge at the national and
international level. The world must realise that
WRGRLWUDWKHUWKDQWHOOLQJHPSOR\HUVQRWWRVDFNSHRSOH the relationship between man and nature
charging his/her responsibility to
maintain this sensitive life-giving
bond with care and caution.
Instead, it indulged in wan-
ton destruction of natural
resources. Clear warning signs
appeared in terms of climate
change, rising pollution levels and
temperature, environmental
degradation, depletion of the
ozone layer, among others. These
issues were never seriously
responded to. And now, there is
no way out but to devise long and
short term strategies to restore the
vital link. It should be a survival
strategy to ensure the very sur-
vival of human race on earth and
also of the planet itself.
After WW-II, it was realised
that brutality is no answer to
human advancement.
Consequently, global organisa-
tions like the United Nations
(UN), United Nations Security
Council (UNSC), UNESCO,
International Labour
Organisation (ILO), the World
Health Organisation(WHO)
besides others were created. All
of these institutions were sup-
posed to derive their ethos and
ethics from the Preamble of the
UNESCO, which said, “Since
wars begin in the minds of men,
it is in the minds of men that the
defences of peace must be con-
structed.” It is very well known
tributions, the structures so cre-
ated could not construct “the
defences of peace in the minds of
man.” In essence, the crux of the
challenge before the nations,
which are under the clutches and
claws of the enemy, is: How
should we restructure the ideol-
ogy of progress, development and
growth to create a world of
peace? This, to ensure equality of
access and success to one and all
and bestow human dignity on
each human being without any
distinction or diversity.
But what would be the role
of India, its people, traditions and
its ancient civilisation in accept-
ing this global challenge?
Expectations would be very high
from our country as we are the
only civilisation which conceptu-
alised/comprehended the critical-
ity in sustaining the man-nature
relationship and the role in
reshaping human life. Mahatma
Gandhi was convinced that India
is essentially a land of duty and
not mere that of enjoyment.
This articulation is very relevant
in a globalised world that has
played havoc with nature and
continues to do so with
unscrupulous plundering of nat-
ural resources only to satiate its
greed of accumulation.
Here again, it was MK
Gandhi who summarised the
cal perception when he wrote
that nature has sufficient
resources to meet the needs of
everyone but not the greed of
anyone. The hope for a future
beyond Corona emerges from
another visionary statement, “I
feel that India’s mission is dif-
ferent from that of others.”
He elaborated further, “India
is fitted for the religious suprema-
cy of the world. There is no par-
allel for the process of purifica-
tion across the globe that this
country has voluntarily under-
gone. India is less in need of steel
weapons; it has fought with
divine weapons… History sup-
plies numerous instances to
prove that brute force is nothing
before soul force.” Is this not the
time for a global resolve that
weapon of steel and brute force
may just be of no consequence in
some of the toughest situations?
Something more may be neces-
sary. Can India take a lead?
First, it must accept this as its
moral and ethical responsibility,
as the inheritor of a culture and
the most illustrious civilisation in
the world. To ascertain its emerg-
ing global role in evolving new
global strategy it must revert to
Gandhi, who gave a “call for
adventure” in the Young India of
May 6, 1926, which very clearly
articulates how to proceed ahead:
there at any stage. It needed a
spiritual bent of mind, a genuine
desire to stick to the word and
spirit of the global resolve. We
must learn from history of the
recent past.
One may like to recall why
such expectations emerge from
different groups within India
and also from those abroad who
“know our country.” The ancient
Indian civilisation earned glob-
al appreciation for some of its
philosophical foundations of
eternal nature. These include
Yavadjeevait Adhiyate Viprah;
Lokah Samastah Sukhino
Bhavantu; Sarva Bhuta Hite
Ratah and several others. Once
one internalises the basic import
of ancient Indian civilisation,
the aspects of essential unity of
all human beings, in spite of vis-
ible diversities and variations of
numerous kinds, emerge very
clearly in practical terms.
This universal vision paved
the way for acceptance — not
mere tolerance — of all religions
and faiths, respect for the faith of
others. It was also realised very
early in the Indian civilisation that
human beings must establish a
lasting kinship based upon the
basics of respect for otherness
and resolve to move ahead
together, to live and let everyone
else also live a better, decent, dig-
nified and satisfying life.
To comprehend universal
human obligations, three debts
that every human being were
destined to repay were articu-
lated in clear terms: Debt to the
parents and ancestors; to the
learned and knowledge cre-
ators; and to the forces of
nature.
Human beings have persis-
tently faltered on all the three.
Hence, they are forced to face
the fury of the nature. This is
the right time that India, the
originator of these eternal val-
ues, relearns its lessons, accepts
global responsibility to make
others comprehend it and cre-
ate a new world in which spir-
itualistic pursuits would deter-
mine the extent of materiality
acquisition that human beings
need, not greed.
(The writer works in educa-

>VUZRZ_UZdecVdd
stands shattered; that man has failed in dis- that in spite of appreciable con- essence of Indian philosophi- “If we are to make progress, we tion and social cohesion)

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Sir — This refers to the article,
VDPHWLPHFRVWVIRUSULQWLQJDQGGLVWULEXWLRQDVZHOODVVDODULHVKDYHUHPDLQHG “Coronavirus has turned PM
into a team player” (April 14) by
WKHVDPH7KHQYLUXOHQWPLVLQIRUPDWLRQDERXWWKHVSUHDGRI&29,'WKURXJK Kalyani Shankar. The writer’s
QHZVSDSHUV KDV SUHYHQWHG GLVWULEXWRUV IURP JLYLQJ WKHP RXW LQ DOO DUHDV observation about Prime Minister
1HZVSDSHUVDUHVWLOOEHWWHURIIWKDQWKHLUEUHWKUHQLQWKHPDJD]LQHVHFWRUZKHUH Narendra Modi’s image makeover
holds good given that his earlier
LQPDQ\FDVHVSULQWLQJSUHVVHVDUHVKXWDVQHZVVWDQGVZKLFKDUHWKHSULPD public persona of a belligerent
U\VRXUFHRIGLVWULEXWLRQIRUPDQ\PDJD]LQHVDUHHPSW\,QDZD\WKH,QGLDQ orator has undergone a sea-
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PRUHGHSHQGHQWRQSULYDWHVHFWRUDGYHUWLVLQJ harsh Coronavirus lockdown or
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The Government must also
\^eTS ^dcbXST cWTXa QXacW_[PRTb U^a TR^]^\XR sensitise the people that destruc-
^__^acd]XcXTb QT Xc U^a T\_[^h\T]c ^a QdbX]Tbb tion of crops for whatever reasons
7^fTeTa\^aTcWP]PWP[UP\X[[X^]WPeT[TUccWTXaRXcXTb is not permissible. It must not cre-
PUcTacWTd]bRWTSd[TS[^RZS^f]<P]h\^aTPaTYdbcfPXc ate a situation where the farmers
X]Vc^aTcda]W^\TQdcXcXbSXUUXRd[cc^X\PVX]TbdRWP are obliged to destroy the eatables
_^bbXQX[Xch7TaTcWTT\TaVT]RT^Ucf^SXeTaVT]cQdcX]Tg for want of fair return on their
caXRPQ[hX]cTacfX]TSbXcdPcX^]bXb]^cd][XZT[h4R^]^\XR investments in agriculture.
PRcXeXcXTbfX[[aT\PX]X]STT_WXQTa]PcX^]U^ab^\T\^aT KV Seetharamaiah
cX\T]^fCWTRaTPcX^]^UT]^dVWY^QbU^acWT]PcXeTb Hasaan
fW^WPeTaTcda]TSXbQTh^]SRP_PQX[Xch0RdcT_^eTach
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D]R^]RTa]TScWTad[X]VSXb_T]bPcX^][X`dXSPcTScWT RdcCWXbR^bccWTTgRWT`dTaP_aX]RT[hC #$[PZWRa^aT
R^d]cah³bPRRd\d[PcTSfTP[cWc^ZTT_cWTUXbRP[STUXRXc CWTaTXbcWTaTU^aT]^c\dRW[TUcQTWX]Sc^UP[[QPRZ^] Sir — It is distressing to note that
fXcWX][X\Xcb8cb_XaXcTS^dcC &%[PZWRa^aTUa^\cWT FWT] 2>E83 ( bcadRZ cWT 8]SXP] TR^]^\h fPb a group of Nihangs chopped off
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aT_TPcTS[hUa^\cWTaTbTaeTbCWThfTaT]dSVTSc^Qdh ^UaTRTbbX^]°1TVQdh^abcTP[±\PbbXeTUd]Sb]TTS national crisis, we must be grate-
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will have no fear in committing
such crimes.
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wake of lockdown. Vegetables against COVID-19, the destruc- Chennai
Sir — It is appalling that the ryots being perishable commodities, tion of vegetables will compound
are destroying their vegetable they start rotting in the heat and existing difficulties. The BT]Shh^daUUTTSQPRZcc^)
produce due to their inability to without storage. With the coun- Government must buy the veg- [TccTabc^_X^]TTa/V\PX[R^\
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n February 23, Italy recorded around 150 pos-
O itive cases of COVID-19. Within a week, that
number touched 3,000 and four days later it
had surpassed 7,000. What happened in Italy after
that was surreal as the numbers and deaths mount-
ed exponentially. It was the same with the US which
has turned into a hotspot after President Donald
Trump ignored repeated warnings by scientists, doc-
tors and experts to act in time and impose a lock-
down. The businessman in Trump prevented the
President 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 many
experts were propounding.
Worldwide, too, the numbers are going up each
HGXFDWLRQDOWHFKQRORJ\HGXWHFKLQ,QGLDDUHVWLOOQRWDSDUWRIWKHPDLQ
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day with the cases touching 19,31,261 and 1,20,134
casualties. What is even more worrying is that China
and South Korea have seen cases resurfacing, giv-
ing this nightmare another dimension altogether. The
World Health Organisation (WHO), which had
declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, and
has come under fire for allegedly covering it up ini- In India, the COVID-19 pandemic has people about the arrangements to fight the which emphasises upon the need for a pol-
WKURXJK,QIRUPDWLRQDQG&RPPXQLFDWLRQ7HFKQRORJ\·,&7WROHYHUDJHWKH tially on China’s behest has now announced that the gradually been exposing the neglected state Coronavirus pandemic in India. “It is said icy revamp even more.
SRWHQWLDORI,&7LQSURYLGLQJLQIRUPDWLRQWROHDUQHUVIUHHRIFRVW Coronavirus is 10 times more dangerous than the of healthcare. WHO executive director J that around 1,500 beds are required for If COVID-19 has taught us anything,
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Swine flu . But, despite the world health watchdog’s
warning in early March, it had taken over two weeks
for world leaders to take comprehensive action to
curb the spread of the Coronavirus. By that time it
was too late and too little. Now, as the number of cases
is spiralling, countries across the world have reced-
ed into a lockdown. India, which began its shutdown
from March 25 for 21-days, has now extended its
Ryan recently referred to India as a coun-
852>E83 (70B try with immense capacity when it comes
C0D67CDB to eradicating epidemics. His reference was
0=HC78=68C8B in line with India’s contribution in eradi-
C70CF4=443C> cating polio and smallpox. In addition to
that, Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO’s Regional
8=8C80C40=02C8E4 Emergencies Director, commended India
D=8C43A4B?>=B4 on its comprehensive and robust action-
10,000 COVID-19 patients. In India, we
already have made arrangement for one
lakh beds. More than 600 dedicated
COVID 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 at
a point where the nation is entirely depen-
it is that we need to initiate an active unit-
ed response where world bodies come
together to develop long-lasting policies
which can be played out during public
health emergencies. It has become imper-
ative to incorporate globalisation in poli-
cy narratives and work actively towards
providing comprehensive solutions to
6FLHQFH%ORFNFKDLQ7HFKQRORJ\0DFKLQH/HDUQLQJ0/DQG$UWLILFLDO lockdown till May 3. F74A4F>A;3 plan to tackle COVID-19. However, dent on internal policies to drive the health world problems.
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It is now more than ever that the world is look-
ing up to its policy makers for tackling the spread
of COVID-19. However, as more countries across the
world impose heavy restrictions on their citizens and
stress upon the urgent need for social distancing
amidst this growing pandemic, there are still many
countries that haven’t completely acknowledged the
impact of this virus. Such inward and self-centered
policies of nations have severely limited the global
consistency of action in such a trying time as this.
A global health crisis like COVID-19 goes
beyond borders and the need of the hour is unanim-
ity across the world. In a short span of time, the virus
has spread rapidly through the world and with each
passing day, the pandemic lays bare the inadequa-
cies of healthcare systems and crisis unpreparedness
across the globe.
From infrastructure and medical technology to
resources and administration, there are glaring insuf-
ficiencies in the healthcare industry. European
countries with developed healthcare systems have
failed to battle the enormity of this pandemic. The
UK took a different approach towards dealing with
the problem by experimenting with the “herd
immunity.” However, this approach backfired on the
UK as the number of cases in the country soared
while their National Health Service struggled to keep
up. Even though now the UK has imposed a full-
fledged lockdown, a crucial period when the spread
of the virus escalated was spent without active admin-
istrative action. This existing introversion of ideolo-
gies to tackle global health emergencies has led to
1>384B2><4 healthcare in India has for most part
C>64C74AC> remained an ignored industry. Less than
34E4;>? three per cent of the Gross Domestic
;>=6;0BC8=6 Product (GDP) is allocated to healthcare
?>;8284BF7827 and the country is perpetually dealing with
20=14?;0H43 a shortage in medical resources and infra-
>DC3DA8=6 structure.
According to the Government, India
?D1;82740;C7 has about one doctor per 1,500 citizens
4<4A64=284B8C while the WHO recommends one doctor
70B142><4 per 1,000 residents. In rural areas, where
8<?4A0C8E4C> two-thirds of Indians live and rely almost
8=2>A?>A0C4 solely on Government hospitals, the ratio
6;>10;8B0C8>= is one doctor to more than 10,000 people.
8=?>;82H These statistics are haunting when
=0AA0C8E4B0=3 evaluating the action response required to
F>A:02C8E4;H tackle a pandemic such as COVID-19
C>F0A3B which is growing by the minute. Moreover,
India faces a problem of plenty within an
?A>E838=6 informal sector of residence and profes-
2><?A474=B8E4 sion where crowd control is difficult.
B>;DC8>=BC> For instance, 49 people from the
F>A;3?A>1;4<B famous Dharavi slum in Mumbai were
tested positive for COVID-19 and there
have been five deaths till now. This slum
could turn out to be India’s biggest
hotspot. The nationwide lockdown that
India is currently experiencing is one step
in ensuring social distancing and break-
ing the chain of transmission of the
Coronavirus. However, in a slum like
Dharavi, social distancing cannot be prac-
market. On the other hand, a coordinat-
ed global lockdown could have avoided
panic and given countries time to strength-
en healthcare systems.
Another point of worry that has
emerged amid this crisis is the supply-
chain disruption especially in the health
sector. Countries which have been severe-
ly affected by the pandemic have resort-
ed to sealing borders and enforcing com-
plete lockdowns, which is an entirely
unprecedented situation. Most nations
don’t have a support system or infrastruc-
ture to manage such large-scale disruptions
in the supply-chain of essential goods,
especially pharmaceutical and medical
device companies. International collabo-
ration on delivery of essential services like
medical equipment and pharmaceuticals
could 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, India
could particularly look at expanding its
pharmaceutical industry into a more
robust operation that caters not only to
domestic but also international needs in
the time of crisis. The recent decision to
allow export of anti-malarial drugs chloro-
quine to other nations in need is a step
in the right direction. The Government
needs to rope in experts in the industry
A simple case study of the turn of
events in Italy would clarify the importance
of preparing a comprehensive strategy of
testing, tracking and self-isolation to fight
COVID-19. While Italy wasn’t prepared,
it gave other countries the time to do so.
Unfortunately, the lack of coordination in
dealing with this crisis on a global level has
slowed down the fight against COVID-19
today. Even though ultimately countries
have resorted to a lockdown to curb the
spread of the Coronavirus, the action
response in the interim has been lack-
adaisical.
Significantly, Modi roped in SAARC
leaders to develop a strategy to deal with
the growing COVID-19 pandemic. The
discussion revolved around creating a glob-
al fund to tackle COVID-19 in the region
and also to be better prepared for the
future. Taking a cue from that, steps need
to be taken at the stakeholder level to devel-
op more inclusive strategies for when dis-
asters hit. East-West collaboration lies at
the core of this strategy. One way to move
forward in this regard is for policymakers
to think globally and act locally. There is
a need to break out of existing tradition-
al practices and align with the global view-
point while thinking of implementation on
the grassroot level. We live in a world with
extensive cross-country interaction and
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an unsynchronised response of countries in tackling
the crisis. There has not only been a delay in action
response but also a failure in delivery of productive
action making it extremely difficult for countries to
— at this stage — flatten the curve. In an era of such
populist inward-looking ideologies, there is a need
to revamp our crisis management strategies and look
outward to avoid a situation where the internal
tised and contact-tracing is very difficult.
The challenge is manifold without ade-
quate resources to know the extent of
spread of the virus.
Until a couple of weeks ago, India had
only 52 official testing centres for COVID-
19 but now that number has gone up
slightly. In Tuesday’s address to the nation,
from the world-over to develop policies
that expand the market significantly and
also make it self-sufficient during a time
of crisis. This could create a mutually ben-
eficial global platform wherein all agencies
can be timely brought in to effectively tack-
le a public health emergency. For long,
India’s protectionist economic tendencies
movement. It is essential now to be aware
of possible health threats that might
require a coordinated policy narrative to
deal 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 and
7KHZULWHULV&KDLUPDQ$PLW\)XWXUH$FDGHP\ machinery reaches the edge of a collapse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured have prevented this from happening Managing Partner, SPAG)

+XPDQLW\PXVWDGRSWFRQVFLRXVFRQVXPHULVP
'YULTU]SGTQOTJ©YK^VRUOZGZO\KLUXG_YOTZUTGZ[XK©YJUSGOTYNG\KXKY[RZKJOTZNKXKRKGYKULNGXSL[RVGZNUMKTY
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;?D1 BA8A09
he ongoing COVID-19 pan-
task to accomplish. Given the consid-
erable health risk involved in stepping
out of the house due to possible expo-
sure to COVID-19, and, of course, the
additional risk of inviting the ire of the
policemen tasked with the job of
keeping citizens indoors during the
nationwide lockdown, it is well nigh
impossible to enjoy this simple pleasure
of life. However, as we ponder over
mankind’s behaviour in hindsight
(during this enforced break from
activities), taking nature and the envi-
ronment for granted seems nothing
oceans and mountains.
Even as one nation after another
fell prey to COVID-19, other
Coronavirus-free countries did not
comprehend the danger ahead and
people went about their routines
unperturbed, powered by greed and
consumerism. Now, the Coronavirus
has brought almost the entire world to
a standstill and our crimes against
nature are staring us in the face. In
more ways than one, this crisis had
been in the making for quite some time.
Rising levels of consumerism paved the
revealed that 83 per cent of the respon-
dents evinced interest in making
lifestyle changes towards a more sus-
tainable living, while 70 per cent dis-
played sufficient awareness of water
conservation. However, despite the
awareness, the respondents could not
elucidate how they were going to take
steps to reduce/prevent the negative
impact of their lifestyles on the envi-
ronment. So, all the awareness regard-
ing climate change and the state of the
environment is unable to alter human
behaviour and ensure that people try
to mankind. The hunt for exotic ani-
mals that can be sold for a premium
in wet markets has put man in the
crosshairs of virulent viruses searching
for a host. The Coronavirus pandem-
ic is a result of this form of mindless
consumerism.
This cavalier attitude towards
nature and abject consumerism have
made the world shoot itself in the leg
and this has to stop now.
Consumerism that spells doom for
humanity has to be urgently replaced
by alternativism, where sustainable
5>A486=4H4
ty or any natural resources. For
instance, there is need to ask all the five-
star hotels across the world to not throw
unused food at the end of a business
day and instead give it to the poor. This
act alone will feed millions of hungry 0270=645>A
people and will also lead to saving of C7414CC4A.
trillions of litres of water that is used
in growing more food. 7dVT_^[XcXRP[bWXUcbPaT
According to EcoBusiness, cur- d]STafPhfXcWUXbRP[[h
rently 25 per cent of the food that pass- R^]bTaePcXeTV^eTa]\T]cb
es through global five-star kitchens is
eventually thrown out, this is the hall- bdRWPb1^aXb9^W]b^]³b
mark of irresponsible consumerism X]cTaeT]X]VX]TR^]^\XTbc^

T demic has instilled a new-found

respect for the environment
among the people of India and the
world at large.
As people stay barricaded inside
their homes, the value of taking a sim-
ple walk in the park, soaking in the sun
and the greenery, admiring the flow-
ers and listening to the chirping of the
birds, is driven home like never before.
What was taken for granted earli-
er has become a shockingly difficult
short of a sin now.
This respect and value being
accorded to nature is new-found,
because as recently as the first week of
February, all the nations of the world
continued to turn a blind eye to envi-
ronmental well-being. They went on
mindlessly 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
way for the environment to be exploit-
ed and compromised on a systematic
scale for long.
Interestingly, according to a pan-
India study commissioned by the
Mahindra Group in 2019, Indians are
very well aware of the human impact
on the environment. The study saw
four out of five Indians confirming that
they were aware of the consequences
of their actions on the environment and
climate change. The study further
to lead a low carbon foot-print lifestyle.
For this to happen there needs to be a
major change in attitudes, wherein con-
scious, environment-friendly con-
sumerism replaces the current pattern
of consumerism which is self-serving
and oblivious to environmental conse-
quences.
As of now, mankind’s exploitative
forays into nature’s domains have
resulted in the release of harmful
pathogens that were hitherto unknown
lifestyles become the norm rather
than the exception. Governments
across the world must provide sustain-
able alternatives for humans to adopt
so that the livelihoods and lifestyles that
result in compromising the environ-
ment are phased out.
This not only means changing
one’s buying behaviour by shifting to
green products but also means that suf-
ficient efforts must be made to prevent
wastage, be it of food, water, electrici-
and it needs to be replaced with a con-
scious one. Lastly the mindless
exploitation of natural resources has to
stop. Else, we should prepare for a grim
future where overexploitation of food
resources leads to depletion, forcing
humans to look for other, more uncon-
ventional sources of food. Then pan-
demics like the Coronavirus will
become a routine affair.
(The writer is an environmental
journalist)
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U has hinted that there would
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originated from its Wuhan city
last year, and has claimed
1,25,007 lives with nearly two
million infections globally.
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3TeT[^_\T]c2^;cS West for its early mishandling
on coronavirus when repeat-
edly asked why there are no
consequences for China.
“How do you know that
there are no consequences?”
Trump asked.
“I wouldn’t tell you. China
will find out. Why would I tell
you?” Trump replied when
repeatedly asked if China was
going to face the consequences
of the alleged misinformation.
“You’re going to find out,”
Trump said as members of the
US Congress ramped up their
>@C6E92?"#=<:==653J4@C@?2G:CFDH@C=5H:56
05?Q ?0A8B
he novel coronavirus has
T killed more than 1,20,000
people worldwide, nearly 70
percent of them in Europe.
US: Outside the epicentres
of New York and New Jersey,
the US coronavirus infection
cur ves were “starting to
plateau”, the White House task
force indicated even as the
countr y’s death toll has
increased to 23,608 and some
states on the east and west
strategies to reopen their
economies.
Of the 23,608 US deaths,
New York’s coronavirus death
toll alone topped 10,000 but a
glimmer of hope emerged as
new hospitalisations contin-
ued to slow. Monday marked
the first time in a week that the
daily toll dipped below 700.
Chicago and Boston case-
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trong alcoholic drinks can
Snecessary”
be used “when absolutely
instead of hand
sanitiser in Japanese hospitals,
authorities said, as supplies
run dry as a result of the coro-
navirus pandemic.
Spirits with an alcohol
proof of between 70 and 83
percent can be substituted to
sterilise hands under new rules
set out in a health ministry
document obtained by AFP on
Tuesday.
Some vodkas are that
strong, but traditional Japanese
tipples such as sake and shochu
3XWLQPD\GHSOR\PLOLWDU\DVFDVHVVXUJH H@>2?7:?657@C
80=B Q <>B2>F
ussian President Vladimir
R
Putin has said that the mil-
itary could be deployed to help
tackle the coronavirus pan-
demic in the country, after the
number of cases in the coun-
try rose sharply.
On Monday, Russia record-
ed its largest daily rise in con-
firmed cases, with 2,558 new
infections, taking the total to
21,102, with the vast majority
of those in Moscow, the BBC
reported.
The death toll currently
stood at 210.
“We see that the situation
is changing almost daily and,
unfortunately, it is not chang-
ing for the better,” the BBC
quoted Putin as saying during
a video meeting with top offi-
cials on Monday.
“The number of sick peo-
ple is increasing, including
more and more cases specifi-
4YZ_R¶dµ^Rd\UZa]`^RTj¶hZ_ddfaa`ceZ_6RdeVc_6fc`aV
0?Q 14;6A034B4A180
hen China’s first ship-
W ment of coronavirus
medical aid landed in Belgrade,
the president of Serbia was
there to kiss the Chinese flag.
In Hungary, officials have
played down assistance from
the European Union and
praised Beijing’s help. In the
Czech Republic, its president
says that only China was there
during the virus spread.
While elsewhere China
tries to polish an image tar-
nished by its initial handling of
the coronavirus outbreak,
Beijing has no problem main-
taining its hard-won influence
in parts of Eastern Europe,
where it battles for clout with
the EU as well as with Russia.
China was criticized in the
rhetoric and move against
China. Senator Steve Daines
sent a letter to Trump urging
him to end the US govern-
ment’s reliance on medical
supplies and equipment from
China and bring back drug
manufacturing jobs to America
in response to the Covid-19
pandemic. “The Covid-19 pan-
demic has made clear how
relying upon China for medi-
cine or essential medical equip-
ment and components is detri-
mental to our national securi-
loads were now emerging as
new concerns while social dis-
tancing measures blanket vir-
tually all of America in varying
degrees of stringency.
Britain: The number of
people who have died in hos-
pital in Britain from the coro-
navirus rose to 12,107, accord-
ing to health ministry figures
published on Tuesday. There is
an increase of 778 deaths on the
previous day and official figures
also showed that the number of
people who have tested positive
for Covid-19 has reached
93,873.
Spain: Spain’s death toll
from the novel coronavirus
topped 18,000 on Tuesday, as
the rise in new infections
dropped to its lowest level
since the country imposed a
nationwide lockdown last
month. The 567 new deaths
reported by the health ministry
do not make the grade — at a
maximum alcohol proof of
roughly 22 and 45 percent
respectively.
But some sake makers have
begun producing stronger
alcohol products to
meet the demand for
sanitiser. Japan bev-
erage giant Suntory is
already manufactur-
ing sanitiser in the
United States, the
country hardest-hit
by the outbreak.
Under Japanese regu-
lations, liquids
designed for disinfection
should contain between
cally of the severe form of the
disease. The next few weeks
will be decisive in many
respects,” he added.
He also pointed to other
European countries, such as
Italy, that have utilised the
military in their response to the
global health crisis.
“We need to use this expe-
rience,” he said, adding: “The
capabilities of the Russian
of the health crisis due to
politically motivated foot-drag-
ging while the virus raced
through a major province and
its capital, Wuhan. Now it is
seeking to change perceptions
through “mask diplomacy” —
a combination of soft power
policy, political messaging and
aid shipments — to portray
Beijing as a generous and effi-
cient ally.
China for years has been
increasing its political and eco-
nomic influence in southeast-
ern Europe through its Belt and
Road global investment pro-
jects. Its image-polishing after
the outbreak found fertile
ground in places like Serbia and
Hungary, whose populist lead-
ers nurture close ties with
Beijing or Moscow.
The aid shipments also
drew praise in Italy, Spain, the
2>E83 (>DC1A40:
ty and endangers public
health,” Daines wrote.
“It is critically important to
ensure that legislation is fully
implemented as quickly as pos-
sible and that the US continues
to be the world leader in bio-
medicine, pharmaceutical
development, and medical
innovation,” he wrote.
Four Republican lawmak-
ers on Monday introduced a
legislation to reduce the
reliance on China.
Protecting our
were slightly up from Monday’s
death toll and they take the
total number of fatalities to
18,056 — officially third in the
world behind the United States
and Italy. The number of new
infections rose by just over
76.9 and 81.4 percent alcohol
content.
Any more than this is less
effective and should be diluted,
officials say. Japan has so far
been spared the
disastrous out-
breaks seen in
Europe and the
US, but a recent
spike in cases
— especially in
Tokyo — has
raised concerns.
The virus has
killed 109 peo-
ple domestical-
ly and infected
more than 7,600.
Defence Ministry, if necessary,
can and should be used here.”
Although Russia’ death toll
was far lower than in many
other European nations such as
Italy, Spain and France, experts
have warned the country was
in the early stages of the epi-
demic.
Lockdown measures have
been introduced in the capital
Moscow, the worst-hit area, as
Netherlands, Slovakia and the
Czech Republic, although some
virus test kits and face masks
purchased from Chinese com-
panies caused a stir because
they didn’t meet local stan-
dards.
Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
from China Act gives compa-
nies economic incentives to
manufacture pharmaceuticals
and medical devices in the
US, makes it easier to know
which country a drug came
from by creating a list of the
country of origin of all drugs
marketed 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
3,045, or 1.8 percent, to
172,451, the smallest increase
since the country of around 47
million people imposed a
nationwide lockdown on
March 14 to curb the spread of
the virus.
well as several other regions.
People have been asked to
stay at home unless there was
an essential reason for them to
go out. Moscow has intro-
duced an electronic system
that issues permits to people
who need to leave their homes.
But it has been beset by
technical issues, which officials
have blamed on cyber-attack-
ers, said the BBC report.
“We must be aware there is
a geopolitical component,
including a struggle for influ-
ence, through spinning and the
politics of generosity,” EU’s top
foreign policy official Josep
Borrell recently wrote in a
Communist Party—whose lies
about coronavirus created the
pandemic we now face—for
essential medicines is danger-
ous and short-sighted. As with
5G networks, when it comes to
medical supply chains, nation-
al security must take prece-
dence. China is an adversary
that will use any US depen-
dence as blackmail to achieve
its nefarious goals,” said
Congressman Liz Cheney.
China ran a disinformation
campaign to cover up the coro-
Iran: Iran said on Tuesday
that the number of lives lost in
the country to the novel coro-
E2<:?8EFCE=67@C
2H2=<:?C@>6
05?Q A><4
n Italian woman who took
A her pizza-sized turtle out
for a walk has been fined 400
euros ($440) by the Roman
police for breaking strict coro-
navirus confinement rules.
Italians need a justifiable
reason to be out on the street
in the middle of a pandemic
that has officially claimed more
than 20,000 lives in the
Mediterranean country since
February. Taking your dog out
for a walk is viewed as a good
enough reason to leave your
home.
But it seems taking your
turtle out for one is not. The
Roman police said “the 60-
year-old woman was caught
blog, referring to China.
“Armed with facts, we need to
defend Europe against its
detractors.”
Chinese officials have
repeatedly rejected claims that
Beijing is seeking political gains
navirus crisis for weeks,
putting the rest of the
world at a disadvantage in
combating the spread,
alleged Congresswoman
Elise Stefanik.
“We have become far too
dependent on China, and it is
time that we equip our domes-
tic pharmaceutical and medical
device manufacturers to be
able to efficiently produce these
items here in the United States,”
she said. Congressman Mike
Gallagher alleged that the
navirus dropped to double fig-
ures for the first time in one
month. Health ministry
outside her home without a jus-
tifiable reason” and fined. “The
woman was walking with a tur-
tle,” the police statement said.
Roman police spokesman
Nunzio Carbone told AFP that
the woman was fined 400 euros
because it was “not a justifiable
excuse”.
Italian authorities reported
issuing a record 16,545 fines on
Easter Monday -- a national
holiday in the largely Catholic
country. Another 13,756 fines
were issue on Sunday. Italians
have been joking on social
media about renting out their
dogs to anyone who was going
stir crazy and needed a good
excuse to go out. Carbone said
the turtle was “as big as a pizza”
but not wearing a leash.
by providing medical aid to
other countries amid the virus,
saying the allegations result from
deep-rooted misperceptions of
China’s goals in the West.
Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying
said Beijing is doing what it can
“to help those countries and
people affected ... to save and
safeguard people’s lives and
health to the greatest extent
across the world.”
In Serbia, a candidate for
EU membership, officials and
state-controlled media have
played down the millions of
euros in grants and loans from
Brussels while praising Chinese
deliveries, donations and sales
of supplies. Opposition groups
have demanded that the aid
from China be disclosed and
stacked up against the EU’s
apparently much larger assis-
Chinese Communist Party’s
outrageous threats to with-
hold life saving drugs from the
US endangers public health and
should open eyes to the dan-
gerous over-reliance on China
in medical supply chain.
“This is a national securi-
ty imperative that to many
Americans, is a matter of life
and death. It’s past time for us
to develop an aggressive plan to
move critical pharmaceutical
supply chains away from
China,” he said.
spokesman Kianoush
Jahanpour said 98 deaths from
the COVID-19 disease were
recorded in the past 24 hours,
bringing the overall count to
4,683. “Unfortunately, we lost 98
of our compatriots infected
with the disease... but after a
month of waiting, this is the first
day that the death count has
been double figures,” he told a
televised news conference.
Sweden: Sweden on
Tuesday reported that more
than 1,000 people had died
from the novel coronavirus, as
a group of experts attacked the
authorities’ approach to the
crisis. Sweden’s Public Health
Agency said it had recorded a
total of 11,445 confirmed cases
of COVID-19 and 1,033 deaths.
And it warned that because not
all deaths had yet been report-
ed over the four-day Easter
weekend, the true number
might be higher.
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London: British Foreign
Secretary Dominic Raab has
said that the British government
does not expect to make changes
to coronavirus lockdown restric-
tions this week, it was reported.
Raab, who is deputising for
Prime Minister Boris Johnson as
he recovers from coronavirus,
said on Monday that a meeting
of scientific advisers would take
place to review evidence relating
to the current lockdown restric-
tions, reports the BBC. He said
that easing restrictions too early
would “risk a second wave” of
infections. Responding to claims
the government lacked an exit
strategy, Raab said it was “cru-
cially important that we do not
take our eye off the ball or the
public’s focus” off social dis-
tancing measures. IANS
tance, but those calls have
been ignored.
The pro-China narrative
included billboards supporting
Chinese President Xi Jinping,
whom Serbian President
Aleksandar Vucic routinely
describes as his “brother,” as
well as suggestions that a mon-
ument be erected to honor
Belgrade’s friendship with
Beijing.
“European solidarity does
not exist. Only China can help,”
Vucic said last month while
announcing a nationwide state
of emergency that gave him
expanded powers in the health
crisis. The EU’s executive arm,
the European Commission,
has pledged 15 million euros in
immediate support for Serbia’s
health sector, plus 78.4 million
euros to help with its social and
economic recovery.
;D2:=>FkF43=4B30H k0?A8; $!!
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05?Q B4>D;
orth Korea on Tuesday
N fired several suspected
cruise missiles towards the sea,
the South’s military said.
The “multiple projectiles”
fired from Munchon in the east
of the country were believed to
be “short-range cruise mis-
siles,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff
said in a statement.
The test comes a day before
the nuclear-armed North
marks the 108th anniversary of
the birth of its founder Kim Il
Sung, grandfather of the cur-
rent leader Kim Jong Un.
It also comes a day before
the South holds parliamen-
tary elections, and at a time
when the world’s attention has
been largely focussed on the
coronavirus pandemic, which
Pyongyang insists it has so far
escaped.
The North has repeatedly
tested ballistic missiles in recent
years, which climb high above
the Earth, often into space,
before being brought down
towards their targets at high
speed 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 missiles
travel at low altitudes — some-
times just a few metres (feet)
above the surface, making
them hard to detect — and are
powered throughout their
flight. Sometimes highly
manoeuvrable, they need
sophisticated guidance systems
to bring them to their targets.
Tuesday’s missiles travelled
over the Sea of Japan, also
known as the East Sea, before
coming down in the water, the
JCS said. “South Korea and US
intelligence authorities are
closely analysing related issues,”
they added.
The North is subject to
multiple UN Security Council
sanctions over its banned
weapons programmes.
It has carried out a series of
weapons tests in recent months,
often describing them as multi-
ple launch rocket systems while
others have called them ballis-
tic missiles. Pyongyang has fired
cruise missiles in the past. In
ful test of a what it called a new
type of surface-to-ship cruise
missile designed to hit “any
enemy group of battleships”
that threatened North Korea.
That launch hit targets in
the Sea of Japan, it said, and
took place the week after two
US aircraft carriers, the USS
Carl Vinson and USS Ronald
Reagan, took part in naval
manoeuvres in the area.
Those missiles flew some
200 kilometres, which analysts
said was an improvement on a
2015 test that flew only 100
kilometres. North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un and US
President Donald Trump trad-
ed mutual insults and threats of
war during 2017, sending ten-
sions soaring.
The South’s President
Moon Jae-in used the
Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
in his country to broker a
rapid diplomatic rapproche-
ment and a series of
summits followed.
5XVVLDVS\WULDO
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PDULQH5HSRUW
Moscow: The trial of a former
US marine accused of spying
has begun behind closed doors
in Moscow, 16 months after his
arrest, a media report said.
The Russian government
has said that Paul Whelan was
caught “red-handed” with state
secrets, the BBC reported on
Monday. The American could
be facing up to 20 years in
prison. FSB security officers
burst into Paul Whelan’s room
at a central Moscow hotel in
December 2018.
He was detained with a
USB flash drive which the FSB
has said that contained secret
information.
Whelan, who has visited
Russia many times, had previ-
ously told the BBC that an old
friend had turned up at his
room uninvited and planted
the drive. PTI
>QP\PT]S^abTb1XST]U^a?aTi
bPhbTgE?WPb³`dP[XcXTbfT]TTS´
0?Q F0B78=6C>=
ormer President Barack
F Obama endorsed Joe Biden
in a video on Tuesday, giving
the presumptive Democratic
presidential nominee a boost
from the party’s biggest
fundraiser and one of its most
popular figures.
“I believe Joe has all the
qualities we need in a president
right now,” Obama said in a
nearly 12- minute video, tout-
ing him as a “close friend” and
lauding him for his persever-
ance and compassion.
Obama and Biden are close
friends from their two terms in
the White House, when Biden
served as vice president. Biden
leaned heavily on his affiliation
with the former president
throughout the Democratic
primary, framing his pitch as an
extension of Obama’s presi-
dency. In recent weeks, he has
told donors he’s been in touch
with Obama about his vice-
presidential pick.
The endorsement marks
Obama’s return to presidential
politics more than three years
after leaving the White House.
He rarely talks directly about
his successor, President Donald
Trump, and avoided interven-
ing in the Democratic prima-
ry. The field at one point
spanned nearly two dozen can-
didates and Obama offered
private counsel to anyone who
asked it, but but made no
efforts to bolster an individual
campaign — including Biden’s.
But Obama has been fol-
lowing the Democratic race
closely from the sidelines and
is eager to take a more active
public role in the campaign.
HZ]UWZcV^`gVdhZeYZ_
R^Z]V`W4YVc_`Sj]
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Kiev: A wildfire that has been
raging for several days in the
Chernobyl exclusion zone in
Ukraine was now just a few
kilometres from the abandoned
nuclear plant, according to
reports.
Hundreds of firefighters
were battling the forest fire
while officials insisted there
was no risk to the ruined reac-
tor and nearby nuclear waste
storage facilities, the metro
nespaper reported on Tuesday.
While forest fires are com-
mon in the exclusion zone,
Greenpeace Russia said this
blaze, which broke out 10 days
ago, is the worst since the 1986
nuclear explosion.
The campaigners said satel-
lite images showed the fire at its
closest point was just 1.5 km
from the protective dome over
the ruined reactor. IANS

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:>7D=2D96D:?5:2¶D8C@HE9C2E6E@"*:?#!#!
)RUHFDVWVJOREDO However, the two Asian
giants are likely to bounce
economies, including Iran,
expected to contract; and sub-
This is a truly global crisis
as no country is spared, 8<5P__a^eTbSTQcaT[XTUU^a!$_^^aR^d]caXTb
UHFHVVLRQGXH back strongly in 2021 with
India expected to grow at 7.4
Saharan Africa (–1.6 per cent)
with growth in Nigeria and
Gopinath said. Countries
reliant on tourism, travel, hos-
Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to help

WR&RYLG
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he IMF on Tuesday slashed
T India’s projected GDP
growth to 1.9 per cent in 2020
from 5.8 per cent in January, as
the global economy hits the
worst recession since the Great
Depression in the 1930s
due to the raging coronavirus
pandemic that has nearly
stalled all economic activities
across the world.
With this subdued forecast,
India is likely to record its worst
growth performance since the
1991 liberalisation. But the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF), in its latest edition of the
World Economy report, said
India and China are the only
two major countries, which will
register a positive growth rate.
The IMF has projected a
growth rate of 1.2 per cent for
China in 2020 — the slowest
in more than four decades.
per cent and China at 9.2 per
cent. “We project global growth
in 2020 to fall to -3 per cent.
This is a downgrade of 6.3 per-
centage points from January
2020, a major revision over a
very short period,” Indian-
American Gita Gopinath, the
IMF Chief Economist said,
adding that the COVID-19
pandemic will severely impact
growth across all regions.
The Great Depression was
the worst worldwide econom-
ic downturn that lasted for 10
years from 1929, beginning in
the US when the New York
Stock Exchange on Wall Street
crashed and wiped out millions
of investors.
Most countries, in the
advanced economy group, are
forecast to contract this year,
including the US (–5.9 per
cent), Japan (–5.2 per cent), the
United Kingdom (–6.5 per
cent), Germany (–7.0 per cent),
France (–7.2 per cent), Italy
(–9.1 per cent), and Spain (–8.0
per cent), the IMF report said.
Even with a sharp rebound
in the remainder of the year
and sizable fiscal support, the
Chinese economy is projected
to grow at a subdued 1.2 per
cent in 2020.
The IMF said several
economies in the region were
forecast to grow at modest
rates, including India (1.9 per
cent) and Indonesia (0.5 per
cent), and others are forecast
to experience large contrac-
tions (Thailand, –6.7 per cent).
In January, IMF projected
India’s growth at 5.8 per cent in
2020 and 6.5 per cent in 2021.
On Tuesday, the IMF said
;>2:3>F=" >X[_aXRTbUP[[PUcTa
that other regions are pro-
jected to experience severe
slowdowns or outright con-
tractions in economic activi-
ty, including Latin America
(–5.2 per cent) — with Brazil’s
growth forecast at –5.3 per cent
and Mexico’s at –6.6 per cent;
emerging and developing
Europe (–5.2 per cent) with
Russia’s economy projected to
contract by –5.5 per cent.
The Middle East and
Central Asia (–2.8 per cent)
with Saudi Arabia’s growth
forecast at –2.3 per cent, with
non-oil GDP contracting by
four per cent, and most
South Africa expected at –3.4
per cent and –5.8 per cent
respectively.
This is a crisis like no
other, and there is substantial
uncertainty about its impact on
people’s lives and livelihoods,
Gopinath said. A lot depends
on the epidemiology of the
virus, the effectiveness of con-
tainment measures, and the
development of therapeutics
and vaccines, all of which are
hard 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 in
complex ways, she said.
Assuming the pandemic
fades in the second half of 2020
and that policy actions taken
around the world are effective
in preventing widespread firm
bankruptcies, extended job
losses, and system-wide finan-
cial strains, Gopinath said the
IMF projects global growth in
2021 to rebound to 5.8 per cent.
pitality, and entertainment for
their growth are experiencing
particularly large disruptions,
she added.
The emerging markets and
developing economies face
additional challenges with
unprecedented reversals in cap-
ital flows as global risk appetite
wanes, and currency pressures,
while coping with weaker
health systems, and more lim-
ited fiscal space to provide
support. Moreover, several
economies entered this crisis in
a vulnerable state with sluggish
growth and high debt levels, the
IMF chief economist wrote.
According to the World
Economic Report, the rebound
in 2021 depends critically on the
pandemic fading in the second
half of 2020, allowing contain-
ment efforts to be gradually
scaled back and restoring con-
sumer and investor confidence.
Significant economic pol-
icy actions have already been
taken across the world, focused
on accommodating public
them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “This
provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members
to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over
the next six months and will help them channel more of their
scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and
other relief efforts,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina
Georgieva said in a statement.
The IMF board approved the debt relief for the countries,
nearly all in Africa, but also Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal and
Haiti. The fund together with the World Bank have called for
rich nations to stop collecting debt payments from poor coun-
tries from May 1 through June 2021. AFP
health care requirements, while India’s economy is expected
limiting the amplification to to grow 1.5 per cent to 2.8 per
economic activity and the cent in the 2020-21 fiscal which
financial system. started on April 1, the World
The projected recovery Bank said in its South Asia
assumes that these policy Economic Focus report. It esti-
actions are effective in pre- mated India will grow 4.8 per
venting widespread firm bank- cent to 5 per cent in the 2019-20
ruptcies, extended job losses, fiscal that ended on March 31.
and system-wide financial
strains, it said. India is likely to
record its worst growth per- 6&UPe^abSTQcbcP]SbcX[[
formance since the 1991 liber-
alisation this fiscal year as the U^a_^^aTbcR^d]caXTb
coronavirus outbreak severely
disrupts the economy, the XU6!PVaTTb
World Bank said on Sunday. Washington: Finance ministers
and central bankers from G7
countries said on Tuesday they
favor a temporary halt to debt
payments from the world’s

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London: World oil prices dropped in volatile
poorest countries, but only if
G20 Governments also agree.
Noting that poor countries

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nationwide lockdown exten-
was necessary to avert a
humanitarian crisis, but insist-
ed on the need for a stimulus
conference with Modi on
Saturday sought some sort of
relaxation for a number of
sectors.
Late last month, the gov-
ernment announced a Rs 1.7
lakh crore package aimed at
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R^\Tc^WP[cPbbd__[hRWPX]U^a^QcPX]X]VR^]bcadRcX^]\PcTaXP[WPbQTT]SXbad_cTSP]S
that crude producers agreed to cut production ing to deal with the coron-
fXcWX]_adST]cXP[]^a\b [PQ^daf^aZU^aRTWPeT\XVaPcTSc^W^\TbcPcTbX]bTPaRW^UP[cTa]PcXeTb^daRTb^U over the weekend, traders said. avirus pandemic, the Group of
[XeT[XW^^Sb
New Delhi: Finance Ministry on
Futures had earlier risen after US President
Donald Trump indicated Monday that pro-
Seven advanced nations said it
stands “ready to provide a
Monday held a review meeting 0=C828?0C43;>2:3>F=4GC4=B8>=034@D0C4BC>2:B8=?;024)A4C08;4AB ducers were considering cutting 20 million bar- time-bound suspension on
with the heads of public sector ATcPX[Tab^]CdTbSPhPbbdaTScWTaTXbT]^dVWX]eT]c^ahc^\TTccWTST\P]SSdaX]VcWT rels per day — more than double the announced debt service payments” owed
banks, and instructed them to TgcT]STS[^RZS^f]_TaX^SbcPcX]VcWThWPSbc^RZTSd_X]P]cXRX_PcX^]^UbdRWP\^eTUa^\ figure.At about 1100 GMT, European bench- to their governments “if joined
extend all possible help to all sec- cWT6^eTa]\T]cc^RdaQcWTb_aTPS^UR^a^]PeXadb_P]ST\XR5dcdaTATcPX[E<PacP[^]V mark London Brent North Sea oil for delivery
tors of the economy within pru-
dential guidelines to tide over cri-
fXcWfW^[TbP[T_[PhTab¯;^cbFW^[TbP[TB^[dcX^]bP]S<Tca^2PbW2Paah8]SXP¯bPXS
cWThWPeTQTT]R^]bcP]c[h\^]Xc^aX]VcWTSh]P\XRbXcdPcX^]X]^aSTac^T]bdaTcWTaTfTaT]^
in June dipped 0.4 percent to trade at $31.61 per
barrel. AFP
by all bilateral official creditors
in the G20 and as agreed with
the Paris Club.” AFP
sis following Covid-19 outbreak bd__[hSXbad_cX^]b^UTbbT]cXP[XcT\bP]SVa^RTaXTb
and consequent lockdown.

0[TaXbSTP[\PZTb7X]SP[R^f^a[S³b
package to rebuild the econo- providing relief to those hit The review meeting — ³0A>D=3$;<>18;434E824B<0H=443A4?08AC>BD??>ACF>A:5A><7><4´
my hit hard by the Covid-19 hard by the lockdown as well as held via video conference — <^QX[T_W^]T_[PhTabTbcX\PcTcWPc^eTa$[PZW\^QX[TSTeXRTbX]R[dSX]V[P_c^_b\Ph
aT`dXaTaT_PXaX]VSdaX]VcWT[^RZS^f]_TaX^Sc^bd__^acf^aZUa^\W^\T0Q^dc(&_TaRT]c

pandemic.
Earlier in the day, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
announced that the current
lockdown will be extended till
May 3, saying it is
necessary to contain the spread
of the novel coronavirus in the
country.
He said detailed guide-
lines on implementation
of the new lockdown will be
announced on
Wednesday, and some relax-
ations may be allowed after
April 20 in places where there
are no hotspots.
The catastrophic effect of
the lockdown on the overall
economy and livelihoods of
lakhs of migrant workers trig-
gered severe concerns follow-
ing which a number of state
chief ministers in their video
an insurance cover for health-
care professionals handling
virus infected people.
“Estimates show that India
may be losing close to Rs
40,000 crore daily due to the
national lockdown with an
estimated loss amounting to Rs
7-8 lakh crore during the past
21 days,” said Ficci President
Sangita Reddy.
Further, it is also expected
that close to 40 million jobs are
at risk during the period April-
Sept 2020. Hence, an urgent
relief package is also critical,
she said.
She observed that the
Prime Minister’s directions on
graded opening will help start
some production activity to
ensure that as soon as lock-
down opens, there are no
shortages faced.
reviewed banks functioning
during the lockdown and also
took stock of liquidity situation,
sources said. The ministry
asked the banks to devise strat-
egy for the post lockdown
period and readiness for meet-
ing the future challenges. The
two-hour long meeting took
stock of disbursement of finan-
cial assistance through direct
benefit transfer (DBT) under
the Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Yojana to help poor and
daily wagers to sustain during
the lockdown triggered by out-
break of Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of the Rs 1.70 lakh
crore relief package, the
Government announced cash
doles to women, poor senior
citizens and farmers to mitigate
the hardships faced due to the
lockdown. PTI
[PaVTbcP[d\X]Xd\_a^SdRcbUXa\
^UcWTQa^PSQP]SR^]]TRcX^]bX]cWTR^d]cah^_TaPcTcWa^dVW\^QX[TSTeXRTbPb_TaSPcP
_dQ[XbWTSQhcWTCT[TR^\ATVd[Pc^ah0dcW^aXch^U8]SXPCaPX
2>=BD<4A05508AB<8=8BCAHC>B44:A4?;024<4=C>501B4=C44>558280;B
0b\^]Xc^aX]V^UTbbT]cXP[R^\\^SXcXTbXb]TRTbbPahSdaX]VcWT[^RZS^f]2^]bd\Ta0UUPXab ?C8 Q <D<108 outlook of 4x when the transaction was
BTRaTcPah?PfP]:d\Pa0VPafP[^]CdTbSPhbPXSWXbST_Pac\T]cWPbSTRXSTSc^bTTZ announced.
he Aditya Birla Group flagship The closing price of USD 2.8 billion
aT_[PRT\T]c^U^UUXRXP[bd]PQ[Tc^aT_^acU^af^aZSdTc^\TSXRP[R^]SXcX^]b^a^cWTaeP[XS
aTPb^]b0STRXbX^]WPbQTT]cPZT]PUcTab^\T^UcWT2^]bd\Ta0UUPXab<X]Xbcah^UUXRXP[bSXS
]^cbW^fd_U^af^aZSTb_XcTcWT6^eTa]\T]c³bSXaTRcXeT^]cWTfTTZT]S
T Hindalco has further cemented its
position as the world’s largest produc-
consists of USD 775 million for equity
value, as well as around USD 2 billion
er of value-added aluminium products towards extinguishing Aleris’ out-
A4C08;CA034;>BCC" $; 2A3DA8=6;>2:3>F=*1DCBD??>AC4GC4=B8>=)208C with the completion of the USD 2.8 bil- standing debt and a USD 50 million
CWTaTcPX[caPSTWPbbdUUTaTSP[^bb^UC" $[PZWRa^aTSdaX]VcWT[^RZS^f]cWT lion acquisition of Aleris by its whol- earn-out payment.
2^]UTSTaPcX^]^U0[[8]SXPCaPSTab208CbPXS^]CdTbSPhTeT]PbXc°bca^]V[hbd__^acTS± ly-owned US subsidiary Novelis Inc. “The Aleris deal marks a major
?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SX³b\^eTc^TgcT]ScWTRdaQbc^UXVWcR^a^]PeXadb208CWPb The acquisition of the US-based milestone for Hindalco and Novelis, on
P[b^PbbdaTScWT6^eTa]\T]ccWPccWTcaPSTabfX[[R^]cX]dTc^ad]cWTbd__[hRWPX]^U rolled products major Aleris their path to global leadership. The clo-
TbbT]cXP[V^^SbX]P°\^bcTUUXRXT]cP]STUUTRcXeT±\P]]Tab^cWPcRXcXiT]bS^]^cUPRTP]h Corporation positions Hindalco as one sure of this deal amidst challenging
SXUUXRd[ch of the world’s largest aluminium com- market conditions reflects our convic-
0=0;HBCB5;066A>FC72>=24A=B?>BC;>2:3>F=4GC4=B8>= panies, with a global footprint spanning tion in the Aleris business and its value
CWT (SPhTgcT]bX^]^UcWT[^RZS^f]^]CdTbSPhQh?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SX[TS 49 manufacturing facilities in North to our metals portfolio,” Kumar
P]P[hbcbc^U[PVR^]RTa]b^eTaXcbTR^]^\XRX\_PRcfXcWb^\TTbcX\PcX]VP63?R^]caPRcX^] America, Europe and Asia, the group Mangalam Birla, the chairman of the
^U _TaRT]cX]5H! PbfT[[APcX]VbPVT]Rh8RaPbPXScWTaTXbP_^bbXQX[Xch^UcWT63? said in a statement. Aditya Birla Group was quoted as say-
R^]caPRcX]VQh _TaRT]cX]cWTYdbcbcPacTSUXbRP[hTPa!!! fWX[T9P_P]TbTQa^ZTaPVT The Birlas had announced acqui- ing in a statement.
=^\daPbPXSXcfX[[STVa^fQh$_TaRT]cU^a!!1aXcXbW_TTa1PaR[PhbbPXS63?fX[[QT sition of the privately held the Comparing the Aleris deal as “a
bcPV]P]cfXcWiTa^Va^fcWU^acWTRP[T]SPahTPa Cleveland, Ohio-based Aleris in July long-term strategic bet, much like the
2018 for USD 2.58 billion when the Novelis deal was in 2007,” he said this

=708[XZT[hc^R^\_T]bPcT 6($VLDOHDGHUVPHHWE\YLGHRRQSDQGHPLF
rupee was trading much higher than deal enables further diversification of
now. The company has production his group’s metals downstream portfo-
facilities in North America, Europe and lio, into other premium market seg-

c^[[^_TaPc^abU^a[^bbTb Hanoi: Forced apart by the coron-

avirus pandemic, Southeast Asian
Derided as a talk shop by critics,
the bloc is known largely for pho-
New Delhi (PTI): The government is considering to compen- leaders linked up by video on Tuesday
sate toll operators for the losses incurred in the wake of suspension to plot a strategy to overcome a cri-
of toll charges on national highways, an official said on Tuesday. sis that has threatened their
The government on March 25 had temporarily suspended economies and kept millions of peo-
toll collections on national highways to ease emergency services ple in their homes under lockdowns.
in view of the coronavirus outbreak. The 10 leaders of the Association
“NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) is likely to of Southeast Asian Nations held
make payments to toll operators for the losses incurred during further talks later in the day, also
the period,” an official said. through video conferencing, with
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said their counterparts from China, Japan
that the NHAI may be directed to compensate the losses incurred. and South Korea, who expressed sup-
“In view of COVID-19, it has been ordered to temporarily port in helping ASEAN fight the
suspend the collection of toll at all toll plazas across India,” Road coronavirus. Vietnam, ASEAN’s
Transport and Highways Gadkari had announced last month. leader this year, has postponed an in-
This will not only reduce inconvenience to emergency ser- person gathering tentatively to June.
vices but also save critical time, the minister has said. “It is in these grim hours that the
The NHAI had rolled out the electronic toll collection pro- solidarity of the ASEAN communi-
gramme across India in December on its over 500 toll plazas while ty shines like a beacon in the dark,”
doubling toll charges from the vehicles entering FASTag lanes Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen
without the tag. Xuan Phuc said in an opening
speech. Containment efforts have
placed the pandemic “actually under
control”, he said, warning against
complacency, with a number of
member countries, including
Indonesia and the Philippines, fear-
ing spikes in infections after large-
scale testing is conducted.
Founded in 1967 in the Cold
War era, ASEAN — a diverse bloc
representing more than 640 million
people — has held annual summits
of its leaders and top diplomats with
ceremonies steeped in tradition,
protocol and photo-ops.
tographs of its leaders locking arms
at annual meetings in a show of unity
despite often-thorny differences.
Diplomats say that unity is now
crucial as the region battles COVID-
19, the disease caused by the coron-
avirus. All of ASEAN’s member
states have been hit by infections,
with the total number of confirmed
cases reaching more than 20,400,
including over 840 deaths, despite
massive lockdowns, travel restric-
tions and home quarantines.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
said the pandemic has had a severe
impact on the global economy, but
he told fellow leaders that their
countries have jointly confronted
past crises and have braced for con-
tingencies. AFP
Asia.
The deal, closed at an enterprise
value of USD 2.8 billion or at 7.2 times,
offers Hindalco potential synergy ben-
efits of USD 150 million on a recurring
basis and also marks Novelis’ entry into
the high-end aerospace segment.
It also offers Hindalco a large
foothold into the Chinese fully inte-
grated metal value-chain as Aleris runs
a facility in Zhenjiang.
It also positions Novelis as the
leader in the US building and con-
struction segment.
Satish Pai, the managing director of
Hindalco, said beyond the many strate-
gic benefits, the deal will generate
around USD 150 million in synergies
and creates a strong financial profile.
However, the deal closure takes the
combined net debt to 3.3x, which Pai
claimed is within the latest guidance of
under 3.5x and well below the initial
ments, most notably aerospace.
“By creating an industry champion,
we are reinforcing our commitment to
our customers, employees and share-
holders. At the same time, with this fur-
ther expansion of our aluminium port-
folio, we have taken a decisive step
towards a more sustainable future,” Birla
said.
By adding Aleris’ operational assets
and workforce, Novelis is poised to
more efficiently serve the growing
Asia market by integrating comple-
mentary assets in the region including
recycling, casting, rolling and finishing
capabilities, he said.
“The acquisition takes forward
our aluminium value-added products
strategy and gives us entry into high-
end aerospace. It further insulates us
from global price volatility and sharp-
ens our focus on the downstream
business.
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nternship programmes are a
Ilearn
great way for graduates to
how organisations work
in practice. While graduates
have a lot of theory under their
belts, internship programmes
help them translate it into
practical knowledge.
Internships also present them
the opportunity to network
with industry peers; often, this
very networking results in a
full-time job. In fact, an intern-
ship is widely regarded as the
arm themselves with contacts
that will helpful in the future.
Without a secure network,
even the most gifted profes-
sionals will struggle in their
careers. With the help of a reli-
able system, even an average
employee can reach the upper
echelons of an industry. After
a point in a person’s career, the
right mix of talent and network
is required to achieve success.
Learn leadership skills:
Having excellent leadership

7KLQNRXWRIER[
first step towards working full- skills is almost a prerequisite for
ver the last two decades, the time with an organisation. success in any domain. In fact,

O study of entrepreneurship has

expanded from just the study
of entrepreneurs and market research
to a much broader subject. Now, the
study also incorporates entrepre-
neurial behavior patterns of an indi-
vidual, a company and the market,
start-ups, and scale-ups, the different
business partnerships, societal and
economic development, and others.
Students are showing immense inter-
est in becoming entrepreneurs than
working for someone else.
India has become the third-largest
start-up ecosystem and numerous
start-ups are emerging every day
with the hope of rising to the top.
Universities are making an effort to
bring the right infrastructure in place
to enhance entrepreneurship educa-
tion. The number of universities now
offering the entrepreneurship course
is slowly rising and soon we will be
looking at more reformed programs
that also help second-third generation
entrepreneurs to help scale their busi-
ness.
Let us look at the five trending
changes that promise to uplift the
innovation and entrepreneurial
ecosystem:
Incorporate entrepreneurial eco-
system and learning: The universities
and colleges have started acknowl-
edging and providing entrepreneur-
ial courses, and are now focusing on
building an advanced curriculum
8]]^ePcX^]P]ST]caT_aT]TdabWX_TSdRPcX^]XbX]cWT[X\T[XVWc
A8C4B76>H0;[XbcbcaT]SX]VRWP]VTbcWPcfX[[bWP_TcWTX]Sdbcah
that will form the heart of this unique
program. More experiential learning,
implementation of innovative ideas,
live projects, building business mod-
els, facing real-world challenges, out-
side classroom learning, is what will
encourage and prepare the students
for what the market has to offer.
Inclusiveness and mass reach:
Institutions have started marketing the
benefits and learning of entrepre-
neurial education. Since, when it
comes to business, we see more male
candidates and also people who have
money to invest, the whole marketing
strategy is based out on the awareness
of investors available for financial sup-
port and how women can benefit and
make this career choice their own. The
whole start-up scenario needs diver-
sity and inclusion, which is now
being worked upon and is open to all
those who has a mind for business.
Building innovation labs and
creative workspace: The next thing
institutes are looking forward to is
2^\_TcXcX^]bfXcW building innovation labs and work-
^cWTaQdSSX]V space where the students have the
tools, materials, and training they
T]caT_aT]Tdab^eTa need to create prototypes and play
X]]^ePcXeT_a^SdRcb around with innovation. A few col-
leges have already established such
P]SbTaeXRTbfX[[ spaces inside their campus for the bet-
VXeTbcdST]cbcWT terment of the students. We are look-
Q^^bccWTh]TTSc^ ing at more communities coming for-
ward and building such an innovative
XSTPcTP]S space where the students get to nur-
bcaPcTVXbTCWT ture their innovation potential.
Boot camps and competitions: A
Q^^cRP\_bfX[[ budding entrepreneur needs the push
WT[_cWT\Va^fP to do his best. Rigorous training pro-
grammes should be conducted fre-
QdbX]TbbbT]bT quently that enrich the students with
cP[Zc^X]eTbc^ab new ideas, techniques, resources, net-
P]STg_P]ScWTXa works, investors, tools, infrastructure,
and the right mentor is what will drive
]Tcf^aZ them launch their start-ups and make
it a flourishing business. Competitions
Here are some ways in
which an internship benefits
graduates.
every company needs a good
leader. Achieving goals and
driving large teams is impossi-
Experience first-hand ble without excellent leadership
knowledge: Theory and prac- skills.
tice are two very different During an internship,
things. What is possible theo- graduates get the chance to see
retically often fails in practice
and vice versa. However, that is
not the case when students
leadership in action. They see
first-hand the qualities of great
leaders. An intern is usually
become interns; it is only then
that they are able to translate
part of a team and is expected
to learn and contribute to the
learnings into practice. collective efforts. They are
with other budding entrepreneurs Student have a world of exceptionally well-poised to
over innovative products and services theory under their belt. By gain because they are young
will give them the boost they need to joining a company, they will and adaptable. By observing
ideate and strategise. The boot camps understand how knowledge the actions of leaders, interns
will help the students grow a business gained in a university will be learn how to manage team
sense, talk to investors and grow their applied at a workplace. They dynamics.
network on a national and global plat- will also gauge the workings of Build a résumé and
form. an organisation. Interns can test improve skills: When it is
Going global: Global problems the dynamics of an office envi- time to look for a full-time job,
need global solutions. Institutions ronment to understand the where one interned becomes
and Governments have started col- kind of people they will work
laborating on using young minds to with in the future. They will
vital. Organisations like to hire
people who have interned in
think and act globally. Budding entre- understand what types of skills leading organisations.
preneurs now think of problems from they will need to excel profes- An intern has the advan-
a global angle and are coming up with sionally. Back in college, they tage of adding the name of the
solutions that may eradicate some can think over their experience company where they interned
major global issues like pollution, and determine what they need to their résumé. They also get
global warming, and the availability to become successful leaders. to add to their CV the kinds of
of clean water. The Government has The necessity of a net- jobs they did and what they
started grants and is investing in such work: Networking plays a huge learnt. Recruiters look for those
projects so that entrepreneurs can pre- role in building a successful
sent them in front of a Global forum. career. It is fair to say that there
who have demonstrated their
effectiveness in internships.
CWTfaXcTaXb<P]PVX]V3XaTRc^aP]S24> is nothing more crucial. Those CWTfaXcTaXb24>
681B1dbX]TbbBRW^^[1P]VP[^aT who learn how to network BTaeTcT[

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9@fQbcYdiY^fYdUcQ``\YSQdY_^c
he IP University invites online given first preference in admission in
T applications for admission to 21
seats of MTech (Engineering Physics)
the programme. All GATE qualified
candidates admitted in the pro-
available at the University School of gramme will be given a scholarship
0DQ\VWXGHQWVJHWFRQIXVHGEHWZHHQEXVLQHVVDQGFRUSRUDWHODZ+RZHYHUWKH\DUHWKH Basic & Applied Sciences. The last
date of submission of application for
of C12,400 per month as per AICTE
norms.
WZRVLGHVRIDFRLQVD\V'568.+9,1'(56,1*+'$5, this programme is April 17, 2020.
The eligibility to apply for this
The admission brochure, online
apply option and other details in this
programme is either BTech in elec- regard are available on the universi-
any students, young profes- thus, takes care of the basic legali- tronics, computer science or post ty’s website www.ipu.ac.in.
M sionals, and start-ups confuse
business law and corporate law to
ties required for a company's estab-
lishment.
graduate in physics or maths.
The admission in this programme
This programme has been
designed to bridge the gap between
be one and the same thing; where- Corporate law, on the other will be given on the basis of Common physics, enginering and technology.
as in reality, the two, at most, can hand, sets and provides the basic Entrance Test (CET) conducted by IP University is the first university in
be said to be two sides of the same guidelines to streamline the pur- the university. the country which is running this
coin. Organisations need advisors chase, sales, and distribution of GATE qualified candidates will be course.
who understand the difference goods and/or items in the market.
between both the laws, to help Corporate law also deals with

them make well-informed deci-
sions.
Incomplete knowledge is one
of the main reasons why so many
people are unable to recognise the
distinct nature of the two laws.
While it is true that on surface,
business and corporate may seem
to mean the same thing, people,
especially law students and young
law professionals need to keep in
mind that law is a very vast field,
containing several branches. Only
by 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 fact
that both business and corporate
law are meant to protect various
organisations and companies in a
number of settings. However, due
to the different nature of the two
laws, they are governed by differ-
ent regulatory bodies.
The business law is governed
by the central and State
Government. But at the same time,
the central and State Governments
play very different roles in gov-
erning the business law. The cen-
tral Government mainly looks
after the laws concerning work-
place security and stock purchas-
es. And, the state government reg-
ulates any additional laws required
to streamline the process.
The corporate law, on the
other hand, is administered and
regulated by the MCA, aka, the
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
through the Companies Act (2013).
Herein, the Companies Act regu-
lates a number of laws including,
incorporation and responsibilities
of the company, dissolution of the
company, and directors and their
roles in the company.
What exactly do business law
and corporate law do?
Business law is usually more
commonly used than corporate
law. It provides a broad range of
legal influence to any business. Any
laws concerning contracts between
directors, employees or clients, or
related to employment, tax, or any
other transaction are covered
under the umbrella of business law.
Mergers, acquisitions, rules for
company formation, and share-
holder rights are also parts of the
business law only. The business law,
bureaucratic procedures prevalent
in the international selling markets.
Many companies tend to over-
look the corporate law and thus end
up in a legal warfare. This is the sole
reason why many multinational
companies now hire an in-house
corporate lawyer to help them
avoid these minor yet significant
corporate law breaches while deal-
ing in the marketplace.
Both corporate and business
laws have significant effects on
companies, and play a crucial role
in maintaining a successful business
flow. 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 take
further on their career ladder.
CWTfaXcTaXb3XaTRc^aBh\QX^bXb;Pf
BRW^^[=PV_da
588C944bcdST]cbbWX]T
?=BQ =4F34;78
he Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) fellowship was announced
T for 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 by
the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India to attract excep-
tionally highly motivated students for pursuing basic science courses and
research career in science.
Students studying in Class XI/XII & first year of graduation are eligible
to appear in the exam. The objective of the programme is to identify students
with 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 Punjabi
Bagh 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.

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?=BQ =4F34;78
he Indian Institute of Technology
T Mandi has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with Shri Lal
Bahadur Shastri Government Medical
College & Hospital (SLBSGMCH), Ner
Chowk, Himachal Pradesh, on April 11
2020, to help tackle COVID-19 in the
Himachal Pradesh region. Under this
MoU, the Institute has extended its sup-
port to set up a real-time Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) laboratory for
diagnosing Coronavirus at SLBSGMCH.
For this purpose, IIT Mandi has
already provided a real-time PCR
machine along with few other equip-
ment as well as trained personnel to
SLBSGMCH. 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 will
be solely used for COVID-19 diagno-
sis and will help in ramping up the test-
ing process by analysing 100 samples if
run for 24 hours continuously. If
required, it can be increased to the
capacity of conducting up to 1000 sam-
ples per day for the detection of
COVID-19. SLBSGMCH will start
analysing the COVID-19 samples after
getting approval from the ICMR.
?=BQ =4F34;78
A s schools and colleges
around the world
have shut down to limit
the coronavirus outbreak,
college authorities and
educators around the
globe have shifted its
focus to the online medi-
um.
With online classes
being the norm today,
Board Infinity, a career
tech startup has intro-
duced micro-learning in
personal finance & invest-
ment planning, data
structure & algorithms, AI
& ML, product manage-
ment, placement &
internship preparation,
and python for data sci-
ence.
These modules are
available from 10 hours to
20 hours depending upon
the learners' needs.
Students can thus master
the fundamentals from
the comfort of their home
and at an affordable cost.
On successful comple-
tion, the learners also
receive a digital certificate
for each program.
In addition, the stu-
dents have the advantage
of live classes & mentoring
from the industry experts
to strengthen the funda-
mentals of each course.
Speaking on this occa-
sion, Sumesh Nair, Co-
Founder of Board Infinity
says, “COVID-19 has
thrown life out of gear for
everyone, whether it is
business, parents or stu-
dents. But thanks to tech-
nology, students are able
to enhance their skills &
continue their education.
Keeping this in mind, we
have introduced a shorter
duration programme for
students & working pro-
fessionals to continue
their learning and get
accustomed to new-age
skills. This is a great time
to upskill till the market
picks up in the upcoming
quarters.”
he Institute of Company stone unturned in creating a
T Secretaries of India has response plan for its employees,
committed to extend its members and students to mit-
unstinted support to the ini- igate the vulnerability of the
tiative of the Government, to
battle the biggest pandemic of
current situation.
While acknowledging the
modern times. continuous efforts made by
In furtherance to the first the various stakeholders of
tranche of collective benefi- ICSI, President ICSI, CS Ashish
cence of C25 lakh, from it’s Garg said: “We extend our
employees and members, the heartfelt appreciation to all
institute made another humble our members, students,
contribution of C5 crore from employees and other stake-
the Corpus of ICSI to the PM holders for standing up to the
Cares Fund on April 9, 2020. occasion and supporting the
As a proponent of cause and hope that we shall
“Together we can, together we continue to support the cause
will”, the institute has left no in times to follow.”
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he PGDM stands for Post Graduate

0178=0EB4:7A8
T Diploma in Management. It is con-
cerned with the teachings of Master’s
of Business Administration on a higher level
and a more practical way. In India, where
new companies are emerging every day, it

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crisis comes with the abili-
is important for companies to hire people
of the highest calibre and proficiency.
Amidst this pandemic quite a few experts
are of the view that the post-pandemic
world will see a huge rise in start-ups simul-
taneously creating a huge demand for fresh
management graduates that can stand tall
in the changed market scenario.
Unlike an MBA which is pretty com-
mon these days, we can see a lot of young
ing efficiency was typically being with the institutional culture in esting, ultimately increasing stu- individuals moving towards the PGDM

A ty to always leave its impact

on education in one way or
another. Be it the cloud of choking
smoke or the anti-CAA riots and
now Coronavirus, educational
institutions are always the first to
bear the effect in the wake of any
forthcoming crisis. But it’s time that
today’s educators rethink higher
education for a world that’s being
overturned by technology.
The unprecedented pace of
societal change is proportionately
carving the need for reform more
urgently than ever. This comes with
pressure on higher education as the
engine of progress, both in premier
as well as mid-level educational
institutions, in a knowledge-based
economy to urge a seamless tran-
sition into the digitalisation of tra-
ditional schooling methods.
This begins with embracing
stackable, online learning, which is
a yielding way that provides both
flexibility and affordability which
in turn increases access to univer-
sity curricula while also allowing
students to engage in learning. But
despite the ample benefits that this
innovative concept has to offer, we
still think of ways that can improve
the learning process and make
online education seem seamless?
There was a time when teach-
determined by the money, time
and resources that are crucial for
obtaining desired results. Which
meant that the learning process
becomes better if fewer expenses
and less time is involved. If you lack
the required finances for develop-
ing exceptional online learning
method then the good practice
would be to seek help from reliable
companies, and their solution is
affordable in nature.
A digitally-powered ecosystem
could seamlessly connect expert
educators from academia or indus-
try to deliver all the custom learn-
ing programmes for students, even
in the state of pandemics at an
affordable price point. After all, the
whole essence of the state-of-art
eLearning system is not just based
on the modules but also the
amount of money that one is suf-
ficiently willing to spend on mak-
ing it worthwhile.
All this is because of the fact
that pedagogy of online education
system is somewhat akin to the
giants of the internet and it must
finally be treated as a core business,
where the educational institutions
will need appropriate budgeting
along with the potential resources
to pull of these demands. So,
bringing in the affordability factor
FT´aTU^acd]PcTc^
order to leave a positive impact on
the overall method of learning
No matter how advance or
even unique the overall e-learning
WPeTcTRW]^[^VhPc system might be, it should always
^daSXb_^bP[c^ be supported by a team of highly
RaTPcTPeXacdP[ skilled as well as competent teach-
ers who are willing to create cours-
[TPa]X]VbhbcT\ es and teaching material according
fWXRWP[[^fbdbc^ to the requirement of the students
T]VPVTP]S — be it comprising of a disciplined
schedule or a well-thought assess-
R^[[PQ^aPcTYdbcPb ment and curriculum, this would
fT[[PbfTfTaTX] make the online learning process
PR[Pbba^^\8cXb as seamless as it can get.
X]cTaTbcX]Vc^bTT We’re fortunate to have the
technology at our disposal to cre-
PRcXeXcXTbcWPcPaT ate a virtual learning system which
]^f_^bbXQ[T cordially allows us to engage and
^][X]TcWa^dVWP] collaborate just as well as we were
present in the classroom. It is note-
TUUTRcXeT[TPa]X]V worthy to see the variety of activ-
T]eXa^]\T]c ities that are now possible online
and allow through an effective
learning environment.
The most formative practice is
deepens the global mandate that that the teachers utilise a combi-
online education's potential nation of both synchronous and
becomes complementary. asynchronous activities, fabricating
The next in line is to carry a a thorough blend of online learn-
very effective approach which pre- ing styles by using newer and more
cisely directs every aspect of online collaborative video and audio tools.
education including the teaching, Operating with a mix of these
curriculum, practice, administra- activities will help in making the
tion, technology and even aligns content more exciting and inter-
dent engagement with both the
teacher and the other leaners.
It is only wise to acknowledge
the growing importance of mobile
learning for online teachers, with
students natively getting accus-
tomed to using their mobiles not
just for gaming and connecting but
also for learning. It is to be admin-
istered that mobile learning holds
an edge over learners, allowing
them to learn on the go and access
up-to-date course materials along
with all the relevant content any-
where, anytime.
With the bite-sized informa-
tion available readily which can be
digested quickly and at ease, learn-
ers can really dig deep to work
through 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 impart
online education in a way that can
be easily accessed via mobile
phones, laptops, and iPads to max-
imise your teaching methods and
demonstrate to the learners that
you are in prior touch with the
modern workforce along with its
relevant technology.
CWTfaXcTaXb24>U^d]STa
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programme which is the upgraded and a
more relevant version of MBA. Historically
speaking a person holding a PGDM degree
is more likely to score a higher position in
a company because of his practical acumen.
This is true because of the skillset impart-
ed and diversified teaching methods used
in PGDM curriculum. As soon as the mar-
ket opens after the lockdown the corporate
world will start to look out for managers
with diverse skillsets further enhancing the
relevance of a PDGM programme because
during this programme the graduates
develop the right skills that make them
more suitable for coping up with the
changed environment. Here are five PGDM
skills can promote inclusion and diversity
in the corporate world.
PGDM is and will always be an
industry-oriented programme: Due to the
autonomous nature of the institutions that
offer PGDM program, the curriculum is
always industry oriented and as the indus-
try is changing amidst this pandemic so is
the pedagogy of these institutions. An indi-
vidual holding a PGDM degree will be
equipped to cope with the dynamic envi-
ronment that is soon to come because he
will already be in close proximity with the
leaders and corporations already riding this
change.
Practical approach: The PGDM has
been designed for practical usage — the stu-
dents not only learn theoretical knowledge
of the concepts but they get to apply those
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principles in real-life situations as well. What
better course during these changing times.
Preference for higher studies:
Companies in India and abroad tend to pre-
fer candidates of PGDM over MBA for
managerial positions because of the very
nature of the course. The PGDM graduates
are more adaptable and dynamic.
Faculty with industry exposure: As
PGDM is a PG course, the faculty who
teaches these subjects are among the best
people in their field of work. Most of the
faculty members that you see here would
be people with a lot of industry exposure.
This breaks the convention of teaching and
brings out the best in both the students and
teachers as they groom the students using
their personal experience and practical
knowledge of the industry.
Job-related skills: The practical knowl-
edge received by a student is the most
important factor in his journey towards suc-
cess, a PGDM course ensures just that, and
as the times change so will the teaching pat-
tern in a PGDM course. It will be modelled
to become more in sync with the market
and will prepare the students for actual jobs.
The skillsets they have will go a long way
in their journey towards success and
achievements.

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pplications are invit-
A ed from highly
skilled candidates
from across the globe have
to manage their finances for
an undergraduate course by
applying for International
Undergraduate Entrance
Scholarships sponsored by
the University of Guelph,
Canada for the academic
The Swansea UK
invites applications for its
fully-funded MBA
Centenary International
for academic year 2020-
2021. This scholarship is
open to students of any
nationality.
The programme offers
£20,000 to excellent aspi-
rants towards tuition fees.
Eligibility: Must be
fully self-funding your
studies. Students are also
required to have an under-
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session 2020-2021.
Eligibility: Must
remain registered in full-
time studies and achieve a
minimum 80.0% average in
their previous academic
year of full-time study (typi-
cally fall/winter). Attach the
following documents: CV,
Proof of language proficien-
cy (international candi-
dates) and Contact infor-
mation (email, address,
phone).
Language require-
ment: The candidate should
have a very good command
of the English language.
Therefore, the application
graduate degree or equiva-
lent with at least a 2:1.
Must have accepted an
offer to study on the MBA
course at the university.
Applicants must create
and submit 4-5 minute
video (mp4), 4-5 minute
podcast (mp3), 1,500 word
diary entry (doc, pdf or
ppt). Include full name and
student number in submis-
sion. Submit their certifi-
cates, CV and academic
transcripts.
Language require-
ment: Applicants from
outside the home country
will often need to meet
C
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should be written in
English.
Award: $5,500 – $8,500
How to apply: In order
to apply for the opportunity,
candidates must submit the
application form to the uni-
versity.
Application deadline:
June 1, 2020.
specific English language
requirements in order to
be able to study at the uni-
versity.
How to apply: Submit
completed documents to
som-mba@swansea.ac.uk.
Application deadline:
It is June 30, 2020.
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80=B Q =4F34;78 Someone has to give us detail where to bat,
what to do?” said Raina who has played 18
eteran India batsman Suresh Raina on Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20s for India.

V Tuesday said MS Dhoni was trying to

innovate a lot while batting during the
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp which got
Putting his weight behind young
wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant,
Raina said he is lacking in confidence at ILQLVKHURIDOOWLPH¶
cancelled midway due to the COVID-19 the moment and seniors need to guide
pandemic. There has been a lot of debate him. ?C8Q =4F34;78
about Dhoni’s future if the Indian Premier “Rishabh Pant is very talented.
League (IPL) does not eventually see the light Someone has to step up and guide him. finisher of repute himself, former Australia batman
of the day due to the lockdown getting
extended till May 3.
When I used to play, Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh)
paa used to tell me, ‘you make mistakes
A Michael Hussey believes India’s World Cup-winning for-
mer captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s “unbelievable power”
“He was batting really well. Cricket is still and we will guide you’. So Rishabh and “self-belief ” make him the greatest of all time in that role.
left in him. He has looked innovative. We should be backed. He has hundreds “Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the crick-
played practice games and those sixes are as abroad and he is not a fluke player. eting world has ever produced,” Hussey told Sanjay Manjarekar
big as they were. Three hours of batting in Somewhere I think he is not getting on ESPNcricinfo.
the evening, that too, in Chennai heat is not confidence..he is missing something,” “Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition cap-
easy and we did that (during the camp). If he said. tain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows
you ask me, Mahi bhai is batting brilliant- that when he needs to clear the ropes he can do it. He has
ly,” Raina said in an Instagram Live session. /62  659:654+* that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn’t have that kind of belief =PcWP];h^]RT[TQaPcTbPUcTaWTSXb\XbbTSEXaPc:^W[X RaXRZTcR^\Pd
“His body is not showing signs of age- /4*+,/4/:+2? in myself.”
ing. He was looking different and was try-
ing to do something else, something differ-
The B CCI
Tuesday told IPL fran-
on The 44-year-old Hussey said he also picked up a trick or
two about chasing from Dhoni while playing for Chennai FX[[QTX]cTaTbcX]Vc^bTT:^W[X
PSP_cc^T\_chbcPSXd\b);h^]
ent, new. So people will get to know when chises that the event Super Kings.
they see him,” said Raina who won the 2011 stands “postponed indef- “I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over. And I
World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy initely” after the lock- learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that
under Dhoni’s leadership. down to combat the he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his ?C8Q BH3=4H around the world.
Raina further said he is still hopeful of COVID-19 pan- cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler “I haven’t thought about
a comeback in the T20 team ahead of the demic was extended as well.” ricket in front of empty no crowds or massive
World Cup, slated to be held in October.
The 33-year old also slammed the selec-
till May 3, leaving
no scope for the
Talking about the traits of great players, Hussey said: “They
don’t hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move
C stands came up for dis-
cussion between Australian
crowds, it’s just about the
opportunity of playing
tors for not providing enough reason league to take place on quickly. They don’t let a loss or a win hamper their think- off-spinner Nathan Lyon against India again,” he said.
as to why he was dropped after the during its designated ing. They are always consistent, and level headed whether it’s and pacer Mitchell Starc Australia tasted their
England tour in 2018. window. MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting”. with both wondering how first Test series loss to India
“I have played for 14-15 years. While the development hasn’t been Dhoni led the CSK to three IPL titles besides winning the Indian captain Virat Kohli on home turf in 2018-19
Under Mahi bhai then Dada officially announced as yet but it is learnt that now-defunct Champions League T20 twice. would adapt to such an when Kohli’s men handed
(Sourav Ganguly)..they always the BCCI has reached out to all the stake- Asked what is the reason behind three-time champions atmosphere if their Test them a 2-1 defeat.
used to tell me what was wrong. holders, including the eight franchises and CSK’s consistent run in the IPL, Hussey said: “Supportive own- series this year is held with- However, with the likes
Virat (Kohli) also does that but the broadcasters, to convey that the event ers who let the coach (Stephen) Fleming and captain Dhoni out fans. of Steve Smith and David
the selectors don’t all the stands “postponed and not cancelled”. decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the India are set to play a Warner, who were under
time. “Yes, the BCCI has intimated us that IPL coach and the captain, Dhoni’s leadership. four-match Test series in suspension last time, and
“They should has been postponed for the time being but “This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And Australia later this year. Marnus Labuschagne, the
have taken more they are hopeful of finding a window later once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust But with the COVID-19 Australian batting unit
responsibility this year as and when things normalise,” that otherwise takes time to grow.” pandemic wreaking havoc, seems pretty solid now.
(when dealing a veteran franchise official said. However, Hussey believes it will be more challenging for speculation is rife that the “They had the wood
with) senior It is understood that BCCI president CSK to build a new team once Dhoni hangs his boots. games could be held behind over us last time they came
players. You Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah “I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved closed doors. over here but we’re a much
need to know were waiting for the government direc- in some way or the other. However, whenever the change of This led Lyon and stronger Australian cricket
the reason why tive and once the lockdown was extend- guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build teammate Mitchell Starc to side at the moment, and I’m
you are not bat- ed till May 3 on Tuesday, they saw no a brand new team, and use their existing philosophy as they discuss how Kohli’s on-field just unbelievably excited
ting in nets one possibility of holding the IPL during its enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more demeanour would change about playing them here at
fine morning. traditional April-May window. challenging in current times,” he said. without the backing and home.”
noise of the crowd, some-
thing the Indian captain ¨6;0'8' 4+=='22©
7`fcURjEVdedhZ]]_`eRTYZVgVUVdZcVUcVdf]ed+ GGD thrives on.
“He’s probably good
Apart Kohli, Lyon also
heaped praise on
enough to adapt to any sce- Cheteshwar Pujara and has
80=BQ =4F34;78 want to see teams travelling and captain Nasser Hussain believes nario. But I was talking to termed him as ‘new wall’ of
winning matches on away turf that quality of pitches and spec- Mitch Starc the other day Team India.
ormer Indian batsman VVS which makes it more interesting tator experience is key to preserv- and we actually said that if Pujara was one of the
F Laxman has rejected the idea
of having four-day Test matches,
for spectators,” he added.
The ICC cricket committee
ing Test cricket.
“The keys areas I can pin-
we are playing with no
crowd, it’ll be quite amazing
main architects of India’s
famous win in 2018-19. He
saying reducing the length of the is considering having four-day point to one’s pitches is that if to see Virat trying to rev up scored three centuries and
game by a day will reduce the Tests a part of the World Test they are flat, like one in the (empty) seats,” Lyon was the leading run-getter
chances of it yielding the desired C’ship from 2023. The ICC’s Cambridge which years ago was quoted as saying by in the four-match rubber.
results.
“I am not really a fan of this
increasing demand for event
windows, the proliferation
when Jimmy Anderson got 90
odd runs from 600 balls.
&DQ¶WLPDJLQHKRVWLQJ:RUOG cricket.Com.Au.
“It’s going to be a little
According to Lyon,
Australia need to reassess
four-day Test cricket, five days fits of domestic T20 leagues, The games on these pitch- 7LQHPSW\VWDGLXPV%RUGHU bit different, but Virat is a their approach to Pujara
perfect because it gets more BCCI’s demands for its es are boring and old superstar. He’ll be able to next time around.
results and reducing it the four own sizeable share of school. Those days have got Melbourne : Former Australia captain Allan adapt to any climate that “I think Pujara flies
days will not achieve the desired bilateral calendar space, to go in Test match cricket, Border has given a thumbs down to the concept we’re able to play in,” Lyon under the radar a little bit
results according to me,” Laxman and the costs of staging 300+ score in first innings of Australia hosting the ICC WorldT20 in empty added. when you look at the
said while speaking on Star Test series are all said where the ball slightly domi- stadiums in the wake of the COVID-19 pandem- Sports calendars have Indian side,” Lyon said.
Sports Cricket Connected show. to be the factors con- nates back making it great for ic. Currently, the Australian government has been shredded worldwide, “Obviously you look at
“Another point aspect is the tributing to the viewing and crowd experi- sealed its border for six months till September 30 including international and Rahane and Virat and these
toss, especially during the over- move. ence. The match gives a value to deal with the global health crisis. domestic cricket all over. guys. But Pujara is a wall.
DbPX]1^[cbW^fTSWTbbcX[[PUTfbcT_bPWTPSfWT]WT seas tour the captain from the vis- Meanwhile on add to the tickets bought With the flagship event starting October 18, The 32-year-old Lyon is He’s the new wall I should
_^bcTSP_XRcdaT^UWX\^dcbcaX__X]VWXbaXeP[bPccWT!' iting side gets to decide what he the same show, and England Test match there are speculations that Cricket Australia might still excited by the prospect say. It helps that he played
1TXYX]V>[h\_XRbfXcWRWTTZhRP_cX^])±B^RXP[3 3XbcP]RX]V² wants to choose because we former England ticket are not cheap.” be forced to conduct matches in empty stadiums, of the series against India. exceptionally well last time
something that is not acceptable to the World Cup “I’m excited about the out here. He adapted his
winning former skipper. prospect of India coming game. He had a bit of luck

=TdTaTgcT]bX^] “I just can’t imagine playing at empty stadi-

cP[ZbbcP[[Pc1PhTa]
05?Q <D=827
helsea and
C Manchester City
are reportedly interest-
ed in signing Germany
captain Manuel Neuer,
whose contract exten-
sion talks have stalled at
Bayern Munich,
according to Kicker
magazine.
The goalkeeper’s
current deal expires in
June 2021 and Neuer,
34, is said to be angry
that details of the rene-
gotiations have been
leaked to the German
press, according to
Kicker.
Germany’s top-sell-
ing daily Bild claims
that Neuer’s agent
Thomas Kroth has
asked Bayern for a
salary for his client of
20 million euros ($22
million) per season.
If the talks fail, club
captain Neuer could be
free to leave Bayern in
June and attract the
interest of the Premier
League clubs.
Kicker’s chief
reporter Karlheinz
Wild says the
“willingness to
resume negotia-
tions” is weak
on both sides
between
Bayern and
Neuer.
“It could
still take
weeks, even
months, before a final
decision is taken.
Positions have so
far become too
hardened.”
According to
Bild, Neuer reported-
ly wants a contract
extension until 2025,
but Bayern are only
prepared to offer a deal
until 2023 — when he
will be 37 years old —
with the option of an
extra year.
The leaking of the
details of Neuer’s
demands has ‘seriously
shaken’ the trust
between the player and
his club, according to
Kicker.
Neuer, who helped
Germany win the 2014
World Cup title, has
been named world
goalkeeper of the year
four times.
He has kept 191
clean sheets in 373
appearances for Bayern
since joining from
Schalke in 2011 and
made 92 appearances
for Germany.
5HPDLQLQJ,/HDJXH
PDWFKHVVHWWREHFDQFHOOHG
:>;:0C0) The remaining 28
matches of the suspended I-
League is set to be cancelled
in the wake of the extension
of nationwide lockdown.
Mohun Bagan will be
officially crowned the I-
League champions as they
have already clinched the
title with four rounds left in
the competition.
A top official of the All
India Football Federation
said that a formal decision to
call off the remaining match-
es of the I-League is expect-
ed to be taken in a video call
meeting on Thursday.
³=^1?[P]´U^aP]^cWTa>[h_^bc_^]T\T]c
0? Q C>:H>
okyo organizers on Tuesday
T said that they have no ‘B Plan’
in the event the Olympics need
to be postponed again because
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Masa Takaya, the
spokesman for the Tokyo
Olympics, said organizers
are proceeding under the
assumption the Olympics
will open on July 23, 2021.
The Paralympics follow
on August 24.
Those dates were set
last month by the
International Olympic
Committee and Japanese
officials after the coron-
avirus pandemic made it
clear the Olympics could not
The other issues to be
sorted out are determining
the second and third place
clubs as well as the team to be
relegated to second division.
There is a three-way race
among East Bengal, Minerva
Punjab (both with 23 points
from 16 matches) and Real
Kashmir (22 points from 15
matches) for the runners-up
slot. With cancellation of
remaining matches on cards,
the AIFF meeting will have to
take a call on a likely split of
the prize money among the
second and third placed
teams. PTI
be held as scheduled this summer.
“We are working toward the
new 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 to
hold the Olympics in just over 15
months. Several Japanese journal-
ums ... It defies belief,” he told Fox Sports News.
In fact, Border said that he doesn’t see the
out to Australia, it’s up
there with the biggest series
alongside the Ashes.
which is what you need
when you’re playing at the
top level.
World T20 happening if spectators are not allowed
inside the stadiums as the purpose of the sport
is lost. “Having teams, support staff and every-
They’re an absolute power-
house of the cricket world,
and to have those guys out
“He obviously played
his absolute backside off,
which for India was good to
one else associated with the game wandering here is going to be fantastic,” see but we’re going to have
around the country, playing games of cricket, but he said. to make sure that come this
you can’t let people into the grounds. I just can’t Lyon remains hopeful summer we have to come
see it happening,” Border said.
For him, it’s an either-or situation for Cricket
that the home series will go
ahead, with or without fans.
with some new plans to
combat Pujara. As I said, he
Australia. “It’s either you play it and everyone just “Playing in front of flies under the radar a lit-
gets on with the job and we’re past this pandem-
ic or it just has to be cancelled and you try to fit
crowds or no crowds is out
of our control, we’ve got to
tle bit — he definitely won’t
he flying under the radar
<Pa^dP]T5T[[PX]X_^bTbU^a_W^c^fXcW\TSXRP[bcPUU
it in somewhere else,” said the 64-year-old
Border. PTI
follow the advice of all the
amazing medical people
come this summer,” he
added.
5T[[PX]X^dc^UW^b_XcP[PUcTaeXadbbRPaT E`a:eR]ZR_U`Te`cRXRZ_de
>RjcVdeRceW`cDVcZV2
05?Q B70=6708 Super League, will now time has come for me to
spend 14 days in quarantine thank from the bottom of
ormer Manchester for further observation, his my heart the medical staff the end of next month, with
F United star Marouane
Fellaini was discharged on
club Shandong Luneng said.
The Belgium interna-
of the hospital, their nurs-
ing staff as well as my club
players returning to training on
May 4.
Tuesday after spending tional said on March 22 that and its medical staff for tak- “If I had to give a techni-
more than three weeks in a he had tested positive for ing such good care of me cal view, sincerely it would not
Chinese hospital being the virus, having just with so much kindness and be a favourable one. That being
treated for coronavirus. returned to China, but for ensuring my comfort said, it will be of course for the
The 32-year-old mid- assured fans that he was whilst there. politicians to decide,” said
fielder, the only player feeling fine. “The hardest part is Giovanni Rezza, the head of
known to have contracted In an Instagram update behind me! Let’s keep fight- infectious diseases at Italy’s
the disease in the Chinese on Tuesday, he wrote: “The ing, it’s important.” National Institute of Health.
“I’ve heard certain people
propose more strict observa-
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tions with players tested every
few days. But sincerely it seems
to me a slightly far-fetched the-
ists raised the question on the call. ory. And we’re almost in May
“All I can tell you today is that ?0A8B) A decision on whether to go already.
the new games’ dates for both the ahead with June’s French Formula “It’s obvious that politics
Olympic and Paralympic Games
have been just set up,” Takaya
One Grand Prix behind closed doors
or to postpone or scrap the event will
2aXbcXP]^A^]P[S^aT_aTbT]cb9deT]cdb
X]BTaXT0 D450CfXccTa will decide. But it’s a sport that
involves contact and that con-
said. be made in the coming days, organ- 05?Q A><4 tact could imply a certain risk
“In that respect, Tokyo 2020 isers said. of transmission.”
and all concerned parties now are The grand prix scheduled for leading Italian doctor spe- The Italian Football
doing their very best effort to
deliver the games next year.”
June 28 is the first race on the
revised Formula One world champi-
A cialising in infectious
diseases said on Monday
Federation (FIGC) is set
to meet on Wednesday
IOC President Thomas Bach onship calendar with nine races he would be against Serie to discuss the medical
was asked about the possibility of already scrapped or suspended. A restarting its season protocols surrounding
a postponement in an interview Following French President next month. players training again,
published in the German newspa- Emmanuel Macron’s announcement Football across the with lockdown measures
per Die Welt on Sunday. that the lockdown in France will be countr y, which has in the country extended
He did not answer the question extended until May 11 and public recorded more than 20,000 to May 3.
directly, but said later that Japanese gatherings banned until mid-July, a deaths from the coronavirus “We’ll start, I hope, at the
organizers and Prime Minister spokesman for the race organisers pandemic, has been postponed start of May with tests to make
Shinzo Abe indicated they “could said that they “have been studying all since March 9 due to the out- sure the players are negative
not manage a postponement scenarios” including postponement break. and that training can start,” the
beyond next summer at the lastest.” or staging the event behind closed According to local reports FIGC’s president Gabriele
doors. AFP the league could begin again at Gravina told Sky Sport.