JOURNALISM OF COURAGEbombaychamber.com/admin/uploaded/NEWS Block/27042020-BCCI-I… · 2 THESECONDPAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020 PM’smeeting andpersonalprotectiveequip-ment.

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA ● REG .NO . MCS/067/2018 - 20 RN I REGN . NO . 1543/57

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2020, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 12 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

`̀ 100 per kilo

`̀ 128 per kilo

`̀ 158 per kilo

`̀ 60 per Dozen

CM set to seek trainsfor migrants again,govt mulls plan toferry them in busesVISHWASWAGHMODEMUMBAI, APRIL26

MAHARASHTRACHIEFMinisterUddhav Thackeray is likely toraisetheissueofrunningspecialtrains to transport migrantworkers to their states in hisvideoconferencewithhiscoun-terparts and Prime MinisterNarendraModionMonday.Also,in case trains arenot allowed tooperate, the state transport de-partmentisconsideringoptions,including arranging buses toferry themigrantshome."Thechiefministerwill raise

the issue of running specialtrains to transport migrants totheir states in the video confer-encewiththePMtomorrow.Wehope that somedecisionwill betaken in the meeting," said asource in thegovernment.Uddhavhad raised the issue

of running special trains formi-grantworkers inavideoconfer-encewith the PMon April 11, afew days before migrants hadgatheredoutsidetheBandrarail-waystation, resulting in thepo-lice resorting to lathicharge.Earlier this week, Uddhav

had also reiterated the demandbefore the Inter-MinisterialCentral Team,which had cometoasses theon-spot situation inthe state, saying that guidelinesshould be issued in this regardbefore theendofApril.Sourcessaidthegovernment

hasstartedthepreliminaryworkon chalking out a plan for the

transportation of themigrants.Acrossthestate,around650,000migrants are living in camps,where the government is pro-viding them with food andhealthcareservices.Sources said that it has

sought the details of migrantworkers from all district collec-tors. The tentative plan is tomake thoseworkers seeking toreturn home register with thepolice. “Then, theworkers willbedividedintocategoriesbasedon where they want to go,whether they are residing ingovernment relief centres andwhether they have any docu-ments such as Aadhaar card orrationcardsamongothers,”saidasource.Evenmigrants who are not

staying in camps but in theirown accommodation and arekeen to return to their nativestate will be asked to register.The governmentwill take a callonwho to send first onpriority,said thesource.In the eventuality that train

are not allowed to operate, thestatehasdraftedaback-upplan.Sources said that the transportdepartmenthasstartedprelim-inarypreparationsandisconsid-eringoptions, includingarrang-ing buses — both governmentand private — to ferrymigrantworkershome."Itisnotyetclearwhether states will send theirbuses or we need to send ourbuses. It needs to be decidedfirst," said thesource.

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MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, APRIL26

THE PROBE ordered by theMaharashtra governmentagainst its Principal Secretary(Home)AmitabhGuptaforissu-ing a letter allowing DHFL pro-motersDheerajWadhawanandKapilWadhawan to travel dur-ingthelockdownhasconcludedthat while the IPS officer ex-ceeded his jurisdiction, he hassoughttojustifythemoveonhu-manitarian grounds, The IndianExpresshas learnt.The report, whichwas sub-

mitted by Additional ChiefSecretary (Finance) ManojSaunikSaturday,alsosaysthatifthegovernmentacceptsGupta'sexplanation, it should ask him"to be careful" in future andcheck the background of thoseseekinghishelp.On Sunday, the CBI took the

Wadhawanbrothers in custody— for alleged fraud linked toloansobtainedfromYesBank—after the end of their 14-dayquarantineperiodfollowingthejourney. Facing non-bailablewarrants, theWadhawans arebeingprobedbytheCBIandtheED on charges linked to the al-legedmulticroreYesBankscam.Guptawas sent on leave on

April 9 for allowing theWadhawanbrothers,and21oth-ers, to travel from Khandala toMahabaleshwar. The Satara po-lice had also registered an FIRagainst the 23 for violating thelockdown.The probe, which was also

askedtolookintowhetherthereCONTINUEDONPAGE2

Cop exceededauthority inissuing travelletter forWadhawans:Probe

AMILBHATNAGAR&AVANEESHMISHRANOIDA, LUCKNOW,APRIL26

IN A video clip of a quarantinecentreinAgra,apersonwearingpersonal protective equipment(PPE) canbeseen throwingwa-terbottlesandfoodpacketsfromoutsidea lockedgate, asdozensofpeopleinsidestretchouttheirhandsthroughtheirongrilleandtry tograb them.This comes days after the

“Agra model of containment”was showcased as a success byboth the Centre and the stategovernment.Thevideoclip,whichisbeing

circulated on socialmedia, wasreportedlyshotattheHindustanCollege, registered under theSharda Group of Institutions,which was taken over by the

Agra administration and con-verted intoaquarantine facility.The woman shooting the

video clip can be heard sayingthatshewasbroughttothecen-tre foracheck-up,whichwasn’tdone.Someresidentsclaimedthat

foodwasdistributedatthequar-antinecentreinasimilarfashionearlier too.Confirming the incident,

AgraDistrictMagistrate PrabhuCONTINUEDONPAGE2

Imagegrabof foodbeingdistributedatacollege

ATRIMITRA&AMITAVACHAKRABORTYKOLKATA,NEWDELHI,APRIL26

AS THEman in charge of WestBengal’sCentralMedical Stores,DrBiplabKantiDasguptaledthedistribution of COVID-19med-ical supplies to hospitals andhealthcentresacrossthestate—from Personal ProtectiveEquipmenttomasksandgloves.On Sunday, nine days after hetested positive andmonths shyof retirement, the 64-year-oldAssistant Director of HealthServices became the first front-

line health provider in WestBengal todieof thevirus.Dasgupta,whowasadmitted

toaprivatehospital inKolkata’sSaltLakearea,testedpositiveonApril 17.Diabetic andhyperten-sive, his condition had deterio-ratedsoonafter, andhewasputonventilatorsupport.Thecauseof his death has been recordedas ‘COVIDpneumonia’.After he tested positive, his

familyandprimarycontacts, in-cluding 17 more staff of theHealthDepartmentandanotherseniormedical officer,wereputin quarantine and their swabsamples sent for testing. So far,his wife and family physician

havetestedpositiveforthevirusand are in the same hospital.Whileoneof his sons is stuck inanothercityandhasbeenunableto return due to the lockdown,theotherisinquarantineinaho-tel ineastKolkata.On Sunday, in a series of

tweets, ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee said she was “deeplypainedattheuntimelydemise”of Dasgupta. She saidDasgupta’s “sacrifice for thecause of ailing humanity willever be in our hearts and willmake our COVIDwarriors fightthe deadly virus with evengreater determination.”Hailing fromChattogram in

Bangladesh, Dasgupta, whograduated from ChittagongMedical College in 1980, didhisDiploma in Public Health fromtheAll IndiaInstituteofHygieneandPublicHealth.Anofficerof theWestBengal

Health Services, Dasgupta hasheld several senior administra-tive positions, including that ofSuperintendent of Kanthi Sub-divisional Hospital in EastMidnapore, Chief MedicalOfficer in Uttar Dinajpur andlater, District Leprosy Officer inMurshidabad.DrAmitPan,aKolkata-based

paediatricianwho has workedextensively in the area of child

health,saidDasguptawillbere-membered for his stint as lep-rosy officer. “He travelled to theinteriors of the districts andplayed amajor role in bringingdown the number of leprosycases in theseareas,”hesaid.Dasgupta also headed the

planning and development ofthe state health services beforeleading charge of the CentralMedical Stores.SanjayBanerjee,secretaryof

theBehala branchof the IndianMedicalAssociationwithwhomDasgupta has worked for long,said, “Wegot toknowabouthisfever only on the seventh day,when Dr Sovan Kumar Kundu

examinedhim(Kunduhassincetested positive) and recom-mended a COVID-19 test. Evenafter he tested positive, Biplabtoldmehehadnoproblems.Buta couple of days later, I couldsense his breathlessness. Thatnight, he was transferred to aprivatehospital inSaltLakeandput on ventilator. In themean-time, he also suffered a cardiacarrest. Although he survivedthat, his urinary output had re-duceda lot.Hewas tobeputondialysis but that never hap-pened.Hehadcomorbidities—diabetes and hypertension.About7-8yearsago,hehadalso

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PAGE1ANCHOR

DrBiplabKantiDasguptatestedpositiveonApril17.

Bengal doctor in charge of Covid supplies falls to virus

Mann ki Baat:Modi warns,don’t assumethe virus willnot reach youLIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, APRIL26

WHILESOMElockdownrestric-tions have been eased in someareas over the last few days,PrimeMinister NarendraModion Sunday cautioned against“negligence” and “overconfi-dence” in the “people-driven”fight against the novel coron-avirusdisease (COVID-19).Quoting the Hindi idiom

“Sawdhanihati,durghatnaghati”(anaccidenthappensassoonasthe guard is lowered) to under-line his point, Modi, in hismonthly Mann Ki Baat pro-gramme, said: “Let us not getcaught in the trap of overconfi-dence, let us not harbour a feel-ing that if the coronavirus hasnot reached our city, village,street or office yet, it will notreach now. Nevermake such amistake.”Citing a Sanskrit shloka, he

said: “Fire, debt and illness, iftaken lightly, grow again at thefirstopportunity,assumingdan-gerous proportions. So it is im-portant to treat them com-pletely. Therefore, inoverenthusiasm,thereshouldbeno negligence.Wewill alwayshave to remaincautious.”Emphasisingtheimportance

of social distancing, he said:CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Alarm bells ringing inAhmedabad: 19 deaths inone day, 67 in one weekEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,APRIL26

WITH19PATIENTSsuccumbingto COVID-19 in AhmedabadSunday, including a Congresscorporator,Gujarat’s largestcityhasregistered105deathslinkedtothevirusoverall—morefatal-ities than any other city in thecountry, apart from Mumbaiwith 204 deaths. Punewith 77deaths, Indore (57) and Delhi(51)arenext in line.Asmany as 67 of the virus-

linked deaths in Ahmedabadhave been reported since April20. During the same period,Mumbai reported 65 deaths.Outside Ahmedadad, only onedeath was reported in GujaratSunday—fromVadodara.Ahmedabad district has

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BIGGESTSPIKEOF 1,945CASESONSUNDAY

ABANTIKAGHOSHNEWDELHI, APRIL26

AS STATES prepare for a stag-geredexitfromthesecondphaseof the lockdown that endsMay3,PrimeMinisterNarendraModiis likely to ask them not to lettheir guard down in the fightagainstCOVID-19inavideocon-ferenceMondaymorningwithall chief ministers. This will behis fourth such meeting withstateCMssinceMarch22whenhe first spokewith thembeforeannouncing a nationwide lock-downonMarch24.Four key demands are likely

to be made by states in the

Mondaymeeting: special trainsto transportmigrantworkers totheirhomestates,permissiontoallowmore economic activitiesin non-hotspots, financial re-sources to support small busi-nesses and the vulnerable, andadditionaltestingkits,ventilators

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DIPANKARGHOSENEWDELHI, APRIL26

THE CENTRE on Sunday pre-sented to states a detailed ac-countof theinfirmitiesinIndia’sCOVID-fighting infrastructure,includingspecifically, theshort-ageof isolationbeds,ventilators,and ICUbeds.According to a presentation

made at the meeting, UttarPradesh, Bihar, and Assam hadthe largest numbers of districtswithgraveshortagesofall thesethree kinds of equipment. ThepresentationwasbasedondatauptoApril 23.The meeting, which was

chairedbytheCabinetSecretary,wasattendedby thehealthsec-retariesof thestates.According todatapresented

at the meeting, 183 districtsacross the country have fewerthan100isolationbeds—and67ofthesedistrictshaveseencasesof coronavirus infection. Asmany as 53 (out of 75) districts

inUPhavefewerthan100isola-tion beds, the data show—and31 of these districts have re-portedcases.Bihar is number 2 on the in-

firmitylistwith20(outofatotal38) districts having fewer than100isolationbeds;9ofthesedis-tricts have reported infections

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CORONACOUNT

826DEATHS

5,914RECOVERED

6,25,309sampleshavebeentestedasonApril26

26,917CASES

LaxmiNagar inEastDelhiaftersomeshopsopenedonSundaymorning.AbhinavSaha

Centre flags gaps in critical care infra;shortages worst in UP, Bihar, Assam

WORLD

GLOBAL DEATHS GOPAST 2 LAKH, SPAINDAILY TOLL LOWESTIN FIVEWEEKSPAGE10

‘ECONOMICACTIVITYSHOULDSTART INNON-HOTSPOTS...ORPEOPLEWILLDIEOFHUNGER’ASHOKGEHLOTCHIEFMINISTEROFRAJASTHAN

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

P6WITH153DEATHSfrom3,319positivecases,Gujarathasoneof thehighestKnownInfectionFatalityRatio inthecoun-try.Thehighdeathratecouldalsopointtoamuchlargerprevalenceof thediseaseinthepopulationthanhassofarbeende-tected.Gujarathassofarcarriedout51,091tests,whichis lessthanhalfofwhatMaharashtrahasdonesofar,andsignifi-cantly lesserthanevenTamilNaduwithmorethan80,000tests.

NewzoneofconcernE●EX

PLAI

NED

TAKINGSTOCKNumberof Amongdistrictswithdistricts COVID-19cases

Fewerthan100isolationbeds 183 67Zero ICUbeds 143 47Zeroventilatorbeds 123 39

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

INSIDE

TOPOFFICIALSMOVEDAROUND,EXTENSIONFORHEALTHSECYPAGE6

On table in PMmeetingwithCMs today:Migrants, easing curbs, financial support

GEORGEMATHEW,SUNNYVERMA&SANDEEPSINGHMUMBAI,NEWDELHI, APRIL26

THEFINANCEministry is indis-cussion with regulators, theReserve Bank of India (RBI) andthe Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) to addressmutual funds’need for liquidityandpreventpanicsellingindebtfunds triggered by the abruptclosureof six credit schemesbyFranklin Templeton MutualFundonThursday.Aseniorgovernmentofficial,

who did notwish to be named,said “(it) looksmore of a liquid-ity issueratherthanacreditriskproblem”.“Thefinanceministryhas taken note of the develop-ments and is engagingwith theregulatorshowbest itcanbere-solved,”hesaid.Capital market regulator

Sebi,whichwasawareof thede-velopmentsthatledtotheshut-downof the schemes, is in con-stanttouchwiththeAssociationof Mutual Funds of India, thenodal agency formutual funds,and the RBI, to assess the dy-namicsituation. Infact,SebihadwrittentoRBIinMarchitself im-

pressinguponittheneedtopro-videa liquiditywindowformu-tual funds. “It has, however, notyet happened,” said a source inthe government, who also didnotwish tobenamed.The debt fund segment had

turnedvolatile sinceMarchandwitnessed outflows of Rs 1.94lakh crore and is staring at fur-ther outflows, especially in theRs 55,000 crore credit risk fundsegmentbecausetheTempletonmovehasshakentheconfidenceof investors. The total corpus ofdebtschemesshrunktoRs10.29lakhcroreasonMarch31,2020.Recommending an early in-

tervention, former SebiChairmanUKSinhahadinanar-ticle in The Sunday Expresswarned that the mutual fundproblem can swiftlymigrate tothe entire financial services in-dustry,andthensoontotherealeconomy.InOctober2008, at thepeak

of the global financial crisis, theRBIhadopenedaspecial liquid-ity repo window for mutualfunds.Again, in July2013,whenreturns on debt mutual fundsdropped sharply with rupeefalling significantly against USdollar, the RBI opened a special

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Pressure on MFs:Finmin takes noteof Franklin, in talkswith SEBI and RBIRBIyettorespondtoSEBI’sMarchnoteseekingliquiditysupportfordebtfunds

Atcurrentdoublingrate, Indiacouldsee65,000casesbymiddleofnextmonth,Centre tells statechief secretaries

Agra model? Wear PPE,throw food at peoplewho have been locked up

Mumbai

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020

PM’s meetingand personal protective equip-ment.A day before the meeting,

RajasthanChiefMinister AshokGehlottoldTheIndianExpressthatthe nation-wide lockdownshould be modified and eco-nomic activities allowed innon-hotspots.“Therewassomerelax-ation for industries and shops...That is fine, butmore activitiesshouldbeginbecausetherevenueofstateshasbecomezero.Whenthere is no revenue, how willstateswork?”hesaid.Less than a week back,

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupeshBaghel toohadwrittentothePrimeMinisterseekingper-missiontoletsweetshops,vehicleandelectronicshowrooms,repairshops, and retail activities com-mence operations. He had alsodemandedfundstothetuneofRs30,000croretosupportpoorandneedyfamilieswithnomeansofincome.State government sources in

Maharashtra saidChiefMinisterUddhavThackerayislikelytode-mand arrangement of specialtrainstotransportmigrantwork-erstotheirhomestates.Theysaidthestatehasinitiatedpreliminarypreparationsfortransportationofmigrants bybuses if trainswerenotpermitted.WhileGujaratCMVijay Rupani is likely to presentthewayforwardforhisstateafterMay 3, Punjab CM AmarinderSingh is expected to reiteratehisdemand for a special financialpackage, andWest Bengal CMMamataBanerjee is likely tode-mand the releaseof pastdues tothestateandseekadditionaltest-ingkits.Inanothermeetingwithchief

secretariesofallstatesonSunday,CabinetSecretaryRajivGaubare-viewed the preparedness ofstates.“Apresentationwasmadeoutlining the projected scale ofthe challengeathand, especiallysince the current stringent lock-downcannotpossiblygoonforanindefinite period given its hugeeconomic cost,” said an officialwhowaspartof themeeting.OnSunday,thecountryregis-

teredthehighestdailyincreaseof1,945cases,takingthetotalnum-berof positive cases to26,917, asper data released by the healthministry. Thenumber of deathstouched826,with 47 in the last24hours. A total of 5,913peoplehaverecoveredfromthedisease.Making a summary projec-

tionduringthemeetingwithstatechiefsecretaries,theCentralgov-ernmentprojectedIndiatorecord65,000 COVID-19 cases byMay15.At thepresentdoublling rateof10-12days, it saidthenumberof cases could reach 2.74 crorecasesbyAugust15. “By Juneendwecouldbeheadedforone lakhcasesaday,accordingtothepro-jection,”saidanothersourcewhowaspartof themeeting.“The idea was to sensitise

states to theneedtobewellpre-pared.Healthisastatesubjectandall therealworkisbeingdonebythem.That iswhytherewasalsotalk aboutdevolutionof respon-sibilities to thedistrict adminis-tration or even the city level forbetter decentralised care of pa-tients so that tertiary care facili-tiesarenotoverwhelmed,”saidathirdpersonwhowaspartof themeeting.Going forward, thedoubling

timewoulddependonwhenandtowhat extent lockdown is re-laxedinvariouspartsofthecoun-try. India’sworst doubling timewas3.5daysinMarch.Atopoffi-cial in thegovernmentsaidevenin theworst case scenario, thedoublingratemaynotdipbelowfive as social distancing, handwashing and other behaviouralchangesarebeinginternalisedbypeople. “But if thedoublingtimedoes reach there, the case loadwouldbeevenmorethanthepro-jection sharedwith states,” thesourcesaid.During a visit to the AIIMS

Trauma Centre in New Delhi,Union Health Minister HarshVardhan said: “Whenwe com-pare the number of active pa-tientswho are currently hospi-talised,wefindthatonly2.17percentpatientshavebeenadmittedinICU,1.29percentpatientshaverequired oxygen support andmere0.36per cent are onventi-lator.Wearewinningthebattlesand eventuallywewillwin thiswar...” Themortality/ death rateof COVIDpatients in India is 3.1per cent comparedwith 7 percent at the global level, he said.“Thedoublingrateofthecountryhas been showing regular im-provement and stands at 10.5dayswhen seenover aperiodofthreedays,9.3daysoveraperiodof 7days and8.1days over ape-riodofa14days.Theseindicatorsmaybetakenaspositiveeffectsofthelockdownalongwiththeclus-termanagement and contain-mentstrategies,”hesaid.“Asondate,283districtshave

notreportedanyCOVIDcases,64districtshavenotreportedafreshcasesince the last7days, 48dis-tricts have not reported a freshcasesincethelast14days,33dis-tricts have not reported a freshcasesincethelast21daysand18districtshavenotreportedafreshcase since the last 28 days,” theHealthMinistersaid.

(WithinputsfromManojCGinNewDelhiandVishwasWaghmodeinMumbai)

Centre flags gapssofar.InAssam,whichisthirdonthelist,thesenumbersare19(outof33)and6respectively.The presentation also

recorded theworst performingdistricts inthesestates. InUP,thethreeworst performingdistrictsare Saharanpur, Firozabad andRaeBareli.Underscoring the “urgent

need to build ICU capacity”, thepresentationsaid143districts inIndia have no ICU beds; 47 ofthese have seen coronaviruscases.Heretoo,thestatewiththehighestnumberisUP,with34dis-trictswithzeroICUbeds,ofwhich19haveseeninfections.MadhyaPradesh is second in

thislist,with31districtsthathavezeroICUbeds;11ofthesedistrictshaveseenCOVID-19cases. Biharis third,withnumbersof 29and10respectively.A total 123 districts nation-

widehave zero ventilator beds;39 of these districts have seencases.UPhas35of thesedistricts—and20of themhave reportedcases. Bihar andAssamhave28and17suchdistrictsrespectively;and10and3ofthemrespectivelyhaveseencases.Thepresentationalsoflagged

the possibility of infrastructureshortagebasedonprojectionsforMay3. For instance, it suggestedthatMumbaicouldseeashortageof isolationbedswithoxygenbyMay2,with9,632casesprojectedby that date. It recorded 10dis-trictsacrossthecountrywiththehighest bed capacity utilisation,according to available data.Firozabad inUPhas30bedsbut62 active cases; Surat has 253beds and 440 active cases.Mumbai is recorded ashaving atotal2,260beds,and3,615cases.Ofthese10districts,fourareinUP,andtwoinGujarat.TheCabinetSecretary’spres-

entation seemed critical of thedataprovidedbystates—itaskedwhethertherewasoverutilisationof beds, where patients werehoused,andwhetheradministra-tions were “actually aware ofwhat is happening in the field”,andremarkedthat“withmanag-ingCOVID-19astheonlytask,itisstrangeifwecannotdoevenbasicdataentry”.

Mann ki baat“Dogajdoori, bahuthai zaroori (adistance of two yards is essen-tial).”Healsoexhortedpeopletostopspittinginpublicplaces,say-ing itwas time to get rid of this“badhabit”onceandforall.“DuetoCOVID-19,masksare

becoming a part of our lives. Itdoesn’tmean that all thosewhoarewearingitaresick.Maskswillbecome a new symbol of acivilised society. If youwant toprotectyourself andothers fromthedisease, use of amask is im-portant,”hesaid.The Prime Minister said

India’sfightagainstCOVID-19was“people-driven” in the truestsenseoftheterm.Inrecentweeks,hesaid,peopleofdifferent faithshavecelebratedtheirreligiousfes-tivals at home, following the in-structionsof theauthorities.He also urgedmore prayers

during the ongoing month ofRamzan. “Now that this troublehas come to plague the entireworld, it givesusanopportunity

tomarkthisRamzanasaniconofrestraint,goodwill,sensitivityandservice.Thistime,weshouldpraymore than ever before, so thatpriortothecelebrationofEid,theworldisridofthecoronavirusandwecelebrateEidwithenthusiasmandgaiety like earlier times,” hesaid. Modi also talked aboutIndia’sattemptstosupplyhydrox-ychloroquine (HCQ) to 13 coun-tries.“Wetookadecisioninkeep-ing with our culture. Weundertook the task of providingmedical supplies to the needyacross theworld, andhave suc-cessfullycompletedthishuman-itariantask,”hesaid.

Ahmedabadaccountedforover68percentofthetotaldeathsinthestate,whichreached153Sunday.AhmedabadandSuratareamongthefivenewhotspots, including Chennai,Hyderabad andThane, thatwillbemonitoredbyCentralteams.Of the 19 deaths in

Ahmedabad— the highest re-portedfromthecityinoneday—eightwereofpatientswhodidnothave anyother serious ailmentsandwere in theage rangeof 34-59 years. Nine others sufferedfromhigh blood pressure, dia-betesandheartailments,andtwowerelistedas“highrisk”andaged60and65yearsold.AmongtheninewasCongress

corporatorBadruddinShaikh,67,who represented Behrampuraward,ahotspotinthecity.Shaikhtested positive onApril 15,wasadmitted to Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel(SVP)hospital,andhadbeenon ventilator support for over aweek. Officials said Shaikh hadundergone a heart surgery re-cently,wasadiabeticandhadhy-pertension.The city has, meanwhile,

ramped up its testing. OnSaturday, Chief Minister VijayRupani said that AhmedabadMunicipalCorporationwas test-ing 2,701 samples permillionpopulation.Dr Atul Patel, infectious dis-

easespecialistatSterlingHospital,which is oneof the threeprivatehospitalsinGujaratauthorisedtotreat COVID-19patients, attrib-utedthefatalityratetothe“likelypresence of a deadlier strain” ofthevirusinthestate.Thirteenofthedeathswereof

patientsbeingtreatingattheSVPhospital and the rest at the civilhospital.Ofthe233newcasesreported

from across Gujarat, 178werefromAhmedabad,takingthetotalnumberinthedistrictto2,181,andthetotalcountinthestateto3,319Sunday.Accordingtostatedata,54.46

per cent of deathswereof thoseabove60years of age, 33.04percentbetween45and60yearsold,10.71percentbetween15and45yearsold,and1.78percentbelow15years old. And, at least 15percent of the total deaths reportedin thestate till Fridaywerewith-

outanyco-morbidities.Among the new cases re-

ported from the state, 28werefrom Surat, eight fromAnand,seven fromVadodara, four eachfrom Rajkot, two fromPanchmahal, andoneeach fromBanaskantha,Kheda,NavsariandPatan.

Bengal doctorsufferedaminorcerebralstroke.”“The last time I spoke tohim,

he rued aboutwhere he couldhavecontracted thevirus from. Itoldhimhecouldhavegotitfromanywhere—after all, hewas incontactwithworkerswhowerecarryingsuppliesfromtheCentralMedical Stores to variousCOVIDhospitals; or even the govern-ment car inwhichhe travelled,”Banerjeeadded.Dasgupta’s friends say that

throughallhispostings,henevergave up medical practice. DrSamudraSengupta,hisfriendandjuniorinthehealthservices,said,“Sincewe are in administrativeservice,wehave nopermissionforclinicalpractice.ButBiplabdawould always say, ‘Daktari tachharisna(Don’tstopbeingadoc-tor).Wearebornto treatpeople.That is howwewill always beknownas.’SoBiplabdaalsonevergiveuppractice.Heusedtotreatpeoplefreeofcost.”While condoling the death,

theWestBengalDoctors’ Forumcalledformoretestingofhealth-careproviders.“Weonceagainre-iteratethatweneedmoreinten-sivetesting,especiallyofeachandevery healthcare provider, evenasymptomaticones...”

UddhavConfirming this, Transport

Minister Anil Parab said themeetings are being held to re-viewthis.“Preliminaryprepara-tions are being carriedout con-sidering all options. No finaldecisionhasbeentakenyet.Wearewaitingforthestategovern-ment's order. We will makearrangementsasper theorder,”Parab toldThe IndianExpress.Uddhav,who addressed the

peopleonSunday, said the statewascommittedtosendmigrantlabourershomeassoonaspossi-ble. “Talksareonandwewill ar-rive at a solution soon. But trainservices will not start. Thereshould not be any crowding. Ifthere is crowding, restrictionswill have to be reimposed.Wheneverpossible,wewillsendeveryone to your homes.” Headdedthatitwillbedonegradu-ally.He also indicated that some

relaxationswillbegrantedinru-ralareasafterMay3butdistrictborders will remain sealed.“Questions are being asked onwhat will happen after May 3whenthelockdownends.SinceApril 20, we have graduallyeased restrictions at some

places. In Mumbai, this led tocrowding, whichwe cannot af-ford.WearenotopeningdistrictbordersinruralMaharashtrabutaregraduallyeasingrestrictionstoalloweconomicactivitytore-sumewithin districts. Wewillhave to see how more relax-ationscanbegivenafterMay3,”Uddhav said while addressingthestate throughwebcast.The state, acting on the

Union government’s directive,had permitted industries oper-atinginruralareasoroutsidethelimits of municipalities to startfunctioningfromApril20.Threedays later, itwithdrewthesere-laxations inmetropolitan areasof Mumbai and Pune citingcommuting by a large numberof people.Uddhav said the lockdown

has helped to slow down thespread of the virus. Otherwise,it would havemultiplied like ithappenedinothercountries,headded.Taking an indirect dig at BJP,

UddhavthankedBJP leaderandUnionMinisterNitinGadkariforasking everyone to keep asidepolitics and stand behind theMaharashtra government.“Powercomesandgoes,butlostlives cannot be reclaimed. Nooneshouldplaydirtypolitics intimes like these. I would like tothankGadkari forhisadvisebe-causesomewere trying tospoilthe environmentwhen there isexcellentcoordinationbetweenthe Centre and the state,” hesaid.The CMalso urgedMuslims

to cooperate with the govern-ment and offer namaz at homeand not on the roads or inmosques in the holymonth ofRamzan.Uddhav,however,keptmum

on the recentMHA guidelineseasingcurbsoncertainshopsinurbanandruralareas, indicatingthatthestateisunlikelytoallowany relaxations to these shopstillMay3.

Wadhawanswere any previous dealings be-tween Gupta and theWadhawans, andwhether thetravelletterwasissuedwithany“mala fide intention”, says thata “forensic investigation” by aninvestigative agency is neededlook into thesecharges.But thereport indicates that

itdidnotappearthatGuptagavethe letter to help theWadhawans evade the law,sourcessaid,addingthatthisob-servationislikelytocountintheofficer’s favour.In a Facebook Live video

Sunday, Home Minister AnilDeshmukh said that the reporthascitedGuptaassayingthathehad given the letter to theWadhawans himself and wasnot pressured by anyone to doso. “The CM and I will lookthroughthefileandtakeadeci-

sion on the report. Eventually,we will also make the reportpublic,”Deshmukhsaid.Claimingthat“manypeople”

had tried to politicise the issue,Deshmukhsaid:“...youhavesen-ior politicianswhohave led thestate trying to politicise this is-sue, which is very disappoint-ing.”Former chief minister

Devendra Fadnavis had earlierhit out at theMaharashtra gov-ernmentoverthelockdown“vi-olation”bytheWadhawansandaskedif therewasnorestrictionfor the “mighty and rich” in thestate.Sources said Gupta, a 1992-

batch officer, stated in his pleabefore the probe that in the af-termathofthelockdown,alotofpeople were caught off guard,includingmedical patients,mi-grantsand tourists, amongoth-ers. “He said thatmany peopleinthegovernmentdidinterveneon humanitarian grounds tomitigate the circumstances ofthesepeople,” sources said.According to sources, Gupta

said that apart from theWadhawans, he had also inter-vened in other similar cases.They said the official also sub-mitted that he had given anopen letter “towhoever itmayconcern” and that it was notbinding.“Hearguedthat, forex-ample, theSatarapolicedidnotaccept the letter,” sources said.ReferringtotheWadhawans,

sources said, Gupta submittedthat they were stranded inrented accommodation inKhandala andwanted to returnto their home inMahabaleshwar, both locationswithin the state. “He acceptedthat he did issue the letter andmentioned the circumstances,with supporting documents,”theofficial said.Sources said when Gupta

wasaskedaboutthejurisdictionorauthorityunderwhichhehadissued the letter, the officer ac-knowledgedthathedidnothavesuch authority. “Hence, the re-port says he didn't have the ju-risdiction and had exceeded itprima facie on compassionategrounds,” theysaid.On Sunday, referring to the

CBImove, Deshmukh tweeted:“ACBIteamhastakenbothKapilandDhirajWadhawanintocus-tody. Satara police has giventhemallrequiredassistanceandanescortvehiclewith1+3(oneoffice and three personnel)guard uptoMumbai on awrit-ten request. The arrest proce-dures on going on.#LawEqualForAll”In a statement, the CBI con-

firmed the arrest fromMahabaleshwar and said “boththe accused will be producedbefore the Special CBI Court atMumbai”.On Saturday, the special

court vacated a stay granted onexecution of the non-bailable

warrantagainsttheWadhawansby the CBI till May 5. The courtsaid that theWadhawans had“misrepresented” before it thatthey learnt of thewarrant onlyon April 15 — the non-bailablewarrantwasissuedonMarch17.

(WITHSUSHANTKULKARNI/PUNE)

Agra modelNarainSinghsaid ithappenedafewdaysago,and“everythingisfinenow”.“The situation has been

taken care of. The DM has or-dered an inquiry. There was aslight delay in distributing thefood,thatiswhythosestayingatthe quarantine centre becamesomewhat restless,” AdditionalChiefSecretary(Home)AwanishKumarAwasthi said.Singhsaid therewasadelay

of about fourhours indistribut-ingthefood.“Therewasagapofabout four hours, and (in thistime)theydidall this.However,it was an isolated incident, andwehavemadesurethatnosuchincidentisrepeated.Everythinghas been taken care of.Everythingis finenow,”hesaid.“Followingcomplaints from

theShardaGroupof Institutions,I inspectedtheplace.Aninspec-tionwasdonethismorningtoo.All the faults in thesystemhavebeen repaired. The ChiefDevelopmentOfficer(CDO)hasbeenasked to fix responsibility.He has been asked to submit areport. The teams taskedwithCOVID-19 management havebeenaskedtoworkproperlyandnotletsuchcomplaintscomeupagain,” Singhsaid.While Singh said there are

over 500 people at the quaran-tinecentre,alocalhealthofficialput the figureat130.“Most of the people at the

quarantinecentrearethosewhohavesmallhouses,wheresocialdistancing is not possible. Webelieve that if we let them stayin their houses, the virus willspread further. Yesterday, webroughtall theclosecontactsofprevious confirmed cases herefor sampling and the process isgoingon,” theDMsaid.Until Sunday evening, Agra

hadreported372cases (includ-ing 49 discharged) and 10deaths.AgraMayorNaveenJainsaid

hehadwrittentoChiefMinisterYogi Adityanath earlier, statingthat the authorities were onlyindulging in “photo ops”, andlack of proper effort waswors-ening the situation in the dis-trict.“Ididhighlight thatpatients

were not being admitted ontime and there are problems incoordination. The CM inter-venedandthesituationbecameslightlybetter,”hesaid.

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33 healthcare workers test positiveat Max hospital in New DelhiASTHASAXENANEWDELHI, APRIL26

THIRTY-THREE healthcareworkershavetestedpositive forcoronavirus at Max SuperSpecialityHospitalinEastDelhi’sPatparganj.Withover400beds,thehospitalisonethelargestpri-vate facilities in thedistrict.The hospital, when con-

tacted, told The Indian Express:“As part of our ongoing routineCOVID testing for all healthcareworkers, admittedpatients andnew admissions, a total of 33healthcareworkers have tested

positivesincetheexercisebeganearlier this month at MaxHospital, Patparganj. These in-clude two doctors and 23 nurs-ingstaff,whiletheremainingaretechniciansandsupport staff.”“All of them have been

shifted to our COVID-onlyMaxHospital, Saket, eastwing,”hos-pital authorities told The IndianExpress.The hospital also said that

145 nurses from the Patparganjfacility“werequarantinedfor14days in a private hostel, wherethey live. The hostel was sealedand declared a containmentzoneby the local authorities”.

“Since theoccupancy (at thehospital) isminimal, the hospi-tal is functioningwith availablestaff,” it said.On the 145 nurses being

quarantined, a health depart-mentofficialsaid:“Contacttrac-ing of the hospital staff begansoon after a patient undergoingdialysis there tested positive.During investigation, we found145nursesfromthehospital liv-inginthesamehostel,witheachroombeingsharedbythree-fournurses. The entire hostel com-plexwasquarantinedand sam-ples of all nurses were sent fortesting.”

On April 15, the hospitalchain had announced it wouldtest its24,000healthcarework-ersand1,000patientsacrossthecountry over the next fewweeks.Sofar,50healthcareworkers

havetestedpositiveat theDelhigovernment-run Babu JagjivanRamHospital, 29 at Baba SahebAmbedkar Hospital, 25 at theDelhi State Cancer Institute and15 at Lady Hardinge MedicalCollege. Apollo, Sir Ganga Ram,Moolchand,RML,Safdarjung,AI-IMSandLokNayakhavealsore-portedcasesofhealthcarework-ers testingpositive.

MILINDGHATWAIBHOPAL,APRIL26

AMONTHafter the first COVID-19deathwasreportedfromUjjainonMarch 25, the toll has nowclimbed to 103 in MadhyaPradeshwith2,090positivecasesso far. Therewere145newcasesover a24-hourperiod, including91fromIndore,asthevirusspreadtomoreareasofMP’slargestcity.The neighbouring city of

Ujjain,whichhas registered thehighest death rate among citieswith aminimumof 100 cases inthe country, reported twomoredeathstakingitstollto17among

106positivecases.Six deaths were earlier re-

ported each from Dewas andKhargone districts, which re-portedonepositivecaseeachinthelast24hours,takingtheirre-spective tally to 23 and 61. Thecombinedandindividualdeathrate in each of these districts ishigher than the national aver-age.With86ofthetotal103deaths

being reported from Indore,Ujjain,DewasandKhargonedis-tricts, the authorities are consid-ering sending samples to thePune-basedNational Institute ofVirology to check if amore viru-lentstrainhashittheregion.

Dean of Mahatma GandhiMedical College, Indore, Dr JyotiBindal said that samples fromIndore, Bhopal andSagarwill besent to Pune for comparison.“Fatalityandpositivity ismoreinthe region. Countries across theglobearerespondingwithdiffer-entdeathandpositiverates,”shesaid.ThePunelabhadalsoaskedfor samples fromGwalior andJabalpurbut theMGMCollege issending samples only fromIndore, Bhopal and Sagar due totravelconstraints.MPisexpectingasurgeinpos-

itivecasesasresultsofthousandsof samples, including those senttoAhmedabad andPuducherry,

are awaited. Former CMKamalNath said the death toll and thependency of nearly 9,000 sam-pleswasamatterof concern.Hesaid the state did not have ade-quate resources like medicalequipmentandtestingkits.In a video conference, Chief

MinisterShivrajSinghChouhanasked officials to adopt bestpractices in COVID-19 treat-ment.GivinginstructionstostartICUfacilities ineachdistrict, theCM said home quarantineshould be prioritised for sus-pects.Ujjainhasalreadystartedthe practice of preferring homequarantinetoinstitutionalquar-antine.

Madhya Pradesh toll crosses 100, govtto check for a ‘more virulent’ strain

Mumbai

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020

THEOUTBREAK Mumbai


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SANDEEPASHARMUMBAI,ARPIL26

ASCOVID-19cases rise in slumsandchawlsofMumbai, authori-tiesarerampingupinstitutionalinfrastructuretoquarantinepeo-plewhomayhavebeenexposedto thevirus in thesedensehabi-tations. But the first challenge iscontact tracing.Data compiled by BMC indi-

cates administrativewards thathavemore affluent neighbour-hoods and high-rise buildingshavebeenable to findandquar-antine a higher percentage ofcontacts of those infected. Thedata sharedwith the state gov-ernment till April 24 shows forthe 4,589 infected inMumbai,1,10,826 contacts were tracedand quarantined either in insti-tutionalCovidcarefacilitiesorintheir homes. While 17,915 ofthesewere categorised as high-riskcontacts,92,911weretermedas lowrisk.High-riskcontactsarefamily

members,caregiversandanyoneincontactwiththepatientforsixhoursormore,whereaslow-riskcontacts are others who sharethesamephysicalspacewiththeinfectedperson.The state public health de-

partment has directed all localbodiestoformspecialisedteamsto locate contacts and regularlyfollowupforsignsof symptomsof theinfection.AdailyupdateissubmittedtoMantralaya,whichincludes details of daily contacttracing and average number ofcontacts tracedpercase.While the number of high-

risk contacts vary from case tocase,officialssaidMumbaiiscur-rently tracing an average of 24contactsper infectedperson.On an average, around four

high-riskcontactsarefoundand

quarantined.But corresponding ward-

wisedatarevealsthateachwardinMumbaihashadwidelyvary-ingsuccesswithcontacttracing.Forinstance,G-Southward–

it includes parts of Worli andPrabhadevi–whichistheworst-hit locality in the city, had tillFriday evening 558 cases andhadquarantined4,842contacts(862 high-risk and 3,980 low-risk).AccordingtotheBMCdata,this is an average of under ninecontactspercase—thehigh-riskcontactsaveragedat1.5andlow-riskat7.1.The neighbouring G-North,

alsograpplingwithhighnumberofcases,claimedtohavesuccess-fullytracedanaverageof38con-tactspercase.ByFridayevening,ithadreported330positivecasesand reportedly isolated 12,448contacts (1,812 high-risk and10,636 low-risk). The localwardoffice report said that high-riskcontacts averaged at 5.49 andlow-risk contacts at 32.23 percase.DespiteG-Northhavingthehighest average among nine

wards in the island city, it is stilllesswhen comparedwithmostwards in the western suburbswith a higher concentration ofmiddle-classneighbourhoods.WiththeexceptionofH-East

ward, which includes BandraEast, Khar East and parts ofSantacruzEast,allotherwardsinthe western suburbs haverecordedabettercontacttracingaveragethanthecityoverall.Forinstance,P-North(mainly

Malad,Madh,Manori and partsof Goregaon) that has a highernumber of multi-storied build-ings than the rest of thewards,had until Friday quarantined16,673 contacts (698 high-riskand 15,975 low-risk) while re-porting 115 positive cases, aver-aging145contactspercase–thehighest in thecity.R-North,whichhas a similar

residential profile, averagedaround53 contacts per infectedperson.NeighbouringR-Centralhadanaverageof42contactsperinfected. H-West, which is con-sidered to be themost affluentwardinthewesternsuburbs,also

hadahighaverageofquarantin-ing44contactsperinfectedper-son.ButH-Eastward,whichhasa

higher concentration of slumsand where people are moredensely packed, averaged onlyfivecontactspercase.Wardsintheeasternsuburbs

that have traditionally had alower human development in-dex and are dotted with highdensityslums,havehadthelow-est number of contacts for pa-tients.Barring N-ward, which also

hasaconcentrationofmulti-sto-riedbuildings,alltheotherwardshave isolated far fewer contactsonaveragethanthecity’soverallratio. L-ward, which comprisesslumsofKurlaandPowai,hadre-ported 324 cases by Friday buthad traced 2,288 contacts – anaverageof7.06contactspercase.S-ward, comprising

Bhandup, had traced fewer – at5.89contactspercasewithatallyof 131 positive cases.Neighbouring Tward (Mulund)had only 30 positive cases byFriday and traced an average of7.83 contacts per case. M-East,which has emerged as a newhotspot,hadtracedanaverageof22contactspercase.An inter-ministerial central

team,visitingMumbaiforanon-spot assessment had also raisedconcernsonthelowerthanaver-agenumberof contactsquaran-tinedinslumareas.“Withoutag-gressive contact-tracing, there’salways a risk that wewon’t beabletocontainfurtheroutbreaks.We’vewrittentoMumbai,othermunicipalities to intensify con-tacttracing,”saidDrSatishPawar,Additional Director, NationalHealthMission.In wards with more slum

pockets, where all contacts of apatientmight bemore difficult

to trace, theBMChasso fargoneforacontainmentstrategy. “Ourstrategy is active contact tracingandcordoningoff infectedpock-ets within the slum,” saidAssistant Commissioner (G-North)KiranDighavkar.Dr Daksha Shah, BMC’s

deputy executive health officer,highlighted howMumbai hadadopted an aggressive clustercontainmentstrategy.ByFriday,BMChaddeclared1,196contain-mentzones,surveyed17.01lakhhousesand67.44 lakhpeople.Now, signalling a shift in ap-

proachafter the visit of the cen-tralteam,ChiefMinisterUddhavThackerayhasdirectedamassiveoperation to shift all “high-risk”contactsinslumstoinstitutionalfacilities.Withallthoseusingthesame common toilet and otherfacilities as the infected personnow likely to be tagged as high-riskcontacts,PrincipalSecretaryAshwiniBhide,onspecialdepu-tationtoBMC,saidthenumbersof high-risk contacts in thesewardswouldgoupsharply. “TillFriday, 5,825 high-risk contactsfrom slumswere shifted to carecentres,” sheadded.“Itisverydifficulttoconvince

slumdwellerstoshifttoquaran-tinefacilities.Inthelastcoupleofdays,wehavedoubledthecapac-ity of intake of our institutionalfacilities,”saidDighavkar,whoisin charge of the ward withDharavi,whereanestimated8.5lakhpeople live in anareaof 2.4sqkm.“Isolatingpeoplewho live in

buildings is easier. Their tene-mentsareself-containedwithat-tachedtoilets.Earlier,thecasesinour ward were restricted tobuildings. A few sporadic onesdetected inslums inthe last fewdays, pose a challenge,” saidBhagyashee Kapse, AssistantCommissioner (R-Central).

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI,APRIL26

IN THE first instance of plasmatherapy inMaharashtra, plasmafrom a patient who had recov-eredfromCOVID-19wasusedonanotherpatient inacritical con-ditionandonventilator supportatLilavatihospital.The52-year-oldpatientwas

transfused with 200 ml ofplasmaonSaturday.OnSunday,hewasgivenanothertransfusionof400ml.Plasma therapy is still being

conducted on an experimentalbasisacrosstheworld.Alsocalledconvalescentplasmatherapy,theprocessaimsatusingantibodiesfrom the blood of a recoveredCOVID-19 patient to treat thosecritically affected by the virus.Theantibodiesare transfused inacriticalpatient.“We are still finalising the

protocolfortreatment,todecidehowmuchquantitytogiveapa-tient depending on their condi-tion. The entire protocolwill befinalised and approved in two-three days,” said Dr OmSrivastava, who is leading theplasma therapy treatment proj-ectunderBMC.Plasmatherapyhasbeenear-

lier used in past to treat H1N1,Ebola,MERS, SARS and Spanishfluglobally.In this case, the 52-year-old

man was admitted to Lilavatihospital,Bandra,onApril20withfever, cough and lung infection.Hewasputonventilatorandre-mains on oxygen support sincelast sixdays.“HeisinICUandverycritical.

We can certainly think of givingmoreplasmaif thereisavailabil-

ity,” said Dr V Ravishankar,chief operating officer,Lilavatihospital.InMumbai so far, only three

peoplehavedonatedplasmaandfivemorearebeingscreened fortheprocess.Doctors in Lilavati have also

used the “prone technique” onthe patient— that is,made himlieonhisstomach—toseeif thatimproves airflow to lungs. “Wearedoingthis for12hoursaday.Wehave turned himaround onhisstomachtoexpandhislungs,”Ravishankarsaid.The patient continues to re-

mainonventilator, thetubesareadjusted in such away that hecanlie facedown.Thistechniquehasbeenprac-

tised by several intensivists forpatients suffering frombreath-ingproblemsduetoCOVID-19.Author J K Rowling tweeted

shewas able to relieve respira-tory symptoms after she triedthis techniqueonadvice of doc-tors. This technique is also usedforacuterespiratorydistresspa-tients to improve oxygenationandreducedependenceonven-tilator.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, APRIL26

A 53-YEAR-OLD constableposted at the Protection andSecurityBranch,whowasdiag-nosedwithCOVID-19onFriday,passed away early Sundaymorning.He is the second Mumbai

Policepersonneltodieofcoron-avirus. On Friday, a 57-year-oldconstable posted at Vakola po-lice stationpassed awayatNairhospital.Home Minister Anil

Deshmukh said the families ofthetwopolicemenwillbegivenRs 50 lakh each and onemem-

ber of the families given a job.He added that two senior offi-cers have been assigned at thecity and state level to look intoany problems that policemenare facing. Inaddition, twohos-pitals have been earmarked forpolicemen facing medical is-sues.AMumbaiPoliceofficersaid

the53-year-oldwasadmittedtoMGMhospital inKamotheon April 17with severe backpain. “Hedidnot initiallydis-playanysymptomsofCOVID-19. He tested positive onFriday,” theofficer added.The constable, who was

part of thebranch’s adminis-trative office in Ballard Pier,had recovered from cancerthree years ago. “Since thenhehadadesk job,” theofficersaid.The57-year-oldconstable

fromWorli had been admit-

ted toNair hospital onApril 22.He died on Friday. He had beenposted at Vakola police stationsince2015.Families of both constables

areunderquarantine.InNaviMumbai,policecom-

missioner Sanjay Kumar saidthe wife of a constable passedaway on Saturday, days after

testing positive. The constableand his daughter have alsotested positive, while his son’sdiagnosis is awaited.AcrossMaharashtra,107po-

licepersonnelhavetestedposi-tive,ofwhomsevenhaverecov-ered. Most of these policepersonnel live in the MumbaiMetropolitanRegion.

Mumbai 4589 24 4Pune 876 11 4Thane 178 22 3Nagpur 95 15 11MiraBhayander 117 4 3Malegaon 115 6 3Ahmednagar* 39 40 21Solapur 39 30 19*(District) Source:GovernmentofMaharashtra

CONTACT TRACING INMAHARASHTRAORANGE ANDRED ZONES

MunicipalCorporation/Districts

Averagetotalcontacts tracedperperson

(Actualnumbertraced)

Averagehigh-riskcontactstracedperperson

(Actualnumbertraced)

COVID-19cases

Quarantine challenge: HowwardsinMumbai are contact tracing

First in state, plasmatherapy used totreat critical Covidpatient at Lilavati

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Another cop dies, second from cityGovt togive jobs,Rs50 lakheachtokinof bothcops

Wearestill finalisingtheprotocolfortreatment,todecidehowmuchquantitytogiveapatientdependingontheircondition.Theentireprotocolwillbefinalisedandapprovedintwo-threedays.”

DROMSRIVASTAVALEADINGTHEPLASMATHERAPYTREATMENTPROJECTUNDERBMC

CORONAWATCH

D-WARD:SHOPSINMOSTPARTSTOSTAYOPENFOR5HOURSMumbai: The BMChas de-cided to restrict timings ofshops selling grocery, fruitsand vegetables in D-Ward,excludingMalabar Hill andGamdeviareas,from8amto1pm.Therestrictionwillnotapplytomedicalstores,saidacircularissuedonSaturday.Shops at Malabar Hill andGamdevihavebeenallowedtoremainopenfrom8amto4 pm. “Malabar Hill andGamdevi have reportedfewer number of COVID-19cases,” said PrashantGaikwad, AssistantMunicipalCommissionerofD Ward. Till April 25, theward has reported 285cases.

CASES ING-SOUTHWARDTOUCH600Mumbai:With at least 60newcasesof coronavirus re-ported in the last twodays,the total number of positivepatients in G-south wardcomprising Worli,MahalaxmiandLowerParel,reached 600-mark onApril25,thehighestinanywardinthe city. BMCdata showsE-ward(Byculla)with466casesandK-west (AndheriWest,Jogeshwari, Vile Parle)with373 cases are second andthird highest, respectively.BMC’sward-wise data sug-gests cases in large slumpockets like Kurla,Wadala,Govandi and Dharavi havegone up. In L-ward (Kurla,Sakinaka) there are 371COVID-19cases.Tendaysago,thewardhad98cases. ENS

Mumbai


THEOUTBREAK Maharashtra


9,711 (72,698)CasesregisteredunderSection188(Violatinganorderissuedbyapublic servant)of the IndianPenalCode

Personswhoviolatedquarantine 15(610)

Phonecallsmadeto100pertainingtoCOVID-19 3,858(78,474)

Numberof infectedpolice personnel 43(107)

Casesof illegal transport 25(1,092)

Arrests 1,565(15,434)

Vehiclesseized 3,647(47,782)

Fines imposed Rs32.66 lakh(Rs2.74crore)

*Total figures forall categories inbrackets

Figures forApril26releasedbytheMaharashtraPolice

NUMBERWATCH

As Ramzan begins in Covid hotspotMumbra, all helping hands offer foodKAVITHAIYER&MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, APRIL26

THE MINGLING fragrances ofhaleem and kebabs with thesweatypressofbodiesaremiss-ing, as are the hundreds of au-torickshaws honking alongsidestreet vendors’ raucous cries.DenselypopulatedMumbra,40kmnorthofMumbai,mayhavemore people on the roads thanmostparts of the financial capi-tal evenduring a lockdown, butan unprecedented hushmarksthestartofRamzaninthissatel-lite town, ghetto and now aCOVID-19hotspot.According to data from the

ThaneMunicipal Corporation(TMC), its Mumbra PrabhagSamitiaccountsfor41cases,thelargestchunkofThanecity’s209.Thane district, with its othertownssuchasKalyan,Dombivali,Ambernath, Badlapur and thetribal-dominated talukas ofWada and Jawhar, has over450positivecases too.In Mumbra, where local

member of the LegislativeAssembly andMinster JitendraAwhadhas himself tested posi-tive as have top police officers,themunicipality isstrugglingtoenforce social distancing andlockdownnorms.Acentralteamheaded byAdditional SecretaryManoj Joshi arrived in ThaneonSaturday, and apart fromhospi-tals in Thane city, visitedAmrutNagar and Parsik Nagar inMumbra,bothcontainmentareas.Unknown to them, a wide

rangingandsubstantivechangehas occurred this Ramzan —amid the lockdown, there is anexplosion of charity in this dor-mitory town for its migrantworkers, daily wagers, out-of-work vendors, autorickshawdriversandothers.“Themonth of Ramzaan is a

time to feel others’ problems,and I don’t think that there canbe the usual fervour of RamzaninMumbraevenif thelockdownends. People can see that theirneighbours don’t have even thebasics, then how can we cele-brateorcherishRamzan?”askedMohammed Javed Shaikh,Mumbra coordinator of theJamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH),which started raising funds andfeedingthepoorfromMarch24.“Many,manypeopleinMumbrahave resolved not to buy newthings forEid, and to spend thatsumincharity instead.”TheJIHiscurrentlyproviding

meals to 2,200 people, and hasintroducedmeat andeggs to itslatenightfoodsupplysothatthe

pre-dawnmeal before the fastbegins ispackedwithnutrients.Fornearly15years,theoffer-

ingof dates, Roohafza and fruitstoanyonewhoalightedfromlo-cal trainswasauniqueMumbracustom,alittlesomethingtohelppeople break their fast on time.Thesamegesturewasextendedto those boarding buses outsidetherailwaystationaswell.Local corporator Yasin

Qureshi, who had started thispractice alongwith his friends,said, “As the trains are shut thisyear, we are not distributingdates and roohafza. Instead,since April 15, volunteers havevisited various lanes, mosquesand societies to drawup lists ofpeoplewhoneed food.Wegivethematimeandplace tocollectthegroceries.”Thegrocerypack-agecontainsdates,rice, flour,oilandother items for Iftaari.Since Saturday, Mumbra

Prabhag Samiti also changedshopandmarkettimings,allow-ing shops and bakeries to beopen from 3 am to 12 noon, tohelp residents buy food in timefor thepre-dawnmeal.The JIH donated packages of

groceries too. “There are peoplewho live in flats, relativelywell-

off but actually in acute need ofhelp this year because smalltraders, those working minorjobsinMumbai,dailywagers,thebulkofMumbra’spopulationhasno income. In some cases, wewereadvisedtoleavereliefmate-rial in the building premises sothatwhoeverisinneedcancomeand pick it upwithout embar-rassment,”Shaikhsaid.Across the road from the

crowdedAmrutNagarstreet, lit-tle Samir is selling grapes, pre-weighed and packed in clearplastic bags. It’s 10 am, and the12-year-old is sleepy.“I’vebeenheresinceSuhoor,”

he said, using the term usedcommonlyintheMiddleEast todescribe themorningmeal.Mumbrawaslittlemorethan

avillageinthe1980s, itspopula-tion growing to about 45,000until 1992-1993 when tens ofthousands of Muslims fleeingriot-torn Mumbai relocatedhere.Thetownship’spopulationis now estimated at 9 lakh, in-cluding2lakhmigrants.Theliv-ing arrangements are for themost part dank, crumblingbuildings lined up along the 5-kmmain road and the streetsandalleysbranchingoff from it.

Modern apartment complexeswith elevators and views of theParsik hills stand at the farthestendof themainroad.Kausar Ansari of Awaaz-e-

Niswan,awomen’srightsgroupbased inMumbra, said the twinproblems of joblessness due tothe lockdown and troubles ac-cessingsubsidisedfoodgrainarewidespread. “Families withoutration cards are very commonhere.And thoughwehavebeentalkingtotheauthoritiesandad-vising people to try to get food-grain from the fair price shopsusing old cards or photocopies,the public distribution system(PDS)hasleftoutlakhsofneedyfamilies here,” she said. Also,only rice has been availablethrough the PDS, the promiseddal stocks have not yet arrived.Theproblemofshortageofcom-monmedicines at the chemistshopsalsocontinues.There are nearly 300 small

and large masjids in Mumbra,and all have altered their Azaanto ask the faithful to pray athome, followed by announce-ments about staying at home.Religious institutions are alsospending funds raised throughcharityon feeding thepoor.

Normally,restaurantssuchasCafeTubawouldsellchickencut-lets, malpua, rolls and kheemasamosasfromstandsoutsidetherestaurant during Ramzanevenings, drawing crowds ofpeople out for ‘Iftaari shopping'.Handcartswouldsellitemssuchasrollsat lowerprices.Haroon Shaikh, a local resi-

dent, said: “During Ramzan,Mumbra is bustling withcrowds, especially in theevening.Also,afterthe15thfast,stalls selling cloths comeup. Bythe last week of Ramzan, theseshopsstayopentillSehritimeaspeople are out buying clothesand jewellery towear forEid.”All of that ismissing, and all

those who depended on thatbusiness have run into deep fi-nancialdistress.“Manyorganisa-tionsandindividualshavecomeforwardtoofferfinancialaidandfoodtothosegoinghungry,”saidAnsari.Shaikhsaidit’sasifpeoplehave foundmeaning and pur-poseamid the crisis, despite thewidespread unhappiness aboutcommunalmessaging rampantonsocialmedia.“Charityisacen-tralpartof thereligion,andpeo-ple have taken it very positivelyduringthiscrisis.”

Adesertedstreet inMumbraonSunday.Deepak Joshi

DISTRICT REGISTERED MOST FIRS SINCE LOCKDOWN

A dedicated unit, 5 cops: How Beed police is checking social media misuseMOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, APRIL26

FORTHEpast fewmonthsBeed,adistrictwithapopulationof2.5million, located 380 km east ofMumbai,hasemergedasanepi-centre for social mediamisusehaving notched a majority ofcases filed by theMaharashtraPoliceagainst fakenews.Whilethedigitalpenetration

inthedistrictisakintoanyotherregioninthestate,ahighernum-ber of cases could be registeredcourtesy the active scanning of

socialmedia activitiesof the re-gion by five policemen from asmall,dedicatedroomat theof-fice of Beed Superintendent ofPolice.Setup inAugust lastyearto check the flow of fake newsduring the state elections, theunitnowmonitorssocialmediatocheck thespreadofmisinfor-mation on coronavirus or anycommunal content.According to statistics re-

leasedbythestategovernment,Beed, which has reported justonecoronaviruspositivecasesofar,hasregisteredthemaximumnumberofFIRs—27—oftheto-

tal250registeredacrossthestateformisuseof socialmedia sincethelockdownwasimplementedonMarch 24. It is followed byPune rural (20 cases) andMumbai (18).“Ateamoffivepoliceperson-

nelmonitors various socialme-dia platforms for mischievouscontentandprovidesareporttome.Wedonotwait for anyper-son to approachuswith a com-plaint. As soon as I get a reporton any post that could createtrouble, Igivethem(police)per-missiontoregisteranFIR,wherethe police are made the com-

plainant. This is to ensure thatpeoplerealisethatputtingupin-correct information on socialmedia has consequences,” SP(Beed)HarshPoddarsaid. Inthemajorityofthecases,aseniorof-ficer fromMaharashtra cyberpolice said, theydonot takesuomotu complaints but wait forsomeone to come forward tosubmitacomplaint.Police Sub-Inspector

Manojkumar Londhe, whoheadsthesocialmediamonitor-ing cell said, “The cell started inAugust last year, just before thestateelections,tokeepaneyeon

fake news. However, later asthere were protests over theCitizenship (Amendment) ActandtheissuearoundArticle370,wekept an eyeout for provoca-tiveposts.”From around last month,

Londhe andhis teamof consta-bles are keeping an eye out forcommunallyprovocativepostsormisinformationaboutCOVID-19.“A well-known journalist

fromBeedhadput up a post onFacebook that a police officerwho tested positive for COVID-19 had come to Beed stealthilyand left. As the information

came from a journalist, peoplestarted believing it. Since itwasincorrectnews,weregisteredanFIR and got the post takendown,”Londheadded.Poddar said there was a

sharpspikeincasesofmisuseofsocialmediaafterthecongrega-tionof theTablighiJamaatattheDelhi’sNizamuddinMarkazlastmonthwasfoundtobeaCOVID-19 hotspot. “There was an at-tempttocommunalizetheissue,andwehadtotakestrongactiontoensure suchattemptsdidnotleadtolawandorderproblems,”Poddar said.

Ahighernumberof casescouldberegisteredcourtesytheactivescanningof socialmediaactivities.

Pawar writesto PM, seeksfinancialpackage


NATIONALIST CONGRESS Party(NCP) chief Sharad PawarSunday sought from the Centrean additional grant of Rs 1 lakhcrore inthe financialyear2020-21 forMaharashtra, while stat-ingthatthestate’seconomyhadtakenaseverebeatingduetothenationwide lockdown.In a letter to PrimeMinister

Narendra Modi and UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman,Pawarsaid therev-enue receipts projected by thestate for the financial year wasRs 3.47 lakh crore, however, thestatewaslikelytohavearevenueshortfall of Rs1.40 lakhcrore.Pawar also pointed out that

under the present borrowinglimits, Maharashtra could bor-row up to Rs 92,000 crore, ofwhichRs54,000crorehasbeenplanned formeeting the capitalexpenditures for the current fi-nancial year.He further said thestatewas going to face a short-fall of Rs 1 lakh crore to sustaintheprojectedexpenditure.Toaddresstheproblem,Pawar

suggested, the FiscalResponsibility and BudgetManagement(FRBM)borrowinglimit couldbe increasedbut saidthatdoingsowouldpushthestatetowardsapotentialdebttrap.“The other strategy could be

tocutpublicspending,however,thatwouldbecounterproductiveinviewofthesubduedeconomy.In fact, therewill be additionalexpenditurerequirementsintheareaofpublichealthandmedicaleducationandotherpublicserv-ices,”Pawarstated inthe letter.Statingthatitwasimperative

that in this testing times theGovernmentof India shouldof-fer suitable financial assistanceto states, Pawar said, “TheGovernmentofMaharashtrare-quests additional grants of un-tiednature to thetuneof1LakhCrores for theFY2020-21.”He said all major countries,

like the US, Spain, Germany,France, and Australia, had re-leased financial packages ofaround10percentofitsGDPandcalledforasimilarpackageforthestatesbythecentralgovernment.

4,187 medical posts up for grabsEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, APRIL26

THECOVID-19pandemichassetthe state public health depart-ment on a hiring spree to ap-pointmedicalandpara-medicalstaff acrossMaharashtra.Advertisements are being

published to fill 4,187 vacanciesin the state to specially plugmanpower shortage in fightagainst the virus. The depart-ment plans to hold interviewsthrough video calls to fill its va-cancies formedical officers andparamedic staff.There is an additional va-

cancy of 8,000, which includes3,000dataentryoperators.“Wewill be able to improve man-power in rural areas if we fill

4,000posts.Wearehopingtogetonlineapplicationsandvideoin-terviews,” anofficial said.InMumbai too,BMCistrying

hardtoropeinmoredoctorsandnurses.TheBMChasreachedouttonurses involved inhomecareto joincivichospitals for thenextthreemonthsandofferedasalaryof Rs 30,000permonthon con-tractualbasis.Severalnurseshaveagreedinprincipal,buthaveaskedBMC toprovide insurance cover.Currently, only healthworkerswithpermanentgovernmentjobhavebeenassuredinsuranceofRs50lakhbytheCentre.TC Jibin, state president for

UnitedNurses Association, saidthere are 5,000 nurseswho arenot attachedwith any hospitalandwork toonlyprovidehomecare. With lockdownmaking

transportation difficult, thesenurses–mostbasedinMumbaiand Pune – are free to join gov-ernmenthospitals.“BMC’sexec-utive health officer has reachedout to us.Most nurses arewill-ing to work but have only de-manded basic security. Somewill need housing if they comefromfaraway,” Jibinadded.The BMC is also offering in-

dependentprivatedoctorstem-porary jobs for threemonths totreat COVID-19 patients. So far,officials said Rs 3.5 lakh permonth has been offered to pri-vate practitioners but the re-sponseremainslukewarm.“Fewdoctors felt that theycan't leavewhat theyaredoing for a three-monthjob.Hence,notmanyarewillingtojointheservice,”apri-vateconsultant said.


THEBOMBAYHighCourthasdi-rected a sessions court to pro-nounce its order within twoweeksonaplea seeking releaseonbailbyformerdirectorPunjab& Maharashtra Co-operative(PMC)Bank, Trupti Bane, an ac-cusedinallegedbankfraudcase.Banehadclaimedthatbeing

a medical professional, shewanted to serve needy personsduring theCOVID-19pandemicandsoughtareleaseonbail.TheEconomicOffencesWing(EOW)of Mumbai Police in DecemberlastyearhadarrestedthreePMCBankdirectors—JagdishMukhi,

Trupti Bane — in connectionwith an alleged multi-crorescam. Police had maintainedBane and the two others hadfailed to alert the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) about the unpaidloans of father-son duo Rakeshand SarangWadhawan, direc-tors in Housing Developmentand Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL),also accused in the case, owedto thePMCBank.Advocates Bhavesh Parmar

and Rahul Gaikwad, represent-ingBane,arguedthattheirclientis a gynaecologistwith a publichospital, and her serviceswererequiredduringthecurrentcoro-naviruspandemicand,therefore,sheshouldbereleasedonbail.Bane had further submitted

thatwhilethesessionscourthadheardherbailpleaandreservedits orderonMarch26, it hasnotpassed the ruling yet. Bane hadalsomoved an interimbail pleabefore a trial court, whichwasrejectedonApril7.Inviewofthis,shemovedthe

highcourtandsoughtaninterimbail, and urged to set aside thetrial court’s April 7 decision.Public prosecutor DeepakThakarehasopposedBane’splea.Afterperusingsubmissions,a

single-judge bench of JusticeGirish S Kulkarni on April 23throughvideo-conferencenotedthat thesessionscourt couldnotpronounceordersinviewoflock-down anddirected the sessionsjudgetopassitwithintwoweeks.

HC directs court to decide bail plea ofPMC Bank ex-director within 2 weeks


MAHARASHTRA RECORDED440 new COVID-19 cases onSundaytakingthetotalnumberof infected patients to 8,068.Mumbai accounted for 358 ofthe new cases, taking the totalpatientcountinthecityto5,407.Sundaysaw19deathsdueto

coronavirus withMumbai ac-counting for12of them.The to-tal death toll inMumbai is now204.OtherdeathswererecordedinPune (3), Jalgaon (2), andoneeach inSolapurandLatur.Stateofficials said senior cit-

izens continue to be affectedmorecriticallythanothers,withseven of the 19 aged above 60.Ten otherswhodiedwere agedbetween 40 and 59 while twowere less than40years. At least14 districts have recorded nodeaths yet. Maximum deathshavebeenrecorded inMumbai,Pune, Thane, Nashik— the fourdistricts account for 87per centof thestate’sdeath toll.Meanwhile, at least 33 of 53

mediapersons, who had testedpositive inaBMCdrive,havere-covered and were discharged.Theywill remain inhomequar-antinefor14days.Thereportsof20othersareawaited,BMCoffi-cialssaid.The53mediapersons,including photographers, re-porters and cameramen, hadtestedpositivelastweekinaspe-cialdriveheld for thembyBMC.Onlythreedevelopedsymptomsandweremovedtohospital.Meanwhile,allthe147sailors

aboard the cruise shipMarellaDiscovery, which returned toMumbaionThursdayaftera40-day-longwait in Indianwaters,testednegativeforCOVID-19on

Saturday. After spending twodays in a hotel, the sailorswereallowedtoreturntotheirhomes.Till now, 1,188 patients have

recoveredanddischarged in thestate. InMumbai, 135 patientswere discharged on Sunday. Tillnow897recoveredpatientshavebeendischarged inMumbai.As cases continue to soar,

containment zones acrossMaharashtra have been in-creased to 604. They are beingmonitoredby8,603surveillancesquads.Thesquadshavealsosur-veyed33.7lakhpeopleforsymp-tomsofcoronavirus.Tillnow,1.16lakhsampleshavebeencollectedfortesting;ofthemover1.07lakhhavetestednegative.InMumbai,BMChasissueda

circular to all private clinics andpractitionerstoopentheirclinicsandtreatpatientsotherthancoro-navirus. The civic body’s circularcomes because several patientswere directly approachingBMCperipheral and tertiary carehos-pitals fortreatment inabsenceofnursinghomesandclinics.

Numberofdeaths 342

Totalnumberofpeopledischarged 1,188

Numberofpeople tested1,15,587

Totalnumberquarantined9,160

Numberofnewcases 440

TOTALPOSITIVECASESINMAHARASHTRA

8,068

Mumbai’s tollcrosses 200markwith 12newdeaths

HCdirectswoman to let estrangedhusbandmeet kids via videocallsMumbai: Amid the lockdown, the BombayHighCourtrecentlyallowedafathertoseehischildren, stayingwithhisestrangedwife, viavideocalls.OnApril24, JusticeSJKathawalladirected thewoman tomake arrangementsfor her estranged husband to see their twominorchildrenthroughvideoconferenceun-til the lockdownis lifted inMumbai.ENS

CORONAWATCH

Pawarsaidunderthepresentborrowinglimits,MaharashtracouldborrowuptoRs92,000crore

Mumbai

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020

Mumbai

EXPRESSNETWORK6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL26

INAmajor reshuffle of its seniorbureaucracy, the governmentSundaymadesignificantappoint-ments of newsecretaries to keyministries in themiddle of theoutbreakcontainmentexercise.HealthSecretaryPreetiSudan,

due to retire on April 30, wasgiven a three-month extension,andRuralDevelopmentSecretaryRajesh Bhushanwas appointedasOfficer on Special Duty (OSD)intheHealthMinistryintherankof secretary. He is likely to takeover from Sudan after her ex-tendedtenureisover.Two Additional Secretaries

currently in the PMOwere ap-pointed Secretaries in keymin-istries.TarunBajajwillbethenewDepartmentofEconomicAffairsSecretary after the incumbentAtanuChakraborty retires at theend of thismonth, and ArvindKumarSharmawillbeSecretaryin theMinistry of Micro, SmallandMediumEnterprises uponretirement of incumbent ArunKumarPandaonApril30.Both theDEAand theMSME

areexpectedtoplaycritical rolesin the revival of the economy inthewakeof theoutbreak.The Appointments

CommitteeoftheCabinet,headedbyPrimeMinisterNarendraModi,issuedtheseordersSunday.Asmanyas23seniorIASoffi-

cershavebeenappointedassec-retaries in different central gov-ernmentdepartments as part ofthereshuffle.Amit Khare, Secretary,

DepartmentofHigherEducation,hasbeengivenadditionalchargeas Secretary, Ministry ofInformation & Broadcasting.Information and BroadcastingSecretary RaviMittal has beenmoved out as Secretary,DepartmentofSports.NagendraNath Sinhawill be

the new Secretary of RuralDevelopment Department inplaceof RajeshBhushan.He is atpresent Secretary, theDepartment of BorderManagement in the HomeMinistry. Inmajor change in theRoad Transport andHighwaysministry, Aramane Giridhar,Additional Secretary in theCabinet Secretariat, has beenmadeitsnewSecretaryinplaceofSanjeev Ranjan, who has beenplaced in line to take over asSecretary, ShippingMinistry, af-ter the retirement of incumbentGopalKrishnaonApril30.Special Secretary of Road

TransportandHighwaysMinistryLeena Nandan was appointedSecretary, Department ofConsumerAffairs, as the currentSecretaryPawanKumarAgarwalhas been appointed SpecialSecretary (Logistics) in theDepartmentofCommerce.Food andPublicDistribution

Secretary Ravi Kant has beenmoved out as the Secretary,Department of Ex-ServicemenWelfare. Senior bureaucratSudhanshu Pandaywill be theFood and Public DistributionSecretaryinplaceofKant.Pandayis currentlyAdditional Secretary,DepartmentofCommerce.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

HealthSecygetsthreemoremonths;twoPMOofficialsgetDEA,MSMEcharge

Amid corona fight,govt effects majorbureaucratic rejig

VIVEKDESHPANDENAGPUR,APRIL26

INVEILED remarks on the com-munalisation of COVID-19 afteritsspreadacrossthecountrywasblamed on a gathering of theTablighi Jamaat in Delhi duringthe lockdown, RSS chiefMohanBhagwat Sunday said it is “notright”tofaultand“keepdistance”from an entire community be-causeoftheactionsofsome“outof fearandanger”.In a special boudhik (intelli-

gentsia)discourse,streamedliveon Facebook, Bhagwat said theneedy must be helped with afeeling of “brotherhood” duringthe coronavirus crisis irrespec-tiveof“provocativeacts”byasec-tionofpeoplewhohaveattackedandmisbehavedwith govern-mentofficials.“Therewill always be some

peoplelikethat...Somemayhaveactedoutoffearofbeingquaran-tined, somemayhave acted outofangerthinkingthe(lockdown)rulesweremeanttotargetthem.But to apply this to an entirecommunity and keep distancefromitisnotright.Youmusthelpallwithgoodwillbecauseall130crore people are your own,” hesaid.“Those who resort to

provocative acts generate angerand this anger generates irra-tional reactions.We should notholdtheiractsagainst theentirecommunity. There are peoplewaiting to divide the country.Whilewemustbeawareofsuchpeople,wemust not hold angeror enmity against all,” Bhagwatsaid,addingthat“leadersshouldconvey the right message tocommunities”.The RSS chief also called for

re-calibrating developmentalpriorities and policies, sayingthe clear message of the pan-demic is adoption of swadeshiand environment-friendly tra-ditionalwisdom.Healsospokeonthelynching

of sadhus in Palghar,Maharashtra:“Let’skeepthewar

ofwords aside. Is it good to takethe law into our hands?Whatshould the police do? Fear andanger are not expected but arenatural.Butwehavetoworkcon-structively andwith courage totakethenationforward.”He called for resumption of

activities like education, indus-tries andmarketswith duepre-cautions. “We have tomaintainthedisciplineofsocialdistancingandobserveallprecautionspre-scribed for containment of thedisease,”hesaid.“Wehave to think about the

workingclass.Jobsmustremain.Wewill have to function withlimitedresources.Self-relianceisthemessage (of the pandemic).Wewillhavetore-constructsci-encesandtechnologiesaspertheneeds of the times (yuganukul).Wewillhavetotakethatpathofdevelopmentwhichmatchesthetraditional,”hesaid.Calling for adopting

“swadeshi with quality”,Bhagwat said, “We must buythings produced in the country.Weshouldn’tremaindependentonforeigncountries.”Referringtoriversandtheair

becomingcleanduringthelock-down, Bhagwat said, “Some ac-tivitieshavecometoastandstill.Wemust check if we canmakedowithout them.Wewill havetotryandleadalifebasedonen-vironment-friendlyactivities.”

MohanBhagwat

Bhagwat: Not rightto fault a communityover actions of some

Nearly 38,000 reliefcamps set up for migrantlabourers: Govt to SCEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL26

THECENTREhasfiledafreshsta-tus report in theSupremeCourton steps taken to deal with theCOVID-19situation,includingef-fortstosolvetheproblemsfacedbymigrantlabourinthewakeofthenationwide lockdown.InanaffidavitdatedApril12,

Union Home Secretary AjayKumarBhalla said thata total of37,978reliefcampshadbeensetup formigrant labourers by thestates, Union territories andNGOsandnearly 14.3 lakhpeo-ple had been housed in them.Additionally,26,225foodcampshadbeenopened,givingfoodtonearly 1.34 crore people, andnearly 16.5 lakh workers hadbeen given shelter and food bytheir respective employers, thegovernmentsaid.To ensure that no further

problem is faced by migrantworkersandotherpoorsections,directionshavebeen issuedun-

der the Disaster ManagementAct 2005 that all employers, beit in the industryor shops, and /or other commercial establish-ments shall paywages to theirworkers at their workplaces ontheduedatewithoutanydeduc-tionfortheperiodofclosuredur-ing the lockdown.Districtauthoritieshavealso

beentoldtoensurethatmigrantworkers and other poor peoplewhoare living inrentedaccom-modationshallnotbecompelledto pay rent by landlords. Anylandlordwho flouts this direc-tion,saidtheaffidavit,shallbeli-ableforactionundertheDisasterManagementAct.TheNationalPharmaceutical

PricingAuthorityhasbeenaskedto ensure adequate availabilityof essential medicines in allpharmacies, it said, adding thatspecial efforts have beenmadeby the government to providedrugs to HIV patients. A guid-ance note has been sent to allstates on dispensation of thesedrugs, theaffidavit said.

RAJASTHAN CHIEF MinisterASHOK GEHLOT speaks toMANOJ CG onwhat he is goingto suggest to thePrimeMinisterin the video conference sched-uledforMonday.

PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwillhaveavideoconferencewithChiefMinistersonMondaytodeliberateonthewayahead.Whatisgoingtobeyoursuggestion?Therehasbeensomemodifi-

cationinthelockdown,somere-laxationforindustriesandshopsetc. That is fine butmore activi-ties should begin. Because therevenue of state governmentshasbecomezero...Whenthereisno revenue, how will stateswork?... Therewill benomoneytopaysalariesandpensions.Youtalk about workers. Workersshould get wages.What aboutemployees?... They too shouldget salaries. So, the requirementtoday is that economic activityshould begin in non-hotspotzoneswhilemaintaining socialdistancing norms, wearingmasks and other precautions.Otherwise, people will die of

hunger. I can’t say howmanypeoplewill die of corona but ifthis situation continues, peoplewilldieofhunger.

Whataretheotherissuesyouaregoingtoflag?Themainissueistesting.That

will bemynumber one sugges-tion.Widespread testing is im-portant.Testingshouldbescaledupinanextraordinaryway.There

isanewmachine,itcostsaroundRs6.5crore. Itwill beable to runupto4,000testsperday.WearegoingtopurchasetwomachinesfromtheUS,oneforJodhpurandone for Jaipur. Testing capacityshould be increased across thecountry.Andforthat,the Centralgovernment should come for-wardandnotleaveittothestates.TheUnionHealthMinistrytoday(Sunday)heldavideoconferencewithstatehealthsecretariesandIamtolditwassaidthatthenum-berofCOVIDcasescouldshootupin the coming days, could toucheven lakhs. So, the only solution—asRahulGandhihasbeensay-ing repeatedly— is testing, test-ing andmore testing. The rapidtest formula has failed.We hadtoldICMRitwasofnouse.Sotheonly solution is RT-PCR tests. Sothe central government shouldprocure such advanced ma-chines, RNA extraction test kits,masksandPPEinabigway.

Canyouelaborateonhowthelockdownshouldbemodified?Economic activities should

restart. I told the PrimeMinisterin previousmeetings that states

arefacingafinancialcrunch.Ihaddemanded that the borrowinglimit should be relaxed and thatthereshouldbeamoratoriumonpaymentofduestofinancialinsti-tutionsunderRBIandothercen-tralagencies. IhadtoldthePrimeMinisterthattheCentralgovern-ment shouldgrant anadditionalRs1 lakh crore to states to tacklethepandemic.Lookattheworld.Allthebigcountries—beittheUS,France, Germany or England—haveannouncedeconomicpack-ages to the tune of 12 to 15 percentof theirGDP.Youmustthinkbigtorestarttheeconomy.TheRs1.7lakhcrorepackagethegovern-menthadannouncedisnoteven0.6percentoftheGDP.Itisgrosslyinadequate.When therewas aneconomic slowdownduring theUPA time in 2009, the govern-menthadearmarked3percentoftheGDP. I amnot an economist,butmy common sense says thegovernment should earmark atleast10percentoftheGDPforre-lief and stimulus. Because theeconomyhas collapsedbecauseof thelockdown...

AreyouhopefulthatthePrimeMinisterwillconsider

yoursuggestions.suggestionsfromOpposition-ruledstates?See, I accept there is a big

challengebeforetheCentralgov-ernment. But the entireOpposition and state govern-ments are cooperating...CongresspresidentSoniaGandhihaswrittentothePrimeMinisterdeclaring the party’s support.Rahul Gandhi has said he is notgoing to criticise but give con-structive suggestions... So, theCentral government should nottakeoursuggestionsascriticism.They should consider them asfeedback...anditisuptothemtoacceptthesuggestionsornot.Butthey should welcome sugges-tions fromOppositionparties.

TheCongresshasbeentalkingaboutstrandedmigrantlabourers?Whatisyourviewonthat?Intheabsenceofclearinstruc-

tionsfromthecentralgovernment,themovementofmigrantlabour-erswasunnecessarilydelayed.Thecentralgovernmentcreatedsomeconfusion, becauseofwhichwefaced some problems, but themovementhasbegun.

The other thing is about thepoorandthedestitute—beitAPLorBPL—MGNREGAworkers.Wehave given thema package.WehavetransferredRs2,500toeachoneofthem.Wehavegivenpen-sionsto80lakhpeople.Wehaveprovidedthemfood.Thecentralgovernment is alsodoing. Thereis a Pradhan Mantri GareebKalyan Yojana, but they shouldincrease it manifold. What Imean to say is no one shouldsleephungry.Youhave tocreateconfidence inworkers. That canonly happen if you give a sepa-rate financial package for them.WhatImeantosayisthat.Thereshould be separate financialpackagesfortheindustry,MSMEsectorandfor thepoor.Thecen-tral government, for instance, isallocating foodgrains under theNationalFoodSecurityActbasedon the 2011 Census. That datadoesnot reflect thegroundreal-ity. In Rajasthan, some 60 lakhpeople are left out andmy gov-ernment is going to purchasefoodgrains from FCI at marketprice. The Centre should havebeengiving the foodgrains free.Why should states purchase atmarketpriceatsuchatime?

WITH

ASHOKGEHLOTCHIEFMINISTER,RAJASTHAN

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

‘Economic activitymust begin in non-hotspotzones... otherwise peoplewill die of hunger’

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, APRIL26

THEGOVERNMENThas startedmakingplanstoevacuateIndiansstranded overseas, sources said

Sunday. Theplanwill be imple-mentedafterthelockdownisoverand restrictions onmovementhavebeeneased.Sourcessaidtheplanistostart

the evacuation from the Gulfcountries,wherenearly8millionIndiansliveandwork.Someof these Indianshave

been petitioning the govern-ment for awhile. Thesepeopleinclude those travelling fortourism, business as well asthosewhoseprojectshavebeencompleted. The Centre hasstarted drawing up the plansandIndianembassieshavebeenaskedtocollectdetailsof thosestranded. Thegovernmenthasalso started discussionswithstategovernmentsonprepara-tionquarantinefacilitiesforthereturnees.Theissueisbeinghandledat

the highest levelwith CabinetSecretaryRajivGaubahelmingthe discussions and officials

from theMinistries of ExternalAffairs,HomeandCivil Aviation,the state government’s residentcommissioners, and ChiefSecretariesinstatestakingpartinthem.Sources said thatonce theplanisimplemented, itmayturnout to be the largest evacuationoperationever.While the numbers are dy-

namic, theycouldgoupto2lakhandtheonlyplaybookNewDelhihas—intermsofscale—isthe1990airlift of 1.7 lakh people fromKuwait.However,sourcessaidtheevacuationwillbestaggeredandprioritised according to severalfactors—theirneed,medicalcon-dition,urgencyandtheconcernedstategovernment’scapacity.OnlyIndianswhoareCOVID-

negativewillbebroughtbackandasystemwillbeevolvedtomakesure this criterion is fulfilled. Forthis,eitherassistanceof localau-thoritieswill be takenor specialmedicalteamswillbesent.

The urgency of evacuatingIndians has arisen as someGulfcountries liketheUAEhavepub-liclyaskedIndianswhohavefin-ished theirworkor are strandedtogoback.The UAE has offered to fly

stranded Indians and citizens ofother countries,whowish to berepatriated, if they test negativefor COVID-19, the UAE’sAmbassador to IndiaDrAhmedAbdulRahmanAlBannahadsaidmid-April. TheUAE’s envoyhadsaidtheUAE’sMinistryofForeignAffairs and InternationalCooperationhadsentouta“noteverbale” in this regard to em-bassiesofallcountries.SomeotherGulfcountries,in-

cludingSaudiArabiaandKuwait,havealsoapproached the Indiangovernment.As of mid-April, 25 Indians

overseashavediedduetoCOVID-19and3,336Indiansabroadhavebeeninfected.

Govt plans to evacuate Indians stuck abroad

TheRSSchief calledforre-calibratingdevelopmentalprioritiesandpolicies

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,APRIL26

MUMBAI POLICE on Sunday is-suedanotice toRepublic editor-in-chief ArnabGoswami to joininvestigation inconnection toanFIR registered against him for al-legedlymaking derogatory re-marksagainstCongresspresidentSoniaGandhi during a TVnewsshowregardinglynchingofthreepersonsatPalghar.WhileinitiallyanFIRwasreg-

istered inNagpur, the SupremeCourthadtransferredthecase toNM Joshi police station inMumbai.AnFIRregardingtheal-legedattackonGoswamiandhiswifeonApril23hasalsobeenreg-isteredat theNMJoshiMargpo-lice station. Two persons havebeenarrestedinthecase.Inastatement,Goswamisaid,

"Mumbaipolicehassentme2no-ticesinthelast1hourssayingtheywantto immediately interrogateme regardingmy comments onSoniaGnadhi.. Iwill submitmy-selfbeforetheMumbaipoliceto-morrowmorning... Iwould alsourge theMumbaipolice to showsimilaralacrityandasenseofim-mediacy in investigating the at-tackonmeandmywife."

REMARKSAGAINSTSONIAGANDHI

Police notice toGoswami to joininvestigation

Srinagar: Four militants werekilled in an encounter with se-curity forces in Kashmir’sKulgamdistrictSunday, officialssaid.“Inviewof inputsregardingmilitantsplanningtokillcops,anexhaustivedominationplanwascarried out by joint forces ofKulgam,” Kulgam police said.They said a patrolling party ofthe joint forceswas attackedbymilitants betweenChehlan andAsthal villages in Kulgamaround8pm. Intheexchangeoffire, one Army official was in-jured, they said. At 9.48pm, theTwitter account of the KashmirZone Police posted that the en-counterwasstill ongoing. ENS

Four militantskilled in Valley

SHUTTERS UPApizzaoutlet inNaviMumbaibeginscateringtotakeawayordersonSunday.AmitChakravarty

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,APRIL26

FOODGRAIN STOCKS in theCentral pool stood at 73.85mil-liontonnes(mt)asonApril1,thehighest ever for this date andthree-and-a-half timesthemin-imumoperational-cum-strate-gicreserverequirementof21.04mt.The73.85mt figure includes

24.70mtofwheatand32.24mtof rice. In addition, the FoodCorporation of India (FCI) andstategovernmentagencieswereholding 25.24mt of un-milledpaddy,whosericeequivalent, atan out-turn ratio of 67 per cent,workedoutto16.91mt.Out-turnistheshareofriceextractedfromharvestedpaddygrainsafter re-moval of outer husk and innerbran layers.Thewheat stocks of 24.7mt

were 3.3 times the necessarylevelof7.46mtforApril1,whenthe procurement season for thenew crop also starts. The previ-ousrecordforthisdatewas24.21mtin2013(seetable).Ricestocks(inclusive of themilled paddyequivalent) were also at an all-time-high of 49.15mt and 3.6times the normativeminimum

of13.58mtforApril1.Thebuild-upofstockstosuch

high levels ismainly a result ofgovernmental procurement ofgrainexceedingofftakefromtheCentral pool. In 2019-20 (April-March)alone,totalprocurementamountedto80.64mt,compris-ing 46.51mt rice and 34.13mtwheat.Asagainstthis,theaggre-gateofftakewasjustover62mt.That included 52.85mt un-

der the National Food SecurityAct (NFSA), 3.77mt undermid-day meals and other welfareschemes, and 5.25mt of openmarketsalesthroughe-auctions.The Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Yojana (PMGKY) reliefpackage, announced onMarch27toalleviatethedistressofpeo-plemostaffectedby thenation-wide lockdown, might helpwhittledownsomeoftheexcessfoodgrainstocks.TheNFSA, currently, entitles

three-fourthsofallruralandhalfofallurbanhouseholdsto5kgofwheat or rice per person permonthatRs2/kgandRs3/kg,re-spectively.Under thenewpack-age,anextra5kgofwheat/riceisbeing given per person permonth, free of cost, for a three-monthperiodfromApril toJune2020. An additional 12.14mt of

wheat and rice has been allo-catedfor thispurpose.The government was, until

recently,notaggressivelydispos-ing of stocks frompublicware-houses, largely for financial andaccounting reasons. The FCI’s“economic cost” of procuringand distributing grainwas esti-mated at Rs 26.80 per kg forwheatandRs37.48perkgforricein2019-20.Butconcernsoveris-suinggrains at lowcost, or evenfree,havehadto takeabackseatfor tworeasons.The first has, of course, been

the prospect of large-scalehunger from a sudden collapseofworkdaysandincomesfollow-ing the lockdown. The second isabumperwheatcropthatfarm-ers are now harvesting andbringingtothemandis.Thetotalstorage capacity availablewithFCI and state agencies has beenassessed at 75.85 mt as onDecember 31, 2019. That in-cludes 62.64 mt of coveredgodownspace,withtheremain-ing13.20mtbeingopenstoragein cover-and-plinth structures.With procurement of the newcrop taking off, the challenge ofstocking is expected to go up inthecomingweeks.Theonly“re-lief”maycomefromPMGKY.

April foodgrain stocks hitrecord high of 73.85 mn tonnes

Mumbai

ANEXPERTEXPLAINS

ONCETHElockdownislifted,Kerala willfaceanewchallengewiththeexpectedreturnofa large section of Keralites from theMiddleEast.Thisthrowsthespotlightontheimpor-tanceofout-migration inKerala’seconomy,andraisesquestionsabout its future.

Trends, then and nowMigration (both internal and interna-

tional)hasbeenthesinglemostdynamicfac-torinthedevelopmentofKeralasinceitsfor-mation in 1956. Data available for the oldTravancore-Cochin region suggests that itwascharacterisedbyanetinflowofpersonsuntil1941.Thisreverseddramaticallyinsuc-ceeding decadeswithmore people leavingthanentering.Until1971,mostKeralitesweremigratingwithin India,mostly to emergingcities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai andBangalore. This is partly due to thedemandfor skilled/educated persons, which Keralacouldcontributeduetoitshighliteracyrate.However,withtheopeningupoftheGulf

economiestoforeignworkforcesinthe1970s

inthewakeofaspikeinoilprices, thetideofmigration from Kerala moved decisivelyfrom internal to international. The rate ofout-migration (estimated through an indi-rectmethodusing Indiancensuses)peakedin 1971-81, at approximately 250,000. Theavailabledataindicatesthattheoutflowcon-tinuedwell into the1980sand1990s.Consequently,manyoftheMalayaliswho

hadleftKerala forotherpartsof thecountryin the earlier days, moved now to the Gulf.Till 1999, Kerala had only one internationalairport. Today, it has four, due to the impor-tanceof internationalmigrationand remit-tances to theeconomyandsocietyat large.

KeralaMigration SurveyIt was in this context that the Centre for

Development Studies conducted its firstKeralaMigration Survey (KMS) in 1998, co-ordinatedbyKCZachariahandmyself.Sincethen,we continue tomonitor both internaland internationalmigration,migrationcor-ridors, remittances, economic benefits andsocial costs. Thus far, we have completedeightrounds,thelatestin2018.Letusexam-inewhat thevarioussurveys tellus.The first study, in 1998, indicated that

nearly1.5millionKeraliteswere then livingoutside India,withanother750,000 formeremigrants having returned. Over the years,thesurveyfoundthattheylivemostlyonthesavings,workexperience,andskillsbroughtwiththemfromabroad.Morethanamillionfamiliesdependon internalmigrants’ earn-

ingsforsubsistence,children’seducationandothereconomicrequirements.Whiletheed-ucationally backward Muslims from theThrissur-Malappuram region provide thebackbone of emigration, the educationallyforwardEzhawas,NairsandSyrianChristiansfrom the former Travancore-Cochin Stateformthecoreof internalmigration.Emigration begets return emigration.

Kerala has seenwidespread returnmigra-tiondue toexternal shocksonat least threeoccasions—GulfWar,globaleconomiccrisisandNitaqat policy of Saudi Arabia.We cansay confidently that Kerala emigrantswereresilientonall threeoccasions.For instance,when the global crisis hit theGulf, the stategovernmentexpectedlargereturnmigrationbut our estimates put the number aroundjust50,000 in2009.

Letusexaminethe2018KMSdata.Thereareanestimated2.12millionemigrantsfromKeralaacrosstheworld,whichis149,000lessthanthe2016KMSestimateand278,000lessthan the 2013 KMS estimate (see table).Overall, the data shows a continuously de-creasing rate of growth of emigration since2008.However, it shouldalsobenoted thattherewas a positive growth in some years,particularly 2011 and 2013— 87,000morepeopleseemtohaveemigratedinthe2008-11period, and1.2 lakhmore in2011-13.The inter-survey growth rate since2013

has dropped. The inter-survey differencesvary from one interval to another, from anincrease of 4.7 lakh during 1998-2003 to adecline of 1.4 lakh during 2016-18. It hasshownpositive growth for the first four pe-riods and negative growth for the last two

periods.Wecanseethehighestgrowthrateat the initial phase (1998-2003), which hasbeen continuously decreasing (except dur-ing 2011-13), leading to a negative growthrateat the recentphase (2013-18).The top destination is the Gulf region

with89.2percentofthetotalemigrants.TheUAEhasremainedthefavouritedestinationforKeralites fromthebeginning.About1.89millionemigrants live in theGulf countries.After KMS2018, Kerala has experienced

floodsandwehavepredictedan increase inemigration becausemost the remittanceswere invested inworks related toconstruc-tion of houses. By 2020, we assume theKeralamigrants insixcountries (UAE,SaudiArabia,Qatar,Bahrain,Oman,Kuwait)prob-ablyreachedaround20lakh(atthemost25lakh). Our understanding indicates thataboutoneof four in theGulf is aKeralite.

Emigration after COVID-19What is the future of emigration to and

return emigration from the Gulf? My pre-dictionsareasfollows:Asofnow,Keralahas1 lakh return emigrants who could not gobackduetotheclosureofairportsintheGulfearlier and in India later. Second, about30,000 new emigrants could not go to theGulf in spite of having employment visas.Third, once travel is allowed,we expect thefirstsetofpriorityreturnemigrants—mostlydependants—toarriveinMay2020.TheGulfcountriesarealreadybeginningtoseetheef-fectsof theCOVIDcrisis,withoilpricessink-

ingtoanall-timelow.Mostsectorswill likelyincur heavy job losses amid changing do-mesticpolicies.Thus,beforeSeptember,weexpectanother1 lakh to return.Onemorefactorwillplayamajorrole.At

any point of time, at least 10 per cent ofKeralite migrants or 2 lakh are undocu-mentediworkers.Very recently,Kuwait an-nouncedamnestyallowingundocumentedworkers to leave the country without anyfine. If other Gulf countries also grantamnesty toget ridof undocumentedwork-ers,mostof themwill have to return. In anycase,we canexpect an additional 3 lakh re-turnmigrantsfromtheGulf.Itisamajorchal-lenge that the government has to take intoconsiderationwhendeliberatingoverthefu-tureofmigration fromKerala.However, thevitalimportanceofmigrantstoKerala’secon-omyandsocietymeansthatthegovernmentwillhavetotakecarefulstepstofosterinter-nationalmigration inapost-COVIDworld.As stated in the Report of Expert

CommitteeonStrategyforEasingLockdownRestrictions of Government of Kerala, “Acomprehensive Kerala Migration Surveyshould be undertaken immediately afternormalcy is restored formoreeffectivepol-icyformulationforthiscategoryintheState.”

S IrudayaRajan isProfessorat theCentre forDevelopmentStudies,Kerala.He led theKeralaMigrationSurvey2018and isa

Memberof theKeralaGovernmentExpertCommitteeonCOVID-19

What is the future of migration from Kerala?PostCOVID-19,Keralastaresat theprospectof large-scalereturnmigrationfromtheGulf.ScholarwholedKeralaMigrationSurveylooksattrends,possibilities

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 26,917 (826 DEATHS)

7,628Maharashtra

1,821 Tamil Nadu

2,083 Rajasthan

991 Telangana

2,096MP

1,843 UP

2,625 Delhi

3,071Gujarat

611West Bengal

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?Write to [email protected]

1,097 Andhra Pradesh

CORONAVIRUSOUTBREAKDAILYCOUNTOFDEATHS, INFECTIONS

90,481Iran

195,351Italy

157,026Germany

149,569United Kingdom

161,665France

223,759Spain

80,949Russia

941,628US

83,909China

107,773Turkey

TOTAL CONFIRMED:2,920,660 DEATHCOUNT:203,670Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonApril 26

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 33ArunachalPradesh 1Assam 36Bihar 251Chandigarh 30Chhattisgarh 37Goa 7Haryana 289HimachalPradesh 40JammuandKashmir 494Jharkhand 67Karnataka 501Kerala 458Ladakh 20Manipur 2Meghalaya 12Mizoram 1Odisha 103Puducherry 7Punjab 298Tripura 2Uttarakhand 50

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,April26.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.OnlystatesandUTswiththemostcasesarelistedabove.5,914PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN30STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

CHAKSHUROYNEWDELHI, APRIL26

EARLIER THISmonth, the government sus-pended the Member of Parliament LocalAreaDevelopment(MPLAD)SchemesothatthesefundswouldbeavailableforitsCOVID-19managementefforts.Following the Centre’s announcement,

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sus-pended the state's MLALAD scheme for ayear,amovethatwillallowthestatetospendRs1,500croreonCOVID-relatedefforts.A look at the scheme, and the implica-

tionsof themove:

What is theMPLADScheme?MPLAD is a central government scheme,

underwhichMPs can recommenddevelop-mentprogrammesinvolvingspendingofRs5croreeveryyearintheirrespectiveconstituen-cies.MPsfrombothLokSabhaandRajyaSabha,includingnominatedones,candoso.States have their versionof this scheme

with varying amounts per MLA. Delhi hasthehighestallocationunderMLALAD;eachMLAcan recommendworks forup toRs10crore each year. In Punjab and Kerala, theamount is Rs 5 crore per MLA per year; inAssam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra andKarnataka, it is Rs2 crore; inUttar Pradesh,itwas recently increased fromRs2 crore toRs3crore.

Howmuchwill thesuspensioncontributetotheCentre’sefforts tomanagethepandemic?Suspension of theMPLAD Schemewill

makeRs7,800croreavailabletothegovern-ment.Forcomparison,thisisonly4.5%oftheRs1.70lakhcrorereliefpackageforthepoorannouncedunderthePradhanMantriGaribKalyanYojana.OppositionMPs have reacted sharply.

Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, leader of theCongress Legislature Party in Lok Sabha,termed themove a gross injustice towardspeople’s representatives.RJDMPManoj Jhasaid the diversion of MPLAD funds would

centralisetheiradministrationanddecreasetheefficiencyof theirdisbursal.

Howdoestheschemework?MPsandMLAsdonotreceiveanymoney

under these schemes. The governmenttransfersitdirectlytotherespectivelocalau-thorities. The legislators can only recom-mendworksintheirconstituenciesbasedona set of guidelines. For theMPLAD Scheme,the guidelines focus on the creation ofdurablecommunityassetslikeroads,schoolbuildings etc. Recommendations for non-durableassetscanbemadeonlyunder lim-itedcircumstances.Forexample, lastmonth,the government allowed use of MPLADfunds for the purchase of personal protec-tionequipment,coronavirustestingkitsetc.Theguidelines foruseofMLALAD funds

differacrossstates.Forexample,DelhiMLAscan recommend the operation of foggingmachines (to contain denguemosquitoes),installation of CCTV cameras etc. After thelegislators give the list of developmentalworks, they are executedby the district au-thorities as per the governments financial,technical andadministrative rules.

Whendidtheschemestart?PrimeMinister P V Narasimha Rao an-

nouncedtheschemeonDecember23,1993inLokSabha.Hementionedthatitwasbeingstarted at the request ofMPs acrossparties.

Opposition to the proposal came fromCPI(M) MPs Nirmal Kanti Chatterjee andSomnathChatterjee.Thishappenedduringatumultuousyear

for Rao’sminority government. Earlier thatmonth,Parliamentwasagitatedthatthegov-ernment was trying to clip ElectionCommissioner T N Seshan's wings by con-verting the EC into amulti-member body.Monthsearlier,thegovernmenthadsurviveda controversial trust vote in Lok Sabha. AndinMay that year, Lok Sabhawitnessed thefirstimpeachmentproceedingsinIndia'shis-tory, against High Court Judge Justice VRamaswami. These events led some com-mentators to suggest that the schemewasan attempt by theminority government toappeaseMPs.Overtheyears,theschemewasadoptedandadaptedbystategovernments.

Howlongaretheschemessupposedtocontinue?The central schemehas continuedunin-

terrupted for27years. It isbudgetedthroughthe government’s finances and continues aslongas thegovernment isagreeable. In2018,theCabinet Committee onEconomicAffairsapprovedtheschemeuntilthetermofthe14thFinanceCommission,thatisMarch31,2020.Intherecentpast,therehasbeenoneex-

ample of discontinuation of a Local AreaDevelopment scheme. Bihar ChiefMinisterNitish Kumar discontinued the state's

scheme in 2010, only to revive it before the2014general elections.

Whathasbeenthe impactof theMPLADscheme?In 2018, when continuation of the

scheme was approved, the governmentnotedthat“theentirepopulationacross thecountry stands to benefit through the cre-ation of durable assets of locally felt needs,namely drinking water, education, publichealth, sanitation and roads etc, underMPLADScheme”.Until2017,nearly19 lakhprojectsworth

Rs45,000crorehadbeensanctionedundertheMPLADScheme.Third-partyevaluatorsappointedbythegovernmentreportedthatthecreationofgoodqualityassetshada“pos-itiveimpactonthelocaleconomy,socialfab-ricandfeasibleenvironment”.Further,82%oftheprojectshavebeeninruralareasandtheremaining inurban/semi-urbanareas.

Whyhastheschemebeensometimescriticised?The criticism has been on two broad

grounds.First, thatit is inconsistentwiththespiritof theConstitutionasitco-optslegisla-torsintoexecutivefunctioning.Themostvo-cal critic was a DMK ex-MP and a formerChairmanofthePublicAccountsCommittee,Era Sezhiyan. He said theworkload onMPscreatedby the schemediverted their atten-tionfromholdingthegovernmentaccount-ableandotherlegislativework.TheNationalCommission to Review theWorking of theConstitution (2000) and the SecondAdministrative Reforms Commission,headed by VeerappaMoily (2007), recom-mended discontinuation of the scheme. In2010, the Supreme Court held that theschemewasconstitutional.The second criticism stems fromallega-

tions of corruption associatedwith alloca-tion ofworks. TheComptroller andAuditorGeneralhasonmanyoccasionshighlightedgaps in implementation.

ChakshuRoy isHeadofOutreach,PRSLegislativeResearch

7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould like explained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED TheOutbreak

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020

Year No.ofEmigrants Inter-SurveyDifference Decrease/Increase1998 1,361,9192003 1,838,478 476,559 25.9%2008 2,193,412 354,934 16.2%2011 2,280,543 87,131 3.8%2013 2,400,375 206,963 8.6%2016 2,271,725 -128,560 -5.6%2018 2,121,887 -278,488 -13.1%

S IrudayaRajan

KABIRFIRAQUENEWDELHI, APRIL26

LASTWEEK, scientists reported that theyhave identified two specific types of cellsin the nose as the likely initial infectionpoints for SARS-CoV2, the novel coron-avirus that causes COVID-19 (briefly re-ported in The Indian Express, April 25). Alook at how this adds to the emergingknowledgeaboutthenewvirus:

Wasthemechanismofinfectionnotalreadyknown?Yes,previousstudieshaveshownwhat

happens at the cellular level. The entryofthe virus takes place bymeans of a “lockand key” effect. Like all coronaviruses,SARS-CoV2 consists of a fatty envelopewitha “spikeprotein” on the surface. Thespikeactsasthe“key”to“unlock”aproteinonthehumancell,calledACE2,whichactsasthereceptorforthevirus.Onceinsidethecell, thevirususesasecondprotein,calledTMPRSS2,tocompleteitsentry.TMPRSS2hasprotein-splittingabilities,whichallowthevirus to reproduce and transmit itselfinsidethecell.

So,whathasthenewstudyfound?Thenewstudyhasidentifiedthespec-

ific cellswhere themechanismof entrymostlikelycomesintoplaywhenthevirusbeginsitattack.Thesearethegobletandc-iliated cells in thenose, researchers fromtheWellcomeSangerInstitute(UK),Univ-ersityMedicalCentreGroningen,Univers-ityCôted’AzurandCNRS,Niceandtheirco-llaborators have reported in the journalNatureMedicine.Gobletcellsaremucus-producingcells

on the surface of organs, and are foundalongtherespiratorytract,alongtheintes-tinal tract, in theuppereyelidetc. Ciliatedcells arehair-like cells, againoccurringonthe surface of various organs, and helpsweepmucus,dustetctothethroat,whereitcanbeswallowed.

Howdidthestudyidentifythesecellsasthelikelypointsofinitialinfection?Theresearcherslookedforareaswhere

thetwokeyproteins,ACE2andTMPRSS2,expressthemselvesmostprominently.Forthis, they turned to theHumanCell Atlas,an international consortium that aims tocreate comprehensive referencemaps ofall human cells. They looked atmultipledatasets frommore than20different tis-sues of non-infected people. These in-cludedcellsfromthelung,nasalcavity,eye,gut,heart,kidneyandliver.

Andwhatdidthedatashow?Bothproteinswere found inmultiple

organs. However, ACE2 expressionwasgenerally lowwhile TMPRSS2washighlyexpressedwithabroaderdistribution.ThissuggeststhatACE2,ratherthanTMPRSS2,maybe a limiting factor for viral entry atthe initial infection stage, the researcherswroteinthepaper.“We found that… ACE2 and TM-

PRSS2…areexpressedincells indifferentorgans,includingthecellsontheinnerlin-ingofthenose.Wethenrevealedthatmu-

cus-producinggobletcellsandciliatedcellsin thenosehad thehighest levels of boththeseCOVID-19virusproteins, of all cellsin the airways. Thismakes these cells themost likely initial infection route for thevirus,” first authorDrWaradonSungnak,fromWellcomeSanger Institute, said in astatementissuedbytheinstitute.

Doesthisruleoutotherentrypoints?Thetwoentryproteinswerealsofound

in cells in the corneaof theeyeand in theliningoftheintestine.Theresearcherssaidthis suggestsanotherpossible routeof in-fectionviatheeyeandtearducts,andpos-sible oral-faecal transmission. However,theynotethat:

■Thetwocelltypesinthenose,wheretheproteinswereexpressedatthehighestlevels, are located at aplace that is highlyaccessibleforthevirus.

■Thestudyalso foundthatACE2pro-duction in the nose cells is probablyswitched on at the same time as variousimmune genes thatwould be activatedwhenthecellsarefightingtheinfection.

■ The virus is thought to be spreadthroughrespiratorydropletsproducedwh-enaninfectedpersoncoughsorsneezes.

Howdoestheknowledgehelp?This isthefirsttimethatthesetwocell

types have beenpinpointed as the likelypointsof initial entry. The researchersbe-lievetheiridentificationcouldhelpexplainthehightransmissionrateofCOVID-19.“This information canbeused to bet-

terunderstandhowcoronavirus spreads.Knowing which exact cell types areimportantforvirustransmissionalsopro-videsabasisfordevelopingpotentialtreat-ments to reduce the spreadof the virus,”said Dr Sarah Teichmann, senior authorfromWellcome Sanger Institute and co-chair of theOrganisingCommitteeof theHumanCellAtlas.

TheMPLADSchemewasannounced inDecember2013,duringatumultuousyear for theNarasimhaRaogovernment.ExpressArchive

Where does virus firststrike? Study pinpointstwo cell types in nose

SIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

MIGRATION FROMKERALA: DIPPINGGROWTH

POINTOF ENTRY

NasalLowerairway

Parenchyma

CiliatedGobletGoblet

How MPLAD scheme works, and how farits suspension will help COVID-19 fight

Schematic illustrationofmajoranatomical regions inthehumanrespiratorytree. Inthenose, thenewstudy identifiedthegobletandciliatedcellsaslikely initial infectionpoints.

Adapted fromSungnaketal,NatureMedicine

All data fromKeralaMigrationSurvey

Mumbai

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OIL FALL DOWNOilproducers, refinersanddrillingservices firmsaren’tonly

ones feeling theheat.But there isa rayofhope

LASTWEEKSAWavirtualbloodbath inoil,withUScrudepricescrashingtoanunprecedentedminus$40.32perbarrelbeforeendingat$16.94.But itwasn’tjust oil. Raw sugar futures prices forMaydelivery inNewYork closed at 9.73centsperpound,thelowestsinceJune9,2008.Thefront-monthcorncontract

atChicago,too,fellto$3.01abushel,alevelitbreachedlastonSeptember11,2009.CrudepalmoilpricesinMalaysia, likewise,plungedby7.5percentonApril21,whilenowtrad-ingnearly31per cent lower since the start of theyear. The linkwithoil is obvioushere:Sugarcane and corn are asmuch sources of food as substrates for ethanol that can beblendedwithpetrol.Only34percentofcanecrushedbyBrazilianmills in2019-20wentforsugarproduction,theresttomakeethanol.Palmoil isusedtomanufacturebio-diesel.Indonesia, last year, mandated a 30 per centmix of bio-diesel in the regular transportfuel,while India requires10percentethanol-blending inpetrol.Theabovediversionof “foodcrops”for fuelmadeeconomicsensesolongasoilprices

were reasonably high; bothUS and Brent crude ruledwell above $50 per barrel till twomonths ago. Oil’s collapse— refineries have significantly curtailed operations,with thecoronavirus-inducedworldwide lockdowns leading toaplunge in road, sea andair traf-ficvolumes—hasmeantthatethanolprocessorsareshuttingplantsandBrazil’smillswillallocatemore cane for sugar. It is amatterof timebefore the transmission fromcrude tosugar, corn and palm oil also spreads to other grains and oilseeds. Low oil prices havebroughtdownthepricesofcottonandnaturalrubberaswell,becauseofsyntheticsubsti-tutes becomingmuch cheaper. Simply put, oil producers, refiners and drilling servicesfirmsaren’ttheonlyonesfeelingtheheat.Farmerswillalsosuffer.PaymentarrearstocanegrowersinUttarPradesharealreadymountingasthere’slittledomesticorexportdemandfor sugar.Moreover, givenweak petrol sales, oil companies are reluctant to lift ethanolfrommills.Andwith liquorvendsshut,noofftakeofpotablealcohol ishappeningeither.Therayof hope, if any, is the fact that thedemandfor foodshouldrecoveroncehotels,

restaurants,sweetmeatshopsandice-cream,beverageandsnackmakersstartrunningaf-terlockdownrestrictionsarelifted.Foodconsumptioncannotbeputoff fortoolong—un-liketravel,tourism,entertainmentorrealestateinvestments,whichwillbethelasttoemergefromthedamagewroughtbyCOVID-19. Indianfarmershavedonewell to feedthenationinthishourofcrisis.Theprospectofglobalproductionshortfallsreassertingthemselves—inrice, for instance—shouldopenupopportunitiesforthemtofeedtheworldtoo.

FINDING THE CURESearch forCovidvaccinemustbe informedbyconversationsbetweenscientists,physicians,bioethicistsandregulators

LASTWEEK, AT a video conference convened by theWHO, leaders from theAmericas,WestAsia,Europe,andAfricaagreedto“speedupthedevelopmentofsafeandeffectivedrugstoprevent,diagnoseandtreatCOVID-19”. India,theUS, Russia, andChina stayedaway fromthemeet. Even so, the conferenceon

April 24showcasedrareglobal solidarity in the four-month-long fightagainst thecoro-navirus. Hearteningly, therewas also consensus that a vaccine against the virus shouldbeseenas “aglobalpublicgood”andshouldbe“distributed inallpartsof theworld”.Inthesecondweekof January,Chinesescientistsdevelopedandsharedafullgenetic

sequenceof thecoronavirus.Thishasspurredmorethan100vaccinedevelopmentproj-ects in different parts of theworld, including India. Last week, clinical trials were ap-proved in theUK, China, andGermany. These are remarkabledevelopments, given thatthe viruswasunknown inmost parts of theworld fourmonths ago.However, vaccinesrequireseveralroundsofclinicaltrialsandregulatoryscrutinybeforetheyaremadeavail-abletothepublic.Theyhavetobefirsttestedinlaboratories, thenonanimals,beforebe-ingtestedonasmallgroupofpeople.Safetyprotocolsinmostpartsof theworlddemandthenumberof people exposed to thevaccine in clinical trials is gradually increasedbe-foreavaccineisapproved.Butthevirulenceof theCOVID-19pandemichasledtocallsforexpeditingtimelines,evendeviationsfromprotocols.Forexample,apaperpublishedintheJournalof InfectiousDiseasesonMarch31suggested“ahumanchallengestudywithfewerparticipantsthanaconventionaltrial”. Itrecommendedinjectingvolunteerswithapotentialvaccineandthenexposingthemtothevirus.Thepaper’sauthors,prominentbioethicists, acknowledged theethical questions such trialswould raise.However, theyargued that “withproper trial designandprocesses, thenet risk forparticipants can re-main low”.TheUSFoodandDrugsAdministrationhassaidthat“itwillbe flexibleaboutregulatoryprocedures”.Thereneedtobemoreconversationsamongstscientists,physi-cians, bioethicists and regulators before an accelerated paradigm to approve an anti-COVID-19vaccine isput inplace.Therearealsoconcernsabouthowmuchthevaccinewill cost, andwhetherpharma

companieswillputhumanitarianconcernsbeforeprofits.During theHINIpandemic in2009, therewas criticism that thewealthier countries had cornered the lion’s share ofthevaccines. It is reassuring, therefore, that the leadersattending lastweek’svideocon-ferencemadeacommitment to “ensureequalaccess tovaccines”.

SK Sarin

Vrinda Shukla

Protections forhealthcareprofessionalsmuststaybeyondpandemic

I TWEET THEREFORE I’M HEARDIndia’sdigitaldividemakes the statedistant fromthosewhoneed itmost

DOCTORS,NURSESANDhealthcare profes-sionals will remember the day the Uniongovernment passed an ordinance ensuringthat acts of violence against doctors andothermedical staffwill be a cognisable andnon-bailableoffence.ImprisonmentfromsixmonthstosevenyearsandapenaltyfromRs50,000toRs7lakhcanbesanctionedbythecourts.Suchpunishmentswillserveasade-terrenttounrulypatientsandtheirrelatives,if foundguilty.This ordinancehasbeenprecipitatedby

the precarious situation and the dire needfor flawless health services during theCOVID-19 pandemic. It is the result of thecombined and timely efforts of several or-ganisationsandtheleadershipof theIndianMedical Association (IMA). Needless to say,anydisruptionof thehealth serviceswouldnot only endanger the lives of hundreds ofpatientsbutcouldalsoraisequestionsontheabilityof thegovernmenttorisetotheocca-sion.Indeed,theprimeminister,homemin-ister and healthminister have earned richpraise from themedical fraternity as theymoved fast enough to assuage themedicswhowerehurtbytherecent insultsheapedon themby the society, including stoppingof burying thebodies of their deceased col-leagues.There are, however, somemajor caveats

to be kept inmind. The ordinance has beenbrought as an amendment to the EpidemicDiseasesAct, 1897, andhence,maybecomeinfructuous after the pandemic is declaredover. We do hope that the pandemic diesdownat theearliest, butwant anassurancethat theordinancewill remain in force.InthetimesofCOVID,healthcareprofes-

sionals (HCPs) are reaching out to do tests,diagnoseandtreattheinfectedandsick,de-spite the risks. The society, due to obviousfears,ofteninsultsthesededicatedwarriors.Even in the past, nearly every doctor hasfaced verbal abuse and nasty cryptic re-

marks,more so in India than other parts oftheworld. The common causes in govern-ment hospitals are the delay in appoint-ments, queues for tests and several painfuldaysbeforethetreatmentbegins. Inthepri-vateset-up, therearealsothecostsandlim-itless demands of paying patients. Doctorsoftenfacepressuretactics,accusationsof in-correct diagnosis andwrong prescriptions(thesecouldbeduetodifferences inassess-mentand judgement).All this could be related to deteriorat-

ing civic sense and poor implementationof laws.There isalso thepossibilityof poorcommunication by the doctors. However,physical abuse and violence against doc-tors at their placeofwork is unacceptable.Vandalisingofpersonalandhospitalassetshas increasedexponentially recently. Fearsof personal safety, assault on their familyand false litigations, intimidates doctors,making themtooscared to takeproperde-cisions. They often end up in doing eithermore testsor referringsuchpatients toan-other centre.While hundreds of acts of violence

against doctors have been reported everyyear for the past two decades, manymoreareneverbroughttolight.Theyoungestpro-fessionals—residentdoctorsonemergencyduty— end up seeing dozens of patients inonenight. Fewappreciate this. It is possiblethat insomeinstances, theremaybeadelayin arriving at a proper diagnosis andinitiatingtreatmentduetothecomplexitiesof the disease per se. But this is neverintentional.Whilewesalutetheacknowledgmentby

thegovernmentof theunprecedentedchal-lenges faced by doctors, it needs to be seenhowthedoctorsortheirlawyerwillbeabletoprove that the accused had a guilty intent(mensrea)andwasperforminganillegalact(actus reus). The enactment of a law is un-likely to curb the near-criminal acts by pa-

tientsortheirattendants.Thepublicat largeneedstoappreciatethatwhattheyaredoingis illegalandinhuman.There isaneedtoed-ucate society that healthcare professionalsgenuinelydotheirbest.Theyhavenomalice,nordothey intendtodoanyharm.Thepub-lichasalsotobeeducatedonthecomplexitiesofdecision-making incomplexcases.Whenever the doctors ask for protection

orraise theirvoiceagainst theviolence, theirdemandsarehardlygivenattention—thefra-ternity is reminded of the nobleness of themedicalprofessionandtheHippocraticOath.The remedial altars, the courts, direct themnottoprotestandreturntowork.Tobebeatenagain!Courtaftercourt,judgmentafterjudg-ment, has given large compensations to theplaintiffs forallegedmedicalnegligence.Will the courts change their outlook in

the wake of the new ordinance? If theseverywarriorsareostracisedwhilereturningfrom work or are thrown out of theirhouses, bruised by a crowdpelting stones,will the courts and judges rise to the occa-sion and take suo-moto action?Will theybe able to deliver timely and exemplarypunishmentsandsafeguardthedignityandlives of HCPs? Healthcare professionalsneed a sensitive and accountable judicialsystemand this ordinance shouldbegivenmore punch andwider applicability in thetimes to come.Thenewordinancehastobeweighedin

lightof these facts andwill onlyachieve thedesiredresultsif thesocietyatlargeappreci-atesthechallengesandpainsfacedbyHCPs.Alas,whatwas the genuine due of the doc-tors andHCPs—the tribute and the respect—hascomethroughthelaw.Sobeit.Letthehandsnotwaverwhiledeliveringjudgments.

Thewriter isdirector, Instituteof LiverandBiliarySciences,Delhi.Heheads theexpertpanel constitutedbyDelhigovernment totackle coronavirus,Viewsarepersonal

ITWAS about 9:30 pm. The phone rang. Awell-meaningladywascallingtoinformthatSujoyRajandeightothers,allmigrantwork-ersfromWestBengal,didn’thaveanyrationsleft. Shehadseenthesocialmediacoverageof the police’s food-aid initiative and foundmynumber on the districtwebsite. She ex-pected the police to help. Anhour later, thephone rang again. This time a small uncer-tainvoicespokeattheotherend.ItwasSujoy,warily tellingmethathehadbeencalledbythepolice tohis local chowki. I explained tohimthatallchowkishadbeensuppliedwithrations tohelp those inneed.Abrief silencefollowed. He hesitatingly asked, “Mujhemaarenge toh nahin?” A lump rose inmythroatatthetragedyofdistortedperceptions.Anawarecitizen,armedwithcorrectand

completeinformation,hadfeltitwellwithinherrighttoassert fortheneedofothers.Buta starvingman thought of raising the issueofhisdesperatehungerasacrime.Sujoydidreceive rations that night. I hope that wemanaged to redeemourselves a little in theeyes of Sujoy and his companions and thatthe police chowki becamea less forbiddingplace in theirmentalmap.The difference between the confidence

ofSujoyandhisself-assuredadvocatecouldclearly be attributed to an information di-vide, fuelledmost acutely by the digital di-vide,particularly in thepresent scenario.The digital medium has emerged as a

powerfulpassport formillionsof citizens toregistertheirexpectationsfromthestateandmake their voices heard. The lockdown is

witnessing the informed and digitally con-nected take to Twitter and other platformsto express their concerns about everything— from the urgent requirement of a permitforthelastritesofalovedonetothepressingneed for a specific baby food customised totheirchild’sallergies.Theauthoritiesrespondwith alacrity, for social and digital mediahaveevolvedaspotentbarometerstodeter-minethepopularityandeffectivenessof thestate, pinning down the responsibility andaccountability of government agencies andgauging their levels of sensitivity andpromptness.Thisisaremarkableempower-mentof India’scitizensandtheriseofanewproximate relationship between the stateand itsdigitally connectedpeople.But what about those with no Twitter

handlesoraplatformtohighlightaparticu-larlyaggravatingpersonalsituation?India’sdeep digital divide is in ever-sharper focuswithmost physical means of carrying outbusinessandgovernancerendereddysfunc-tional.Forinstance,mostemergencypermitsbeingissuedbyvariousgovernmentauthor-itiesaree-passes,whichmustbeappliedforand received digitally. As such, the exigen-cies of the unlettered and the digitally de-privedmust,bydefault, languishbehindthegreat divide.We cannot underestimate thedisproportionate burden of the lockdown,bothpsychologicalandmaterial,beingborneby them.Thewaytolightenthisburdenisthrough

an aggressive bridging of the digital divide.A national network of decentralised virtual

call centres could be operated in local lan-guagesanddialectsforthepurposeofaccess-inge-governance.Digitallyempoweredcit-izens, remotely serving as “digitalvolunteers”couldbeequippedwiththerel-evant helplinenumbers,website addressesandURLs for accessing public services. Thedigitally disconnected could seek helpthrough a simple phone call, whichwouldbequeuedinthesystem.Adigitalvolunteercouldthenconnectwiththecallerinherlan-guage,understandherrequirement,andini-tiate thenecessaryprocedures.Similarly, leveraging India’s vastmobile

phonepenetration,anartificial intelligence-powered Interactive Voice Response (IVR)mechanismofplacingautomatedcallscouldbeharnessedforproactivedisseminationofarea-basedvitalinformation.Suchdigitalin-clusion is essential for the reassurance ofIndia’s teemingmillions that the state is intheir service andwon’t let them languishwithout an anchor. In this digital age, thereisnootherwaytomakeeverycitizenfeellikea valued stakeholder than to find away ofconnecting themto thepowerof thedigitalethos.As educated empowered citizens, we

must take it uponourselves to serve as am-bassadors of the digitally disconnected. Soletusshareourawareness.Shareouraccess.Share our Twitter handle for those on thewrongsideof thedigitaldivide.

Thewriter, 31, isan IPSofficer servingasDCPinNoida,UttarPradesh.Viewsarepersonal

There is also the possibilityof poor communication bythe doctors. However,physical abuse and violenceagainst doctors at their placeof work is unacceptable.Vandalising of personal andhospital assets has increasedexponentially recently. Fearsof personal safety, assault ontheir family and falselitigations, intimidatedoctors, making them tooscared to take properdecisions. They often end-upin doing either more tests orreferring such patients toanother centre.

India’s deep digital divide isin ever-sharper focus withmost physical means ofcarrying out business andgovernance rendereddysfunctional. For instance,most emergency permitsbeing issued by variousgovernment authorities aree-passes, which must beapplied for and receiveddigitally. As such, theexigencies of the unletteredand the digitally deprivedmust, by default, languishbehind the great divide.

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,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020 WORDLYWISESugar is nowmore dangerous than

gunpowder— YUVAL NOAH HARARITHEEDITORIALPAGE

GANGA DIALOGUETHEJOINTRIVERSCommissionof IndiaandBangladesh, currently in session inDelhi, isabout to throwup its hands in despair overfailuretoresolvethedifferencesbetweenthetwo countries on the sharing of the Gangawaters. Rather thangoing into thepros andcons of the positions of the two countries,the Commission was busy discussingwhether the issue of augmentation of theGangawatersshouldberemittedbacktothetwogovernments for resolution.The Indiandelegation virtually made it clear to theBangladeshdelegationthatthecommissionwasnot in a position to bridge the gulf sep-aratingthepositionsofthetwogovernmentsand as such it was better the two govern-ments themselves tookupthe task.

ASSAM BANDHEVENAS THE five-day picketing of govern-ment offices by the agitating organisationsended in Assam, associations of state andcentral government employees announcedthat they would abstain from work onMonday.TheAllAssamEmployeesParishaddecidedto“boycottoffices”inprotestagainstthesuspensionofemployeesfortakingpartin the “current peacefulmovement” on theforeignnationalissue.Thecentralandsemi-centralemployeesparishadhasalsodecidedto call upon itsmembers to stay away fromwork for a day in response to the state gov-ernmentemployees’ appeal.

US ON IRAN MISSIONWITHUNANSWEREDQUESTIONS and fu-

ture intentions left dangling, the JimmyCarter administration is reactingwith un-usual calm to the failure of its dramatic ef-fort to free the US hostages in Teheran.Despite the loss of eight Americanmilitarymen,whosebodieswereleftbehindinblaz-ing aircraft wreckage on an Iranian saltdesert, the response of President JimmyCarter andkeyassociates is innowayremi-niscent of past moments of nationaldejectionatdaringplansgoneawry. Insteadofexhibitingthenever-againattitudeshownbythethenPresidentJohnKennedyaftertheabortive1961BayofPigsinvasionofCubabyUS-backed Cuban exiles, few officials inWashingtonseemwillingtosaythatanotherIranrescuemissionmightnotgoforwardinthenear future.

APRIL 27, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Freeze Frame E P Unny

The safety of healers

ONE OF

800MILLION

A VOICE, UNDER 35

Mumbai


WHATTHEOTHERSSAYIn a time of crisis art becomes more central to our lives

— THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

THEIMMEDIATENEEDforuniversalfoodandcashdelivery is bynowobvious andurgent.Across thecountry, therearereportsof peo-ple—migrantworkers, localworkers, peas-ants,pastoralists, fisherpeople,vendors,rag-pickers, and the destitute— facing extremehardship, even starvation, because theirlivelihoods have been extinguished by thelockdown.Thesehavecreatedfurtheranun-precedentedhumanitariancrisis,asmillionsofhouseholdswithdepletedsavingshavenowaytoaccessfoodandotherbasicnecessitiesover the comingweeks. The threat of infec-tionfromCOVID-19makesevenhardertheircopingmechanisms.Inthesedirecircumstances, it isessential

for the state to directly provide the basicmeans of survival to anyonewho needs it.Thismustbe inbothcashandkind.Foodac-cessisthemostimportant,butbecauseoftheclosureofeconomicactivityandtheabsenceof any livelihood opportunity, thismust becombinedwithcashtransferstotideoverthisperiod and the immediate aftermath. Foodtransfers must be provided for at least sixmonths, andcash transfers for at least threemonths, though these can be extended de-pendingontheperiodof lockdown.Because of the severity of the crisis and

the high probability of widespread hungerand descent into poverty, these transfersmust be universal, made available to everypersonwhoneedsthem,withoutrelyingonexclusionarycriteria,existinglistsorbiomet-ric identification.What will this cost? Consider first free

universal provisioning of 10 kg of grain(wheatorrice)perpersonpermonth.Thisislikely to be availed of by atmost around 80percentofthepopulation.Withanestimatedpopulationof1.3billion,providingthisforsixmonthswouldrequire62.4milliontonnesofgrain. This is amaximal estimate— the ac-tual requirementwouldbe lower. The FCI iscurrentlyholding77milliontonnesof food-grainstocks,comparedtobufferstocknormsof24milliontonnes. It isexpectedtoprocureanother 40million tonnes from the currentrabiharvest. Itcouldeasilyreleaseandallowthefreedistributionof foodgrainof62.5mil-liontonnesandstillhavefoodgrainstocksof54.5milliontonnes, if theexpectedrabipro-curement targetsaremet.Furthermore,itiscostlyfortheFCItostore

thisgrain.Thecurrentcostsofstoragearees-timatedtobeRs5.60perkilogrammeperyearorRs2.80forsixmonths.Thismeansthatbyreleasing62.4milliontonnestofeedthehun-gryof Indiaoverthenextsixmonths, theFCIwouldactually be savingRs17,472crore, as-sumingthattheseidlestockswouldhaveper-sisted. But even if thesewere sold, the costsaretherevenuethatwouldhavebeenearned.Thisisdifficulttoestimate;butifwejustblowup Nirmala Sitharaman’s estimate, men-tionedinherpackage, forsixmonthsandfor80 per cent of the population thenwe get a(maximal) figureofRs1,17,000crore.In addition to cereals, it is important to

provide some pulses, cooking oil, salt, etc.,but these would add relatively smallamounts to thetotalexpenditure,andsomeexpenditure on pulses has already been in-

cludedbyusingSitharaman’sestimate.Thisamount of physical grain could also beutilisedincommunitykitchensandotheref-forts to provide cooked food to those (suchasmigrantworkers and thehomeless)whoarenot inaposition tocook for themselves.Inaddition,weproposeacashtransferof

Rs7,000permonthforthreemonthstoeveryhousehold,assumingagainthat80percentofhouseholdswouldreceivethis.Withfiveper-sonsperhousehold, this expenditurewouldbe Rs 4,36,800 crore. The two transfers to-getheramounttoRs5,53,800crore,oraround2.9percentof currentlyestimatedGDP.This is not a forbidding sum, especially

considering that India has nowealth tax, apotentially rich sourceof revenue.Needlessto say, a great part of the responsibility tomaketheseresourcesavailablevestswiththeUnion government. Butwhatever taxes areintroduced in a supplementary budget thathasbecomeunavoidable,theexpenditurein-curred has to be financed immediatelythrougha fiscaldeficit.Given themassivedeflationarypressures

andacomplete collapseof economicactivity,thereisastrongcaseforfinancingtheadditionalpublicexpenditurethroughdeficitfinancingorborrowingdirectlyfromtheRBI.Thisisrequiredbothforcopingwiththepandemicandforsoft-eningtheblowofthelockdown.Thequestionthenarisesofhowuniversal

deliveryof thesefoodandcashtransfersistobe ensured. Existing lists are inadequate forthe purpose because they significantly un-derestimate and exclude thosewho shouldbebeneficiaries.Forexample,aspointedoutby Dreze, Khera andMungikar, at least 100million people are excluded from access tofood under the National Food Security Actbasedonthe2011Census.Themosteffectivewayofdealingwiththefoodemergencyistoprovide fooddeliveryatdoorstepsorneigh-bourhood collection points to anyonewhoasks for it,with a simplemarker suchas theindelible ink used during elections to serveas the indicatorof receipt.For cash transfers, the matter is more

complicated. In rural India, MGNREGA jobcards and pensions covermost householdsand allow bank payments. The urban poorincludemigrants,contractandcasualwork-ersmostlyinsmallandmediumenterprises,daily wagers, domestic workers, self-em-

ployed persons like street vendors, sexworkers and ragpickers, and the destituteincluding homeless people. But there is nocomprehensiverecordof theurbanpoorbe-cause the state has instituted no effectivemechanisms to secure labour rights or so-cial security rights tomost urbanworkers.The urban poor build and service the city,survivingwithoutrightsandahostileor in-differentstate.Thelegally-mandatedregis-trationof inter-statemigrantsandconstruc-tion workers in practice excludes mostbecause their employers with the con-nivanceof the statedon’twish tobeboundto secure their rights.Thehumanitarianemergencycreatedby

thepandemicandlockdownentailsuniver-sal cash transfers again to every adult whopresentsherself todesignatedofficialsinde-centralised offices. For thosewho have ac-cessible bank accounts, the funds can becredited to these accounts. For others, theOdisha system,whereby pensions are dis-bursed as cash in hand at pre-specifiedtimes,maybeausefulmodel to follow. Thisalso can be adopted with indelible ink asproof of receipt.The income transfersmust quickly give

waytoanexpandedruralemploymentguar-antee scheme, and a new urban employ-ment programme,which includes caregiv-ingandbuildingwatersupply,sanitationandshelter for theurbanpoor. Privatehospitalsalso need to be nationalised at least for thedurationof thepandemic.All thesemeasures no doubt rely on lo-

cal administration being honest and ac-countable, aswell as oncommunitypartic-ipation; but then this pandemic and itsfallout cannot be controlledwithout these.The health emergencywas not created byIndia’sworking people. They should not beforcedtocarrytheburdensof thepandemicand the sudden loss of food and livelihood,unsupportedbyanuncaringstate.Thesere-quireaboldresolve,bycentralandstategov-ernments, to literally reach the last person,rural or urban,with the food and cash theyrequire to survivewithdignity.

Ghosh isprofessorof economics, JNU,Patnaik is formerprofessorof economics,JNU,andMander isahumanrightsworker

andwriter

VIOLENCE AND VIRUSTHISREFERSTO theeditorial, ‘Securingthe fighters’ (IE, April 24). This primeministerwas applauded by the peopleforexpressinghisgratitudetothemed-ical fraternity and other essential serv-iceproviders.Butwhenweseeviolenceagainst doctors andpolicepersonnel, itseemsNarendraModi’s noble gesturewaswastedon somepeople. The latestoutrageistheviolencethatoccurredaf-ter a Chennai doctor died of COVID-19whenamobattackedtheambulanceinwhichhisbodywaskeptandpreventeditsburial.Thisincidenthasunderscoredthemisconception that the contagionmayspreadifthevictimisburiedorcre-matedintheneighbourhood.

MonaSingh,viaemail

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Securingthe fighters’ (IE, April 24). There havebeen cases of skirmishes between thepublicontheonehandandpoliceper-sonnel, healthworkers anddoctors ontheother.Theguiltypersons,undoubt-edly,mustbepunished.But,atthesametime, wemust guard against medicalmalpractice.

LRGupta,Lucknow

INJECT MONEYTHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘How tofindmoney in crisis’ (IE April 24). Thegovernmentmay consider rationalis-ing its expenditure and optimally al-locating resources in the capital head

tomakemore fiscal room tomanagethe fallout of the pandemic. But thismove can have major implications.Thebest bet in sucha scenariowill bean expansionary monetary policy,thereby infusingmore liquidity in thesystem that could fuel the domesticeconomic activity.

SudipKumarDey,Kolkata

DIGITAL MONOPOLYTHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘A bigdeal’(IE,April24).Thearrangementbe-tweenJioandFacebookcouldmovethetelecom sector towards a duopoly orevenamonopoly.

VirajGavhane,Beed

9

In these dire circumstances,it is essential for the state todirectly provide the basicmeans of survival to anyonewho needs it. This must be inboth cash and kind. Foodaccess is the most important,but because of the closure ofeconomic activity and theabsence of any livelihoodopportunity, this must becombined with cash transfersto tide over this period andthe immediate aftermath.Food transfers must beprovided for at least sixmonths, and cash transfersfor at least three months,though these can be extendeddepending on the period oflockdown.

LETTER OF THEWEEKAWARD

To encourage quality readerintervention, The IndianExpress offers the Letter oftheWeek award. The letteradjudged the best for theweek is published everySaturday. Lettersmay be

e-mailed [email protected] sent to The IndianExpress, B-1/B, Sector 10,Noida-UP 201301.

WEARETODAYinthemidstofagravehealthcrisis. The coronavirus continues to spreadacrosstheworld.Hardlyanyoneisuntouchedby its extraordinary transmissibility.We, inIndia,likeinotherpartsoftheworld,aretry-ingtobreakthisalarminglyspeedytransmis-sionthroughanationallockdown,socialdis-tancing and personal hygienemeasures.Adherencetothesenewnormsofsocialbe-haviourhas yielded results. Thenumberofcases and fatalities has shown a declinewherevertherehasbeengreatercompliance.Conversely,therehasbeenasurgewherevertherewas laxityandviolationofprescribedpreventivemeasures.ThelargecongregationinNizamuddin inDelhi brought this starkunpleasantrealitytoourattention.However,weshouldunderstandthatthismerelyillus-trateswhat can happen if we ignore thewarningandslip intoanapatheticordenialmode.We should read nomore into thisevent andnot let latent prejudices surface,resultingintotallyunwarrantedfinger-point-ing at any community. The entire commu-nityshouldnotbeblamedorviewedas theculprit because of the negligence of a fewgroupsandindividuals.This is amassivedisruption inour lives.

Oursocio-culturallifeisenrichedbyfestivalsandculturaleventsinwhichweminglewitheachotherandcelebratetogether.Socialdis-tancing is antithetical to the spirit of bon-homie and the collective celebrationof life.But,wehaveoptedforthispathbecauseitistheonlyknownpathofcontainingthespreadof thisdeadlyvirus.Wehavetoputupwiththemilderdisruptionsinsocial,religiousandculturallifetoavoidamajorcatastrophe.Wesimplyhavetolivewiththesituationwherewecannotvisitplacesofworshiponfestivaldays.Wehavetoavoidcongregationsandso-cial gatherings for some time to come. It ispainful,butthereishardlyanyalternative.Thenatureofthisdiseaseandtheprecau-

tions required to be takenmust bewidelyunderstood. Citizensmust not be afraid orcomplacent.Theseverelyaffectedshouldbegivenmedicalhelp.Theyshouldnotbestig-matisedandostracised.RandeepGuleria,di-rectorofAIIMS,hassaidinarecentinterview,thatCOVID-19canbedealtwithbetterifweencourage personswith symptoms to gettestedratherthanviewthemwithsuspicionand stigma. People, irrespective of socialstanding and religious beliefs, should seekmedicalattention.Anotherfacetofstigmatisationisthedis-

turbingtrendofsporadicattacksonmedicalpersonnel,especiallythosewhoarefightingon the frontlines andbraving the tremen-dousriskofgettinginfected.Therearequiteafewinstancesofdoctors,nurses,paramed-icalstaffandothersocialworkersbeingstig-matised anddeniedhousing facilities andviewedwithdeepsuspicionascarriersofthevirus. This is truly unfortunate and de-

plorable,especiallyinacountrythathastra-ditionally had ahighly reverential attitudetowardsdoctors. Quite rightly, the govern-menthasmadeattacks against healthpro-fessionalsacognisable,non-bailableoffence,carrying imprisonment terms upto sevenyears. Hopefully, thiswill curb further vio-lenceagainsthealthprofessionals.Ignoranceandprejudice, fearandsuspicion,shouldbeovercomethroughauthenticandtimelyflowofinformationandnewsocietalnormsbasedonourancientvaluesmustberestored.Iamhappythatpeopleatlargeareadher-

ingtotheguidelines.Allreligiousleadersaremovingaway fromdogmaticpositions andareprovidingtheguidancerequiredtoregu-latethemodesofworshipinlightofthepres-ent circumstances. Stigma anddogmaareimpediments that need to be removed. Amore flexible, adaptable attitude tomodifyoursocialbehaviourwill enableus toeffec-tivelycontinueourwar.Almostall religiousinstitutionshavenowbeenclosedandnore-ligiouscongregationsarebeingallowed,notonlyinIndiabutinmostoftheaffectedcoun-tries around theworld.We canwinonly ifweactwithwisdom, alacrity andadispas-sionateunderstandingofthepreventiveac-tions.Theseactionscutacross religiousandregionalboundaries.Nocommunityhasanyimmunityagainstthispandemic.Iamhappythatwearegettingusedtoa

subdued celebration of festivals like RamaNavami,Baisakhi,EasterandRamzan.Letthespirit of religious sanctity andpietybepre-served in our hearts and homes this year.After all,whatwepray for is aworld that ishealthyforusandforentirehumanity.Aswebegin the sacredmonth of Ramadan, I dohope thatweall stay at homeandpray forourfamiliesandfellowbeingsandhopethatweovercomethischallengesoon.Thereareanumberofchallengesthatthe

pandemichas forcedustoconfront.Wearecollectively finding answers to these everevolving challenges. TheCentral and stategovernments aswell as local bodies are re-viewing the situation and takingwell-con-sidereddecisions tomitigate thehardship.However,muchmoreneedstobedone.Wehaveapparentlysomemoredistance

to cover.While the averagedaily growth incaseshasbeenfallingsincethelockdownwasimposed,westillhavearatherhighgrowthrateofaround8percent.Weneedtobevig-ilant.Wemustanalysethedata inanobjec-tivemanner and strategise further actions.Weneed to reinforcemeasures that cut offthetransmission.Wealsoneedtostepuphu-manitarianandwelfaremeasures.This isamomentforustogetouractto-

gether.Wemust distance ourselves physi-callytoarresttheviraltransmission.But,weneedtocomecloserashumanbeingstoren-derhelpwhereandwhenrequired.Wemustrediscover the truemeaningof central reli-gioustenets.Iamhopefulthatweshallstandunitedwith an understanding of the realchallengeaheadofusandhavethecollectivecommitment to actwithwisdom to over-come the challenge. Let not differencesamongpolitical parties come in thewayoffightingthispandemicatanylevel.Solidarityandalacrityatalllevelscanhelp

usbetternavigatethecurrentmulti-dimen-sionalcrisis.

ThewriterisVicePresidentofIndia

Jayati Ghosh,Prabhat PatnaikandHarshMander

In our homesand hearts

Socialdistancing isantithetical tocelebrationof life, and festivals.But in these times,

it is theonlyway

CR Sasikumar

Theregionwillrequireheavyinvestmenttotideoverthepost-COVIDlossof livelihoods

A FAMOUS LINE of Tiger in Walt DisneyProductions’Winnie thePooh is, “Life isnotabout how fast you run or how high youclimb, but how well you bounce”. In thecontext of today’s economy, under siegebecause of the coronavirus pandemic,what matters is not how big a country’sGDP isorhowfast ithasbeengrowing; thereal challenge ishowbestandhowquicklyacountrycanbouncebacktoagrowthrateof 7-8 per cent per annum.The IMF’s projections for GDP growth

for this year seemtobeeither in thenega-tive or below2per cent for almost allma-jorcountriesof theG-20group. Indiacoulddo a little better compared to the otherBRICS nations, but its growth will mostlikely be below 2 per cent. This, of course,is under an optimistic scenario. Many ex-perts reckon that India could also go intonegativeGDPgrowththisyear, if itdoesnotreboot the economyproperly and in time.The Centre and the Reserve Bank of

India are trying to remove all roadblocksso that factoriesand farmscanresumeop-

erations, albeit in a regulatedmanner thatensures that thevirus is contained.The fo-cus is largely on the supply side — how toease restrictions and how to increase liq-uidity in the system for resuming produc-tion.Myassessment is that itmaynot taketoo longas the realproblemis thecollapseindemand.Andthatdemandmaynotpickupeasilyas thevirus is likely tostaywithusfor quite some time. We could have lock-downsagain if there is a surge in infection.Thiswill surely limitour travel andrestrictour shopping fornon-essentials.However,there is onedemand that can easily revive— that of food.The NSSO survey of consumption ex-

penditures for2011-12revealedthatabout45 per cent of the total expenditure of anIndian household is on food. For the poor,the NSSO reckoned, this figure was about60 per cent. We do not have informationabout the consumption patterns in 2020,butmy guess is that about 35-40 per centof theexpenditureof an Indianhouseholdis on food and for a poor household, thisfigure isaround50percent.Herein, lies thescope to reboot the economy.Wehave seen theproblemsofmigrant

labourers during the lockdown. The sud-denannouncementof thenationwidelock-downgavethemnotimetogobacktotheirfamilies. They lost their jobs and incomes,and having spent whatever little savingstheyhad, theseworkershavebeenreducedto penury. The Centre and states, despitetheirbestefforts,havenotmanagedtoad-dress theproblemofhungerof thesework-ers. Even civil society has not managed to

bridge thegap.Themigrant labourersmaywell have lost their trust in the state, andonce the lockdown is lifted, most of themare likely to rush back to their families invillages—as if freed fromjail.And, it couldbe some time before they are back in thecities—that is, if theyreturnatall. So, farmsand factories, especially theMSMEs in therelatively developed states of western,southern and north-western India arelikely to face labour shortages for manymonths, perhaps years. This could lead tomoremechanisationof farmsandfactoriesinthesestates. InPunjab, forexample,mostof thewheatharvesting is alreadydonebycombined harvesters. Now even paddyharvesting could be done by mechanisedharvesters.However, easternUttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Jharkhand,WestBengal, andOdisha, fromwheremuchof themigrant labour comes,will faceadouble challenge. Their agricul-ture,withtinyfarmholdings isalreadysad-dledwith a large labour force— this com-prises 45 to 55 per cent of the total labourforce of these states. Non-farm incomefromwages and salaries, throughmigrantlabour,wasan importantsourceof incomefor households in these states. This is nowseverelyhit. Inallprobability, thepercapitarural incomesof these states could shrink,at least in the short run. This could lead topoverty and increase hunger and malnu-trition. How does one then reboot theeconomyandalsoaddresshungerandmal-nutrition?Aspecial investmentpackage—like the

MarshallPlanofUSAin1948—fortheeast-

ern belt of India to build better infrastruc-ture, agri-markets and godowns, ruralhousing, primary health centres, schoolsand enhances people’s skillswill go a longway to revive the economy and augmentthe incomesof themigrantworkers.Risingincomes will generate more demand forfoodaswellasmanufacturedproducts,giv-inga fillip to thegrowthenginesof agricul-ture as well as the MSME sector. Buildingbetter supplychains for fooddirectly fromfarm-to-fork, ledby theprivate sector,willenhance the export competitiveness ofagriculture. It will also ensure a highershare of farmers in the consumers’ rupee.Such broad-based development in a rela-tivelyunderdevelopedregionof thecoun-trywill lay the foundationsof a long-term,demand-driven, growth of industry inIndia.Theall Indiarelief packageofRs1.7 lakh

crore announced by the central govern-ment earlier, which is about 0.8 per centof the country’sGDP, is too small to rebootthe economy. If India has to bounce backquickly, it needs amuch bigger relief cumstimulus package— certainly not below 5per cent of GDP. And, it should focusmoreon theeasternbelt,where the issue is thatof survival. Else, thecountrycoulddoevenmore badly on the indicators of poverty,hunger,malnutrition, infantmortalityandwell-being. India could get derailed fromits course of attaining the SustainableDevelopmentGoals by 2030.

Thewriter is Infosys Chair professor forAgriculture at ICRIER

AMarshall Plan for East India

Humanitarian emergencyTheongoingcrisiscallsforuniversaldeliveryoffoodandcashtransfersbythestate.Itcanbedone

FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH

byAshokGulati

MVenkaiahNaidu

Mumbai


THEOUTBREAK TheWorld


THENETHERLANDS

Unabletofly,teenssailhomeacrossAtlantic

Harlingen: A group of 25Dutch high school stu-dents arrived back in theNetherlands in a two-mast schooner onSunday, after airline re-strictions left themwithlittle choice but to helpsail it home from theCaribbean. The group,aged 14-17, had beenhalfway through a sixweek sail-study pro-gramme in the regiononboard theWylde Swan.But bymid-March, it ap-peared they could nolonger fly home fromCuba as planned.Organisers decided theship, including12experi-enced sailors and threeteachers, would have tosail back across theAtlantic, a 7,000 km tripthat took them fiveweeks. REUTERS

TheDutchteens intheportofHarlingenonSunday.AP/PTI

PANDEMICWATCH

BANGLADESH

31ISKCONmemberstestpositiveDhaka: The ISKCON tem-plehereintheBangladeshicapital has reported 31coronaviruscases, follow-ingwhich the authoritieslockeddownthebuildingto prevent the spread ofthe virus. “Asmany as 31members of theInternational Society forKrishna Consciousness(ISKCON) ashram locatedin Swamibag area havetested positive for thenovel coronavirus,"Gendaria police stationOfficer-in-Charge (OC)SajuMiahwas quoted assaying by the DhakaTribune. PTI

SOUTHKOREA

Only10newcoronaviruscasesreportedSeoul: South Korea hasconfirmed10morecasesof the coronavirus overthe past 24 hours, a con-tinuationof thecountry'sslowingcaseload.Thead-ditional cases reportedSundaymarks the ninthday in a row that SouthKorea's daily increasecame below 20. Thestate-run Korea Centersfor Disease Control andPreventionsaidtheaddi-tionally reported casesbroughtthecountry'sto-tal to 10,728 with 242deaths. It said 8,717patients have recoveredand been released fromquarantine. AP

OTHERTOPGLOBAL STORIES

ASSOCIATEDPRESSATLANTA,APRIL26

ASTHEglobaldeathtollfromthecoronavirussurpassed200,000,countriestookcautiousstepsto-wardeasinglockdownsimposedamid thepandemic, but fearsofa surge in infectionsmadeevensome outbreak-wounded busi-nesses reluctant to reopen.The worldwide death toll

was over 202,000, according toa count by John HopkinsUniversityfromgovernmentfig-ures on Saturday. The actualdeath toll is believed to be farhigher.Underscoringtheunknowns

about the virus, the WorldHealthOrganization said “thereis currently no evidence” thatpeoplewhohaverecoveredfromCOVID-19cannot fall sickagain.Somecountries extendedor

tightened restrictions, confirm-ingapatternof caution.SriLankahadpartiallylifteda

month-long daytime curfew inmore than two thirds of thecountry. But it reimposed a 24-hourlockdowncountrywideun-til Monday after a surge of 46new infections, its highest dailyincrease.Norway extended until at

least September 1 its ban oneventswithmorethan500par-ticipants.Belgium sketched out plans

for a progressive lockdown re-laxationstartingMay4withtheresumption of nonessentialtreatment in hospitals and thereopeningof textile andsewingshops tomake facemasks.

In Italy, where restrictionsalsowillbeeasedMay4,author-itieswarnedagainstabandoningsocial distancing practices asmillions return to work. Freemasks will be distributed tonursinghomes,police,publicof-ficialsandtransportationwork-ers.WorkerspaintedbluecirclesonRome’s subwayplatforms toremindpeopletokeeptheirdis-tancewhencommuters return.The country continues to

haveEurope’shighestdeathtoll,with26,384.The415deathsreg-istered in the 24-hour periodthat ended Saturday eveningwas the lowest toll since Italyregistered345onMarch17, butonly five fewer thanFriday.In France, the government

preparedtoeaseoneofEurope’sstrictestlockdownsfromMay11.The health minister detailedplans to scale up testing to helpcontainanynewflare-ups.Testing shortages also are a

problem in Brazil, LatinAmerica’s largest nation,whichis veering closer to becoming apandemichot spot.OfficialsinRiodeJaneiroand

four othermajor cities warnedthat their hospital systems areon the verge of collapse or al-readyoverwhelmed.InManaus,the biggest city in the Amazon,officials said they have beenforced to dig mass graves in acemetery.AsurveyfromTheAssociated

Press-NORC Center for PublicAffairs Research foundAmericans overwhelminglysupportstay-at-homemeasuresand other efforts to prevent thespreadof thevirus.

Global death toll tops 200,000as some virus lockdowns eased

Familieswalkalongaboulevard inBarcelona,SpainonSunday.TheSpanishgovernment onSundayallowedchildrenunder theageof14years to takewalkswithaparent foruptoonehourandwithin1kmfromhome,evenasthecountryreported its lowestdailydeathtoll infiveweekswith288patientssuccumbingtothevirus.AP

REUTERSMILAN,APRIL26

DEATHS FROM the COVID-19epidemic in Italy roseby260onSunday, the smallest daily tallysince March 14, the CivilProtection Agency said. Thenumber of new infections wasthelowestsinceApril20at2,324from2,357onSaturday.Sunday’s death toll was

sharply down from 415 on

Saturday,tomarkthethirddailyfall in succession.Thetotalof fatalitiessincethe

outbreak came to light onFebruary 21 now stands at26,644,theagencysaid,thesec-ond highest in the world afterthatof theUnitedStates.The number of confirmed

cases was 197,675, the thirdhighestglobaltallybehindthoseof theUnitedStatesandSpain.People registered as cur-

rentlycarryingtheillnessroseto

106,103 from 105,847 onSaturday.Therewere 2,009 people in

intensivecareonSundayagainst2,102 on Saturday,maintainingalong-runningdecline.Of thoseoriginally infected,64,928weredeclared recovered against63,120adayearlier.Theagencysaid1.187million

people had been tested for thevirus against 1.148million theday before, out of a populationof around60million.

Italy reports 260 deaths — itslowest daily toll since March 14

SANGMICHALONDON,APRIL26

NORTH KOREA has never an-nounced who would followleaderKim JongUn in theeventhe is incapacitated, andwithnodetails known about his youngchildren, analysts say his sisterand loyalists could form a re-gency until a successor is oldenoughto takeover.South Korean and Chinese

officialshavepubliclycastdoubtonreports thatKimwasgravelyill following a cardiovascularprocedure, after his absencefrom a key state anniversaryeventonApril15triggeredspec-ulationabouthishealth.

Thefollowingarekeyfiguresin theNorthKorean leadership.

KIMYOJONGKim’s younger sister has

been themost visible presencearoundtheleaderinthepasttwoyears, serving formally as a vicedirector of the rulingWorkers’Party’s powerful CentralCommittee but unofficially asherbrother’s chief of staff.The leader’s sister, believed

tobe31,hasafirmcontrolofkeyparty functions, setting herselfto be themain source of powerbehindacollective leadership.

PARTYELDERSChoe Ryong Hae rose to be

North Korea’s nominal head of

statelastyearaspresidentof thePresidium of the SupremePeople’s Assembly. This cappeddecadesofservicewiththepartyfor the rulingKimfamily.ChoeandPakPongJu,afellow

politburomemberwhooversawthe North’s push to introducemorefree-marketfunctionstore-vive its economy, are likely tobethe figureheads leadingacollec-tiveleadership,analystssay.

ESTRANGED BROTHERS,AUNTKimJongChol is the leader’s

older brother but has not beenpartof thecountry’s leadership,instead leadingaquiet lifeplay-ing music, according to ThaeYong Ho, North Korea’s former

deputy ambassador in London,whodefected to theSouth.Kim Kyong Hui was once a

powerfulfigureintheleadershipcirclewhenherbrotherKimJongIl ruled the country. But shehasnotbeenseensinceherhusband,Jang Song Thaek, was executedin2013byKimJongUn.

FOURTHGENERATIONKim Jong Un is believed to

have three childrenwith Ri SolJu, according to the South’sNational IntelligenceService.Theoldestisa10-year-oldson,

meaninganyof the threewouldneedtheassistanceofrelativesorpoliticalguardiansiftheyweretobecome a fourth-generationhereditary leader. REUTERS

No morehospitalisedcoronaviruspatients inWuhan: China

THENEWYORKTIMESNEWYORK,APRIL26

WUHAN,THEoriginalepicenterof the pandemic in China, nowhasnocoronaviruspatientsinitshospitals, a government officialsaidonSunday.The city, an industrial me-

tropolis of 11million, was thefirst to experience total lock-downandroadbans.Officialsre-ported 46,452 total infectionsand 3,869 deaths fromWuhanin a tally published Sunday,thoughcriticsbelievetheactualfigures tobehigher.Oncedebilitatedbythevirus,

Wuhanhasbeenshowingsignsof recovery and eachmilestonehasbeencelebrated.OnFriday,healthofficialssaid

that only one patient had a se-verecaseof thevirus inWuhan.Officials said thatasof Saturdaythe city still had 12 coronaviruscases, butnonewinfections.“As our next step, we will

carryoutthedemandsofthecen-tralgovernmentincontinuingtoguardagainsttransmissionsfromthe outside and rebounds fromwithin,”MiFeng,thespokesmanfor China’s National HealthCommission,saidonSunday.ChinaonSundayreported11

new coronavirus cases in themainland for the previous day.Thelatestofficialtallyrecordedatotal of 82,827confirmedcases,including4,632deaths.

Agroupofprotesterscalled ‘OpenTexas’ rallyoutsidetheCityHall inFrisco,demandingthatbusinesses,placesofworkandreligiousservicesbereopenedintheUSstate.Reuters

AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSEWASHINGTON,APRIL26

US PRESIDENT Donald Trumptweeted that his daily coron-avirusbriefingswerenotworthhistime,twodaysaftersparkinga furore by suggesting patientsmightbeinjectedwithdisinfec-tant tokill an infection.Heappearedtoconfirmme-

dia reports that hewas consid-eringhaltingthebriefingsoutoffrustrationwithquestionsabouthis handling of the COVID-19pandemic.“Whatisthepurposeofhav-

ing White House NewsConferences when the

LamestreamMediaasksnothingbuthostilequestions,&thenre-fuses to report the truthor factsaccurately,”Trumpwrote.“They get record ratings, &

the American people get noth-ing but Fake News. Not worththetime&effort!”OnThursdaythe US leader stunned viewersby saying doctors might treatpeople infectedwith thecoron-avirusbyshiningultravioletlightinsidetheirbodies,orwithinjec-tionsof householddisinfectant.“Then I see the disinfectant,

where it knocks (the virus) outin aminute.Oneminute. And isthere a way we can do some-thinglikethat,byinjectioninsideor almost a cleaning? Because

youseeitgets inthelungsanditdoes a tremendous number onthe lungs,”hesaid.Afterastrongrebuffofhissug-

gestionbyexpertsanddisinfectantmanufacturers, Trump Fridayclaimedhewasspeaking“sarcas-tically”. Buthe limited thatday’sbriefingtojust19minutes,anddidnot take anyquestions from re-porters.OnSaturday,after50brief-ingsover twomonths, theWhiteHousedidnotholdoneatall.Trumphasusedthebriefings

tooccupytelevisionscreensandpromote his administration’spolicies, fend off critics and at-tackpoliticalrivals—fromoppo-sitionDemocratstoChinatotheUSmedia.

Trump says briefings not worthhis time after disinfectant gaffe

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,APRIL26

Pakistan’s top Islamicmedicalbodyhaswarned thatmosquesare becoming amajor source oftransmissionforthenovelcoro-navirusandurgedpeopletoprayat home during Ramzan, as theCOVID-19 cases in the countryrose to13,105onSunday.“Mosques are becoming a

major source of virus transmis-sion,” Pakistan IslamicMedicalAssociation(PIMA)presidentDrIftikharBurneysaidonSaturday.Talking to reporters, Burney

saidthattheinfectedcaseshavesurged rapidly during the pastweek.“Around 6,000 cases for

coronavirus surfaced in amonth..but the same has dou-bledinthelastsixdays,”hesaid,warning that the infectionwouldfurthergoupinthecom-ingmonthsofMayand June.He said the number of pa-

tients in the intensive care units(ICUs)ofthepublichospitalsisin-creasingatashockingrate.“Mostofthehospitalsinthecountryarehousingmore coronavirus pa-tients that those suffering fromotherdiseases,”hetoldreporters.His remarks comes days af-

ter Pakistan’s top doctorswarnedof“significantmayhem”and“fataloutcomes”ifmosquescontinue to remain open andurgedthegovernmenttoreview

its decision to allow congrega-tionalprayersduringthemonthof Ramzan amid the deadlycoronavirusoutbreak.The Pakistan government

early thismonth succumbed topressurefromthehardlinecler-icsandallowedconditionalcon-gregational prayers inmosquesduringRamzan.However,the20-pointagree-

mentsignedbytheleadingcler-icswithPresidentArifAlvionre-stricting access to mosquesduring Ramzanwas not beingfollowedcompletely.Alvihaswrittenalettertothe

Imamsofmosquesurgingthemto ask worshippers above theage of 50 to pray at home. Hepointedoutthatthepointnum-bersixof thestandardoperatingprocedures (SOPs) set in theagreement said that personsover the age of 50 should avoidofferingprayersat themosque.Alvi also visitedmosques in

Rawalpindi to review arrange-mentsmadeby theadministra-tion of mosques to contain thespreadof thevirus,he tweeted.Advisor on Health Dr Zafar

Mirza also took to Twitter andagain urged the “citizens todemonstrate responsibility &avoid congregations duringRamzan to protect themselvesfromCOVID-19”.However, the government

wasstill reluctanttoclosedownthemosquesduetofearofback-lashby thehardlineclerics. PTI

PAKISTAN

Medical body: Mosquesbecoming major sourceof virus transmission

US calls onfeuding Afghanleaders to setaside disputes,focus on virus

AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSEISLAMABAD,APRIL26

THE US peace envoy toAfghanistanonSundaycalledonthe country’s feuding leaders toset their differences aside tocombat the coronavirus pan-demic and advance a stalledpeace agreement signed withtheTalibanearlier thisyear.“The well-being of the

Afghan people and the countryitself depend on all parties de-votingtheirfullenergiestofight-ingtheCOVID-19pandemic,theshared enemy of all,” ZalmayKhalilzadtweetedearlySunday.He said Afghan President

Ashraf Ghani and his rivalAbdullah Abdullah, who eachdeclared himself the victor inSeptember’s election, should“put the interest of the countryahead of their own” during theholymonthof Ramzan.He urged the government

and the Taliban to carry out aprisonerexchangethatwaspartof the US-Taliban peace agree-ment signed in February. Theagreementhadcalledforthere-lease of 5,000Talibanprisonersand 1,000 government person-nelheldby the insurgents.To date, Ghani has released

550detaineesbasedonage,vul-nerability to the virus and timeserved.TheTalibanhavenotsaidif thoseareamongtheprisonersreferred to in theagreement.

Succession question: who could replace Kim? S Arabia endsdeath penaltyfor minorsDubai:SaudiArabia'sKingSalmanhas ordered an end to thedeathpenaltyforcrimescommittedbyminors,accordingtoastatementSundaybyatopofficial.The decision comes on the

heelsofanotherorderingjudgesto end the practice of flogging,and bringing one of the king-dom’smostcontroversial formsof publicpunishment toaclose.King Salman's son and heir,

Crown PrinceMohammed binSalman, is seen as the force be-hindthekingdom'slooseningofrestrictions and its pivot awayfromultraconservativeinterpre-tationsofWahhabism. AP

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,APRIL26

BRITISH PRIMEMinister BorisJohnson is returning toworkaf-ter recovering from a coron-avirus infection that put him inintensive care, with his govern-ment facing growing criticismover the deaths and disruptionthevirushascaused.Johnson’s office said he

would be back at his desk in 10DowningStreetonMonday,twoweeks after he was releasedfromaLondonhospital. ForeignSecretary Dominic Raab, whohas been standing in for theprimeminister,saidSundaythatJohnsonwas“raring togo”.Britain has recorded more

than20,000deathsamongpeo-plehospitalizedwithCOVID-19,the fifth country in theworld toreach that total.Johnson, 55, spent aweekat

St. Thomas’ Hospital, includingthree nights in intensive care.AfterhewasreleasedonApril12,he recorded a video messagethankingstaff at thehospital forsavinghis life.Johnsonhasnotbeenseenin

public since, as he recovered atChequers, the primeminister’scountryretreatoutsideLondon.Opposition politicians say

Britain’s toll could have beenlower if Johnson’s Conservativegovernment had imposed ana-tionwide lockdownsooner.“Decisions need to be taken

quicker and communicationwith the public needs to beclearer,”oppositionLabourPartyleaderKeirStarmersaid ina let-ter to Johnson.“The British public have

made great sacrifices to makethe lockdownwork,” hewrote.“They deserve to be part of anadult conversation aboutwhatcomesnext.”

Boris Johnsonset to return towork today

Larrythecatat10DowningStreet, theBritishPrimeMinister'sofficial residenceandoffice,onSunday.Reuters

Nepal ex-PM, 4 MPs accuse Oli’sassociates of abducting party leaderYUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,APRIL26

AFORMERNepalPrimeMinisterandagroupofparliamentariansonSundaydemandedthatthreeassociates of current PM K PSharma Oli be tried for the ab-ductionof theirparty leader.BaburamBhattarai and four

parliamentarians of theSamajbadiParty,Nepal(SPN)havelodged a case, alleging thatMahesh Basnet and KishanShrestha — MPs of the rulingCommunistPartyofNepal(CPN)—aswell as former police chief

SarvendraKhanal had abductedSPNleaderSurendraYadav,claim-ing that themovewas at the in-structionsofOliinordertosecuretwo-thirdsmajorityinParliament.The three had admitted that

they brought Yadav fromJanakpur toKathmandu in theirvehicleandlodgedhiminahotel“withhisconsent”—Bhattaraifol-lowersclaimedtohave“rescued”

YadavfromthehotelSaturday.The case has been filed at a

timewhendissidentswithintherulingCPNhavebeenlobbyingforameeting of the standing com-mittee of the party to find a re-placementforOliattheearliest.“We are of the opinion that

Oli has failed to lead the partyand the government effectivelyandwemust collectively find away out” Raghuji Pant, amem-ber of the standing committee,told The Indian Express. Aroundtwo—thirds of the 45-membercommittee,whichhas fivenon-votingmembers, are said to beopposedtoOli.

NepalPMKP SharmaOli

Mumbai


ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Market WatchFPIS PULL OUT `10.3K CR INAPRILNew Delhi: Between April 1 and 24, foreign portfolio investors(FPI) pulled out a net sum of Rs 6,822 crore from equities and Rs3,525 crore from the debt segment, depositories data showed. Thetotal net outflow stood at Rs 10,347 crore. PTI

BRIEFLYUnionBanktolowerstakeinIndiaFirstLifeNewDelhi:Union Bank ofIndia,whichreceived30percentstakeininsurancejointventureIndiaFirstLifeInsur-ance by virtue of themegabankconsolidationexerciseof thegovernment,planstopare itsholding to less than10 per cent, MD and CEORajkiranRaiGsaid. PTI

ChinaeasesexportcurbsonsomeproductsBeijing:China is dropping arequirementthatanumberof key virus care productsgetdomesticregulatoryap-provalbeforeexport,aslongas theyare approved in theimporting countries, thecommerceministrysaidonSaturday. China had beenstipulating such extra ap-provalathomesincetheendof March after severalEuropean countries com-plained thatChinese-madetest kitswere inaccurate, ineffect hampering manyfirms’effortstosupplyglobalefforts against the coron-avirus pandemic. The newruling applies to productssuch as coronavirus tests,medicalmasks, protectivesuits, infrared thermome-ters and ventilators.Productswithoverseas ap-proval or registration, afterrelevant verification by atrade group authorized bythecommerceministry,willbe allowed for export, LiXinqian,anofficialatChina’scommerceministry,saidonSunday. REUTERS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, APRIL26

AHIKE in income tax rate to 40percentforthoseearninganan-nualincomeofoverRs1croreforalimitedtimeperiod,thelevyofaCOVID-19cessof4percentontaxableincomeoverRs10lakh,are-introductionofwealthtaxforindividualswithnetwealthofRs5 crore are some of the sugges-tions included in a report titled‘Fiscal Options & Response toCOVID-19 Epidemic’ preparedbyIndianRevenueServices(IRS)officials.Laterinday,FinanceMinistry

officials claimed the report by“someIRSofficials”was“ill-con-ceived”,anditscirculationtothemedia through the IRSAssociation Twitter handle andwebsite was “an irresponsibleact of few officers”whowill beasked to explain their “miscon-duct”.Thiswasfollowedupwithan

officialstatementbytheCentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT)stating that it never asked theAssociationtopreparesuchare-port and “necessary inquiry”wouldbeconducted.Among othermeasures, the

report suggested bringing backinheritance tax to reduce con-centration of wealth,widen taxbase and enhance revenue. Thereport has been prepared by agroup of 50 young IRS officials,with the senior-most official inthe group being from the 2014batch.“Most high-income earners

still have the luxury of workingfromhome,andthewealthycanfall back upon their wealth tocopewiththetemporaryshock.In view of several Europeaneconomists, taxing thewealthywouldbe themost “progressivefiscal tool”,aswealthis farmoreconcentrated than income andconsumption,” the report said,

adding that the40per cent ratecouldbeforalimitedperiodandits proceeds can be utilised forspecificprojects.Calling the “corona econ-

omy” as “largely a digital/on-line/e-commerce economy”, italso proposed that equalisationlevy, or ‘Google tax’, should beraisedby1percentto7percentfor ad services and 3 per centfrom2percent fore-commerceto raise revenue from onlineservices which have seen in-creasedconsumptionduringthepandemic.It also said a 4 per cent cess

on incomeaboveRs10 lakhperannumwould helpmobilise Rs15,000-18,000 crore. Gross taxrevenue is targeted to increaseby 12 per cent to Rs 24.2 lakhcroreforthecurrent2020-21fis-cal, but direct tax revenueswillbeimpactedduetoslowdownineconomy coupledwith impactof COVID-19, it added.

The report also proposedmeasures for providing relief totaxpayerstoboostconsumption,includingdeferringtaxpaymentfor thosewhohave lost jobs, al-lowing additional deductionfrom taxable income underSection80Cforinterestpaymenton house or automobile pur-chase.ForMSMEs, the report sug-

gested that cash transactionlimit be restored to Rs 20,000fromRs10,000currently.Taxau-dits for businesses below Rs 10crore turnover be exempted forthe ongoing financial year fromthe current threshold of Rs 1crore, it said. The report alsocalled for rationalisation of ad-vance tax schedule tomandateapaymentofonly25percentoftotal taxes till September 2020withoutpayment of interest. Atpresent,45percentadvancetaxis required to be deposited bySeptember15.The IRS Association said the

CBDT had sought inputs fromfieldformationsacrossthecoun-try on economic revival. It sentthe report to CBDT “for consid-eration”, the IRS officers’ bodysaid, adding that it proposes tosubmit its report to the FinanceMinisteralso.Later, inatweet, itsaidthereport“doesnotpurporttorepresenttheofficialviewsoftheentire IRS,or the ITDept.”FinanceMinistrysourcessaid

it isprimafacieanactof indisci-pline and violation of conductruleswhichspecificallyprohibitofficers to go to themediawiththeir personal views on officialmatters without taking priorpermission.\“No permissionwas sought

bytheofficersbeforegoingpub-licwiththeirpersonalviewsandsuggestions on official matters,which is a violation of extantConduct Rules. Necessary in-quiry is being initiated in thismatter,”theofficialstatementbyCBDTsaid.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, APRIL26

Continuing to increase itsexpo-sure, India’s holding of US gov-ernment securities jumped byover $13 billion in a month torecord high of $177.5 billion attheendof February.In the last one year since

February2019, theoverallhold-ing of India has jumped by astaggering$33.2billion.Latest data from the United

States Treasury Departmentshowed that the amount of se-curitiesownedbyIndiahasalsogoneupbythemaximumquan-tuminaspanofonemonth,atatimewhen the country slowlyincreasing the level sinceNovember last year when itstoodat$159.2billion.

India’s holdingof US govtsecurities hitsrecord high

PREPAREDBYAGROUPOF50YOUNG IRSOFFICIALS

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAHYDERABAD,APRIL26

A PROLONGED lockdownmaypossibly pushmillion of Indiansintothe“marginsofsubsistence”,former RBI Governor DuvvuriSubbarao said on Sundaywhileexpecting a ‘V’ curved recoveryonce the COVID-19 crisis endsandtheturnaroundinIndiatobefasterthansomeeconomies.Hewasparticipatinginawe-

binaron“Historyrepeats-butdif-ferently- Lessons for the postCoronaWorld,”organisedbytheManthan Foundation here, inwhich formerDeputyGovernorofRBIUshaThorattookpart.“Becausemost analysts be-

lieve that this year Indiawill ac-tually have negative growth orgrowthwillcontract.Wemustre-member that even ahead of thecrisistwomonthsagoourgrowthslowed. Now it has completelystopped.“Lastyeargrowthwasfiveper

cent. Just imagine, five per centgrowth last year andwe are go-ingtonegativeorzerogrowththisyear, a decline of five per cent

growth,”hesaid.“ItistruethatIndiaisgoingto

performin this crisis better thanmost other countries. But that isnoconsolation ...Becauseweareaverypoorcountryandifthecri-sispersistsandifthelockdownisnot liftedsoonenough, it isquitepossible thatmillions of peoplewill be pushed into themarginsof subsistence,” he said whenasked about his views on thepresentsituation.

Subbarao said that as pre-dictedbyanalysts,IndiawillhaveaVshaped recoverywhich is farbetter than most of the othercountries.“Andwhydoweexpect a ‘V’

shapedrecovery?Becauseunlikein a cycloneor in anearthquake,this isnotanaturaldisaster con-straint. No capital has been de-stroyed. Factories are standing.Our shops are still standing. Ourpeoplearereadytoworkassoonas the lockdown is lifted. So it isquite possible the recoverywillbeVshapedandwhilewehaveaV shaped recovery, I think Indiahasabetter chance thenmostofthecountries,”heopined.According to him, India’s re-

covery was faster than manyother countries after the 2008global financialcrisis.Usha Thorat said pumping

more liquidity into the systemalonecannotworkandbanksandnon-bankingfinancecompanies(NBFC)will need credit guaran-teeorenhancementtostartlend-ing.Shealsosaidthatstatesneedmore support during the crisisand streamlining of non-meritsubsidieswasrequired.

■Amongothermeasures,the‘FiscalOptions&ResponsetoCOVID-19Epidemic’reportsuggestedbringingbackinheritancetaxtoreduceconcentrationofwealth,widentaxbaseandenhancerevenue

■FinanceMinistryofficialsclaimedthereportby“someIRSofficials”was“ill-conceived”,anditscirculationtothemediathroughtheIRSAssociationTwitterhandleandwebsitewas“anirresponsibleactoffewofficers”

REPORTWAS‘ILL-CONCEIVED’

HOWEVER, FORFY20, TOTALPREMIUM INCOMERISESTO`2,58,896CRORE

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,APRIL26

LIFEINSURANCEcompanieshavereporteda32per centdecline innew premium income in themonthofMarch, as thebusinesswas practically shut for crucialpartsof themonthinthewakeofthe lockdown imposed by thegovernmenttotacklecoronavirus.WiththelockdowncontinuinginApril, insurers havenowstartedfocussingononlinebusiness.Theoverallpremiumincome

(newbusiness)of24playersinthesegment fell to Rs 25,409 crorethisMarchfromRs37,459croreayear ago, as per data releasedbytheLifeInsuranceCouncil.Life Insurance Corporation

(LIC),thelargestplayerinthebusi-ness,witnesseda31.11percentfallin the premium income to Rs17,066 crore inMarch from Rs24,776 crore in the samemonthlast year. HDFC Life Insurance’s

premium incomedeclined fromRs 2,551 crore to Rs 2,060 croreduring themonth,while that of

ICICIPrudentialLife fell toRs983crorefromRs1,451crore.However, for the full fiscal

2019-20, total premium income(newbusiness) of the industryrose toRs2,58,896crore fromRs2,14,672 crore last financial year.LIC’spremiumincomeincreasedto Rs 1,77,977 crore in 2019-20fromRs1,42,191croreinFY19.“March,whichtypicallyisthe

keymonthforinsurers,turnedoutto be tougher as theworldwentinto lockdownmode. This im-pacted the industry growth, as italso got busywith realigning tothenewnormal.Life insuranceisa long term investment andwecontinuetoencouragecustomersto stay invested in their policiesandprepare slowly for their lifegoals,astheenvironmentchangesaroundus,”saidTarunChugh,MD&CEO,BajajAllianzLifeInsurance.InsurersexpectCOVID-19-re-

lateddisruptions to continue forthenextquarter,withanincreasein demand for protection prod-

ucts over the next fewmonthsprovidingsomesupport.Two significant changes are

currentlyunderway.“Face-to-faceadvisory, until recently,was thepreferredmodeof communica-tion and customerswere reluc-tant to buy products other thanprotectionplansonline.Now,withphysicalproximityposingachal-lenge, digital hasbecomewayoflife. Customers have been com-pelledtoexperimentwithonlineplatforms,” saidAnupSeth, chiefretailofficer,EdelweissTokioLifeInsurance.Hefurthersaid,“Keepingpace

with this, insurers arenow look-ingtorampupeffortsindigitisingadvisorytoencouragecustomersto buy other product categoriessuch as health, investment andsavings,online.”“Weare already seeing signs

of increasedcustomer interest ininsuranceasacategory,witha30percent jumpinMarchinonlinenewbusiness logins fromFebru-

ary. Theonlinechannel accountsfornearly12percentoftotalbusi-ness. During the year, wewerealsomakingeffortstoscaleupdig-ital onboarding. Post-lockdown,weareat100percentdigitalon-boardingnowandarefocusedonretainingthislevel,”Sethadded.“Theinterestlevelinsearching

online has certainly gone up aspeoplehavemore timeand theyare constantly on their phone.However,thisisyettoconvertintoa substantial channel for garner-ingnewbusiness,” saidRoopamAsthana,chiefexecutiveofficer&whole time director, LibertyGeneralInsurance.Online transactions for re-

newalwithonlinepaymentshavecertainlygoneupsubstantiallyasthe option of paying by cash orchequeisnotavailabletoday.“The real test will be to see

howmuchofthisbehavioursticksonce the lockdown is lifted andpeople are able to travel andmeet,”Asthanasaid.

ASCOVID-19-RELATEDdisruptions,especiallythelockdown,areexpectedtocontinueinthemonthsahead,insurersarelookingforwaystoovercomethehurdlestotheirbusiness.Oneoftheapproachesisencouragingcustomerstovariousproductcategoriesonline.

Focusnowtobeonlinebiz

Amid lockdown, life insurers see32%decline innewpremium income inMarch

Report by IRS officers seeks taxhikes for tackling pandemic,Finmin says ‘irresponsible act’

‘Movement of rawmaterial,workers hurdles in resuming ops’Supply chainmovement, permits for enterprises andpassesforworkers are keyhurdles for industry to restartoperations, a Confederation of Indian Industry survey said

46%Surveyed enterprises, insectors allowed to function,that said that permits areeither not provided or delayed

>40%Surveyed enterprises, insectors that are currentlyfunctioning, that receivedpermits smoothly

SUGGESTIONSTOFACILITATERESTARTOFECONOMICACTIVITIES:■Businessesbeallowedtofunctionwithoutrequirementofpermitsandonlythroughintimationtolocalauthoritiesinnon-containmentzones■Workersbepermittedtocommuteonbasisofaletterissuedbyemployerorganisation,withthefacilitytotravelontheirownvehicles

42%Respondents who said passesfor employees for movement are

delayed or not available

66%Enterprises that saidtransportation of employeesbetween workplace and home isan issue

<10%Enterprises where employeestrength is more than half

58%Enterprises where employeestrength is below 25 per cent

Source: CII/PTI

15%: Respondents who saidmovement of inputs and finishedgoods is timely

39%: Respondents who areexperiencing delays movement ofinputs and finished goods

23%: Enterprises whichsaid inputs are not available tothem at all

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,APRIL26

THECENTRALBoard of IndirectTaxes (CBIC) has cleared over Rs10,700 croreworth refunds inGoods andServicesTaxandcus-tomsdutybetweenApril8and23.In the ‘Special Refund and

Drawback Disposal Drive’, theCBIC officers have cleared over1.07 lakh GST and IGST refundclaimsworthRs9,818.12crore.Over 1.86 lakh customs and

duty drawback refund wasprocessed totalling Rs 915.56crore, the CBIC said in a tweet.“CBIC is committed to helpGSTTaxpayers/Exim Trade during#COVID19. Expeditious sanctionof refundsduringSpecialRefundDriveproviderelieftotrade,espe-ciallyMSMEs,” itsaid.

The FinanceMinistryhadonApril 8 said that toprovide reliefduringCOVID-19, ithasbeende-cidedtoissueallpendingGSTandcustom refunds which wouldbenefitaround1lakhbusinessen-tities, includingMSMEs.TheCBIChadearlierasked its

field officers to avoid asking forphysical submissionof docume-nts fromentitieswhoare claim-ingGSTandcustomsrefundsandinstead use official email for allcommunication. It had said thedecision to process pending re-fundclaimshasbeentakenwithaviewtoprovide immediatereliefto taxpayers in these difficulttimes even though theGST Lawprovides 15 days for issuing ac-knowledgement or deficiencymemoand total 60days for dis-posingoff refundclaimswithoutanyliabilitytopayinterest.

CBIC clears `10.7K-crof GST, customs dutyrefunds in 16 days

LALITKJHAWASHINGTON,APRIL26

US TREASURY Secretary StevenMnuchinsaidonSundaythattheAmerican economy hit hard bythe COVID-19 pandemic is ex-pected tobounceback later thissummerasStatesbegin toopenup their businesses inMay andJune.“Aswebegintoreopentheeconomy in May and June,you’regoingtoseetheeconomyreally bounce back in July,August, September,” MnuchintoldFoxNews inan interview.He said the Trump

Administrationhasputtogetheranunprecedentedamountoffis-cal relief into theeconomy.“You’reseeingtrillionsofdol-

lars that’s making its way intothe economy and I think this isgoing to have a significant im-pact,”hesaid.Asaresultof thecoronavirus

pandemic, which has claimedmore than 54,000 Americanlives in the last twomonthsand

infected over nine lakh others,the US economy has come to astandstill.Over95percentof thecoun-

try’s 330millionpopulationareunder stayathomeorder. PTI

ANUPAMCHATTERJEENEWDELHI,APRIL26

INDIAHASrampedup its strate-gicoil reserves sincemid-Marchin view of the slump in crudeprices and hopes to fill it to thebrimbyMay-end.Yet, the coun-try’soil importbill inFY20couldbe just a little over $100 billion,muchlowerthan$111.9billionre-portedinFY19.Against the projected $111.3

billion (233million tonne) forFY20, India imported just $95.5billion (207 million tonne) ofcrudeoil inApril-Februaryof thefiscal,whichwaseven7.2percentlowerthanintheyear-agoperiod

(6.6percentlowerinrupeeterm).Though the March import

data have not been officially re-leasedyet,accordingtoglobaloilmarketresearchagencyRefinitiv,India imported20.3MTof crudein the month — the highestmonthly import volume sinceOctober2019. Purchases contin-ued at a brisk pace in April too.Themonthly average imports inApril-FebruaryFY20was18.8MT.Refinitivsaid Indian“refiners

wereamongthefirsttocashinonthelow-priceenvironment”,andwere “among the first topickupthe extraMiddle Eastern (WestAsian)barrels”.India’s crude importbillmay

declineby57percent to$43bil-lion in FY21 if the Indian basketpriceremainssubduedataround$25abarrel through the currentfiscalyear,inwhatcouldgiveabigrelief tothecountry’scurrentac-count. The price of the Indian

crude oil basket,which stood atan average of $64 a barrel inJanuary, isnowaround$20.Indianbaskethasfallen39per

centmonth-on-monthinMarchto $33.36 a barrel. Even thoughcurrently there is very low de-mand for petroleum productsowingtothelockdowntocontainthecoronavirusoutbreak,Indianrefiners have picked up morethan usual quantities of crudefromglobalmarkets, apparentlytofillupthestoragecaverns.Meanwhile, domestic con-

sumptionofpetroleumproductsinFY20remainedflatat213.7MTas sales of transportation fuelsplummeted inMarch amid thecountry-widelockdown. FE

Oil reserves get a leg-up since March on fallingcrude prices, yet FY20 import bill could shrink

windowtoease the redemptionpressure.ThefinanceministryandSEBI

didnotrespondtoqueriessentbyTheIndianExpress.SourcesintheMF industry indicated that theReserve Bankmay have to con-sider direct purchases of non-governmentsecurities.It could be either through a

dedicated liquiditywindow orthrough the creationof a specialpurposevehicletohousesomeofthesenon-debt securitieswhichhavebecome illiquid in thenearterm, but could command fullvalueatredemption.WhentheIL&FSfiascohitthe

financialsectortwoyearsago,thecentral bank had opposed aFinance Ministry proposal toopen a special liquiditywindowforNBFCs.Duringthe2008globalfinan-

cialcrisisthough,theRBIhadan-

nounceda14-dayspecialrepofa-cility to provide liquidity for thenon-bankingfinancialsector.This time around, the chal-

lengesaremoresystemicandcanhavewider ramifications, amu-tualfundindustryveteranwhoisinteractingwith regulators said.Theliquidityissueisaffectingnotjust themutual funds, but alsomanyNBFCs.The RBI’s approach of per-

suading banks to subscribe tothese non-government debt pa-pers does not seem to bework-ing. “Central banks across theworld are doing asset purchasesto support the financial sector,”theindustryveteransaid.Lastweek, banks largely ig-

nored the Rs 25,000-crore tar-geted long termrepooperations(T-LTRO) conducted by the cen-tral bank, indicating their reluc-tance tobail out troubledNBFCs

andmicro-finance institutions(MFIs).OftheRs25,000croreRBIput on the T-LTRO windowThursday, banks took only Rs12,850 crore (three-year tenor).TheRBIoffersT-LTROfundsatthereporateof4.4percent.Mutual fund sources said

thereare indicationsof redemp-tionpressureinthedebtsegment.Last week, the net asset values(NAVs) of three BOI AXA debtschemesfellupto50percentaf-ter the fundhouse said itwouldmarkdownitsexposureinselectdebtsecurities in itsportfolio.Franklin Templeton’s fundof

funds (FoFs) schemes,which in-vest in other mutual fundschemeslostupto25percent inNAV.TheseFoFshaveexposuretoFranklin Templeton’s sixcredit schemes which werewoundupduetoheavyredemp-tionpressure.

FROMPAGEONEPressure on MFs: Finmintakes note of Franklin, intalks with SEBI and RBI

‘Prolonged lockdown may pushmillions into margins of subsistence’

Duringawebinar,formerRBIGovernorDuvvuriSubbaraosaidheexpectsIndia’sturnaroundtobefasterthansomeeconomies. File

Thecountry’soil importbill inFY20couldbejustalittleover$100billion,muchlowerthan$111.9billionreportedinFY19

Washington:The shutteringoftheUSeconomyduetothepandemic is a shock of his-toric proportions that likelywillpushthenationalunem-ploymentrateto16percentorhigherthismonthandre-quiremore stimulus to en-sure a strong rebound, aWhiteHouse economic ad-visersaidonSunday.“It’s a really grave situa-

tion,”PresidentDonaldTru-mp’s adviser KevinHassetttold theABCprogram ‘ThisWeek’. REUTERS

16% joblessnesspossible, saysTrump adviser

US economy expectedto bounce back laterthis summer: Mnuchin

Mumbai

Vol. LXIVNo. 98 Printed for the proprietors, The Indian Express (P) Ltd byMs Vaidehi Thakar at The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208, TTC Industrial Area,Mahape, NaviMumbai - 400710 and published from 1st floor, Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021. Editorial & Administrative Offices: ExpressTowers, Nariman Point,Mumbai - 400021. Phone: 22022627/67440000. Fax: 022-22835726. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Mumbai): Nirupama Subramanian.* (*Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act) Additional air surcharge of `1

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SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

12Games before the restartPremierLeaguewantstogettheshowbackonroadbutthere’salottoponderbeforeaballiskicked

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYKOLKATA,APRIL26

ON FRIDAY, when the Dutch FootballAssociationvoideditsseason,therewasspec-ulationthatitmightsetthetemplateforotherEuropeanleaguestofollow.Closeonitsheels,however, news came fromEngland that thePremierLeagueisconsideringamid-Junere-turn.Maybe,thePremierLeaguehasalittletoomuchmoneyridingonittomakeits2019-20seasonnullandvoid,notwithstandingacoro-navirusdeathtollinexcessof20,000intheUK.According to reports, Premier League

clubs discussed season resumption on theJune 13-14weekend after Uefawrote to allfootballassociationsinEuropetofinishtheirrespective domestic seasons by July 31. ThegoverningbodyofEuropeanfootballreport-edlywants to keep August free for its owncompetitions - Champions League andEuropa League. Of course, thematcheswillhave to be played behind closed doors andlikelyatafewselectvenues.Butisamid-Junerestart realisticallypossible?

NHSnodneededAreport inTheGuardian says, “While any

resumptionisbeingmodelledonmatchesoc-curringbehindcloseddoors,guidingthedeci-sion-making is the overridingprinciple thattheNationalHealth Service’s ability to treatthosewithCovid-19 shouldnot be compro-misedandthatithastobeateasewiththetopflightrestarting.”Asafe returnof English top-flight football

largely depends onNHS’s testing capacity.Masstestingofplayers,coachingstaff,officials,security personnel and reporters has to bemademandatoryforeverymatch.Andinthatcase,theNHS,alreadyoverloadedwithCovid-19patients,probablywillhavetosetupasep-arateunitonlyforfootball.UK’s4millionNHSstaff has beenworkingovertime. So thebot-tomlineisthatthePremierLeague’sreturn,toagreatextent,hingesontheNHS’sgo-ahead.

Boris is gameAccording to reports, UKPrimeMinister

BorisJohnsonhasbeenbriefedabouttheplanson restarting the Premier League, withmatchestakingplacebehindcloseddoors.TheSun claims that Johnson sees resumptionof

live sport as amorale-booster for thenation.TheUK is in themiddle of anextended lock-downand the governmentwill review it onMay7. But before that, proposals have beenlaidoutforresumptionofothersportsaswell.TheTimeshasreportedthatacross-sportgroupisworkingwith thegovernmentwithaneyeonareturntoaction.The Covid-19 situation is evolving and

muchwill dependonhowthingspanout inthenext couple ofweeks. If the governmentclears theresumptionof thePremierLeague,clubswillneedat least twoweeksof trainingtomaketheirplayersmatch-ready.Arsenalareexpected to return to trainingnextweek,butgrouptrainingwillnotbepermitted.A club spokesperson said: “Players will

be permitted access to our London Colneytraining grounds nextweek. Accesswill belimited, carefullymanaged and social dis-tancingwill bemaintained at all times. All

Colneybuildingsremainclosed.Playerswilltravelalone,dotheirindividualworkoutandreturnhome.”

DifferentdynamicsGoing back to the Dutch Football

Association’s decision to void the season, itcameinthewakeoftheDutchPrimeMinister’sdecision to ban all sporting events untilSeptemberduetothepandemic.Ajaxmissedout on the league title,while RKCWaalwijkavoided thedropbecause therewasnopro-motionor relegation. Europeanqualificationwasdecidedontheexisting table.Earlier thismonth, theBelgianPro League cancelled therestofitsseason,declaringClubBruggecham-pions.ThePremierLeague,however,hasadiffer-

entdynamic.Iftheseasonisvoided,clubscol-lectivelywill suffer a revenue loss of £1.2bil-lion. Also, the broadcasters pay the Premier

Leaguea shadeover£3billionper season fortheongoing2019-2022cycle. If the season ismadenullandvoid,thePremierLeaguemighthavetopaybackbroadcasters£762million.

The ‘redaxis’Some Premier League club,West Ham

Unitedforexample,areinfavourofvoidingtheseason. The ‘Big Six’, though -ManchesterUnited, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea,Manchester City and TottenhamHotspur -wanttofinishtheseason.Tobeprecise,how-ever, it’s the ‘redaxis’ –United, Liverpool andArsenal–thatexercisesenormouscloutintherunningofEnglishfootball.UnitedandLiverpoolarebitterrivalsonthe

pitch. Their fans fight on the streets and ter-races.Theequation,however, isabitdifferentin theboardroom.Withninegames remain-ing,Liverpoolarejusttwowinsawayfromse-curingthetitleandthegeneralperception,thattheUnitedhierarchywill try toput up road-blocks, ismisplaced.United,LiverpoolandArsenal–theEnglish

footballroyalty–lookaftereachothers’ inter-ests(administratively)andkeepthenouveauriche likeCity out of the cosy club.Notmanymoonsago,CitychiefexecutiveFerranSorianolearnt it thehardway,when the ‘red axis’ al-legedly exercised its influence todenyhimaplace on the European high table.More re-cently, City reportedly discovered thatLiverpool had been part of a group of clubsworkingbehindthescenestotryandpreventa stay on theManchester side’s two-yearEuropeancompetitionban.Arsenal,too,wereallegedlypart of thegroup. That thePremierLeague’s‘redaxis’wantstofinishtheseasonisa reasonwhy theauthorities arewalking theextramiletorestartfootball.

EFLappears iffyContrary to the Premier League, the

English Football League (EFL) doesn’t seemtobeinahurrytoresumetheChampionship,LeagueOneandLeagueTwo,asitstickstoitssafety-firstapproach.AnEFLstatementread:“Clearly,beforeanyreturntofootballcantakeplace,suitabletestingarrangementsforpar-ticipantsmustbe inplaceand this is core toour currentplanning, as is ensuring there isabsolutelynonegative impact on the coun-try’sfrontlineworkers,theemergencyserv-ices, leagueandclubstaffmembers.”

NBA LOOKS TOREBOUNDThearrival of the coronaviruspandemicin the United States waswell and trulysoundedoffwhenUtahJazzcentreRudyGobert contracted the Covid-19 strain.TheFrench7’1NBAback-to-backdefen-siveplayerof theyearwas seen jokinglytouchingphonesandrecordersinapressconference days before his diagnosis –thecasualgesturebringinghometheper-ilsof taking thevirus lightly.ThecancellationofNBAgameswasthe

startofAmericansportspullingtheirshut-tersdownbutnowthebasketballleagueisplanning a slow return to the courts.According to ESPNNBA reporter AdrianWojnarowski, beginning this Friday,NBAteamswillstarttoreopenpracticefacilitiesforplayersresidinginstatesthathaveloos-enedlockdownrestrictions.In states likeGeorgia, players can re-

sume individualworkouts but teams re-mainprohibitedfromholdinggroupwork-outsororganisedteamactivitiesofanysort.Wojnarowski also reported that in

Americanstateswhererestrictionsweretighter, the NBAwas looking formeanstogetplayersbackonthecourt,evenif inanindividualtrainingcapacity.Buttrain-ingaside,thereportmadeitclearthattheopening of practice courts in certainstates wasn’t reflective of the NBA’stimetable for resumptionof play.

UFC TOHOSTFIGHTSAfter including the World WrestlingEntertainment (WWE) as an essentialservice and thus open for business inFlorida, the state has now allowed theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC)to hold UFC 249 at the Vystar VeteransMemorial Arena in Jacksonville onMay9.TheeventwassettotakeplaceonApril18 in Brooklyn andwas one of the lastprofessionally-run sports across theworldthatwasgoingtocontinuedespitetheadventof thepandemic.However,ESPN,theirstreamingpart-

ners,shutanychanceof theeventtakingplace inApril andpulled theplugon thecard. TheUFC, on itswebsite, has statedthattheMay9eventwillbestreamedliveonESPNandESPN+.Notonlythis,theUFChasalsodecided

to stage twomore events onMay13and

May16 inFlorida.All threeeventswill beclosed to thepublicandwillbebroadcastwithonlyessentialpersonnelinthearena.“Sportsplayanimportantroleinpeo-

ple’s lives andcanbringmomentsof es-capeinchallengingtimes,”ESPNsaidinastatement.“WelookforwardtobringingUFCto fansagain.”

BOXINGONINNICARAGUAA boxing event was held in Managua,NicaraguaonSaturdaynightbypromoterRosendo Alvarez – a former two-timeworldchampion.However,evenwiththeoffer of free tickets for the eight-fightevent, the 8000-seater arenawas onlyabouta tenth full. “Herewedon’tfearthecoronavirus,andthereisnoquarantine.Thethree deaths (reported so far by theMinistryofHealth)camefromoutsideandnobodywithinthecountryhasbeencon-taminated,”Álvarez, knownas ‘El Búfalo,’said before the event. The fights werebroadcast by Nicaragua’s state-ownedCanal 6 andESPNLatinAmerica throughitsESPNKnockOutprogramme,accordingto the Associated Press. The Nicaraguanbaseballandfootballleaguesarestillplay-ing, and Saturday’s local sports pages in-cluded stories on a triathlon and schoolwrestling tournaments. PresidentDanielOrtega recently ordered 1.8million stu-dentsbacktoschooland170,000stateem-ployees back towork following a15-dayvacation. SHASHANKNAIR

Getting up from the canvasLive sport has virtually disappeared due to the pandemic, but a fewleagues and events are taking their first tentative steps back

Close totwomonthsafterUtahJazzcentreRudyGobert’sdiagnosis shutdownNBA, thebasketball league islookingtogetplayersbackoncourt.

TAJIKISTAN SUSPENDS FOOTBALLOne of the few football leagues in the world still playing willbe suspended next week after authorities in Tajikistan ruledto temporarily ban sports events over coronavirus concerns.The Tajik football federation said that matches would goahead on Sunday before a suspension until at least May 10.

If thegovernmentclearstheresumptionofthePremierLeague,clubswillneedatleasttwoweeksoftrainingtomaketheirplayersmatch-ready.Reuters

CROSSWORD4102

ACROSS1 All togethernow: ‘knees

bend’ (5,6)9 Thetalkof thedistrict

(7)10 Ring formatches

(5)11 Clue foundinadrawer

(4)12 I’dcompel inawaytoget

obeyed(8)14 Demondrink?(6)16 Amouthorgan(6)18 Scorebut two(8)19 The lowestsortof people,but

always foundat thetop(4)

22 Coachsomecoaches(5)

23 AracebetweentwoPolesandanArab(7)

24 Notepaintermakinganentrance (11)

DOWN2 Nebraskacitybeach in

Normandy(5)3 NominallyChristmas(4)4 Hiswork isboundtoreceive

publicattention(6)5 Itmaycreateastirat

mealtime(8)6 Initialopportunity (7)7 Youngpeoplearrangedtosee

Scotland(11)8 Theoppositeofhavingnight

vision?(11)13 Theextent towhichdietscan

vary (8)15 Geraint turnsout tobea

thanklessperson(7)17 Anexceptionallywarm

spring(6)20 Bills riseonOctober1st fora

chocolateproducer (5)21 Courageneededon icyroads

(4)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)There’sanelementofdoubtastheweekbegins,butnothingyoucan’tcopewith.

Youshouldbideyourtimebeforetacklingpersonalandemotional issues.Todayisausefulmomentforsortingoutwhatyoufeel,anessentialmovebeforeyoutrytocommunicateyourdesirestoothers.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)There’snosubstituteforagood, long lookat theevidenceandfactsmaycometo

lightverysoonwhichcouldtotallyalteryourwayof lookingataparticularperson.However,itmaybetoo late fornowtoturnwhateveryoufindout toadvantage inyourcareer.

GEMINI (May22- June21)It’snotalwayseasytorelate tootherpeoplebutpartnersandassociatesmust

takesomeof theresponsibilityforbeingoutof sorts,orat leastforbehavingoutof character. Ifsomeonehasbeengettingonyournerves thenperhaps it’sbecause theyneedyourhelp.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youshouldsooncometo realise justhowfortunateyouare, butnot this

week!Yourprincipleplanetarypatternkeepsyour feelingsonaknifeedge, but thenyou’reused toperformingemotionalhigh-wireacts. Youmighteventeach the restof usa thingortwoabouthandlingrelationships.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Somekindof afinancialcommitmentwillhavetobemade

soon,but it looksas if youhaveabout threedays’grace.Todayyou’dprobablydobetter tofocusonpersonal relationships,makingsure thatpartnersareonyourside.Areyouforgettingsomething—orsomeone? Itmightdoyougoodtogetin touch.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)If youneedproof ofotherpeople’sunreliability,youcantryanumberof

steps. First, try tomakethemreach firmagreementsand,second,persuadethemtofulfil theirpromises.Themessageof themoment isthereforenot topushpartnerstoo far, at leastnot if youwant tohangontotheirgoodwill.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Helpfulaspects fromtheMoonindicatethat in the idealworldyou’dbeable

to takethedayoff.Realisticallythebestyoucando is try toinfuseall routineaffairswitha littleof youruniquecreative flare. It’sOKtorepayfavours,butdon’t letanyoneexploityou.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Familyaffairsdominateyourdailycycles, sowilldoubtless require

extraattention,butwhat isverymuchmore important is thatyounowburnupthebraincells,concentrating intenselyonunresolvedquestions,gatheringall thematerialyouneedtomaketherightdecisions.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Sometimeseverythingseemssostraightforward;youmayevenhavecome

to imaginethatyouknowwhat’sgoingon.Well, thinkagain!Yetwhatseemslikeacast-irontruththisweekmight look likecompletenonsensenextweek, sotreadcautiously.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Somekindofalteration in theworkingpatternofyour life is inevitable

within thenext fewmonths.Thepressure in thisparticularcycle isbuildingupnow,andoneof yourmajormotivesshouldbemonetaryreward.Perhaps it’s timethatyou’repaidwhatyou’reowed.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Youcanaffordto feelhopefulabout theoutcomeof allevents,bothgreat

andsmall.Youmustexpectafewmoodswings, though,andyou’llhaveto try tomatchyourfeelingswithyour jobsandtasks throughout theday.If yousucceedthenyoushouldallowyourself to feelalittle smug.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Today’sbenevolentMoonmakes forapleasantstart toyourweek,encouraging

themoreoutgoingandoriginalelements inyourcharacter. It istherefore timetobreak freeandtakeyourchances. If you’replanningaheadthenputyourfinancial commitmentsunderthemicroscope.

SUDOKU4192

DifficultyLevel1sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4191

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Whenadog__atyou,___forhim-Thoreah(4,.,7)

SOLUTION:EERIE,STASH,NUZZLE,WHOOSHAnswer:Whenadogrunsatyou,whistleforhim-Thoreah

EEEIR EZZLNU

AHSST HOOSHW

SolutionsCrossword4101:Across:1Penned,4Clearing,9Llamas,10Cross-cut,12Sash,13Inter,14Emma,17Firmproposal,20Holdstheline,23Airy,24Decoy,25Felt,28Inwardly,29Morose,30Sunbathe,31Sleepy.Down:1Pullsoff,2Noah’sark,3Edam,5Largeportion,6Also,7Income,8Getfat,11Untoldwealth,15Spool,16Wages,18Tiresome,19Leathery,21Varies,22Drawin,26Area,27Foil.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Mumbai

JOURNALISM OF COURAGEbombaychamber.com/admin/uploaded/NEWS Block/27042020-BCCI-I… · 2 THESECONDPAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,APRIL27,2020 PM’smeeting andpersonalprotectiveequip-ment.

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