english news paper | breaking news | latest today news in ......15 places, including delhi, ... must...

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T he Niti Aayog has identified 15 places, including Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, as “high case load” and said India’s success in battling coronavirus pandemic is dependent on them. Out of these 15, seven districts show particularly high case volumes. They are Hyderabad (Telangana), Pune (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Delhi. Other high case load places that are “critical” in the battle against Covid-19 include — Vadodara (Gujarat), Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Thane (Maharashtra), Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Surat (Gujarat). “These 15 districts are crit- ical in our battle against Covid- 19. Of them, 7 show particu- larly high case volumes. India’s success in battling Covid-19 is dependent on them. We must aggressively monitor, contain, test, treat in these districts! We must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. As per the report, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the only States where three districts in each are in “critical” situation. Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat districts and Maharashtra’s Thane, Pune and Mumbai are declared “crit- ical”. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan with two districts each are mentioned in the list with Bhopal and Indore, and Jodhpur and Jaipur respective- ly as critical hotspots. Among the “high case vol- ume districts”, Delhi with 100 per cent contribution to “State case load” and 12.62 per cent contribution to “India case load” is passing through most crucial phase in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic amid reports of 54 deaths and 3,108 confirmed infected cases, the data said. Ahmedabad in Gujarat is second in terms of contribution to State case load estimated 66.07 per cent and 9.43 per cent to India case load; followed by Hyderabad with 55.64 per cent State case load and 2.41 India case load and Indore with 49.57 per cent State case load and 4.48 per cent India case load contribution. Jaipur with 36.98 per cent State case load and 3.49 per cent India case load is on the fifth position in terms of “high case volumes” followed by Mumbai with 33.30 per cent State case load and 11.62 per cent India case load contribu- tion; and Pune with 8.45 per cent State case load and 2.95 per cent India case load. Kant said if we carefully observe the daily and weekly case growth rates in high case- load States in conjunction, it is “encouraging” that Telangana is showing noticeable improve- ment. The Government had on March 29 constituted 11 empowered groups to suggest measures to ramp up health- care and put the economy back on track. Kant heads the Empowered Group coordinat- ing with private sector NGOs and international bodies. A s the Covid-19 cases breached 30,000 marks and death surging to 1,000, India moved up by two slots to the 15th position among the list of 20-worst Covid-19 affected nations in the world in just a week. The total confirmed cases in the country stood at 31,284 and 977 deaths, at 11 pm on Tuesday on the basis of figures reaching from States. Experts said that the num- ber could be on the higher side given that India is yet to ramp up the testing in the country. Global data shows that as on Tuesday, just 519 people per million population are being tested in India. This is quite low when compared to other coun- tries like Belgium and Canada where the count is over 19,000 per million people. Worldwide, over 31 lakh people have been infected with Covid-19 which has claimed more than 2.1 lakh lives so far. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi remained the worst affected States, while Madhya Pradesh stole march over Rajasthan on Tuesday to occu- py the fourth place. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP and Andhra Pradesh were ranked behind them in that order. Maharashtra has 9,243 cases. Gujarat reported anoth- er big spike of 226 new cases, raising total confirmed cases to 3,774 and 181 death, 19 of them on Tuesday alone. National Capital Delhi reported 206 new cases to reach a total of 3,314 and 54 deaths. After recording 75 cases cases on Monday, Madhya Pradesh saw big leap adding 222 cases on Tuesday for a total of 2,387 cases and 120 deaths. It turned out to be a Black Tuesday in Tamil Nadu as 121 persons tested positive for coronavirus on a single say tak- ing the number of Covid-19 patients in the State to 2,058. The last few days have been showing some kind of fluctuations in the number of persons tested positive for the pandemic which encouraged the government to loosen the lockdown guidelines and this could have played havoc, according to medical experts. Continued on Page 2 J ust as plasma therapy offered some hope for critical Covid- 19 patients, many of whom responded well to it, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday tried to play down its efficacy saying it is in experimental stage and warned it can cause life threatening complications if not used in proper manner under proper guidelines. The Ministry’s observa- tion comes days after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a health research wing of the Ministry, gave permission to a string of States such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Delhi to use plasma of the Covid-19 cured patient for the treatment of the virus-infected person. Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said currently there are no approved therapies for Covid-19 and there is not enough evidence to claim that plasma therapy can be used for treatment of the disease. “The ICMR has launched a national-level study to assess the efficacy of plasma therapy in treatment of Covid-19,” he said. “Till ICMR concludes its study and a robust scientific proof is available, plasma ther- apy should be used only for research or trial purpose. If plasma therapy is not used in proper manner under proper guidelines, then it can also cause life threatening compli- cations. It’ll be harmful to patient and illegal,” Agarwal added. Incidentally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too said in view of positive results from a few Covid-19 patients, his Government will conduct more trials in the sector. On his appeal scores of Tablighi Jammat members who recov- ered from the Covid-19 disease registered to donate their plas- ma. “The Centre had given us permission only for limited trials of plasma therapy on crit- ically ill Covid-19 patients at LNJP hospital. We will conduct more trials in the next 2-3 days and then will seek permission from the central government next week, for all the serious patients,” Kejriwal said. Continued on Page 2 O n a day when the Delhi Government lifted lock- down restrictions for electri- cians, plumbers, and water purifiers maintenance techni- cians, the Capital crossed 3,314 coronavirus cases with no deaths reported in last two days, according to officials. However, the relaxation will not be applicable in con- tainment zones. Delhi has 99 containment zones and 54 deaths have been registered till Tuesday evening. A CRPF man, who died due to Covid-19 in Delhi, is a first such case among CAPFs. An official order issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev late on Monday after an empow- ered group, constituted by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, recommended that a section of service rendering persons must be allowed to work even if the lockdown is extended beyond May 3. Other activities that have been exempted are veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology, and sale and supply of vaccine and medicines. Movement (inter and intra- state, including by air) of all medical and veterinary per- sonnel, scientists, nurses, para- medical staff, lab technicians, mid-wives and other hospital support services including ambulances have also been allowed. The operation of shelter homes for children, disabled, mentally challenged, senior citizens, destitute, women and widows, shops of educational books for students, shops sell- ing electric fans have also been allowed to open. The Chief Secretary asked the agencies concerned, includ- ing the Delhi Police, to ensure that “status quo” be main- tained across the city with regard to restrictions that will continue until further orders. The MHA had earlier allowed these services. D ays after the lynching of two seers of Juna Akhara in Palghar, Maharashtra, which created a massive furore across the country, two sadhus were battered to death in Bulundshahr late on Monday. The incident created ten- sion in the area but swift action by the police defused the situ- ation. The police nabbed the alleged killer Murari, also known as Raju, about 2 kilo- metres away from the spot. He was allegedly under the influ- ence of cannabis. The accused revealed that after taking bhang on Monday night he went to the temple and killed the sadhus with a lathi. He said that he carried out God’s will, denying he had any quarrel with the priests. The senior official said the youth will be interrogated at length later as he was still under the influence of the drug. After the news spread about the murder, tension ran high in the area and people assembled in large numbers near the temple. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has assured strict action against the accused. Yogi, who was highly critical of the Palghar incident, received a call from Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who requested him to take strict action against the culprit. Continued on Page 2 H undreds of migrant work- ers came out on roads and vandalised the office of an under-construction building and some vehicles in an area of Gujarat’s Surat district on Tuesday while demanding that they be sent back to their native places, police said. The workers were earlier hired by contractors engaged in the construction of the Diamond Bourse Complex in Khajod area of Surat, they said. It all started when the workers learnt that their con- tractors have brought in more labourers from other parts of Gujarat to speed up the con- struction work after getting approval of the district collec- tor, DCP (zone 3) Vidhi Chaudhari said. “They got angry after see- ing labourers from outside at the site. They claimed that these outsiders may be carry- ing coronavirus. These workers then started demanding that if permission can be granted to bring outsiders here, then why can’t they travel to their native places. This demand triggered the violence,” Chaudhari said. The angry workers dam- aged the administrative office of the under-construction site and two cars parked near the office, she said. “We have started the process to lodge an FIR in this connection,” the official said. Earlier, in a separate inci- dent in the morning, a police- man was injured when some locals threw stones at the secu- rity personnel who were trying to enforce lockdown in Dindoli area of Surat city, DCP (zone- 1) RP Barot said. Five persons were detained for the attack on the policemen, he said. Continued on Page 2 T he Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed for two months the operationalisation of the State Government’s order to deduct a month’s salary of its employees to tide over the financial crisis caused by coro- navirus pandemic. In its order, the Government had said the State Government employees’ salary for six days every month would be deducted for the next five months. The HC made it clear, “Payment of salary is certain- ly not a matter of bounty. It is a right vested in every indi- vidual to receive the salary.” The Government’s deci- sion to defer the employees’ salary of six days every month for the next five months had upset the Government staff who had voluntarily come for- ward to donate a day’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund immediately. Detailed copy on P5 O utstanding loans amount- ing to 68,607 crore of top 50 wilful bank loan defaulters in the country, including firms of Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, have been technically written off till September 30, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India said in a RTI reply. Absconding dimantaire Choksi’s company Gitanjali Gems tops the list of these defaulters with a whopping amount of 5,492 crore, according to the list. Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines figures in the list at number 9, with outstanding of 1943 crore which have been techni- cally written off by the banks. In his application, RTI activist Saket Gokhale had sought the list of defaulters as on February 16, but the RBI said the requested information is not available. Continued on Page 2 Washington: The US is car- rying out a “very serious” investigation against China, President Donald Trump has said, indicating that his administration is looking at a bigger compensation from Beijing than the $140 billion being sought by Germany over the coronavirus pan- demic. Noida: Five more people, including two teenagers, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar on Tuesday, taking the district’s tally to 134, officials said. Noida: The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has made arrangements of free cab ser- vice for people who need to travel to Delhi for special med- ications like dialysis or cancer treatment amid the lockdown imposed to control the spread of coronavirus. T he Haryana Police on Tuesday arrested 30 people for allegedly attacking police party at the cremation ground in Chandpura village of Ambala Cantonment on Monday evening. Police on Monday had asked the local residents to allow the cremation of an 82- year-old local woman, whom they suspected to have died of coronavirus but the residents of the village threw stones at the police and doctors at the cre- mation ground. The police had to open fire in the air to disperse the mob when vil- lagers repeatedly objected to the cremation of the old woman. Talking to The Pioneer, DSP, Ambala Cantt, Ram Kumar said taking serious note of it, a case under appropriate sections of IPC has been reg- istered against more than 150 people in the Police Station concerned. So far, 30 persons involved in this incident have been arrested. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: China on Tuesday said it was “deeply concerned” over the evaluation result of the Covid-19 rapid testing kits sup- plied by two Chinese firms and subsequent decision by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to not use the equipment, and hoped that India will resolve the issue “reasonably”. P2

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Page 1: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......15 places, including Delhi, ... must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. ... “They got angry after see-ing

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The Niti Aayog has identified15 places, including Delhi,

Mumbai and Ahmedabad, as“high case load” and said India’ssuccess in battling coronaviruspandemic is dependent onthem. Out of these 15, sevendistricts show particularly highcase volumes. They areHyderabad (Telangana), Pune(Maharashtra), Jaipur(Rajasthan), Indore (MadhyaPradesh), Ahmedabad(Gujarat), Mumbai(Maharashtra) and Delhi.

Other high case load placesthat are “critical” in the battleagainst Covid-19 include —Vadodara (Gujarat), Kurnool(Andhra Pradesh), Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh), Jodhpur(Rajasthan), Agra (UttarPradesh), Thane(Maharashtra), Chennai (TamilNadu) and Surat (Gujarat).

“These 15 districts are crit-ical in our battle against Covid-19. Of them, 7 show particu-larly high case volumes. India’ssuccess in battling Covid-19 isdependent on them. We mustaggressively monitor, contain,

test, treat in these districts! Wemust win here,” NITI AayogCEO Amitabh Kant said.

As per the report, Gujaratand Maharashtra are the onlyStates where three districts ineach are in “critical” situation.Gujarat’s Ahmedabad,Vadodara and Surat districtsand Maharashtra’s Thane, Puneand Mumbai are declared “crit-ical”. Madhya Pradesh andRajasthan with two districtseach are mentioned in the listwith Bhopal and Indore, andJodhpur and Jaipur respective-ly as critical hotspots.

Among the “high case vol-ume districts”, Delhi with 100per cent contribution to “Statecase load” and 12.62 per centcontribution to “India caseload” is passing through mostcrucial phase in the fightagainst the novel coronaviruspandemic amid reports of 54

deaths and 3,108 confirmedinfected cases, the data said.

Ahmedabad in Gujarat issecond in terms of contributionto State case load estimated66.07 per cent and 9.43 per centto India case load; followed byHyderabad with 55.64 per centState case load and 2.41 Indiacase load and Indore with49.57 per cent State case loadand 4.48 per cent India caseload contribution.

Jaipur with 36.98 per centState case load and 3.49 percent India case load is on thefifth position in terms of “highcase volumes” followed byMumbai with 33.30 per centState case load and 11.62 percent India case load contribu-tion; and Pune with 8.45 percent State case load and 2.95per cent India case load.

Kant said if we carefullyobserve the daily and weeklycase growth rates in high case-load States in conjunction, it is“encouraging” that Telangana isshowing noticeable improve-ment. The Government had onMarch 29 constituted 11empowered groups to suggestmeasures to ramp up health-care and put the economy backon track. Kant heads theEmpowered Group coordinat-ing with private sector NGOsand international bodies.

����� 345�6478

As the Covid-19 casesbreached 30,000 marks and

death surging to 1,000, Indiamoved up by two slots to the15th position among the list of20-worst Covid-19 affectednations in the world in just aweek.

The total confirmed casesin the country stood at 31,284and 977 deaths, at 11 pm onTuesday on the basis of figuresreaching from States.

Experts said that the num-ber could be on the higher sidegiven that India is yet to rampup the testing in the country.Global data shows that as onTuesday, just 519 people permillion population are beingtested in India. This is quite lowwhen compared to other coun-tries like Belgium and Canadawhere the count is over 19,000per million people.

Worldwide, over 31 lakhpeople have been infected withCovid-19 which has claimedmore than 2.1 lakh lives so far.

Maharashtra, Gujarat andDelhi remained the worstaffected States, while MadhyaPradesh stole march overRajasthan on Tuesday to occu-py the fourth place. Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, UP and Andhra

Pradesh were ranked behindthem in that order.

Maharashtra has 9,243cases. Gujarat reported anoth-er big spike of 226 new cases,raising total confirmed cases to3,774 and 181 death, 19 ofthem on Tuesday alone.

National Capital Delhireported 206 new cases toreach a total of 3,314 and 54deaths.

After recording 75 casescases on Monday, MadhyaPradesh saw big leap adding222 cases on Tuesday for a totalof 2,387 cases and 120 deaths.

It turned out to be a BlackTuesday in Tamil Nadu as 121persons tested positive forcoronavirus on a single say tak-ing the number of Covid-19patients in the State to 2,058.

The last few days havebeen showing some kind offluctuations in the number ofpersons tested positive for the

pandemic which encouragedthe government to loosen thelockdown guidelines and thiscould have played havoc,according to medical experts.

Continued on Page 2

�����$��� �� 345�6478

Just as plasma therapy offeredsome hope for critical Covid-

19 patients, many of whomresponded well to it, the UnionHealth Ministry on Tuesdaytried to play down its efficacysaying it is in experimentalstage and warned it can causelife threatening complicationsif not used in proper mannerunder proper guidelines.

The Ministry’s observa-tion comes days after theIndian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR), a healthresearch wing of the Ministry,gave permission to a string ofStates such as Rajasthan,Maharashtra and Delhi to use

plasma of the Covid-19 curedpatient for the treatment of thevirus-infected person.

Ministry’s Joint SecretaryLav Agarwal said currentlythere are no approved therapiesfor Covid-19 and there is notenough evidence to claim thatplasma therapy can be used fortreatment of the disease.

“The ICMR has launcheda national-level study to assessthe efficacy of plasma therapyin treatment of Covid-19,” hesaid.

“Till ICMR concludes itsstudy and a robust scientificproof is available, plasma ther-apy should be used only for

research or trial purpose. Ifplasma therapy is not used inproper manner under properguidelines, then it can alsocause life threatening compli-cations. It’ll be harmful topatient and illegal,” Agarwaladded.

Incidentally, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal toosaid in view of positive resultsfrom a few Covid-19 patients,his Government will conductmore trials in the sector. On hisappeal scores of TablighiJammat members who recov-ered from the Covid-19 diseaseregistered to donate their plas-ma.

“The Centre had given uspermission only for limitedtrials of plasma therapy on crit-ically ill Covid-19 patients atLNJP hospital. We will conductmore trials in the next 2-3 daysand then will seek permissionfrom the central governmentnext week, for all the seriouspatients,” Kejriwal said.

Continued on Page 2

��������������� 345�6478�

On a day when the DelhiGovernment lifted lock-

down restrictions for electri-cians, plumbers, and waterpurifiers maintenance techni-cians, the Capital crossed 3,314coronavirus cases with nodeaths reported in last twodays, according to officials.

However, the relaxationwill not be applicable in con-tainment zones.

Delhi has 99 containmentzones and 54 deaths have beenregistered till Tuesday evening.A CRPF man, who died due toCovid-19 in Delhi, is a firstsuch case among CAPFs.

An official order issued byChief Secretary Vijay Dev lateon Monday after an empow-ered group, constituted by theDelhi Disaster ManagementAuthority, recommended thata section of service renderingpersons must be allowed towork even if the lockdown isextended beyond May 3.

Other activities that have

been exempted are veterinaryhospitals, dispensaries, clinics,pathology, and sale and supplyof vaccine and medicines.Movement (inter and intra-state, including by air) of allmedical and veterinary per-sonnel, scientists, nurses, para-medical staff, lab technicians,mid-wives and other hospitalsupport services includingambulances have also beenallowed.

The operation of shelterhomes for children, disabled,

mentally challenged, seniorcitizens, destitute, women andwidows, shops of educationalbooks for students, shops sell-ing electric fans have also beenallowed to open.

The Chief Secretary askedthe agencies concerned, includ-ing the Delhi Police, to ensurethat “status quo” be main-tained across the city withregard to restrictions that willcontinue until further orders.

The MHA had earlierallowed these services.

����� 79(:3.5

Days after the lynching oftwo seers of Juna Akhara

in Palghar, Maharashtra, whichcreated a massive furore acrossthe country, two sadhus werebattered to death inBulundshahr late on Monday.

The incident created ten-sion in the area but swift actionby the police defused the situ-ation. The police nabbed thealleged killer Murari, alsoknown as Raju, about 2 kilo-metres away from the spot. Hewas allegedly under the influ-ence of cannabis.

The accused revealed thatafter taking bhang on Mondaynight he went to the temple andkilled the sadhus with a lathi.He said that he carried outGod’s will, denying he had anyquarrel with the priests. Thesenior official said the youthwill be interrogated at lengthlater as he was still under theinfluence of the drug.

After the news spread

about the murder, tension ranhigh in the area and peopleassembled in large numbersnear the temple. Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathhas assured strict action againstthe accused. Yogi, who washighly critical of the Palgharincident, received a call fromMaharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray whorequested him to take strictaction against the culprit.

Continued on Page 2

�� �� �9;%�

Hundreds of migrant work-ers came out on roads

and vandalised the office of anunder-construction buildingand some vehicles in an area ofGujarat’s Surat district onTuesday while demanding thatthey be sent back to theirnative places, police said.

The workers were earlierhired by contractors engaged inthe construction of theDiamond Bourse Complex inKhajod area of Surat, they said.

It all started when theworkers learnt that their con-tractors have brought in morelabourers from other parts ofGujarat to speed up the con-struction work after gettingapproval of the district collec-tor, DCP (zone 3) VidhiChaudhari said.

“They got angry after see-ing labourers from outside atthe site. They claimed thatthese outsiders may be carry-ing coronavirus. These workers

then started demanding that ifpermission can be granted tobring outsiders here, then whycan’t they travel to their nativeplaces. This demand triggeredthe violence,” Chaudhari said.

The angry workers dam-aged the administrative officeof the under-construction siteand two cars parked near theoffice, she said.

“We have started theprocess to lodge an FIR in this

connection,” the official said.Earlier, in a separate inci-

dent in the morning, a police-man was injured when somelocals threw stones at the secu-rity personnel who were tryingto enforce lockdown in Dindoliarea of Surat city, DCP (zone-1) RP Barot said.

Five persons were detainedfor the attack on the policemen,he said.

Continued on Page 2

����� :.(8

The Kerala High Court onTuesday stayed for two

months the operationalisationof the State Government’s orderto deduct a month’s salary of itsemployees to tide over thefinancial crisis caused by coro-navirus pandemic. In its order,the Government had said theState Government employees’salary for six days every monthwould be deducted for thenext five months.

The HC made it clear,“Payment of salary is certain-ly not a matter of bounty. It isa right vested in every indi-vidual to receive the salary.”

The Government’s deci-sion to defer the employees’salary of six days every monthfor the next five months hadupset the Government staffwho had voluntarily come for-ward to donate a day’s salary tothe Chief Minister’s DisasterRelief Fund immediately.

Detailed copy on P5

�� �� 345�6478

Outstanding loans amount-ing to �68,607 crore of top

50 wilful bank loan defaultersin the country, including firmsof Mehul Choksi and VijayMallya, have been technicallywritten off till September 30,2019, the Reserve Bank ofIndia said in a RTI reply.

Absconding dimantaireChoksi’s company GitanjaliGems tops the list of thesedefaulters with a whoppingamount of �5,492 crore,according to the list.

Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlinesfigures in the list at number 9,with outstanding of �1943crore which have been techni-cally written off by the banks.

In his application, RTIactivist Saket Gokhale hadsought the list of defaulters ason February 16, but the RBIsaid the requested informationis not available.

Continued on Page 2

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Washington: The US is car-rying out a “very serious”investigation against China,President Donald Trump hassaid, indicating that hisadministration is looking at abigger compensation fromBeijing than the $140 billionbeing sought by Germanyover the coronavirus pan-demic.

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Noida: Five more people,including two teenagers, testedpositive for coronavirus inUttar Pradesh’s Gautam BuddhNagar on Tuesday, taking thedistrict’s tally to 134, officialssaid.

��� ����� ����'������(���)���*���������� Noida: The Gautam Buddh

Nagar administration has madearrangements of free cab ser-vice for people who need totravel to Delhi for special med-ications like dialysis or cancertreatment amid the lockdownimposed to control the spreadof coronavirus.

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The Haryana Police onTuesday arrested 30 people

for allegedly attacking policeparty at the cremation groundin Chandpura village ofAmbala Cantonment onMonday evening.

Police on Monday hadasked the local residents toallow the cremation of an 82-year-old local woman, whomthey suspected to have died ofcoronavirus but the residents ofthe village threw stones at thepolice and doctors at the cre-mation ground. The policehad to open fire in the air todisperse the mob when vil-lagers repeatedly objected tothe cremation of the oldwoman.

Talking to The Pioneer,DSP, Ambala Cantt, Ram

Kumar said taking serious noteof it, a case under appropriatesections of IPC has been reg-istered against more than 150people in the Police Stationconcerned. So far, 30 personsinvolved in this incident havebeen arrested.

Continued on Page 2

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New Delhi: China on Tuesday said it was “deeply concerned”over the evaluation result of the Covid-19 rapid testing kits sup-plied by two Chinese firms and subsequent decision by the IndianCouncil of Medical Research (ICMR) to not use the equipment,and hoped that India will resolve the issue “reasonably”. P2

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Ranchi: With the JharkhandGovernment yet to decide ongiving parole to jailed RJDchief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Leaderof Opposition in BiharAssembly Tejashwi Yadav onTuesday expressed concernover reports of doctors attend-ing his father being quaran-tined after coming in contactwith COVID-19 patients.

The RJD supremo has beenadmitted in the private ward ofRajendra Institute of MedicalSciences (RIMS) which hasbeen designated as a ‘coron-avirus hospital'.

On April 13, JharkhandChief Minister Hemant Sorenhad said that the state govern-ment was seeking legal adviceto release the incarcerated RJDchief on parole amid growingcases of infection at the isola-tion ward of RIMS.

Prasad has been under

treatment for multiple chron-ic ailments in the paying wardof the RIMS.

“I am worried because atthe age of 72 years and suffer-ing from chronic ailments likekidney, heart and diabetes, theRJD chief and my father needsmore protective measures amidthe pandemic,” Tejashwi said ina moving appeal, apparentlyseeking early release of hisfather on parole.

"Only those who have fam-ilies can feel what I am endur-ing,” he said. The RJD is part ofthe Hemant Soren-led coalitionGovernment in Jharkhand.

Lalu Prasad is in jail sinceDecember 2017 and serving 14years in prison in connectionwith fodder scam cases. PTI

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ADelhi Police constableposted with the Crime

Branch who allegedly visitedNizamuddin headquarters ofTablighi Jamaat in south Delhiwas tested positive for coron-avirus recently.

According to a seniorpolice official, the constablehad visited Markaz building inconnection with the probe.

"Around 15 team membersof Crime Branch who came incontact with the constable have

been advised for home quar-antine after he was tested pos-itive for the virus," said thesenior police official.

A case has been registeredagainst Maulana Saad of theNizamuddin headquarters ofthe Tablighi Jamaat under therelevant sections of theEpidemic Diseases Act andIndian Penal Code for alleged-ly violating Government ordersas regards the management ofthe centre with respect tosocial, political or religiousgatherings.

More than 21 Delhi Policepersonnel have tested positivefor the novel coronavirus whichinclude 14 from Central dis-trict, six from northwest districtand one from the traffic police.

The Delhi Police has sanc-tioned �1 lakh each to its per-sonel who have tested positivefor Coronavirus while on duty.

Police official said that thepolice headquarters willarrange the payment from theDelhi Police Welfare Society forthe personnel expeditiouslythrough the DCPs concerned.

Beijing: China on Tuesdayurged India to step up com-munication to "properlyresolve" the issue with thetwo Chinese firms which sup-plied the COVID-19 antibodyrapid test kits, subsequentlyfound faulty by the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR).

The ICMR on Mondayasked states and union terri-tories to stop using the test kitsprocured from the GuangzhouWondfo Biotech and ZhuhaiLivzon Diagnostics due to the"wide variations" in their per-formance. India procuredaround five lakh rapid anti-body test kits from the twoChinese firms.

Asked whether Chinawould conduct any investiga-tion on this issue, ChineseForeign Ministry spokesmanGeng Shuang told a mediabriefing here that India andChina are closely coordinatingand cooperating with eachother since the coronavirusoutbreak surfaced.

"As to the specific inci-

dents you mentioned, we hopethe Indian side will step upcommunication with theChinese companies to prop-erly solve this issue. Of course,China and India have channelsof communication. These areopen," Geng said, adding thatChina stands ready to sharemore experience and offerassistance as per its capacity.

He also mentioned thatthe two companies havereleased statements in whichthey said that the quick testkits they produced wereapproved by China's NationalMedical ProductsAdministration of China(NMPA) and “met the quali-ty standards and they havebeen verified by the Indianinstitute of virology attachedto the ICMR”.

"China and India main-tained close communicationand cooperation. China sharedexperience with India anddonated medical supplies to it.We hope the Indian side willstick to facts and enhance com-munication with the Chinese

side to properly handle theissue and help promote coop-eration between the two sidesto fight the virus," Geng said.

Indian officials In Beijingsaid the issue is being dealtwith by the concerned agen-cies in Delhi.

Earlier, the ChineseEmbassy in India said in astatement that it was "deeplyconcerned" over the evaluationresult of the COVID-19 rapidtesting kits supplied to Indiaby the two Chinese companiesand subsequent decision bythe ICMR to not use theequipment.

China, which has beendealing with such complaintsfrom different countries overCOVID-19 medical supplies,has stepped up official controlson the exports in recent weeksand advised the importingcountries to procure all suchequipment from companiesauthorised by the government.

Both the firms which sup-plied the kits to India wereapproved by the Chinese gov-ernment. PTI

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The Delhi Police has called in“corona ambassador”

Yamraj to help spread the mes-sage that everybody has to bestrictly indoors to ward offCovid-19, with hope to put thefear of not just god but the godof death in people so the resi-dents don't step out of theirhomes.

According to police, BaldevSingh (42), who works in theFinance Ministry, arranged thecostume from a friend who par-ticipates in Ramlilas, got hiswife to help in the makeup andeven put on glares for a mod-ern touch.

The look complete, he goton to a police Gypsy near his

home in the government colonyof R K Puram on Monday and,armed with a loudspeaker,began to broadcast the impor-tance of staying at home.

“The station house officer(SHO) of R K Puram gave thisidea of giving a message viaYamraj. I then asked my friendwho participates in Ramlilas toarrange for the dress. My wife

and my friend did all the make-up work. To make it a modernYamraj, I also put on goggles,”Singh said. Yamraj on a Gypsyand making announcementson a loudspeaker grabbed eye-balls and a lot of attention.

“I have sent my ambassadorcorona. If you don''t listen toDelhi Police, he will take youwith him. Only Delhi Police

stands between you and me.Delhiites, I warn you… if youlove your life, then please stayinside your houses,” Singhintoned in Hindi over the loud-speaker as he was driventhrough the lanes of the sprawl-ing government colony.

Rajesh Sharma, SHO of RK Puram, said the idea was toeducate people in a more inno-vative way. “It was my idea tointeract with the public in a dif-ferent and more interestingway so we can successfullysend our message. We justwant to educate people regard-ing the coronavirus as punish-ing them is not the solution. Wealso want people to help policein battling this pandemic,” saidSharma.

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From Page 1This is followed by REI

Agro with �4,314 crore andWinsome Diamonds with�4,076 crore. Rotomac GlobalPrivate Limited has funded

advances of �2,850 crore whichhave been technically written offand Kudos Chemie Ltd with�2,326 crore, Ruchi SoyaIndustries Limited, now ownedby Ramdev’s Patanjali, with�2,212 crore and ZoomDevelopers Pvt Ltd with Rs2,012 crore being the other

companies.Forever Precious Jewellery

and Diamonds Private Limitedhas loans of Rs 1,962 crorewritten off while DeccanChronicle Holdings Limitedhave Rs 1915 crore written offloans. Choksi’s other firms GiliIndia and Nakshatra Brandsalso have loans of Rs 1,447 andRs 1109 crore respectively writ-ten off. REI Agro ofJhunjhunwala brothers isalready under the scanner ofED. The CBI and ED are alsoprobing alleged fraud by theowners of Winsome Diamonds.

Vikram Kothari’s Rotomacis the fourth in the list. He andhis son Rahul Kothari werearrested by the CBI for bankloan default. In the lastParliament session, RahulGandhi had asked theGovernment to provide a list oftop 50 bank loans defaulters in

the country, leading to sharpexchanges and uproar in the LokSabha. “The information ontop 50 wilful defaulters andtheir sum of funded amountoutstanding and amount tech-nically/prudentially written offas on September 30, 2019reported in CRILC by banks, isprovided,” the RBI said in itswritten response dated April 24.

The RBI said that accordingto section 8 (1)(a) of RTI Act2005 read with para 77 ofSupreme Court judgement ofDecember 16, 2015 in JayantilalN Mistry case, information onoverseas borrowers is exemptedfrom public disclosure.

“Data is as reported bybanks and RBI will not be heldresponsibly or accountable forany misreporting and/or incor-rect reporting by the reportingentities,” the RBI said in the writ-ten reply to the RTI query.

0(12 �3�4===

From Page 1“Have spoken to Yogi

Adityanath over phone anddiscussed the incident. I toldhim we are with you againstsuch a heinous crime. Just theway we acted upon and nabbedthe accused, I wish you woulddo the same and avoid givingthis a communal angle,”Uddhav Thackeray tweeted.

Several other Sena leaders,former UP Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav and Congressleader Priyanka Gandhi alsoexpressed concern over theincident.

Senior Shiv Sena leaderand party MP Sanjay Raut alsocondemned the murder of thetwo sadhus and said, “Terriblekilling of two sadhus at a tem-ple in Bulandshahr, UP, but Iappeal to all concerned to notmake it communal the waythey tried to make Palghar,Maharashtra incident.”

Senior Superintendent ofPolice (SSP) in Bulundshahr,Santosh Kumar Singh onTuesday said that the crimehappened at a Shiv temple inPagona village underAnupshahr Kotwali. The killing

came to notice when devoteesof the area visited temple forprayers on Tuesday morning.They found both the seerslying in pool of blood. Thedeceased sadhus have beenidentified as Jagan Das (55) andSeva Das (35). Both had beenstaying in the Shiv temple forthe past 10 years. The SSP saidthat they arrested a youth iden-tified as Murari aka Raju of thesame village who comes froma Dalit community.

“The accused was nabbedtwo kilometers away from thespot in an inebriated conditionand naked along with a swordwhich was probably used forkilling both the sadhus,” hesaid. The SSP claimed thattwo days back the sadhus hadscolded him for stealing their“chimta”(big tongs) whichcould be the reason for suchcrime.

Circle Officer (CO) Kotwali,Atul Choubey said that thebodies have been sent for post-mortem. He said that investiga-tion was underway. Additionalforces have been stationed in thearea in order to maintain lawand order situation.

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From Page 1Some locals got angry after a PCR

(police control room) van reached a locali-ty in Dindoli to enforce the lockdown in thewake of the coronavirus outbreak, he said.

“We sent a PCR van in the area after coming to know that people were roamingaround and not adhering to the lockdownnorms. When the police asked locals to stay indoors, some of them got angry andstarted throwing stones at the policemen,”Barot said.

A police personnel received injuries in theincident, he said.

Five locals were detained, he said, addingthat additional force was sent to the area andthe situation was brought under control.

From Page 1“Team has been formed to arrest remaining

people involved in it. To maintain the law and order,adequate police

forces have been deployed at around the incidentsite,” he said.

DSP Kumar said, “After being informed aboutthe incident on Monday, we had tried our best topacify villagers to allow the cremation, but theyinstead pelted stones on us. With the deploymentof adequate force, the situation was controlled andthe body was cremated late in the evening.”

Kumar said the villagers did not heed to thepolice when they were told that all safety measureshad been taken. Apart from pelting stones, the mobalso damaged the vehicle.

Police sources said the woman, a chronic dia-betes patient, died at the Ambala Cantonment CivilHospital on Monday afternoon. She displayed noCovid-like symptoms, but doctors took her sampleas a precautionary measure and to allay apprehen-sions. The report was awaited.

As soon as bereaved family members reachedChandpura village with the body, residentsstopped them from performing her last rites.Sensing trouble, the police was called but the vil-lagers were adamant not to allow the cremation.

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From Page 1Despite rise in numbers, the

Government, however, takessolace from the fact that 20countries put together to reachthe total of India's populationsize have reported 84 times thenumber of cases detected in thiscountry.

The Union Health Ministryalso claimed that compared tothe 20 nations which havereported maximum number ofCovid-19 cases, India hasreported only 1/200 times thenumber of deaths as the totalnumber of deaths in these 20countries.

"From theWHO data onApril 27, weobserved thenumber of con-firmed cases inthese 20 countriesand compared itwith confirmedcases in India. Wefound 1/84 casesreported in India

or 84 per cent more cases havebeen reported in these countries.These 20 countries have report-ed nearly 200 per cent moredeaths than in India", JointSecretary in the Union Ministry,Lav Agarwal at a press briefinghere.

He said in the last 24 hours,1,543 new Covid-19 cases havebeen reported, taking the totalnumber of cases to 29,435, andno new cases of COVID-19 hasbeen reported from 17 districtsin the last 28 days.

The official also added thatthe rate of doubling of cases hasincreased to 10.2 days and thattotal 6,868 patients have beencured so far and 684 patientshave recovered in the past 24hours, which takes the recoveryrate to 23.3 per cent.

He also said that number ofcases of Covid-19 re-infection isvery minuscule world-wide,and in the absence of any con-clusive evidence, patients certi-fied as cured through RT-PCRtest are perfectly alright.

"Globally, number of casesof Covid-19 re-infection is veryminuscule; hence, in absence ofconclusive evidence, we have to

surely consider that thosepatients who have been certifiedas cured as per RT-PCR - thegold standard for Covid-19 - areperfectly alright."

He reiterated the impor-tance of lockdown saying thatthe doubling time of coron-avirus cases in India was 3-3.25days before the lockdown, andnow is around 10.2 days. "Thisis mainly because of our focuson containment, physical dis-tancing and lockdown mea-sures," he added. He insisted thatif a Covid-19 patient is found tobe infected at any health facili-ty, the facility can be reused afterproper disinfection procedures.Similarly, workplaces wherepositive patients were foundcan be used after proper disin-fection, Agarwal added.

Earlier during the day,Union Health Minister DrHarsh Vardhan in a meetingwith Department ofBiotechnology and its 18autonomous bodies and PSUs,asked them to fast-track devel-opment of antibody detectionkits, RT-PCR detection kits andCovid-19 vaccine, under the''Make in India'' initiative.

1����� �� ������������ �����������.%������������� ��� � ��� ��������>��2�9���&�%����Washington: India remains engaged withother countries including the US and Israelfor a coordinated response to the coronaviruspandemic, the Indian envoy here has said.

India's Ambassador to the US TaranjitSingh Sandhu, in a conversation with theinfluential American Jewish Committee(AJC), said that the Indian leadership is ina close contact with its friends and ready tostep forward to help them.

“As we battle this pandemic, Indiaremains engaged with other countriesincluding the United States and Israel in aneffort to partner towards a coordinatedresponse.

“Whether it is the form of ensuring sup-ply of essential medicines or sharing exper-tise and knowhow or joint scientific collab-orations, India stands ready to battle thispandemic shoulder to shoulder with ourfriends,” Sandhu said in his interaction withthe AJC.

As a country of 1.3 billion people, Indiafaces unique challenges in combating thiscommon enemy, he said.

India has so far managed to slow the ini-tial spread of the contagion since the firstconfirmed case in the country on January,30.

India, he said, has taken preemptivemeasures under the leadership of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi to enforce a totallockdown. Sandhu said that India and the USare global strategic partners with a multi-faceted relationship which encompassesalmost every aspect of human endeavor.

“Our defence and energy partnershiphas grown over the years as has our scien-tific collaboration. As democracies withshared values and global strategic partners,we are in a unique position today, walkingtogether to combat the the COVID-19 cri-sis,” he said. PTI

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Two Delhi Police HeadConstables — Ramesh and

Jitender — displayed an exem-plary humanity by looking aftera 78-year-old Dr Shyam MurariKapoor, a cancer patient whodied at his residence in WestDelhi's Hari Nagar on Sunday.

Police said tha Dr Kapoorlived alone at his Hari Nagarresidence while his two sonsAlok Kapoor and AmitKapoor, both IT professionals,reside at Hyderabad andLondon respectively.

Both these constables, post-ed at Hari Nagar police station,were deployed by SHO at hisresidence to take care of him on

April 19. Besides, they alsorushed him to hospital when hewas ill and assisted in per-forming his last rites in theabsence of his loved ones.

According to DeepakPurohit, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), West district, on April19, Dr Kapoor suffered coughand fever and he contacted thepolice.

"The two policemenrushed him to DDU Hospitalwhere he was examined forCovid-19. However, his Covid-19 test was found to be nega-tive. He was undergoing treat-ment for cancer at a hospitalwhich also caused him acutefeebleness," said the DCP.

"They informed his niece

Dr, Mukta Kapoor, whoreached there while the police-men pursued his examinationsat the hospital attentively. Bothshifted him to Ganga RamHospital where he recuperatedand returned home. Yet boththe policemen kept visitinghim regularly and ensured hismedicine and other basicamenities to be sufficientalways," said the DCP.

"One medical attendantwas also arranged for DrKapoor. He was doing well.However, he expired on April26. When the Head ConstableRamesh and Jitender rushed tohis residence after hearingabout his demise, they foundhim lying in his bathroom,"said the DCP.

"His body was taken toDDU hospital by the policeand a post-mortem was con-ducted. Prima facie, it was acase of natural death due toCancer related weakness. Thebody was handed over to Dr.Mukta Kapoor, all his last ritestook place at CremationGround in Punjabi Bagh withthe assistance of two Headconstables who attended therituals along with his three rel-atives," said the DCP.

“The policemen helped usa lot. They arranged medi-cines, provided food, facilitat-ed the post mortem to andfinal rites. Only two of our rel-atives could come for crema-tion. But the policemen stoodthere and helped with all the

formalities and arrangements.”said Mukta Kapoor.

"He was humble man andtreated me like son. I spoke tohim on last on Saturday nightwhen he called me and told thathe was missing his sons andwanted to meet them. I assuredhim that he will be able meetthem soon,” said HeadConstable Ramesh.

HC Jitender said they oftenkeep a check on the well-beingof senior citizens in their area.

"He treated us like one ofhis own. So, it was our respon-sibility to help him when heneeded us. We had to be part ofhis final journey especially at atime when both his sons werestuck outside Delhi due tolockdown," he said.

�������������"9;9";%�

Aday after the HaryanaGovernment decided to

tighten its border with Delhifrom Tuesday, the Gurugrampolice had to face a tough chal-lenge restricting the movementof people at the border in orderto curb the spread of Covid-19.

State Home Minister AnilVij had claimed that the num-ber of Covid-19 cases wereincreasing in the state due toinflux of people from Delhi.

However, the police per-sonnel were allowing profes-sionals such as doctors, para-medical staff, court staff, bankofficials, media employees, peo-ple carrying movement passand those carrying supplies ofessential commodities to cross.

Soon after the order thedistrict police increased itsstrength and heavy policedeployment was made at theDelhi-Gurugram border.

The police, however, had ahard time convincing the pub-lic to avoid stepping out unnec-essarily. A queue of vehicles wasseen at the Delhi-Gurugramexpressway border since morn-

ing.“When we asked people to

return peacefully, they got intoan argument. We are followingthe government order and sug-gest the commuters not to stepoutside without any reason,”said a police officer deployed onthe spot.

Meanwhile, a traffic jamwas witnessed at the Delhi-Gurugram expressway onTuesday morning after policestopped vehicles from crossingthe border amid a lockdown tocombat Covid-19.

Several state governmentshave appealed to the people notto violate the lockdown andremain indoors to help preventthe spread of the virus.However, in spite of the appeals,vehicles in large numbers gath-ered in the border areas sinceTuesday morning despite thehuge police deployment.

The motorists returnedonly after the police warnedthem of strict action.

The Gurugram trafficpolice with their folding handwere requesting to the com-muters not to violate the lock-down and asking them toreturn.

��������������� 345�6478

The New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) has exam-

ined 355 patients in a fortnightfor ‘Influenza-Like Illnesses’(ILI) which is a Covid-19mandatory indicator. The civicbody had set up a ‘unique’ 24×7flu corner at the Charak PalikaHospital (CPH) earlier thismonth with an aim to safelyscreen potential corona-infect-ed patients without puttinghealthcare workers at risk.

Out of the total 355 patientsin flu corner, 12 patients werefound with respiratory infectionand 53 patients were related tothe fever since less than sevendays, a senior SDMC officialsaid, adding that these are allthe Covid-19 mandatory indi-cators.

However, total number ofOPD patients was 2861 butonly 355 patients were foundfever or Influenza like illnessesrelated symptoms, he added.

Explaining about the fea-

tures of the center, he said thatthis is the first time in Delhi suchfacility is set up. ‘Health CareProvider’ (HCP) and patients areseparated with a glass barriers atthis flu corner. “It provides req-uisite protection to the health-care providers (doctors andother medical staff) while sav-ing on personal protectiveequipment (PPE) used,’ he said.

In the background ofCOVID-19 pandemic, this facil-itates healthcare providers toexamine the patients withoutputting themselves at risk ofinfection, he said, adding thatthe design involves a temporarystructure made of canvas with aglass partition, he said.

The official said that flucorner is constructed in anopen area, away from the mainHospital within its premisesand is run 24x7. “The glass par-tition with microphone facili-ty provides effective protectionat the time of patient interac-tion with the healthcareprovider,” he added.

��������������� 345�6478

In order to reduce the menaceof stray cattle in its areas, the

North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC) has caught120 cattle in last three days andshifted them to Dabur HareKrishna Gaushala, Sureharaand Shri Krishna Gaushala,both situated in Bawana.

The civic body on Tuesdaydeployed eight teams aroundAzadpur market with hydrauliccattle catching trucks andcaught 53 cattle including cowsand its progeny.

A senior NMC official saidthat the civic body’s veterinarydepartment conducted thedrive and also caught 14 dogsand vaccinated them againstrabies. In this drive eight truckswere used to deport cattle. Inlast two day, the Corporationhas lifted 120 cattle 27 dogs forsterilisation, he added.

The civic body has also reg-ister an FIR against offenderskeeping cattle unauthrisedly inviolation of the orders of HighCourt, causing both crueltyagainst these animals and haz-ard to public safety, he said.

��������������� 345�6478�

The Deputy Chief Ministerand the Education Minister

of Delhi, Manish Sisodia attend-ed a video conference hosted bythe Union HRD MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’with Education Ministers of allthe States on Tuesday.

Raising concerns, Sidodiamade three key demands in thismeeting.

Sisodia said that the stu-dents should be promoted onthe basis of internal exams as theCBSE is not expected to conductthe remaining 83 papers, includ-ing 26 important ones, of class10th and 12th. The promotionmay be conducted in the sameway as for the students of stan-dard 9th and 11th, he added.

“NCERT and CBSE shouldreduce the syllabus of the nextacademic cycle by 30 per cent in

all classes. The reduced syl-labus of class 12 should also beapplicable on the entranceexams for the session 2021-22,”“MHRD should step in to getDoordarshan and AIR FM toprovide airtime for live broad-casting of classes by Delhi Govtteachers,” said EducationMinister in video conference.

Explaining the rationale ofnot conducting any furtherboard exam this year, Sisodiasaid that "Due to the need ofsocial distancing, it will not befeasible to conduct remainingexams for Class 10 and 12 stu-dents even in May-June. Havingexam thereafter will delay thenext academic cycle heavily." Hefurther said, "other states havetheir own state boards but Delhihas CBSE as its board. Most stu-dents of CBSE come fromDelhi.”

Therefore, I appeal to theUnion HRD Minister that CBSEbe asked to take a similar routefor promoting the students as itproposed for classes 9 and 11. Inthese uncertain times, I don’tknow if we would be able to con-duct examinations again, so on

the basis of same formula likeinternal assessments, papersalready conducted, etc the stu-dents of class 10 and 12 tooshould be evaluated. This willhelp us not waste our students’time and help us not push theiracademic cycles further and gettheir studies hampered,” headded.

Elaborating his points inmeeting, he proposed the reduc-tion of syllabus by 30 per cent inall classes for the academic ses-sion 2020-21.

“30 per cent syllabus shouldbe curtailed from NCERT andCBSE for the next academicyear. All assessments should beconducted from this 70 percent syllabus that will be taughtto our students. Same 70 percent syllabus should be the basisof entrance exams like JEE,NEET, etc for their competitiveexam in 2021”

During his discussion withthe Union HRD Pokhriyal‘Nishank who had called upona meeting with the EducationMinisters of the State and UnionTerritories to take stock of thestatus of the ongoing online

education system for the stu-dents amidst the lockdown andshutdown of schools due to thepandemic COVID 19, Sisodiahighlighted that the EducationDepartment of Delhi is workingwith best organisations (in edu-cation domain) to smoothlytransition into online mode ofeducation.

“We are using the onlinemedium and collaborating withthe best organisation (in the edu-cation domain) to conductonline classes for our students.But I would further want torequest the MHRD to provide uswith Doordarshan and AIRslots for broadcasting our ownclasses. I would request you togive us separate slots for ele-mentary, secondary and seniorsecondary education. If yougrant us the slots, we will haveour teachers on board to con-duct the classes and air as perour lesson plan,” he said.

“In Delhi Government

schools, among secondary andsenior secondary grades, about68% students have access tosmartphone at their home. Assoon as the lockdown reduces,then I doubt that even those 68%students will have access to asmartphone. So it is very impor-tant for us to reach the parentsand the students through themedium of Doordarshan andAll India Radio with our class-es and content.”, said Sisodia.

Highlighting that theEducation Dept of Delhi Govthad also written to the MHRDin this regard, the EducationMinister of Delhi said, “TheEducation Dept has also writtento you on 27th April, if you cancome to a decision on this,then we will be able to start withthe broadcast of our live/inter-active classes too for students. Itis beneficial for the kids whohave no or limited access tosmartphones, it will provide aviable alternative to them.”

NEW DELHI: Ira Singhal, a2015 IAS officer of AGMUTcadre has been appointed asDirector (Press & Information)in the North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NDMC) onTuesday.

“It is hereby assigned theadditional charge of Director(Press & Information), NorthDMC with immediate effect inaddition to her present assign-ments. Yogendra Singh Mann,presently working as Director(P&I) is hereby relieved fromthe charge of Director (Press &Information) with immediateeffect and he will look after thecharge of Director (Printing andStationary),” the order issued bythe corporation stated.

����� ����� 345�6478�

Just when one started believ-ing that Delhi no longer

remained a habitat for thefeathered creatures, situationhas taken a pleasant turn.

Thanks to reduced air andnoise pollution, the wetlands inand around the city have begunreturning to their glory somuch that a number of rarebird species, including beauti-ful Night Herons, have foundtheir habitats in YamunaBiodiversity Park.

According to ornitholo-gists in Delhi, this is an uncom-mon trend and possible pri-marily due to less air and noisepollution in breeding areas ofYamuna Biodiversity Park.

Speaking to The Pioneer,

Professor and OrnithologistDr Faiyaz Khudasr said, "Lessair and noise pollution allowednatural vocalisation of thesebirds which helped them infinding mate. Thousands ofnests made by Night Heronscan be seen around the wetlandin the park".

Dr Faiyaz said other birdspecies like Barbet, Little Egrets,Cormorants, Shukta and oth-ers can also be seen in the park.

Elaborating further aboutthe uncommon breeding trendof birds this year, Dr Faiyazsaid, “Vocalisation is pivotalfactor and it is affective becauseof less noise pollution, bestingis visible not interior YBP buton outer side also.”

“Lockdown led to ground-ing of all aircraft, no vehicle on

the road helped reducing boththe noise and air pollution. Lessnoise pollution allowed natur-al vocalisation of birds whichhelped in finding mate. Thiswas not possible on normaltime. Night herons made nestsin 3000s in the YmunaBiodiversity Park besides,Barbet, Littel egrets,Cormorants, Shikra and manyothers,” Dr Faiyaz added.

Bird vocalisation is bothbird calls and bird songs.

While there is no noise pol-lution of vehicles plying amidstlockdown, the birds’ vocalisa-tion is clear.

Ornithologists believe thatsinging is a form of vocalisa-tion among birds and singingis an important part of thebreeding cycle, which begins

when male birds reach theirnesting grounds and givingeach time to establish a nest-ing territory.

Citing example of terres-trial birds, the scientistsexplained that less noise/airpollution due to lockdown hasgiven a security to birds; secu-rity of life and food.

Due to less pollution in city, bird’s message to his mate isclear.

The ornithologists also saidthat less air pollution hasincreased chances of sighting.Many noxious particles likeSo2, No2 caused troubled notfor humans but for ecology too.“Instance - less So2 in air caus-ing good size of pupa.. suchexamples are also for birdstoo,” Dr Faiyaz said.

��������������� 345�6478

Days after killing her in-laws, a 38-year-old woman

lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail inconnection with the case,allegedly committed suicideby hanging inside her cell.Police said that the incidentoccurred on the interveningnight of Sunday-Monday.

Police said that the womanidentified as Praveen aliasKavita was lodged in CentralJail - 6 of Tihar on charges ofmurder.

According to DeepakPurohit, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), West district, policewas informed by Deen DayalUpadhyay (DDU) Hospital thatthe woman was brought deadand the reason for death wasstated to be hanging.

“On enquiry, it was foundthat the woman was lodged inTihar Jail on April 25 after shewas arrested in a case whereinshe along with her husbandkilled her father-in-law RajSingh and mother-in-law OmWati. After killing them,

Praveen alsotried to com-mit suicide,”said the DCP.

“A casewas registeredagainst thecouple at Chhawla police sta-tion under sections of (302)murder, attempt to suicide(309), criminal conspiracy (120B), causing disappearance ofevidence (201), Acts done byseveral persons in furtheranceof common intention (34) ofthe Indian Penal Code,” said theDCP.

“However, on the inter-vening night of April 26-27,Parveen was found hangingwith the help of dupatta aftertying the same with exhaust faninstalled at Tihar Jail No 6. Aninquest proceeding in under-way,” said the DCP.

According to police, herhusband Satish, who was alsoarrested in the case wasunemployed and financiallydependent on his parents.“He along with his wife killedhis parents over property dis-pute,” police said.

��������6����345�6478

The process to elect threeMayors in the national

Capital has been put on hold,due to nationwide lockdownannounced to control thespread of Covid-19, a seniorcorporation official said.

As per the Delhi MunicipalAct (DMC) Act 1957, electionsof Mayor and deputy mayorfrom among the councillors ofthe corporations, should beheld in the first meeting of theHouse every year.

A senior BJP leader saidthat leaders sitting at top posi-tions refrain themselves fromparticipating in corporationmeetings now. “The State lead-ership must clear the air as cur-rent session is about to expireand no decision has been takenon the issue. During thesetough times role of civic bod-ies is crucial, hence election toelect new mayors and deputymayors, must take place .

Referring the DMC Act, hesaid holding House meetingevery month is mandatorywhich is chaired by the Mayor

and attended by all municipalcouncillors and commissionerbut it is not possible now to callmeeting because of ongoinglockdown. “Taking the situa-tion in account, all three cor-porations are considering writ-ing Lieutenant Governorrequesting to grant an exemp-tion from election and housemeetings,” he added.

North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC)Commissioner Varsha Joshisaid that as per DMC Act theterm of mayor only ends afternew one elected and that canhappen once house meetingconvene.

The post of mayor in Delhisees five single-year terms ona rotation basis, with the firstyear being reserved for women,the second for open category,third for reserved category andthe remaining two also being inthe open category.

The erstwhile unifiedMunicipal Corporation of

Delhi was trifurcated in 2012into the North Delhi MunicipalCorporation, South DelhiMunicipal Corporation, andEast Delhi MunicipalCorporation. The first munic-ipal poll after the trifurcationwas held in the same year.

The BJP had bagged 181 ofthe 270 wards in the civicpolls. Delhi has a total of 272wards north Corporation (104wards), SDMC (104) andEDMC (64).

The BJP had nominatedSunita Kangra for the post ofMayor and Raj Dutt Gehlot forthe post of Deputy Mayor lastyear in the South DelhiMunicipal Corporation. Innorth Corporation, the partyhad nominated Avtar Singh forthe post of Mayor and YogeshVerma for the post of DeputyMayor. Similarly in EastCorporation, Anuj Kamal wasnominated for Mayor andSanjay Goel for the post ofDeputy Mayor last year.

��������������� 345�6478�

All information pertaining toCovid-19 will be available

on Delhi Government’s website— DelhiFightsCorona.in.

The website launched byDelhi Government on Tuesday,is one stop web destination toknow ration distribution cen-tres, registrations and to learnother information about ongo-ing lockdown and coronaupdates. "Thanks to our health-care workers and essential ser-vice providers on the ground,Delhi Fights corona": main mes-sage on website's home page.

This website has 5 broadsections which includeContainment Zones, TestingFacilities, Key locations, e-pass,Press Release and FAQs.

The section - ContainmentZone has the locations of all theContainment Zones or thehotspots of Covid-19 in Delhi.The locations are updated fromtime to time as decided by theGovernment. This section alsohas a brief description of theOperation SHIELD.

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Page 4: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......15 places, including Delhi, ... must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. ... “They got angry after see-ing

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����� 345�6478

In a major decision impactinglakhs of students, the Centre

on Tuesday announced that thepending CBSE Board exams forClass 10 and Class 12, whichcould not be conducted due tothe outbreak of coronaviruspandemic, will not be held anymore and students should beevaluated and promoted on thebasis of their internal exams.However, it left to the States totake a decision on the examsconducted by their respectiveState Boards.

The CBSE had postponedthe Class 10 and Class 12examinations in March to pre-vent the spread of coronavirusin the country. Later, the Boarddecided to conduct exams onlyfor about 30-odd subjects.

During a video conferencemeeting with the StateEducation Ministers and offi-cers, Union HRD MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal Nishank

apprised them of the decisionand hinted that the syllabus fornext year’s entrance test ofJEE, NEET, etc based on Class12 qualification will be cutdown by 30 percent.

The HRD Minister alsoappealed to all the States to startthe process of evaluation ofanswer sheets of Board exams,facilitate CBSE to evaluateanswer sheets of the students intheir respective States andmake preparations to declarethe results of board examina-tions on scheduled time asdone every year.

A senior HRD ministryofficial said that States will nowhave to decide on the Minister’sappeal regarding the evaluationof board exams. “Since boardexams are part of the federalstructure, Centre can’t beimposing but the Statesacknowledged the ground sit-uation and will do according-ly. It was brought to the noticeof HRD Minister that most of

the education boards had donewith 80 per cent of their exam-inations except for Keralawhich was hit with the Corona

scare much before the nation-al lockdown was announced,”said Ministry official.

The HRD Minister had

interacted with the parents onMonday where issues likeexams, session etc werebrought to the notice of Centre.

“The HRD Minister wasconvinced alongwith thedemands of several states thatsince the academic session hasbeen hampered, though all thebest efforts of online educationhave been put in, there arepupils who have not been ris-ing upto to the crisis due to var-ious issues. Hence, syllabusshould be curtailed for acade-

mic and competitive examina-tions in this academic session,”said a Ministry source presentin the conference meeting.

Delhi Deputy ChiefMinister and EducationMinister Manish Sisodia tookto social media saying he hadasked to promote the CBSEclass 10 and class 12 studentswithout holding the pending

examinations based on theinternal marks.

Some of the states high-lighted the issues like non-availability of smart phones,computers or where they are,internet data is a problem or incases such things are notaffordable and in past candi-dates of such areas havesecured good positions inentrance test like that for IIT,NDA, Medical etc.

Pokhriyal, alongwith HRDMinister of State Sanjay Dhotre,interacted with EducationMinisters and EducationSecretaries of all the Statesthrough video conferencing.Education Ministers of 22States and secretaries from 14States and Union Territoriesattended the conference.

Pokhriyal informed themon his Ministry’s request, theMHA has relaxed the lock-down rules to open bookstoresso that students can avail booksto continue their studies.

����� 345�6478

Despite lockdown, India has wit-nessed a record sale of fertilisers even

as wheat harvesting too continues briskly.As per the data provided by the Centre,over 10.63 lakh metric tons of fertiliserswere sold in April which is 32 percenthigher than the last year sale of 8.02 lakhMT.

And as reported by the States, about98-99% of wheat crop has been harvest-ed in Madhya Pradesh, 92-95% inRajasthan, 85-88% in Uttar Pradesh, 55-60% in Haryana, 60-65% in Punjab and87-88% in other States.

The agencies have also procured102.37 lakh tons of wheat and 15.71 lakhtons of rice so far.

Officials said the record fertilisers’sale will ensure adequate availability ofcrop nutrients to farmers for the sowingoperation of kharif (summer) crops.

On April 17, 41 fertiliser rakesmoved from plants and ports. This is thehighest movement of fertilisers duringlockdown period in a day. One rake car-ries 3,000 tonnes of load at a time. The

Centre has allowed operation of fertilis-er plants in the country.

For his part, Union ConsumerAffairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan onTuesday tweeted that as many as 102.37lakh tons of wheat and 15.71 lakh tonsof rice have been procured so far. Themajor contributors are Punjab (48.27 lakhmetric tons followed by Haryana (19.07lakh metric tons. The Ministry has tar-geted to procure 407 lakh metric tons ofwheat and 112 lakh metric tons of ricethis year.

“Going by the present pace of pro-curement, the target of 407 LMT kept forthe season is likely to be achieved. Theprocurement exercise is likely to contin-ue till June 30. However, looking atrestrictions during lock down, period

may get extended by another 15 days,”said a senior food ministry official.

Considering the looming threat ofspread of COVID-19 virus, procurementis being undertaken after taking enoughpre-cautions and ensuring social dis-tancing in the mandis,” officials added.

On the other hand, the Ministry ofAgriculture has procured 72,415.82 met-ric tons of Gram (Chana) from AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan,Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Similarly,1,20,023.29 metric tons Toor Dal hasbeen procured from Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat andOdisha. 1.83 lakh tons mustard has beenprocured from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradeshand Haryana.

����� 345�6478

Citing an RTI reply by theRBI, the Congress on

Tuesday alleged the ModiGovernment has waived off�68,607 crore of the top 50bank loan defaulters, includingNirav Modi, Mehul Choksi.

Several leaders, includingformer Congress chief RahulGandhi, also alleged that theGovernment waived off loansworth �6.66 lakh crore between2014 and September 2019.

“I had asked a question inthe Parliament the names of thetop 50 bank loan defaulters in thecountry, but the FinanceMinister did not answer,” Rahulsaid.

“Now the RBI has given thenames of Nirav Modi, MehulChoksi and many of BJP’s‘friends’ in the list of bank frauds.

That is why this truth was heldback from Parliament,” Rahulsaid in a tweet in Hindi.

Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala also releasedthe list of the top loan defaulters,as per the RTI reply, anddemanded answers from thePM. “This is a classic case ofpromoting ‘dupe, deceive anddepart’ policy of the ModiGovernment, which can nolonger be accepted and the PMhas to answer,” he told reportersthrough video conference.Surjewala also said “this reflectsthe dishonest intentions of theModi Government”.

He said the entire country isfighting the coronavirus andthe Government has no moneyto pay to States, but has themoney to condone and write off�68,307 crore of bank loandefaulters.

����� 345�6478

Government-enforced socialisolation may help relative-

ly affluent populations limit thespread of deadly Covid-19, butthese steps can be devasting forthe nearly 1 billion peoplearound the globe currentlydwelling in urban slums, wherephysical space is scarce, andmany rely on daily wage labourfor survival, according to a glob-al study.

Published in the Journal ofUrban Health, the study empha-sised on the need to prioritiseproviding basic needs such aspotable water, sanitation and amoratorium on evictions besidessupporting existing communi-ty leadership in delivering healthcare and emergency prepared-ness to help the poor urban tosail through the Covid-19 pan-demic.

The study is important inthe Indian context having thedensely population which ishome to several urban slums likeDharavi in Mumbai where near-ly 8.5 lakh people are living incramped conditions in an areathat spans about 0.83 squaremiles.

The report has beenauthored by a team of publichealth experts and epidemiolo-gists working in collaborationwith community leaders and

non-governmental organisa-tions (NGOs) from urban slumsaround the world.

While noting that Covid-19became a pandemic because ofthe global spread of the virus bythose people who can afford totravel on airplanes and cruiseships, the report noted that thedisease has ended up in vulner-able communities of the world.

It has suggested eight urgentrecommendations for reducingthe impact of the deadly virus onpeople living in poverty.

These recommendationsare crucial not just for peopleliving in urban slums in theglobal south, but for other vul-nerable populations, such asmigrant farm workers andthose living in refugee campsand homeless encampmentsand on Native American reser-vations in the United States, theauthors say.

Evidence now suggests thatthe coronavirus is dispropor-tionately affecting blackAmericans in some US cities,possibly due to similar structuralfactors, such as the inability totake time off of work.

“The political and econom-ic shocks and instability that arehappening now and are likely tofollow from this epidemic willlikely kill more and lead tomore disability in this popula-tion than the coronavirus itself,”

said Jason Corburn, a professorof public health and of city andregional planning at theUniversity of California,Berkeley, and lead author of thepaper. “We felt we needed astrategy that recognized theunique needs of the urban poorat the front.”

Close living conditions andlack of basic sanitation makeurban slum dwellers particular-ly vulnerable to contracting andspreading the coronavirus, saidstudy’s co-author Lee Riley, aprofessor of epidemiology andinfectious diseases at UCBerkeley.

Many also have pre-existingmedical conditions and lackaccess to health care, puttingthem at high risk of dying ordeveloping serious complica-tions if they do get sick with thevirus.

Simply staying home israrely an option for them, as itoften means giving up work andeven basic necessities like food,water and sanitation.

“Shelter-in-place is a luxu-ry of the wealthy,” Riley said.“In many slums, people need towalk a long distance to collectwater to use at home. Mostpeople living in slums alsohave no choice but to partici-pate in the informal economy,which will disappear underlockdowns.”

�6����6�� ����� 345�6478

In the first casualty due toCovid-19 in the paramilitary

forces, a CRPF Sub InspectorMd Ikram Hussain of 31Battalion on Tuesday suc-cumbed to the fatal disease.This even as 12 more CRPFjawans tested positive forCovid-19 in Delhi taking thetotal tally to 47 cases in theforce, including the deceased.

Hussain, 55, had on Fridayreported at the DG Staff CampHospital at RK Puram with thesymptomatic issues at 10.40AM complaining of runningnose, difficulty in breathing,

fever and headache.Keeping in view his symp-

toms, Hussain was immediate-ly referred to SafdarjungHospital for further investiga-tion /treatment. The test reporthad confirmed his condition asCovid-19 positive on Friday.

On Tuesday, Hussain suc-cumbed due to Covid-19 at3.30 PM at Safdarjung Hospital.He had underlying conditionsfor the viral disease in the formheart condition, officials said.

Hussain hails from Barbarivillage under Sarupeta post ofBarpeta district in Assam.

After Hussain testing pos-itive, all the medical and para-

medical staff of the DG StaffCamp Hospital were quaran-tined at the CRPF QuarantineCentre at Narela here and a fewothers were advised homequarantine for 14 days. The DGStaff Camp Hospital was alsotemporarily closed and thepatients have been asked toreport at DetachmentComposite Hospital ofNorthern Sector at RK Puram.

While 17 personnel whocame in direct contact withHussain were earlier quaran-tined at Narela, a Chief MedicalOfficer and a Nursing Assistantwere home quarantined.

Earlier, 47personnel of 31

Battalion were quarantined atNarela after aConstable/Nursing Assistanthad tested positive for the viraldisease last week. As many as25 persons out of this group of47, including a private person(plumber) have been diag-nosed so far to be Covid-19positive, officials said.

Besides this, a CMO hadtested positive for the diseaseearlier this month and a HeadConstable of Rapid Action Forcedeployed in Ahmedabad hadbeen diagnosed with the disease.

The paramilitary haslaunched a detailed survey ofpersonnel deployed in Covid-

19 related duties in the hotspotsand other operational areasand if positive cases have beenreported from such locations inorder to take preventive steps,officials added.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah took to Twitter toexpress his condolences fol-lowing the death of Hussain. “Iam deeply saddened by demiseof Sub Inspector MohammadIkram Hussain was battlingcorona infection. He (Hussain)bravely fought the epidemic tillhis last breath. His contributionsto national service and internalsecurity will continue to inspirethe countrymen,” Shah tweeted.

����� 345�6478

Those who have been clini-cally declared as a very

mild/pre-symptomatic case bythe treating medical officercan opt for home isolationprovided they have the facili-

ty at their home to do so, theGovernment said in its homeisolation guidelines issued onTuesday.

But, before opting for suchoption, the person will have tofill in an undertaking on self-isolation agreement as well askeep the Arogya Setu app, asoftware that alerts the userabout the health status of theuser as well as people in his/hervicinity.

As per existing guidelines,during the containment phase,the patients should be identi-fied as very mild, mild, mod-erate or severe and according-

ly admitted to Covid CareCentre or dedicated Covidhospital.

“However, very mild/presymptomatic patients hav-ing the requisite facility athis/her residence for self-iso-lation will have the option forhome isolation,” the govern-ment said in a statement.

The guidelines say thatthey should have the requiredfacility for self-isolation athome and also for quarantiningthe family contacts while acaregiver should be appointedon 24 x7 basis, who will haveto maintain communication

with the hospital for the entireduration of home isolation.

Also, the caregiver and allclose contacts of such casesshould takeHydroxychloroquine prophy-laxis as per protocol. Duringthe self-isolation period, thepatient will have to monitor hishealth and regularly inform theDistrict Surveillance Officerof his health status for furtherfollow up by the surveillanceteams.

“Those in home isolationare also advised to seek imme-diate medical attention if thereare serious signs or symptoms

like difficulty in breathing,persistent pain/ pressure inthe chest, mental confusion orinability to arouse, developingbluish discolorations oflips/face,” says the guidelines.

The caregivers are advicedto wear a mask, practice handhygiene rigorously before andafter removing gloves and usealcohol based hand rub.

They have also been told to“avoid direct contact with bodyfluids of the patient, particu-larly oral or respiratory secre-tions. Use disposable gloveswhile handling the patient,” itstated.

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The Centre on Tuesday calledfor urgent action to facilitate

inter-State border movement oftrucks and lorries carrying essen-tial goods to ease public life dur-ing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Road and TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari alsourged the States/UTs through avideo conference meeting withthe Chief Ministers to expediteland acquisition and utilise fundsworth �25,000 crore allocated forthe purpose to help regainmomentum in road constructionthrough land acquisition.

The Union Minister pulledup State Governments for cre-ating delays in clearance ofgoods transport adding thatnearly 3.5 lakh trucks werestranded at present due to delaysin inter-state clearance andscreening, officials aware of thedevelopment said adding that

there was no discussion on inter-state public transport.

“States also reiterated thatdecision on public transportwill be taken following theMinistry of home affairs’ orderpost May 3,” said official.

Gadkari reminded to adhereto health advisories like properdistance, wearing of masks, useof sanitisers, both by the dri-ver/cleaners.

The meeting was alsoattended by the Chief Ministersof Mizoram, Himachal Pradeshand Arunachal Pradesh.

“There were several issueson movement of goods andtransportation that needed to beresolved. There is delay in sup-ply movement and hence themeeting was called to discuss thehurdles. There was no discussionon public transport yet, that willonly take place on May 3,”Himachal Pradesh transportminister, Govind Thakur said.

Gadkari also told States toprovide transportation for labourto factories and ensure food andshelter for labourers.

Transport associations havedemanded an economic relieffrom the Centre.

“Across segments there is anissue of shortage of drivers,money and load. Lack of labourhas already led to shortage ofsupplies. Movement of vehiclesis still a major issue despiteMHA advisories. E-pass systemis not working properly andmovement of staff apart fromdrivers is still a tedious task.Local restrictions are not help-ing the transport fraternity asthere is no fresh load, no unload-ing at the factories, go-downs orwarehouses and the our vehiclesget stuck for days together, apartfrom harassment by local admin-istration,” said All India MotorTransport Congress presidentKultaran Singh Atwal.

����� 345�6478

Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Tuesday directed

the defence public sectorundertakings(DPSU) andOrdnance FactoryBoard(OFB)to be ready withcontingency plans to ramp upproduction and contributeextensively to the economicrecovery.

Taking stock of the overallpreparedness of the PSUs tocompensate for the lost work-ing time due to lockdown,Singh referred to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s plansto revive the economy post-lockdown and said the defenceproduction units along withprivate defence industry couldplay a major role in the eco-nomic revival. The ministerconveyed this message duringvideo-conference meeting withthe PSUs and OFB.

“Several Units of OFB andDPSUs which are located innon-red zones have alreadystarted operations. Almost allDPSUs have made contingencyplans to ramp up productionafter the lockdown is lifted bydrawing up plans to work inthree shifts and extending thework days from five to six daysa week,” defence ministry offi-cials said after the meeting.They also said work will be car-ried out in the defence factoriesby observing social distancingand other relevant healthguidelines.

During the conference,OFB conveyed that it has man-ufactured 12,800 overalls,developed specialised machines

for testing Personal ProtectionEquipment (PPE), supplied6.35 lakh masks to local author-ities and 340 specialised tentsto Arunachal Pradesh forCOVID 19 patients. The OFBis more than 100 years old andhas 41 factories across thecountry manufacturing mis-siles, tanks, guns, ammunitionand other weapons for thearmed forces.

The Bharat Electronics Ltd(BEL) has made arrangementsto manufacture 12,000 ventila-tors in the month of May 2020and another 18,000 in June2020, the defence ministrystatement said adding, around3,000 engineers will also par-ticipate in training health pro-fessionals in operationalisingthese ventilators.

The Department ofDefence Production (DDP),defence ministry, OFB andDPSUs made a contribution of?77 crore to the PM CARESfund generated from CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR)funds and one day salary con-tribution, the statement said.

Separately, the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentServices (DRDS), the maincadre of Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) to which about 7,000scientists belong, made a con-tribution of ?10 lakh to PMCARES fund in addition to oneday salary. The demand draft of?10 lakhs was handed over toMinister of State for DefenceShripad Naik by All IndiaDRDS Association (AIDA) lastweek.

During the conference, the

OFB also reported that therewas no COVID 19 positive casein any of its 41 manufacturinglocations. Moreover, in itsfight against the coronaviruspandemic, the OFB distributedone lakh litres of hand sanitiz-er and earmarked 280 isolationbeds at its hospitals in 10 loca-tions.

The aviation conglomerateHindustan AeronauticsLimited(HAL)has also ear-marked 93 isolation beds inBengaluru for COVID-19patients. The HAL has manu-factured 300 aerosol cabinetsand supplied them to varioushospitals. It has also distributed56,000 masks and extendedsupport to migrant labour.

The Bharat Dynamics Ltd(BDL) is also working witheminent scientists for finalisa-tion of design for ventilatorsand to make the prototype.The

Mazagon DockShipbuilders Limited (MDL)provided PPE and medicinesworth Rs Five lakh to NavalQuarantine Centre, Mumbaiand distributed 4,000 litres ofsanitiser.

Secretary, (Department ofDefence Production) RajKumar, senior officials ofDepartment of DefenceProduction, senior officials ofOFB, BEL, HAL, MDL, BharatEarth Movers Ltd (BEML),Garden Reach Shipbuilders &Engineers Ltd (GRSE), BDL,Hindustan Shipyard Ltd.(HSL), Midhani MishradhatuNigam Ltd (MIDHANI) andGoa Shipyard Ltd participatedin the video conference.

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New Delhi: In view of theongoing coronvirus crisis, theCentre on Tuesdayannounced approval for pro-viding Mid-Day Meal (MDM)to schoolchildren during sum-mer holidays too, on which anadditional expenditure ofabout �1,600 crores will bemade.

In addition, under the

MDM Scheme, while an ad-hoc grant of �2,500 crore isbeing issued for the first quar-ter, the annual central alloca-tion of cooking cost (for pro-curement of pulses, vegetable,oil, spices and fuel) under thescheme has been enhanced to�81,00 crore from �7,300crore (an increment of10.99%).` PNS

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The death toll due to Covid-19 inJammu & Kashmir on Tuesday

rose to eight as one more patient,with a history of diabetes andhypertension,failed to recover anddied at Chest disease hospitalSrinagar. Srinagar district recordedsecond death while Baramulla hasrecorded three deaths and oneeach death was recorded inBandipora, Anantnag andUdhampur districts so far.

Meanwhile, 19 new cases ofcoronavirus were detected, all acrossKashmir division and 12 patientswere discharged from differenthospitals after they were fully recov-ered in Jammu.

According to DeputyCommissioner, Srinagar, Dr ShahidChoudhary, "an over eighty year oldlady died in Srinagar on Tuesday.He said, to break the chain, health

survey teams were visiting door todoor to screen the general popula-tion. He himself, visited red-zoneareas to monitor the survey work.According to official sources, thedeceased patient was tested positiveon Monday and died after herhealth condition deteriorated onTuesday.

According to media bulletin, atotal number of 565 cases have test-ed positive in Jammu & Kashmir sofar. Out of these 381 are Active pos-itive. 15 cases are active in Jammuregion and 366 in Kashmir division.A total number of 176 cases haverecovered so far, 42 across Jammuand 134 in Kashmir region.

On the other hand, DirectorGeneral of Police J&K Dilbag Singhled the Jammu and Kashmir Policepersonnel in showing the solidari-ty with corona warriors across thenation in the lawns of Police head-quarters.

Speaking on the occasion theDGP said that on behalf of J&KPolice personnel, doctors & Para-medical staff of Police hospitals, ‘Ithank and pay solidarity to lakhs ofcorona warriors of the country’.

The DGP said that it is unfor-tunate that at some places mis-chievous elements are violating theGovernment orders, attacking thecorona warriors and termed theseas shameful acts.

He said that the stern actionwill be taken against such violatorsand added that around 60 Policepersonnel were injured at differentplaces while enforcing the lockdown and implementing the ordersand advisories of the Government. Similar ceremonieswere organised across differentdistrict headquarters to show soli-darity with the Covidwarriors.

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Amid complete lockdownfor over last one month,

hundreds of 'immunocom-promised' cancer patients arerisking their lives and facingmany hardships, each day, inJammu & Kashmir to get 'time-ly' treatment.

Even though theGovernment had suspendedOPD services in GovernmentMedical College andAssociated hospitals in Jammu,patients from border areas ofRS Pura, Pallanwala, Rajouri,Poonch and hilly districts ofDoda and Kishtwar continue toreport in the Department ofRadiotherapy and Oncology toget a fresh lease of life.

According to rough esti-mates, an average number of40-50 patients are reporting inthe GMC hospital, Jammu.

Some of these patients aregoing there for their routinefollowup, chemotherapy/radiotherapy session but large num-ber of fresh cases are also get-ting registered on daily basis.

Some of the outstationpatients are camping here in

Jammu for over one month asthey cannot afford to organisetheir travel in the wake ofstrict restrictions. Those com-ing from different parts ofJammu and rural pockets facehardships in the absence ofpublic transport.

Speaking to The Pioneer, anattendant of a cancer patientfrom RS Pura area said, "myfather- an ex-serviceman, suf-fering from cancer, is goingthrough a very tough phase forlast one month". He said, hewas receiving treatment at aprivate hospital in Katra butsince lockdown they havestopped admitting patients asthe hospital has been listed asone of the dedicated Covid-19hospitals".

Narrating his ordeal, ex-serviceman's son said, "we haveto pass through several securi-ty check points and show ourhospital record. He said recent-ly i shifted my father to GMC,Jammu but due to heavy rushout there i took him to militaryhospital in Jammu as he imme-diately needed blood transfu-sion". He also claimed, no onein the GMC was observing

social distancing and severalcancer patients were seatedtogether in the OPD room.

One of the junior doctorsin the department, demandinganonymity, told The Pioneer, "the cancer patients are findingit difficult to get medicine sup-plies from AMRIT (AffordableMedicines and ReliableImplants for Treatment)counter in the GMC.

He said, "we had handedover a list of 15-20 regular med-icines prescribed to differentcancer patients but the samehave not been made availablefor the patients.

The junior doctor alsoclaimed, "We are not gettingproper PPE kits and have evenorganised their face masks andhand sanitisers on their own".The hospital supplies are lim-ited and cannot last long, headded.

Highlighting adverse con-ditions in which they are forcedto work, another junior doctorclaimed, "even though largenumber of cancer patients areturning up in the department,no one is worried to screen

them for Covid-19 symptoms."What if a cancer patient is

a carrier and silently spreadingthe infection in the OPD unlesswe test their samples". He saidno one is following the guide-lines in terms of maintainingsocial distancing or maintain-ing basic hygiene even in theOPD.

When contacted, NodalOfficer, Government MedicalCollege, Hospital Dr SanjeevGupta told The Pioneer, "we are

trying our level best to providemedicines to all the cancerpatients enrolled underPradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY).

He, however, admitted thefact that all the medicines werenot available even at AMRITcounter in GMC. He said,when we approach them, theyannounce 60 percent medicinesare not available in stores. DrSanjeev Gupta also claimed,"markets are closed due to

lock down, we cannot purchasemedicines from the open mar-ket as per the existing guide-lines". He said, "we had anarrangement with a local sup-plier but due to ongoing lock-down even they are facingconstraints in maintaining theproper supply chain".

Another patient, fromBillawar claimed, they arestruggling to get medicines intime. The patient claimed, theyare directed to procure themedicines from a private clin-ic, registered under AyushmanBharat scheme as the samewere not available at theAMRIT counter insideGMC,Jammu.

One of the faculty mem-bers, sharing his concern forthese cancer patients, claimed,when these patients fail to getmedicines in time their treat-ment protocol is several affect-ed and it leads to deteriorationof patient's health"

Attendant of anotherpatient from Pallanwala area ofAkhnoor told The Pioneer, "Inthe absence of adequate num-ber of beds, in the Oncologyward, several terminally ill

patients are sent home".Referring to various hardships,he said, "I had to spend hugeamount of money at a privatediagnostic centre for PET-CTscan.

The same facility is notavailable in GMC" and oldmachines and protocols are fol-lowed there.Many a times i amnot aware whether the correctdose of radiation was admin-istered to treat the patient or hitand trial method is adopted bythe technicians on duty.

A retired doctor told ThePioneer, "some of the privatehospitals in the region havealready refused admissions tothese cancer patients. Theyhave no choice but to reachGMC, Jammu.

He said, one of the privatesector hospital has been con-verted in to dedicated Covidhospital near Katra and anoth-er private hospital with oncol-ogy department was closeddown after some of the doctorswere tested positive. Thoughthey have started providingmedical care services but notadmitting cancer patients atpresent".

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The Kerala Government’smove to seize/defer a

month’s salary of its employeesto tide over the financial crisiscaused by coronavirus pan-demic has been stayed for twomonths by the Kerala HighCourt on Tuesday. This was inresponse to petitions filed byvarious trade unions of theGovernment employeesbelonging to Opposition par-ties like the Congress and theBJP.

While staying theGovernment Order, the Courtmade it clear that deferment ofsalaries , prima facie, amount-ed to denial of the right toproperty.

The Government’s deci-sion to defer the employees’salary of six days every monthfor the next five months hadupset the Government staffwho had voluntarily come for-ward to donate a day’s salary tothe Chief Minister’s DisasterRelief Fund immediately afterthe breaking out of the pan-demic in the State.

Justice Bechu Kurian, whoheard the petitioners as wellthat of the Advocate General ofthe Kerala Government, saidthat it was not possible toaccept the AG’ submission thatthe Government had the powerto defer the disbursement ofsalary by a few months.

“Payment of salary is cer-tainly not a matter of bounty.It is a right vested in every indi-vidual to receive the salary.Article 300A of theConstitution which confers aright to property will includewithin its purview “salary” alsoa property, at least prima facie,”the judge said while staying theGovernment Order andadjourning the petition forfurther hearing to May 20.

Earlier, the AG, Sudhakara

Prasad, argued that theGovernment was incurring anexpenditure of �8,000 crore tofight the coronavirus pandem-ic. “The Government isempowered to defer the salaryof its employees as per theDisaster Management Act andEpidemic Diseases Ordinance.The Government has launchedcommunity kitchens and isoffering free ration to all sec-tions of the society. The socialwelfare pension for the agedand infirm is also being dis-tributed and this needs money,”the AG contended before theCourt.

But the Judge was nothumored by the arguments ofthe Government and said thatfinancial difficulty is not aground for the StateGovernment to defer the pay-ment of salary. “Prima facie, Ifind, the deferment of salary,for whatever purposes it maybe, amounts to a denial ofproperty. In such a view of thematter, I stay the operation ofthe Government Order for aperiod of 2 months,” the Courtruled.’

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It turned out to be a Black Tuesdayin Tamil Nadu as 121 persons

tested positive for coronavirus on asingle say taking the number ofCovid-19 patients in the State to2,058.

The last few days have been show-ing some kind of fluctuations in thenumber of persons tested positive forthe pandemic which encouraged theGovernment to loosen the lockdownguidelines and this could have playedhavoc, according to medical experts.It may be noted that 76 persons hadtested positive for coronavirus lastTuesday.

There was no media briefingeither by the Health Minister or sec-retary though it was widely believedthat the government may make someannouncements by the end of the dayas Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswami held a lengthy meetingat Fort Saint George with the highpower committee if IAS, IPS and med-ical professions to review the status

prevailing in the State.The medical bulletin issued by the

department of health is silent aboutthe number of persons dischargedfrom the hospitals on Tuesday thoughit has been one of the salient featuresof the government’s release. The num-ber of fatalities reached 25 as one moreperson succumbed to the pandemicon Tuesday.

Out of the 121 persons tested pos-itive on Tuesday, 103 are fromChennai, said the bulletin. “This is animportant point to note and is a signthat the lock down rules and regula-tions are not being followed in letterand spirit by the Government or by thepeople,” said Dr Sajith Kumar, expertin contagious diseases who works atthe Government Medical College,Kottayam. Dr Kumar is closely mon-itoring the progress of the coronavirusin South India said that time was notyet conducive for making any kind ofrelaxation in the lockdown.

“We have to be in lockdownmode till we make sure that the virusis completely eliminated from the

State,” said the doctor.Chief Minister Palaniswami told

the members of the high power com-mittee to drive home the message thatonly staying at home and maintainingthe social distance would make theState free of the pandemic.

“We have our own experience thatthe instance of coronavirus comingdown when the lockdown regulationswere followed stringently. Countrieslike Italy which were reeling underpressure has subjugated the pandem-ic by observing lockdown norms andsocial distance,” said the chief minis-ter.

The day began in Chennai withthe news that Nungambakkam PoliceStation has been infected with coro-navirus as two cops on duty were test-ed positive . The building and the areawere cordoned off, all policemen onduty were tested and the enter premisewas sanitized as per specifications .Throughout the day , the entire staffworking in the building sat out in frontof the shops and commercial buildingsin the area.

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Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar continued to fire

salvos at Mamata Banerjee, —ask-ing her to stand by the people intheir hour of crisis instead of look-ing for alibis and scapegoats —receiving in return, a volley dia-tribes from senior TrinamoolCongress leaders who offered acounter advice and asked him to“join the BJP directly instead ofspeaking its language.”

In his “appeal” to make coor-dinated action with the Centre tofight the corona outbreakDhankhar asked the ChiefMinister to “change stance fromlooking for alibis, scapegoats, exitor shifting burden to serving thepeople” and demanded a “realtime earnest action in concertw i t hCentre.”

The Governor who had lastweek pounded a 13-page ‘letter-

bomb’ on the Chief Minister inretaliation to her 5-page missivefollowed it up with a twitterreminder saying “State withinState approach” was “unconstitu-tional and inopportune.”

Then he followed his adviceup saying it was no time to“sharpen knives” against theGovernor and the Centre and thatthe Chief Minister should con-centrate more on the suffering ofthe people than on demagoguery.

The Governor’s letter is seenas a reaction to what the ChiefMinister said on Monday afteremerging from Chief Ministers’video meeting with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. Failingto get an opportunity to speak inthe meeting she later complainedthat the Centre should instead ofgiving “Bhashan” lectures provideration to the people as the statehad burnt up its resources in thecorona war and that there was noearning for the Government dur-

ing the lockdown period.Soon after Dhankhar tweeted

Bengal Fire Brigade Minister SujitBasu fired a salvo at him remind-ing how “Mamata Banerjee unlikeany other Chief Ministers, isworking directly at the groundlevel. She has descended on thestreets from distributing relief topreaching social distancing topersonally supervising otherworks … and here we have aGovernor who is acting more likea political person than a consti-tutional head.” He added “theGovernor should instead of pur-suing the BJP’s agenda cooperatewith the State Government andmost of all follow theConstitutional provisions.”

His party colleague and TMCMP Kalyan Banerjee too shot offa letter to Dhankhar in which hesaid that the Governor was “work-ing on behalf of the BJP” invitinga prompt reply from the formerwho questioned Banerjee’s

“breach of decorum” and said theletter from the TMC leader was infact a “strategy to cover up mon-umental failures” of theGovernment in fighting the coro-na pandemic.

Meanwhile Bengal onTuesday reported 28 new cases ofcorona infection taking the totalnumber of active cases to 522,Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha saidadding 10 people were dischargedon Tuesday. The death toll alsowent up by two with total num-ber of patients succumbing to thedisease going up to 22 he said.

The State had increased thenumber of tests he maintainedadding “in total 1180 people havebeen tested today taking the totalnumber of tests to 13,223.”

Besides he said that 75 per-cent of the cases were comingfrom Kolkata, Howrah and North24 Parganas while Hooghly andSouth 24 Parganas accounted for25 percent of the cases.

Kolkata: Alleged ‘coronacarriers’ continued toattack the much toutedcorona warriors — thistime leaving a number ofpolicemen injured atTikiapara in Howrahwhere the men in uni-form had gone to imposea total lockdown.

Tikiapara is a con-tainment zone deservinga total lockdown.According to a seniorpolice official “hundredsof people were seen flout-ing norms and roamingfreely and even ridingmotorbikes in a localmarket area. Many werenot wearing masks. Whenthe local team of police-men challenged themthey were first abusedand then attacked withstones and sticks,” leaving

half a dozen law enforcersinjured.

Two police vehicleswere also damaged, offi-cials said adding theinjured policemen hadbeen hospitalized.

The incidentoccurred late on Tuesdaynoon, sources said addinga large number of police-men including rapidaction force was rushed tothe area. “The situation istense but under control asof now,” a senior officialsaid adding the police arelooking for the perpetra-tors of the crime.

Criticising the attackon the policemenMinister and local MLARajib Banerjee said “theGovernment will takestrict action against theculprits.” PNS

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Former Union Minister andBJP’s MP from Karnataka

Anant Kumar Hedge has com-plained to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi against Twitteralleging that it was encouraginganti-national propaganda anddemanded an investigation intoits activities which he said wereharming national interests.

Hegde, whose account wasblocked by Twitter on April 24for allegedly posting “contro-versial” comments. has, in turn,accused it of “sponsoring” and“accepting” pro-Khalistani com-ments and not blocking it.

The BJP leader accusedTwitter of “discrimination andfavouritism” by blocking hisaccount for what he called“exposing Tablighi Jamaat” but,at the same time, taking noaction against the accountnamed “Gurupatwant SinghPannun” promoting the cause ofa separate ‘Khalistan’.Hegde saidhe would not delete his postswhich Twitter asked him to doand instead sought to knowwhether the microblogging siteis “allowed to collect revenuesfrom anti-nationals ?.”

In his letter to PrimeMinister on April 21 with sub-ject ‘ Paid promotion of anti-national propaganda and cam-paign with support of TwitterIndia’, the BJP Lok Sabha MPfrom Uttara Kannada said hehas received a written complaintfrom former National co-con-venor of BJP’s IT cell, VinitGoenka, about “anti-national”and “paid/promoted campaignby Twitter India” and soughtthat Twitter be asked to changeits policy and prevent anti-India propaganda” on its plat-form.

Hegde has demandedTwitter should be asked to“declare money/business gen-erated from any suspected anti-India commercial operation“.“As newspaper and televisionare governed under law of theland, same should be appliedhere as this is a sponsoredactivity”, the BJP MP claimed inhis letter to the Prime Minister.

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Having been at the receivingend of a fierce criticism

from the BJP over Palgharlynching incident, the rulingShiv Sena and Congress inMaharashtra on Tuesday hitviciously back at the BJP-ledYogi Adityanath Governmentover the killing of two Sadhusat at Anupshahar area ofBulandshahr in Uttar Pradeshon Monday night.

Not having taken kindly tothe manner in which the BJPleaders tried to politicise thePalghar incident—in whichtwo Sadhus and a driver werelynched by a mob of villagerson the night of April 16, chiefminister and Shiv Sena presi-dent Uddhav Thackeray paidback in the same coin, when hecalled up his counterpart inUttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath,expressed his concern over theBulandshahr lynching incidentand said that he expected thatthe UP Government wouldact as sternly as theMaharashtra Government didafter the Palghar incident.

It may be recalled thatafter the Palghar incident onApril 22, Yogi Adityanath had

called up Uddhav andexpressed concern over thePalghar incident. On that day,Union Home Minister AmitShah had also called Uddhavand enquired about the Palgharincident.

On that day, Uddhav –without naming the RSS-BJPleaders RSS-BJP leaders SambitPatra, Sunil Deodhar and oth-ers – had indirectly deploredthe BJP leaders’ efforts com-munalise the incident. “I havespoken to both Amit Shah andUP chief minister YogiAdityanath. There is absolute-ly no religious context to theincident. It is wrong for thepeople to give communalcolour to the incident,” Uddhavhad said.

In one of the two tweetsput out reports of theBulandshahr incident emerged,the Chief Minister’s Office inHindi: “I have spoken to UttarPradesh chief minister @myo-giadityanath and expressedconcern over the inhumanmurder of two sadhus atBulandshahr. We are all withyou against such ghastly mur-der”.

“Like we acted sternly inthis kind of incident, we expect

you to initiate legal actionagainst the accused in theBulandshahr incident and handthem stern punishment to theaccused. But, I appeal to younot to give a communal colourto this kind of incidents,” theCMO stated in its second tweet.

Shiv Sena’s MP andspokesperson Sanjay Raut alsominced no words when hedescribed the Bulandshahrincident as most “frightening”and “I appeal to all not makethis incident communal likesome people in the case of thePalghar incident. In anothertweet, Raut said that theMaharashtra chief ministerhad spoken to Yogi Adityanath.“We should not politicise thiskind of incidents but worktogether to bring the culprits tobooks.

Senior Congress leader andPWD Minister in the UddhavThackeray Cabinet AshokChavan tweeted: “The killing oftwo sadhus in a temple in#Bulandshahar in UttarPradesh is highly condemnable.UP Government should takestern action. I urge do not com-munalise the incident as didduring Palgharmoblynching.

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The MaharashtraGovernment on Tuesday

announced closure of the mainand new administrativebuild-ings of Mantralaya (StateSecretariat) at Nariman Pointin south Mumbai for two dayson April 29 and 30 to facilitate the sanitisation of alloffices in the two buildings inthe wake of three employeestesting positive for coronaviquarantined.

Without actually mention-ing the reason that promptedthe State Government’s deci-sion to close down the main and annex buildings,Additional Chief Secretary(General AdministrationDepartment) Sitaram Kunte said: “We have Covid-19situation across the country.The point number one of theGuidelines issued by theGovernment of India on March29,2020 has elaborated on the santisation procedure”

“As per the relevant guide-line, it has become to essentialfor us sanitise the MainMantralaya and new adminis-tration building. Hence wehave decided to close down thetwo buildings on April 29 and30 to facilitate sanitisation of allthe offices in the main andextended building,” Kuntesaid.

Informed official sourcessaid that one computer opera-tor working in the DisasterManagement Cell and two contractor-appointedsweepers working in a seniorminister’s office had testedpositive for coronavirus onMonday.

Following the develop-ment, as many as 40 StateGovernment employees were

quarantined on Mondayevening.

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The coronavirus situation inMumbai’s Dharavi locality

turned grim on Tuesday, asfour persons died of Covid-19and 42 others tested positive inAsia’s positive in a single day.

With the latest fatalities andinfections, the total number ofdeaths in this densely populat-ed slum rose to 18, while thetotal infected cases mounted to330.

Dharavi witnessed fourdeaths on Tuesday. While twopersons – a man and a woman– both aged 60 years succumbedto Covid-19 at LTMG Hospitalat Sion in north-central.

Two persons – both maleaged 48 years and 55 years–died at the KEM Hospital.

The new infected cases werereported from SocialNagar,Matunga Labour camp,Kunchi Kurve Nagar, AzadNagar, Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, 90feet road area, Pivla Bungalow,Mukund Nagar,Muslim Nagar,Kalyanwadi, Indira Nagar, newMunicipal chawl, MarkendeyaSociety, Dhobi ghar, RajivGandhi Nagar, Mochi gully,Shatabdi Nagar, PV Chawl, AgasWadi and Uday Society.

Those who were diagnosedpositive for Coronavirus wereaged 13 years and 74 years.

Earlier on April 23, onedeath and 25 cases had beenreported from Dharavi in a sin-gle day.

Spread over 240 hectarearea, Dharavi is one of theCovid-19 hotspots in Mumbai.

Ever since first few cases ofCoronavirus were reported inthe early first week of April, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) is closelymonitoring the situation inDharavi where the healthauthorities have clamped a totallockdown.

The pandemic cases havebeen reported from most partsof Dharavi, a fact that has trig-gered considerable anxietyamong the health authoritieswho are taking all measures toensure against the communityspread of the pandemic in thisdensely populated slum.

On its part, local doctors aswell the ones from the BMChave held several fever clinics inthis slum. Apart from enforcingstrict social distancing norms,the police and health authoritieshave been using drones to mon-itor the activities in Dharavi.

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Page 6: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......15 places, including Delhi, ... must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. ... “They got angry after see-ing

The number of COVID-19 positivecases in the US just hit a stagger-ing one million while the numberof deaths crossed 56,000. Thecountry has, perhaps, passed its

peak, unless there is a second wave, like in thepandemic of the last century. As casesmount, the number of Americans who willsuccumb to the deadly virus is astonishing-ly reaching closer to the combined death tollin the Korean and the Vietnam wars.

The world has grown up on the narra-tive that America cares about the lives of itspeople — whether in combat or civilians —than most countries. While the validity of thisargument can be debated, there is no deny-ing that there’s a sense of pride about theAmerican way of life and the approach of itsGovernment, which drives a superiority rid-den revenge in the aftermath of every exter-nally induced attack/setbacks. Not for noth-ing, the death of four American soldiers inthe deserts of Niger and three soldiers in theManda Bay, Kenya, in 2018 churned adomestic debate about the need for assessmentin American troop deployments in Africa andthe world over. The humiliation that Americasuffered in Tehran in the 1979 hostage crisisstill fuels its regime, toppling compulsions inTehran. The severity of the US’ response hasalso historically depended on the political affil-iation of the incumbent President, with theRepublicans going for a whole hog response.That America is mired in an election cyclewith Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presi-dential candidate, catching up fast withPresident Donald Trump’s ratings is sure toshape a response that is intended to reassurethe domestic electoral base that the US willavenge the loss of lives. So, how will it respond?

While it is too early to predict theAmerican response in shaping a post-COVID-19 global order, portents of a recal-ibrated relationship with China are alreadyemerging. Mutual blame-game over the ori-gin of the virus, expulsion of each other’sprominent media organisations and an inves-tigation into the origin of the virus are alreadybeing undertaken by the US. While this maynot fundamentally transform the broadertrends of the Sino-US relationship, historical-ly predictable trends in the latter’s responseafter national crises and the vectors emerg-ing from the COVID-19 epidemic, along withits toll on American lives, point to substan-tive overhaul in its policies once it emergesout of the reeling pandemic that has broughtthe country to a screeching halt.

The 9/11 attacks saw it undertake imme-diate response in the form of unprecedent-ed tightening of homeland security and glob-al compulsive lobbying for “war on terror,”leading to the invasion of Iraq on the pretextof “weapons of mass destruction.” Theimpact of these global changes in America’sforeign policy was so intense that they arebeing experienced even now in varied forms:Tougher airport screening protocols, reduc-

tion in the number of visasissued, surveillance and tighten-ing of immigration norms. Withthe Trump administration rein-forcing American foreign policyconservatism, these impacts arebeing felt even more, especiallyby the non-citizens in the USthan ever before. His announce-ment of a new visa section normmust be seen in the same light.

The rapidity with which theCOVID-19 epidemic is sweepingacross cities in the US, havingbroken the back of one of themost populous and iconic cities,New York, there cannot be muchdoubt that Washington is plan-ning an overall recalibration offoreign relations with China.One of it is health infrastructure,perhaps an ongoing analysis toassess intelligence failure aproposCOVID-19, improving the use oftechnologies in predicting andfighting future crises like the cur-rent Coronavirus outbreak,enhancing robustness for betterdefence preparedness and com-mensurate response to criseslike this pandemic.

In the historic $2 trillionstimulus package that has beensigned by Trump to bring theAmerican economy back ontrack, an emergency fund of$8.3 billion has been put forth bythe Trump administration for thedefence department. Clearly,there is a defence component ofthe American response toCOVID-19 from the Pentagon in

waiting. Whether it will be tooChina-specific or a general uplift-ing of America’s preparednessremains to be seen.

That the US could not seethe virus coming and ravagingAmerican lives on an unprece-dented scale has catapultedCOVID-19 high on the list of itshistorical intelligence failure —perhaps in the same line as PearlHarbour, the Iranian hostagecrisis and the 9/11 attacks. Whilethat is a conventional nationalsecurity consideration, Chinahas also launched a “propagan-da war” through “wolf warrior”diplomacy upon the US and else-where by ramping up the narra-tive that the American militarymight be to blame for theCoronavirus outbreak in China.As such, what COVID-19 hasdone is that it has further flaredup the already tense and uncer-tain atmospherics in the US-China relationship, coming closeon the heels of an ongoing tradewar between the two largesteconomies of the world.

As the US-led liberal inter-national order is perceived to beunder severe strain in the face ofan unapologetic claim for a peer-competitor status by China,COVID-19 and the tit-for-tatresponses from both sides isbound to turn the US-Chinastrategic rivalry more com-bustible. In more recent US mil-itary and diplomatic documents,China has begun to occupy a

much starker place as a “revision-ist power”, a strategic competitorand challenger to the US globalprimacy “that needs to be coun-tered and contained.”

As China’s increasing eco-nomic and security engagementswith countries across the globerattle America’s strategic minds,the US, despite President Trump’suncertain ways, has been dou-bling down on its alliances andstrategic partners to manage theconsequences of China’s rise.America’s approach to China’sambitious Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI) and the latter’sapproach to the US Indo-Pacificstrategy has brought forth acomplex set of perceptions andmisperceptions about the globalorder. The new face of US-China competition and con-frontation, seen through thewrangling over 5G technolo-gies, China’s heft with leading USuniversities and national securi-ty concerns, is adding furtheracrimony amid the COVID-19saga.

Amid anger and suspicionwithin the global communityregarding China’s response to thevirus outbreak, Beijing isincreasingly projecting itself asa country that has successfullyfought COVID-19 and is readyto help other nations now. To besure, China’s response amid theongoing COVID-19 crisis glob-ally has positioned it ahead ofAmerica in the “scramble for

Europe” 2.0. On the other hand, the US

occupies the limelight forPresident Trump’s arguably“incompetent” and “unpopular”leadership and for becoming theground zero of COVID-19infections. How the two mostpowerful militaries and thelargest economies in the worldrespond and engage with eachother will not only influence thefuture of their great power com-petition but also the multipleplatforms of global governanceand multilateral agencies, cuttingacross the political and econom-ic apparatuses that will deter-mine the emerging global order.

Once America emerges outof this pandemic, it is sure toundertake vigorous domesticand foreign policy recalibra-tion. Perhaps, for the first time,the world will see an offensiveconcoction of America’s healthimperatives domestically andits national security objectivesabroad. This strategy is likely topivot itself on three components— emerging technologies (par-ticularly AI), enhanced surveil-lance and a historicallyunmatched upping the ante onbuilding new and expansivehealth infrastructure. Airportsglobally, particularly in the US,could see the end of any “touch”,even as facial recognitionmachines will likely replace anyphysical contact that carries therisk of infection. Facial recogni-tion would in turn mean vastdatabases of people online.Many of these technologies arealready functional at Chineseairports, about which democra-cies all over the world, led by theUS, have depicted discomfort.

For many in the US, as inthe world, this would mean aconflicting question of “consent”and a more constricted democ-ratic space. Enhanced State con-trol, surveillance and personaldata storage could change thevery nature of democracies andfor many people a costly bargain.However, given the emergingnature of threats, it appears thatmost political systems will optfor that bargain, particularly inline with the fact that the fun-damental tenets of liberaldemocracies have historicallyshared an inversely proportion-al relationship with nationalsecurity.

In the case of the US, thesechanges would mean that theperils of fighting this one-upmanship battle with Chinacould shift the credentials of itspolitical system towards thosethat it seeks to fight.

(Vivek Mishra is deputydirector, KIIPS, Bhubaneswar,and research fellow, ICWA, NewDelhi. Monish Tourangbam isassistant professor ManipalUniversity, Karnataka)

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Sir — It is important to note thatdue to the sudden imposition oflockdown due to the spread ofCoronavirus, thousands of stu-dents were stranded in variousparts of the country and abroadas well. They were unable toreturn home due to travel restric-tions. Students, stuck in severalparts of India, want to get backhome. In many cases, they are fac-ing financial distress.

Days after the lockdown wasannounced, the Uttar PradeshGovernment sent 250 buses topick up about 9,000 stranded stu-dents from Kota in Rajasthan.Several other States have alsoeither brought back students orare planning to do so.

However, it is regretful thatBihar Chief Minister NitishKumar has been opposing the eas-ing of lockdown rules and haseven refused to bring back stu-dents stranded in Kota. Kumarmust not abdicate his responsibil-ity of ensuring safe passage to thestudents and coordinate withState Governments to ensure has-sle-free return of the students.

AMS NadwiLucknow

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Sir — Ever since the lockdowncame into effect, it has beenmore than clear that the entirecountry is suffering. The unprece-dented lockdown has unsettledlives, halted the economy and put

India Inc into deeper crisis. Thedevastation faced by millions ofmigrant workers and labourers,who had little economic buffer orsafety net, was heart-wrenching.

But what about the plight ofpregnant women? There havebeen a number of incidents wheredoctors have refused to admit

pregnant women due to the lackof a COVID-19 test report. Manywomen have been forced to deliv-er babies at the roadside.

The Government needs to acton this to prevent a secondCOVID-19-related crisis — awave of premature births andpoor outcomes, especially among

our most vulnerable populations.Ensuring institutional deliverymust be the first responsibility ofevery State Government.

AA HafizKerala

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Sir — Post the lockdown, workculture is definitely going toundergo a sea-change. The ben-efits of this are many. We savehours of commute time, work-lifebalance improves and there’s adrastic change in the atmos-phere. This form of an arrange-ment has indeed worked andmany companies will be able toadopt it with ease for long-term.

While many companies willbe able to adapt to this new kindof work culture, there are othersfor whom getting back to theoffice is crucial and unavoidable.More and more will test positive,need isolation, quarantine, treat-ment, even hospitalisation. But wehave to take the bull by thehorns.

Niharika SinghVia email

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In the months during which the Coronavirusoutbreak has been afoot, it has laid bare thevulnerability and helplessness of an interde-

pendent and interlinked world to the ravages thatcan be unleashed by a rapidly spreading novelcommunicable disease. The question one asks atthis moment is, why is this so?

What happened to the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) and the global governancestructures that were built in order to counter thissort of crisis? Didn’t the world learn anythingfrom the earlier outbreaks of communicable dis-eases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS), Swine flu (H1N1) and so on? The entirehealthcare governance at the global level simplycrumbled like a house of cards. There is completedisarray and confusion around the world, whenideally global protocols should have been in placeto control the spread of the disease.

What has been witnessed during the pan-demic is that countries have tended to act inde-pendently. More in tune with their domesticrequirements (cultural pride, market demandsand so on) rather than in a coordinated fashionas part of a global governance network.

On the one hand, the Chinese authorities hadsought to suppress information regarding theappearance of the new virus (by some accountsthe Chinese are still hiding the real numbers),while on the other hand a unified response to thedisease, which was expected from the world andinternational institutions like the WHO (once itsgravity became evident) was completely absentand is absent even today.

Nothing highlights the lack of coordinationbetween countries better than the testing regimefor the Coronavirus initiated by South Korea andthe US. While South Korea made the testing ofCOVID-19 free for its citizens, in the US testingwas a paid endeavour in the initial days, whichresulted in delayed identification of infected indi-viduals and led to the rapid spread of the disease.

While the Chinese may be at fault in their fail-ure to warn the world about the outbreak of thehighly infectious disease right at its onset, theirpropaganda is correct to an extent that the devel-oped world, with all its technological prowess, hassurrendered before the Coronavirus. This begsthe question, what has caused the failure of glob-al healthcare governance?

The WHO Director-General Dr TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus declared COVID-19 asa pandemic (rather late in the day) and askedcountries to undertake preventive and protectivepublic health measures that “strike a fine balancebetween protecting health, preventing econom-ic and social disruption and respecting humanrights.”

The WHO, while rightly emphasising theneed to respect human rights, appears to havesimply laid the responsibility of containing thepandemic along with the responsibility of pre-venting social and economic disruption, onnational healthcare systems, which are patchy andinefficient in most of the developing countries.

Ideally it should have been at the forefrontof the Corona war, advising countries on the pro-tocols that needed to be followed. Instead itsresponse was slow, confused and inconsistent. Itdoesn’t take a genius to imagine what the situa-tion in developing countries would be whendeveloped countries with better healthcare sys-tems were unable to contain the virus.

As the pandemic has shown us, the spread

of a contagion in any major economywill have reverberating effects on theentire global economy. Thus it cannotbe the job of national governmentsalone to halt the spread of disease. It hasto be a joint effort between the coun-tries with the global health watchdogleading from the front.

However, the statement of theDirector-General, which came outrather belatedly, was in the form of arecommendation rather than a concreteplan of action for nations to follow. Itindicated a complete lack of power toeffectively engage in governance ofhealthcare around the world and adopta leadership role in the hour of crisis.

The reason behind the incapacity ofthe WHO to effectively engage in glob-al healthcare governance appears to bethe North-South divide that permeatesinternational relations. This invisibleline has divided the world into the glob-al developing South, which comprisesthe underdeveloped and developingcountries and the wealthy, industrialisedNorth.

The countries of the global Southare plagued with problems, in differingmeasure, of poverty, lack of respect forhuman rights, absence of democraticgovernance and so on, along with a deepdistrust of the industrialised countries,who are perceived to be ready to useevery instrument to control policy-mak-ing of the developing nations, for theirown economic gains.

The developed countries, in theindustrialised North on the other hand,have either left the global South to itsdevices or are attempting to providestrait-jacketed solutions to problems,instead of sharing the global governancespace with them, in which an accept-able solution to the problems of theglobal South could be arrived at.

This exclusion of the South fromparticipation has further fuelled the per-

ception that developed countries areonly interested in subverting gover-nance of developing nations for theirown economic gains. COVID-19 hasrudely awakened the world to the factthat the dividing line between theglobal North and South is not so wideas it appears to be and the North can-not ignore the problems of the South —be it human rights violations or poorhealthcare — as something alien tothem.

What is the solution then? Theexisting global governance architecturehas fallen woefully short in managingthe interdependencies and integrationbetween countries. This is partly due tothe speed of globalisation which accen-tuates these interdependencies andpartly due to the Westphalian principlesof sovereignty and non-interference inthe internal affairs of States.

What is required at this juncture isa novel governance model which isbased on international cooperation.This governance model should respectsovereignty but only to the extent thatit does not cause hindrance in address-ing transnational challenges that mayrequire a global coordinated response.

Global governance implicitly man-dates a certain level of internationalintervention which is contrary to theprinciples of sovereignty and non-intervention in each other’s affairs. Inaddition, this governance model wouldalso have to address the asymmetriesexisting in the present structure of gov-ernance which lead to a participationdeficit of developing countries in glob-al norm creation, thereby accentuatinginequalities between nations.

This new model should genuinelyattempt to fulfill the mandate of ArticleIII of the United Nations Charterwhich provides that there should be“international cooperation in solvinginternational problems of an econom-

ic, social, cultural, or humanitariancharacter and in promoting and encour-aging respect for human rights and forfundamental freedoms for all withoutdistinction as to race, sex, language, orreligion.”

In the case of the present pandem-ic, while it is obvious that China issquarely to be blamed for the mayhemaround the globe, the immediaterequirement is that the WHO as aninternational organisation should bereformed as has been stated by the US,India and Australia.

The need for global healthcaregovernance has to be realised and theWHO should be vested with thisresponsibility.

For discharging this duty, the WHOshould be provided with the necessaryfinancial and human resources toaddress the issue of governance ofhealthcare around the world. Theadministration of the WHO should bemade more broad-based and represen-tative of global realities by increasing theparticipation of the global South in theorganisation.

At a political level, it may be pro-vided with similar administrative pow-ers as are available to the IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency)where it can direct a proper course ofaction instead of merely making recom-mendations that the countries may ormay not follow.

Dilution of political borders is areality and not just in the field of pol-itics, finance and cyberworld but in thefield of social and physical integration.The problems of countries, starting withbasic healthcare, have to be addressedat a global level.

The earlier the world, both theNorth and South, realises this, the bet-ter it would be for everyone around.(The writers are Assistant Professors,Department of Law, Sikkim University)

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As we near the end of the lock-down on May 3, there areindications that the exit strat-

egy is likely to be a staggered one asthe Government tries to beat theCoronavirus from sweeping acrossthe country. Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan has indicated thatthe COVID-19 strategy will remain,the same: Locate, test, isolate andtreat.

While it is true that our villageshave not reported many cases so far,

but if the virus spreads to ruralIndia, can our public healthcare sys-tem manage to deal with it? Is therea contingency plan for such a situ-ation?

Right now the Governmentseems to be banking on the COVID-19 not reaching rural India. It ishoping that the million migrantlabourers who went back home totheir villages soon after the nation-wide lockdown began on March 25might not be infected or vectors.

This is for two reasons, DrVardhan says. “Personally I feelthat these migrant labourers wouldnever have come in contact with thecarriers of the disease. TheCoronavirus arrived in India withinternational travellers and, there-fore, most cases so far have been inthe cities. The second is that theyhave already covered the two-week quarantine period. Had they

been infected it would have beendetected by this time,” he explainsto this columnist.

Also, the rural folks havebecome alert and do not allowstrangers into their villages. They arekeeping constant vigil. Awarenessabout the virus and how it spreadshas increased because there are117 crore phone subscribers who getinformation through their mobilephones.

State officials have told villagecouncils to prevent labourers return-ing from the cities from entering thevillage or meeting people due to thefear that they might be infected withthe Coronavirus. In view of allthese precautions, the Minister isconfident of meeting the challengeif it reaches rural India.

“Money is not an issue. We havegiven �4,000 crore to the States. Weare supplying them test kits. We can

do much more,” he assures.However, data show that though

urban residents are more at risk dueto proximity to international trav-ellers and cheek by jowl housing, therural folk are not off the hook asthey face several challenges includ-ing inadequate access to properhealthcare, low insurance penetra-tion and a growing chronic diseaseburden.

With two-thirds of the popula-tion living in rural India, we needa different strategy to take care oftheir healthcare needs, particularlyas the pandemic looms over us. Asa priority, the quality of rural health-care needs to be stepped up.

The health infrastructure datapublished in the National HealthProfile, 2019, found thatGovernment hospitals would runout of beds in rural India even if thevirus hits 0.03 per cent of the pop-

ulation in the villages. The pressureof handling patients in rural Indiais twice as much as the nationalaverage. While for every 10,000 peo-ple in the country, there is one doc-tor available; in rural India one doc-tor is available for every 26,000 peo-ple.

There are also practical difficul-ties in implementing Governmentguidelines on health and hygiene.For instance, rural folks wonder howthey can follow social distancing ina limited space? Or wash theirhands often when they are in thefields or even at home becausethere is no running water or soap?They wonder how they will be ableto afford masks when they don’thave money to buy them? Or howcould they get proper healthcare inthe event of an outbreak whenthere are not enough Governmenthospitals in the vicinity?

The widening urban-ruraldivide is also evident in the inequal-ities in consumption, quality of lifeand availability of physical andsocial infrastructure.

The Union Governmentannounced a �1.7 trillion financialpackage on March 26 for direct cashtransfers and free food and the sec-ond one is to follow soon. But thisbarely amounts to one per cent ofIndia’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

What is needed is a strategysuited to rural India. For an inclu-sive economic growth, there is aneed to focus on the agrarian econ-omy. Second, the panchayats shouldbe utilised in the fight againstCOVID-19 and also for economicrecovery.

Realising the need for this,Prime Minister Narendra Modihimself addressed the gram pan-

chayats and sought their help lastweek. Similarly, realising theirimportance, Odisha Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik has pragmaticallyvested on sarpanches the powers ofDistrict Collectors.

In Kerala, its network of localbodies and the women empower-ment programme ‘Kutumbashree’has taken the battle against theCoronavirus to the communitylevel. Gram panchayats could be theengine to deal with the problemsunique to the villages. It is clear thata successful strategy for rural Indiawill go a long way in dealing withthe pandemic. However, the solu-tions have to be organic and com-munity-based for them to work.And the war should be fought ontwo fronts — healthcare as well ason the economic front.

(The writer is a senior journal-ist)

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China on Tuesday called onall countries of the five-

member BRICS bloc to uniteand "do the right thing" in theface of the Covid-19 pandem-ic, amid mounting pressurefrom the US and other countrieson Beijing over the origins of thecoronavirus.

With its rapid spread inmany parts of the world, theCovid-19 has put the lives andhealth of people around theworld under grave threat, seri-ously disrupted the flow ofpeople worldwide and the glob-

al economy, and posed a severechallenge to BRICS (Brazil,Russia, India, China and SouthAfrica) countries, ChineseForeign Minister Wang Yi saidwhile speaking at a video con-ference of the BRICS' foreignministers. "Should we let scienceand reason prevail or createpolitical divisions, bolster coop-eration across borders or isolateourselves through decoupling,promote multilateral coordi-nation or practice unilateralism?We all need to answer thesequestions in a way that standsthe test of history," said Wang,who is also the State Councillor.

While US President DonaldTrump has stepped up calls fora probe into the origin of coro-navirus, which emerged firstfrom Wuhan, Britain, Australiaand German Chancellor AngelaMerkel have called for moretransparency from Beijing onCovid-19 origins.

China said the origin of thevirus is a matter of science andshould be studied by scientistsand professionals.

Wang said as representa-tives of major emerging coun-tries with global influence, theBRICS countries much act inthe interest of the well-being of

humankind, and stand by jus-tice and equity.

"We must make the rightcall and do the right thing," hewas quoted as saying by thestate-run Xinhua news agencyreported. "We must worktogether to sustain a peacefuland stable international envi-ronment and foster brighterprospects for win-win progress,"he said. Wang called on allBRICS countries to stand firmby multilateralism, by the UN-centred international systemand by the purposes and prin-ciples of the UN Charter.

Trump has withdrawn over

USD 400 million funding forthe World Health Organisation(WHO), accusing it of backingChina in "cover-up and under-reporting" of coronavirus cases.

For its part, China whichhas announced USD 30 millionadditional funding to the WHOhas staunchly defended its roleand the health agency's DirectorGeneral Dr General TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus.

"We need to champion theapproach of consultation andcooperation for shared benefitsin governance, and take the leadin advancing global governancereform along the right direc-

tion," Wang said. He called onBRICS countries to safeguardthrough the joint efforts thelegitimate rights and interestsand space for development "notjust for ourselves but also for allother emerging market anddeveloping countries."

Wang asked the countries toenhance coordination onmacroeconomic policies to curbrecession, create jobs, protectlivelihoods and stabilise theglobal economy. He also calledfor sustaining coordination tokeep up the secure and smoothfunctioning of global industrialand supply chains.

"The sudden onslaught ofCOVID-19 reminds us onceagain that our interests areclosely entwined and so are ourfutures," Wang said. A challengethat respects no border andmakes no distinction of ethnic-ity has only made global gover-nance more important, not less,he said. In response to somearguments that the world willnever be the same again after theCoid-19, Wang said China'sstrategic assessment was that thepandemic will not change thetheme of the times whichremains peace and develop-ment.

Beijing/Wuhan: A few gutsyIndians who stayed put inWuhan are back at work aftera strict 76-day lockdown, butare still worried about the pos-sibility of a second wave ofattack by the vicious coron-avirus, going by the growingnumber of asymptomatic casesin the country.

Wuhan, the central Chinesecity at the epicentre of the coro-navirus pandemic, made glob-al headlines on Sunday as thelast COVID-19 patient was dis-

charged, marking an importantmilestone in the city's fightagainst the invisible enemy,while India and several othercountries are still under strictlockdown to curb the spread ofthe disease that has claimed over2,10,000 lives worldwide.

With 50,333 confirmedcases and 3,869 deaths, Wuhanbore the brunt of the highly-infectious virus which firstemerged there in Decemberlast year and spread like wild-fire in the city of 11 million peo-

ple before turning into a glob-al pandemic, virtually bringingthe world to a grinding halt.

Wuhan, which becamefamous in India for the historicfirst informal summit betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Chinese President XiJinping in 2018, is a majorinternational educational cen-tre and industrial hub withsome of China's famous scien-tific research centres and lab-oratories, attracting studentsfrom India and abroad. PTI

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The UN humanitarian chiefsaid USD 90 billion could

provide income support, foodand a health response to thecoronavirus pandemic for 700million of the world's most vul-nerable people — a price tagjust 1 per cent of the USD 8 tril-lion stimulus package the 20richest countries put in place tosafeguard the global economy.

Mark Lowcock told a videobriefing most experts agreethat the peak of the Covid-19pandemic hasn't reached thepoorest parts of the world, butmay peak in the next three tosix months.

He said about 700 millionpeople — 10 per cent of theworld's population — are mostvulnerable and concentrated inabout 30 to 40 countries whichalready receive humanitarianassistance and will see a bigdrop in incomes as the virusspreads and governmentsimpose restrictive measuresand lock downs.

“If you wanted to protectthem against that drop inincome, then probably forabout USD 60 billion you coulddo that,” Lowcock said.

And for something likeUSD 30 billion, he said, peoplefacing the threat of starvationcan get food, and the healthresponse to Covid-19 can befinanced.

Lowcock said probablytwo-thirds of the USD 90 bil-lion could come from interna-tional financial institutions likethe World Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund.

“They would need tochange the terms on whichthey provide assistance to somepeople,” he said.

“So, for example, theywould need to reduce interest rates and provide somedebt relief. But they have thefirepower if they were given abit more subsidy to probablymeet about two-thirds of the costs.”

Lowcock said the remain-ing one-third could be financedby a one-time increase inGovernment developmentassistance.

He said the argument he'smaking is that a one-off 20 percent increase “will save youhaving to deal with a 10-yearproblem.” “USD 90 billion is alot of money but it is an afford-able sum of money,” he said.

New York: The USDepartment of Defense hasreleased three short videosshowing what appears to beunidentified flying objects.

The videos showing"unidentified aerial phenome-na", the term used by thePentagon, were taken by USNavy pilots, one in November2004 and the other two inJanuary 2015.

Even before the USDepartment of Defense decid-ed to authorise the release ofthe videos, they were circulat-ing in the public domain afterunauthorised releases in 2007and 2017.

The US Navy previously

admitted that these videos cir-culating in the public domainwere not fakes.

"After a thorough review,the department has determinedthat the authorised release ofthese unclassified videos doesnot reveal any sensitive capa-bilities or systems, and does notimpinge on any subsequentinvestigations of military airspace incursions by unidenti-

fied aerial phenomena," the USDepartment of Defense said ina statement on Monday.

"DOD is releasing thevideos in order to clear up anymisconceptions by the publicon whether or not the footagethat has been circulating wasreal, or whether or not there ismore to the videos," said thestatement, adding that the aer-ial phenomena observed inthe videos remain characterisedas "unidentified."

Two airmen documentedthe 2004 incident in the NewYork Times three years ago.They estimated the unidenti-fied object to be 12.19-metrelong and oval in shape. IANS

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South Korea's UnificationMinister Kim Yeon-chul on

Tuesday rejected unconfirmedreports of North Korean leaderKim Jong-un's health as "fakenews" and "infodemic", insist-ing he can say confidentlythere have been no unusualsigns in Pyongyang.

Speculation about Kim'shealth spiked after he skippedan annual visit to the mau-soleum of his grandfather KimIl-sung on the late nationalfounder's April 15 birthanniversary, the North's mostimportant national holiday,reports Yonhap News Agency.

Media reports have sincespeculated that Kim Jong-unmight be seriously ill, but SouthKorean officials have disputedthe reports, repeatedly sayingthere were no unusual signsfound in North Korea and thatthe leader was believed to bestaying in the country's easterncoastal town of Wonsan.

"It can be seen as a phe-nomenon of infodemic," theUnification Minister said dur-ing a parliamentary foreignaffairs committee meeting,referring to a recent deluge ofunfounded rumours about theleader's heath.

"We have intelligencecapacity that allows us to say

confidently that there are nounusual signs."

In a report last week, CNNsaid that the US was lookinginto intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" aftera surgery.

That came after a report byDaily NK, a South Korea-basednews outlet specializing inNorth Korea issues, that KimJong-un was receiving medicaltreatment outside Pyongyangfollowing a cardiovascular pro-cedure, said the Yonhap NewsAgency.

The Minister duringTuesday's briefing called thosereports "fake news" based onunconfirmed information.

Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump said he has a"very good idea" about the sta-tus of Kim Jong Un but he can't talk about it now, amid rumours about theill health of the North Koreanleader.

“I can't tell you exactly —yes, I do have a very good ideabut I can't talk about it now. Ijust wish him well,” Trump toldreporters at a White Housenews conference.

There have been uncon-firmed reports that Kim is notin good health. The rumoursbegan after he missed the April15 commemoration of the108th birthday of his grandfa-ther, North Korea founder Kim

Il Sung. North Korea has notdispelled the rumours of illhealth of its ruler.

“I have had a very goodrelationship with Kim JongUn. If I weren't president youwould be... You would havebeen in war with Korea. Youwould have been in war withNorth Korea if I wasn't presi-dent that I can tell you. Heexpected that. That I can tellyou,” he said.

“I hope he's fine. I doknow how he's doing relative-ly speaking. We will see… Youwill probably be hearing in thenot-too-distant future,” Trump,who met Kim at least twice topersuade him to give up hisnuclear weapons, said. IANS

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French Prime MinisterEdouard Philippe has out-

lined a plan to fight the coro-navirus by testing everyonewho has come in contact withan infected person.

Philippe announced theplan while addressing law-makers at the NationalAssembly. He said when a per-son tests positive, individualsthat have been close contactwith that person — regardlessof whether they have anysymptoms or not — will be tested. Philippe said, “Allthese contact cases will be test-ed and will be asked to isolatethemselves.”

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The US is carrying out a"very serious" investigation

against China, PresidentDonald Trump has said, indi-cating that his administrationis looking at a bigger compen-sation from Beijing than theUSD 140 billion being soughtby Germany over the coron-avirus pandemic.

The deadly contagion,which originated in China inmid-November, has so farkilled more than two lakh peo-ple and infected over three mil-lion globally. The largest num-ber of them are in the US: morethan 56,000 deaths and overone million infections.

Leaders of the US, the UK

and Germany increasinglybelieve that the unfortunatedeaths of so many people anddestruction of the global econ-omy could have been avoided,if China had shown trans-parency and shared the infor-mation about the virus in itsearly phases.

Many countries have start-ed talking about claiming com-pensation from China. Trump,during the Rose Garden pressconference on Monday, wasasked about Germany planningto send a bill to China for euro130 billion (USD 140 billion)for the damages. “Would youradministration look at doingthe same?”

“Well, we can do some-thing much easier than that.

We have ways of doing thingsa lot easier than that,” thePresident replied. "Germany islooking at things and we'relooking at things and we'retalking about a lot more moneythan Germany is talking about.

“We haven't determinedthe final amount yet,” but "it isvery substantial," Trump said.After the US, Europe has beenthe worst hit by the virus. InIndia, mainly because of theearly and aggressive preventivemeasures, the fatalities haveremained low at 886 and infec-tions at 28,000.

“If you look at the world, Imean, this is a worldwide dam-age. This is a damage to the USbut this is a damage to theworld,” said the President.

Trump said there are "a lotof ways" one can hold Chinaaccountable for the spread ofthe virus. “We're doing veryserious investigations, as youprobably know. We are nothappy with China,” he said.

“We are not happy withthat whole situation because webelieve it could've been stoppedat the source. It could've beenstopped quickly and it would-n't have spread all over theworld. And we think thatshould have happened. So,we'll let you know at the appro-priate time, but we are doingserious investigations,” Trumpsaid. In recent weeks, there hasbeen an increasing supporttowards the move to holdChina accountable.

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Russian President VladimirPutin has extended the

nation’s partial economic shut-down through May 11, sayingthe coronavirus outbreak isyet to reach a peak. Speaking ina conference call with top offi-cials on Tuesday, Putin says theshutdown that began at the endof March and was to expire onApril 30 has slowed conta-gion. Lockdowns imposed byRussian regions have kept mostpeople, except those working invital industries, at home.

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More than 2,10,000 peoplehave died worldwide in

the coronavirus pandemic, 85per cent of them in Europe andthe United States.

A total of 2,13,437 deathshave been recorded among3,094,964 cases since the out-break began in China late lastyear. Total 9,38,497 have beenrecovered so far.

Washington: US cases of thenovel coronavirus wereapproaching 1 million onTuesday, having doubled in 18days, and made up one-third ofall infections in the world,according to a Reuters tally.

More than 56,000Americans have died of thehighly contagious respiratoryillness COVID-19 caused bythe virus, an average of about2,000 a day this month, accord-ing to the tally.

The actual number of casesis thought to be higher, withstate public health officialscautioning that shortages oftrained workers and materialshave limited testing capacity.

About 30% of the cases

have occurred in New Yorkstate, the epicenter of the USoutbreak, followed by NewJersey, Massachusetts,California and Pennsylvania.

Globally, coronavirus casestop 3 million since the outbreakbegan in China late last year. TheUnited States, with the world'sthird-largest population, hasfive times as many cases as thenext hardest-hit countries ofItaly, Spain and France.

Of the top 20 most severe-ly affected countries, the UnitedStates ranks fifth based oncases per capita, according to aReuters tally. The United Stateshas about 30 cases per 10,000people. Spain ranks first atover 48 cases per 10,000 peo-ple, followed by Belgium,Switzerland and Italy.

US coronavirus deaths, thehighest in the world, now exceedthe total number of Americanskilled in the 1950-53 KoreanWar — 36,516. Coronavirusdeaths total just below the 58,220Americans killed during theVietnam War that ended in1975. The coronavirus has killedmore people in the United States

than the seasonal flu in recentyears, except for the 2017-2018season, according to the US.

Flu deaths range from alow of 12,000 in the 2011-2012season to a high of 61,000 dur-ing 2017-2018. Coronavirusdeaths in the United States fallfar short of the Spanish flu,which began in 1918 and killed675,000 Americans, accordingto the CDC.

Unprecedented stay-at-home orders to try to curb thespread of the virus have ham-mered the economy, with thenumber of Americans seekingunemployment benefits overthe last five weeks soaring to26.5 million.

About a dozen states arebeginning to relax the stay-at-home restrictions despite thewarning of health experts thatpremature actions could causea surge in new cases.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey thismonth found that a bipartisanmajority of Americans want goon sheltering in place to protectthemselves from the coron-avirus, despite the impact onthe economy. Agency

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Page 9: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......15 places, including Delhi, ... must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. ... “They got angry after see-ing

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Tarun Garg is an old auto-motive hand in the Indian

market, having been in theindustry for almost threedecades. The Director - Sales,Service and Marketing forHyundai Motor India Limitedbelieves that India will emergefrom the extended period ofeconomic activity with a cer-tain degree of demand, if somemeasures are taken by the gov-ernment.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Garg correctly pointed out thatit was not just the automotivesector in India that is hurting

and as such, few industriescould ask for preferential treat-ment.

“We are working with thegovernment through ourindustry body SIAM (Societyof Indian AutomobileManufacturers) and makingour representations on variousissues.”

Garg said that there werethree key focus areas for theautomotive industry as regardssupply-side interventions thatthe government could do.

“First and foremost isfinance. Critically to dealers, sothat they can manage theirinventories and their costs.

The government is consideringrelief for the Medium andSmall enterprises and mostdealers fall in that category. Itis also critical that consumerfinance continues strong, since80 percent of car sales contin-ue to be financed.”

Specifically to the autoindustry, Garg said that hewas positive that the govern-ment would consider a mea-sured scrappage schemes thatwould spur demand, “webelieve that the drafting ofsuch a scheme is underway.”

“Taxation is the thirdmajor aspect where the gov-ernment can spur demand.

How the government gives taxrelief is up to them, whether itis a cut on excise duties toreduce prices or relief on per-sonal taxes that leave moremoney in the consumers handto spend. These could be time-bound which can encouragespending”, Garg added.

As for Hyundai, Garg saidthat the second-generationCreta which the Korean car-maker had launched daysbefore the lockdown had gar-nered 20,000 bookings.

“Our dealers have beenreaching out to all our cus-tomers who made bookingsand unfortunately could not

take delivery, all of them arelooking forward to drive hometheir new cars. The story is the same with allour new models.”

The carmaker has beenholding special online classeswith their sales and service staffof how they have to reach outto customers as a part of theirsocial responsibility. Servicerepresentatives from Hyundaihave been calling up customersto give them vehicle mainte-nance tips.

At the same time, dealersare preparing for the start-upby properly sanitising theirlocations and also on the ser-

vice front by ensuring thatcars returned to customersafter service are highly santised,“everything from the exteriorsto the steering wheel have tomeet high standards of clean-liness.”

But what about the Indianmarket? With economicgrowth for being forecast in thetwo per cent range, Gargadmits that there will be painin the automotive sector also,yet he is optimistic about theIndian automotive space.

“In 2008 when theLehmann Brothers collapsehappened, India also endureda crisis and car sales were hit.

But the two years following thatwe saw double-digit growth, sowhen I say India is resilient,that is because India has beenresilient in the past as well. Thefact is that car penetration inIndia remains at a very low 27cars per 1,000. We will see some behaviouralchanges in the aftermath of thiscrisis, people will move awayfrom shared mobility to per-sonal vehicles due to hygiene.But there will be other changesas well, and we have to look at the positives that will emerge for us as a society from this, in the newnormal.”

�� � 345�6478

Reiterating its demand for aneconomic package for the

trading community, theConfederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) on Tuesdaysaid that it is high time for theannouncement of relief mea-sures for them.

In a statement, CAIT saidthat it has written to FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,saying that the governmenthas announced several pack-ages of other sections of economy but the tradingcommunity is still awaiting apackage.

It stressed that if an ade-quate package is not given totraders, the domestic trade inthe country is likely to collapseto a large extent, adding thatsince the retail sector is thelargest employment providerafter agriculture, it is all themore necessary to providerelief to this sector.

New Delhi: SRM group of Institutions, under thepatronage of its Founder Chancellor andPerambalur MP Dr TR Paarivendhar distributed1,000 packets of relief materials containing rice,wheat, dhal and other groceries worth �5 lakh tothe needy people of its 8 UBA adopted villagesthrough the Chengalpattu district administration.

In an event held at the District Collector’soffice today, District collector, Mr. John Louis IAS,in the presence of Priya, DRO, Selvam, RDOinaugurated the token distribution for 30 house-holds of Anjur village.

New Delhi: At the times of the globalPandemic caused by the spread of the highlycontagious Covid-19 virus Northern Railwayunder the guidance and overall supervision ofRajiv Chaudhry, General Manager, NorthCentral & Northern Railway, is striving inevery way to strengthen the efforts being putin by the Government to contain the spreadof the virus and to make the life of the peopleeasier in the lock down.

Assets of Northern Railway are beingutilised to innovative uses be it converting ofrail coaches into mobile quarantine centres orproduction of protective gears in theLocomotive, Coach & Wagon Maintenanceworkshops.

The employees of Northern Railway arealso putting ‘service before self ’ in these test-ing times and are not only involved in the cargo& goods trains operations but are also takingcare of the underprivileged.

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Axis Bank on Tuesdayreported a net loss of

�1,388 crore for the fourthquarter (Q4) of 2019-20 due tohigher provisions.

The lender had posted anet profit of �1,505 crore for thecorresponding period of theprevious fiscal.

However, the bank’s netinterest income (NII) zoomedto 19 per cent to �6,808 croreduring the quarter from �5,706crore earned during the corre-sponding quarter of the previ-ous year.

According to the bank, ithas made specific loan lossprovisions for Q4FY 20 at�4,204 crore, compared to�1,714 crore in Q4 last year and�2,962 crore in Q3FY20.

Further, it held an addi-tional provisions of around �2,558 crore towards variouscontingencies at the end ofQ3FY20.

“The bank made otherprovisions aggregating �3,526crore in Q4 FY20 of which�3,000 crore is towards Covid-19,” the bank said in a state-ment. “At March 31, 2020, theBank holds in aggregate addi-tional provisions of �5,983crore. It is pertinent to note thatthis is over and above the NPAprovisioning included in ourPCR calculations, and the 0.4per cent standard asset provi-sioning requirement on stan-dard assets.” Furthermore, thebank said that it has recognisedslippages of �3,920 crore dur-ing Q4FY20, compared to�6,214 crore in Q3FY20 and�3,012 crore in Q4FY19.

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Indian equities remained onthe front foot for the second

consecutive session on Tuesday,with benchmarks settling at anear seven-week high amidhopes of more stimulus mea-sures to cushion the coron-avirus-induced economic shock.

The BSE gauge Sensexclosed above the psychological32,000-mark after more thansix weeks. The index settled371.44 points or 1.17 per cent

higher at 32,114.52. It hit anintra-day high of 32,199.91and a low of 31,661.34.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyadvanced 98.60 points, or 1.06per cent, to close at 9,380.90 –its highest closing level sinceMarch 13. Financial stocks ledthe rally on the Sensex for thesecond straight session onTuesday, buoyed by RBI’s�50,000-crore special liquiditysupport to the mutual fundindustry.

On the Sensex chart,

IndusInd Bank was the top gain-er, rallying over 15 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC,Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. Onthe other hand, Sun Pharma,NTPC, Nestle India, HCL Techand Bharti Airtel were amongthe prominent losers.

Sector-wise, BSE finance,bankex, consumer durables,oil and gas, realty and autoindices rallied up to 3.53 percent; while healthcare, tele-com, FMCG and power indicesfell up to 1.65 per cent. In the

broader market, midcap andsmallcap indices rose up to 0.80per cent.

Other than hopes of anoth-er stimulus by the govern-ment, positive cues from theglobal arena about easing coro-navirus-induced curbs alsoenthused investors in thedomestic market.

“Benchmark indices endedpositive tracking global mar-kets, led by financials. Hopes ofa fiscal stimulus have givensupport to the markets. Stock

specific news reactions arehappening based on the resultsand management commen-tary,” Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices, said.

He added the sustainabil-ity of this rally depends on theeasing of lockdown measuresand the steps to get businessesback on track.

Asian shares were mixedTuesday as Governments inchtoward letting businessesreopen and central banks step

in to provide cash toeconomies. European stocksadvanced on data showingslowing growth in the deadly

virus that has closed the glob-al economy and on strongearnings reports that out-weighed a slump in oil prices.

International oil bench-mark Brent crude futuresadvanced 1.95 per cent to USD23.52 per barrel.

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Moody’s Investors Serviceon Tuesday slashed India’s

growth forecast to 0.2 per centfor the 2020 calendar yearfrom the earlier projection of2.5 per cent released in March.

Stating that the economiccosts of shutdown of the glob-al economy are accumulatingrapidly, Moody’s in its GlobalMacro Outlook 2020-21 (April2020 Update) projected that allG-20 advanced economieswould contract by 5.8 per centin 2020.

In November last year,before the emergence of thecoronavirus, the rating agencywas expecting the global econ-omy to grow by 2.6 per centthis year. Among the emergingeconomies in G-20, Moody’s

projected India to grow at 0.2per cent in 2020 and 6.2 percent in 2021. This compares to5.3 per cent growth clocked in2019. “India extended a nation-wide lockdown to 40 daysfrom 21 days, but relaxedrestrictions in rural areas tofacilitate agricultural harvestingin the second half of April. Thecountry has determined thatmany of these areas are free ofthe virus. India also plans aphased opening of differentregions while continuing tocarry out identification andcontract tracing,” Moody’s said.

Late last month, the gov-ernment had announced a �1.7lakh crore stimulus packagecomprising free foodgrains andcooking gas to poor and cash dole to poor women andelderly.

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The Government hasextended the deadline to

bid for Air India by twomonths till June 30, as theCovid-19 fallout has disruptedeconomic activity globally.

This is the second exten-sion in the deadline to submitbids by investors for Air Indiasince it initiated the process ofstake sale in the debt-riddennational carrier on January 27.

Issuing a corrigendum tothe Expression of Interest forsale of Air India, theDepartment of Investment andPublic Asset Management saidthe deadline has been extend-ed in view of the “requestreceived from the IBs (inter-ested bidders) in view of theprevailing situation arising outof Covid-19”. While issuing theEoI in January, the last date forbids was kept for March 17,which was later extended toApril 30. This has now beenfurther extended till June 30.

Also the date for intima-tion to qualified interested bid-ders (QIB) has been extendedby 2 months till July 14, theDIPAM said in the corrigen-

dum posted on its website.“Further changes with

respect to the Important Dates,if any, will be communicated tothe Interested Bidders subse-quently,” it added.

Covid-19 pandemic hasdisrupted economic activityglobally with many countriesannouncing lockdown to con-tain the virus spread. The avi-ation sector has been hit hardby Covid-19 with airlines can-celling international flights andannouncing pay cuts foremployees. The extension ofAir India bid deadline fol-lowed the government’s movelast month to extend the timegiven to investors to bid for itsentire 52.98 per cent stake inBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd(BPCL) to June 13. The earli-er deadline was May 2.

After its unsuccessful bid tosell Air India in 2018, the gov-ernment in January 2020 restart-ed the divestment process for AirIndia and invited bids for selling100 per cent of its equity in thestate-owned airline, includingAir India’s 100 per cent share-holding in AI Express Ltd and50 per cent in Air India SATSAirport Services Private Ltd.

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Auto sales are likely toremain muted as con-

sumers may not flock to deal-erships and even avoid shop-ping malls and markets due tothe fear of coronavirus infec-tion for an extended periodpost lockdown, a report said onTuesday.

The report by ratingsagency Crisil Research pro-jected that half of passengersvehicle sales and a third of two-wheeler volume are at risk dueto the coronavirus-inducedpandemic.

Even if the nation-widelockdown is lifted on May 3,resumption of normal opera-tions at automobile dealer-ships would depend onwhether a dealership is outside

a demarcated hotspot and if ithas the necessary licences fromthe state/ district administra-tion to operate, the reportnoted.

The Ministry of HomeAffairs has allowed resumptionof several activities from April20, albeit by strictly adhering to social distancingnorms.

This covers manufacturingin industrial units, includingautomobile factories, underthe purview of state/ districtadministration.

In addition, the centralgovernment has directed state/district administrations to cal-ibrate the revocation of lock-down after demarcating dis-tricts as red (hotspots with highinfection) and green (non-infected) zones.

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Mumbai: The Indian rupee rose by 7 paise toclose at 76.18 (provisional) against the US dol-lar on Tuesday, tracking positive domestic equi-ties and a weak American currency in the over-seas market.

This is the second consecutive day of gainfor the rupee, during which it has appreciated

by 28 paise. At the interbank foreign exchange,the rupee opened at 76.33. During the sessionit touched an intra-day high of 76.14 and a lowof 76.44.

The domestic unit finally settled at 76.18,registering a rise of 7 paise over its previousclose. PTI

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Deeksha has initiated a free 21-dayonline bridge course which helps

students who have completed theirClass X to transition smoothly intoScience streams of PUC. The coursefocuses on important concepts, prob-lem-solving and formulae in the coresubjects of Math, Physics, Chemistryand Biology.

The course will have four hour class-es for six days a week. Post registration,students will be given a login id andpassword to the Impartus platformwhere lectures are taught and uploadedlater for access, along with live doubt

clarification and homework.“The PU syllabus is in-depth, and

students must have a strong hold overcore concepts which are taught in the9th and 10th grades in order to makethe most of their PU years. The BridgeCourse has been designed to help stu-dents become self-dependent, strength-en their foundation and have more con-trol over their learning. This course hasbeen developed entirely for the onlineplatform and is an opportunity for stu-dents and teachers to adjust to the newonline teaching paradigm, before thestart of the semester,” said Dr Sridhar G,founder, Deeksha.

The 21 day online bridge coursestarts from May 4.

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The FORE School ofManagement has commit-

ted an amount of �10 lakhtowards the PM-CARES fund.The institute’s decision hascome in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic outbreakthat is currently being foughtby the nation.

The institute pledged thissupport in this extraordinarytime and severe crisis. This isin addition to the CorporateSocial Responsibility and phil-anthropic activities FORE

undertakes regularly. Through this contribution

FORE expresses its solidaritywith the nation in its fightagainst this unprecedented andcataclysmic situation affectingthe wellbeing of the people ofIndia. It is good to see that evenwhile widening economic slow-down, the B School is happilylending the helping hand.

The institute is playing akey role in ensuring commu-nity welfare through its engag-ing, creative and resourcefulteam in assuaging any life-threatening crisis.

Schools, educational institutes andtuitions are closed for regular teach-

ing as a precautionary measure inlight of COVID-19 pandemic. Studentsare at home, as are their parents.Everyone is trying to make the best ofthis period of lockdown. While parentsare trying to balance work-from-homewith family time, a challenge that mostparents are also facing is that of keep-ing their school going children mean-ingfully engaged and ensuring that theirstudies do not suffer. Technology is play-ing an important role here.

Online learning platforms areensuring that students can continuewith their classes from the safety of theirhomes. Educators and Ed Tech solutionproviders are joining hands to help tideover this crisis. From providing platformaccess to schools to conduct their ownlive classes to organising free live class-es for students of all grades — all solu-tions are geared towards ensuring thatstudents can continue their learning.

For most students across India,April is typically the start of the new aca-demic session. Particularly, for studentsin Class X and XII who will be appear-ing for their Board Exams in 2021,attending classes online is the only waythey can continue to keep up with their

syllabus. Online classes are a saviour toofor all those students appearing for com-petitive exams over the next fewmonths.

Some of the highlights of a power-ful online learning experience include:� Live interactive classes with teach-ers who are thoroughly trained andexperienced� Comprehensive study content in the

form of videos and animations toexplain a concept� Powerful assessments in the form ofa variety of tests and smart reports� All India Test Series (for JEE/NEETaspirants) that help benchmark theirperformance against other aspirants� An interactive 'classroom' experiencethrough the use of chat, in-class quizzesand polls

� Forums and dedicated platforms forimmediate doubt resolution where stu-dents can connect with their teachers� The freedom and flexibility to accessthese classes across devices - mobile,tablet, laptop or desktop� The option to continue learning atyour own pace - recorded lectures,video lessons and more.

Online learning does call for asense of discipline. For students to beable to muster that, it is important thatthey are encouraged to balance theironline studies with other activities forleisure. While studying, remember totake adequate breaks. Needless to say,a good diet and adequate rest and exer-cise will go a long way to ensure thatstudents can make the most of theironline classes.

Parents too can consider taking iteasy with their restrictions related toscreen times during this period. Letthem watch their favourite series or playa game or two if they wish to. It isindeed a difficult period for all and ourchildren too must be trying hard tocope with this new reality in light of thevirus. Thank God for technology andthe world wide web!

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The Coronavirus outbreak is lead-ing into a situation where publichealth systems need to act deci-

sively and quickly to contain thegrowth of the deadly virus in our coun-try.

Clearly, the main emphasis is andshould be on containing and mitigat-ing the disease itself. But we cannotnegate the economic slowdown it hascreated with companies grappling tounderstand and implement lessonsbeing learnt from this global pandem-ic.

The entrepreneur/business ownerholds the key in such a critical situation;as their clarity, approach and visiontowards understanding the marketscenario and their business will definehow the economy in India will emergefrom the current economic crisis.

Here are a few key learning whichshould be applied by entrepreneurs dur-ing such times:� Keep yourself updated on an hourlybasis: Business events in such a situa-tion are taking place at a shocking speedand the picture changes very fre-quently. Only few days ago, it lookedlike the outbreak was mostly confinedto few cities but within a couple of daysthe virus has entered every state of thecountry. This is also critical if your busi-ness has a pan-India presence.Communicate with your team andupdate date and vice versa every 6 hourson data points, tweak in businessstrategies etc.� Employee communication: In suchscenarios, employees might likely getexposed to conflicting informationand feel anxious or confused about thebest course of action. Make sure that

travel policies are clear in terms ofwhere employees can travel to, for whatreasons, what authorisations arerequired and when the policy will bereviewed. Also, adopting flexible work-ing options such as remote workbecome important. Lay clear guidelineson how they will work and when theywill be reviewed. Communicate poli-cies promptly, clearly and in a balancedmanner to all employees to get the sameeffective outcome as it was there dur-ing regular office hours.� Self-learning: Learning is a contin-uous process and shouldn’t stop at anylevel. In fact the most successful peo-ple in the world are the ones who makea commitment to never stop learning.Success often means nurturing the lovefor learning and if you want to be suc-cessful always try and learn somethingnew. A strong desire of learning newthings can help increase personal andbusiness productivity especially duringa situation like the corona virus out-

break where many places have beenlocked down. In such a situation onlinetutorials, web-based informationalcourses and apps that offer assistancewith just a few taps is the best way toenhance your learning.� Reflect on what you’ve learnt:Rather than breathing a sigh of reliefand returning to a normal routine whenthe crisis subsides, efforts should bemade not to squander a valuable learn-ing which you might have gained dur-ing crisis situation. Documentation ofresponses, events during COVID-19should be made which can be reviewedlater. Rapidly evolving situations exposeexisting organisational weaknesses,like an inability to make hard decisionsor an excessive bias towards consensuswhich constitute opportunities forimprovement.� Prepare now for the next crisis:Coronavirus is not a one-off challenge.There is a high possibility to expectadditional phases to the current epi-

demic and additional epidemics in thefuture. Your research on the effective-ness of organisational responses todynamic crises indicates that there isone variable which is most predictiveof eventual success — preparation andpre-emption. Preparing for the next cri-sis (or the next phase of the current cri-sis) now is likely to be much more effec-tive than ad hoc reactive decisions thatare taken when the crisis actually hits.

And finally, smart entrepreneursmust also prepare themselves for achanged world. We should expect thatthe Coronavirus or any pandemic cri-sis will change the businesses andsociety in important ways. It is likely tofuel certain areas such as online shop-ping, e-education and public healthinvestments. Companies need to con-sider the changes this crisis has madein the way they operate, use that learn-ing and reflect it in their strategic plans.

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Are you an entrepreneur? Doesworking from home leave

you isolated or subject to distrac-tions, in turn impacting yourproductivity? Or you can’t affordtraditional private office space;perhaps it is time to dig the con-cept of coworking.

Even traditionalists have beenbidding the office goodbye infavour of a work-from-anywherelifestyle. Where coworking hasbecome the digital age’ sage’sanswer to 50 years of the cubicle,and the hype is only getting loud-er.

Coworking spaces are nowmore than just a hot trend, but dueto every facility which they offer,they are likely to be around formany years. So as an entrepreneur,if you choose to work in a sharedoffice space, you can expect toenjoy some of the following perks.

Productivity boostingsetting: Coworking spaces havebeen intricately designed to boostcreativity, productivity, and col-laboration. Being part of a sharedenvironment allows individuals tocollaborate, get exposure to newideas, different ways of workingwith a sense of togetherness. Thepositivity that emanated fromthose environments is what madecoworking such a unique, enrich-ing, and charming experience.

The open space is a juxtapo-sition of office settings as well asa home environment that providesflexibility to every worker. Thepresence of strategically baseditems like plants, design of chairsas well as colours of the walls playsan essential role that helps inextracting great professionalresults.

Working and more:Coworking spaces are becomingnot just a place to work, but alsoa place to learn and grow. Manyshared workspaces conduct dif-ferent activities like yoga classes,meditation sessions, and socialmixers.

Liberty to grow: Coworkingspaces are the best choice for allkinds of corporate firms andbusinesses. The flexibility of plug& play and absence of lockdownperiod offers liberty for everyoccupant to enter and exit thebooked office as per their demand

and need. While one needs to think of

the future of their company’s sizein terms of members as theyacquire a traditional workspace,such details are quite often uncon-sidered when booking a cowork-ing space.

Attracting and retainingtalent: Finding work-life balanceis becoming more and more vital,especially for the ever-progressivemillennial generation. The uplift-ment of coworking spaces isallowing the business owners tohave complete ownership of theirwork schedules, and a greatersense of autonomy over theirlives. They offer an option forentrepreneurs to work where theylive, which helps to spur creativ-ity, collaboration, and engagementin their passions to create evengreater and more sustainablegrowth.

From the freelance writer tothe software engineer, and to thetraveling mogul, coworking spacesare rapidly becoming the entre-preneur’s trend of the future. So,after given benefits coworkingspaces offer, it is no surprise thatthe shared working ecosystem isgrowing exponentially with nosigns of slowing down anytimesoon.

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The COVID-19 outbreakand the resultant uncer-

tainty has impacted schoolsand educational institutesacross India. Rising to theoccasion, Indian Edtechmajor Meritnation, a sub-sidiary of test preparationleader Aakash EducationalServices Limited (AESL), isconducting special free liveclasses for students duringthe lockdown helping themcontinue their studies.

Meritnation has

opened up its live classesand entire range of studyresources for students ofClass VI to Class XII at nocost, until the lockdown islifted. The premium studyresources provided byMeritnation include:� Videos, animationsexplaining concepts� Variety of tests and smartreports that give studentsvaluable insights� Access to a data bank ofover 40 lakh questionsanswered by experts� Supporting text and

downloadable RevisionNotes for easy reference� Solutions for NCERTand other textbooks

Meritnation is also con-ducting Live Classes forstudents appearing forJEE/NEET, at no charge.Additionally, more detailsabout the Free Live Classesby Meritnation can beviewed here — www.mer-itnation.com/liveclass.

Pavan Chauhan,Founder and CEO ofMeritnation believes thatthe ability to adapt is impor-

tant for success. “Studentsacross India are comingonline to study in hugenumbers. The popularity ofour live classes with thou-sands of students joining inevery day clearly showsthat students are increas-ingly getting used to theconcept of online learning.Meritnation will continueto offer free live classes onits platform till the lock-down is called off, and willbe there to ensure that thestudents get all the help tostudy,” he says.

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�&")�!��%�# �+The Indian School of

Hospitality is introduc-ing new postgraduate diplomain Ser vice OperationsManagement, tailor-made forboth recent and workinggraduates who wish tobecome human resource,marketing, customer servicemanagers in the services sec-tor.

Duration: Six months ofon-campus teaching supple-mented with online classesand digital learning, followedby five months of industryimmersion.

Eligibility:Candidates should have

successfully completed theirBachelor’s degree of a mini-mum three or four-year dura-tion with its equivalent(10+2+3 or 10+2+4). Thebachelor's or master's degree

should be from a universitywhich is recognised by theUGC of India.

The candidate needs tohave a minimum of 55 percent aggregate at graduationlevel.

Before applying, candi-dates studying three-yeardegree programme will haveneeded to pass all subjectsfrom the first to fourth semes-ter, while applicants who pur-sued a four-year courseshould have passed in all sub-jects from the first to sixthsemester.

C e r t i f i c a t i o n :Postgraduate Diploma inSer vice Operations inManagement.

How to apply: Log on tohttps://ish.nopaperforms.com/.

Last date to apply: July2020.

���&�3&�+���"")&%��&���The Institute of

Management Studies(IMS) offered degree pro-grammes affiliated to CCSUniversity Meerut invitesapplication for differentcourses for its 2020 batch.

IMS Noida offers undergraduate and post graduateprogrammes in business man-agement, law, mass commu-nication, and informationtechnology.

How to apply: Applicantsseeking admission arerequired to fill a separateapplication form for the same.Applicants can collect theapplication form, from theinstitute by paying �1,000 forUG courses & �1,400/ forPGDM programme.

It can also be obtained bypost, through online ordemand draft facility of�1,050/- for UG courses &�1,450/- for PGDM in favor ofIMS — NOIDA payable atNoida/Delhi.

Admission process:

The applications for aca-demic year 2020-21 is open toapplicants who have passed orwill appear for the qualifyingexaminations under the high-er secondary from any recog-nised Board of Educationsuch as AISSCE/IB/ICSE, orequivalents.

All eligible candidates willhave to undergo EntranceExam Campus at Noida whichcomprises of a written test andpersonal interview.

All qualifying candidateswill be required to carry theirportfolio.

Admission is based onthe marks obtained in quali-fying examination and theperformance in written testand personal interview.

Last date to apply: July,2020.

How to apply: Log on toh t t p : / / i m s n o i d a . c o m /http://imsnoida.in.

Or contact: 18001039383,+ 9 1 - 9 9 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 / 0 1 2 0 -4798800-02.

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The postponed Tokyo 2020Olympics will have to be

cancelled if the coronaviruspandemic isn’t brought undercontrol by next year, the organ-ising committee’s presidentwarned, ruling out furtherdelays.

The comments, in an inter-view with a Japanese sportsdaily published on Tuesday,come as medical experts doubt-ed whether the pandemic canbe sufficiently contained bynext year to hold an eventdrawing participants and spec-tators from around the world.

The pandemic has alreadyforced a year-long delay of theGames, which are now sched-

uled to open on July 23, 2021.But Tokyo 2020 president

Yoshiro Mori was categoricalwhen asked by the NikkanSports daily whether the Gamescould be delayed until 2022 ifthe pandemic remains a threatnext year, replying: “No.”

“In that case, it’s cancelled,”Mori said.

Mori noted the Games hadbeen cancelled previously onlyduring wartime, and comparedthe battle against coronavirusto “fighting an invisible enemy”.

If the virus is successfully

contained, “we’ll hold theOlympics in peace next sum-mer”, he added. “Mankind isbetting on it.”

Masa Takaya, a Tokyo 2020spokesman, declined to com-ment on a possible cancellationof the Games and told reportersthat Mori’s remarks were basedon “the chairman’s ownthoughts”.

But the comments will addto growing questions aboutthe postponement, decided lastmonth after heavy pressure onthe organisers and theInternational OlympicCommittee from athletes andsports federations.

On Tuesday, the head ofJapan Medical Associationwarned it would be “exceeding-

ly difficult” to hold the Gamesnext year if a vaccine has notbeen found.

“I would not say that theyshould not be held, but itwould be exceedingly diffi-cult,” Yoshitake Yokokura toldreporters.

‘VERY PESSIMISTIC’And last week a Japanese

medical expert who has criti-cised the country’s response tothe coronavirus warned that hewas “very pessimistic” that thepostponed Olympics can beheld in 2021.

But Tokyo 2020 spokesmanTakaya countered that evenmedical experts said it was tooearly to make a judgement onsuch a possibility.

���� 7.36.3

Tottenham became the latest Premier League clubto open their doors to players on Tuesday as part

of the “Project Restart” plan to finish the English top-flight season.

The Premier League has been suspended sinceMarch 13 but there is growing belief the campaigncan be concluded over the summer months.

Resuming matches on June 8 is reportedlyamong the ideas set to be discussed when the PremierLeague’s key stakeholders meet on Friday.

That would require full training to begin by May18 and Premier League clubs are starting to worktowards that date by giving players the option of usingtheir training grounds.

Tottenham have followed Arsenal, West Ham andBrighton in allowing players to use facilities for indi-vidual sessions that conform to social-distancingguidelines.

“No more than one player per pitch will be per-mitted at any one time to undertake on-pitch exer-cise, with only a restricted number of the squad com-ing to the training centre each day,” a Tottenham state-ment said.

“Each player will travel independently and arriveat the facilities already dressed in training wear beforereturning home immediately after they have conclud-

ed their session.”After weeks of lockdown in

Britain, ministers believe thereturn of football would boostmorale. Culture secretary OliverDowden who is responsible forsport, said he had been in talkswith the Premier League “with

a view to getting football upand running as soon as pos-sible” but stressed anymoves would have to beconsistent with publichealth guidance.

The clubs remaincommitted to ending the2019/20 campaign and

there are compellingfinancial and legal rea-sons to play the

remaining 92 games.

���� ?4;73

The Bundesliga couldreturn by “the middle

or end of May”, Germany’ssports ministers have said,as the league awaits the go-ahead from AngelaMerkel’s government toresume the season.

The sports ministers ofGermany’s 16 states met onMonday and announced ina statement that it is “jus-tifiable” for the league toresume “in empty stadi-ums” from “the middle orend of May”.

“The German FootballLeague must create andenforce the strictesthygienic and medical con-ditions, and monitor themwith appropriate mea-sures,” added the state-ment.

German ChancellorMerkel will meet state lead-ers in Berlin on Thursday,when it is hoped theBundesliga will get thegreen light to resume.

All football inGermany ground to a haltin mid March due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

Last week, theGerman Football League(DFL) announced it isready to resume from May9, albeit behind closeddoors with tight hygienemeasures and players test-ed regularly.

A return in Maywould make theBundesliga the first topleague in Europe to resumeas Germany cautiouslyeases lockdown measures.

Key politicians, includ-ing health minister JensSpahn, have backed theleague’s return plans.

������� �Badminton Association ofIndia is ready to host the $400,000India Open, an Olympic qualifier, inDecember this year or January nextyear, provided the Covid-19 pandem-ic subsides and the Government givesits approval.

The Badminton World Federation(BWF) had last week sent a letter toBAI, asking it for a slot to conduct theBWF World Tour Super 500 tourna-ment, which was suspended last monthalong with the other Tokyo Gamesqualifiers due to the virus outbreak.

In reply, BAI has given BWF twoslots, saying it is ready to host the eventeither in December or January, pend-ing government approval, said Ajay KSinghania, General Secretary, BAI.

“...We told them we are ready toconduct the India Open in Decemberor January but it all depends on howthis global health crisis comes undercontrol and if we get the Governmentapproval,” Singhania said.

“We received the mail (from BWF)last week, asking us if we can host theevent in September but gauging theuncertainties around, we have givenDecember as first option and Januaryas the second alternate.

“But it depends on a lot of factors.Right now, international travel is alsobanned, so let’s see.”

The India Open Super 500 eventwas scheduled to be held in New Delhifrom March 24 to 29.

Meanwhile, the Badminton WorldFederation on Tuesday suspended theUS Open World Tour Super 300 tour-nament to be held in June due to thefast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Badminton World Federation(BWF) can confirm the suspension ofthe YONEX US Open 2020 set to beheld 23-28 June in Fullerton,California,” the BWF said in a release.

“This decision was made in closeconsultation and consensus with USABadminton. PTI

�� �� 345�6478

India on Tuesday lost thehosting rights of the 2021

men’s world boxing c’ship toSerbia after the InternationalBoxing association alleged non-payment of host fee by thenational federation, whichclaimed that AIBA “acted inhaste”.

The Boxing Federation ofIndia acknowledged the delaybut blamed it on “proceduralcomplications” arising out ofthe AIBA’s failure to resolve“issues” with regards to theaccount in which the moneywas to be transferred.

The payment of what isestimated to be $4 million wasdue to be made on December2 last year.

“After New Delhi didn'tfulfill its obligations to payhost fee as mentioned in theHost City Agreement terms,AIBA has terminated the con-tract. Therefore, India wouldhave to pay a cancellationpenalty of $500,” the AIBAsaid in a statement.

The elite competition,which would have happened forthe first time in the country, willnow be held in the Serbian cityof Belgrade.

“Serbia has everything toorganize a great event for ath-letes, coaches, officials, and, ofcourse, for our boxing fans,”AIBA Interim PresidentMohamed Moustahsane stated.

�� �� 345�6478�

Premier all-rounder BenStokes on Tuesday assert-

ed that Test cricket will neverlose its sheen and said theworld’s top players, includingVirat Kohli, wouldn’t supportany tinkering with the tradi-tional format to make it look“easy”.

During a podcast organ-ised by IPL franchiseRajasthan Royals, Stokes alsospoke about playing alongsideand against Steve Smith. Hetermed former Rajasthan Ranjikeeper Dishant Yagnik (whoplayed for Royals) as a “greatfielding coach”.

“For me, Test cricket is thepinnacle. There’s been a lot oftalk recently about Test crick-et dying, but I don’t knowwhere that comes from,”Stokes said.

“You ask all the playerswho, or maybe not all the play-

ers, but I know the likes ofVirat (Kohli) and (Joe) Roothave spoken about how Testcricket is where you really gettested.

“It’s where you find outwhat you are really about as acricketer and for me it is thepurest form of the sport. It hasto stay around, it would be asad, sad day if Test cricket waschanged. If they are going tochange the rules, I think theyshould call it ‘easy cricket’,” theflamboyant Englishman said.

Australian run-machineSmith has been one ofEngland’s biggest adversarieson the cricket field, and Stokessaid that he he has alwaysfound him to be a bit strangebut perhaps that’s how “genius-es are meant to be”.

“He’s still strange to playagainst and he’s still strange toplay with and the best thingabout it is that he admits it. Heknows it, he knows it! But I

feel to be a genius you have tobe a bit strange and you knowhe’s certainly both.”

Rivalry could not takeaway the respect that Stokeshas for Smith’s craft.

“Even though he plays forAustralia, biggest rivalsEngland and Australia you’vejust got to hold your hands upsometimes to players like thatand go yeah you’re on a differ-ent level when it comes to bat-ting.”

Smith’s greatness lies in hisattention to detail.

“I could never be like that,personally I could not thinkabout cricket in the way thathe does when it comes to bat-ting.

“You know obviously he’son all the time but that’s whyhe averages sixty whatever hedoes in Test cricket but that’snot for me but it’s for him,who’s to say whose right orwrong.”

���� 345�6478

One of the most awaitedpart of this years IndianPremier League (IPL),

which currently stands sus-pended due to the coronavirusoutbreak, was the return ofMahendra Singh Dhoni to thecricket field. Dhoni last playedin the World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand andsince then has been on a sab-batical. It was believed thatDhoni’s performance in the IPLwould decide if he will be a partof India’s WT20 squad. Butcricketer-turned-commentatorAakash Chopra begs to differ.

The former India openersaid that he believes it’s a hugemisconception people had thatDhoni’s comeback into theIndian team would be based onhis performance in the IPL.

“It’s a huge misconceptionthat Dhoni’s comeback to theIndian team was dependent onhis performance in the IPL,”Chopra said.

“If that is how we willview Dhoni as a player and his

career and what he hasachieved as a player, then Ithink we are just knocking atthe wrong door because it’s notright.”

Chopra feels that if Dhoniwants to play for the Indianteam again and if the teammanagement also wants thesame, it will happen.

“See, if the team wants himto play, all that will happen. Butif the IPL doesn’t take place thisyear, the T20 World Cup does-n’t happen this year, of coursehe will be a year older and withhim out of the cricket formore than 18 months, you canassume that you might not seehim play again for India,” hepointed.

The former India bats-man, however, said that look-ing at the present scenario,organising the T20 World Cuplooks “difficult” in October-November which in turn canopen a window for the 13thIPL edition and the tourna-ment can be held even behindclosed doors.

“It’s still a long shot

because we don’t know how theworld is going to operate. ThisCovid-19 pandemic is a devel-oping story. For a tournamentlike the IPL, you have to ensureplayers’ safety. It’s being con-templated to have the IPLbehind closed doors and Ithink it’s better to have thetournament with empty standsrather than not having thetournament at all.

“To be honest, the T20World Cup looks very, very dif-ficult because Australia hasalready put a travel ban tillSeptember. The T20 WorldCup is slated to be played inOctober. So, October-November might just turn outto be the window to open upsuddenly because moving theentire world to one place andthen playing the tournament isa lot tougher than playing, saythe IPL, in one country wheremost of the players are Indiansand only a handful of playershave to fly in. From a com-mentator and a cricket lover’spoint of view, I would want theIPL to happen,” he added.

�� �� :.7:%�%�

Former India player VVS Laxman onTuesday conducted his first online ses-

sion for batsmen of Ranji Trophy runners-up, Bengal, and to start with, he focussedonly on the mental aspect.

During his two separate 45-minutesessions with Abhishek Raman and KaziJunaid Saifi, Laxman also had in attendanceBengal coach Arun Lal, cricket operationsmanager Joydeep Mukherjee, and state U-23 coach Sourasish Lahiri.

Bengal opener Raman, who fritteredaway a bright start last season, was givenlessons on how to deal with failures andways to regain confidence.

“We talked about our last season. Whatwere my mindset through the season. Asession with lot to learn from and how to

prepare the mindset during ups anddowns of the season,” Raman said in astatement issued by the CAB.

Raman started the season with succes-sive hundreds, against Kerala and Andhra,but eventually aggregated 406 runs at 25.37from 10 outings.

Laxman talked about how to controlthe mind in order to avoid playing looseshots, importance of batting in the first onehour of play on bowling friendly pitches.

Rookie batsman Kazi, who made hisdebut and went on to play two matches,was told about how to ensure a seamlesstransition from age-group to senior crick-et. The CAB will continue with its onlineclasses with focus being on their top-orderbatsmen, their biggest letdown in an oth-erwise eventful season when they reachedtheir first Ranji Trophy final in 13 years.

���� ��� � Former Australiapacer Brett Lee believes battinglegend Sachin Tendulkar used toplay “cat and mouse” with leg-endary spinner Shane Warneduring their playing days.

Speaking on Star Sports’show Cricket Connected, Leesaid that Tendulkar was verycomfortable batting againstWarne and in fact on his days,the Master Blaster just toyedwith the Australian leggie, whichwas a rare sight.

“He (Sachin) used toadvance down the wicket a fewtimes & invited Warne to bowla fraction too short. Sometimes,he would wait patiently on theback foot and play those beau-tiful shots,” said Lee.

“It was almost like he wasplaying cat and mouse withWarne and not many batsmencan play cat and mouse withShane Warne because he’s so tal-ented. But on days, SachinTendulkar was toying withWarne and that does not happenoften,” he added.

Tendulkar and Warne hadan epic duel whenever theyfaced each other on the field.

Lee further revealed thatWarne hated the way Tendulkarbatted against him and wouldexpress anger after being unableto get the Indian batter out.

“The way Sachin used toread bowlers out of their hand,the different technique he used

to play different balls was pureclass.

“There were times whenWarne would try and get the tra-jectory a bit different throughthe air and sometimes, he wouldtry and get a few balls to drop.Every time he would try the sub-tle variations, there was onlySachin who would pick them up.

“Warne would bamboozleother batsmen around the world,but Sachin would watch thehand much better than most ofthe other batsmen.

“Warne hated it, he wouldcome back and say that he triedeverything to get Sachin out, buthe couldn’t,” Lee said.

Tendulkar made his debutagainst Pakistan at Karachi in1989 as a 16-year old. The mas-ter batsman went on to play 200Tests for India, scoring 100 cen-turies across Tests and ODIs. In463 ODIs, Sachin scored 18,426runs including 49 tons and inTests, he has 15,921 runs to hisname including 51 centuries.

“I was 22 years when I gotmy first opportunity to playagainst the Little Master,” Lee,who played 76 Tests, 221 ODIsand 25 T20Is for Australia, saidwhile recalling the first time heplayed against Tendulkar.

“I nicked him off and Ithought I’m done. I didn’t careabout a Test match since I wasso happy to get SachinTendulkar out,” he added. PNS

�� �� &%�%(%

Flamboyant West Indiesopener Chris Gayle has

called his former team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan“worse than coronavirus”,accusing the Guyanese ofplotting his exit fromCaribbean Premier Leagueoutfit Jamaica Tallawahs.

The big-hitting Gayle,who has since moved to StLucia Zouks, blamedSarwan for an alleged fall-out with Tallawahs fran-chise, which did not retainhim for the 2020 seasonafter playing for them as amarquee player last year.

The opener claimedthat Sarwan was behindhis ouster as the former

middle-order batsmanwanted to take control ofthe franchise.

“Sarwan, you areworse than the coron-avirus right now,” Gaylesaid in a video uploadedon his YouTube channel.

“What transpired withthe Tallawahs, you have abig part to play becauseyou and the owner are likethis (very close). You werethe one at my last birthdayparty here in Jamaica, giv-ing big speech about howfar we have come.”

Sarwan is the assistantcoach of JamaicaTallawahs.

Continuing his ballis-tic attack on his formerWest Indies teammate,

Gayle went on, “Sarwan,you are a snake. You are sovindictive. You are soimmature. You still stab-bing people in the back.

“When are you plan-ning to change? Don’t evenconsider seeing theUniverse Boss and saying‘Yo Chris’ because I amtelling you this straightup, that’s it.”

Gayle played his firstfour CPL seasons withTallawahs before turningout for St Kitts and NevisPatriots in the next twoseasons respectively.

He returned toTallawahs the previous sea-son as a marquee playerbefore his alleged fall-outwith the franchise.

�� � 1%;�

French professional sportsleagues including football

and rugby cannot restart beforeSeptember because of coron-avirus restrictions, PrimeMinister Edouard Philippe saidon Tuesday.

Philippe made theannouncement as part of agradual plan to lift the lockdownin France. He said no eventwhere more than 5,000 peoplegather would be alloweduntil at least September.

The news is also like-ly to affect the Tour deFrance, due to embarkfrom Nice on August 29and where hugecrowds would beexpected to

gather at the start and finishlines.

“The 2019-2020 profession-al sports leagues, notably foot-ball, cannot yet restart,” Philippetold a televised address to Frenchparliament at the NationalAssembly.

“I would like to be precisehere, no large sports gatheringor any gathering of 5,000 peo-ple or more, needing the permis-sion of the local police and longprior arrangements, will be

allowed before September,”Philippe said.

The announcementappears to scupper theplans of French football'stop division Ligue 1 tostart again in June with

players being recalledas of May 11.

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Raina feels Pant can go onto become a top cricketer forthe country as he possesses allthe natural talent that a crick-eter should.

“He is a top cricketer,when he plays well, youbecome happy and he remindsof Yuvraj and Sehwag, he is asdominant as them, when heplays the flick, it reminds youof Dravid as well,” Raina saidduring a Live video sessionwith Yuzvendra Chahal.

Before cricket wasstopped due to coronavirus,Pant had lost his place in theteam in white-ball cricket toKL Rahul. IANS

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Page 12: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......15 places, including Delhi, ... must win here,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. ... “They got angry after see-ing

Ch i n a ' s e c o n o m y experienced a deep

contract ion in the f irs t quarter due to disruptions c a u s e d b y t h e n o v e l coronavirus outbreak, but major economic indicators improved substant ial ly in March, indicating the country 's recovery has gained a firmer footing,

on April 17.Supportive government

policies are expected to intensify in the coming quarters to expand domestic demand by s t imulat ing investment and consumption as the global spread of the virus may bring more headwinds to the world's second-largest economy.

China's GDP in the first quarter contracted by 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The outbreak created a severe blow to the country's

b u t m a j o r e c o n o m i c indicators rebounded in March and the country's economic performance will improve further in the second quarter, NBS spokesman Mao Shengyong said at a news conference in Beijing on April 17.

The government will step up policy support to expand domestic demand by increasing effective investment and releasing consumption potential. More tax relief and financial aid

t o h e l p t h e m r e s u m e production and make it through the difficult times, Mao said.

T h e C h i n e s e s t o c k market rose on April 17 with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up by 0.66 percent to close at 2,838.49 points as the first-quarter e c o n o m i c c o n t r a c t i o n was broadly in line with

investors' expectations.L i a n P i n g , c h i e f

e c o n o m i s t a t Z h i x i n I n v e s t m e n t , s a i d t h e g o v e r n m e n t n e e d s t o intensify policy support to prevent the economy from suffering a second wave of blows from the global economic downturn and possible collapse of external demand.

Ch inese compan ie s , i n c l u d i n g e x p o r t e r s , have seen an inc rease i n c a n c e l l a t i o n s o f orders. While most large enterprises have resumed production, according to NBS calculations, many smal le r companies a re still struggling to resume work under rising financial d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d l a b o r shortages.

S teven Zhang, ch ie f e c o n o m i s t a t M o r g a n Stanley Huaxin Securities, said the government will continue to increase fiscal

spending by issuing special treasury bonds and raising the budget deficit ratio to provide more financing for major investment projects.

Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will coordinate with the proactive fiscal policy to continue injecting more liquidity in the financial market and cutting interest rates to lower business

T h e c o u n t r y ' s t o t a l financing reached a record level of 5.2 trillion yuan ($735 billion) in March, increasing 11.5 percent year-on-year, which was the fastest single-month growth in history. Credit growth is a positive sign that the Chinese economy i s r ecove r ing a s more companies are borrowing to facilitate their production resumption, economists said.

(Collated from CGTN, Xinhua, China Daily )

YUNNAN DAILY PRESS GROUP The Pioneer Vol.134 Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Editor: Doris LiuEmail:[email protected]:337 Xinwen

Road, Kunming,Yunnan,PRC

english.yunnangateway.com

AmazingYunnan

China's economy rebounding after drop

XI'S REMARKS

We need to jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains stable. What China will do in this regard is to increase its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients, daily necessities, and anti-epidemic and other supplies to the international market.

—— Excerpt from Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech on G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders' Summit on COVID-19

FOCUS

Sun Yingjie (right), vice government-head of South Yunnan's Ning'er County, sold local produce during a livestreaming on April 6. Photo by Meng Zhigang

OPINION

No major exodus of foreign capital expected

FIGHTTING COVID-19

China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine enters 2nd-phase clinical trial

China 's inac t iva ted COVID-19 vaccine

entered the second phase of clinical trial on April 24, according to its developers.

The inactivated vaccine developed by Wuhan Institute o f Bio log ica l Produc ts under the China National P h a r m a c e u t i c a l G r o u p (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences started its clinical trial on April 12.

Sinopharm said in an announcement that 96 persons in three age groups have received the vaccine in the first phase of clinical trial as of April 23. The vaccine has shown good safety so far and vaccine receivers are still under observation.

The randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of the inactivated vaccine are conducted in Jiaozuo, central China's Henan Province, and the second phase of clinical trial will focus on

the vaccination procedure, according to Sinopharm.

phases of clinical trials of the vaccine have been approved by the National Medical Products Administration through a green channel.

Sinopharm said the vaccine will also go through the third phase of the clinical trial, and it may take about one year to complete the clinical trial and finally reach the conclusion on the vaccine's safety and

The Phase I trial aimed to evaluate the safety and immunization of the vaccine, while the Phase II and III will assess its effectiveness, a Beijing-based immunology expert who asked to remain anonymous told the Global Times.

China has approved three COVID-19 vaccine candidates f o r c l i n i c a l t r i a l s . A n adenovirus vector vaccine was

the world that has entered the

second phase of clinical trial. (Colloated from Xinhua-CGTN, Global Times)

According to the World H e a l t h O rg a n i z a t i o n , inactivated vaccines are made from microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, other) that have been killed through physical or chemical processes. After immunization, the vaccine antigens cannot replicate in the vaccinated person or cause disease.

Chinese scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines via five approaches – inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors.

HEALTH TIPS

When to wash your hands

As t h e w o r l d i s f i g h t i n g

Covid-19 pandemic, how to prevent from being infected is very important for every one of us. Washing hands, wearing masks, keeping social distance…has proved effect ive in prevention and control of the spread of the virus. From this issue on, we begin to introduce some health tips for our readers. Today, let’s come to “When to wash hands”.

Wash your hands with soap or alcohol-based hand rub and running water when you have the following situations:

● After coughing or sneezing●When caring for the sick● Before, during and after you prepare food● Before eating● After toilet use●When hands are visibly dirty● After handling animals or animal waste●When returning home● After touching trash or garbage

C h i n a ' s e l e c t r i c i t y consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, dropped 4.2 percent year on year in March, slower than a decline of 10.1-percent in February, and achieved positive growth

The rail freight volume, also an indicator of broad economic activity, amounted to 346 million tons in March, rising 4.5 percent from a month earlier according to the China Railway Corporation.

China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 52 in March — up 16.3 percentage points from the previous month — showing significant positive changes in production and business operations month-over-month.

E-COMMERCE

Officials, scholars join livestream

e-commerce to help farmers

Have you ever seen officials or professors

selling products online? Recently, to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on rural sectors, many Yunnan county-heads and scholars, with their fame and influence, joined livestream e-commerce in a bid to help sell quality produce in the province.

“The Jinning flowers are blooming. Don’t let them wait you too long,” on March 8, Xu Bo, head of the government of central Yunnan’s Jinning District, helped local farmers sell flowers on Pinduoduo’s livestreaming platform. He talked with thousands of online viewers and helped sell 356,000 bunches of

A t t r ac t i ng 650 ,000 online viewers and selling 80 tons of papaya…the achievement made by Deng Rui, the government head of southeast Yunnan’s Hekou County, in her livestreaming on Pinduoduo, is also worth-mentioning. According to data released by the government, the papaya planting area in Hekou reaches 1,647 acres.

“Group buying+l ive

streaming” is a new concept of development,” said Di Lake, vice-director of Pinduoduo's in-house research institute, adding that Hekou boasts natural and policy advantages. “The livestreaming of the county head is a kind of demonstration for farmers and businessmen, which will provide new development concept and opportunities for the county which borders Vietnam.”

Besides officials, scholars also joined the rank of live-streaming anchors. On April 7, Zhu Youyong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, sold online the potatoes grown in southwest Yunnan’s Lancang County. In just half an hour, one million netizens viewed his live show, and in one hour, 25 tons of potatoes sold.

Currently, online sales have increasingly evolved into a new economy model. As the 5G era comes, new technology will make the live streaming more smooth and immersive. And customers wil l surely enjoy more choices and better experiences in online shopping.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Homestay development brings

benefits to Tibetans

The Jiangpo Village, h i d d e n i n t h e

Me i l i Snow Moun ta in and boasting intoxicating views, is located in Foshan Township, Deqing County i n n o r t h e a s t Yu n n a n ' s Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. However, the villagers here had lived in poverty for a long time due

Several years ago, the villagers cultivated olive groves and bred yaks and goats, while also developing

rural tourism, in a bid to

In 2017, a group of businessmen from east China's Guangdong province visited the village to seek investment opportunities. In 2018, the Meli Xueda Lake Development Company, a joint venture between the Guangdong businessmen and local government and vi l lages, was set up to develop homestay tourism. The revenues are spl i t evenly between the company

and the villagers. Sina Dingzhu, a 51-year-

old local Tibetan, are among the first villagers joining the homestay tourism. In 2019, the homestay business brought him an income of 100,000 yuan.

Sina Dingzhu set an good example for other villagers who then follow him to bui ld homestay hotels to receive tourists. Now the per capita income of Jiangpo Village reached 26,600 yuan. (Xinhua)

IN-PICS

Lakeside town sees tourism revive

Located at the lakeside of Erhai, west Yunnan’s Dali, the Shuanglang Ancient Town is a popular tourist destination in China. Since it was reopened to tourists on March 9,

is contained at 50% of the capacity of the town. Before entering and leaving the town, tourists need to scan the registration QR code, and also the health reporting QR code at the entrance. And disinfection is carried out twice a day in the scenic area. Now all the inns and restaurants in Shuanglang have opened to tourists. Photo by Yang Zheng

ECOLOGY

Wang Zhaorong:Protecting wild animals is protecting our humans

Editor's note: Dubbed “ K i n g d o m o f

Animals” and “Kingdom of Plants”, Yunnan province is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots with the richest species diversity. In recent years, the province has made consistent efforts in protecting wild animals and their living environment.

“I’ll devote my whole life to protecting black-necked cranes. They and my wife are like the two wings of my life. Without any one

of them, I won’t fly high, ” Wang Zhaorong, one of the founders of the Zhaotong Volunteers Associat ion for Protecting Black-neck Cranes(ZVAPBC), said frankly during a recent interview with our reporters.

Since the association was set up in 1998, Wang has voluntarily spent over 9,000 hours protecting black-necked cranes.

In early 1998, Wang was appointed as the assistant to the government head of

Dashanbao Township in northeast Yunnan's Zhaotong City. Later on, he met Mr. Sun Dehui, an eco-photographer who had committed himself to the protection of black-necked cranes for years. “Sun was just like a teacher. I learned from him knowledge about the cranes and their harsh living conditions. I was moved by his devotions and decided to join hands with him to protect the birds,” said Wang.

To pool more efforts and wisdoms to protect the

birds, Sun initiated the set-up of a non-governmental o r g a n i z a t i o n . A n d i n December 1998, the ZVAPBC was founded. In 22 years, the number of its members has grown to 510. They are civil servants, teachers, journalists, authors, students, farmers and businesspeople.

I n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 3 , Dashanbao was listed as a national nature reserve by the State Council. Each year, more than 1,400 black-necked cranes winter there,

along with more than ten thousand birds of other species like bar-headed geese, mal lards , ruddy shelducks and pochards.

“We have only one earth where the grass, trees, birds and beasts live freely in nature. And they are the hosts of the earth like our human beings. Thus, protecting wild animals is protecting ourselves,” Wang believed the nature will repay human beings for our protection

(Zu Hongbing)

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has had an

impact on foreign-funded companies operating in China, the possible withdrawal of some United States and Japanese companies will not crash the country's economy as supportive government policies, market scale and an advanced industrial supply

Based on its developing strength, China has three trump cards that allow it to remain competitive in attracting global investment from a long-term perspective.

First of all, consider China's appealing domestic market.

D u e t o C h i n a ' s 4 0 0 mi l l ion midd le - income consumers, many US and Japanese companies will definitely regret it if they leave the Chinese market and its well-developed supply and industrial chains. The result for many of them is predicable:they will return to China again for sure.

After the novel coronavirus outbreak, China will offer more favorable policies to win over new foreign investment and try to maintain its current stock of foreign investment and design new growth points in areas such as 5G, extra-high voltage and the internet of things. Backed by these factors, the Chinese economy will continue to grow in the coming decades and China will become the world's largest consumer market. Therefore, we are ful ly confident about these facts and more companies from Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea will continue to value this fast-developing

market.

The second is China's continued efforts to create a more complete business environment.

In addit ion to market opportunities, corporate investment also values the business environment and whether foreign investors' rights and market access can be treated equally in a foreign country. China has been constantly improving i t s b u s i n e s s a n d l e g a l environment to facilitate the growth of global companies, as wel l as acce lera t ing innova t ion and cu t t ing administrative barriers in its pilot free trade zones across the country.

A negative list indicates a r e a s w h e r e f o r e i g n investment is prohibited or restricted. When China released its first negative l ist in 2013, there were more than 190 measures to restrict and prohibit foreign investment in a number of industries. Now there are only 37 measures left on the list. For the next step, China should authorize more access to the services sector and al low more foreign companies to enter sectors such as pension services, f inancial and insurance industries without setting restrictions on the proportion of equity.

I n 2 0 1 9 , C h i n a w a s ranked 31

st in the World

B a n k G r o u p ' s g l o b a l business climate ranking, up from 46

th in 2018 and

78th in 2017. The US-based

mult i lateral lender also ranked China among the top 10 best improvers for a second consecutive year.

The third is China's open, stable and well-developed industr ia l and supply chains.

China must separately develop open, stable and safe industrial and supply chains in both international and domestic markets to prevent unexpected risks. If these two chains are successfully built, China will be able to become a driving force behind the recovery of the global economy.

B e c a u s e t h e w o r l d h a s e n t e r e d t h e e r a o f globalization, multinationals will remain optimistic about China, and there won't be large-scale withdrawal of FDI from the market despite some US or Japanese companies' withdrawing parts of factories to either their home markets or to other parts of the world.

China has been recovering more steadily than other countries from the pandemic. The country will see more FDI

products, pharmaceuticals and high-tech industries over the next several years.

A p a r t f r o m C h i n a ' s i m p r o v e d b u s i n e s s environment dominated by the market economy, the nation's comprehensive advantages based on efficiency, labor quality, resources and digital and physical infrastructure will continue to help the nation attract investment f rom g loba l companies over the long term. (By Wei Jianguo who is former vice-minister of commerce and vice-chairman of Beijing-based China Center for International Economic Exchanges. This article was originally published on China Daily and was editied for use here.)