The lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak has

disrupted supply chains. One crucial chain is delivery of

information and insight — news and analysis that is fair and

accurate and reliably reported from across a

nation in quarantine.

A voice you can trust amid the clanging of alarm bells.

Vajiram & Ravi and The Indian Express are proud to deliver the

electronic version of this morning’s edition of The Indian Express

to your Inbox. You may follow The Indian Express’s news and

analysis through the day on

indianexpress.com

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

BENEVOLENCE-COVID 19

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

PAGE1ANCHOR In Mumbai slums, signs of exodus: locked doors, empty lanes

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

FINANCINGTHESTIMULIBYCHRISTOPHEJAFFRELOTANDVIHANGJUMLEPAGE10

ONCASHTRANSFERS,SAYSGOVTTHOUGHTABOUT IT

SUNNYVERMA&PVAIDYANATHANIYERNEWDELHI,MAY19

TWODAYSafterannouncingthefifth and final tranche of the Rs20lakhcroreAtmaNirbharpack-age, Union Finance MinisterNirmalaSitharamanTuesday,re-sponding to a question on thepossibilityofdeficitmonetisation(in simple terms, printing cur-rency),saidthatshehadanopenmind. And that shewould seri-

ouslybeginworkonexpenditurerationalisation given that thegovernment’srevenueislikelytobe severely hit because of thepandemicandthe lockdown.“I have to be ready (going

ahead)...because no one knowshow this is going to turn out,howthisisgoingtoend,howthisis going to withdraw. So obvi-ously I have to be ready, I can’tfinishmy story with these an-nouncements,”SitharamantoldThe Indian Express in an inter-view. She was responding to a

questiononwhetherthegovern-mentwaspreservingthespend-ing firepower for future.She said given the nature of

the pandemic, she had to bereadyat all timesbecausemorethan10monthswereleftforthefinancial year2020-21 toclose.When asked if deficit mon-

etisation was on her table,Sitharaman said: “... I have keptmyself open, aswe go, we haveto see how things develop. Doyouordoesanyoneforthatmat-ter knowhow this pandemic is

going to pan out? Or has itstarted retracting... Then can Iguess it will be all over byDecember, then there is a pointinmesayingthatall right,nowIhavetothinkabout that.Butwedon’tevenknowif ithasstartedretractingyetandwehave10fullmonthstogo.So IhavetowatchasIgoandbereadyforanything.So I have said this now, I amreadyingmyself foranything.”In an earlier interview to

Cogencis,awireagency,onAprilCONTINUEDONPAGE2

SC extendsprotection forArnab, rejectsCBI probe pleaANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI,MAY19

“INDIA’S FREEDOMSwill restsafe as long as journalists canspeaktruthtopowerwithoutbe-ingchilledbyathreatofreprisal”and “free citizens cannot existwhenthenewsmediaischainedto adhere to one position,” theSupremeCourtsaidonTuesday.The court confirmed its in-

terimorderquashingallbutoneFIR against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief ArnabGoswami over aTVshowonApril21,whereinhequestioned Congress presidentSonia Gandhi over the lynchingof twosadhusandtheirdriver inPalghar inMaharashtra.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

AASHISHAARYAN&PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,MAY19

IT’SNOTjustlayoffsandreducedoperations.Frombankstostart-ups, the nearly three-month-long Covid lockdown, and thepush for employees to workfromhome, is forcingCorporateIndia to vacate commerciallyleasedspaces, too.Food-techplatformZomato,

whichrecentlyasked13percentof itsworkforcetosearchfornewjobs,hasalsodecidedtoshut125ofover150officesworldwide.Itsrival Swiggy has decided to layoff 1,100 people, in addition toscaling down on kitchen facili-tiesandoffice infrastructure.Private-sector lender

IndusIndBank is learnt tohavevacatedoneof itsprominently-located leased office spaces inMumbai, with plans to bring

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Chinese bringmore boats tolake in Ladakh,Indians a roadSUSHANTSINGHNEWDELHI,MAY19

TWOWEEKS after Indian andChinese troops came to blowsnearPangongTso,a lakeineast-ern Ladakh, the Chinese havesteppeduppatrolsanddeployedmoreboatsonthelake.Theyarealso objecting to Indian con-struction of a vehicle track, andpatrolsbeyondacertainpoint.The tensions in Ladakh, offi-

cials said, canworsen the situa-tionelsewherealongtheLineofActualControl.ThenumberofChinesepatrol

boats, sources told The IndianExpress,havegoneupthreetimes— they had earlier been usingonly three boats. The IndianArmyalsohas a similar numberof boats to dominate the45-kmlongwesternportionof the lakewhich isunder Indiancontrol.“Nearlyone-thirdofChinese

transgressions in the westernsector (of the LAC) happen inPangongTso.Notonlyhavetheysubstantiallyincreasedthenum-berofboatsonthelake,theirpa-trollingbehaviourisincreasingly

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

DTC busesran inDelhiwith20passengersandvacantseatsonTuesday.PraveenKhanna

DEEPTIMANTIWARY,AVISHEKGDASTIDAR&SANTOSHSINGHNEWDELHI, PATNA,MAY19

ASTHECentrepushedtooperatemore ‘ShramikSpecial’ trains forstrandedmigrantworkers, theBihar government said onTuesdaythatitwouldbringbackover 20 lakhmigrants, in about800trains,overthenextfewdays.“From now on, 100 specials

trainswillrundailytobringbackmigrantstoBihar.Afteranagree-ment between Bihar and theCentral government, altogether800 trainswill operate to bringback over 20 lakh migrants,”Bihar Deputy Chief MinisterSushilKumarModi tweeted.Since the beginning of the

lockdown, over 8 lakhmigrantworkershave returned toBihar.State government officials havesaidtheydon’thaveadequatefa-cilities for testing or quarantin-ingsuchhugenumbers.Earlier in theday, theCentre

madeitclearthattheconsentofstatesandUnionterritories(UTs)wouldno longerberequired for

running theShramikSpecials.The Railways also an-

nounced that 200 regular non-AC trains would operate dailyfromJune1,asperthetimetable.While the routes are still beingfinalised, it is likely that thesetrains will run between citieswith largemigrant populations

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SHAJUPHILIP&ABANTIKAGHOSHTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,NEWDELHI,MAY19

AFTER A lull of nearly threeweeks,Keralaadded139Covid-19 cases in the last 10 days butthe government has ruled outcommunity spread of the virusbased on random testing doneon5,630samples,ofwhichonlyfour testedpositive.After his daily reviewmeet-

ing, Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan told themedia that thestate had tested 5,630 samplesaspartofsentinelsurveillance—a method of random testingwhere samples were collectedfrom asymptomatic healthworkers,theelderly,thoseunderquarantine, truck drivers and

traders inmarkets, andprimaryand secondary cases of positivecases, among others. Samples

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Lockdown squeeze, work-from-home:several companies vacate office space

SOURAVROYBARMAN&ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI,MAY19

THEDELHIHealthDepartmenthas,inalettertoalldistrictmagis-trates, red-flagged the fact thateventhoughcoronaviruscasesarerising in the city, the number ofcontainmentzonesisgoingdown.On Tuesday, the capital

recorded500Covid-19cases,tak-ing the case tally to 10,554. Thenumber of containment zoneshas come down from 97 a fewweeksagoto66onWednesday.In an order issued on

Tuesday,DelhiHealthSecretaryPadmini Singla asked districtmagistratestogothroughthelistof positive cases in their areasandcreatecontainmentzonesas

per guidelines. The order wasmarked to the Additional ChiefSecretary, the Secretary to theLieutenant Governor and theSecretary to theChiefMinister.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY19

HIZBUL MUJAHIDEEN com-mander Junaid Sehrai, son ofseparatist leader MohammadAshraf Sehrai, and an associatewere killed in a gunbattle withpoliceandparamilitaryforcesinSrinagaronTuesday.His killing is the secondma-

jorsetback for theHizbwithinafortnight — its operations chiefRiyazAhmadNaikoo,oneof themost wanted militants in theValley,was killed in a gunbattlewith security forces in SouthKashmironMay6.J&KDGPDilbag Singh told a

press conference: “Junaid wasthedivisionalcommanderoftheHizbulMujahideen. Hewas as-

signed the task of heading thecentralKashmirareas.”“He would hold meetings

with theyouthand lure themtomilitancy.Hewaswantedinmul-tiplecriminalcases,”Singhsaid.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Housesdamagedingun-fight indowntownSrinagarTuesday. ShuaibMasoodi

Co-workingspacessuchasthis inDelhi, areemptyingout. For representationonly

LOCKDOWNDAY

56

CONCERNODISHA: Growingat a fast rate.

Doubling time lessthan six days.

CAUTIONMADHYA

PRADESH: Slowgrowth rate, buttest numbers low.

A GLIMMERTRIPURA: No newcases for 3 days.Spread in BSF

camp under control.

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Gujarat■Delhi■TamilNadu■Rajasthan■WestBengal

TOTALCASES35,05811,74610,55411,7605,3942,825

DOUBLINGRATE**12.1115.4715.2312.7314.9815.68

SURGEIN24HRS2,005366500536304148

7-DAYAVG.GROWTH*

5.94%4.66%4.73%5.65%4.81%4.59%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:1,01,139

RECOVERED:39,173 |DEATHS:3,163TESTS:24,04,267 |DOUBLINGRATE: 13.75**

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

BasedondailydatabyCentre, ICMR, stategovernments

THOUGHTABOUTBIGGERCASHTRANSFERSBUTFORHOWMANY,HOWMUCH?NIRMALA SITHARAMANUNIONFINANCEMINISTER

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

P9

Westartedrationalising

expenditure prior toCovid, and even bythat time,wewerelooking at the economy.It neededmore push,we could see the greenshoots but still you hadto do a lotmore. Now Iwill be doing it all themore seriously.

Toomanyunknowns, I have to be ready, I can’tfinishmystorywith these announcements: FMSitharamansayssheisopentodeficitmonetisation,won’thazardguessonwheregrowthisheaded

Another setback for Hizb:Junaid, son of a separatist,killed in Srinagar gunbattle

BESIDESTHErisingnum-bersofCovidcasesandthehighpositivityrateamongreturningmi-grants,statessuchasBiharandUPfaceanotherchal-lenge:shortageofhealth-carehumanresources.Thesestatesareamongsevenwherethenumbersofhealthcarepersonnelperlakhpopulationarelowerthantheall-Indianumberof333,dataoncovidwarriors.gov.inshow.

Highcaseload,poorhealth infraE●EX

PLAINED

Only four of 5,630 randomsamples positive in Kerala;India tests a lakh in a day

INSIDE

MARKETS EMPTY,TRADERSBANKONMETROROLLINGPAGE4

Delhi Health Secy flags amismatch: cases are up,containment zones down

Bihar says 20 lakh toreturn, Centre plansShramik train surge

KAVITHAIYER&SADAFMODAKMUMBAI,MAY19

ACROSSMUMBAI’Sdenseshan-tytowns, where the relentlessstreams of walking migrantworkersoriginate, theexodus isbeginningtoleavewhatwillbealastingmarkformonthstocome.There are padlocks on un-

steady doors, threadbare bed-ding rolls stacked behind thedownedshuttersofsweatshops,and a sudden hush in the alley-ways. Unofficial estimates pegthe number of working classMumbaikars who have left the

city since the imposition of thelockdown — either on foot orhitching rides or aboard busesand the Railways’ specialShramik trains—at6 to8 lakh.That is only a fraction of the

financial capital’s slumpopula-tion of over 60 lakh—but thereare, for the first timeever, entirelanes of empty homes in theslums. As the exodus continuesatthestartof thefourthphaseofthe lockdown, the silence in thegulleys of Dharavi, Mandala,ShivajiNagar, ShastriNagar, andMalvanicoulddeepen.“About a quarter of the peo-

plehaveleft,or20percentinanycase,” saysMohammedUmarof

JantaNagarand IndiraNagar, to-gether comprisingabout22,000homes in the eastern suburb ofGovandi.“Thenakaswherework-ersgatheredoftenevenafter thelockdownwasimposedarenowcompletelysilent,”hesays.The ‘naka-workers’, called

thus for the road corners fromwherelabourcontractorscollectthem,aredaily-wage labourers.“Some cried for days before fi-nallyleaving,pennilessanddes-perate,”Umaradds.In Shastri Nagar of Bandra

West and in Dhorwada inDharavi, too, the locked roomsstand out. The lanes of theseslums are far from empty

though,with population densi-ties among the highest any-where in theworld.“There are four factories in

my lane, and about 80 to 100people have left from these fac-tories alone,” says Gulzar Khan,a trader of denim goods inDharavi. The units, tiny spaceswithsewingmachines linedup,weregarmentanddenimgoodssweatshopsduring theday, anddormitoriesbynight.Kalamuddin, another resi-

dent of Dharavi, says the ‘bissis’or mess arrangements, whereworkerscouldeattwiceadayathomes in the locality at a fixedmonthly rate, had to close op-

erations, directly impactingfood availability for tens ofthousandsof singlemenwork-ing in the slum’s dozens of in-dustries. “They’ve all left. Afterall,howlongcantheylineupforfood?”According to Kalamuddin,

nearly70to80percentof thosewholeftfromDharavi,asprawl-ing slumof nearly 8.5 lakhpeo-ple packed into a geographicalarea of 2.4 sq km, were singlemen of all ages, with impover-ished families in Bihar, UttarPradesh, and Jharkhand.Just outside the slum, near

Sion station and alongWesternCONTINUEDONPAGE2

Themigrantexodus fromMumbaiandThane,mainly toUP,MadhyaPradesh,andBihar,hasbeenmassive.Deepak Joshi

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DecodingthenumbersofCOVID-19NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisodeof3Thingswelookatdecodingthemanydatapoints thathaveemergedduringtheCOVID-19pandemicandtheproblemsMumbai faces indealingwiththepandemic

DOWNLOADAPP

HOWSMALLPOXCLEAREDTHEWAYFOR EUROPEANOCCUPATIONOF THE AMERICAS

Smallpox,measles,malaria,yellowfever,typhoid,typhus,andthevenerealdiseaseswereamongthosethatwereintroducedbytheEuropeansettlers.FornativeAmericans,thesewerenewandterrifyingexperiences.

VIDEOOF THEDAY INTERVEIW

HAIRCAREHACKSBYADHUNABHABANI

AdhunafromBbluntgivesustipsonhaircareduringa lockdown

WEB

EXCLUSIVE

SCANTHISQRCODETODOWNLOADTHEAPP

JAIDEEPAHLAWATONPAATALLOKSUCCESS

‘Wewereshockedfor initial twodays’

■VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS

■ CUSTOMIZABLENEWS EXPERIENCE

IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

MANOJMOREPUNE,MAY19

POLICE HAVE begun investiga-tionsafterfourpersonsallegedlyhurled racial slurs and threw atiffin box at a group of eightwomen from Nagaland neartheir home in Janwadi area ofPune on Sunday evening. Thewomen alleged theywere toldto“goback to theirhomestate”.Naga Students Union chief

LuluNHohe Tuesday said, “Theeight girls and one of theirmalefriendswere returning from aneveningwalk... four youngsterswhowere havingmeals on theroadsidestartedhurlingabuses...one of themhurled a tiffin boxcontaining dal and sabzi on thegirls,” she said, adding they ap-proachedthepolice.TamslaaAnniChangalleged,

“The group hurled abuses inHindi and Marathi... in Hinditheywereaskingustogobacktoour state,” shesaid.DCP Bachchan Singh said, “I

have asked the Chatuhshrungipolice to register a non-cogniz-ableoffence.”

PUNE

Naga women toldto ‘return to homestate, tiffin boxhurled at them’

BhupeshBaghel

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAIPUR,MAY19

THE CHHATTISGARH govern-mentwillonThursdaylaunchtheRajivGandhi KisanNyayYojana,whichaimstohelp farmersdur-ing the pandemic by ensuringminimumincomeavailability tofarmers growing rabi and kharifcrops in the state. The scheme isakin to theNyuntamAayYojana(NYAY) proposed by RahulGandhiinthelastLokSabhapolls.Chief Minister Bhupesh

Baghelwill formally launch thescheme through video confer-encingonthedeathanniversaryofRajivGandhi."Under thisscheme,approx-

imately Rs 5,700 crore will betransferred directly to accountsof19lakhfarmersinfourinstall-ments.We are including sugar-caneandmaizefarmersandtheywill be paid assistance for thecropgrownin2019attherateofmaximum Rs 10,000 per acre.This will help farmerswho aredealing with the pandemic,"Baghelsaid.Headded,"Thestateistryingtoreviveeconomiccon-ditionsby increasing thebuyingpower of our farmers. If theyhavemoney, there is a demandand supply for various goods.This isgrassrootsrevival.""...the state government has

includedpaddy,maize, soybean,groundnut,sesame,arhar,moong,urad, kulthi, ramatil, kodo, kotkifromkharif 2020 and sugarcanein rabi season. The governmenthasalsosaidthatif thefarmerre-ceivinggranttakespaddycropinthe previous year and replacespaddywithothercrops includedin the scheme this year, then insuchasituation,theywillbegivenadditionalassistanceperacre,"anofficialreleasestated.

To aid farmersamid outbreak,Chhattisgarhgovt to launchincome scheme

GunbattlePolice sources said theyhad

been tracking Junaid for sometime now, and the efforts wereintensified after the killing ofNaikoo.Thirty-year-old Junaid,

sources said,movedtoSrinagarfromSouthKashmir recently totryandsetupaHizbbase.On Monday night, a joint

team of J&K Police SpecialOperationsGroupandCRPFcor-donedoff theNawakadalneigh-bourhoodinoldSrinagarfollow-ing intelligence about thepresence of Junaid and anothermilitant in thearea.Themilitants,policesources

said,openedfirewhenthe jointteam approached the housewhere they had taken shelter.Therewasapauseinthegunbat-tle, but it resumed Tuesdaymorning. Security forces laterblewupthehouse—theadjoin-inghousestooweredamaged—andthebodiesof Junaidandhisassociate, Tariq Ahmad Sheikhof Pulwama,were recovered.At least four personnel, in-

cluding three of the CRPF,wereinjured in theoperation.Junaid’s father is separatist

leader Mohammad AshrafSehrai who heads the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, foundedbySyedAliShahGeelani.InMarch 2018, five days af-

ter his father took over as chiefof Tehreek-e-Hurriyat fromGeelani, Junaid joined themili-tant ranks.

ArnabRuling on a clutch of peti-

tions, a Bench of Justices D YChandrachudandMRShahsaid“all other FIRs in respect of thesameincidentconstituteaclearabuse of process andmust bequashed”.The SC said Goswami could

approachtheHighCourttoavailof further remedies, and ex-tended the protection from ar-rest for threemoreweeks.The court said that “Article

32 of the Constitution consti-tutesarecognitionof theconsti-tutionaldutyentrusted”init“toprotect the fundamental rightsof citizens”andadded that “theexerciseof journalistic freedomliesatthecoreofspeechandex-pression protected by Article19(1)(a)”.“The petitioner is a media

journalist.Theairingofviewsontelevisionshowswhichhehostsis in the exercise of his funda-mental right to speech and ex-pressionunderArticle19(1)(a)”,theBenchsaid.The Bench, however, added

that“theexerciseof that funda-mentalright isnotabsoluteandisanswerabletothelegalregimeenacted with reference to theprovisionsofArticle19(2).Buttoallowajournalisttobesubjectedtomultiple complaints and tothepursuitof remediestravers-ingmultiplestatesandjurisdic-tions when facedwith succes-siveFIRsandcomplaintsbearingthe same foundation has a sti-flingeffectontheexerciseofthatfreedom”.“This”, itsaid“willeffectively

destroy the freedomof the citi-zentoknowoftheaffairsofgov-ernance in the nation and theright of the journalist to ensurean informedsociety”.ThecourtrecalledIsraelihis-

torian Yuval Noah Harari’swords that “questions you can-notanswerareusuallyfarbetterfor you than answers you can-notquestion”.The court said that any rea-

sonable restriction on funda-mental rights “must comportwith the proportionality stan-dard, of which one componentis that the measure adoptedmust be the least restrictivemeasure to effectively achievethe legitimatestateaim”.The court turned down

Goswami’s plea toquasha sub-sequent FIR in connectionwithanotherTVshowonApril29,re-

garding his comments on themigrant commotion outsideBandrastationonApril 14.Goswami had sought trans-

ferof theprobetoCBIstatinghewas interrogated for nearly 12hours, that theCFOof thechan-nel was also questioned, andthat irrelevant questions wereput to them.Healso contendedthatsincehehadlevelledallega-tions against the state govern-ment’s failure to adequatelyprobe the Palghar case, therewas a conflict of interest in al-lowingMumbaiPoliceto inves-tigate thecase.But the court said that the

“power”totransferaninvestiga-tion to CBI is “extraordinary”,and is to be used “sparingly...inexceptional circumstances”.

Ladakhmore aggressive. It is not ahealthy thing when you con-siderwhathasbeengoingon intheFingerAreasincelateApril,”sources said.Themountainson the lake’s

northern bank jut forward inmajor spurs, which the Armycalls Fingers. India claims theLAC is co-terminuswith Finger8, while the Chinese claim thattheLACpassesthroughFinger2.Theareabetweenthetwodiffer-ing perceptions is the territorywhichbotharmies try todomi-natethroughregularpatrolling.While there have been ten-

sions about the limits of pa-trolling by the two sides on thenorthernbanksof PangongTso,sourcessaidtheChinese“force-fully insisted a couple of daysbackthattheIndianpatrolsstopatFinger2”.Since the Indians physically

control the area up to Finger 4,this was a “provocativemove”by the Chinese following the“disengagement” after a physi-cal altercation between troopsofbothsidesnearFinger5onthe

nightofMay5-6.The Chinese, sources said,

havebeenobjectingtoconstruc-tionofavehicletrackbyIndiansin thesamearea.While Chinese soldiers pa-

trol the area in light vehicles onamotorable road built in 1999when India was busy evictingPakistanis from the Kargilheights,Indiansoldierspatrolonfoot till their perception of theLAC.“Yes, tensions have been

high.Wearedoingconstructionin our area. Also, the Chineseroad is rather narrow and hasvery few turning points. So,whenourpatrolschallengetheirpatrols andask themtogobackfrom our area, they physicallycannotturntheirvehiclesanditleads to more acrimony,”sources said.“There is a situation on the

LAC in the Hot Springs sector,whichisanITBPsector.AnArmycompany hadmoved closer toPP14 and PP15 in 2015 after aminor incident, but this has al-ways been a settled area be-tween us and the Chinese. It isworthconsideringif theChineseposture there is linked to inci-dents at Pangong Tso, just asDepsangwas linked toChumarin2013,” sources said.InNewDelhi, Armyofficers,

however, maintained that theincidents in Pangong Tso are“typical LAC activitywitnessedduring summermonths”when“some newunits have been in-ducted”and“operationalfamil-iarisation and occupation ofwinter-vacated posts” takeplace. They called these inci-dents “localised” in nature dueto “different perception of theLACbythe twosides”.

Office spacedown lease-rents. Health andwellness platform Curefit, too,laid off around 800 employees

andpermanentlyclosedanum-ber of its centres to managecosts.According to a survey by IT

sectorindustrybodyNASSCOM,30-40% of over 250 start-upshave either temporarily haltedoperationsorareclosingdown.Zomato CEO Deepinder

Goyalwrote inane-mailsenttoemployees thatother thanpay-roll, the company’s biggest re-curringexpensewasrealestate.He said the company has de-cided to make partial or fullwork fromhomea “permanentfeature”.“The management has re-

alisedthatworkfromhomeisaneasily workable solution andthus office spaces is one areawhere costs could be cut. So anumber of office spaceswill nolonger be retained,” a companyexecutivetoldTheIndianExpress.When contacted, Zomato de-clinedtocommentontheissue.Swiggy,too,pointedoutthat

ithadalreadybeguntheprocessofscalingdownitskitchenfacil-ities temporarily or perma-nently.Swiggy CEO Sriharsha

Majetywroteinanemailtoem-ployees: “Identify and signifi-cantly reduceevery single indi-rect cost like hubs, officeinfrastructure, etc... it is one ofthe areaswherewe feel the cutismostprudentgiven itdoesn’taffectcustomeroremployeeex-perience.”Bengaluru-based business-

to-businessonlinemarketplaceUdaanislearnttohavelaidoffasmany as 2,000 contractual em-ployees from sales, marketing,anddailyoperationsteams.Thecompany is also learnt to havesuspended its operations andvacated some of the officespaces it had leased on flexiblepaymentsmodels.Similarly, a Pune-based

cloudkitchencompanyhasshut

downor scaledbackmost of itsbackroomstoresandaskedem-ployeesattheselocationstotakeunpaid leave until further in-structions.The net absorption of office

spacesinIndia,whichwitnesseda steep on-year fall in January-March2020—thefirstfall inthemetricobservedsincethesameperiod in 2017 following de-monetisation—isexpectedtobehit further by significantlyscaled-downoperations intechcompaniesandtheshifttowardsworking fromhome.A number of companies in

the IT services sector,whichac-counts for the highest share incommercial leasing across thecountry,haveadoptedthework-from-home policy as a part oftheir business continuity plans.Some smaller companies andstart-ups have also reducedphysicalinfrastructureasopera-tionshaveshrunk.Some of the larger IT sector

firms are also looking at imple-mentingwork from home as along-termpolicy.NASSCOMhascalled for companies tooperatewith 15-20 per centworkforcetill June-Julyevenafterthelock-downisover.Additionally, co-working

spacesarealsoassessingthesit-uationontheaccountthatwhiletheconceptof increasedremoteworkingmayprovebeneficialinthelongerrun,socialdistancingand the threat of sharingwork-spaces with unknown peoplecoulddrivedowndemand.“Most corporates would

avoid capital expenditures andlook to co-working facilities toexpand their business. The cur-rentsituationwillalsoseelargerenterprises seeking smallerspaces to ensure synergisedbusiness continuity in the nearfuture,” saidManasMehrotra,co-founder and chairman ofBengaluru-based co-working

space315WorkAvenue.Alok Kumar, co-founder of

Patna-based Work StudioCoworking, said: “Since co-workingstudiosareahighoper-atingexpenseaffair,thesustain-ability period is very less. Oneadvantagewhichwe have seenduringthelockdownperiod,andexpect to have in the days tocome, is thatwehavebeenget-tingalotof inquiryfromcompa-nieswhichhavedecidedtoshiftout of fixed rental and leasingspaces into amore flexible setup. The second is that once thelockdownends,individualswhohave been asked towork fromhome or remote locations willprefertoworkinanofficeset-upwheretheycanplugandplayasthere is a lot of disturbance in ahomeset-up.”

Mumbai’s slumsExpress Highway and theDharavi-Sion Link Road, smallgroups of men can still be seenwalkingortryingtoboardabustoThanecity, fromwherebusestoother statesaredeparting.“Onereasonwhyentirelanes

are emptying out is that theneighbours often all belong tooneregion,andtheywouldhaveleft together,” says ShwetaDamle of Habitats andLivelihoodWelfare Association(HALWA),whichwrote toChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray onApril15,askingthestategovern-menttohelpdaily-wagelabour-ers, head-loaders, constructionworkers,streetvendors,domes-ticworkers,securityguards,andsmall-scale manufacturingworkers in recycling, scrap andgarment industries. They rec-ommended assistance, includ-ing groceries and wage assis-tance to help these workerssurvivethelockdown.“Nowthepoor feel forced to travel homein unsafe conditions with nowork, no pay, nomeans to sur-vive,”Damlesays.Inhisaddress to thestateon

Monday, the Chief Minister re-quested workers, especially“sonsof thesoil”fromotherdis-tricts of Maharashtra, to defertheirdeparture.In Thakkar Bappa Colony in

Kurla (West), residents said atleast 800 families had left sinceMarch-end.Mostresidentsherework in the footwear industry,making rubber andplastic slip-pers. Predominantly fromRajasthan, theseworkers havelivedhere foroveradecade.“Many began leaving as

therewasnoworkandhencenoway of paying rent for thesemonths. A few families soldwhatever footwear theyhadal-readymade, through their con-tacts or on the roadside,” saysGuman Chauhan, a resident ofthecolony.Chauhan’sroomisownedby

arelativeandso, therehasbeennodemandforrentsofar.“Manyofmyfriendswho left said theywill seehowthesituationplaysout in the next fewmonths. Afewsaid that itmaybebetter tofindwork closer home. If theyfind work in manufacturingunitsinRajasthan,theywillstayback,”Chauhansays.In Jogeshwari’s Shastri

Nagar, too, residentssaythat insomechawls,asmanyasoneinthreehomesisempty. “Usually,there is a crowd around thevegetable or fruit seller or neartheshopsonthemainroad.Thenumbers have gone down.There is clearly more space towalk,”says JogeshwariresidentJagdish Kumar Yadav. He addsthat those who own homeshavenot takenall theirbelong-ings or sold their rooms, indi-cating an imminent return.Some left when a few Covidcases were reported close totheir livingquarters.

Train surgesuch as Surat, Ahmedabad,Delhi,andHyderabad,andstatessuchasUttarPradeshandBiharwhicharehometomostofthese

migrantworkers.When the Shramik Specials

startedonMay1, theguidelinessaid theywould operate at the“request”, and with the “con-sent”, of the “receiving state”,and therewould be no stops inbetween.But in its new SOPs (stan-

dard operating procedures)sent to the states, theMinistryofHomeAffairs (MHA)hassaidthe “movement of ShramikSpecial trains shall be permit-ted by Ministry of Railways inconsultation with Ministry ofHomeAffairs”.Thetrainsched-ule, including stops and desti-nations, shall be finalised bythe Ministry of Railways,“based on the requirements ofstates/ UTs”.TheroleofthestatesandUTs

hasbeen limited todesignatingnodal authorities andmakingarrangements for receiving orsending themigrantworkers.The decision comes in the

backdropof theCentre’sallega-tionthatsomeOpposition-ruledstates were not allowingmoretrains to run.“Within the next two days,

IndianRailwayswill double thenumber of Shramik SpecialTrains to 400 per day. All mi-grants are requested to staywheretheyare, IndianRailwayswill get them back home overthe next few days,” RailwayMinister Piyush Goyal tweetedatnight.The Railways said it has run

over 1,600 Shramik Specials sofar — UP received the mosttrains, and Gujarat sent out themost.TheCentre’sdecisionislikely

to precipitate a new flashpointwiththestates,asmanyofthemarestrugglingwiththe influxofmigrants —many from orangeor redzones incities.Sourcessaidthedecisionfol-

lows ameeting betweenHomeSecretary Ajay Bhalla andRailway Board Chairman V KYadavonMonday.Denying that the states had

no role in the process now, anMHAofficial said: “Without ac-tivecoordinationbetweensend-ingandreceivingstatesandwithRailways, how can this set-upfunction? States have to proac-tively requisition trains, basedon inputs fromdistrict authori-ties.Only then,Railwayscanal-locate more trains. Moreover,sending and receiving stateshavetoagreeamongthemselveshowmanypeopletheycansendandreceive.”ButaMinistryofRailwaysof-

ficialsaidtheunderstandingwasthattheMHAwouldjusthavetobe “intimated” about the run-ningof the trains. “Thiswill en-able us to scale up our opera-tions of the Shramik trainssignificantly,” theofficial said.

Delhi Health Secy“On going through the data

regardingspreadofCovid-19in-fections,itisobservedthateveryday300-400casesareaddingtothe tally but declaration ofequivalent ‘containment zones’by district magistrates is nothappening. The guidelines arecleartodeclareanareaasacon-tainment zonewhere three ormoreCovid-19positivecasesarediscovered in close proximity,”states theorder.On May 15, The Indian

Express had reported that thenumber of containment zoneshad dropped over the last twoweeks even as cases continuedtospike.“If the earlier policy (of de-

claringcontainmentzones)wasbeing followed,manymore ar-easwould have been sealed bynow,” saidanofficial.As per guidelines issued by

thehealthdepartment,contain-ment zones are supposed to bedeclared based on the numberof cases, their contacts and thegeographical spread.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

Too many unknowns, I have to be ready: FM

In Kerala, only 4 of 5,630 random samples positive

27, Reserve Bank of IndiaGovernorShaktikantaDas toohad said that the central bankhad not taken a view yet onmonetisation of deficit. “Wewill deal with it keeping inview the operational realities,the need to preserve thestrength of the RBI’s balancesheet, andmost importantly,the goal of macroeconomicstability, our primary man-date,”Dashadsaid.Deficitmonetisationsimply

meansthattheReserveBankofIndiadirectlyfundstheCentralgovernment’s deficit. Until1997, the government used tosell securities — ad hocTreasury-Bills—directlytotheRBI,andnottofinancialmarketparticipants. This allowed thegovernment to technicallyprintequivalentamountofcur-rencytomeetitsbudgetdeficit.Whileseveralresearchout-

fits like NCAER and GoldmanSachshaveprojectedtheecon-omy to contract this financialyear,Sitharamansaid,as farasherministrywasconcerned, itwas too early to make an as-

sessment.“It’stooearlyformetoeven

hazard a guess. We have satover to talk about verymanythings,thiswasalsosomethingwhich (came up for discus-sion). I can’t (make an assess-ment now), I presented aBudget in February, not eventwo months ago. Many as-sumptions of my budget arenow going to be questioned,resetetc.”The FinanceMinister said

she had to already reset thegovernment’s borrowingschedule.“Soit’snotpossible,itwon’t be sensible for me toevenmakeanassessment,say-ing this iswhere theeconomyisgoingtobe, this is theextentto which the economy willcontract.No, notnow. Iwouldrather keepmyself open andsee how things go andmaketheassessmentabit later,”shesaid.Responding to criticism

that the fiscal relief extendedby the government was toolow (The Indian Express esti-mated it at less than 1.1 per

centofGDP),Sitharamansaid,“Everybodyhasarighttomakean assessment. I have not hidanything from the public, Ihave said this is how I havedonemywork, how it’s beingspread, this is the liquidity,Now if there are expectationsthat from the budget what isyour outlay — letme tell you,this is Government of India,Ministry of Finance, dealingwithpublicmoney.Isthisevergoing to hidden from any-body?”To a question on why the

government did not considermakinglargercashtransfers—say around Rs 3,000 - to mi-grants toalleviate thedistress,theFinanceMinistersaid,“Iamnot objecting to this sugges-tion. I repeatmyanswer,yes itwas a suggestion we haveheard,wehavetakenthat intoaccount, we have thoughtabout it and in a way by ex-tendingthebankstoreachoutfirstwithoutadditionalcollat-eral for every small unit, letthemrefuse(totake)itbutyouapproach to give, automatic is

the word I use, what is thataimedat? It is aimedat givingsomemoneytomeetthefixedcost, it isaimedatgivingsomemoneytomakesurethatsomepayment for the wages aremade. So that’swhatwe havedone. I have made sure thatbanks will extend. Yes it’s aloan, it’s a credit, yes, it’s not agrant. But that’s where I amasking,grantsforhowmany,ofhowmuch?”Withtaxrevenuesseverely

under strain due to the sharpcontraction, Sitharaman said,shewould train her attentionon cutting non-essential ex-penditure.“Westartedthatex-ercise prior to Covid, becauseat that time the FinanceCommissionwas speaking tous(informally)thatcanyoura-tionalise it, and even by thattime,wewerelookingatecon-omy. It neededmore push, itwas slowing down, we couldsee the green shoots but stillyou had to do a lot more.Wehad started that exercise. Yes,now I will be doing it all themoreseriously,” shesaid.

were also collected fromareaswhere no positive caseswerereported. Of the total samples,four tested positive, 5,340 re-turnednegativeandresultsareawaitedfortherest.“Wehavesucceededinper-

fectlyimplementingquarantineandsocialdistancingrulesandpeople have been obeying di-rectionsonmask-wearing,”thechiefministersaid.Thenextroundoftestingas

part of sentinel surveillance,with samples taken fromdis-tricts,beganonMonday.The results of Kerala’s ran-

dom testing came on a dayIndia’snovelcoronaviruscountcrossedtheone-lakhmark,anda day after a record 1,08,233samplesweretestedacrossthecountry. So far, 24,25,742 sam-pleshavebeentested.The Union Ministry of

Health also said the country’sCovid fatality rate is far belowtheglobalaverage.So far, 39,174patients have

beencuredofCOVID-19—2,350inthelast24hours—makingitarecoveryrateof38.73%.“In terms of casemortality

per lakh population, India has

sofarabout0.2deathsperlakhpopulation vis-a-vis approxi-mately4.1deathsperlakhpop-ulationfortheworldasawhole.India currently has 58,802 ac-tive cases. These are all underactivemedical supervision. Ofthe active cases, only approxi-mately 2.9% of the cases are inICU,”theHealthMinistrysaidinastatement.Kerala has so far reported

642cases,withasuddenspikeinthe last10tendaysbeingat-tributed to arrivals from theMiddle East and those fromotherstates.OnMay8,thestate

onlyhad16activecases,butthefigureroseto142onMay19.Saying the situation has

changed from earlier, whenmostofthecasesweretracedtothosewith international travelhistory,StateHealthMinisterKK Shailaja said: “Now they arecoming from highly infectedplaces, including hotspots inother states. Thepresent spurtincaseswasexpectedwiththereturn of expats and thosestranded in other states. Thevirus load is very high amongthosewho returned from in-fectedareas.’’

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY19

WHENA42-year-oldman,whoclaimedtobeaDelhiPolicecon-stable,calledanassistantsub-in-spector at a picket in Rohini dis-trict "babuji", it led to enoughsuspicion to check theman's IDcardthoroughly.“Wecommonlyusejanaabor

sahabintheforce,notbabuji...Justby the language, ASI Kuldeepknewthatsomethingwasamiss.Hewasright,anditturnedoutthe

manwasposingasaconstableina bid to cross the border fromDelhi to Haryana,” said DCP(Rohini)PKMishra.At1.30amonMay15,acarap-

proached apicket in thedistrictmannedbyKanjhawalapolicesta-tionpersonnel, and thedriver—VirenderKumar—“directed thepicket staff to remove thebarri-cadesimmediately”."First,Kumarsaidhewas in theExcisedepart-ment, thenhe said he is aDelhiPoliceconstableandwaschasingacriminal,andaskedthestafftore-movethebarricades,"saidMishra.

Kumarwasasked toproducehisIDcard,andwhenhedid,picketpersonnel ASI Kuldeep andConstableMohan found it suspi-ciousthatapersonenlistedintheforcein1991wasstillaconstable."Thathehadn'tbeenpromotedalltheseyears,andthathereferredtotheASI as ‘Babuji’ caused suspi-cion.Hecouldn't recall his SHO'snumbereither.Eventually,hecon-fessedhewantedtogotoRohtak,andwas not a policeman,” saidMishra.A case under sections offorgery and cheating by imper-sonationhasbeenfiled.

THEOUTBREAK THECITY3 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI,MAY19

INAdecisionthathasriledasec-tion of healthcareworkers, theDelhi government has issuedfresh guidelines that do awaywith the need for 14-day quar-antineforalldoctors,nursesandotherstaff after finishingCovid-19duty. Thenewguidelines areinaccordancewithacircular is-sued by theMinistry of HealthandFamilyWelfareonMay15.Thecapitalreported500new

cases on Tuesday— the highestsingle-dayspike—andsixmoredeaths as guidelines for lock-down relaxations came intoforce.Totalcasesstandat10,554,while166peoplehavediedand4,750 have recovered or beendischarged fromhospitals.Delhi Health Secretary

PadminiSingla, intheorder,saidstaffwillgointoquarantineonlyif theyhavehad“high-riskexpo-

sure”whiledealingwithCovid-19patientsorhandlingsampleswithoutPPEkits.“Regularquar-antineofhealthcareworkersaf-terperformingdutyinCovid-19areasisnotwarranted,exceptaselaborated under protocol ofhigh-riskand low-risk contact,”stated theorder.Quarantine will also be re-

quiredifhealthcarestaffcomeincontact with a positive person(within a distance of 1 m) formore than 15minuteswithoutmask, face shield or goggles.High-risk contactswill bequar-antined for14daysandtested.However, healthcare work-

ersonthefrontlineshaveraisedobjectionstothenewguidelines.Over 500healthcareworkers inthe capital have tested positivefor the virus so far, includingmany not posted in Covid-des-ignatedhospitals.The Federation of Resident

Doctors’Association(FORDA)haswrittentoUnionHealthMinister

HarshVardhan to revoke theor-der. “Thevirushasanincubationperiodof2-14daysfollowingex-posure. There aremultiple in-stancesofdoctorstestingpositiveforthediseasefollowingasecondtest or subsequently after that...

Under the current situation, 14-day quarantine, alongwith ade-quate testing of all doctors, afterCovid-19dutyisnecessaryinor-dertopreventspreadofinfectionamong colleagues,” said FORDApresidentDrShivajiDevBarman.

“By following this order, weare putting our family and col-leagues at risk. A doctor whoworkedintheCovid-19wardyes-terdayhasbeenaskedtojoindutywithin a fewhours of coming incontact with a suspected/con-firmed case. The infectionwillspread tootherpeople.Wehavegiven our presentation to theMinistryandarewaitingforanof-ficial confirmation,” said DrJoyutpal Biswas from theResidentDoctors’ Association ofSafdarjungHospital.TheRDAhasrequested theministry to allowquarantineforatleastaweek.Safdarjung medicalsuperin-

tendent, in an order said, “Allhealthcareworkerswhoarego-ing to complete 14 days (Covidduty) will continue their quar-antine of 10 days at home, in-stead of staying in hotels, fromMay18.”OnMonday,residentdoctors

ofRMLHospitalstayinginhotelsduring their quarantine period

wereaskedtovacatetheirroomsimmediately, failingwhichtheirsalaries would be deducted foroverstaying. The order was is-sued by the hospital, however,no such directives have beensentbyCentralMinistry.Beforethegovernmentorder,

doctorsweresent for two-weekquarantineathotelsarrangedbytheDelhigovernmentafterCovidduty lasting twoweeks. “If doc-tors are asked to go back homethe next day — with many ofthemhaving small children andoldparents—ortohostelswheretheysharerooms,itwillincreasethechanceof exposure.Evenaf-tercarryingoutCoviddutieswithadequate PPEs, there have beeninstances of healthcareworkerstesting positive,” said a residentdoctor fromRMLHospital.OnTuesday,however,thead-

ministration relaxed the rulesand asked doctors to vacaterooms byMay 25. DrMinakshiBharadwaj, RMLHospitalmed-

ical superintendent, said “Theyhavebeengiventimetovacateincompliancewith theMinistry’snewquarantineguidelines.”Hospital administrations are

also calling back doctors underquarantine. “As per the orders,wewill have to call themback.However, theriskofcatchingin-fectionwillnowrise.Theywillbeexposed to many more staffmembers.Howwill thegovern-mentcontaintheviruslikethis?”said a senior doctor from RajivGandhiSuperSpecialityHospital.On Tuesday, Delhi Chief

MinisterArvindKejriwalsaidthegovernment'smainprioritywastoensurethedeathrateremainslow.Delhi's Covid fatality rate is1.57% at present. “If you look atfigures in Delhi, the rate is al-ready low. There are close to1,800 people in hospitals; ofthose, only about 150 are in se-rious condition. I ampersonallytrackingtheprogressofeach,”hetoldaTVnewschannelTuesday.

500cases in a day, nomore 14-day quarantineafter coronavirus duty for healthcareworkers

Over500healthcareworkers inthecapitalhavetestedpositive for thevirusso far. PremNathPandey

SECTIONOFHEALTHCAREWORKERSRAISEOBJECTIONS

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,MAY19

THEDELHIgovernment’sHealthandFamilyWelfareDepartmenthas written to the civic bodiesseeking details of cremationsandburialscarriedoutundertheCovidSOP.In a letter last week from

Delhi Health Secretary PadminiSingla to the commissioner ofthe North and SouthMCDs, thedepartment said it requires de-tails of cremations and burialsdone at Nigambodh Ghat andPunjabiBaghcrematoriums,andITO graveyard of Covid-19 re-lateddeaths,urgently.These three places are

amongtheburialandcremationsites reserved by theMCDs forperforming last rites as per thestandard operating procedure(SOP) forCovid-19deaths.“It is requestedthatcopiesof

register having details of suchcremations/burials of Covid-re-lated deaths (positive and sus-pect),alongwithsupportingdoc-uments like lab reports,doctor’scertificateetc,maybesenttothisdepartment...,” saidthe letter.SourcesintheMCDsaidare-

ply has been sent to the Delhigovernment.OnMay14,TheIndianExpress

hadreportedthatasperdatapro-videdbythestandingcommitteeof theNorthbodyandtheSouthMCD, the capitalhas carriedout

410 funerals as per the SOP forCovid patients. Delhi had, untilthen,recorded106Coviddeaths.Officials and doctors had said abody being cremated or buriedin adherence to the Covid SOP,laiddownby the ICMR,maynotnecessarilymeanthepersonhadthevirusordiedof thedisease.TheDelhigovernmentmean-

whilealsowarnedallhospitalsofactionif theyfailtoreportCovid-19deathsinatime-boundman-ner. “It has been observed that...healthcare facilities in Delhi arenot timely reporting deaths ofCovid-19positivepatientsasperSOPs circulated. Violationof theorder shall invite strict action...without furthernotice,” saidtheorder issuedbySingla.

VACANCY NOTICEAirports Economic Regulatory Authority,invites applications from eligible candidatesfor filling up posts of Under Secretary(Policy & Statistics) (01 no.), Bench Officer(01 no.), Assistant (01 no.), PersonalAssistant (01 No.) and Stenographer (05nos.), in New Delhi on deputation basis.Details are available on AERA’s websitehttp://aera.gov.in. Last date for receipt ofapplications through proper channel is29.06.2020 till 5:30 pm. Corrigendum, if any,in this regard would be published only onAERA’s Website.davp 03112/11/0001/2021 Director (P&S), AERA

Airports Economic RegulatoryAuthority of India

(A Statutory Body of the Government of India)AERA Building, Administrative Complex,

Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi-110003Ph ; 24695044-47, Fax : 24695048,

Website: http://aera.gov.in

Government of IndiaMinistry of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution

Department of Food and Public DistributionVACANCY

Applications are invited for filling up the post ofChairperson in the Warehousing Developmentand Regulatory Authority (WDRA), set up byGovernment of India under the provisions of theWarehousing (Development and Regulation) Act,2007. The vacancy circular with details regardingpay, eligibility criteria, age limit, tenure etc. andapplication proforma is placed on the website ofthis Department i.e. http:dfpd.nic.in. Applicantsmust send their application through proper chan-nel along with supporting documents, so as toreach the undersigned (Room No. 165, KrishiBhawan, New Delhi) within 45 days from the dateof publication in the Employment News (publishedin the Employment News/Rojgar Samachar on16.05.2020) i.e. by 29th June, 2020 till 5 P.M.

Nandita Gupta, Joint Secretarydavp 08109/11/0001/2021

Advertisement for the post of Member of the Airports Economic RegulatoryAuthority of India (AERA)

Applications are invited for the selection to the post of Member, Airports EconomicRegulatory Authority of India (AERA), an Authority to regulate tariff and other chargesfor the aeronautical services rendered at airports, under the administrative control ofthe Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.2. The details of age limit, Essential Qualification and Experience etc. along with

prescribed format for application are available on the website of the Ministry ofCivil Aviation (www.civilaviation.gov.in), (http://www.civilaviation.gov.in). Thedetails can also be obtained on the website of Airports Economic RegulatoryAuthority (www.aera.gov.in).

3. The eligible and interested persons may send their application in the prescribedformat by 18.06.2020 till 5:30 pm.

(Rubina Ali)Joint Secretary

DAVP 03112/11/0002/2021

Ministry of Civil AviationGovernment of India

Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi

Man poses as a cop to get past border

ApeejaycaseincourtNewDelhi:TheDelhiHighCourt sought to knowfromDelhiPolice’sCyberCrime Cell if emails ex-changed between theDelhi government’sDirectorate of Education(DoE) and the heads ofschools of Apeejaybranches on fee increasefortheyearweregenuineor not. Justice RajivShakdher restrained po-lice from taking “any co-ercivemeasures againstthemanagement” of theSaket, Sheikh Sarai andPitampura branches ofApeejaySchool.Thecourtwashearingapleaby theschoolseekingtostaypro-ceedingsontheeducationdepartment’s complaintto police to lodge FIRsagainsttheirmanagerandheads, citing violation ofdirections regarding feecollectionduringthecoro-naviruscrisis.

Private liquorshopstoopenNewDelhi: Private liquoroutlets inDelhiwillopenon May 22, with theExcise Department di-recting owners to carryout a tally of the stockswith thembyMay21.

Undertrial’svideogoesviral,probeonNewDelhi: The Tihar jailadministration has initi-ated an inquiry after avideoclipmadebyanun-dertrialprisoner, accusingjail officials of smugglingcell phones inside the jail,wentviralonsocialmedia.DG (Tihar) SandeepGoelsaid the inmatehadbeeninvolvedinafoiledattemptto throwphones into thejail. He claimed that theprisonermadethevideotoputpressureonjailstaff.

Over1LtrafficviolationsNewDelhi:Thetrafficpolicehas sent1,00,436noticesthroughSMSand80noticesthroughspeedpostundercompoundableoffencecat-egorybasedonviolationscapturedbycamerasfromMarch25toMay17.

HC seeksCentrestandNewDelhi:TheDelhiHighCourtTuesdaysoughttheCentre’s stand on a pleahighlightingfailureonthepart of socialmedia plat-forms in removingobjec-tionablecontentsandalsoillegalgroupssuchas'BoisLocker Room' from theirwebsites.

AnnouncementsystemsformigrantsNew Delhi: StartingWednesday,theSoutheastdistrict policewill deploystatic announcement sys-temsinareassuchasSaraiKaleKhanandSrinivaspuriespecially for migrantlabourerswhoarehopingtoreturntotheirhomesinotherstates.ENS

BRIEFLY

At ITOgraveyard,oneof thesitesreservedforburialsasperCovidSOP.AbhinavSaha

Over 400 funerals performed under CovidSOP, govt seeks details from civic bodies

Builder arrested for ‘beating up’construction worker at South ExSOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,MAY19

POLICEHAVEarrestedabuilderfor allegedly beating up a 45-year-oldconstructionworkeratasiteinSouthDelhi’sposhSouthExtension-II onTuesday.Police said the accused,

ManoharBatra,allegedlykickedMeeraDevi,pushedothermem-bers of her family, abused thechildren,askedthemtoleaveandrefusedtopaypendingwages.DCP (South) Atul Kumar

Thakur said, “Devi and her rela-tives used to work at the con-structionsiteinSouthExtension-II, and theirwages to the tuneofRs9,500arependingwithBatra.”Thakur said the woman al-

leged thatwhen shewas sleep-ing, Batra came to the site andkickedherandabusedher. “Sheallegedthathepickedupabrickto hit her and threatened herhusband. Devi has been sent toAIIMSforanMLC,”saidtheDCP.Policehave filedacaseunder

IPCsections323(voluntarilycaus-inghurt),506(criminalintimida-tion)and188(disobedience).SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Devi’s 14-year-old daughterclaimed, “We came to fromBihar’sPurniatwoyearsago,andhave been living andworkinghere for fivemonths now. Thebuilder paysmy father Rs 500 aday,mymotherRs300aday....Hehasn’t paid us for over amonth.Wewould stand for hours in aqueuetogetfoodatatemple.”

The child also claimed thatwhile her younger siblings did-n'twork at the site, shedid, andwaspaidRs300aday.On Sunday evening, public

healthprofessionalDrSonaliVaidcameacrosstheteenagerandhersiblingsandfoundthatthefamilyhasn’t been paidwages: “TheysaidtheywillheadbacktoPurniaonatrainandhavetogoformed-ical screening to Chhattarpur.Policemadethebuilderpaythema portion of their wages onMonday...OnTuesday,policetookthematChhattarpur.”At the screening point, the

family found there areno trainsgoingtillPurnia.“Tired,wecameback to the site andmymotherslept.Thebuildercameandbeatherupthen,” said the teenager.

New Delhi

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ASHNABUTANI&SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI,MAY19

AS RETAIL markets across thecitygradually reopened tomin-imal customers on Tuesday,shopkeepers and trade associa-tionheads emphasised that there-opening of public transportwill be the key to livening upmarkets.R K Chawla (55), who has

beensellingfootwearinSarojiniNagar for around 40 years, saidlate Tuesday afternoon, “I haveneverseenasituationlikethisinmylife.Whenthe1984riotstookplace, the shop was shut foraround15days. But this time, itwill takeusyears to recoverourlosses andmake profits again.Sincemorning, Ihavenotseenasinglecustomer.”He was among the 10-12

shopkeepers in the normallybustlingmarket tohaveopenedtheir store. “I am paying Rs10,000 to each of my four staffmembers. Thenwehave to payforelectricity.Ifthesituationdoesnot improve, Iwill stopopeningthestore.Shopkeeperswhohaveto pay rent have shut shop andgonetotheirvillages,”hesaid.Ashok Randhawa, president

oftheSarojiniNagarMiniMarketTraders Association, attributedthe lack of life at themarket tolack of public transport and un-resolvedissueswithfinerdetails.“Metroisourlifeline.Oncethe

Metro restarts, we expectmorecustomers.Therearearound600shops in Sarojini,whichwill fol-low an odd-even schemewhileopening. Today, only a fewwereopenbecausetherewereanum-berofissuesthatweareyettodis-cuss with the SDM and DelhiPolice. Therewas a dispute re-

garding the temperature gun.They said every shopneeds onewhereaswewould prefer to dothecheckatthemaingate.Weareafraidbecauseifevenonepersongets the virus, the entiremarketwillbesealed.Thereisalsoadis-puteaboutwhetherstreethawk-erswillbeallowedinthemarket.Once these issues are resolved,moreshopswillopen.”At the centre of the city,

ConnaughtPlacewasnearlybar-ren. The New Delhi TradersAssociation estimated that onlyaround 80 shops opened in thesprawlingcommercialhub,hometoover1,000bigandsmallshops.“A lot of the shopkeepers do

not have the confidence to opentheirstoresatthistime.Today,500caseswerereportedfromthecity...Anodd-evensystemalsodoesn’twork in a retailmarket like thiswherecustomersliketocompareprices andproducts in differentstores,andcompletealltheirbuy-ing in a single trip. This is aplannedmarketwitha10feetgapbetweeneachshop,whichshouldbe taken into consideration... Ihavehadshopkeeperstellingmethey had zero sales today,” said

Atul Bhargava, president of NewDelhiTradersAssociation.Vikas Luthra, storemanager

at FlyingMachine, was amongthose who saw no customers.“We are ensuring that only sixpeople are inside the store at apoint and if anyone tries a gar-ment, it will be washed. SinceRajeevChowkMetro station is aconnectingpointformany,manypeople stop at CP.We think thatoncetheMetroresumes,footfallwill improveabit,”hesaid.The centrality of theMetro

andfullbusserviceswasechoedby the market associations ofLajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh,which reopenedwith approxi-mately 30% and 48% shops re-spectively. Both said customerfootfallwasnegligibleonthefirstday, with the daymostly beingspentoncleaningandarrangingproducts.“Thelackoftransportalsoaf-

fects manpower. About 90% ofemployeesusepublictransport.Not everyone can use autos atthis time when everyone isstrained economically,” saidSanjeevMadan,presidentof theLajpatNagarTradersAssociation.

ASHNABUTANINOIDA,MAY19

EVEN AS directions from theUttar Pradesh government in-dicated that curbs on move-mentbetweenDelhiandNoidawill be lifted substantially, anorder passed by the GautamBudh Nagar administrationTuesday morning continuingthesystemofe-passesforcross-bordermovement led to trafficjamsatDNDFlywayandaswellastheentrypointtoNoidafromMayurVihar.TheDelhigovern-ment’s guidelines to open gov-ernmentandprivateofficesalsocontributed to the rush at theborders.While orders passed by the

UPgovernmentsaidtherewillbenorestrictiononpeopleenteringfromDelhi,exceptforthoseresid-ingincontainmentzones,thedis-trict administration said statusquowill bemaintaineduntil de-tailedguidelinesareissued.Thosewho live in Delhi and

work in Noida, and vice versa,meanwhile, were stuck at theborder as each vehicle and pas-sengerwas asked for e-passes.Manywerestuckforoveranhouras only one lanewas opened toregulateentry.JatinDhondhiyal,whorunsa

business in Delhi and lives inNoida,managedtopass throughinthemorning.“Iwenttotheof-ficeafteralmosttwomonthsbe-cause guidelines statedmove-mentwas allowed.When Iwas

returning, however, I encoun-teredakilometre-longtrafficjam.I was allowed to pass throughonly after pleadingwith officersandwastoldnottogotomorrowwithoutane-pass,”hesaid.DCP (Traffic), GautamBudh

Nagar, Rajesh S told The IndianExpresstherewassometrafficbe-causetheDelhigovernmenthadallowedmovement. “Lockdownis still in forcebut theDelhi gov-ernmenthasallowedmovement.An order from the UP govern-mentstatingthatmovementwillbe allowed and the ruleswouldbemadebythedistrictadminis-trationwasalsothere,butthedis-trict administration has not re-laxedmovement,”hesaid.The district administration

said theyhave soughtdirectionsfromthestategovernment.Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon

andFaridabadhavesealedtheir

borders with Delhi, claimingthat most of the cases in thesedistricts were traced to the na-tional capital.NakulKumar,aUPPolicecon-

stablepostedattheChillaborder,said, “TheDelhigovernmenthasannouncedthatbordersareopenand that people can travel inter-state. Butwe have not receivedanysuchordersfromtheUPgov-ernment.Hence,wearesendingpeople back if they do not havepassesissuedbytheDM.Around200-250peoplewere sent backtoDelhi.”Atruckcarrying15construc-

tionworkerswasalsoamongthevehiclesforcedtotakeaU-turnatthe border. “After being stuck intraffic for two hours, wewereasked to go back to Delhi,” saidBrideshKumar(42).“AllofusliveinNoida Sector 124 andwork inMayurVihar,”headded.

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

THEOUTBREAK THECITY

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON,MAY19

MANDATORYCOMPLETE bloodcount(CBC)tests,dailytempera-ture checks, being accompaniedbyemployerswhenpassingcom-monareasandworkonalternatedays—as residentwelfare asso-ciationsofmost gated condos inGurgaon allowdomesticwork-ers, drivers and gardeners to getback towork, they are also put-tingnewnormsinplace.On Monday, several RWAs

lifted restrictionsbysendingoutforms to residents, asking them

to list names and details of do-mestichelpstheyintendedtocallbacktowork.Among themwas Princeton

Estate, where domestic helpswere allowed from Monday,whiledriversandcarcleanerswillbe permitted fromTuesday andWednesday.Here,domestichelpshave been divided into twobatchessupposedtoworkonal-ternatedays,andtheirentrywillbe allowed only once a day, “toavoidovercrowding”incommonspaces.Fordrivers,residentshavebeenaskedtocall theminawaythat ensures “free timeavailablebetweentrips isminimised”.

In an email to residents, theRWAdirected that the helps be“guidedonphone”regardingpre-cautions, and that residents en-suretheyareCovidfree.“Youareadvised to get the concernedtest,” itstates.Whilea test isonlyonadvice

atPrincetonEstate, thesamehasbeenmademandatory at TheSummit inDLF5,with a circularissuedbytheRWAinformingres-idents: “Allmaids, drivers, gar-deners, basement laundrymenandcar cleanerswill have toun-dergothebasicCBCbloodtestbe-forestartingworkandthenasperdoctor’sadvice.”Thecircularadds

that thecostof the testwillhavetobebornebytheresident.Chief Medical Officer Dr

Jaswant Singh Punia, however,said, “A CBC test is unrelated toCovid. Separate tests have to bedonetocheckifapersonhastheinfection.”Dipak Roy, member of the

condominium’s Board ofManagement,said,“TheCBCistosee if there is anythingwrong. Itis to check if there is any kind ofinfection,aspeoplewithlowim-munity could bemore suscepti-ble. One of our doctor residentssuggested this. It has nothing todowithcoronavirus.”

TheRWAof The Summithasalso restricted timings for entryofpart-timehelps from“8amto4pmtoavoidcrowding”anden-sureguardsareableto“monitor”theirmovements.Concernon the timedomes-

tichelpsspendincommonspacesappears frequently incommuni-cationsof several RWAs.UnitechFrescohastakenthisastepfurther,directingresidentstoaccompanyhelps from the tower lobby totheirflats“sothatthemaiddoes-n’t touch the lift buttons”.Whenhelps reachthe lobbyof thecon-dominium, the email states,guards “will checkhis/her name

inthelistandinformtheresidenttocomeandescorthertotheflat”.Theyhave escort the help againoncetheworkisfinished.In many condominiums,

however,manyresidentsarestillchoosing to refrain from callingtheirdomestichelps.Nilesh Tandon, president of

theFrescoRWA,said,“Webeganthisexerciselastweek,whereweasked residentswhowanted tocalltheirhelpstofillupforms.Asof Sunday evening, around 350requestshadcome,whichmeansonlyaround33%of theresidentshere requested for their helps tobeallowedentryagain.”

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,MAY19

AFTERAnearlytwo-monthhia-tus, Delhi’s public transport, in-cluding DTC and cluster buses,stuttered to life Tuesday. Thenumberofbusesaswellascom-muters were scant on mostroutes—excepttheoneshavingterminal stops inplacesborder-ingUttarPradesh,inter-stateter-minalssuchasAnandVihar,andrailwaystations.Most buses on these routes

had20passengers—theceilingfixed by the city’s transport de-partment to ensure social dis-tancing — indicating that mi-grantswerehopingthevehicleswoulddropthematapointfromwhere theycould takea trainorbusbackhome.Busesheadedtoterminals such as Mehrauli orYamuna Vihar, however, werelargelyempty.Around 2.30 pm, The Indian

Express foundseveralbusesdes-tined for Anand Vihar beingmade to turn away fromSarai Kale Khan, again forcingmigrantworkerstodeboardandhead towards the Ghaziabadborderon foot.“Suna hai Congress ne kuch

bus lagayi hai border par, shayadghar jaane komil jaye (we haveheard that the Congress hasarranged buses at the borders,perhaps we will get a ridehome),” said Amardeep Ram,headedtoBihar’sBegusaraidis-trict.He, alongwithagroupof six

workers, leftashoemakingunitat Karol Bagh,where theywereemployedbeforethe lockdown,andboardedaDTCbustoAnandVihar,beforebeingaskedbytraf-ficpoliceatSaraiKaleKhan.“We have not been paid for

the last twomonths. So we fi-nallyheadedout,hopingtocatcha trainorbus till Begusarai afterreaching the UP border,” saidRavinder Yadav, a youngmem-

berof thegroup.On the issue of migrants

wanting to go home, ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal toldABPNews:“Thesystemandgov-ernments across the board re-acted late. We have so far sentmigrants back in 59 trains, and12more trains are to leave onTuesday.However,sofararound4 lakhmigrants have registeredtogoback, outofwhichabout2lakheacharefromUPandBihar.So, running 10, 12, 15 trains

won’t do anymore. I have re-quested officials in the Uniongovernmenttorun100,50trainsa day for the next 4-5 days.Wewill send back people withproper arrangements, food, so-cialdistancinganddignity.”Deputy CMManish Sisodia

saidsofar65,000migrantshavebeen sent back in Shramik spe-cial trainsandbuses.Chanchal Kumar, conductor

of a cluster bus plying betweenMehrauli andAnandVihar, said

trafficpolicepersonnelhadbeenturning away buses near KhelGaon since morning. “What isthepoint of deployingbuses onthis route then?”heasked.Buses headed towards Old

DelhiRailwaystationalsoregis-tered a sizeable ridership, evenaround 3.30 pmwhen the heathad peaked.While passengersboarding these buses were notthermally screened, not morethan twowere being placed ineach row. However, marshals

couldnotbespottedatbusstops.Road inspectors of the DTC

and staffers of TransportDepartment’senforcementwingwereseeninspectingbusdepots.At the Nehru Place depot,

two road inspectors said notmorethan30%employeesofthedepartmenthavejoineddutyasmanyresideoutsideDelhi.“Theycouldnotenter thecityas inter-statemovementremainsstrictlyregulated. Serviceswill pick upgradually,”aroadinspectorsaid.Laterintheday,thetransport

department issued an order re-calling350drivers,whoweredi-vertedtothehealthdepartmentearlier thismonth to drive am-bulances,back to thedepots.“Moreover, the7pmto7am

curfewmakesnosensenowthatmost restrictions have beenlifted.Thisonlymakesthe jobofenforcement agencies tougher.Andallowingmore timetopeo-plewill only help space out thecrowd,” the official added. Thedepotwasempty,savetwobusesdestinedforYamunaVihar.Drivers of several cluster

buses said they have not beenpaid salary over the last twomonths. Initially, they threat-enedtostrikework,andrelentedonlyafterbeingassuredofbeingpaidwithin thenext15days.Transport Minister Kailash

Gahlot said thedepartmentun-dertook thermal screening ofpassengers at some depots andqueue shelters, andplans are inplacetoscaleuptheprocessoverthe next fewdays asmore peo-ple return towork.Atransportdepartmentoffi-

cial said the ridershipwas a lit-tleover1 lakhonTuesday.Thedailyaverageridershipin

publicbuses,numberingaround6,000, stands at around 40 lakhin the city,making thismodeoftransportthelargestfollowedbythe Delhi Metro, which carriesaround 27 lakh people daily.Metro services continue to re-mainsuspended.

DELHIUNLOCKS

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,MAY19

WHEN VIJAY Sah (40) parkedhis autorickshaw outsideAkshardhamMetro station, itwas in the hope that hewouldgetpassengers through theday.The Pandav Nagar resident hadcomeprepared—havingplacedabarrierbetweenthedriverandpassenger seats using a poly-thene sheet. But there werehardlyanycustomers.Tying a string to the sheet to

keep it inplace, Sah said, “I tookout the auto after twomonths.The last time itwas on the roadwas before the Janta Curfew onMarch22.It isgoodthatthegov-ernment has allowed us to ply;we had exhausted all our sav-ings. Even I would have left formyvillagehaditbeenextended.The landlord didn’t askme forrentduringthepasttwomonths,butforhowlongwillheholdoff?Heisdependentontherenttoo.”Sahliveswithhisbrotherand

came to Delhi seven years agolookingforwork.HisfamilylivesinBihar’sChamparandistrict.

Under the guidelines re-leasedbytheDelhigovernmentonMonday, autorickshaws, e-rickshaws and cycle rickshawshave been allowed to ply. They,however,cancarryonlyonepas-sengeratatimeandwillhavetodisinfect the passenger seat be-tweenrides.Thereareclose to1 lakhreg-

isteredautos inDelhi.

Most auto drivers that TheIndianExpressspoketosaidtheywere thankful that they couldply again, but rued the guide-lines that allow them to ferryonly one passenger at a time.Business on Tuesdaywas slowformost.Dharni Dhar Mandal (60)

wholives inOkhlaandhasbeendrivinganautofor twodecades,

said he would earn up to Rs1,000adaybeforethelockdown.“IhaveearnedaroundRs200

tillnow.Atthisrate itwillbedif-ficult to feed a family of six.Mysonisalsoanautodriver,”hesaid.The Delhi government had

last month announced thatthose driving public service ve-hicleswillbegivenanassistanceofRs5,000eachduringthelock-down.Over thepastmonth, thegovernment has transferred Rs5,000eachintoaccountsofover1.1 lakh public service vehicle(PSV) badge holders, which in-cludesautodrivers.Severalautodriversalsosaid

theDelhiMetro being shutwasimpactingbusiness. InDelhi,au-tos are essential for last-mileconnectivity fromMetro sta-tions.Dheerj Paswan,who lives in

Rohini, said the governmentshould extend more help asmanyautodrivers areunable topayeven the rent for their vehi-cles.“IhavetopayRs250perdayto the owner as rent. I have gotjust twopassengers so far todayand managed to earn only Rs200,”hesaid.

AttheDelhi-Noidaborder.AbhinavSaha

Atthe JanpathmarketonTuesday.PremNathPandey

Markets empty, traders sayMetro is only sliver of hope

Mostgatedcondos inGurgaonareallowingdomesticworkers,driversandgardeners.AbhinavSaha

AS CONDOS ALLOW ENTRY AGAIN

Among Gurgaon RWA rules: ‘Domestic helps shouldn’t touch lift buttons’

Slow start for autos, many unsure ofbusiness with just 1 passenger allowed

AutodriverVijaySahplacedabarrierbetweenthedriverandpassengerseatsusingapolythenesheet.AbhinavRajput

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY19

IN A bid to avoid the spread ofCovid-19,theOfficeoftheDistrictandSessions Judge(HQs) issuedadirectiontonotusesalivawhileaffixingcourtfeestampsonpeti-tionsorapplications.Thesaiddirectionhasbeenis-

sued in view of the ongoingCovid-19pandemicandtoreducethespreadof thevirus indistrictcourts. “Lawyers/munshis/ liti-gants/naibcourts/policeofficialsmaybeaskedthroughcourtstafftonottousesalivawhileaffixingcourt fee stampson the applica-tion/petitionandenvelopescon-taining summons/notices, etc,”thecircularstated.Furthermore,officialsarealso

directed to not use salivawhiledoing pagination of files.Whileaskingforstrictcompliancewiththe aforesaid directions, the cir-cular states that the court staffshall advise the lawyers to useplasticspongedamperpadwhileinspectingthe judicial files.

State says yes, district saysno: Chaos at Noida borderAs buses start plying,migrants

try to leave again, stopped again

Sohail (19)andAslam(17)sleepatabusstandinNewDelhi,Tuesday.Theduoworkastailorsata jeanssewingunit inSeelampurandhavebeenoutofworkforalmost twomonths.TheywanttoheadhometoKatihar,Bihar.Formostof theday, theytriedtoreachGhaziabadonabus,but invain. TashiTobgyal

Do not usesaliva topaste stamps,lawyers told

New Delhi

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

*An initiative byADVERTORIAL

* ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP

Delivering on promises amidst the crisisDespite the current global oil crisis due to demand evaporation and a global supply glut, oil companies in India areconstantly reviewing the situation and revamping their operations to serve the country in these desperate times

BENEVOLENCE - COVID 19BENEVOLENCE - COVID 19

■n ABHISHEK PATHAK

THE world has come to a standstill and everycompany in every sector is rotting behindclosed shutters. Currently, there's no indus-try that's not affected from the damaging

impacts of COVID-19. The disease is not just dan-gerous to human lives but even to the economichealth of almost 200 countries. Nothing or nobody isimmune from it. Yes, definitely we've come to astandstill.

Our industries survive and thrive on the concept ofdemand-supply economics. If the gap between de-mand and supply widens,we generally see a huge dipin our financial positions.Who would have thoughtthat the price of the US oil will turn negative?As as-tounding as it may sound, it happened and that, too,for the first time in history. Demand for oil has all butdrastically dried up as lockdowns across the globewidened the demand-supply gap. The negative oilprice means the oil producers are paying buyers to of-fload the commodity over fears that storage supplycould run out soon. InApril 2020, the price of a barrelofWestTexas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark forUS oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel. Clearly,the demand shock was so massive that it has over-whelmed anything that traders and industry bigwigscould ever have expected.

This unprecedented and continuing rout in globaloil benchmarks has led the Indian government to in-struct oil refiners to fill up their strategic oil reserveswith cheap oil. However, as domestic demand forfuel has witnessed a steep decline on account oflockdown measures in place,gains for Indian oil refin-ers will be limited. The other influencing reason forthis is India's imports from the US are low comparedwith the imports from the Middle East and Africa.There are still many other pertinent issues related tothe change in consumption behaviour of consumerspost-lockdown in the country. For instance, despitethe surplus supply of oil, it's of no immediate usecurrently as on-road transport has reduced signifi-cantly, and on the contrary, there's an overwhelm-ing high demand for LPG cylinders as the lockdownhas been continuing.

However, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 onthe increased LPG demand, the Ministry of Petro-leum and Natural Gas has initiated strong measures

and initiatives to keep a tab on the demand-supplygap in this segment. Recently, Petroleum and Nat-ural Gas & Steel Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan,asked all the stakeholders in the LPG cylinder sup-ply chain network to work diligently and systemati-cally, ensuring speedily delivery of free refills toPMUY beneficiaries.The 8 crore PMUY beneficiariesare entitled to get 3 free cylinders over the next 3months.The speed of cylinder bookings and distribu-tion has shown a massive jump due to increased de-

mand from the beneficiaries and other customers inthe lockdown period. In a video interaction with Dis-trict Nodal Officers (DNOs) of Oil Marketing Com-panies (OMCs) across the country, the minister as-serted the need to meet the demands of consumersby adopting the best practices and working accordingto a target plan with enhanced efforts. He asked thecompanies not to compromise on providing the doordelivery of LPG cylinders, and cautioned against thelevy of any extra charges.

The minister, in his address,maintained the need tofollow the government guidelines by taking all thedue precautions regarding health advisory in viewof COVID-19. In this regard, he complimented theinvolved stakeholders for taking stringent measures,including sanitisation of LPG cylinders to prevent thespread of the novel coronavirus and ensuring safetyof the delivery boys and their consumers. The LPGdistributors have been instructed to spread theawareness among delivery boys regarding the use

of face masks,Aarogya Setu app, cleaning hands andsocial distancing in keeping the pandemic at bay.The delivery boys are one among the many frontlinewarriors who are there to deliver us the daily essen-tial commodities, of which LPG cylinder is one. Theminister lauded the efforts of both the distributorsand delivery boys in dissemination of the govern-ment's message, regarding the health SOPs of so-cial distancing, sanitisation and hygiene at the work-place to minimise the risk of infection, with efficacyamong the public.

As far as the problems of oil and gas producersare concerned, their demand from the governmentis to cut and defer taxes on output and end in allprice controls of domestic natural gas to deal withthe twin shock of global supply glut and demandevaporation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Re-cently, the oil companies have approached andmade representations to the government, seekingrelief on payment of cess, royalty and profit petro-leum.The companies believe that tax relief for thenext couple of quarters, or until the prices correct,will help the sector bounce back quickly. Surely, theroad to recovery is a long one for most of the in-dustries, however, oil companies should stick towait-and-watch strategy and keep a close eye onworld developments in this sector.

The road to recoveryis a long one for mostindustries. However,oil companiesshould stick to await-and-watchstrategy and keep aclose eye on globaldevelopmentsin this sector

PETRONET LNG Limited is one of thefastest growing world-class compa-nies in the Indian energy sector. It has

set up the country's first LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal at Dahej, Gujarat, andanother terminal at Kochi, Kerala.While theDahej terminal has a nominal capacity of17.5 MMTPA, the Kochi terminal has a ca-pacity of 5 MMTPA.The company is also ex-ploring suitable opportunities within andoutside India to expand its business pres-ence. Formed as a JointVenture by the Gov-ernment of India to import LNG and set upLNG terminals in the country, it involves In-dia's leading oil and natural gas industryplayers. Its promoters are GAIL (India) Lim-ited (GAIL), Oil & Natural Gas CorporationLimited (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation Lim-ited (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corpora-tion Limited (BPCL).

Petronet LNG Ltd.as a responsible Corpo-rate Citizen,undertakes Socio-Economic De-velopment Projects to meet priority needs ofthe marginalised and underserved communi-ties with the aim to make them self-reliant.Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) started its CSRjourney fromWestern Part of India and con-tinued its journey to Southern and othersparts of India.

CSR EFFORTS OF PLLTO COMBATCOVID 19 PANDEMIC■Petronet LNG Limited contributed Rs 100

Crore to the PM Cares Fund on 30thMarch,2020to support the nation against

the unprecedented crisis due to the out-break of the COVID 19.

■The Company stands with the nation andits Health Workers& has also contributedRs 1.53 Crore to various Health Institutionsfor procuring Personal Protective Equip-ment for Healthcare workers at AIIIMSNew Delhi and Health Institutes ofBharuch (Gujarat) & Kochi (Kerala).

■The Company has taken up initiatives forproviding food /ration kits& conducting

sanitation drives with local administrativebodies viz. Gram Panchayats, District Ad-ministrations, local NGOs, etc. for the un-derprivileged, daily wagers & migrantworkers in Delhi, Bharuch (Gujarat) &Kochi (Kerala) to combat COVID-19 pan-demic during the Nationwide Lockdown.

■The company is taking ample steps in em-powering the people affected due to theCOVID 19 Outbreak and will continue todo so in near future.

Petronet LNG Limited (PLL)

Promoting societal welfare in the era of COVID-19As a responsible corporate citizen, Petronet LNG Ltd has taken ample steps to empower the people affected

due to the COVID-19 outbreak in India, including contributing Rs 100 crore to the PM Cares Fund

New Delhi

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

THEOUTBREAK MigrantsOnTheRoad

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

AKashmiri studentwithhispet Jigar inthefirst special trainthatdepartedfromPuneforKashmironTuesday.ArulHorizon

Awomangiveshersonwaterwhilewaiting forregistrationforaspecial traintoUPonTuesday.GurmeetSingh

LIVELIHOOD FEARS

Sunitawhoworkedasadomestichelp inDelhi leaves forhervillage inRampur,UttarPradesh,withher18-month-oldson, fromDadrionTuesday.Shesaidaltoughlockdownnormsarebeingeased, shewasworriedabout notgettingworkover thenext fewmonths inthecity.GajendraYadav

PUNE:5PM

LUDHIANA:3:26PM

Acrowdofmigrantsrushes towardsbusesheadedfor theUP-MPborder fromThaneonTuesday.Deepak Joshi

Migrantscollect foodandwaterbeforetheir journey fromShaheedPathonTuesday.Vishal Srivastav

MUMBAI:1:00PM

LUCKNOW:12:45PM

DADRI:12:30PM

GUJARAT, WHICH got its firstCovid case as late at March 19,nowreports the secondhighestmortality rate in the country. InaninterviewwithLEENAMISRAand PARIMAL DABHI, ChiefMinisterVIJAY RUPANI speaksaboutthestate’sstrategytocon-tain the spread of the virus andefforts tohelpmigrantworkers.

Gujarathasstartedrushingmigrantstotheirhomestateswithouttestingthematsheltersorlabourcolonies.Willthisnotposearisktothedestinationstates?The rescue work in the

MachhuDamfloods inMorbi in1979mademeunderstandwhatacrisismeansforthepoorandde-privedsections.Theexperienceof1979hasbecomeatouchstoneformetotakenecessaryactionwithutmostempathy.Thisistheprimereasonwhymygovernmentisfa-cilitating the return journey oflakhs of migrantworkers fromGujarat.Westronglybelievetheyshouldbewiththeirnearanddearonesamidthecrisis,whichiswhywedecided to operate Shramiktrains in close coordinationwiththecentralgovernment.They undergo a health

checkup before they leaveGujarat and when they entertheir home states. My govern-menthasenabledthemtoreachtheirhomeswithutmostdignityand care. We have providedbusestohelpthemreachtherail-way station. The buses and thetrains followall safetyprotocols.We provide them food andwa-terduringthe journey.

Migrantsarethebackboneofthestate’sindustry.CouldthestategovernmentnothaveengagedtheminCovid-relatedjobssotheycouldstaybackwithdignity?As I said, it is not about em-

ployment but about ensuringsafetyamidacrisis.Alltasksasso-ciated with Covid-19 requiresome form of specialisation.Moreover, Gujarat has amplemedicalstaffat itsdisposal.We ensured their safety by

puttinguplabourcampsatacostofRs40crore.Mygovernmenthasbeen successful in providingwagesofmorethanRs1,000croretolabourers(includingmigrants)and ensuring they are not fired.

We initiated Anna BrahmaYojana for providing free food-grainstoallmigrantworkersandnon-rationcardholders,andfoodpackets to all those withoutcookingfacilities.After April 20, more than 7

lakh workers have been em-ployed inmore than 45,000 in-dustrial units and more than30,000 labourers at around700privateconstructionsites.

Isthestatejustifiedinhavingmigrantspayfortheirtickets?Wearenot charging for tick-

etsoranyfacilityprovidedtomi-grantworkersduringthejourney.

Inspiteof threestrictlyimplementedlockdowns,cases inthestatehaveseenasteadyrise.WhyhasGujaratnotbeenabletoflattenthecurve?ThebattleagainstCovid-19is

along-drawnprocess...Thestategovernment has done intensivetestingacrossGujarat. So far,wehave testedmore than1.27 lakhpeoplewith a daily capacity of3,000. I amhappy to share thattherecoveryratehasriseninthelast 10 days to 40.62% andmorethan4,000peoplehavebeendis-chargedduringthesameperiod.We will witness a flatteningcurve very soon, not just inGujaratbut in India.

TocontainvirusspreadinthewalledareasofAhmedabad,theauthoritiesrampeduptestingandpoliceandcivicauthoritieswerepressedintoseekingoutTablighis.Doyou

think,intheprocess,thosenowcalled‘superspreaders’wereignored?ItisunfortunatethatTablighis

notonlyhidtheirtravelhistorybutalso keptmeeting people in theold city area, which is denselypopulated...We respondedwithaggressive surveillance, testingandidentificationofinfectedpeo-ple,followedbytheirisolationandtreatment.Later,westartedlarge-scaletestingofvegetablevendorsand grocery shop owners inAhmedabad,SuratandVadodara.More than18,000 super-spread-ers have been tested inAhmedabad alone and 9,000morewillbetested.

WouldyoublameonlytheTablighisforthespikeincasesinGujarat?Thereisnodoubtalargenum-

ber of cases in Ahmedabademergeddue toTablighi Jamaat.Datashowedthatalargeofnum-ber cases registered inAhmedabadweredirectlylinkedtoit.Statisticsshowthat80%ofthecases inAhmedabad originatedfrom 20% area of the city.However, another aspect of theriseincasesisourincreaseintest-ingcapacity.

CoronavirushitmanyotherstatesinIndiabeforeitcametoGujarat.DoyouthinkGujaratreactedlatetopreparecapacitiesandcontainmentstrategy?Wetooktherightstepsatthe

right time. The Centre andmygovernmentworkedinsynctode-visewaysbasedonourdemogra-phyandsocio-economic status. Iam happy with the proactivemeasures adoptedby theCentreandmygovernment,beitscreen-ingof passengers before the firstCovid-19 case inGujarat, or con-struction of dedicated hospitalswithinaweek,orprovisionofsuf-ficientmedicinesandequipmentlikeventilators,masks, sanitisersortestingmorepeopleeveryday;wehaveprogressedwitheffectivemicro-planning and manage-ment at every stage. This is theprime reasonwhy thedischargeratehasrisento40%comparedto18%tendaysago...

TherewasasenseofconfusioninGujarateverytimetheCentreputoutguidelinesfor

easingthelockdown.Couldthestatehavedonebetter,givenitsadvantageasthehomestateofthePrimeMinisterandHomeMinister?Thereisnodiscrepancyinim-

plementing and enforcing theguidelines issuedby the Centre.Theprimeaimof theCentredur-ingthepandemichasbeensavinglives and livelihoods.While theformerwasensuredwith imple-mentation of successive lock-downs, the latterwasaneffort torestore normalcy and bring theeconomyback on track.We re-sumedAPMCs, industrial unitsoutsidemunicipallimitsandcon-tainmentzonesandexportunitswithincitylimitsbutoutsidecon-tainmentzonesinApril.Toensureemployment for the poor, westartedthethirdphaseofSujalamSufalamJalAbhiyanfromApril20.We ensured uninterrupted

supply of essential items. Themodel of cooperative federalismhasstrengthenedunderthelead-ershipof NarendraModiji. Beingthe home state of the PrimeMinister and Home Minister,Gujarat has benefitted im-mensely.Wekeep seeking theirguidancefromtimetotime.

WheredoyouseetheGujarat’seconomybyDiwalithisyear?Wearehopeful that the state

willshowitsentrepreneurialspirittoshapethevibrantandresilienteconomythistimeaswell.Gujaratisopen to investmentsandtradeinapost-Covid-19world.Around33,000hectares of land is avail-ableforindustrialuse.Mygovern-menthasdecided toprovide for‘PlugandProduce’facilitythroughaGIS-basedlandbanksystem.Processapprovals fornewin-

dustries thatwish to establishthemselvesinGujaratwillbehun-dredpercentonline.They will get land within

sevendaysandnecessarypermis-sionswithin 15days of applica-tion.TheCentrehasenvisionedtocontactembassiesandindustriesof foreignnations in order to es-tablishtheirunitsinGujarat.Newunitswillbeprovidedrelief fromall related industrial Acts andnorms for 1,200 days. The stategovernmentwillalsofacilitatefor-eign industries in finding jointventurepartnersinthestate.

FULLINTERVIEWONwww.indianexpress.com

WITH

VIJAYRUPANIGUJARATCHIEFMINISTER

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

‘Mygovt enabledmigrants toreachhomewith dignity, care’

GARGIVERMABAGHNADIGAON,MAY19

“KAHAAN TAK jaaoge? Ranchichhoddohame.RaipuryaBilaspurbhi chalega,” RamdevYadav (26)asksthedriversoftrucks,tempos,andcarswaitingon thehighwayattheborderofChhattisgarhandMaharashtra.Also at the border, in

Baghnadigaon village inChhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaondis-trict,some140kmfromthecapi-talRaipur,standabout50busesatatemporarystation,mobilisedbythestategovernmenttoferrymi-grantworkers coming into thestate. There aren’t enoughbuses—andnoneareheadedtowhereYadavwantstogo.The temporarybus station is

packedwithpeople, all tiredanddesperate togethome.Therearearguments, and frequent angryoutbursts. The authorities claimto have facilitated the journeyhomeof thousandsoverthepastfewdays—severalofthoseatthebusstation,however,complainofhaving been made to wait forhoursbeforebeingputintoabus,onlytoputinanotherhourslater.The border district has been

facing a massive load of mi-grants, and the systemis clearlyoverwhelmed.Thestategovern-ment has announced it wouldbring back nearly 3 lakh mi-grants,andpromisedthemslip-pers, should they want them,alongwithother basic facilities.The government is also helpingmigrants fromother stateswhoare passing through, but the lo-

gistics are challenging,Rajnandgaon Collector J PMaurya said. “States likeJharkhand andBihar don’twantto take theirmigrantsback.Theyaskus toquarantine them first. Ihave quarantined more than

26,000people andmore are re-turning. It is harassment of themachinery. So,we canonlydropmigrantstoborders,”hesaid.Yadav, his eyes bloodshot,

lookedforsomewatertodrinkonMonday afternoon. “We were

givenpacketsof bread,butnoth-ingmore,”hesays.He belongs toHazaribagh in

Jharkhand,Yadavsaid.HesaidheworkedinahotelnearKarlacave,aBuddhistsite60kmfromPune.TheMaharashtra state trans-

portcorporationbuseshavebeencoming till Baghnadigaon, drop-pingoffthousands.AnantGadgil,a bus driver fromPune, said hemade two such trips. “Spendingthree days on the road, I get onedayoff,andIstartagain,”hesaid.Apart from the red

Maharashtra buses, peoplehavebeencomingbyothervehiclesaswell. “Several people either poolin resources andbook a vehicle,take lifts...We give them somesupplies, register the group, andsend themahead,” a police con-stableonduty,said.

The constableswork shifts ofeighthourseachdaily,maintain-ingorder, and flaggingdownve-hiclesthatmightgivepeoplelifts.As the numbers ofmigrants

kept increasing, local authoritiescontactedYumetta Foundation,oneof thesocialorganisations inthearea.Policereachedouttooneof itsmembers, Dr Priyadarsh,who works at the ShaheedHospital in Rajnandgaon. OnMonday, Dr Priyadarsh and hisfriendsarrangedforsixbusesafterraisingRs1.5lakh,toferrypeopletoJharkhandandOdisha.But some likeRamdevYadav

still neededhelp. He ultimatelymanaged to climbon to a trailertruck carrying sugar to Bilaspuralongwith15others.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Waves of migrants throng village on Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border

Chhattisgarhsays itwillhelp3lakhgethome.GargiVerma

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPATNA,MAY19

NINEMIGRANTworkersreturn-ingfromWestBengaltotheirvil-lages in East Champaran andWest Champaran districts ofBiharwerekilledwhenthetruckthey were travelling on over-turned at Naugachhia inBhagalpurlateonMondaynight.Only three of the victims havebeen identifiedso far.Policehaveidentifiedsixofthe

victims asMohammedHashimfromChitpuri Jamunia village inWest Champaran,MohammedRustumfromSitanivillageinEastChamparan, Gulshan, also fromSitani village, Shoukat Ali fromPaharpur village in EastChamparan,andZalimMianandNoorHoda fromVishunpura inWest Champaran. All of themweredailywagelabourers.According to police, themi-

grantworkers had left for theirhomesonbicycles,butmanagedto hitch a ride on the truck car-rying iron poles. They werecrushed under the poles whenthetruckoverturnedaftercollid-ingwithabus,alsocarryingmi-grantlabourersfromDarbhangatoBanka,police said.Five passengers of the bus

were injured in themishap.Naugachhiapolicestationin-

spectorRSKushwahasaid, "Wehaveidentifiedsixpersonsfromtheir Aadhaar cards and in-formed East Champaran andWestChamparanpolicetotracetheir familymembers and sendthem.Wecan identify theothervictims throughthem."ChiefMinisterNitishKumar

hasexpressedgriefovertheinci-dent andannouncedanex-gra-tiaofRs4lakhforthekinofeachof thevictims,anofficial releasesaid. Leader of Opposition inBiharAssemblyTejashwiPrasadYadav termed the accident“heart-rending”.

Bihar: 9 migrant workers onway home killed in mishap

Rescuepersonnelat thesiteof theaccidentonTuesday.PTI

Migrant workerspaying to gohome, HC seeksKarnataka reply

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,MAY19

WITHTHEIRhomestatesnotde-positing funds to pay for theirtrain fares and the Karnatakagovernmentrefusingtobearthecost,migrantworkersarehavingto pay from their pockets totravel home, a hearing in theHighCourthas revealed.AdivisionbenchofKarnataka

HighCourt has nowquestionedthe state government’s decisionnot to fund the travel ofmigrantworkers if their home states donotdepositfundsfortrainfares.A bench headed by Chief

Justice Abhay SreenivaOka hasasked the state government toclarify the legalityof its refusal topayfaresofmigrantworkersfromstateslikeUP,BiharandJharkhanddespite the Centre laying downrules for reimbursements fromdestinationstates.“The state governmentmust

statebefore the courtwhether itwants to deviate from the standtakenbytheGovernmentofIndiaontheissueofbearingthefareoftherailwaysandwhetheritreallywants to take a stand that ami-grantworkerwhohasnoincomeandisnotinapositiontopayrail-way farewill not be allowed totravel byShramik special trains,’’thecourtsaidMonday.Last week, the HC had said

“considering the constitutionalrightsof themigrantworkers,nooneshouldbedeprivedofanop-portunity to go back to his ownstate only for the reason that hehasnocapacitytopay...”This week, the court asked

Karnatakatomakeitsstandclearafter amemodatedMay16wasplaced in court on behalf of theCentre, which said some stateshadpaidinadvance.The additional solicitor gen-

eral,who appeared onbehalf oftheCentre,statedthatinthecaseofworkers fromstates that havenot agreed to pay the fares, theKarnataka governmentwouldhave topay the fare and takeuptheissueof reimbursementwiththehomestates. Karnataka gov-ernmenthasmaintainedthatmi-grantswill have topay the fare ifhomestatesdonot. Ithasalsoar-gued theHCcannot intervene inthismatter since the SChadnotintervened on the issue of mi-grantswalkinghomedue to lackof transportarrangements.

Nagpur:Threemigrantwork-erswerekilledand26otherswere injuredwhen the busthey were travelling inrammedintoatrucknearArnitowninYavatmaldistrictearlyTuesday.Thedriverofthebuswasalsokilledintheaccident.DeputySPUdaysinhChandelsaid,“the buswascarrying30migrants. Around 4 am, thebus rammed a truck, killingthedriverandthreelabourersandinjuring26.” ENS

3MIGRANTSKILLEDINMAHRASHTRA

300 nurses leaveKolkata hospitals,go back to Manipur

Maharashtrareclassifieslockdown zones

ATRIMITRAKOLKATA,MAY19

AROUND300nursesworking inKolkatahavegonebackhome toManipur, saying theywere com-pelledtoworkwithoutpayorpro-tective gear and that theywereheckled.According to the Health

Department,around6,500nurseswork in private hospitals inKolkataanditssuburbs.Eightypercent of them—more than5,000— hail from other states.Approximately 500nurses havenowgonetotheirhomestates,in-cluding300fromManipur.Martina (27), a resident of

Thoubal district inManipur, re-signedandreachedherstatetwodays ago. She told The IndianExpress, “We came toKolkata towork.But,afterthepandemic,thesituation changed. Our hospitalwasclosedonApril13.After thatwe did not get salary.Wewerealsoheckled. Our apartment se-curity guards and neighbourscalledus‘corona’or‘Chinese’.Wedidnot get food fromthenearbyshop.We informed thehospitalauthoritiesand local administra-tionbutgotnohelp.”Anothernurse, a 29-year-old

working in a state government-runhospitalinNorthKolkata,said,“Some ofmy friends have gonebacktoManipur.Ourfamiliesareverytense,andwantustoreturn.Wearedoingour jobs. If youarerepeatedly humiliated, howcanyouwork?”TheorganisationManipurisin

Kolkata(MIK)hasraisedtheseis-sueswithKolkata’shospitalsand

administration.MIK presidentKshetrimayum ShyamkeshoSingh said, “There are several is-sueslikesecurity,socialostracism,low or no salary, food shortageduringquarantine,workingenvi-ronment,personalsafetyandse-curity,landlordandaccommoda-tion, mental health anddepression...”Hospitaladministrationssaid

therewere serious concerns re-gardingthestate’shealthcaresys-tem.“Weapprehendtherewillbea significant crisis, asmore andmorenursesareleaving.Sinceoc-cupancyislowacrossallhospitals,we canmanage now. But onceplannedsurgeriesrestart,wewillfeel the pinch,” Rupak Barua,GroupCEO,AMRIHospitals, andvice-president of Association ofHospitalsofEasternIndia,said.Anothertopofficialofaprivate

hospital said, “There has alwaysbeenashortageofnursesinWestBengalduetolackofnursingcol-leges...We have beenmore de-pendent on nurses from otherstates,particularlyfromManipur,Tripura and otherNortheasternstates,alongwithKerala.”Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjeesaid,“Wewilltrainlocalsforsevendaystogivesaline,oxy-gensupportorchecktemperatureto helpwith the crisis. Howwillhospitalsworkifnursesleave?”Baruasaid,“...Onbehalfofthe

AssociationofHospitalsofEasternIndia, we have appealed to the(state)governmentforsupporttosort out this growing crisis.Wewill make the same appeal toother state government, fromwheremost of our nurses cometowork...”

‘NOPAY,HECKLING’

Mumbai: TheMaharashtra gov-ernmentonTuesdayreclassifieditslockdownzones,easingcurbsfor a large part of the state. Therevised guidelines will kick infromMay22.Asperthelatestdemarcation,

Mumbai and17othermunicipalcorporations areas— includingPune, Solapur, Aurangabad,Malegaon,Nashik,Dhule,Jalgaon,Akola andAmravati—which to-gether account for 34,383 cases,will remain in the red zone. Therest of the state has now beentaggedas“non-redzones”whereeconomicactivitycanresume.Even within the Mumbai

MetropolitanRegion, areas out-sidemunicipalcorporationareas,are no longer in the red zone.Whileretainingmostcurbsinredzones, the government has alsopermittede-commerceoperatorstodelivernon-essentials. ENS

New Delhi

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

WINNING FIRST SETUTTARPRADESHwasamongthefirststatestogetintoactionafter PrimeMinister NarendraModi called for state govern-ments to utilise the coronavirus crisis to luremanufacturerslooking toexitChinaandmake Indiaan investmentdestina-tion. The state'sMSMEminister, SidharthNath Singh, held aseriesofvideoconferenceswithbusinessmenanddiplomatsto invitemanufacturers to set up base in Uttar Pradesh. Theeffortsseemtobebearingfruit.OnTuesday,CasaEverzGmbh,ownerofGermany-basedhealth footwearbrandVonWellx,announcedthatitwillshiftitsshoeproductioninChina,wherethecompanymanufacturesmore than3millionpairs annu-ally, to UPwith an initial investment of Rs 110 crore. Shoe-makingbeinga labour-intensive industry, thedecision is settobeamajorboost forUP,which is likely tostruggle increat-ingnewjobopportunitiesforthousandsofworkerswhohavereturnedtotheirnativeplacesinthemiddleof thepandemic.

ASSENTING NOWREFUSINGTOtransfertheprobeintheFIRsagainstnewsanchorArnab Goswami to the CBI, Supreme Court judge D YChandrachud,whoauthoredthejudgmentwithJusticeMRShah,cited the2018 judgmentof the top court inRomila Thapar vsUnionof Indiacase. Inthat, thecourthad,bya2:1majority,dis-missedaplea tohandoverMaharashtrapolice'sprobeagainstGautamNavlakhaandotherstoaspecialinvestigationteam(SIT).Themajority viewby then CJI DipakMisra and Justice AMKhanwilkarsaidthatanaccuseddoesnothaveasayinthemat-terofappointmentofinvestigatingagency.JusticeChandrachudhaddissentedandbackedhandingovertheinvestigationtoanSIT.

SWADESHI CLASSESPRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi's call for self-reliance in thepost-coronavirusworldhasbeeninterpreteddifferentlybydif-ferent people. For theRSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti UtthanNyas,headedbyDinanathBatra,itmeansuseofswadeshiprod-uctsinschools.InalettertotheHRDMinistry,theorganisationhascalledformanychangesintheIndianeducationsysteminthepost-Covid times.Among themis the suggestion tomakeuseof swadeshiproductsbystudentscompulsory.

DIPANKARGHOSENEWDELHI,MAY19

ALREADY FIGHTING a surge inCovid-19casesafterthereturnofmigrants,theOdishagovernmentnow faces the unique challengeof bracing for a cyclone whilekeepingsocialdistancinginmind.AscycloneAmphanheadsto-

wardsWest Bengal and severaldistricts of Odisha are on alert,senior officials said a key chal-lengewas thatmany structurestobeusedas evacuation centresarecurrentlyfunctioningasquar-antinefacilities.Districtcollectorshave, therefore, been asked toidentifyotherbuildingsonamassscale,giventhefactthattheycan-notbepackedwithevacueesduetofearsofCovid-19infection.Whathasexacerbatedthesitu-

ation is that of the23districts inOdisha, coastaldistricts thatmayface effects of Amphanhave re-ported633out of 978Covid-19casessofar—asperthestategov-ernmentdashboard.Threeof thefour districts with the highestnumber of cases — Ganjam,BhadrakandBalasore—arecoastal.Pradip Jena, Special Relief

Commissioner, said theadminis-tration swung into actionwhentheyheardof thecycloneonMay14.“Thisisaverydifficultdualdis-astersituation.Oncewegotthecy-clonewarning, thefirstchallengebeforeuswashowdowemanagethisevacuationbecauseoutof809cyclone centres in these 12 af-fecteddistricts,242arebeingusedasquarantinecentres,”Jenasaid.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

SANTANUCHOWDHURY&ESHAROYDIGHA,NEWDELHI,MAY19

WEST BENGAL scrambled toevacuate around 3 lakh peoplefromcoastalandlow-lyingareasto shelters as Cyclone Amphan—movingataspeedof18km/hr— is expected tomake landfallbetweenWest Bengal’s DighaandHatiyaislandsinBangladeshonWednesdayandpushup thesea level.Indianmeteorological offi-

cials said Cyclone Amphan,whichhasnowweakened fromSuper Cyclone to an ExtremelySevereCyclonicStorm,willhaveawind speed ranging between155–165 km/hrwhen itmakeslandfall onWednesday.Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjeesaid:“Allprecautionarymeasures arebeing taken... I hada word with Union HomeMinister Amit Shah... At least 3lakhpeoplehavebeenevacuatedfromthreecoastaldistrictsof thestateandmovedtoreliefshelters.”Banerjeesaidshewillaskthe

ministrynottorunanyShramikSpecial trains to bring backmi-grant labourers to the state tillThursdaymorning.Thestatehas twinchallenges

at hand – a cyclone and a pan-demic. Twoof the three coastaldistricts that are likely to face theonslaughtofthecycloneareCovid-19 red zones—EastMidnaporeandNorth 24 Parganas—whileSouth 24 Parganas is an orangezone district. It alsomeans thestatewill needmore shelters tomaintainsocialdistancing.DirectorGeneral of National

DisasterResponseForce(NDRF)SNPradhan saidNDRF teams areprepared to deal with the dualchallenge.Cycloneshelters,whichusually have a capacity to house1,000evacueeseach,willnowbeholdingmuchless,Pradhansaid.

West Bengal’s disasterman-agement minister Javed Khansaid: “The evacuees have beenputupatcycloneshelters,schoolsand colleges. Our experience intackling cyclone Fani andBulbullastyearwillbeputtogooduse.”UnionCabinetSecretaryRajiv

Gauba on Tuesday chaired thethird meeting of the NationalCrisisManagement Committeeto review the country’s pre-paredness to deal with the cy-clone, which will also affectcoastalareas inOdisha.Director General of India

Meteorological DepartmentM.Mohapatrawarnedthattherewillbeextensivedamagetobuildings,anduprooting of trees andelec-tric and communication lines. Atidalwave4-6metres above as-tronomicaltidewillleadtosalineinundationanddamagetocrops.TheRegionalMeteorological

Centre in Kolkata asked peoplein the city to stay indoors andkeep shops and other institu-tions shutonWednesday.“Aftercyclonemakesaland-

fall, thewindspeedwill increasefrom 110 km/hr to 120 km/hr,”said SanjibBandyopadhyay, the

Deputy Director General ofMeteorology at the RegionalMeteorologicalCentre.Climate scientists pointed

out that the intensityof cycloneAmphan increased rapidly in aspan of 18 hours. They havefound the frequency as well asintensity of cyclones have in-creaseddue toclimatechange.AssistantProfessorofSchool

of Earth, Ocean and ClimateSciences, IIT Bhubaneswar, VVinoj,said,“Whatmostdon’tre-aliseisthatduringglobalwarm-ing, 90% of the heat that is re-leased into the atmosphere isabsorbedbytheoceanthereforeincreasing its temperature. It isthis heat that leads to a cyclonebeingstrongerandmoreintense.The storm surge and the ex-tremelyhighlevelsofrainfallarealso due to this. We haveanalysed and found that thetemperatures of both theArabianSeaaswellastheBayofBengalhavebeenrising,andthisiswhywehave been seeing cy-clonesintheArabianSeaaswell,whichisanunusualoccurrence.’’

WITHINPUTSFROMANJALIMARARINPUNE

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,NEWDELHI,MAY19

ENDINGA day of war of words,exchange of letters, and tradingof allegations between theCongress and the YogiAdityanath government overPriyankaGandhiVadra'soffertoarrange1,000busesto ferrymi-grantworkers strandedatUttarPradesh's border areas to theirhome districts, an FIR waslodgedonTuesdayagainst stateCongresschiefAjayKumarLalluandPriyanka'sprivatesecretarySandeep Singh on charges ofcheatingand forgery.Lallu,whostagedadharnaat

theAgraborderalongwithAICCsecretary inchargeofUPZubairKhan, was arrested by Agra po-liceafteranFIRwasregisteredatFatehpur Sikri police stationthere.Earlier,theFIRinthebusrow

casewasregisteredatLucknow'sHazratganj police station, evenas the vehicles remainedstrandedatUP-RajasthanbordernearAgrauntil late.Lallu and Sandeep are ac-

cused of allegedly misleadingthe government for furnishingwrong details about the buses,asalsomakingfalsestatements.The FIR has been lodged by

Lucknow’s Regional TransportOfficer R P Dwivedi, who con-ducted inquiry on the list of1,000 buses provided by theCongress. Dwivedi verified thebusnumbersandfound100ve-hicles registered in the name ofauto-rickshaws or good carrier,truckandambulance,etc,theFIRstates.Data for 70 buses was not

found,and fitnesscertificatesof59vehicleshadexpired,itstates.

The row began Mondaynight after Priyanka’s office re-ceiveda letter atmidnight fromUP Additional Chief SecretaryAwanishKumarAwasthi,askingthat the buses, alongwith theirfitness certificates and licencesofdrivers,behandedovertotheadministrationinLucknowby10amFriday.Sandeep Singh wrote back

at 2.10 am, asking why thebusesshouldtravelemptyfromthe state’s borders all the waytoLucknow. In its reply,UPgov-ernment asked them to handover 500 buses each to NoidaandGhaziabad district admin-istrations by Friday noon.Priyanka’s office replied

that it received the letter at11.05amandsought timeuntil5 pm to make the buses avail-ablesincethevehicleswerebe-ing sourced from Delhi andRajasthan and required freshpermits.UP minister Sidharth Nath

Singh alleged that the list in-cluded registration numbers ofother vehicles and accused thepartyof playingcheappolitics.In reply, the Congress said

there could be discrepancies insomenumbers but the fact thathundreds of buses are awaitingclearance to enter UP at Agrabordercanbeverified.Thepartyreleased video clips to back itsclaim.

YogiAdityanath,PriyankaGandhi

UP Congress chief,Priyanka’s aidebooked in bus rowDuobookedfor ‘cheating, forgery’;statepartychiefheldinAgraoverdharna

Odisha bracesfor Amphan —social distancingon officials’ mind

Governmentofficialsalertvillagersaheadof the landfallofcyclone ‘Amphan’, inSouth24Parganas,Tuesday.PTI

Amphan set for landfall today,Bengal govt evacuates3 lakh

NewDelhi: Expressing concernover the threat of violenceagainst Tongam Rina, anAssociate Editor with the TheArunachal Times, the PressCouncilof IndiaTuesdaysoughta report from the ArunachalPradeshChief Secretaryandthestate police chief regardingthreatsreceivedbythejournaliston socialmedia amonth ago inconnectionwith her report onthe rise in incidents of hunting

across thecountry.In July 2012, unidentified

gunmenhadshotatRinaoutsideher office in Itanagar. She hadsurvived the attack though shewashit.“Whiletakingsuo-motucog-

nizanceofthematter,aReportonFacts of the case has been calledforfromtheChiefSecretary&TheDirector General Police,ArunachalPradesh,” thePCI saidinastatementonTuesday.ENS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY19

ASAMAJWADI Party leader andhis sonwere shot dead inUttarPradesh’sSambhalonTuesday,al-legedlyafteradisputewithsomevillagersover theconstructionofa road. A video of the twobeinggunneddownhasemerged.According to Additional SP,

Sambhal, Alok Kumar Jayswal,Chhote LalDiwakar (50) andhisson Sunil Kumar (28)were shotoveradisputeregardingaroadbe-ingconstructedunderMGNREGS

inShamsoivillage.Diwakar’swifeisthevillagepradhan.Two accused — Jitendra

SharmaandSharmendraSharma—have been arrestedwhile po-lice are looking for Ramendra,Upendra, Gyandendra andGajendra Singh, local residentsnamedintheFIR.“Weregisteredan FIR under sections of IPC in-cluding302,” Jayswalsaid.The SC/ST (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act has also been in-voked. Thevictimsbelong to theDalit community,while the ac-cusedareBrahmins.Thefamiliesreportedlyhada rivalry over the

panchayatelections.Diwakar’s other son Sachin

lodged a complaintwhich read,“MymotherKamleshDevi is thevillage head. The developmentwork in the village was beingoverseenbymyfather.ThefamilyofRamendraSharma,theformervillagehead,hadanissuewiththedevelopment work and hadlodgedacaseunderfalsechargesagainstmyfatherandbrother.”Inthevideothatemerged,two

menwith rifles are seenarguingwith somemen. Several otherscanbeseenstandingalongsideamudroad.Accordingtopolice,the

duowith rifles are a father-sonduo.Towardstheendofthevideo,the duo is seen retreating. Theythen turn around and shoot atDiwakarandhisson.According to police officials,

thedisputearoseaftertheaccusedallegedthattheroadwasinfring-ingontheirland.SP chief AkhileshYadav con-

demnedthemurders.“Therulingpartyhasbeencommittingatroc-itiesonSPleadersforthreeyears.During the lockdown, there hasbeennocheckoncrimes...,”saidapartystatement.

WITHENSLUCKNOW

Threats to Arunachaljournalist: PCI seeks report

Caught on camera: SP leader, son shot dead in Sambhal

Ascreengrabof theaccusedaheadof theshooting

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY19

A POLICE line in south Kashmirhas emerged as the newCovid-19hotspot in theValleywith78policepersonnel—postedattheAnantnag District Police Lines(DPL)—testingpositive.Officials are perturbed as

manyof thosewho testedposi-tivewerepostedatthemessandclothing stores or manned thegates. It hasalso triggeredpanicamong residents who fear theinfection may spread to otherpartsof thedistrict as thepolicehaveunhinderedaccess topeo-ple’shousesduringsearchoper-ationsandareattheforefrontofanti-militancy operations thathaverecently intensified.Whileofficialsattributedthe

surgetoaggressivecontacttrac-ing and testing, police sourcessaid there was no immediatecontact tracing and quarantin-ing of the suspected cases evenafter a Special Police Officertested positive twoweeks agowhen health officials were car-rying out contact tracing of atravellerfromJammu.Onlyafewpolice personnel were initiallyputunderquarantine.“There is one SPOwho has

acted as a super spreader. TheSPO’sbrotherhadtravelledfromJammu and he was positive,”said Dr Peerzada Farhat, NodalOfficer (Contact Tracing). “Thesudden surge you see is a resultof our aggressive contacttracing.”

During a screening lastWednesday, eight personnel atthe DPL, which has district po-lice and Armed Police reservebattalionpersonnel, testedpos-itive. Another 14 testedpositivethe next daywith a senior offi-cerof thearmedpolicerequest-ing another screening — 55testedpositiveonMonday.Anantnag’s Chief Medical

Officer (CMO) Dr MukhtarAhmadsaidthewifeofapolice-man fromJammualso travelledtoSrinagarandtestedpositive.“Ithinkshehasabiggerrole inthespread of the infection. Her fa-therhasalsotestedpositive,”DrAhmadsaid.A senior police officer said,

“Thereare reportsof policemenfound positive from all acrossKashmir. But in other districts,this has been controlled verywell and the cases haven’t beenallowed to go beyond five orsix…But inAnantnag,we see ithasgonealmostoutofcontrol. Itneeds to be probedwhat led tothissuddensurgeandwherethedistrict administration showedlaxity.”Anantnagwasthelastdistrict

inJ&Ktoreport its firstCovid-19infectiononApril 16. It nowhasthe highest number of cases inJ&K, with 236 testing positiveso far.“Police are present every-

where.Whenwearestoppedata checkpoint for frisking or ourhouse is searched, how doweknow that the policeman is notinfected?” said a resident ofAnantnag.

Anantnag SP SandeepChaudhary said the develop-mentwill not affect lawandor-deroranti-militancyoperations.“The18casesfromdistrictpoliceare linked to manpower de-ployed in DPL. The 55 cases arefrom IR 11 Armed Battalionwhichisaseparateunit,”hesaid.“Theanti-militancyoperationalunits of police and those whodealwith lawand order are notlinked to these cases. It won’thave any impact onroutinepolicing.”On alleged laxity in contact

tracing,theSPsaid,“Thefirstlinkto DPL emerged onMay 3 andsamplingof the contacts of thatcivilianwas done the sameday.The results of that group cameonMay 6. Results for the groupcamenegativeexceptone.Asperthe retest protocol, re-samplingof thegroupwasdoneonMay8and 11 and results on May 13showedpositive for thegroup.”Chaudhary said “on their

contact tracing, sampling wasdone onMay 14 and results re-ceived onMay 17 showedposi-tive for 13 persons”. “The entirecontact trail for district policewas traced, tested and sent toCovid facility. The sampling forIR11ArmedbattalionwasdoneonMay 16 and 55 results fromthatunitcamepositive,”hesaid.“All the policemen, who testedpositive, were immediatelytransferredtoCovidfacilitypro-videdbythedistrictadministra-tion.During this contact tracingand testing exercise,more than250policemenwere tested.”

LALMANIVERMADEHRADUN,MAY19

WHEN PORTALS of the Badri-nath shrine in Uttarakhand’sChamolidistrictwereopenedat4.30 amonMay 15, therewereneither long queues of pilgrimsnor traditional performances.Rituals were performed insidethesanctumsanctorumbychiefpriestIshwariPrasadNamboodri,who had come after quarantinefollowinghisarrivalfromKerala.Prayers arebeingheld inside

theshrinedaily sinceMay15butthere is no chantingbypilgrimsoutside,similartothesituationatKedarnath, Gangotri andYamunotri—theothershrinesoftheCharDham—wherepilgrim-agehasbeenprohibited,andmar-ketsandguesthousesshutinviewofthelockdown.In the absence of the Char

Dham yatra this year, religioustourismhassufferedasetbackinUttarakhand. According to offi-cials, the yatra draws almost 70per cent of pilgrims till Junebe-fore monsoon but that seasonhassufferedacompletelossdueto lockdown. Tour operators,taxis, helicopter serviceproviders, shops, guest housesand ashrams do themaximumbusinessduring thisperiod.Thefirstmeetingof theChar

DhamDevasthanamBoard hasbeencalledonMay22todiscussthe situation, including eco-nomic opportunities for the af-fected people and financial sta-tusof theboard.

Char Dhamshrines openbut no yatra

78 positive, Anantnag policeline emerges as Covid hotspot

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

GOVERNMENT OF MANIPURDIRECTORATE OF TOURISM

NOTICE INVITING TENDERImphal, the 18th May, 2020

No. 4/457/2014-SHIM: In pursuance of the approval of the Government videletter No. 28/1/2008-TSM (Pt) dated 15.05.2020, the Directorate of Tourism,Goverment of Manipur invites e-bids from intending reputed Firms/ Agency/Company for the project “REP for selection of a Private Partner forOperation & Management of State Institute of Hotel Management. CateringTechnology and Applied Nutrition at Nongmaiching, Imphal East District,Manipur”.

Detailed, Request for Proposal (RFP) documents containing information oneligibility, dates and timelines, required formats etc shall be available in ourwebsite www.manipurtourism.gov.in and the Government websitewww.manipur.gov.in, www.manipurtenders.gov.in from 19.05.2020onwards.Further, the bidding shall be online and all interested firms/Organizationsand Companies etc shall apply the bid through online.

Sd/-(W. Ibohal Singh)

Director (Tourism), Manipur

SlNo.

Name of the project

1 “RFP for selection of a Private Partner for Operation & Managementof State Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology andApplied Nutrition at Nongmaiching, Imphal East District, Manipur”

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, PROCUREMENT, JPDCL, JAMMUELECTRIC CENTRAL STORES COMPLEX, RAIL HEAD, JAMMU J&K PIN -180012

PHONE NO. 0191-2473402 TELEFAX- 0191-2472350e-mail: epc1jammu@gmail.com

No.: SE/PRJ/TS/136 Dated: 14.05.2020SHORT TERM NOTICE INVITING e-TENDER

e- NIT NO. SE/PRJ/03/2020-21 Dated: 14.05.2020For and on behalf of Lt. Governor of UT of Jammu & Kashmir, Superintending Engineer,

Procurement, JPDCL, Jammu invites online e-bids from original Govt. Registered Manufacturers forsupply of material as under for the requirement of JPDCL:

Sd/- Superintending Engineer,Procurement, JPDCL Jammu.DIPJ-236

1. Date and Time of downloading/Sale (Start) of Tender Document 14.05.2020 at 1800 Hrs.

2. Date & Time of Download/Sale (End) of Tender Document 25.05.2020at 1400 Hrs.

The complete tender document is available at website: http://jktenders.gov.in. Interested bidder/tenderersmay view, download the e-Bid document, seek clarification and submit their e-Bid online up to the date andtime mentioned in the table below. Bidding Documents contain Qualifying Criteria for Bidders,Specifications, Bill of Quantities, Terms and Conditions of Contract and other details.

S.No. NIT No. Description of Material Quantity (In Numbers)

PURCHASE OF:-

1. SE/PRJ/03/2020-21 dated 14.05.2020 10 MVA 33/11 KV Power 01Transformer

10 MVA 66/11 KV Power 01Transformer

II,,MAMTESH W/OMANOJKUMARR/O-A2/192UGFJANAKPURIA-3WESTDELHI-110058. have changedmynametoMAMTESHTYAGI.

0040537818-1

II,, KAMALGUPTA, S/ONARESHCHANDRAGUPTA R/o-G-2002,20TH-FLOOR,GREATER-NOIDA-WEST, ACE-CITY, BISHRAKH,GAUTAMBUDH-NAGAR,U.P.201306. changedmynameKAMALKUMARGUPTA.

0040537818-2

II,,Manoj KumarMishraS/oDharmNarayanMishraR/olll/F, 526, Second Floor, Sector-3, Vaishali, Ghaziabad, UP-201010. Declare that I havechangedmyminor son’s namefromAdityaShekhar toAdityaMishra for all futurepurposes.

0040537807-1

II,,Manoj KumarMishraS/oDharmNarayanMishraR/olll/F, 526, Second Floor, Sector-3, Vaishali, Ghaziabad, UP-201010. Declare that I havechangedmyminor daughter’snameShagunAnand toShagunMishra for all futurepurposes.

0040537808-1

OOnnlliinnee tuitions (in English) forstudents (of 11 standardorhigher) inChandigarh,Haryana, Punjab, HP, Delhi, byMumbai professor (engineer+MBA, 10 yr teaching expe+9yrindustry expe) forMaths,Businessmanagement,Economics, Aptitude tests,Environment, Geopolitics call98 194 13 094 0070705193-1

PPEERRSSOONNAALL EEDDUUCCAATTIIOONNAALL

““MMaahhaarraajjuu gunamu telipedhi(Theattribute of theMaharaja)-TeluguQuotes -Volume-1[2020]”ARABooksGlobal (It isproduct ofARA InternationalR&C) TeluguBooksDivision.helparabooks@gmail.com.+91-7200936291

0050164815-1

BBUUSSIINNEESSSSOOFFFFEERR

IItt is notified for the informationthatmyOriginal QualifyingExaminationCertificate ofmain Secondary Examinationof year 2012-2014 andRoll No.8164232 issuedbyCBSEhasbeenactuallymutilate. Nameof the candidate ShubhamKumar Full Address-HouseNo-70, Block-C, StreetNo-2, BhajanPura, Delhi- 110053,Mobile -9718155121 0010113627-1

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEOur Client Mr. Hardeep Singh, S/oHari Singh, R/o T-586/2, Gali No. 2,Baljeet Nagar, Patel Nagar Central,Delhi- 110008 do hereby confirm anddeclare that as his son Mr. SarabdeepSingh is not under his control, henceour client Mr. Hardeep Singh disownhis son from his all movable andimmovable properties. If anyone dealswith him, that will be at their own riskand cost and our client is notresponsible for the same.

Sd/-CHHAYA

ADVOCATEEnr. No: D 259/2012

Àff½fʪfd³fIY Àfc¨f³ffÀf½fÊÀff²ffS¯f I û Àfcd¨f°f dI ¹ff ªff°ff W` dI ¸fZSm¸fb½fd¢I »f ¸fWZVf ¨faQ ´fbÂf À½f: ßfe A¸fS ³ff±fVf¸ffÊ d³f½ffÀfe JÀfSf ³f. 815, µ»f`M ³f. A-2R ÀMÊ µ»fûS »ff»f OûSf E¢ÀfMZÔ dOO ¶fbSfOÞedQ»»fe-110084 ³fZ A´f³fZ ´fbÂf ³feSªf VffadO»¹f(´ffÀf´fûMÊ ³f. G5327359 Af²ffS ³f. 56928533 1343 D.O.B.17.01.1986.) ½fCÀfI e ´f°³fe dÀ¸f°ff Ib ¸ffSe I û C³fIZ Qb½¹fʽfWfSIZ I fS¯f A´f³fe Àf¸fÀ°f ¨f»f-A¨f»f Àfa´fdØf ÀfZ¶fZQJ»f I S Àfa¶fa²f d¶fLZQ I S dQ¹fZ W`ÔÜ ·fd½f¿¹f¸fZÔ C³fÀfZ I ûBÊ ·fe dI Àfe ·fe ´fiI fS I f »fZ³fQZ³fI S°ff W` °fû CÀfI f dªf¸¸fZQfS ½fW À½f¹fa Wû¦ff ¸fZSm¸fb½fd¢I »f I e I ûBÊ dªf¸¸fZQfSe ³fWeÔ Wû¦feÜ

KAMAL SINGH (Advocate)

Enrl. No. D-748/14

PUBLIC NOTICEINVITING quotation fromChartered Accountants firmfor Statutory Audit of FY2019-20 for Shipra SrishtiApartment OwnersAssociation, 15, AhinsaKhand-1, Indirapuram,Ghaziabad, U.P-201014Ph: 9717597954 Email:aoa.sr isht i@gmai l .combefore 27.5.2020. CA musthave post qualificationexperience of more then 5years. Audit experience ofHousing Society ispreferred. CA/Partner of CAFirm’s should not have anykind of relationship with theAOA’s Board, AOA’sMembers or with AOA’sAccountant.

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI,MAY19

WHILE RISING Covid cases andthe high positivity rate amongreturningmigrants pose a chal-lengetostatessuchasBiharandUttarPradesh,whatmightexac-erbate theproblemis theshort-age of healthcare human re-sources in thesestates.An analysis of data available

oncovidwarriors.gov.in—apor-tal launchedby the governmenttobringhealthcareprofessionals,volunteersandNGOsworkingonCovid-19onthesameplatform—showsthattheratioofhealthcarepersonnelsuchasdoctors,nurses

andpharmacists is 333 per lakhpopulationinthecountry.However, this ratio is lower

in states such as Uttar Pradesh(133), Bihar (157), Jammu andKashmir (167), West Bengal(256), Madhya Pradesh (281),Telangana (283) and Rajasthan(322),allofwhichhavereportedmore than 1,000 confirmedCovid cases each until May 18.Amongotherstatesthathave

reportedover1,000cases,seven— Gujarat (416), Maharashtra(524), Tamil Nadu (527),Karnataka (564), Punjab (583),Delhi(593)andAndhraPradesh(616)—haveahigher ratio thanthe national average of health-careprofessionalsper lakhpop-

ulation.About 45.81 lakhhealthcare

personnel, including 9.27 lakhregistered MBBS doctors and17.48 lakh nurses, have beenlinked through the Covid war-riorsportal.ThelistalsoincludesMBBS interns, Auxiliary NurseMidwives,dentists,pharmacists,AYUSH practitioners, AYUSHdoctors and teaching faculty,dental faculty,physiotherapists,optometrists,psychologists,res-piratory therapists, physicians,andoccupational therapists.The portal has also listed

about 93.49 auxiliary resourcepersonnel such as rural and ur-ban ASHAworkers, ex-service-men, panchayat secretaries,MGNREGA sewaks, NCC volun-teers,etc.—essentiallybootsonthe ground, peoplewho can beenlistedtocarryoutsurveillanceandsecurityoperations.An analysis of data on the

website shows that the ratio oftheseauxiliaryresourceperson-nel is only682per lakhpopula-tion in the country. It is evenlower in Delhi (340), Gujarat(445),Bihar(447),UttarPradesh(459), Rajasthan (538),Telangana (565), Maharashtra(593), and Tamil Nadu (660).Only Madhya Pradesh (710),Andhra Pradesh (721),Karnataka (734), West Bengal(817),Punjab(1,099)andJammu&Kashmir (1099) are above thenational average.The government had called

upon professionals and volun-teersworkingonthecoronavirusoutbreak to get themselveslinked on the Covid warriorsportal.InhisMannKiBaatradioad-

dressonApril26,PrimeMinisterNarendraModihadtalkedaboutthe platform as part of the gov-ernment’s Covidmanagementplan.

In states like Bihar and UttarPradesh, twin challenge: Highcase load, not enough facilities

Elderly man killed, 3 others injured in UP’s DeoriaGorakhpur: A 60-year-oldmanwas killed in Deoria district ofUttar Pradesh on Tuesday and

histwosonsandgrandsonwereinjured when they werethrashed for alleging that a ra-

tion shopownerwasnot givingthemsubsidised foodgrain andsugarasper rules. PTI

New Delhi

SUNNYVERMA&PVAIDYANATHANIYERNEWDELHI,MAY19

Severalprojectionshavebeenmadeoncontractionof theIndianeconomythisyear.What is theassessmentof thefinanceministryanditseconomicdivision?It’s too early forme tomake

an(assessment), it’stooearlyforme to even hazard a guess.Wehavesatdowntotalkaboutverymanythings,thiswasalsosome-thingwhich(cameupfordiscus-sion). I presented a Budget inFebruary, not even twomonthsago. Many assumptions of myBudget are now going to bequestioned, reset etc. I have al-ready reset my borrowingschedule. Itwon’tbesensibleformetoevenmakeanassessmentsaying this is where the econ-omyisgoingtobe, this is theex-tent towhich the economywillcontract. No, not now. I wouldratherkeepmyselfopenandseehowthingsgoandmaketheas-sessmentabit later.

Manycalculationssuggestthefiscalcostof theRs20lakhcrorepackageis lessthan2%ofGDP. Is itsufficienttototackletheeconomicslumpresultingfromCovid-19?First of all, I am not going to

questionordisputeorarguevar-ious assessments which arecoming. I havenothid anythingfrom the public, I have said thisis how I have done my work,howit’sbeingspread, this is theliquidity. I have laid it beforeeverybody.Nowif youwantmeto tell you the outlay from theBudget, let me tell you this isGovernmentof India,MinistryofFinance, dealing with publicmoney. IwillhavetostandupinParliamentandsay,sometime—andIwilldoit—butatthisstagewhat is it that youwant? Is themoney going to the place towhere it should actually go, is itgoing on time, look at all that.Nowif thequestionistellmethefiscal deficit or could you spendonlythismuchfromyourentireBudget? You are at liberty to dothat. I am not criticising, ques-tioning,objectingtoanyonedo-ingtheirassessments,pleasegoaboutit. Ihaveheardalotofsug-gestions, and I have said thiseven earlier. The suggestionshavecomefromsomanypeople,experts, economists, students,

former officials.We have takenall these into cognisance andstudiedtheseatvariouslevels—departments, financeministry,PMO— andwe have come outwiththis(package). Iamnotdis-puting any of the suggestions,butafterhavingdonethatexten-sive,andinfact,anopenexercise,wehavecomeupwith this.

YouareperhapsthefirstFinanceMinister tofacethiskindof crisis,whichalsohasseriouseconomicimplications.Manyeconomistshavesuggestedthatawaytodealwithsituationis theReserveBankof Indiamonetisingthegovernment’sdeficit togivespendingpower.Hasthegovernmentdiscussedthisproposal?As I said I have heard every

suggestion. I said till the level ofthe PrimeMinister, suggestionshave been heard, andwe havecomeupwith this.

Onmonetisationofdeficitspecifically,what isyourview?No, at this stage, I can’t say

anything. I have said in sevenhours over four days (while an-nouncing Atmanirbhar Bharatpackage)everythingthatIhadtoelaborateon.Soif Ihaveputthis(package)forward,thereareever

somanythat Ihave leftout.Do Ianswer for what I have put outor do I answer for ever somanythat I have not taken on board,howeverworthytheyare.Thosewhichwerenot takenonboard,arenotnotworthyofconsidera-tion, theyareworthy. But I havecomeupwith this.

Inarecent interview, theRBIGovernorsaid ithadnotclosedtheoptionofmonetisation.Sodoesthatremainunderconsiderationof thegovernment?ThatiswhyIamsayingIhave

keptmyself open, as we gowehave to see how things develop.Do you or does anyone for thatmatterknowhowthispandemicis going to pan out? Can I guessthat it will be all over by

December?Thenthereisapointinme saying that alright, now Ihave to think about that. Butwedon’t evenknow if it has startedretractingyetandwehavetenfullmonths togo. So Ihave towatchasIgoandbereadyforanything.So I have said this now, I amreadyingmyself foranything.

Is thegovernmentpreservingthespendingfirepowerforfuturebecausewedon’tknowforhowlongthepandemicwill last?Ikeptsayingthat Ihavetobe

readyevenasIgobecauseknowone knows how this is going toturnout,howthisisgoingtoend,howthisisgoingtowithdraw.Soobviously, I have to be ready, Ican’t finishmy storywith theseannouncements.

Withthis large influxofmigrantsbackhome, itwillpushupdemandforworksunderMGNREGA. IsRs40,000crore increase inallocationsufficient tomeetthispentupdemand?All of us have to be con-

cerned, what is going to beenough, are you spendingenough, are you taking enoughcare. Absolutely right for you toaskthisandthatwillbemycon-cern too.Butwhat isgoing tobeenough (is not known).What isgoing to be enough, even if I

know,let’snotsimplifythecom-plexity of the problem… be-cause thedisplacementand thetypeofdisplacementandtheno-tionalcostof it,theuncertaintyitwill lead to about how, and if atall, will they come back. And ifthey don’t come back, they arethere—aplacefromwheretheychosetocometothecityforjobs— what are the options avail-able? Therefore, the kindof un-certainty this itself has created,is something you can’t gauge.And if youcan’t gauge, if peoplein the ground can’t gauge, andbased on that if I have tomakemy assumptions, what isenough? I don’t want to soundas if Iamwardingoff ananswer,but honestly I am confessing atthis stage, I don’t think anygov-ernmenthasanidea.Neitherthestates nor the Centre, or evencountriesabroad.

Doesn't thisexposethesystem's inability tocomprehendtheproblemsthatmigrants face?All of us, the Centre, states

and localbodiesshouldnowre-alise that we should documentthe presence of migrants at thelevel of the smallest unit, localbodyormunicipalward. If thereare tenmigrantsworking inmyward, I should know. The datashould be there, the companyshouldgive thedata to the localbody, there should be a docu-mentation on howmany andfrom where, nothing more,where is he employed, becauseultimately, the employer to-getherwiththegovernmenthasto be responsible, we can’t just(washourhandsoff).

Inrecentannouncements,youarguedforgreaterentryofprivatesector incoalminingandapolicyonPublicSectorEnterpriseswhichencouragesprivateplayers inmostsectors. Inthis light,doesthegovernmentalsoplantoprivatiserailwaysandpublicsectorbanks?No. If I had something I

wouldhaveannouncedit. Idon’thave anything. Of course, in theBudgetspeechif Ihavesaidany-thingthatwillgetaddedtowhat

Ihaveannouncednow.

There isalsoastrongandforcefulargumentthathighercashtransfersof—sayaroundRs3,000amonth—couldhavebeenmadetothemigrants,equivalenttowages/ incomethat theyhavelostduringthe lockdown?Iamnotobjectingtothissug-

gestion. I repeatmyanswer, yesit was a suggestion we haveheard, we have taken that intoaccount,wehavethoughtaboutit. In a way by extending thebanks to reachout firstwithoutadditional collateral for everysmall unit, let them refuse (totake)it,butyouapproachtogive.Automatic is the word I use,whatisthataimedat?Itisaimedat giving somemoney tomeetthe fixed cost, it is aimedat giv-ing somemoney tomake surethat some payment for thewages aremade. So that’swhatwehavedone. I havemadesurethat bankswill extend the loan.Yes,it’saloan,it’sacredit.Yes,it’snotagrant.Butthat’swhereIamasking, grants for howmany, ofhowmuch?

ManyhaveappreciatedtheguaranteeonMSMEloansbutmanysectors likeaviation, tourism,hospitality,whichrequireddirectsupporthavebeenleftout.Hundredper cent guarantee

and I repeat for stressed, forNPAand for viable running unitswhichhadtoshutdownbecauseofthelockdown—allthree.Ihavenot excluded any of theMSMEsandwe have alsowidened the

definition. Sowhen I go back totalking about this, is that sectorspecific, no. And I can’t imagineany business, doing its business100percentwithitsmoneywith-outthebankinvolvement.Banksare involved in funding every-body.SomyassumptioniswhenI have said MSMEs with awidened definition, stressedNPAs and viable,will get the as-sistancewith the governmentgiving guarantee, so that thebanker does notworry becausethat’s a genuineworry that thebankerhas.Youareaskingmetogivemore loans, you are askingmenowtogiveadditional loans,what if thedecisiongoeswrong,meaning I genuinely give it, thatfirm is unable to survive, it col-lapsesinspiteof thismoney,willIbeheldresponsibleforthelossofmoney. That’swhywehave said100percentguarantee, thegov-ernment stands guarantee, giveit,IamnotpullingyouupnorwillI blame the businesswhich hascollapsed because it could notsurvive.SoIamnotquestioningacommercialdecision,onthecon-trary, I amguaranteeing it, I amaskingthebanksdon’taskforad-ditional collateral, if he’s doingbusinesswithyou,doit,giveit.

Couldthishavebeenextendedto largerenterprises?Banks also have an assess-

mentof largerenterprisesandtoa large extent between themboththereisaclearunderstand-ingofwhat levelof assets, secu-ritiesandworthiness,andthere-forethereisneverahesitationin

decisionmaking.There isahes-itationmorewith theMSMEs.

Youhave increasedtheborrowinglimitof statesbutmademuchof itconditionalonasetof reformsbeingimplemented. Is itpossiblethattheCentreborrowsfundsandon-lendstostatesloweringtheircosts?Bond yields are very high,

that’s a problem for me too.Yields being high is going to hitmetoo.Youcansuggestthat,butwe have chosen to do this (in-crease states’ borrowing limit)becausemanystatesdidn’tevenusetheir3percent(ofGDP)limitfully,whenitwasallnormal lastyear. Now nothing is normal, Iagree.Andnowevenastheyhavenotutilisedmajorityof the limitthat they can utilise in the firsthalf. Inthefirsthalf, let’sassumethat50percentof the3percentofGSDP iswhatyouborrow,wehavealreadyallowedthemtogoup to 75 per cent. Second, evenfromthat firsthalf total thatyoucanborrow, if that total is100 inthefirsthalf,youhavedoneonly14 per cent of it, the rest 86 percentisstillavailable.Butstillchief

ministerswerewriting, state fi-nanceministerswerewriting(forahigherborrowinglimit)andwereadilysaidgoaheadwithit—0.5percentextraborrowinguncon-ditional. Butwhat is the kind ofcondition(fortheremainingbor-rowinglimit)wehaveput,andisit a figmentof our imagination?ItissomethingwhichtheFinanceCommissionhasrecommended.If all of us are talking aboutmi-grantworkersnow,actually thisproblem would be less, if thecountry had One Ration OneNationcard.Andthat’swhatIamaskingyoutodonow,makesurethat your ration shops haveswipemachines,makesurethatyour ration shops are digitised,makesurethatanyoneusingthe

smart phone canwithdraw asmuchashewantsprovidedthathisfamilyhasnotutiliseditfully.Second,what am I asking them,dopowerdistribution reforms. Iam given Rs 90,000 crore, I amnot saying I am doing them afavour, but inmany states farm-ershavebeengivenfreeelectric-ity, and not withstanding theUDAY scheme, I am still facingthis problem. So I am sayingpleasereformtheseandtakean-other0.5%(ofGSDPasextrabor-rowing).But,no,no,howcanyouputacondition?HaveIaskedyouto do something which is un-known, totally new?Weare liv-ing with this problem for 30years, power distribution. AndModi sarkar, between 2014 and2019, came upwith the UDAYschemetoreformit.Itisnotnew.

Inthefirst twomonths, theCentretoohastakenabighitin its revenues. Inthis light,areyoulookingatexpenditurecuts?Onnon-essential items?We

started that exercise prior toCovid, because at that time theFinanceCommissionwasspeak-ing to us (informally) that canyou rationalise it, and even bythattime,wewerelookingattheeconomy, and understood itneedsmorepush.Itwasslowingdown, we could see the greenshootsbutstillyouhadtodoalotmore.Wehadstartedthatexer-cise. Yes, now I will doing it allthemoreseriously.

TheBudgetandnow,whathaschangedintermsofyourfunctioning, thechallenges,this transitionhappeningduringthe lockdown?I had an excellent support of

thePrimeMinister,unbelievable.HeworkedasmuchasaFinanceMinister should do in intensity,goingintothedepths.AsaPrimeMinister,hecouldhavetaskedallofusandsaidcomeandreporttome.Buthedidallthathimself,sobegin there, downwards, excel-lentteamofpeoplearoundmin-istry,sotheyalltogetherworkedonit, it’snotmebeingalone.

GiventhatDelhihasbeenahotspot,howdidyoucopewithCovidpersonally,especiallywithyourmotherathome?Itwasreally reallyworrying.

My daughter was like, becauseyougooutandcomeback,makesure, stand outside there, andput dettol water on your feet,soapinyourhands,removeyourchappal,andallthat.Butbecauseshe was more worried aboutthem, the elderly at home. Thatwas the initial (reaction) wheneverythingwas,ohno,youhaveto be careful. Even newspapers,peoplesaiddon’ttouchit.Well, itwasn’t trueatall.

WITH

NIRMALASITHARAMAN

UNIONFINANCEMINISTER

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

I had an excellent support of the PrimeMinister, unbelievable. Heworked asmuch as a FinanceMinister should doin intensity... As a PM, he could havetasked all of us and said come and

report tome. But he did all that himself

Àff½fʪfd³fIY Àfc¨f³ffÀf½fÊÀff²ffS¯f I û Àfcd¨f°f dI ¹ff ªff°ff W` dI dÀf³ff¸fI 08.05.20 I e

Àff¹fa I û »f¦f·f¦f 2-3 dQ³f I e ³f½fªff°f ¶f©fe I û »ff½ffdSÀf Wf»f°f ¸fZÔ¦ff½f Àff»fS´fbS IZ ³fªfQeI ÓffdOÞ¹fûÔ ¸fZÔ RZÔ I dQ¹ff ¦f¹ff ±ffÜ ¹fdQ BÀf ¶f©feI û I ûBÊ ·fe ´fW¨ff³f°ff W` °fû 30 dQ³f IZ ·fe°fS dªf»ff ¶ff»f ÀfaSÃf¯f BI fBÊdÀfSÀff IZ I f¹ffÊ»f¹f ¸fZÔ Àfa´fIÊ I SmÔ, A³¹f±ff ¶ff»fdW°f I û QZJ°fZ WbE BÀf¶f©fe I û ¦fûQ ´fidIi ¹ff ¸fZÔ Vffd¸f»f I S d»f¹ff ªffE¦ffÜ

dªf»ff ¶ff»f ÀfaSÃf¯f Ad²fI fSe dÀfSÀff, ³fªfQeI EÀf.¶fe.AfBÊ. ¶f`ÔI ¸fZ³f ¶fifa¨f, A¦fiÀf`³fI f»fû³fe dÀfSÀff R û³f ³fa. 01666230295 B¸fZ»f AfBÊ.Oe.sirsadcps@gmail.com

80931/HRY

Ps-Sec.10A 128-5A Distt. GGM07.05.2020

DDE No. 24 Dt. 07.05.2020 U/S 174 Crpc, Ps-Sec-10A, GGM

¸fÈ°fIY ³ff¸f ´f°ff ³ff¸ff»fc¸f IYe ´fWX¨ff³f IZY d»fE A´fe»f

Àf¸´fIÊY ÀfcÂf: 1. SHO, Ps-Sec-10A, GGM-99999818362. Ps-Sector-10A, GGM-012423704903. Investigation Officer- 9999611194

Dharmender, ASI,Ps-Sec-10A, GGM

Dt. 07.05.202080934/HRY.

Àf½fÊ Àff²ffS¯f I û Àfcd¨f°f dI ¹ff ªff°ff W` dI¸fÈ°fI ³ff¸f ´f°ff ³ff¸ff»fc¸f, C¸fi I Se¶f 35½f¿fÊ I û dQ³ffaI 07.05.2020 I û ÀfSI fSeAÀ´f°ff»f, ÀfZ¢MS-10, ¦fb÷ ¦fif¸f ¸fZÔ ¸fÈ°¹fb Wû¦fBÊ W`Ü A¦fS dI Àfe ·fe ½¹fd¢°f I û ¸fÈ°fI³ff¸f ´f°ff ³ff¸ff»fc¸f IZ ³ff¸f ´f°ff AfdQ ¶ffSm¸fZÔ I ûBÊ Àfc¨f³ff ¸ff»fc¸f Wû °fû ±ff³ff ÀfZ¢MS-10E, ¦fb÷ ¦fif¸f ¸fZÔ Àfcd¨f°f I SmÔÜWcd»f¹ff: Sa¦f ¦fZWbaAf , ¨fZWSf »f¸¶ff, ´f°f»ff-Qb¶fÊ»f VfSeS, I Q 5’-6’’ C¸fi 35 ½f¿fÊ dªfÀf³fZ³fe»fe ÀfRZ Q ²ffSeQfS VfMÊ ½f I f»fe ªfe³Àf´fW³f SJe ±feÜ

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

EXPRESS INTERVIEWNirmalaSitharaman

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

‘Thought about it (bigger cash transfers),but grant for how many, of how much?’FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamansaysall suggestionswereheardtill the levelof thePrimeMinisterbefore thepackagewas finalised

PremNathPandey

I have saidMSMEswith awideneddefinition, stressedNPAs and viable,

will get the assistancewith thegovernment giving guarantee, so that

the banker does notworry because that’sa genuineworry that the banker has

Now if youwantme to tell you theoutlay from the Budget, letme tell youthis is Government of India,Ministryof Finance, dealing with publicmoney. Iwill have to stand up in Parliament and

say, sometime—and Iwill do it

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

END OF A MONOPOLYInitiativeforAPMCreformsshouldhavecomefromstates.ButitiswelcomethatCentreisnowtakingthelead

A GRICULTUREISAstatesubjectundertheConstitution,buttheGreenRevolutionwouldn’thavehappenedwithoutthepoliticalleadershipattheCentrein1966approvingtheimportof18,000tonnesofseedsofhigh-yieldingsemi-dwarfwheatvarieties fromMexico.Thesamegoes for theNarendraModigovern-

ment’sdecisionnowtoenactaCentral lawtodismantle themonopolyof agriculturalpro-ducemarketcommittee(APMC)mandisinthewholesaletradingof farmcommodities. It’sall verywell to say that “agriculture”and“marketsand fairs” fallunder theStateListof theSeventhSchedule.However, state governmentshavedonevery little all these years to re-movebarrierstotradeinfarmproduce.Farmers,likeanybusinessmen,shouldhavethefree-domtoselltheirproducetoanyone,anywhereandanytime.This, inturn,isalsocontingentuponprocessors,traders,retailersorexportersbeingabletobuydirectlyfromthem.Unfortunately,moststateAPMClawstodaypermitfirstsaleoffarmproducetotakeplace

onlyinnotifiedmandiswithintheparticulartehsilsortalukas.Buyers,too,needtoobtainin-dividuallicensesfromeachAPMCinordertotransact.Whilesomestatesaregrantingsingleunifiedmarket licenses andallowingdirect procurement fromfarmers, even they requirepaymentofAPMCfee—whetherornottheyareusingtheinfrastructureofthelocalmandi.Effectively, then, there is nonationalmarket for agricultural commodities.Whatwehave,instead,aresome2,500marketscontrolledbycommissionagents,whomediatebetweensellersandbuyersevenwhennotrequired.Thisarrangementisanathematothespiritoflib-eralisationandalsogoesagainstArticle301oftheConstitution,whichenvisagesfreedomoftradeandcommerce“throughouttheterritoryofIndia”.Ifstateshaven’treallyfreedagricul-turalproducetradingevenwithintheirownterritories,theCentreiswellwithinitsrightstoenactalawusingtheprovisionsofentry33oftheConcurrentList.Thelatterspecificallydealswithagriculturalproduce, including“foodstuffs”,“cattlefodder”and“rawcotton”.Inanidealsituation,fromacooperativefederalismperspective,theinitiativeforAPMC

reforms should have come from the states themselves. But there have been times —whetherithadtodowiththeGreenRevolutionorthenodtoBtcottoncultivationin2002—whentheCentrehadtonecessarilytakethelead.TheModigovernmentmustmakeitclear that theobjectivebehinditsproposedlawisnot todismantleAPMCs.Farmerswillcontinue to bring their produce tomandis that have good infrastructure (auction plat-forms,weighbridges,godowns,etc)andwheretheyarelikelytofindmorebuyers(AndhraPradesh’sGunturMirchiYardforchilli andtheUnjhaAPMCofGujarat for jeeraaregoodexamples).Butthatshouldbeamatterofchoice,bothforfarmersandbuyers.APMCmo-nopolyhas togo.

ONE CONFLICT LESSResolutionofstandoffbetweentopAfghanleadersisan

importantmomentamidcontinuingviolenceandpandemic

AT LEASTONEwar has ended inAfghanistanwith the agreement betweenPresidentAshraf Ghani and the rival claimant of victory in the recent par-liamentary elections, Abdullah Abdullah. It is an importantmoment. Itshows that the complex questions in a power-sharing agreement can be

resolvedwithout leavinga trail of of destruction, by simply talking, andwith somegiveandtakeonbothsides.Thelongstandoffbetweenthetwoleaders,atatimewhendemoc-racy inAfghanistanneededtoshowitsbest side,hascaused its shareof damage.It took twomonths after the Afghan election commission declared Ghani thewin-

ner.Abdullahhadcontestedanddemandedarecount.Hehadbeen firmthatunlike thelast time,whenhewaspersuadedbythenUSSecretaryof State JohnKerrytoaccept thepositionof “CEO”underGhani’spresidency, this timehewouldnotbeparty toapower-sharingdeal.Butawaywasfound,peacefully.Ghaniwillremainpresident,Abdullahgetsnoformalpositioninthegovernment,butgetstonominatehalf thecabinet,andwillalsolead the talkswith theTaliban if andwhen they takeplace, as the chairmanof theHighCouncil ofNationalReconciliation.Fornow,theGhani-Abdullahpatch-upmeansonelessconflict inAfghanistan,whena

surgeinviolencebytheTalibanandthesteadilyadvancingcoronavirushavecreatedchaoticconditions inthecountry.AsofMay19,Afghanistanhadover7,600cases.Aceasefire,hadtheTalibanagreedtoone,couldhavehelpedinformulatingabetterpublichealthresponse.Instead, thenumberofattacksandviolent incidentshasonly increasedaftertheFebruary29pactbetweentheUSandtheTalibanonthewithdrawalofUS troops.According to theUNAssistanceMission inAfghanistan, theTalibanwere responsible for208civiliancasu-alties lastmonth,25percentmore thanApril 2019,while in thesameperiod,172civiliancasualtieswere causedby theAfghan security forces, an increase of 38per cent over lastApril.Evenhealthfacilities,themostcrucialpublicgoodinthetimeofapandemic,seemnolonger off limits. Lastweek, gunmenentered amaternity hospital in Kabul andkilled 24peopleincludingnewbornbabies,mothersandhospitalstaff,andonthesameday,thesui-cide bombing at a funeral in Nangarhar, seemed like a preview of what is to follow inAfghanistan.OnTuesday, therewasanoutbreakofheavyfighting inKunduzbetweentheTalibanandtheAfghanforces. If thereisaglimmerofhopeinall this, it isnotvisibleyet.

SPIT & SHINEICCneedstofocusonthebigpictureaboutsportsandthepandemic insteadof fussingoverminorquestions

AMIDTHECORONAVIRUSpandemic, the cricket establishmenthas fired itslatestsalvo.OnMonday,thetechnicalcommitteeoftheInternationalCricketCouncilruledthatplayerscan’tusesalivaontheballanymore—anage-oldmethod to shine the ball — but can continue to use their sweat instead.

Clarityandcoherencewereneededon thebiggerplan to restart sports ina secureenvi-ronment. Other sports have been sweating over two-week lockdowns and themicro-managingneededtorepeatedlytesttheplayers,officials,broadcasters,dressing-roomat-tendantsandotherpeoplefrequentingthestadium.TrusttheInternationalCricketCouncilto fussoveraminorpointevenbefore theyannouncea largerplan to restart thegame.Individualcountriesaremakingsmall talkabout itbut theICCshouldhavetakenthe

leadbychalkingouttheroadmap. Itshouldhavecomeoutwithprotocolsrelatingtoso-cialdistancing,contact-tracing,thepersonnelallowedinsideanarena,travelandaccom-modationplansandthedetailsabout temperaturechecks,COVID-swabsandotherbio-securitymeasuresthatareneeded. Inthewordsof thestraight-talkingMichaelHolding,alegendof thegame,“Ifyou’renotconfidentof thebio-secureenvironment.thatyouarefreeof COVID-19, you shouldnotbeplaying. Then I amnot surewhyyouhave toworryabout salivaorperspiration.”There are other ethical questions. Should sport be given such a priority in a country

likeIndiawhereasymptomaticpeoplearetestedonlyif theyareindirectcontactwithpos-itivepatientsandwhere there isa lackof enoughtestingkits?With frequent testingbe-ingsuggested,woulditbefeasibletotestanestimated200-300people intheprotectivebubble of the stadium? Sports can be a soothing agent in these frayed times but thosequestionsshouldbedebatedandadetailedplanchalkedoutbeforetheICCstartsspittinginto thewindabout salivaon theball.

Financing the stimulus

Christophe Jaffrelot andVihang Jumle

TMKrishna

Governmentbanksonabiggerprivatisationprogrammetoraiseresources.Itmayneedtoexploremoreavenues

UNEQUAL SPACES, HIDDEN POWERBeing left isabout recognisingandgrapplingwithvariouskindsofmarginalisation

WHILETHERELIEFandstimuli packagean-nounced last week represents — as per thegovernment’sclaims—10percentof India’sGDP,thegovernmentisobviouslyanxioustocontain the fiscal deficit. It is apparentlyhopefulthatmoneycouldcomepartlyfroma new privatisation programme. FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman, while an-nouncing the fifth trancheof theRs20 lakhcrore stimulus package, said that privatisa-tion—apolicy thathadalreadygainedmo-mentum in the last budget (with Air IndiaandLifeInsuranceCorporationonthetopofthelist)—wouldnowbetheorderoftheday.According to the new Public SectorEnterprises Policy (PSEP), a list of strategicsectorswill be notifiedwhere therewill benomorethanfourpublicsectorenterprises.SitharamanhaspresentedthenewPSEP

as a strategicmove intended to rationalisethepublic sector.But theway India is tryingto quickly raise revenue by selling govern-ment entities, it looks like an emergencymove. Before the COVID-19 crisis, the gov-ernment needed the privatisationmoneypartlybecauseitsrevenue(fromGSTamongother things) was declining, and this voidcould only partly be filled by alternativesourcesof tax revenuessuchas thaton fuel.Today, thegovernmentneedsthismoneyinordertocontainthefiscaldeficit.So, thepri-vatisation programme has suddenly beenexpanded.WhiletheCentrehassetabudgettargetofRs2.1lakhcrorefromdisinvestmentin the current fiscal year, Rs 1.2 lakh crore isnowexpectedfromdisinvestmentincentralpublic sectorenterprises.Towardstheendof2019,thegovernment

approved the privatisation of BPCL and theShippingCorporationof India, inadditiontoselling stakes in the Container CorporationofIndia,THDCandNEEPCO.Thegovernmenthadinitiallyplannedtocompleteits“strate-gic disinvestment” in BPCL andAir India bythe end of this fiscal year. It nowwants itcompleted earlier. Some estimate that thegovernment’sdisinvestmentinBPCL,SCIandCONCOR could fetch it Rs 78,400 crore.Should India’s flyingMaharaja also find a

buyer, the government could raise over Rs1,05,000crore.Governments across theworld resort to

privatisation to fill budgetary gaps. But rev-enue fromprivatisation is a one-off benefitand generally, only profit-making units aresoldatagoodprice.Secondly,privatisationisatwo-waystreet

—itrequiresabuyerandaseller.Whowillbethe buyers?Most industrialists areworriedaboutrunningtheircurrentbusinesses.Policyuncertainty has time and again been high-lightedasahurdle indoingbusiness in Indiaand thegovernmenthasnotalleviated theirproblems. Excessive political interferencewiththeprivatesectormakesowninganex-governmententityevenriskier,especiallyif itisperceivedastoobigto fail.Ahandfulof Indiancapitalistswhoareal-

readyat thehelmof oligopoliesmaybe inaposition—financiallyandpolitically—tobuythe big PSUs. If theywere allowed to growevenmorebyacquiringpublic entities, sec-torsof theeconomywouldbeunder the in-fluenceofquasi-monopolies.Thiscouldfos-ter crony capitalismandmay even result inthemakingof oligarchs.Whereelsecanthegovernment findthe

moneyitneeds?Italreadyincreasedtheex-cisedutyonpetrolanddieselbyRs3perlitreonMarch13—thesteepesthikesince2012.The government imposed additional taxeswhileglobalcrudeoilpricesfell.Asoilpricescanonlygoupafterthelastroundofnegoti-ationsbetweenRussiaandSaudiArabia,theIndian governmentwill not be in apositiontouse this sourceof revenueagain.Such amovewould contradict the very

ideaofareliefandstimuluspackageanyway.An increase in the excise duty or taxwouldaffectpurchasingpower,when thepackageissupposedtohelpthepoorandtoboostde-mand.Evenbeforethepresentcrisis, indus-trialistscomplainedthat25percentof theirproductivecapacitywasidle.Andthat’swhytheir investment rate had never been thislow, in the21st centuryat least.Even if someprivatisationhelps India fi-

nancially, itseemsthatthecountrywillneed

toborrowmoneyithastospendforhelpingtheeconomy.Externalborrowing,however,is problematic. The onlyway governmentspay back external borrowings is bywiselyusing borrowed capital to drive high GDPgrowth and generating revenues, which isunlikelytohappenanytimesoonasareces-sion is roundthecorner.Secondly, the rupee is at its lowest level

comparedtotheUSdollarandanymorede-valuationwill only make it harder for thegovernment to pay back its debt. Since ex-ternalborrowingsmustbepaidbackinbor-rowedcurrency,exportsandforeignreserves(orgoldreserves)aregenerallytheonlytworeliableoptions(thethirdonebeingborrow-ingmoretopaybackthepreviousdebts—aslippery slope) to pay government debt.However, India should account for the in-evitable global slump in international de-mandanda consequent drop in its exports.Othercountriesmayalsomovetowards“at-manirbharta”andover-regulate imports.Lastly, Indian industries arealreadyabit

debt-laden. The risk in the banking sector,tightliquidityindebtmarkets,comparativelylowerinternationalborrowingratesandtheRBI’s ECB rationalising measures have alllikely compelled them to resort to overseasborrowing.Moreoverseasborrowing,com-binedwith the industry’s high debt status,could lead to rating agencies downgradingIndia’sinvestmentprospects—deterringfor-eign investments in theprocess.On the positive side, India’s foreign re-

servesstandatanall-timehighwhichcouldbestrategicallyusedtofinanceitsneeds.Therest may have to come from privatisation,taxation, loans andmore international aid.Already, India is receivingmore funds fromtheWorld Bank, the ADB and the JapaneseODA. Indiamayhelpothers,but itneedsaidtoo.

Jaffrelot is senior research fellowatCERI-SciencesPo/CNRS,Paris, professorof Indian

PoliticsandSociologyatKing’s IndiaInstitute, London. Jumle isaprojectofficeratTRAFFICWWFIndia.Viewsarepersonal

I AMnot aware of the reasons that pushedJaggi Vasudev to pen a column (‘I ammoreleft than you think’, Sadhguru, IE, May 15)claiming that he is “farmore left than peo-plecanimagine,butnotcrazyleft”.ButithasexposedhislackofunderstandingoftheLeft,communism,democracy,socialinequalities,citizenship, liberty, suffering, freedom,powerstructuresandoppression.HeclaimsthatIshaYogaCenterisindeed

“absolute left”, a commune. By using theterm commune, he is either confusing thereader or believes that communism flour-ishes in a commune. There aremany typesof communes and his is consumedwithintheideasofasingleindividual—himself.Hiscommune is a great exampleof KarlMarx’soften-quotedphrase, “religion is theopiumof thepeople”. Justbecauseeveryonewearssaffron orwhite, cooks, eats,washes dishesand participates in activities together, thespace does not become equal. Institutionsthat createmindless followerswho do notchallenge the power structure controllingthemcannotclaimequality.Vasudev explains in his piece: “The Isha

YogaCenter is a commune—inaway, it is acommunist arrangement.Nobody is askinghowmuch you have, your religion, caste,where you come from, who your father is.Wewilltreatyoulikewetreateveryoneelse.If you rise and show some special qualities,wewillhonour thataswell.”Being left (and this comes in so many

shades) includes recognisingandgrapplingwithissuesofreligion,caste,gender,politicaland economic marginalisation. Whichmeans, confronting and questioning all so-

cio-politicalmechanisms that enable thesediscriminatingpractices.So,byclaimingthatnobody is asked about their religion, casteetc, Vasudev is only reiterating the fact thathisCenterisaperfectexampleof theupper-casteprivilegedmilieuwheremarkersofdis-criminationarebrushedunderthecarpetbe-causeeveryoneisexpectedtotransformintothat“ideal”curatedbythesociallypowerful.Heisonlyparaphrasingtheoften-heardup-per-caste quote, “we never discuss caste orreligion in our houses”. Hemust learn thatequal opportunity occurs only when un-equalness is acknowledged and thismeansenablingandlisteningtothevoicesof thoseat the receiving end. Vasudev needs to feeluncomfortablewithhisownwords.Heclaims,“Oneaspectof thisisthatthey

(liberals)feelonlytheyshouldhavefreedomof speech and nobody else.” Odd, comingfrom this person of enormous powerwhodisdainfully trivialises pertinent questions,often laughing them off in condescension.Unlike his claim that those on the left are“just living in their own home, talking leftphilosophy”,peopleof theleftcutacrossoursocialspectrum,manybelongingtosectionsof societythatdonothaveavoice, includingdailywageworkersandagricultural labour-ers, just “ordinarypeople”.Democracyandrightsarenotwithinhis

intellectual grasp.Here is a personwhobe-lievesthatitisthejobofthecitizentosupportanygovernmentthathasbeenelectedbythemajority. Citizenry involves being activelywatchfulof thegovernment.Thisisapartic-ipatorydemocracy,wheretheroleof thecit-izen isnot just tovote, but tobeapartner in

the process of building a just society.Decisions are not only made within theprecinctsofParliament,butalsobyconsult-ingthepublic;thisisthemagnificenceofourdemocracy.To this end, protests on the streets are

central. Vasudev forgets thatwegainedourindependenceonlybecausepeoplecameoutontothestreets.HeforgetsthattheNirbhayaActandtheRTIActwerepassedbecausepeo-pleprotestedinpublicspaces.So,wewilloc-cupy public spaces, not allocated lots. Ofcourse,publicpropertycannotbedestroyed,but disruption is essential and is a positiveidea.Here isapersonwhoallowshimself tobecalleda“mystic”missingtheessenceofaphilosophical enquiry.Vasudevseemstothinkitiseasyforevery

citizen to go to court. “If you do not agreewith the law, there is a courtwhereyoucango.If itisinanywayillegal, itwillgetknockeddown.”Villagerssitonhighways,peopleop-poseCAA-NRC-NPRat ShaheenBaghwhentheirvoicesareunheardandsuppressed.Fora personwho professes concern for peopleandhassetupprocessesfor innerengineer-ing, he lacks empathy and the understand-ingof thoseonthemarginsof society.Andfinally,thispersonofspiritualitycalls

thoseintheOppositionandcitizenswhoop-pose the government “losers”. Vasudev isclearly an autocrat who considers democ-racy a veneer behindwhich control shouldremainwith thepowerful.

Thewriter isamusicianandtheauthorofSebastianAndSons:ABriefHistoryof

MrdangamMakers

Finance MinisterSitharaman has presentedthe new PSEP as a strategicmove intended to rationalisethe public sector. But the wayIndia is trying to quicklyraise revenue by sellinggovernment entities, it lookslike an emergency move.Before the COVID-19 crisis,the government needed theprivatisation money partlybecause its revenue (fromGST among other things)was declining, and this voidcould only partly be filled byalternative sources of taxrevenues such as that onfuel. Today, the governmentneeds this money in order tocontain the fiscal deficit. So,the privatisation programmehas suddenly been expanded.

Democracy and rights arenot within his intellectualgrasp. Here is a person whobelieves that it is the job ofthe citizen to support anygovernment that has beenelected by the majority.Citizenry involves beingactively watchful of thegovernment. This is aparticipatory democracy,where the role of the citizenis not just to vote, but to be apartner in the process ofbuilding a just society.Decisions are not only madewithin the precincts ofParliament, but also byconsulting the public.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020 WORDLYWISE“The slow-motion replay doesn’t showhow

fast the ballwas really travelling.”— RICHIE BENAUDTHEEDITORIALPAGE

BAHUGUNA RESIGNSHNBAHUGUNAhasresignedfromCongress-I.HealsoresignedhisLokSabhaseatwhichhehadwononthepartyticket.Answeringques-tionsat anewsconferenceafterhis resigna-tion, Bahuguna said the realman in controlof Congress-Iwas SanjayGandhi. In a lettertoMrsGandhionMay10—thetextofwhichwas released at the news conference —Bahugunasaid: “Theopenly talked-of dom-inationofShriSanjayGandhi,MP, ingovern-mental and organisationalmatters causesverygraveconcerninviewofhispronounce-ments, thathedoesnotadhere toany ideol-ogyandthefactthathedoesnothaveaposi-tion inthegovernmentor theparty.”

AFGHAN SOLUTIONFOREIGN SECRETARY, R D Sathe, whoreturned to Delhi after three days of vitaldiscussions with Afghan leaders, soundedsomewhat hopeful about a solution ofthe controversial Afghanistan question.While he did not disclose the details ofthe proposals he had discussed withPresident Babrak Karmal in Kabul, Sathereplied, “Yes” when asked at the airportwhethertheproblemwasnearerasolution.Sathe rushed toKabul on Friday soon aftertheKarmalregimeannounceditsproposalsseeking talks with Pakistan and Iran fora political settlement of the Afghanistanquestion.

RAJASTHAN POLLSTHOUGH THERE IS great resentment inCongress-Icirclesovertheallotmentofticketsfor the assembly elections in Rajasthan, thepartystillhasadefiniteedgeoverthesplintergroupsof theOpposition.Despite infighting,itmay bag between 110 and 120 of the 200seats.Whatever the final outcome, there isnothing to indicate that theOpposition alsohas a chance to formagovernment after theelection.RamKishoreVyas,stateCongress(I)chief — tipped for the chief ministership—originally put the figure at 130 seats. Askedagain at a recent news conference, Vyas didnot repeat the figure but only said that thepartywouldformthegovernmentinthestate.

MAY 20, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“Ms Patel ought to be generous and relax the proposed restrictions. She coulddo so without incurring political cost, as polls show support to exempt lower-paid frontline migrant workers.”

— THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

STANDING NEXT TO a small, weary group inthe surreally bare forecourt of New DelhiRailway Station, Ajmeri Gate side, beside bagsof indeterminateshape,sheistheonlywoman.An official of the Delhi Police walks up to thegroup,demands:Doyouhaveany tickets foratrain?Ifyoudon’t,youarenotallowedtostandhere,youmustgo.Shedoesn’thaveaticket,shesays. She is Shabnam. Shabnamwhat? OnlyShabnam, she says with a finality that beliesthetentativenessthathoversoverthegrouponahotMondayafternoon,thestartofLockdown4.0I came this morning on a train from

Allahabad, couldn’t have stayed there anylongerwithoutwork. I amonmywaytomysister’shouse,wholivesinvillageKuchhejainBulandshahr. Or tomy other sister’s home,wholivesinFaridabad.Iamreadytogotoei-ther place if I get somemeans of transport.AnacquaintanceboughtmeanonlineticketfortheRajdhanifromAllahabadtoDelhilastnight, I thoughtIwouldfindabusfromhere,but theysaytherearenone. Ihavevery littlemoney left. In two and a half months of thelockdown I used upwhatever I had earnedand kept away. I am travelling alone, I don’tknowwhat todo.Mysonsayshecannotcomeandgetme,

hehasnovehicle.Tumdekho(youseewhatyoucando),jaisewahanseaagayiwaise(youfind theway onwards like you did this far).HisfriendinGhaziabadwillpickmeupfromhere on hismotorcycle if he can get the pa-perwork in order. I can only askmy son forhelp, or my sisters’ sons in Faridabad. Mynephew who drives an auto is trying toarrangeforanautodrivertopickmeup,takeme across to the Badarpur Border, but thebordersare sealed.Ican’taskanythingofmyfourbrothersin

Bulandshahr. I don’t talk to them since thedivorce, they did not stand byme. You canstaywithus,wewill lookafteryou,theysaid,but don’t take thematter to court. I did notlistentothem,Igotmydivorceincourt,aftertwoyearsofseparation,fourmonthsago.Myhusbandwouldbeatmeupbadly,sayhewassorry later. Par baadmein pachtaane se kya(of what use was his repentance). It was amatterof lifeanddeath, Iwassavingmylife.Onlymy sisters supportedme. Getmarriedagain, theytellme.But I feel if Imarryagain,what if he turnsout tobe likemyhusband.Maintohbawlihorahihoon(Idon’tknow

whattodo),parbehneinhihain(Ihaveonlymysisters to look to).I didnot even informmybrothers ormy

mother(myfatherisdead,hewasalabourer),whenIlefttofindajobinAllahabadfiveorsixmonths ago. I had worked earlier, too, inFaridabad, off and on, for almost 10 years,whenIlivedtherewithmyhusbandandson.In the packing section, in a company thatmade silencers formotorcycles. For the lasttwoyears,afterseparatingfrommyhusband,Ineedtoearninordertoeat, Iamonmyown.InAllahabad,myjobwascookingfoodfor

agroupof10-15labourersinCivilLines.TheygavemeRs8,000amonth, free lodgingandfood. I have bought an insurance policy formyold age, somemoney goes into that, therest helpedme through the last two and ahalf months. When I started the job inAllahabad, hisaab lagati thi (Imade calcula-tions): At the end of the year I would have

Rs 50,000-60,000, budhapemein baith kekhaoongi (will sit back inmy old age). I am35,but I feel older,mybody isbrokenbymyhusband’s beatings. My eyesight has goneweak.The labourers who employed me in

Allahabad set out for their homes on footwhenthelockdownbegan.Ihadnostrengthtowalk, andwherewould I have stayed inthe night. First I thought this corona is a lie.Thenworkstartedshuttingdown,labourbe-ganwalkinghome. Iwent to thebus stationonly to return because there was no bus,twice. Iwasrunningoutofmoney.Theytoldme, rashanbat rahahai (free rations are be-ing distributed). I did go to one place, parsharmaayi(I feltshame).Wehadtostandinline, andwhatwould Idowithonly riceandflour. I also need oil, spice and vegetables toeat.Bheeknahimaangsakte(Icannotbeg). Idon’thavearationcard,haveazerobalanceaccount. I have heard government has de-positedRs500amonthfortwomonthsnow,butIdon’thavetheaccountnumberorpass-bookwithme.TowithdrawthemoneyIwillhave togoback toBulandshahr.I asked someonewho lived nearby, give

me some money, and I will donate thatamount in your name to themasjidwhen Iamable,buthedidn’t.AnotherpersonintheneighbourhoodgavemeRs200,5kgatta,1.5kg dal. And then Rs 500more. I got Rs 200fromsomeoneelse.Now, if I couldget to thestraight road to Bulandshahr, I will discardone of my bags, walkwith the other one tomysister’shome.When I was young, my parents did not

sendmeormysisterstoschool,mybrothersstudiedabit, itwas adouble standard. I hadtowear theburqa after I gotmarried. After IseparatedfrommyhusbandIworeittohidefromhim. Hewould beatme if he somuchassawmeontheroad. I tookoff theburqainFaridabad,wherewewereinamixedneigh-bourhood. In Allahabad, I would wear theburqaoutof sharm, toavoid thecuriosityofstrangers. I love the city because it givesmetheoption towear theburqaornot to. Iwasfearful in thevillage,eventhoughmyfamilywaswithme.Thetoiletwasoutside, Ihadtocrossthecourtyardtogetto it, so Iwouldtry

and finisheverythingby10pm. Iwasafraidtoopenmydoorafterthat.Later, Iwasafraidofmyhusband.Darnahithashehermein(inthecityIfelt

no fear). In Faridabad, often after finishingwork in the company at 7pm, Iwould go tomy sister’s place, eat with her, and then gobacktomyroom.InAllahabad,Ididn’tgooutmuch,onlytotheprovisionstore,tobuyveg-etablesandtothemedicineshop.Ican’treadorwrite, if Iwent somewhere, howwould Iget back. A girl who lived nearby said shewould takeme out in her brother-in-law’scar. Shewas ina lovemarriage.Youcanbuyeverythingyouwantinthecity,evenatnight.IwantalifewhereIcanwork,tiremyselfout,sleep.Dhyanbatjaatahai(youcantakeyourmindoff your troubles).Gaaontohhameinachcha lagtahinahin

(there is nothingof thevillage that Imiss inthecity).I had never even seen the outside of a

school, how could I possibly dream.“Madam”ban jaayein, auronkopadhayein-likhayein(Iwantedtobeateacher,teachoth-ers to read andwrite).My son studied onlytillclass7or8becauseof theconstantfight-ing at home. Iwantedhim tohave a sarkarinaukri (government job). He sells phones.He should have a good life, live like a hero.He is very good looking, has a sharpmind.Afterthisisover,heshouldgotoBombay,tryhis luck inTVor film.Iamintwominds,scared,shouldImarry

again.There isamanIknowinCivil Lines inAllahabad, who says hewill marryme andfindweldingworkinNoida.IhaveheardthatinNoidayoucanfindlighterworkforhigherpay. Icoulddopackingworkagain,orsetupavegetablestall. Imightgothereaftera fewdaysatmysister’splace,oncethis isallover.I work, I earn and then it all empties out. Imustgetback towork.

Shabnam,35,born invillageTatarpur,districtBulandshahr,UP,hasoneson,18,

who liveswithhis father, avegetablevendor.She isonherway fromAllahabad,where she

workedasacook, going toFaridabad,Haryana,orBulandshahr. She spoke to

VANDITAMISHRA

AFTERIMPOSINGaunilaterallockdownwith-outpractisingcooperativefederalism—andthattoowithjustfourhours’notice—PrimeMinister Narendra Modi faces a toughHobson’schoiceasthelockdownversuslivesbinarycrossedaflashpointonMay18,theendof Lockdown3.0.HeannouncedLockdown4.0,butwithapromiseofasubstantialreduc-tioninrestrictionsandawhoppingRs20lakhcrorefiscalpackage.Sofar,thelatterhasflat-teredtodeceive,withtherealcashtransfersamountingtoroastedpeanuts.SinceMarch25,whenthenationalcur-

few commenced, the number of infectedcases has risen from560 to 1,00,000withover 3,000 dead. This government has sofarproveddisastrous.GiventheperniciousnatureofCOVID-19(asecondwaveseemsto be occurring in South Korea andGermany), it is futile to engage in thepueriledebateaboutwhetherIndiahastri-umphed.It isearlydays,thefinalscorecardwillbeonlyknownwhenavaccinearrivesandwe look back at hard data. However,twofactsare irrefutable:Humansufferinghas reached disconcerting levels and theIndianeconomyis ina free fall.Thismaybeagoodtimeforthegovern-

ment to recalibrate its COVID-19 strategy.In imposing back-to-back rigorous lock-downs, thegovernmentwasplacingall itseggs in the lockdown basket. This hasboomeranged.What, then, should be thewayoutduringLockdown4.0?First,oneshouldrecognisethattheRAG

model(red,amberandgreen)hasinherentlimitations. If Mumbai, Delhi, Pune,Ahmedabad,BengaluruandChennaiareinthe red zonewithnegligible economic ac-tivity,evenif therestofthecountrywereinthegreenzone,itwillbepreposteroustoas-sumeIndia’sGDPwillrebound.Productionis a complex process and intermediategoodsmay have several supply vendorsscattered across the country. For instance,32per cent of overall tax collections comefromMumbai. There is thus only one op-tion: Radically decontrol by removing allproscriptionsandletbusinessrecommence.Of course, the usual safeguards onmasks,sanitisers,socialdistancingandSection144will need to be strictly adhered to.Micro-targetingofhotspotsinredzoneswithquar-antine is recommended as opposed to ablanketban,whichhasprovedcounterpro-ductive. An aggressive public awarenesscampaignmustbesustained.Weshouldbeprepared for a sudden spike in cases, butthat could be temporary as people realisetheconcomitant riskof being in thepublicspace all over again. Over a 14-day cycle, adiscernible trendwill establish the cost-benefit of the lives versus livelihood argu-ment. The governmentmust trust the factthat self-preservationwill be the primor-dialobsessionforeveryindividual.Policiescan always be revised later. Butwe should

notbealarmists.Second,thegovernment’sfinancialres-

cue packagemust prioritise expenditureexpectationsonmedicalinfrastructure,di-rectcashtransfers tothepoor,agriculturallabourandcash-in-handtothelucklessmi-grants, middle-class relief on unemploy-ment allowance, EMImoratoriums, sub-stantial credit and liabilities relief to thebleeding MSME sector, among others.Extraordinarysituationsdemandextraor-dinarysolutions. Itcantakealeaf fromtheUPA’splaybookduringtheglobal financialcrisisof2008.Asthemortgagecrisisplun-dered theworldeconomy, India’sGDP fellfrom a staggering high of 9.3 per cent in2007-08 to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09, evenasinflationsky-rocketedfrom4.7percentto 8.1 per cent. It was a doublewhammy.Butthegovernmentdidnotpanic. Instead,itsfiscalandmonetarystimulus,whichwascountercyclical,resultedintheGDPbounc-ingback to8.6percent in2009-10and in-flationwaslowerat3.8percentaswell.Thekeytothedramaticturnaroundwasthefis-cal risk. The Centre’s fiscal deficit, whichwas at an all-time low of 2.5 per cent in2007-08, rose to 6 per cent in 2008-09.Economics is about trade-offs.Third, at some point, the government

willhavetobitethebulletontaxrevenuestofundthefiscaldeficit,alongwithgovern-ment borrowing andmonetising debt. Afinebalanceisneededhere.GSTisaregres-sivetax.Thegovernmentmustnotchoosethis lazy, inelastic source of revenue as itwill pauperise themiddle-class and thepoor further. The taxwrite-off to the cor-poratesectorofRs1,45,000croreinthelastfiscalyearwasthoughtlessinanaggregatedemand-starved economy. But direct taxis the government’s only alternative, in-cludingwealth tax, inheritance tax, pro-gressive taxation of the super-elites, andcuttingbackonwastefulnon-planexpen-diture. In a bear stock-market, public di-vestmentsmaynotgivecommensuratere-turns. There is littleelbowroom.Lastly, the NDA needs to formulate a

NationalExitPlan.Itsstrategyof lettingthelockdown unravel district by district,through official commandments calledguidelines,appearsthoughtless.Thegran-ularopening flexibility that thechiefmin-istersaredemandingwill leadtomorecon-fusionthanresolution.Forexample,fortheeconomy to kickstart, inter-state move-ment of goods and services has to be on aNationalE-Passthathastobehonouredbyallstates. IndiaalsoneedstolearnfromtheSikkimmodel on handling COVID-19 —both its caseloadanddeathsareatzero.Ultimately, humility is better than

hubris for governments, during crises inparticular.Thecardinalerror inthecentralgovernment’sstrategywasthatithadcon-vinced itself that it could slay the virus in21 days. Had it understood thatwith a di-ameterof60nanometers—or60billionthsof ameter—thevirus isdifferent fromtheusual suspects this government picks on,Indiawouldhavebeen inabetterplace.It issaidthat incalmwaters,everyship

hasagreatcaptain.Theacidtestforourpo-litical leadershipbeginsnow.

Tewari isanMP, lawyerand former I&Bminister. Jha isanational spokesperson

of theCongress

They told me, rashan batraha hai (free rations arebeing distributed). I did go toone place, par sharm aayi (Ifelt shame). We had to standin line, and what would I dowith only rice and flour. Ialso need oil, spice andvegetables to eat. Bheek nahimaang sakte (I cannot beg). Idon’t have a ration card, havea zero balance account. I haveheard government hasdeposited Rs 500 a monthfor two months now, but Idon’t have the accountnumber or passbook withme. To withdraw the money Iwill have to go back toBulandshahr.

Humilityover hubris

OnCovid,Centremiscalculated.Itmustnowrecalibrateitsstrategy,alloweconomytoopenup

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

EC’S RESPONSETHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘InEC’s court’ (IE, May 15). Avermentshave been made against ElectionCommission in context of a specificHighCourt judgment and someothermatters relating to elections. I wouldlike to bring facts to your notice. Inthis instantcase,assoonasthemattercame in the knowledge of the EC,it directed the government of Gujarattochargesheetandinitiatedisciplinaryproceedings against the concernedReturning officer, Dhaval JaniApril30,2019.Thepromotiongrantedto was cancelled ab-initio. OnMay 12, the ECI set up a three-mem-ber committee to examine whatfurthermeasuresandsafeguardsneedto be taken in the coming elections.Your editorial also clubbed someunrelated matters about other elec-tions like theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil. You are aware that allRajya Sabha and other elections to beheld till April-Maywere deferreddueto theongoing lockdown.The EC announced the

Maharashtra Legislative Councilelections to meet a constitutionalrequirement. This action was consis-tentwith itspastpolicieswherebytheEC has stepped in to avert any consti-tutional crisis when warranted.Even when confronted with unfore-seensituations, theECrespondstoad-dress and correct them as quickly aspossible.

SBSharan, Spokesperson ECI

OPEN UPTHISREFERSTO theeditorial, ‘Over tothe states’ (IE, May 19). Devolution ofpowerstothestatestomanagetheex-ceptional coronavirus pandemic is astep in the right direction. However,thiscrucialdecisionshouldhavebeenimplementedmuchearlier.Thestatesare actually in a better position toun-derstand ground realities — and howtobest contendwith the crisis locally.Interstate and intrastate travel havealso been permitted. However, thisseems to have hit a roadblock sincemany states like Karnataka, havesealed their borders— and so themi-grantsarenowleftstrandedandhelp-less. Now, where do these migrantsstand?

MelvilleXD’Souza,Mumbai

Shabnam Manish Tewari andSanjay Jha

Pandemic isnotgoingtobringusan idyllicGandhianorder

“EXPERTS” LIKEme tend to use a crisis topushthetheorytheydevelopedduringtheirdoctoral research as inevitable change. It’snever really like that. Change is gradual. Itsorigin is in the present. Some innovationsarealreadythereandgetaccelerated.Othersmake a beginning given the new require-ments. Everything doesn’t change. Manypeople and their lives continueasbefore. Alittlehumilitywon’t hurtus.NGOs and other agencies have often

stressed that health is a community issueandpreventivemeasuresaremoreefficientthancurativemedicine.So,wewillgetbackto thesemodels to fight the pandemic on amore enduring basis. Wewill make someprogressanddrawupplans,but itwouldbewrongtothinkthatsuchthinkingwilldom-inate the discourse on healthcare. Big cor-porations know that there is bigmoney incurativemedicineandhealth—secondonlyto food.Wewillneedtoworkfrom“home”.The

neo-Fordist world and the decline of fac-torymassproductionwere“discovered” in

theEightiesof thelastcentury,bymyfriend,MichaelPiore,aprofessoratMIT,whowithO Sable, wrote the classic, The SecondIndustrial Divide. The book described thenewworldasonewithglobalisingcommu-nities working from home, using decen-tralised technologies, newmaterials andmodern methods of communication.Separately,Harvard’sKeynesianeconomist,AlvinHansen,was showing that therewasindeed a historical transformation under-way. Fewer people were producing more.The restof theworkerswouldbeabsorbedinhealth,educationandentertainment.Butthe Piore-Sabel argument was different. Itwas based on changes taking place inEmiglia Romana (Italy). Cottages were de-velopingfashiongarments inperimetersofaround15squaremilesandtheywerecom-petingwithFrenchdesigners. Iwaspiquedatarecent typical Italianpostingthat if youaregoingtodie,dosowithventilatorsmadeby Ferrari, face masks and corona suitsmade by Versace, Armani or other greatfashion designers from Italy. In this coun-

try,wediddiamondpolishingon thesamemodel but now harass the workers whentheywanttogohome.Wehavethehistory,theartisanalskillsandthesystemdesignersformoreofworkingfromhome.Thosewhothink that such work happens only indiamond polishing units, must go see gar-ment factories, energy-efficient“furnaces”and the works. In the best-case scenario,the redevelopment of cities will involvemohallas for suchwork in friendly,healthyenvironments.Let’s not kidourselves about this idyllic

Gandhian world. The Big Manwill be justa step behind as he is today. The Chomskyof the future will be needed to keep cri-tiquing them and s(he) will be there. TheBig Manwill develop the communicationtechnology, the materials, the systems tomakeall thishappen.At the sametime,hiscriticswillalsothrive.Asthevaccinearrives,the virus will just be a shadow andpopulations will expand.Wewill increas-ingly live in what I called the rural-urbancontinuumwe discovered and developed

in the last two decades. However, in tech-nology centres, the urban space will keepgrowing.Willwe in India feed her and then send

her to college? For then, her first child willcomelaterandthe lastchildearlierandshewillholduphalf thesky, inworkingbothathomeand in the think tanksof theBigManand big government. It won’t happen thateasily for themindset which can’t see thevirusasabiologicalphenomenon,butbringsinreligionasacauseatthedropofahat;themindsetwillnot change thateasilywhen itcomes towomen’s education.That shows you how little has changed

and I have failed as a teacher. Things willimprove, but not in the way the punditsclaim. I will be there in this column eventhen.Whatwill I (we)say?“Theanswermyfriend”,as JoanBaezsanginmycollegedayshalf a century or more ago, “is blowing inthewind”.

Thewriter, a formerUnionminister, isan economist

The pains of a new worldYoginderKAlagh

Avoicefromtheroad.Listeningtoamigrant—heropinionandideas

In the city I feel no fear...there is nothing in the village

11

CR Sasikumar

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●● PULITZERANDTHENDAGOVERNMENT:JSRAJPUT

●●CARINGFORHEALTHCAREWORKERS:

JOELJOSEPH

www.indianexpress.com

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

124,603Iran

225,886Italy

177,289Germany

247,709United Kingdom

180,051France

231,606Spain

1,510,988US

257,396Brazil

150,593Turkey

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 4,836,329 DEATHCOUNT:320,335

THEWORLD

Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonMay19

299,941Russia

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 1,01,139 (3,163 DEATHS)

35,058Maharashtra

11,760 Tamil Nadu

5,507Rajasthan

1,980 Punjab

5,236MP

4,605 UP

10,054 Delhi

11,745Gujarat

2,825West Bengal

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

2,474Andhra Pradesh

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,May19.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.39,174PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN32STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

SEEMACHISHTINEWDELHI,MAY19

The plight of migrants leaving thecities has been visible on streets allover India. Now, a new study haslooked what is happening to poor,non-migranturbanworkers.The study, aworkingpaperby re-

searchers from the University ofChicago and theUniversity of BritishColumbia,covered1,392individualsin Delhi, in slums andunauthorised colonies,and found 9 out of 10people reporting thattheir weekly incomeshadfallentozero.The study, con-

ducted over sevenweeksofthelockdown,found that intra-citymovement, mappedusingFacebookmobil-ity data, dropped by80%,immediatelyafterthefirstlockdownwasannouncedonMarch 24. It arrived at three broadconclusions. First, the lockdown re-sulted in significant economic costs,with income falling by 57% and daysworkedfalling73%.Second, the lock-down resulted in “widespread com-pliancewithpublichealthdirectives:mask usage rose by 73 percentagepoints (pp); time spent indoors in-creasedby51pp;smokingdecreasedby 13pp; andhand-washing rose by10 pp.” Third, the economic impacts

ofthelockdownweresomewhatmit-igatedbygovernmentfoodassistance,butabout64%ofthesamplecouldnotaccess these.“Evenfornon-migrantworkers in

Delhi, the lockdownhas been devas-tating economically. But it alsobroughtaboutamassivechangeinbe-haviour.Peoplestartedwearingmasksmore, they stayed indoors and so-cialisedless,theywashedtheirhandsmoreregularly,therewereevenfewerreportsofsmoking.Thesehabitsare

crucial for limiting thespread and the healthimpacts of the virus,”said Dr Ken Lee,Executive Director ofthe Energy PolicyInstitute at theUniversityofChicagoinIndia (EPIC India) andthe lead author of thestudy. But, the re-searchers added, “con-cerns remain aboutmental health, supply

chains, and personal savings, againstthebackdropofarisinginfectionrate.Moreover, it remains to be seenwhether public health compliancewill persist, as the novelty, fear, andmediacoverageofCOVID-19subside”.Thestudy observesthat“thereare

relatively high rates of mental andemotionalwell-being problems, on-going challenges in food supplychains, in terms of higher prices andlowerquantities,anddwindlinglevelsof reportedsavings”.

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

How lockdown has impactednon-migrant poor in Delhi

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 33ArunachalPradesh 1Assam 107Bihar 1391Chandigarh 196Chhattisgarh 93DadarNagarHaveli 1Goa 38Haryana 928HimachalPradesh 90JammuandKashmir 1289Jharkhand 223Karnataka 1246Kerala 630Ladakh 43Manipur 7Meghalaya 13Mizoram 1Odisha 876Puducherry 18Telengana 1597Tripura 167Uttarakhand 93

ABANTIKAGHOSHNEWDELHI,MAY19

ONMONDAY,USstockmarketswentsoaringonthebackofpromisingresults fromavac-cine against novel coronavirus disease(Covid-19)developedbyUSpharmaceuticalcompanyModerna. A look at the mRNA-1273vaccine andhowmuch somuchhopehasbeenpinnedon it:

What ismRNA-1273?It istheworkingnameofModerna’svac-

cine,whichiscurrentlyinPhase1clinicaltri-als under the aegis of the US NationalInstitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID),apartoftheUSNationalInstitutesofHealth (NIH) and led by Dr Anthony Fauci.ThemRNA in the namemeansmessengerRNA,which carries the genetic formula forthe coding of a specific protein. In this vac-cine,theparticularmRNAusedcodesforthemost distinguishing feature of the SARS-CoV2—thespikeprotein—whichisalsotheappendage that the virus uses to enter thecell andreplicate.Thevaccine,wheninjectedintoaperson,

codes for thespikeprotein.Thusevenwith-outtheintroductionofanattenuated(recog-nisablebutnotharmful)virusintothebody,thebodylearnswhattheviruslookslikeandarms itself with the antibodies that are re-quired toactagainst it.

Whatarethepromisingresults?ModernahasannouncedthatthemRNA,

onenteringthebody,hadmanagedtoshowa degree of immune response in the firsteightpatients. TalZaks,Modernachiefmed-ical officer, told The Financial Times that theresultsshowedthatevenlowerdoseselicitedan “immune response of the magnitudecaused by natural infection”. “These datasubstantiateourbelief thatmRNA-1273hasthe potential to prevent Covid-19 disease,”he said. Among the side-effects that werenotedwere chills and a little redness in theplacewhere the injectionhadbeengiven.The participants received two doses of

the vaccine; different doses were used totest thepotencyof the vaccine. Twoweeksafter the second dose, even those on thelowest dose showed enough antibodies toraisehopesofbeingabletothwartaninfec-tion. Itwasthesamelevelofprotectionthatpeoplewhohaverecovered fromthe infec-tionshow.Thegroupthatgotahigherdosehadhigher levels.

Arethesethefinal resultsof thetrialbeforethevaccine isavailable?Far from it. The trialswere kicked off on

March16whenthefirstparticipantwasen-rolled, and the resultsModerna is currentlyciting are only from eight patients. This iswhat theNIHstatement said thatday: “Theopen-label trialwill enroll 45 healthy adultvolunteers ages18 to55years over approx-imately 6 weeks. The first participant re-ceived the investigationalvaccine today.”Whiletheinitialresultshaveraisedhope,

it is importanttounderstandthattheactualvaccine may still be some time away andthentherearemanufacturingcapacityissuesto dealwith before the entireworld can re-alisticallyhope tobenefit fromit.

What isnext, then?OnMay7, thecompanyannounced that

it has received regulatory clearance for thePhase II trial that would involve a muchlarger sample size. “The imminent Phase 2study start is a crucial step forward as wecontinue to advance the clinical develop-mentofmRNA-1273,ourvaccinecandidateagainstSARS-CoV-2.WiththegoalofstartingthemRNA-1273pivotal Phase3 studyearlythis summer,Moderna is nowpreparing topotentially have its first BLA approved assoonas2021.Weareacceleratingmanufac-

turing scale-up and our partnership withLonzaputsus inaposition tomakeanddis-tributeasmanyvaccinedosesofmRNA-1273aspossible,shoulditprovetobesafeandef-fective,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’sChief ExecutiveOfficer.He added: “We also are continuing to

progress our development pipeline and in-vest inour future.WeareverypleasedwithVertex’s decision, based on our preclinicalprogress, to extend our strategic collabora-tionworking to develop the technology toallowfordeliveryofmRNAin the lung.”

Whencanthevaccineberealisticallyexpectedtobeavailable?According to a current report filed by

Moderna with the US Securities andExchange Commission, a “...commercially-availablevaccine isnot likely tobeavailablefor at least 12-18months, it is possible thatunder emergency use, a vaccine could beavailabletosomepeople,possiblyincludinghealthcareprofessionals, inthefallof2020”.There are just concerns about the avail-

ability pricing etc of a vaccine that is beingdeveloped at such breakneck speed. Theway the company is going about testing,many experts say, is the right way to pro-ceedbecausethedevelopmentof avaccineis a long and painstaking process that canfalter andcollapseat any step.Then there is also the issue of effective-

ness, or how the vaccine performs in real-life conditionsagainst theefficacy—whichis performance in ideal conditions, andwhich iswhat trials judge.

Will thisvaccinereachIndiaatall?That is onmost people’s minds as the

country crossed 1 lakh cases on Tuesday.There are philanthropic organisations thatwork on vaccines and soften the financialblow for countries with limited resources.These include the likes of the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation and GAVI—TheVaccine Alliancewhich have beenworkingvery closelywith the Government of Indiaonimmunisation.Whetherthatwillhappenfor the Covid vaccine, as andwhen it is de-veloped, it is abit tooearly topredict.Moderna,meanwhile, is working on its

manufacturing capacity. “Moderna has al-ready started to prepare for rapid accelera-tion of its manufacturing capabilities thatcould allow for the futuremanufacture ofmillionsof doses shouldmRNA-1273proveto be safe and of expected benefit. We areworking around-the-clock tomake sure avaccineisavailableasquicklyandasbroadlyas possible. Wewill continue to work to-gether,withgovernment, industryandotherthird parties to enable the best chance forsuccess,”Modernasayson itswebsite.

12WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI,MAY19

INAgrowing list of global trials on the effi-cacy of tuberculosis vaccines in preventingCovid-19,oneisanupcoming10-monthtrialbeing conducted by the Indian Council ofMedicalResearch(ICMR)ontheBCGvaccine.

What is theBCGvaccine?Short forBacillusCalmette-Guérin, BCG

isavaccinethatusesaliveattenuatedstrain(potencyofthepathogenartificiallydisabled,butidentifyingcharactersretained)derivedfromanisolateofMycobacteriumbovis.Ithasbeen used across theworld, including inIndiafordecades,againsttuberculosis.India, like many other Asian, African,

and Latin American countries, has a cur-rentnationalBCGvaccinationpolicyforallat birth. Countries that have terminatedtheirpoliciesoronly recommendthevac-cine for specific groups are mostly in

EuropeandNorthAmerica.In India, 91.9 per cent of children be-

tween the ages of 12 and 23months havereceived the vaccine, according to theNational Family Health Survey. Outside ofsomeNortheasternstates,almostallstateshave above a 90% BCG vaccination rate.According to the National Health Profile,India has a production capacity of 2,800lakhBCGvaccinedoses.

Whatwill theupcomingstudylookat?Itwill focusonthevaccine’spotential in

reducing the chance of Covid-19 deathamong thosewho are above age 60.Withnew finalised details of this study, resultscould be seen as early asMarch 2021, saidlead ICMRscientist SumanKanungo.The studywill cover 1,450 elderly peo-

pleinsixredandorangezones:KingEdwardMemorial (KEM) Hospital, Mumbai; AllIndia InstituteofMedical Sciences (AIIMS),NewDelhi; National Institute for Researchin Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai; National

Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH),Ahmedabad; National Institute inEnvironmentalHealth(NIREH),Bhopal;andNational Institute for ImplementationResearch onNon-Communicable Diseases(NIIRNCD), Jodhpur.Withpaperworkinprocess,therecruit-

ment should take fourmonths while thefollow-upresultswilltakesixmonthsafterthat, said Kanungo. The studywill be con-ducted inconjunctionwithNIRT.Inmid-April, ICMR’s head of epidemi-

ology R R Gangakhedkar had said ICMRwouldnotrecommendtheBCGvaccineun-til “definitiveresults” fromastudyshowedpossible anti-Covid immunity. Kanungosaid “the studywill initiate as the paper-work is on.We should have results in 10months”. Outside of ICMR’s studies, insti-tutional-level trials in Rohtak, Pune,Visakhapatnam,andBhubaneswararealsoassessing thepotential.

What isknownaboutthisvaccine’s

actioninCovidpatients?TheBCGvaccinehasbeenstudiedinre-

search on Covid around theworld. A pre-print, population-level study byNewYorkresearchers onMarch 28 suggested thatcountrieswithlowervaccinationandwith-outuniversalBCGvaccination(suchasItalyandUS)sawhigherCovid-19fatalities.Thestudy compared this pattern to countriessuchasSouthKoreaandJapan,whichhavestandingpolicieson the topic.“Whilethesedatacouldindeedsuggest

aprotectiveeffectofBCGvaccination,suchstudies cannot provide definitive proof ofcausality,owingtoseveralinherentbiases,”scientists wrote in an article inNature onApril27.“Notwithstandingtheseissues,thelinktoBCGandCOVID-19fromthesestud-ies is intriguing... A possible explanation isthat children who have been vaccinatedwith BCG are less susceptible to infectionwithSARS-CoV-2andsothereislessspreadof thevirus toolder populations, althoughthiswouldneedtobedemonstrated.”

Areothercountries lookingintothis?Yes. TheWorld Health Organization

(WHO) has initiated trials to ascertain thepotentialvaccine,buthasnotrecommendedit for Covid-19 prevention. Studies are on-going in Australia, the Netherlands,Germany, the US, and several other coun-tries. An article in The Lancet on April 30,whoseauthors includedtheWHODirectorGeneral, stated: “BCG vaccine has beenshown to reduce the severity of infectionsbyother viruseswith (a similar SARS-CoV-2)structure incontrolledtrials.”Arecentstudyinthe JournalofAmerican

Medical Association found no effectivenessofBCGvaccinesinIsrael,whichusedtohaveauniversalpolicyandthenshiftedin1982toonlyvaccinate immigrants.

Whatother ICMRstudiesareongoing?Onestudyseekstoassesstheincidenceof

Covid-19amongsthealthcareworkerswhoweretakingtheantimalarialdrughydroxy-chloroquine(HCQ)aswellasanysideeffects

fromthedrug’suse.Resultswillbeavailablebytheendof July, saidKanungo.Also, ICMRhasbeenacceptingapplicationsnationwidetostudytheeffectivenessofplasmatherapy,which injects antibodies froma recoveredpatient intoaseverely illpatient.In theHCQstudy, researchers are look-

ing at 1,200 to 1,500 healthcare workerswhodonothaveCovid-19 to findout howmany who have taken the drug developCovid-19,comparedtothosewhohavenot.Begunthismonth,thestudyhastakenplacein five sites: AIIMS Bhubaneswar, AIIMSJodhpur, AIIMS Patna, Apollo Hospital inChennai,MaulanaAzadMedicalCollege inDelhi,andSirGangaRamHospital inDelhi.Kanungo said ICMR intends to recruit atleast twomorehospitals.OnMarch 23, the Covid-19 National

TaskforcehadrecommendedtheuseofHCQas a prophylaxis (protective and preventa-tive) against Covid-19 infection for asymp-tomatic healthcareworkers and asympto-matichouseholdcontactsofpositivecases.

Moderna vaccine’s progressSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Phase1trial resultsof thevaccine,mRNA-1273,havebeenfoundpromising.Alookatwhatthevaccine iscomposedofandhowitworks,whatthetrialsshowed,andwhatarethemanystagesthatremain

TB vaccine as anti-Covid candidate: what ICMRwill study in BCG trial

E EXPLAINED TheOutbreak

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020 @ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould like explained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.com

Avoulnteerreceivesashot inthefirst-phasetrialofModerna’spotentialvaccine inSeattle.AP File

ABANTIKAGHOSHNEWDELHI,MAY19

EVERYTIMETHEREhasbeennewsaboutapotentialnewvaccineagainstCovid-19,hopes have risen around theworld. Butsomehavealsotakenarealisticapproach.SuchasBritishPMBorisJohnson,aCovid-19survivorhimself,whohaswritteninTheMail:“Thereremainsaverylongwaytogo,and Imust be frank that a vaccinemightnotcometofruition...Weneedtofindnewwaystocontrolthevirus.”

A series of stagesDevelopment of a vaccine is a long

processthatcanfalteratanystep.Thereisalso the issueof effectiveness—howthevaccine performs in real-life conditionsagainst efficacy,which is performance inidealconditionsduringtrials.Onceacandidateisidenti-

fied, its safety and efficacyhave to be tested over threephases, as per protocols. Afourth stage involves collec-tionandanalysisofpost-marketingdata.For Covid-19, there are over 100 vac-

cines being developed across theworldnow,somefromscratch,somefromexist-ingmoleculesdevelopedforotherdiseases.

Oxford UniversityLastmonth, theUniversity of Oxford

announced it is ready to trial its vaccinecandidate, ChAdOx1nCoV-19,developedfromthecommoncoldviruswhosesafetyin humans is already established.“ChAdOx1nCoV-19 ismade fromavirus(ChAdOx1),whichisaweakenedversionofa common cold virus (adenovirus) thatcausesinfectionsinchimpanzees,thathasbeengenetically changed so that it is im-possible for it togrowinhumans.Geneticmaterialhasbeenadded to theChAdOx1construct, that is used tomake proteinsfrom the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2)called Spike glycoprotein (S),” theUniversityannouncedlastmonth.Thispro-teinisfoundonthesurfaceofSARS-CoV-2.Last week, a paper, not yet peer-re-

viewed,gaveouttheresultsofthevaccinetrial inmacaques:“Weobservedasignif-icantlyreducedviralloadinbronchoalve-

olarlavagefluidandrespiratorytracttissueof vaccinated animals challengedwithSARS-CoV-2 comparedwith control ani-mals,andnopneumoniawasobservedinvaccinated rhesusmacaques.” In otherwords, thevaccinedidnotprevent infec-tionbut itdidpreventpneumonia.

CanSino BiologicsHong Kong-listed firm CanSino

Biologicsistestingavaccine.Itannouncedlast week that Phase 1 trials have beencleared and the vaccine ismoving intoPhase2“basedon thepreliminary safetydataofthePhaseIclinicaltrial”.Theresultsof that trial have not beenmade public.This too is an adenovirus-based vaccine.The double-blind, placebo-controlledstudyin500healthypatientswillbedonein associationwith researchers from theAcademy of MilitaryMedical Sciences’

InstituteofBiotechnology.The National Research

Council of Canadahas said itwouldworkwith the com-pany for development of itsvaccine,Ad5-nCoV,inCanada.

Anothercompany,Sinovac,backedbytheChinesegovernment, isworkingonavaccine,andplanstoproduce100millionshotsayear,newsreportssaid.

Imperial College LondonTheUKgovernment is funding a vac-

cine effort at Imperial College London.ProfessorRobinShattock,HeadofMucosalInfection and Immunity in the UKDepartmentofMedicine,andhisteamde-velopedthevaccinewithin14daysofget-ting the gene sequence of the virus fromChina.Itisnotbeingtestedinanimals.Theresearchersplantomovetohumantrialssoon and Professor Shattock has beenquotedassayingthatthevaccinecouldbeavailablesometimenextyear.

Inovio PharmaceuticalsUS-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals is

working on a DNA vaccine candidate,INO-4800, and has got a grant from theCoalition for Epidemic PreparednessInnovations. In April it started Phase 1clinical trials. It showed encouraging re-sponse in animal studies, the companyhasclaimed.

Other candidates, and whya vaccine is still far away

REALITYCHECK

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

THEOUTBREAK TheWorld

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SPAIN

Govtliftsbanonflights,shipsfromItalyMadrid:Spain liftedabanondirect flightsandshipsfrom Italy but retained ablock on cruise ships anda quarantine for inboundtravellers as a surveyshowedtheoutbreakhadalso put locals off travel-ling.Areduceddeathratehas encouraged Spain,with the world’s fourthhighest case count, tobe-gineasingoneofEurope’sstrictest lockdowns. Butthe tourism-dependenteconomy is likely to havetowait until late June towelcomeholidaymakersback.MadridsurpriseditsEuropeanpartners by in-troducing a two-weekquarantine last week.FlightsfromItalyhadbeenblockedsinceMarch11.

InValencia. Reuters

PANDEMICWATCH

CANADA

ClosureofborderwithUSextendedToronto: Canada and theUShaveagreedtoextendtheir agreement to keepborder closed to non-es-sential travel till June 21.CanadianPrimeMinisterJustin Trudeau saidTuesday the border is asourceofvulnerability,sotheagreementwillbeex-tended by another 30days. The restrictionswere announced onMarch 18 and were ex-tended in April. Trudeausaid Canada's provincialleaders wanted to con-tinuethemeasures.“Thiswill keep people in bothof our countries safe."Trudeausaid.

PAKISTAN

Over1,800newCovid-19cases,36deathsIslamabad: Pakistan re-ported 1,841 new casesand 36 fatalities duringthe last 24 hours, takingthe total infections tonearly 44,000 with 939deaths, the health min-istry said on Tuesday. Ascases in Islamabadcrossed the 1,000-mark,other parts of Pakistanalsocontinuedtowitnessa surge. Till now, 17,241caseshavebeendetectedin Sindh, 15,976 inPunjab, 6,230 inKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 2,820 inBalochistan, 1,034 inIslamabad, 550 inGilgit-Baltistanand115 inPoK.

AGENCIESNEWYORK,MAY19

PRESIDENTDONALDTrumptoldthedirector-generaloftheWorldHealth Organisation that theUnited States would perma-nentlyendall funding to theor-ganisation if it did not “committo substantive improvementswithinthenext30days,”accord-ingtoacopyofaletterhepostedtoTwitter lateMondaynight.Inalate-night, four-pagelet-

ter tothedirectorgeneralof theWHO, Dr Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus, Trump accusedthe global health group of fail-ing to act quickly and aggres-sively enough against the virusin its early days, in effect de-nouncing the organisation forthe very missteps and failuresthat have been leveled at himandhis administration.Public health experts have

saidthepresident’spublicdenialsof thevirus’sdangersslowedtheAmerican response, which in-cludeddelayedtestingandafail-uretostockpileprotectivegear.Intheletter,thepresidentsaid

thattheWHO“belatedlydeclaredthe outbreak of a Public HealthEmergencyof Internationalcon-cernonJanuary30,”morethanamonthaftertheviruswasfirstde-tected.ButTrumpdidnotdeclareanationalemergencyuntilweekslater, despite being aware of thevirusanditsdangers.

Trump’sletteralsocontainedfalsehoodsandmisleadingstate-ments. Hewrote that theWHO“consistentlyignoredcrediblere-ports of the virus spreading inWuhan in earlyDecember 2019orevenearlier, includingreportsfromtheLancetmedicaljournal.”ButinastatementTuesday,the

Lancet pointed out the journal“publishednoreportinDecember,2019, referring to a virus or out-breakinWuhanoranywhereelseinChina”.Thejournalsaidits firstreportsabouttheviruswerepub-lishedonJanuary24,justfourdaysbeforetheWHOdeclaredaninter-

nationalemergency.OnTuesday,WHOmembers

agreedtolaunchaprobeintotheglobalresponsetothepandemic.The resolution,whichwas spon-soredbytheEuropeanUnionandsupportedbyover100countries,wasadoptedwithoutobjections.The EUonTuesdayurged all

countries to back the WHO.European Commission spokes-woman Virginie Battu-Henriksson said global coopera-tion is "the only effective andviableoptiontowinthisbattle".She said, “This is the time for

solidarity.Itisnotthetimeforfin-

gerpointingorunderminingmul-tilateralcooperation."

China hits backChina on Tuesday accusedPresidentDonaldTrumpofusingit "asan issue" toshift theblamefromhis“incompetentresponse”tocontainthevirusathome."TheUStriestouseChinaasan

issue to shift responsibility andbargainonitsinternationalobliga-tionstoWHO",whichisamiscal-culation,ChineseForeignMinistryspokesmanZhaoLijiansaid."Ittriestomisleadthepublic

to smear China and shift the

blamefromitsownincompetentresponse" to stop the spread ofthevirus in theUS,hesaid."It is futile. Currently, Covid-

19isstillspreadingintheUSandmany other places," he said,adding thatUnitedStatespoliti-cians should stop the blamegameandworkwiththeinterna-tional community to stop thespreadof thevirus.

MEANWHILE, INMICHIGAN:Peoplegather toprotestagainstastay-at-homeorder. AP

UStries touseChinaasan issuetoshift responsibilityandbargainonobligations toWHO:Beijing

PREVENTION PARADOX: CONTAINMENT SUCCESS MAKES IT HARDER TO PERSUADE PEOPLE OF THREAT

At Germany’s Covid protests: Anti-vaxxers, neo-NazisKATRINBENNHOLDBERLIN,MAY19

OUTSIDEGERMANY’SParliamentbuilding, a vegan celebrity cookgrabbedthemicandshoutedthathewas“readytodie”tostopself-servingelitesfromusingthepan-demic to topple theworldorder.Somedistance away, a group ofwomendiscussedhowBillGateswasplotting to force immunisa-tiononthepopulation.YoungsterssportingcardboardcutoutsoftheGerman constitution chanted:“End the corona dictatorship!”Fewworemasks, and those thatdid came with slogans like“Merkel’smuzzle.”Even as Germany is cele-

bratedasEurope’s foremost ex-ample of pandemic manage-

ment, an eclectic protestmove-mentthatbeganlastmonthwitha few dozen people marchingagainst coronavirus restrictionshas ballooned into more than10,000 demonstrators in citiesacross thecountry.Theonedriving forcebehind

themobilisation is the country’sfar right, particularly theAlternativeforGermanyparty,orAfD, which had beenmargin-alisedbythepandemic.Now,theAfD’sleadersseetheprotestsasafirststeptowardmovingbackintothenational conversation, usingthem to position theirmessagefor the months ahead, whenGermany must confront joblossesandabatteredeconomy.“The crisis is coming, it isn’t

here yet,” said Nicolaus Fest,headofBerlin’sAfDchapter,who

was protesting near theBrandenburg Gate on Saturday.“Sometimesoon,a lotofpeoplewill beunemployed.”Alongside anti-vaxxers, ant-

icapitalistsandordinarycitizensconcerned about job losses andsafetyatreopenednurseriesandschools, the marches have at-tracted neo-Nazis, hooligans

and, consistently, members ofthe AfD, a party best known forits noisy nationalism and anti-immigrantviews.They rarely organise the

protests. But the AfD andmoreextremefar-rightgroupsaretry-ing to capitalise on the discon-tent as they begin positioningthemselves for what may be amuchuglierpoliticalscenesomemonths from now if the econ-omy deteriorates further, asmosteconomistsexpect.Germany’s domestic intelli-

genceoffice,whichrecentlyclas-sifiedbothKubitschek’sInstitutefor State Politics and a group ofAfD politicians close to him asextremist, isworried.“Weseeatrendthatextrem-

ists, especially far-rightextrem-ists, are weaponising the

demonstrations,” ThomasHaldenwang, president of theagency, told the German news-paperWeltonSunday.“Theytoldusthisviruswasso

dangerousthatwehadtogiveupall our democratic freedoms,”said SabineMartin, amother oftwowhomarched in Berlin onSaturdayforthethirdweekendina row. “Butwe are no fools: Ourhospitalsarehalfempty.”“I’mnotafraid of this virus,” she added.“I’mafraidof therecession.”Some call it the prevention

paradox: BecauseGermanyhasbeenrelativelysuccessfulincon-taining the disease, it is becom-ing harder to persuade peoplethat thepandemic still presentsarealdanger,andeasierforcon-spiracy theorists and populiststo spinnarrativesof deceit.NYT

Aprotestbymembersof a far-rightparty inGermany. NYT

CROWD CONTROLApoliceofficerurgesmigrantswhoaretryingtogohometocelebrateEidal-Fitr, togetoff fromanovercrowdedferry,afteraboatcapsized,amidconcernsover thecoronavirusoutbreak, inMunshiganj,Bangladesh,onTuesday. Reuters

ASSOCIATEDPRESSMOSCOW,MAY19

NEWCORONAVIRUScaseshavebeen spiking in countries likeRussia,SouthAfricaandMexicoinaclearindicationthatthepan-demic is far fromover. Of them,RussiaandBrazilnowsitbehindonly the United States in thenumberof reported infections.The surges come even as

much of Asia, Europe andscores of US states have seenenough progress in their fightagainst the virus to focus onhow best to reopen theireconomies.French teachers and Thai

mall workers are among thehundreds of thousands of em-ployees back on the job withnewsafetyprecautions. Russiareported a steady rise in infec-tions Tuesday and newhotspots have emerged.Russia registered 9,263 new

cases inthe last24hours,bring-ing the total to nearly 300,000infections— about half of theminMoscow.LatinAmericahasseenmore

than483,400 confirmedcoron-avirus cases and30,900dead todate. The largest number of in-fections are in Brazil, which be-cametheworld'sthirdworst-hitcounty Monday evening withmore than 250,000 infectionsdespite limited testing.Alarmingly, some countries

haveseenencouragingsignsre-verse: Iran reported a steadydrop in new virus infectionsthrough April, only to see themriseagain inMay.Across the globe in Latin

America, intensive care units inthe Chilean capital of Santiagohavebeenbeyond90%capacityfordays. Infectionswerealsoin-creasinginpoorareasofBuenosAires, the capital of Argentina,where authorities relaxed strictlockdownmeasures lastweek.

PTI&REUTERSLONDON,MAY19

UKCHANCELLORRishiSunakonTuesday warned that Britain'seconomywas headed for a "se-vere recession" and that any re-covery from the lockdown im-pact isunlikely tobeswift."This lockdown is having a

very significant impact on oureconomy.Weare likely to faceasevere recession, the likes ofwhich we haven't seen, and of

course thatwill have an impactonemployment," saidSunak.In reference to questions

about a "bounce back" of theeconomy, the senior Cabinetminister said that amajor turn-aroundwould take time as thelockdownmeasures to controlthespreadofthedeadlyvirusareyet tobe fullyeased.Meanwhile,theUK’sCOVID-

19death toll has reachednearly43,000, underlining the coun-try’s status as the worst-hit inEurope and raisingmore ques-tionsaboutPrimeMinisterBorisJohnson’shandlingof thecrisis.Tuesday’snumbersfromthe

Office for National Statisticspainted a grim picture in carehomes, more than a third ofwhichhavebeenstrickenbythenovel coronavirus.Deaths in carehomesacross

theUKtopped10,000asofMay8, although the increase hasslowed over the last couple ofweeks.“Deathsinallsettingsin-cludingcarehomesare falling ...butwe need to do all we can tocontinuetoprotectthemostvul-nerable in our care homes,” aspokesmanfor Johnsonsaid.

Global worry asmany nations seespike in new cases

Fixsystemin30daysorelse:TrumptoWHO

ANNIEKARNI&KATIETHOMASWASHINGTON,MAY19

PRESIDENTDONALDTrumpsaidonMondaythathehadbeentak-inghydroxychloroquine,ananti-malarialdrugtheFoodandDrugAdministration warned couldcauseseriousheartproblemsforcoronavirus patients. He said hewastaking thedrugasapreven-tivemeasure and continued totestnegativeforthecoronavirus.“All I can tell you is so far I

seem to be OK,” Trump said,adding that he had been takingthe drug for about aweek and ahalf, with the approval of theWhiteHousephysician.But Trump’s announcement

surprisedmanyof his aides anddrew immediate criticism fromarangeofmedicalexperts,whowarnednotjustof thedangersitposed for thepresident’s healthbutalsoof theexample it set.“My concernwould be that

the public not hear commentsabout theuse of hydroxychloro-quineandbelievethattakingthisdrug to prevent Covid-19 infec-tion iswithout hazards. In fact,thereareserioushazards,”saidDr

Steven E Nissen, the chief aca-demicofficeroftheMillerFamilyHeart, Vascular & ThoracicInstituteattheClevelandClinic.Dr Scott Solomon, a profes-

sor of medicine at HarvardMedicalSchool,saidTrump’sde-cision to try the drugwas up tohimandhisphysician.“Butwhatis irresponsible is the examplehe is setting,”DrSolomonsaid.DrManny Alvarez, the sen-

ior managing editor for FoxNews’shealthnews, saidonairthat the president’s statementwas “highly irresponsible” andaskedwhat had changed sincestudies showed the drug hadno benefits.His announcement came

less thanamonthafter theFDAissued a safety warning aboutthe drug. NYT

USPresidentDonaldTrump

AtLeningradskyrailwaystation inMoscowonTuesday. AP

UK headed for severe recession, says Sunak

InLondononTuesday.Reuters

Taking HCQ aspreventive measure:Trump draws flak

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,MAY19

PRIME MINISTER K P Oli onTuesday reiterated that theKalapani-Limpiadhura-Lipulekarea in the trijunction of Nepal-India and China (Tibet) will bebrought back within Nepal'smapatanycost.PrimeMinisterOli saidwith

the approval of thenewmapbytheCabinet, "wewill nowbe re-lentlesslyengagingtorealisethosearea back through diplomacy"."The issuewillnot fadeawayanymore,weareleastbotheredifanyonegetsangryandwewillreclaimthatlandatanycost,"headded.A seemingly frail Oli made

his first speech in Parliamenthaltinglyafterundergoingakid-ney re-transplant twomonthsago.HepickedupthepaceafterSpeaker Agni Sapkota allowed

himtositanddeliverthespeech.OlihitoutatIndia'sstanceon

the border dispute as well as acomment by Indian army chiefManojNavaranethataprotestinNepal against India — afterDefenceMinisterRajnathSinghe-inaugurated a roadmeant toconnectMansarovarviaLipulek— may have taken place at"someone'sbehest"."Everythingwedo is self-guided”,Oli said.Hesaidhewantsacordialre-

lationshipwithIndia,butthathewouldaskit,"Seemamevajayateor satyameva jayate?"Olialsorespondedtoanalle-

gationthatChineseambassadorHouYanqihadaidedhiminsav-inghischairwhenhefacedavis-iblerevoltinhispartyearlierthismonth."Somesayaforeignam-bassadorsavedmefromfalling...it's agovernmentelectedbythepeopleofNepal, andnoonecanthrowmeout,”hesaid.

TRUMP’SATTACKSontheWHOexhibitamisunder-standing of its role andcould weaken globalhealth,healthexpertssaid.Theypointedout that theWHOhaslimitedpowers:it can only provide guid-ance and cannot enforceanything. Many nationssupported the call for aprobe into the WHO’shandling of the crisis, butdid not target the globalbody. Some bodies, liketheEU,voicedsupportfortheWHO, saying globalcooperationwas theonlyeffectivewayforward.

Consequenceofattacks

GURDIPSINGHSINGAPORE,MAY19

SINGAPOREWILLliftthe"circuitbreaker" imposedtocontrol thespread of the coronavirus fromJune1gradually in threephasesas the risk of increase in infec-tionsthroughcommunitytrans-mission remains high in thecountry,thehealthministrysaidonTuesday.The "circuit breaker"meas-

ures were first announced onApril 7 andwere further tight-ened after three weeks, withmoreworkplacesclosedandso-cial gatheringsbanned.Whileannouncingthelifting

of theCOVID-19restrictions,theMinistry of Health (MOH) andMinistry of Trade and Industry(MTI) said in a joint statementthat thecountry is likelytoseearise innewcommunitycases.As theriskof a resurgence in

community transmission re-mains high, the government inthe first phasewill resumeeco-nomicactivities.Besides the essential busi-

nesses that are already opera-tional, those thatoperate inset-tings with lower transmissionriskswill beallowedtoopen.Health Minister Gan Kim

Yong, speaking at a task forcepress conference, said that thedecision to exit the circuitbreaker is because of the lownumberof cases inthecommu-nity,andthestabilisedsituationat thedormitories. PTI

Will reclaim at any cost:Oli on contested land

Singapore toexit ‘circuitbreaker’from June 1

IN COLD NUMBERS

13%The percentage of museums around the world that may neverreopen, the UN's cultural agency has warned, as about 90 percent of them have had to close their doors due to the pandemic

New Delhi

POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICALEDUCATION & RESEARCH, CHANDIGARH

Tender Notice No. PI(EP)/20-21/01 Phone No. 0712-2756469Sealed tenders are invited from the firms on the prescribed form for outsourcing of

Photocopier work against tender No. 1-1. The firm can offer their minimum rates as perterms & conditions contained in the Tender Form:-

Tender list can also be downloaded from website: www.pgimer.edu.in and Tender Formwith specifications can be downloaded from website www.eprocure.gov.in Cost of Tenderis Rs. 200/- (non-refundable) which can deposited in the shape of Demand Draft in favourof Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh. Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) must be in the form ofFDR/TDR valid for a period of one year from any scheduled bank in the name of Director,PGIMER, Chandigarh. EMD in any other form will not be accepted. Tender can be droppedin the tender box placed in the Procurement Branch (Import) manually by 2.30 P.M. on orbefore the date mentioned against respective item. The tender shall be opened on thesame date at 03.00 P.M. in the presence of the authorized intending tenders. Tender notsubmitted on the prescribed form, not accompanied with valid Earnest Money and tendercost shall be summarily rejected straightway. The undersigned reserves the right to acceptor reject any or all the tenders received without assigning any reason thereof. For moredetails contract: 0172-2756469 at Procurement Branch (Import).NOTE: If any of the tender opening date happens to be a holiday in PGIMER, Chandigarh,then the same shall be opened on next full working day.330/PGI

Sr. Item Name Quantity EMD Due & OpeningNo. Date

1. Photocopier Machine on Contractual Basis 03 No’s Rs. 20,000/- 10.06.2020

PROFESSOR IN-CHARGE (EP)

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER

JEYPORE (R&B) CIRCLE, JEYPOREINVITATIONS FOR BIDS (IFB)

Bid Identification No. S.E.J.C (R&B)- 03/2020-21No. 1887 Date. 15.05.2020

1. Name of the work: BUILDING WORKS2. Total No. of Works: 03 (Three) Nos.3. Estimated cost: Rs. 184.85 Lakhs to 424.89 Lakhs.4. Period of completion: 09 (Nine) Months to 11 (Eleven)

Months.5. Bid Cost: Rs. 10,000/- Each6. Class of Contractor: "B" ,"A" & "Special" Class7. Date & time of availability of From 10.00 hours of 27.05.2020 to

bid document in the portal: 17.00 hours of 11.06.20208. Last date / Time for receipt 17.00 hours of 11.06.2020

of bids in the Portal:9. Opening date of Bid: 10.00 hours of 12.06.202010. Name and address of the Superintending Engineer Jeypore

Officer Inviting Bid: (R&B) Circle, Jeypore

Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portalhttps://tendersodisha.gov.in Any addendum / corrigendum / cancellationof tender can also be seen in the said website only.

Sd/-Superintending Engineer

Jeypore (R&B) Circle, Jeypore

OIPR-34108/11/0003/2021

B-11

Mail ID: - sepwdsbp@rediffmail.com

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER,

NORTHERN (R&B) CIRCLE: SAMBALPURe - Procurement

BID IDENTIFICATION No SENC(R&B) /01/ 2020-21No. 1375 Dtd. 15.05.2020

1. The Superintending Engineer, Northern (R&B) Circle, Sambalpuron behalf of Governor of Odisha invites Percentage Rate bids indouble cover system in ONLINE MODE for the construction of Roadworks and Building works as detailed in the DTCN from the eligibleclass of contractors.

2. No of works = 7 (Seven) (Roads-6 nos and Buildings-1 Nos.)3. Tender Cost: Rs. 10,000/-4. Class of contractor: "B" Class , "A" Class , "Special" & "Super"

Class.5. Date & Time of available in web site & receipt of Bids From

30.05.2020 to 17.00 Hours of 16.06.2020.6. Date of opening of Technical Bid 17.06.2020 at 11.00 Hours.7. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only. Further

details can be seen from the website www.tendersodisha.gov.in.8. Any corrigendum / Addendum will be displayed in the website

www.tendersodisha.gov.in.Sd/-

Superintending EngineerNorthern (R&B) Circle, Sambalpur

OIPR-34035/11/0001/2021

B-12

OFFICE OF CHIEF ENGINEER/METERINGRegd. Office: PSEB H.O., The Mall, Patiala - 147001

C-3, SHAKTI VIHAR, PSPCL, PATIALA, PUNJAB-147001Tel. No. 0175-2218871, Fax: 0175-2200284, E-mail: semeteringpatiala@gmail.com

CIN: U40109PB2010SGC033813. Registration Number: 33813website: www.pspcl.in, E-tendering Page: https://eproc.punjab.gov.in

NOTICE INVITING TENDER

Tender Specification No.

Short Description

Last Date of Downloading of TenderDocuments

Last Date of Bid Submission

Bid Opening (Part-I & II)

Intending Officer and Contact No.

MQP-159/2020-21/PR

On-site Testing of EHT (66KV) connec-tions covering Energy Meters andCT/PT Units using NABL accreditedMobile Laboratory.

18.06.2020 till 11.00 Hrs.

19.06.2020 till 11.00 hrs.

26.06.2020 at 11.30 Hrs.

SE/HMC, PSPCL, Patiala96461-18774

Detailed NIT and set of specification/tender documents can only be down-loaded from website https://eproc.punjab.gov.in. Tender ID is2020_POWER_47533_1.

NOTE: Corrigendum, if any after the publication of this tender enquiry shall onlybe uploaded on site and will not be published in newspapers.

Sd/-DY CE/HMC,

PSPCL, Patiala.C-874/PB

C-159/2020

CORRIGENDUM NOTICE

Sd/-Executive EngineerMewat W.S. Division, Nuh

STAMP AND SIGNATURE OF COMPETENT AUTHORITY80928/HRY

SR.No.

1.

LETTER/MEMO. No.

& DATE

LETTER/MEMO. NO. OFLETTER THATYOU SEND TOADVERTISE-

MENTSECTION

NAME OF DEPT./BOARD/CORP./

AUTH

Irrigation & WaterResource Deptt.

OLD REFER-ENCE/NIT/TEN-

DER NO.

No. 1110-1130/NITdated 05.03.2020,

1331-51/NIT dt.19.03.2020, No.1616-38/NIT dt.

21.04.2020 and No.1742-62/NIT dt.

28.04.2020

NATURE OFCORRIGENDUM

The date of receipt ofthe tender invited vide

this office letter No.1110-1130/NIT dated05.03.2020 only for 1

No. work, Now, the ten-der is withheld till fur-

ther orders as perinstruction by WorthyEIC/Irr. & W.R. Deptt.

NO. 143-75/Drainage/142020 dt.

08.05.2020

WEBSITE OF THEDEPT./BOARDCORP./AUTH

http://etenders.hry.nic.in

NODAL OFFICER/CON-TACT DETAILS/EMAIL

Sh. Vineet Narwalxen-ws-irr@gov.inMob:9868233660

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in

NAME OFBOARD/

CORP./AUTH

GMDAGURUGRAM

GMDAGURUGRAM

HSVP,DIVISION

NO. II,ROHTAK.

NAME OF WORK NOTICE TENDER

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF WATER SUPPLY, GURUGRAM.“DESILTING OF S&S TANK NO. 1 INCLUDING EXCAVATION / REMOVALOF SLUSH AND DISPOSED OF WITHIN 2 KM FROM WTP, BASAI, AND

ALL OTHER WORKS CONTINGENT THERETO.” (1ST RE-CALL)

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF 3 UNITS OF 90 MLD EACHWATER TREATMENT PLANT AND APPURTENANTS INCLUDING ALLMECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL WORKS, SUPPLY & FEEDING OF PAC,

CHLORINATION, REPAIR OF RISING MAIN AND ALL OTHER WORKSCONTINGENT THERETO” AT WATER WORKS BASAI, GURUGRAM FOR

TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF ALLOTMENT.

CONSTRUCTION OF 12 MTR WIDE ROAD CONNECTING SECTORDIVIDING ROAD OF SECTOR-26-28 WITH THE GOVT EMPLOYEES

COOPERATIVE HOUSE BUILDING SOCIETY LTD NEAR ASTHALBOHAR RAILWAY CROSSING IN SECTOR-26, URBAN ESTATE,

ROHTAK. “SUPPLY & LAYING OF EARTH, GSB, STONE SOILING,STONE METAL, 25MM THICK PREMIX CARPET, KERB & CHANNEL

AND ALL OTHER WORKS CONTINGENT THERETO”.

OPENING DATECLOSING DATE

(TIME)

16.05.202004.06.2020

16.05.202006.06.2020

OPENINGDATE

29.05.2020

AMOUNT/EMD (APPROX.)INRUPEES

61.50LACS

1163.86LACS

EMD12400/-

WEBSITE OF THEBOARD CORP./AUTH

https://haryanaepro-curement.gov.in

https://haryanaepro-curement.gov.in

http://etenders.hry.nic.in

NODALOFFICER/CONTACT

DETAILS/EMAIL

EXECUTIVEENGINEER

EXECUTIVEENGINEER

01262-266161xenrohtak@gmail.

com

TENDER NOTICE

80939/HRY.

SR.NO.

1.

2.

3.

DIPR/1843/Tender/2020

TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITEDUnit-1 : KAGITHAPURAM - 639 136, KARUR DIST. TAMIL NADU

Phone: 04324-277 001 (10 LINES) E-mail: purchase.wood@tnpl.co.in /purchase.trans@tnpl.co.in

Unit-2: Mondipatti - 621306, Trichy District, Tamil NaduPh:04332-265102 - Email: tos.u2@tnpl.co.inNOTICE INVITING TENDERs

Tender No. Description Due date

202113000482

Enlistment of vendors/contractors forExecution of Farm Forestry & CaptivePlantations and Felling & Transportation ofPulpwood from Farmers field to TNPL Unit-1during 2020-21

03.06.2020

202113000538

Transportation of Imported Coal from VOCPort, Turicorin to TNPLUnit-1 at kagithapuram 26.05.2020

202113000618

Transportation of Paper Reels / Bundles /Boxes from TNPL Unit-1 at kagithapuram tovarious branches / destinations throughoutIndia

05.06.2020

202123000063

Carrying Out of Line Weeding, Prunning andSaucer Formation in Plantation Area at TNPLUnit-2, Trichy

04.06.2020

202123000064

Handling of Imported Pulp and WetlappedPulp in stores at TNPL Unit-2, Trichy 05.06.2020

202123000115 Coal Handling Works at TNPL Unit-2, Trichy 06.06.2020

Terms& condition, Specifications, Qty., Tender Fee, EMDare availablein Tender document at our websites: www.tenders.tn.gov.in &www.tnpl.com

TNPL - Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper

IYF¹FFÊÕX¹F dÀFd½FÕX ÀFªFʳF ÀFWX ¸Fb£¹F AÀ´F°FFÕX A²FeÃFIYdªFÕXF-d¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F ¶FZ¸FZ°FSXF (LX.¦F.)

IiY¸FFaIY/dªFÕXF d¨FdIY./ÀMXûSX./2020-21/737 ¶FZ¸FZ°FSXF, dQ³FFaIY 16/05/2020

dÀFd½FÕX ÀFªFʳF ÀFWX ¸Fb£¹F AÀ´F°FFÕX A²FeÃFIY dªFÕXFd¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F ¶FZ¸FZ°FSXF dªFÕXF ¶FZ¸FZ°FSXF (LX.¦F.) IYe AûSX ÀFZ CovidTreatment Center IZY dÕXE d¨FdIY°ÀFIYe¹F CX´FIYSX¯F ½F AF½F¾¹FIYÀFF¸FF¦Fie¹Fû IZY IiY¹F IZY ÀFa¶Fa²F ¸FZÔ d³Fd½FQF ´FiIYF¾F³F dIY¹FF ªFF³FF W`XÜ

d³Fd½FQF ´Fi´FÂF d¶FdIiY IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F, dQ³FFaIY 2.06.2020 ÀF¸F¹F Qû´FWXS03:00 ¶FªFZ °FIY

d³Fd½FQF ªF¸FF IYSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F, dQ³FFaIY 2.06.2020 ÀF¸F¹F Qû´FWXSX03:00 ¶FªFZ °FIY

d³Fd½FQF JûÕX³FZ IYe d°Fd±F, dQ³FFaIY 3.06.2020 ÀF¸F¹F Qû´FWXSX02.00 ¶FªFZ °FIY

Ad²FIY ªFF³FIYFSXe WZX°Fb ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊMX www.bemetara.gov.in IYFA½FÕXûIY³F IYSmÔXÜ

WXÀ°FF/-dÀFd½FÕX ÀFªFʳF

80837 dªFÕXF-d¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F ¶FZ¸FZ°FSXF (LX.¦F.)

Covid Treatment Center IZY dÕXE d¨FdIY°ÀFIYe¹F CX´FIYSX¯F ½FAF½F¾¹FIY ÀFF¸FF¦Fie¹Fû IZY IiY¹F IZY ÀFa¶Fa²F ¸FZÔÜ

GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADUPUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

BUILDING ORGANISATIONTender Extension Notice No.6/VLR-CLE/2020-2021 /

Dated : 18.05.2020The Sealed Tenders invited by the Superintending Engineer,

PWD., Buildings (C&M) Circle, Vellore-1, in the Short Time TenderNotice No.3 / VLR-CLE / 2020-2021 / Dated : 05.05.2020 for thework is extended upto 29.05.2020 upto 3.00 PM due toAdministrative Reason. The tenders will be opened by theSuperintending Engineer on the same day at 3.30 PM. The tenderschedule can be downloaded upto 28.05.2020 upto 5.45 PM.

Superintending Engineer, PWD.,Buildings (C&M) Circle, Vellore - 1.DIPR / 1837/ TENDER / 2020

DIPR/1845/Tender/2020

TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITEDKAGITHAPURAM - 639 136, KARUR DIST. TAMIL NADU

Phone: 04324-277 001 (10 LINES) E-mail: purchase.packing@tnpl.co.in /purchase.fuel@tnpl.co.in / purchase.rawmatI@tnpl.co.in /

purchase.Isfm@tnpl.co.inNOTICE INVITING TENDER

Tender No. Material Description Due date202113000481 Imported Burnt Lime for PCC 08.06.2020202133000077 Imported Limestone - Cement Plant 04.06.2020202113000470 Cationic Starch (In Jumbo Bags) 04.06.2020

202113000455

Maize Based Native Starch (In Jumbo Bags) ForTNPL Unit-1 & Unit-2 02.06.2020

202113000525 Liquid Chlorine 06.06.2020202113000527 Hydrogen Peroxide 50% 10.06.2020202113000528 Sodium Hydrosulphite 12.06.2020

202133000038 Gypsum 03.06.2020

Detailed requirements, period, terms & condition, Quantity,TenderFee, Enlistment Fee/ EMD, etc. are available in tender document atour websites: www.tnpl.com / www.tenders.tn.gov.in

TNPL - Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper

DIPR/ 1846 /Tender/2020

TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED

TNPL - Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper

Kagithapuram-639 136, Karur Dist, Tamil Nadu.E-mail: pmd5@tnpl.co.in , web: www.tnpl.com

Phone No. 04324-277 001 (10 lines), Extn: 4402/4568

NOTICE INVITING BIDsFor Design, Engineering, Manufacture, supply and Erection of

Live Deck Wood Log Feeding system for Chipper HouseBidders may request the tender document at the aboveaddress by post/mail. Detailed NIB may be viewed in websites:www.tenders.tn.gov.in / www.tnpl.comDate of issue of Bid Document : 20th May, 2020.Due date for submission : 10th June, 2020.

d³fd½fQf Af¸faÂf¯f Àfc¨f³ff (BÊX-d³fd½fQf)A²fûWÀ°ffÃfSI °ffÊ õfSf Qû ·ff¦fûÔ ¸fZÔ ´fid°fdâ°f E½fa ¹fû¦¹fI f¹fÊQf¹fe ÀfaÀ±ffAûÔ ÀfZ d³f¸³f I f¹fÊ WZ°fb d³fd½fQfVfb»I /²fSûWS ²f³fSfdVf dQ³ffaI 21.06.2020 °fIAfg³f»ffBʳf ´fûMÊ»f ´fS ´fif~ I e ªff¹fZ¦fe E½fa BÊ-d³fd½fQfdQ³ffaI 23.06.2020 I û A´fSfW³f 1:00 ¶fªfZ °fIBÊ-MZ³OS ´fûMÊ»f ´fS ´fif~ I S ´fi±f¸f ·ff¦f A´fSfW³f4.00 ¶fªfZ ÀfZ £fû»ff ªff¹fZ¦ffÜ (1) d³f.d½f.Àfa.01/2020-21: ßf¸f¶fÀ°fe, A»fe¦fPÞ SûO ªf³f´fQWf±fSÀf ¸fZÔ d½fôb°f ´fiI û¿N E½fa d¶f»f ·fb¦f°ff³f ´fM»f WZ°fbQû I ÃfûÔ I f ªfe¯fûÊðfS IZ I f¹fÊÜ (2) d³f.d½f.Àfa.02/2020-21: Sm»f½fZ SûO ªf³f´fQ EMf ¸fZÔ 03 ³f¦fMfBÊ´f-´fi±f¸f Af½ffÀf I e d½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f IZ I f¹fÊÜ(3) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 03/2020-21: WfBÊdO»f I fg»fû³fe,»ff»f dO¦¦fe, A»fe¦fPÞ ¸fZÔ d½f·ff¦fe¹f Af½ffÀfe¹f ·f½f³fûÔIZ Àff¸ff³¹f SJSJf½f ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°f ªff³f´fQe¹f I f¹fÊÜ(4) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 04/2020-21: WfBÊdO»f I fg»fû³fe,»ff»f dO¦¦fe, A»fe¦fPÞ ¸fZÔ d½f·ff¦fe¹f A³ff½ffÀfe¹f·f½f³fûÔ/I f¹ffÊ»f¹fûÔ IZ Àff¸ff³¹f SJSJf½f ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°fªff³f´fQe¹f I f¹fÊÜ (5) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 05/2020-21:-33/11 IZ .½fe. C´fIZ ³ýi I fÀf¦faªf ³f¦fS ªf³f´fQI fÀf¦faªf ´fS Vfü¨ff»f¹f/OÑZ³f AfdQ IZ ªfe¯fûÊðfS ÀfZÀf¸¶fd³²f°f ªff³f´fQe¹f I f¹fÊÜ (6) d³f.d½f.Àfa.06/2020-21:- 33/11 IZ .½fe. C´fIZ ³ýi ½ffMS½f¢ÀfÊ´fS d³f¹f³Âf¯f I Ãf AfdQ IZ ªfe¯fûÊðfS ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°fªff³f´fQe¹f I f¹fÊÜ (7) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 07/2020-21:-d½fôb°f ªff³f´fQ J¯O (d½f°fS¯f) E½fa d½fôb°f ªff³f´fQC´fJ¯O (d½f°fS¯f) »ff»f dO¦¦fe A»fe¦fPÞ IZI f¹ffÊ»f¹fûÔ WZ°fb EI -EI ³f¦f ¶ffÁ¹f EªfZ³Àfe IZ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ d½f·ff¦fe¹f I ¸´¹fcMS ´fS OfMf E³MÑe/´fÂf»fZJ³f AfdQ I f¹fûË WZ°fb I ¸´¹fcMS Afg´fSmMS SJ³fZ I fI f¹fÊÜ (8) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 08/2020-21:- C´fJ¯OAd²fI fSe d½fôb°f ªff³f´fQ C´fJ¯O (d½f), Af¦fSf IZ´fi¹fû¦ff±fÊ EI AQÐQ Oeªf»f ¨ffd»f°f ½ffW³f ¸f¹f ¨ff»fIIZ ¶ffÁ¹f EªfZ³Àfe IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ dI Sf¹fZ ´fS SJ³fZ I fI f¹fÊÜ (9) d³f.d½f.Àfa. 09/2020-21:- 220IZ .½fe. C´fIZ ³ýi, dÀfI ³QSf Af¦fSf dÀ±f°f d½fôb°fAd²fI fSe Af½ffÀfe¹f I fg»fû³fe ¸fZÔ ¶ffÁ¹f EªfZ³Àfe IZ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ ½ffd¿fÊI »ffg³f ¸f`³MZ³fZ³Àf IZ I f¹fÊÜ (10)d³f.d½f.Àfa. 10/2020-21:- 220 IZ .½fe. C´fIZ ³ýi,dÀfI ³QSf Af¦fSf dÀ±f°f ´fi¶f³²f d³fQZVfI ,Q.d½f.d½f.d³f.d»f., Af¦fSf I f¹ffÊ»f¹f ´fdSÀfS E½faAd²fI fSe/I ¸fʨffSe d½fôb°f I fg»fû³fe I e ¶ffÁ¹f EªfZ³ÀfeIZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ d³f°f´fid°fdQ³f I e ÀffR -ÀfR fBÊ/WfCÀfI ed´fa¦f I f I f¹fÊÜ (IÈ ´f¹ff d½fÀ°fÈ°f ªff³fI fSe IZ d»f¹fZwww.dvvnl.org E½fa http://etender.up.nic.in ´fS QZJZÔÜ WZ»´f »ffBʳf- 1800-180-3023´fÂffaIY: 589/d½f.ªff.¸f.(d½f.)/ Af./MXe-2dQ³ffaIY: 19/05/2020

QdÃf¯ffa¨f»f d½fôb°f d½f°fSX¯fd³f¦f¸f d»f.,

14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

New Delhi

15SENSEX: 30,196.17 ▲ 167.19 NIFTY: 8,879.10 ▲ 55.85 NIKKEI: 20,433.45 ▲ 299.72 HANG SENG: 24,388.13 ▲ 453.36 FTSE: 6,015.64▼ 32.95 DAX: 11,010.23 ▼ 48.64

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`41,705

RUPEE`75.66

OIL$26.15

SILVER`38,100

Note:Spotgoldmarketsareshutdueto lockdowninmajorstates;**goldper10g, silverper1kg; IndianbasketasonMarch19,2020

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY19

SHARESOFReliance Industries(RIL), which is opening its Rs53,125-crore rights issue onWednesday, declined 2.26 percent on the stock exchanges onTuesday, evenas theSensex rose167pointsto30,196.17.However, RIL shares,which

closedatRs883.85onMarch23,havezoomed59.32percentsincethen toRs1,408.15byTuesday inthemidstof thecoronaviruspan-demicwhiletheSensexhasrisenonly16.67percentinthesamepe-riod— from25,880.83onMarch23to30,196.17onTuesday.Aweek ago, RIL share prices

inched closer to its all-timehighvalueofRs1,617hitinDecember

2019,as it surgedtoan intra-dayhighofRs1,614evenasthemar-ketwasbatteredbythelockdownand the economic slowdowntriggeredbyCOVID-19.Thesharprise of 59 per cent in the shareprices of RIL from March 23comes amidst a volatilemarketcondition triggered by the coro-naviruspandemic.Theriseisde-spiteadecline incrudeoilpricesanddemandforrefinedproductshit RIL’s bottom line and it re-ported a 37.2 per cent fall in net

profit fortheMarchquarter.Analysts said Jio Platforms,

RIL’s subsidiary, has nowraisedoverRs67,000croreover the lastonemonthat a timewhen lock-downandtheslowdownhaveledtomassive job losses and factoryclosureswhiletheservicessectorhascometoastandstill.ThefundraisingofRs110,000crore(rightsissueplus JioPlatformstakesale)willsignificantlyincreasethecom-pany’sabilitytoreduceitsdebtatatimewhenmostcorporatehavegone for threemonthsmorato-rium on loan repayments andthousandsofMSMEshavecloseddownoperations.According toMotilal Oswal

Institutional Securities,with thelatest deal (GeneralAtlantic), JioPlatformshasturnedvirtuallydebtfree. “Its current net debt now

standsatRs2800crore fromnetdebt of Rs140,000 crore in FY19andpeaknet debt of Rs 217,000crorebeforeformationoftheInvITstructure,”itsaid.Significantly,manybigcorpo-

rateshadbenefitedfromtheRBI’sliquidity infusionmove this year.TheRBIhas also admitted it andsaidsmallandmediumunitswerehitseverelybytheCOVIDdisrup-tions. “It is observed that thede-ployment of TLTRO funds so farhas largelybeen tobonds issuedbypublicsectorentitiesandlargecorporates, especially inprimaryissuances.ThedisruptionscausedbyCOVID-19have,however,moreseverelyimpactedsmallandmid-sizedcorporates,includingNBFCsandMFIs,intermsofaccesstoliq-uidity,”RBIGovernorShaktikantasaidonApril17.

`53,125-CRORERIGHTS ISSUEKICKSOFFTODAY

PRABHARAGHAVAN&SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI,MAY19

EVEN AS a circular issued lastmonth shielded students acrossengineering,management,phar-macy and architecture, amongother fields, fromthepressureofpayingtuitionfeesamidthelock-down,medicalstudentsinprivatecollegesanddeemeduniversitieshavehadnosuchprotection.Thesestudents,manyofwhomareattheforefront of India’smedical re-sponsetotheCOVID-19pandemic,have said it is difficult in this sce-nariotoarrangethemoney,whichstandsatanaverageofRs20lakhacrossstates.A circular issuedbyAll India

Council for Technical Education(AICTE)onApril15 instructed in-stitutesandcollegesunderittonotinsistonpaymentof fees, includ-ing admission fees, during thelockdown.Medical institutesanddeemeduniversitiescomeunderthe purview of either theUniversityGrantsCommissionorMedical Council of India anddonot have to abide byAICTE’s in-structions.A checkbyThe IndianExpressacrossseveralprivatemed-icalcollegesrevealsthat,betweenAprilandMay,someinstitutessenteitherwrittenorverbalnoticestostudentsdemandingfeepayment.Someeventhreatenedthemwithpenalties like non-payment ofmonthly stipend to their post-graduatestudents.“Whileourcollege issuedno-

tice regarding fee payment inMarch and the last date of pay-mentwasApril15,2020,studentsare receivingcalls fromtheofficetomakethefeepayment.Studentsarealsobeingtoldthatiftheydon’tmaketheirfeepayment,theywillnot receive their stipend. In anycase, I have not received my

stipend sinceDecember,” said apostgraduatestudentatChristianMedicalCollege(CMC)--Ludhiana.CMCLudhianasaidithasnoaf-

filiation toAICTEand thecircularthereforedoesnotapplytoit.Thecollege followsapolicysetbythehealthministry,whileitsdoctoralcourses are affiliated to theBabaFaridUniversityofHealthSciences.NeitherMCInorBFUHShave is-sued such instructions, so CMCLudhianahasnotdeferredseekingfees from its postgraduate,diplomaor super speciality resi-dents.CMC-Ludhianahasalsosaidthatclaimsthatithaswithheldthestipendof its students overnon-paymentofduesare“incorrect”.Some states like TamilNadu

havespecifiedthatprivatecollegesshouldnotcompelparentsorstu-dentstopayfeesorpendingduesduring the lockdown, but othershavenottakensuchaction.Kalinga Institute ofMedical

SciencesinBhubaneswarissuedanoticeonApril 22askingall post

graduatestudents(2018and2019batch)todepositoutstandingcol-lege andhostel dues byMay31.Thenoticebyitsprincipalanddi-rector of the institute’s school ofmedicinesaid“thismaybetreatedastoppriorityandstrictlyadheredto”. It addedthat thosewhohavepaidshouldshowtheirRTGScer-tificate andget payment receiptfrom the accounts section “toavoid any further action by themanagement.”It is not clearwhat action the

managementplanstotakeagainstthoseunable topaytheirduesbythedeadline,asemailedqueriestothe instituteonMay11anda fol-lowuponMay12remainedunan-sweredbypresstimeTuesday.“Ononehand,privatemedical

colleges are asking for fees. But,howmanyofthemhavecomefor-wardvoluntarilyandofferedtheirlarge,500-1000bedhospitals forCOVID-19?” saidWorldMedicalAssociation treasurer and IndianMedicalAssociationpastpresidentDrRavindraSWankhedkar.Somestudentssaidtheyhave

beenfindingitdifficulttoarrangethemoneytopaytheirfeesduringthelockdown.“Theyareregularlycallingmeforthefees,”saidapost-graduate student at Telangana’sMedi Citi Institute of MedicalSciences on condition ofanonymity. “No formalnoticeormail. Just callsaskingus topayassoonaspossible.”QueriestoMediCiti about this onMay11and12alsoremainedunanswered.NewstudentsadmittedforPG

courses inTelanganahave takenissuewith thestateallowing feestomore thandoubleacross cate-gories. Theyhave togive collegesabankguaranteeforthenexttwoyears, saidDr PSVijayender, ex-chairmanof theTelanganaJuniorDoctors’Association.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY19

WITH THE launch of its‘ChikitsaSetu’appdesignedto“train” people to break thechainof spreadof COVID-19,UttarPradeshjoinsacoupleofdozenothersstatestohaveitsown app in addition to theCentre’sAarogyaSetu,whichalsoaims to trackandcontrolthespreadofthevirus.Apart fromUttarPradesh,

several other states andmu-nicipalitieshave,overthepasttwomonths, developed theirownCOVID-19contacttracingandhomequarantineapps.Theseappshavemultiple

privacyissuesthatviolatedatasecurityparametersonseveralcounts, according to experts.Ananalysisof at least24suchstates’ apps shows most ofthesehavebeendevelopedbyprivate companies that haveunprecedentedaccesstosensi-tivepatientdatawithlittlelia-bilityincaseofabreach.“Most of these appshave

been developed by privatecompanies and theyhaveac-cesstoallthedatawhiletheli-ability provisions in case ofbreach are very vaguelyworded,sometimesevenask-ing the user to completelywavetheliabilityandaccount-abilityof the serviceproviderin case of data breach orloss,”SalmanWaris,founder&partneratTechLegisAdvocates&Solicitorssaid.A contact tracing appde-

veloped by Chennai-basedBhishmaTechnologyServicesforthestateofTamilNaduhasbeendownloadedmore than100,000 times. Thecompanywas incorporated onSeptember23,2016,andhasatleast four other firms regis-tered on the same address,withoverlappingdirectors,ac-cordingtodataavailablewiththegovernment.“These apps, they collect

dataandhavetheright tousethe same and monetize it.However, if there is a breach,theuser cannot even sue fordamages.Andthenthereisthiswhole issueof bypassing thegovernment’s ‘procurementrules’ and favoritism,”Warissaid. Detailed questionnairesent to the state governmentaswellasthecompanydidnotelicitanyresponse.Thepermissionssoughtby

themostofthesecontacttrac-ingappsandhomequarantineportals is another security is-suewhichmustbepaidatten-tionto,cyber-securityexpertssaid. “Excessive permissionsare required by applicationsthatundertaketracingandsur-veillancethroughcapturingin-formationfromdifferentinter-nal broadcasts fromcomponentsof thedevice. Insome cases, appswhich areonlyinformativeandintendedtoissueadvisorieshavesought

permissionsforlocation,pho-tos, storage and camera,” aSFLCspokespersonsaid.For example, Telangana’s

app‘T-Covid-19’developedbyQuantelaInc,aUS-basedcom-pany,aimsonlyto“providecit-izenswithpreventivecare in-formation and othergovernmentadvisories”.“However, foraninforma-

tionandadvisoryservingapp,itasksforseveralpermissionswhich include monitoringcomponents including ‘extralocationprovidercommands’whichpertainstostateofloca-tion,” legal cyber-securityad-visory group SoftwareFreedomLawCentresaid.A similarCOVID-19dash-

board, developed by theMadhya PradeshAgency forPromotion of InformationTechnologywas takendownafterRobertBaptiste,aFrenchethical hackerwhoused thepseudonymElliotAldersononTwitter,pointedoutflawsandshowedthatitviolatedtheba-sicpersonalprivacylaws.Thequarantineand infor-

mation vending apps ofPunjab andKerala, similarlyseekmoreinformationthanisnecessary for theseprogramstofunction,expertssaid.Punjab’s information

vending app ‘Cova Punjab’seekstohavefullnetworkac-cess and evenviewnetworkconnections. The app evenseeks to pairwith Bluetoothdevices in its vicinitywithoutexpressapprovalofthedeviceholder, which can be ex-tremelyproblematicandinva-sive,acyber-lawexpertsaid.“Theproblemisthatallthe

state apps areusingCentre’sAarogyaSetu frameworkandfoundation as the startingpoint.Thatwillnotbeacorrectapproach,” Supreme Courtlawyer and cyber-lawexpertPavanDuggal told The IndianExpress.Detailed questionnaire

senttobothPunjabandKeraladidnotelicitanyresponse.Despite the issuesaround

datasecurityandprivacy,mostof theappsdevelopedby thestateshavemanagedtoflyun-dertheradarastheyhavenotgainedmuchtraction,expertssaid,addingthatsincemostofthesearevoluntary innature,thereisnoobligationtodown-loadand there isno strict en-forcementofthesameeither.

COVID-19WATCHMOBILEAPPLICATIONS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY19

WITHTHECOVID-19pandemicpresenting challenges for theeconomy includinghealth, eco-nomic growth, migration andemployment, resumption ofeconomicactivityamidthepre-vailing health crisis would becrucial forthecountrytopickitspace towards a slow path togrowth.Naushad Forbes, co-chair-

manof ForbesMarshal and for-merCIIpresident,will joinanE-XPLAINED onWednesday onunderstandingCorporateIndia’schallengesandstrategiesastheyramp up capacity and navigatethenewnormal.Forbeshadearlierinaninter-

viewwith The Indian Express inApril advocated beefing up thecountry’smedicalinfrastructure,highlighting theneed for bettercoordinationbetweenstatesandCentre. Hehad also pointed out

how income transfers run theriskof leavingsomeneedyout.As a leading voice in India’s

corporate sector, Forbes, who

has a doctorate from StanfordUniversity andwhere hewas aconsultingprofessorfor15years,brings clarity and reason todis-cussions on business-govern-ment relations.AspresidentofCIIin2016-17,

Forbesworked closelywith thegovernment as it out into placetwo of the biggest reforms —GSTand IBC.With the economic growth

beingprojectedtorecordacon-traction this financial year,gradedresumptionof industrialactivitywillbecrucialforrevivalofGDPgrowthandemploymentgeneration dependent on it. Astheannouncementsmadeintherecent economic package,Atmanirbhar Bharat, outliningseveral long-termmeasures forvarioussectorsincludingpower,mining and defence come intoforce, their impact on economyalsowouldbecloselywatched.

To register, SMS– IEEXP<space> “IE”<space> “Yournameandemail ID” to56161

■ Thepermissionssoughtby themostof these contacttracing apps andhomequarantineportals is anothersecurity issuewhichmust bepaidattention to,experts said.

‘PERMISSIONSAKEY ISSUE’

Virus tracking apps:States on launching spree;privacy concerns overunfettered access raised

BRIEFLYGovtextendsdeadlineforcontractsNew Delhi: The FinanceMinistry has extended thedeadline for fulfilment ofcontractualobligationsofallgovernmentprojects,whichweredueforcompletiononorafterFebruary20,byuptosixmonths.

`6.45LcrloanssanctionedbyPSBs:FMNew Delhi: State-ownedbanks have sanctionedabout Rs 6.45 lakh croreworth loans tovarious sec-tors includingMSME, agri-culture and retail betweenMarch 1 and May 15,FinanceMinister NirmalaSitharamansaidinatweet.

ZurichAirportgetsclearanceforJewarairportNoida: Zurich AirportInternationalAGhasgotse-curity clearance from theCentrefordevelopingJewarairport in Uttar Pradesh, aseniorstategovernmentof-ficialsaidonTuesday.PTI

OommentakesoverasISApresidentNewDelhi: ArcelorMittalNipponSteelIndiaCEODilipOommenhas takenoveraspresidentoftheIndianSteelAssociation(ISA),asperare-lease.Hewasunanimouslyappointedpresident for thenexttwoyears.ENS

PRANAVMUKUL&AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY19

THEMASScancellationsof com-mercialflightoperationsacrosstheworldmayhave impacted trav-ellers,butwithmostof thecoun-try’saircraftgroundedonaccountof thelockdown,there’sanunex-pectedcasualty.The IndianMeteorological

Department (IMD)has been leftdeprivedof crucialweatherdatathatitusedtoreceivefromflyingairplanes. India’s largest airlineIndiGo said Tuesday that it hadbeen collaboratingwith IMD toprovideaircraftdataonwind,hu-midity and temperature relayedby various aircraft sensors andthis relay of data has been im-pacted due to the grounding ofthefleet.IMD’sheadofclimateresearch

andservicesDSPaitoldTheIndianExpressthatthemoredatathattheorganisationhas, themoreaccu-rateisitsinitialprediction.“Thereareprivateflightswhichvoluntar-ilyputtheirsensorstomeasurethewindandtemperature.Thereareinternationallysomanyflights.Soall of themhave takeoff, cruisingand landing data, duringwhich

theykeeponmeasuringallthepa-rameters and send it to a centralsystem,whichcan receiveall thedata…Themoredatawehave,themoreaccurate the initial predic-tion is. Sothesedata includesair-craftdata,balloondata,shipdata,radarandspecialobservationssys-temsdata,togethercreateabettermodel,”Paisaid.IndiGohasalsoincorporateda

plan for its pilots to report high-levelwindand temperaturedataatdifferentstagesofaflightasde-siredbyIMDacrossallflightoper-ations. The reports by thepilotswill capture and share observa-tionsat cruisingaltitude, atmid-

wayofthedestination,atcruisingaltitudejustbeforestartofdescent,at near 10,000 feet, and at near5,000feet.“Thedata,whichisimperative

for accurate predictions ofweather, hasbeenunavailable tothe Indian MeteorologicalDepartment since amajority offlightsareoutofoperationsduetothe nationwide lockdown, cou-pledwithstaffconstraints,”IndiGosaid ina statement. Theairline iscurrently operating cargo flightsacrossthecountry.However, Pai said the prob-

lem that hit on account of theflight groundings is now beingaddressed.“Itisatemporaryphe-nomenon. Flights have startedfromsomeplacesinternationally.Flightswhicharevoluntarilytak-ing observations are still doingthat,” he said. The governmentannounced a lockdown onMarch 24, along with whichscheduledcommercialflightop-erations have been suspended.Sincethen,however,variouspri-vate airlines and Air India havebeen conducting cargo opera-tions across the country and toforeigndestinations.AirIndiahasalsostartedoper-

atingpassenger flightsunder theVandeBharatrepatriationmission.

Employees’ PF contribution can go higherthan 10%, not of employers: LabourMin

MCA to move SC forbanning IFIN auditors

‘Govt to furtherrevise criteriafor classifyingmediumenterprises’

KHUSHBOONARAYANMUMBAI,MAY19

THE MINISTRY of CorporateAffairs (MCA) and the SeriousFraudInvestigationOffice(SFIO)areintheprocessof filingaspe-cial leave petition (SLP) in theSupreme Court against aBombay High Court order,whichquashed criminal prose-cution of IL&FS FinancialServices (IFIN) auditors — BSR&Associates(aKPMG-affiliatedfirm) and Deloitte Haskins andSells, said sources.Last month, the high court

upheld theconstitutionalvalid-ity of Section 140(5) ofCompanies Act, 2013, whichdealswithremovalandbanningofauditorsforfiveyears,butsaidthe provision does not apply toauditorswhohaveresigned.Deloitte was the auditor of

IFIN till it was rotated out in fi-nancialyear2018.Subsequently,BSR&Associatestookoverastheauditorof IFINandresignedonlyin June 2019. The SFIO has ac-cusedtheauditorsofconnivanceintheIL&FSfinancial fraudcase.TheSLPwillchallengethein-

terpretationofSection140(5)bythe high court. It will contendthat the government asked theSFIO to launch prosecutionagainst the auditors within 30hoursofgettingtheSFIOinvesti-gation report, as the officers in-charge of reading the reportwere aware of the issues at IFINand had applied mind beforetaking thedecision.The petition, sources said, is

likely to point out that the highcourtdoesnothave jurisdictionto decide if therewas “applica-tionofmind” by its officers as itis a subject matter of the trialcourt.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,MAY19

THE LABOUR Ministry onTuesdaysaidemployeescancon-tributemore than thenewly setlimitof10percentofbasicwagesto their provident fund (PF) forthe next threemonths, but em-ployers don’t need tomatch thehighercontribution.

In a statement, theministrysaid, “Under the EPF Scheme,1952, anymember has the op-tion to contribute at a rate

higher than statutory rate (10per cent) and employer can re-strict his contributions 10 percent in respect of such em-ployee.”On Tuesday, theMinistry of

Labour & Employment imple-mented the decision to cut em-ployees’ provident fund (EPF)contributionsto10percentfromtheexisting12percentforthreemonthstill July.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY19

THE GOVERNMENT is not infavour of granting Goods andServices Tax (GST)waiver, as hasbeendemandedby various sec-tions of the industry. FinanceMinistryofficialssaidGSTwaiverwillhaveseriousadverseimplica-tionsonstatefinances,businesseswould suffer and consumerswouldalsobehitbypricerise.“In the past also, when the

GSTexemptiononsanitarynap-kins was allowed, it had led tosimilar hardship for domesticmanufacturers of sanitary nap-kins.Later,thedomesticindustry

complainedof adversity. SowasthecasewithGSTexemptiononPPEs,mask,etc.TheGSTexemp-tionwould leadtoblocked inputtax credit (ITC) resulting in in-creaseinthecostofmanufactur-ing and a higher price for con-sumers,”anofficialsaid.WhileGSTexemptionwould

makeoutputGSTaszero,theITCwouldnotgetutilisedandwouldget added to thecost,whichwillharm the industry and also theconsumerswhichwillnothelpinreviving the demand. Also, thecomplianceburdenisexpectedtoincrease formanufacturerswhowould be required tomaintainseparateaccounts for inputsandcapitalgoodsusedfortheproduc-

tionof theitem.Officialssaidmanymanufac-

turers, dealers, wholesalers, re-tailers have piled up inventorieswith input tax creditworth sev-eral lakh crores during the lock-downtocounterCOVID-19pan-demic and so, a waiver wouldresultinincreaseinpricesforcon-sumers.They further said the GST

waiverprovidesincentiveforim-ports, which do not have inputtaxes as compared to domesticsuppliesmakingimportedgoodscheaper than locally producedgoods.Anyfinaldecisionregard-ingchanges inratesorapossiblewaiverwill need tobeapprovedbytheGSTCouncil.

Forbes at E-XPLAINED today

NaushadForbes,co-chairman,ForbesMarshal,andformerCIIpresident.File

Therise isdespiteadecline incrudeoilpricesanddemandforrefinedproductshitRIL’sbottomline

RIL shares outperformSensex,rise59.32%fromMar23 low

‘Eightmost affected statesaccount for 60% of GDP’Eight statesmost affected by the COVID-19 pandemic account forover 60 per cent of the GDP, a report by Crisil’s researchwing said

58% of the employment inthe eight states,which includeMaharashtra, Gujarat andTamil Nadu, among others

5% estimatedGDPcontraction by analysts

Karnataka andKeralacould behurt by the restrictions oneconomic activity, where shareof industry and services ishigher, while in others likeMP,Punjab andBihar, a highershare of agriculture couldcushion the economy this year

Maharashtra, TamilNaduandGujarat, beingmostdependent on output fromindustry and services, aremorevulnerable to output losses asthey face restrictions

Source:Crisil researchwing/PTI

■AcircularissuedbytheAllIndiaCouncilforTechnicalEducation(AICTE)onApril15hadinstructedinstitutesandcollegesunderitnottoinsistonpaymentoffees,includingadmissionfees,duringthelockdown.

■MedicalinstitutesanddeemeduniversitiescomeunderthepurviewofeithertheUniversityGrantsCommissionortheMedicalCouncilofIndiaanddonothavetoabidebyAICTE’sinstructions.

UNDER UGCORMCI

Out of AICTE purview, studentsin pvt medical, deemed universitiesunder pressure to pay tuition fees

GIVENDATAfromaircraftsensorsmakeapartoftheinformationneededbyweathermen,theflightcancellationshaveforcedmeteorologicalde-partmentstorelymoreondatafromradarsandsatellites.

Relyingonradars,satellites

Curbs on flights hurt IMD’s weatherdata collection, IndiGo steps in to help

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,MAY19

DAYSAFTERchangingthedefini-tionofMSMEs, the governmenthasdecided to further revise thecriteria formediumunitsby en-hancing the investment andturnoverlimitstouptoRs50croreand Rs 200 crore respectively,MSMEMinisterNitinGadkarisaidonTuesday.“Wehave takenadecision to

raise theuptoRs20crore invest-ment (criteria) to up to 50 croreandturnover(limit)touptoRs200crore.Sowewillissueanorderforthat,”Gadkarisaid,addinghefeelsthecriteriashouldbebasedonin-vestment“or”turnoverinsteadofinvestmentandturnoverboth.

ThegovthascutEPFcontributionsto10%from12%forthreemonthstill July

Govt not in favour of GST waiver

New Delhi

16THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY20,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

VolLXXXVIIINo.164Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05

R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Editorial office:The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector -10,Noida -201301. Phone:0120-6651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:Unni

RajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha ** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct. Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

Sprint legendBoltandpartnerwelcomebabygirlJamaica's Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt has become a father for the first time after wel-coming the birth of a baby girl with partner Kasi Bennett, reports said. Jamaican PrimeMinister Andrew Holness appeared to confirm the birth of Bolt's daughter in a social mediapost. Local media reports said the couple's daughter was born on Sunday.

Whyis ICC'ssalivabanaratherinconsequentialmove inensuringaCOVID-19safeenvironmentforcricketers?THE VIRUS causing the COVID-19 infec-

tion spreadsmainly in fourways: betweenpeoplewhoareinclosecontactwithonean-other, within about six feet; through respi-ratory droplets producedwhen an infectedpersoncoughs, sneezesoreventalks;whentheinfecteddroplets landonsurfacesorob-jectsaroundaperson.Theincubationperiodof the infection - the time between gettingthe infectionandshowingsymptomsis1to14days,andsomepeoplewiththeinfection,without showing any symptoms can con-tinue tospread thedisease.Therefore, the prohibition of saliva to

shine the ball only addresses the issue oftransmissionof thevirusthroughthesaliva.Inreality,despiteabanonsalivainplace,theviruscancontinuetotravel-unlessthechainof transmission is not broken. And asmen-tioned above, there is always a possibilitythat an asymptomatic infected player, cancontinue to spread thevirus byeither com-ing in close contact with another player(withinaboutsixfeet)orwhenanunaffectedplayertouchesasurface(aball,theboundaryrope, wicket, bottle, locker room surfaces,door knobs etc) already touched by theasymptomatic infectedplayer;also, there isa possibility that the virus can spread fromthepantry,thesupportstaff, thehotelwheretheplayersareaccommodatedorthevehicleused to ferry theplayers.

Whataboutsweat? Is itaviruscarrier?The evidence available has shown the

virus spreadsmainly through respiratorydroplets and contact routes. There is someevidence that COVID-19 infectionmay leadto intestinal infectionandbepresent in fae-ces;butWHOstatesthattherehavebeennoreports of faecal-oral transmission of theCOVID-19 virus to date. The virus does notspread through perspiration (sweat) - but

items touched bymany people (ball etc.)couldposea risk.

Shouldn't the ICChavecomeupwithtestingprotocols firstbefore thesalivaban?TheICC,oranyothersportingbody,who

wantstoresumethesportingeventsshouldhavedetailedprotocols - for socialdistanc-ing,protectiveguidelines (useofmasketc),screening & testing, self-reporting guide-lines, and protocols for holding the event.All of the guidelines have to be imple-mented in totality to ensure that there areno lapses at any stage.Yes, the testing protocol is very impor-

tant; however, simultaneously, protocol re-latedtoself-reportingisalsoverycritical foran athlete. If a player is showing any symp-toms - the sporting body should have a de-tailedprotocol onhowtheplayer reports toqualified doctors, whowill then advise theplayertoundergotestsandself-quarantine;andprotocols for theboard tonotify shouldalso be spelled out. All the instructions re-lated to the personal protective equipmentshouldalsobemadeavailabletotheplayersand support staff; also, protocols related tosocialdistancing-separatelockerrooms,ac-commodation, training facility -where themovement of outsiders is to be restrictedshouldbemadeavailable toorganisers.

What is thefirst stepbywayof testingprotocol?As there is always a possibility that a

playercanbe infectedbutremainasympto-matic-onlyusingthethermalscreeningbe-fore thestartof thegamewouldprovetobefutile.Theonlywaytoruleoutanyinfection- is testing.The ultimate fighting championship,

which resumed in the United States, hasmade itmandatory thatUFCpersonnelwillhavetoundergoboththerapidantibodytestand the RT-PCR COVID -19 test; and onlywhen they are cleared by the doctors, will

thesportspersonsbeallowedtoparticipate.However, itmustbenotedthatasperthe

ICMR guidelines, a positive antibody testwould only indicate exposure to the infec-tion - and is not recommended for diagno-sis; the antibody testwill give an indicationthat a person has been ex-posedtothevirus. If the test ispositive, thenyouwill have tocollecttheswabanddoanRNAtest using the PCR kit. Also, anegativetestdoesnotruleoutCOVID-19infection.Therefore,theantibodytest can only be used for surveillance - andthe RNA test, which is the gold standard,shouldbeusedfordiagnosis.Sincetheplay-ersareyoungandfit, there isalwaysa likeli-hood that most of them can be asympto-matic - and testing protocol should bedefinedkeeping these factors inmind.

Howimportantaresocialdistancingonandoff thefieldevenafter theplayersget tested?Intheabsenceofanytreatmentandvac-

cine,socialdistancingisthemostimportantaspect.Maintainingsocialdistancingattrain-ingfacilities, inhotels,themodeoftransport- iskey toensure that theplayersarenot in-fected. Also, each of the facilities should bevirtuallyconverted likeaquarantine facility

-where themovement of out-siders is restricted.

Aretests foolproof?The RT PCR tests are fool-

proof.However, this testhas tobe carried out by a professional lab official,and the samples have to be examined inICMRandNABL certified labs -which com-plywithbiosafetylevel2.Anylapsecouldre-sult in falsepositivityornegativity.Antibody tests are not fully reliable, es-

pecially if it is conducted immediately afterearlyexposure. The reliabilityof sucha test,in general, is seven days after the virus hasenteredthehumanbody.Thekitwillclearlysay what is the probability and at whichpoint it is definite. Therefore, it can only beused for surveillance.

Incase ifplayers,officialsandbroadcastershaveallbeentestedandtheyareput inasanitisedbio-domeduringthedurationof thegame, is thereanychanceof thevirussneakingin?It isscientificallyimpossibletofullyelim-

inate the virus in the real world. Therefore,precautions likesocialdistancinganduseofprotectiveequipmentarecrucial,evenifyouhavebeenclearedby tests.

Howoftenshouldtheplayersbetestedduringsayaone-monthlongseries?Like mentioned above the incubation

periodof thevirus is 1-14days. But thede-cisionas tohowoftena test shouldbecon-ducted, solely depends, upon the move-mentof theplayerandtheinfectedpersonshehascomeincontactwithduringtheonemonth long series. Which is why, self-re-portingby theplayerandcontact tracing isvery important.

Sinceclose-infieldersorawicket-keeperwillbe incloseproximityofbatsmen,will itbeseenasnon-complianceof socialdistancingprotocol?Yes, if theasymptoticinfectedplayersare

in close proximity, and spread the infectionandcontinuetoplay-itwillbenon-compli-anceof socialdistancingprotocol.However,if theseplayersaretestednegative,andotherobjects in the field are fully sanitised - theplayers can be in close proximity, fulfillingthe requirementsof thegame.

Howmuchdoesatestcostandwhatareits logistics?Duringapandemicasseriousas this is itwisetousethetestingkitsor tosetupatopclass testingfacilityforsupremelyfitandyoungathletes?The entire cost of RT PCR test in India is

cappedatRs4,500.Thetestshavetobecon-ducted in BSL-2 labs, which requires infra-structure, thatcould run intoa fewcrores. Ifthe sports bodies have existing lab facilities-thesamecanbeupgradedforCOVID19test-ing, following the ICMR guidelines, wherethe young players are trained. However,since, playerswill beplaying indifferent lo-cations and the tests are conducted in lessthan 24 hours - transporting the sample toonededicated lab is highly impractical; it isonly practical to have a tie-upwith a diag-nostic chain, for conducting the tests.

ICC’s spit ban futile if other precautions not takenEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMAY19

SIX TEST results – out of the 748 conductedon players and staff of 19 Premier Leagueclubs–returnedpositive forcoronavirusonSunday andMonday as teamsmake an ef-fort torestart trainingwithanaimtorestarton-fieldaction in June.The six individuals, fromthree clubs,will

now isolate for the next sevendays. Squadswere set to start training fromMondaywithstrict rulessuchaspractising ingroupsof fiveand sessions lasting amaximumof 75min-utes.Therewillalsobetestingtwiceaweekaswellasadailypre-trainingquestionnaireandtemperaturechecks.“ThePremier League is providing this ag-

gregatedinformationforthepurposesofcom-petitionintegrityandtransparency,” itsaidinastatement,accordingtoBBC.“Nospecificde-tailsastoclubsorindividualswillbeprovidedbytheleagueandresultswillbemadepublicinthiswayaftereachroundof testing.”The leaguewas suspendedonMarch 13

with92fixturesstill leftinthecurrentseason.TheEPLwastryingtofollowinthefootstepsoftheBundesliga,whichresumedlastweekendbehind closeddoors. TheGermanclubs tookfiveweekstogofromnon-contacttrainingtoplayingleaguematches.ThiswouldimplythatthePremierLeaguemaybelookingatamidtolateJunerevivalof thedomesticcompetition.Someoftheplayers,however,havedecided

not to resume training.Watford captainTroyDeeney, inapodcast,spokeaboutthebreath-ing difficulties his sonwas facing and howclubsarestumblinginthedarkonthedosanddon’tsabouthowtodealwiththepandemic.“Ican’tgetahaircutuntilmid-July,butIcan

goandget in aboxwith19people and jumpforaheader. Idon’tknowhowthatworks.Noonecouldanswer thequestions,notbecausethey didn’twant to, just because they don’tknowtheinformation.”

Premier Leagueconfirms sixpositive tests

CROSSWORD4122

ACROSS1 Sharppracticeused incourt

proceedings (6)4 It comestosomethingwhen

Dad’supsetandoutof bed(4,2)

9 Inaway I spreadhopelessness (7)

10 Issueof extremeimportance(5)

11 Wrongfulwasteof labour?(5)12 Member inaneat

arrangementshowsrefinement (7)

13 He’s responsible forbusandtrain to thegolf club(5,6)

18 Far toomuchforbridgeperhaps (3,4)

20 Arch fiend?(5)22 Havingasetbackabout

work,drinks (5)23 Likeanegg, it’sblown(7)24 Possibly runandseetomake

certain (6)25 States times forcustoms(6)

DOWN1 Saucy if horsey, somemight

callheradish (6)2 Class foractors, say (5)3 It’s snappy if longdrawnout

(7)5 Putoutaplea for

employment (5)6 Onestatueoddlyplaced(7)7 Hestoleawayfromtheshore

(6)8 Aquestionof sentryduty?

(6,2,3)14 Nomortalabodecouldbeso

lumpy(7)15 Raids theentrances?

(7)16 Newhatsweputbands

round(6)17 Damseldistributesawards

(6)19 Aface-saving featureof

oldentimes (5)21 Obtainableasaconditionof

course (5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)There isnowmuchtobegained fromatripdownmemorylane,althoughit

doesn’thavetobeeventsoflongagowhichnowpreoccupyyou.What is important iswhatyoufindwhenyouget there,probablyanemotionalcrockofgold.Anencounterwithanoldfriend isdue. It couldbetoday,but itmightbetomorrow.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Yoursocialstarsarestrong,soyoumayaswell facethefact thatthere’s little tobe

gainedfromgoingitalone.You’llbenefit farmorefromlinkingupwithlike-mindedpeopleandformingalittleteam.There’salsoachancethatachildoryoungerrelationwillcomeupwithapleasantsurprise.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Mostplanetaryactivitynowtakesplace in theupperreachesof yoursolar

chart, signifyingthatpublicpressuresshouldbemoreimportant thanpersonal. Inotherwords, socialexpectationsnowexertacrucial impactonyour thoughtsandemotions.

CANCER(June22- July23)Dreamon,especiallyif romance isonthecards. Fromtheplanetarypointof

view, therecouldbenobettertimeforadventureswith lovedones, sopleasedowhateveryoucantokeeproutinechores toaminimum.There’snothingtobegainedfrompilingupthepressure.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Mercury,VenusandMarshavereducedtheir combinedpressure.That

meansthatwhileobviousdifficultiesmayhavebeenremoved, therearestill certainhurdles toovercome,not theleastofwhich isyourcapacitytodoubtyourself.A littleextraconfidence isneeded.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)It’s timetoexploreyour feelings,whetherof guiltorresentment,hopeor

desire.Onlyby lettingyouremotionsroamandyourimaginationwanderwillyougeta truepictureofwhat it isthatyoutruly require frompartnersand lovedones—andwhatyoucangive inreturn.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Pleasedonotimaginethatconditionsatworkhavebeenfinally

agreed.Thecuriouspoint is thateventhougheveryone isnowactingonwhathasbeendecided, certain ideaswill soononceagainbethrowninto themeltingpot. In fact, it couldallbeupforgrabs.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Don’t ruleout thepossibilityofenforcedchanges inyour life,but first

realise thatyouhavebroughtcurrentconditionsonyourself,andthenthatwhileVenus is sointriguinglyaligned, theoutlook isexcellent forahappyoutcome.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Youwon’t get veryfarunlessyourealisethat familymembersneed tobe

persuaded thatyouare right,and thatdomestic irritationsshouldbedealtwithnow!Youmightnotbe thecauseof somecurrentproblems,butyoucancertainlybepartofthe solution.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Circumstancesbeyondyourcontrolareabout tounmakeadecisionthatyou

thoughthadbeenfinalised.Lookuponalluncertaintyasawelcomeopportunity foryoutochangeyourmindandattitudes.What’smore,whatseems likeagood ideathisweekmightnot looksorosynext.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)It’s fair tosaythatanastrologicalperiodofgreat importance isstillwithyou,but

youmustaccept thatmajorchange isunlikely in thenearfuture. Insteadyoushouldworkwithwhathasalreadyhappened,andconsolidateallimprovements inrelationshipsso far.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Commonsensetellsyouthatyoushouldworkas fastaspossible topresent

otherpeoplewitha faitaccompli. Theywill thenbeable to jiggleaboutwiththedetails,butwithoutaffecting the finaloutcome.Oh,and if youaredealingwithpracticalmatters, call intheexperts.

SUDOKU4114

DifficultyLevel1sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4113

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.It isnot___thatamanshouldfear,butheshouldfearneverbeginningto__.-MarcusAurelius(5,..,4)

SOLUTION:EARED,LIMIT,BLADED,VANISHAnswer:Itisnotdeaththatamanshouldfear,butheshouldfearneverbeginningtolive.-MarcusAurelius

DRAEE ABDEDL

ILMIT AINSHV

SolutionsCrossword4121:Across:1Starter,5Libra,8Schoolfellows,9Largo,10Recital,11Viands,12Orange,15Nonplus,17Capes,19Spiritedreply,20Nosey,21Deserve.Down:1Sisal,2Ashardasnails,3Twofold,4Reform,5Lilac,6Blottingpaper,7Absolve,11Venison,13Records,14Ascend,16Laity,18Style.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Despiteabanonsaliva inplace, theviruscancontinuetotravel—unless thechainof transmission isnotbroken.AP

SIMPLYPUT

Merelybanningbowlers fromapplyingsaliva toshine theballmightnotbeeffectiveas testingprotocolsneed to firstbe inplacebefore resumingcricket, explainsKAUNAINSHERIFF

Thesix individuals, fromthreeclubs,willnowisolate for thenextsevendays.

New Delhi

Invest in independent journalism. Subscribe to The Indian Express E-paper

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

Introductory offer

Save 29%Save 29%

Available on

indianexpress.com | E-mail | WhatsApp | The Indian Express App

* Offer valid till MAY 31, 2020 | **Full refund, if cancelled during the Free Trial period.