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?=BQ =4F34;78
Two days after the Centre
opposed in the Supreme
Court any proposal to allow the
migrant workers to proceed
home as it posed a risk of coro-
navirus spread, the
Government paved the way for
their “home coming”. In a big
relief to stranded people
including migrant labourers,
pilgrims, tourists and students,
the Centre on Wednesday
allowed the States to transport
them to their homes by road.
In a letter to Chief
Secretaries, Union Home
Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the
movement should be after
appointment of nodal officers
and proper registering the
details of persons and mutual
agreement by the sending and
receiving States.
However, the Centre has
not permitted the use of rail-
ways for transport of these
stranded people. As per the
rough estimates, more than
1crore migrant workers from
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh and West Bengal are
stranded in Delhi, nearby
industrial areas, Maharashtra
and Gujarat.
Later, the MHA said a new
set of guidelines to fight Covid-
19 will come into effect from
May 4, which shall give con-
siderable relaxations to many
districts. Details regarding this
shall be communicated in the
days to come, said the MHA
Spokesperson. “MHA held a
comprehensive review meeting
on the lockdown situation
today. There’ve been tremen-
dous gains improvement in
the situation due to lockdown
till now. To ensure that these
gains are not squandered away,
the lockdown guidelines should
be strictly observed till 3rd
May,” MHA Spokesperson
tweeted.
The movement of migrants
to hometowns will depend on
the possibility of retaining job
and transportation through
buses will be a huge logistical
issue, observe many officials
handling relief camps.
Earlier in March last week,
when migrants were struck on
roads in Uttar Pradesh from
Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh
Government had sent 1,000
buses and it took around a
week to collect the labours
trapped in highways.
The number of migrant
workers will cross more than
two crore when consider those
stranded in southern States
like Kerala, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. It will be a chal-
lenge to send so many workers
by road to remote villages of
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The two-page direction by
the Union Home Ministry
insisted on health check-up by
the sending States and contin-
ued monitoring of the health
status by the receiving states.
“All States/UTs should des-
ignate nodal authorities and
develop standard protocols for
receiving and sending such
stranded persons. The nodal
authorities shall also register
the stranded persons within
their States/UTs. In case a
group of stranded persons wish
to move between one State/UTs
and another State UT, the
sending and receiving States
may consult each other and
mutually agree to the move-
ment by road,” said the Home
Ministry.
The MHA insisted that
persons would be screened
and those found asymptomatic
would be allowed proceed.
?=BQ =4F34;78
After facing massive criti-
cism for low number of
testing for Covid-19, India has
now started conducting 60,000
tests per day. This will be
ramped up to 1 lakh tests per
day within next few days, said
Union Health Minister Harsh
Vardhan on Wednesday.
Addressing a video con-
ference here with the members
of Lion Club International
here, he said, “The
Government is working to
increase the testing capacity to
1,00,000 tests per day in the
next few days.”
However, additional tests
will require more human
resources for data entry, re-
deploying automated and man-
ual RT-PCR (Reverse
Transcription-Polymerase
Chain Reaction) machines and
optimising in-lab processes,
such as RNA extraction, to
reduce the turnaround time
between sample receipt and
testing, it said.
As on Wednesday, the
ICMR said India had con-
ducted a total of 7,70,764 tests
since the outbreak of the dis-
ease.
However, there was no
detail on the number of tests
done on Wednesday. Health
experts feel that India is yet to
reach to its peak as sufficient
number of people was not
being tested and treated.
Currently, 288
Government laboratories are
working along with 97 private
labs chains with around 16,000
sample collection centres and
around 60,000 tests per day.
He said since the last three
days the doubling rate of
Covid-19 cases has slowed to
11.3 days in the country, with
a mortality rate of 3 per cent
against the global average of 7
per cent.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The number of reported
coronavirus cases in India
continue to move northwards
with 1,576 positive cases and 66
deaths on Wednesday, taking
the total cases to 32,936 and
1077 fatalities.
According to reports,
although India’s coronavirus
trajectory has tapered over the
past couple of weeks, it con-
tinues to be steeper compared
to Asian peers such as Japan,
Indonesia, and Pakistan.
The financial capital of the
country, Maharashtra remained
the worst-hit State with the
total number of cases rising to
9,915 with 597 new cases and
32 deaths on Wednesday.
Altogether 432 people have
died and 1,388 people recov-
ering from the deadly virus.
Gujarat was the next which
has reported 4,012 cases so far.
The State saw big jump of 312
cases on Wednesday.
It is followed by Delhi
which has reported 3,314 cases.
The other States which have
seen sharp rise in cases are
Madhya Pradesh (2,560),
Rajasthan (2,393, Tamil Nadu
(2162) and Uttar Pradesh
(2,134).
Andhra Pradesh has
reported 1,259 cases, of which
258 have recovered and 31
people died, while Bihar
reported 366 cases of which 64
have recovered and discharged
and two people have died.
The Union Territory of
Chandigarh reported 12 more
cases on Wednesday for a total
of 68 cases. The tally in the
Jammu Kashmir rose to
565, of which 176 have been
discharged and eight dead.
=8:00;8:Q 270=3860A7
The return of the natives to
Punjab from Rajasthan and
Nanded in Maharashtra has led
to curfew extension by anoth-
er 14 days in the State till May
17. As pilgrims and students
continue to pour in from both
the States, the Punjab
Government was on
Wednesday virtually left with
no alternative but to extend the
restrictions in movement for
another two weeks.
The State Government,
only a day before, made 21-day
State quarantine mandatory
for all those returning to the
State from other places to
check further spread of Covid-
19. Out of the approximately
2,500 returnees, 35 from
Nanded and four from Kota
have been tested positive so far,
and it’s still counting. As per
Government sources, “10 per
cent from Nanded are positive
till now”.
“Out of the total 33 cases
tested positive today, 24 are
those who have returned from
Nanded Sahib while four are
from Kota in Rajasthan.
Yesterday, 11 Nanded returnees
were tested positive,” a senior
Government official told The
Pioneer, requesting anonymi-
ty.
Referring to the situation
after return of large number of
Punjabis stranded in other
States due to lockdown, the CM
on Wednesday said that it was
his Government’s duty to bring
them back but they would
have to be quarantined for 21
days.
?=BQ =4F34;78
All Central Government
employees must get a “clear
all” from “Aarogya Setu”
mobile application before they
venture out for their offices.
The Government on
Wednesday made it manda-
tory for all Central
Government employees to
download the Aarogya Setu
aap and to come to office
when the app shows “safe” sta-
tus for commuting.
“Before starting for office,
they must review their status on
‘Aarogya Setu’ and commute
only when the app shows ‘safe’
or ‘low risk’ status,” an order
issued by the Ministry of
Personnel said.
“The officers and staff are
advised that in case the app
shows a message that he/she
has a ‘moderate’ or ‘high risk’
calculated on the basis of
bluetooth proximity (“recent
contact with infected per-
son”), he/she should not come
to office and self-isolate for 14
days or till the status becomes
‘safe’ or ‘low risk’, the
Personnel Ministry said.
?C8Q =4F34;78
The board exams for class X
and XII pending due to the
coronavirus-induced lockdown
will be conducted at the first
possibility and there is no
move to do away with the
remaining exams, CBSE offi-
cials said on Wednesday.
The board is prepared to
conduct the exams for class
X and XII for crucial 29 sub-
jects, while the HRD
Ministry has directed States
to start the evaluation
process for the exams already
conducted.
“Recently, there has been a
lot of speculation regarding
CBSE Board exams. There is no
change in position. Exams will
be conducted,” Sanyam
Bhardwaj, CBSE’s Controller of
Examinations said.
064=284BQ =4F34;78
US President Donald Trump
and the official Twitter
handle of the President of the
United States of America —
The White House — has unfol-
lowed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the social
media platform. Besides, Modi,
the White House also unfol-
lowed President Ram Nath
Kovind and the Prime
Minister’s office. It has also
unfollowed the Twitter handle
of the Indian Embassy in USA.
Three weeks ago, PM Modi
became the only world leader
followed by the official Twitter
handle of the US administra-
tion. The rare move by White
House to follow PM Modi on
April 10 was viewed as a reflec-
tion of the bonhomie and good
rapport shared by the Prime
Minister and US President
Donald Trump.
A8=:D67B7Q =4F34;78
Oh, we forgot the cam-
era…Remember this jour-
ney we took together till we
reached land’s end and there
was nowhere to go.” That was
Irrfan Khan, playing teacher-
father Ashok Ganguli in The
Namesake, asking his onscreen
son to relish life’s best moments
that are meant to be felt so deep
within that no minute detail
could ever be missed for a life-
time. And quite a journey we
had with him through the
years that saw him emerge as
the “real Khan” who made
everyday Indian maleness so
profoundly delicate, believable,
both loveable and abominable
at times, but most important of
all acceptable and acknowl-
edged, warts and all.
His was a strength in
upholding life’s vulnerabilities
and living with them. But
beneath the twitch of the brow,
the vacant stare into the hori-
zon, the momentary burst of
passion and then lassoing it
back, the half curl of a smile,
the wry humour, the long
silence and the intensity of his
gaze was a man who embodied
the Indian soul. Fighting, sub-
tle, gracious, all-absorbing and
enduring. Self-effacing even.
That’s how the 53-year-old
actor passed on, succumbing to
a protracted battle with cancer
on Wednesday.
Yes, he got under our skin.
In the process, he also made us
comfortable in our own skin.
Something that Hollywood
spotted way before, casting
him in meaningful roles than
circumscribing him within
Asian stereotypes.
The likes of director Danny
Boyle and actress Julia Roberts
acknowledged his perfor-
mances. He had worked with
the Japanese and Netflix, too,
making him our truly multi-
national artiste. Of course, one
of the starry Khans realised the
visceral depth of the actor’s
range that endeared him to
both masses and classes, cast-
ing him as the protagonist in
his home production Billu
Barber.
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The Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Nanerjee on Wednesday
announced lockdown relaxations in a number of areas, includ-
ing partial resumption of bus services in green zones “where the
buses will be allowed to ply following all the protocols with a
maximum of 20 passengers. She also announced relaxation in
neighbourhood shops like electronic outlets, hardware and paint
shops. Besides the betel leaf and teashops will also open from
Monday but that will only be for home delivery and gossiping
in those shops will not be allowed.
Apart from this construction work particularly in road con-
struction and those associated with the PWD and PHE
Departments were also given relaxation.
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Hyderabad: Peeved over denial
of wages, hundreds of migrant
workers working at IIT
Hyderabad at Kandi in neigh-
bouring Sangareddy district
on Wednesday allegedly
attacked some officials of con-
struction companies and threw
stones damaging a police vehi-
cle and injuring a Sub-
Inspector and two policemen.
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Eleven doctors and nurses
have been placed under
home quarantine after a doctor
at Kasturba Hospital has test-
ed positive for Covid-19 on
Wednesday night.
Ira Singhal, Director (Press
Information) in the North
Delhi Municipal Corporation
(NMC), said a 1st year PG stu-
dent was tested positive at
LNJP Hospital on Tuesday and
her condition is stable now.
“She, along with other
seven doctors and four nurses,
are primary contacts so kept in
home quarantine for now.
They will be tested soon,”
she said.
Singhal further said the
doctor had gone home on
April 21 as soon as she devel-
oped symptoms and is present-
ly asymptomatic. “None of the
other primary contacts are
symptomatic as of now.
We are monitoring them
carefully. Hospital areas which
needed sanitisation have been
sanitised and reopened so min-
imal disturbance in services
took place,” she said.
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New Delhi: The All India
Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) is planning to conduct
a clinical trial of the convales-
cent plasma therapy in the
treatment of Covid-19 and
modalities of taking approvals
from the Drug Controller
General of India are being
worked out.
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?C8Q =4F34;78
The Supreme Court on
Wednesday ruled that
National Eligibility cum
Entrance Test (NEET) for
admissions in the graduate,
postgraduate medical and
dental courses would also
apply to minority, both aided
and unaided and private edu-
cational institutions as there
is no violations of their
rights.
The SC said NEET, which
qualifies the test of propor-
tionality, is reasonable and
the same is intended to check
several maladies which crept
into medical education, to
prevent capitation fee by
admitting students who are
lower in merit and to prevent
profiteering, and commer-
cialisation of education.
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New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and other political leaders across the country
on Wednesday mourned the demise of actor Irrfan Khan, call-
ing him a “rare talent” who will be greatly missed. “He will be
remembered for his versatile performances across different medi-
ums,” Modi said. The 54-year-old actor lost his battle with a
rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on
Wednesday. He was buried at the Versova graveyard.
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Large numbers of Odisha
students stranded at Kota in
Rajasthan due to the lock-
down have appealed to Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik to
ensure their safe return to the
State.
Parents of six students have
brought the matter to our
notice that 13 students from
Rayagada district are stranded
in Kota, said Collector Pramod
Behera. The State
Government’s permission
would be sought for the stu-
dents’ rescue in view of the
restriction on inter-State
movement, he said.
A student’s guardian,
Pratap Batra, said 12 girls from
Rayagada are stranded in Kota.
An IPS officer in charge of
coordinating with other States
regarding stranded Odias said
“something is in the offing”,
indicating that a decision in
this regard would be taken
soon.
A student, Monica, in a
video message said, “It is a
humble request from all stu-
dents of Odisha to the State
Government for our safe
return. We have already regis-
tered on the dedicated Covid-
19 portal, but we have not got
any response.”
Monica said the students
are not feeling safe in Kota as
corona cases are fast increasing
there.
“At least 2,500 Odia stu-
dents are stuck in Kota. UP and
other State Governments are
already in action (to help their
students). Kindly help students
from Odisha,” tweeted anoth-
er Odisha student.
?=BQ B78;0
Himachal Pradesh has not
reported any fresh
COVID-19 case in the past six
days, a senior health official
said on Wednesday.
So far, 41 coronavirus cases
have been reported and the
number of active cases in the
state is 10. Two people have
died of COVID-19 in the state.
The fatalities include a 70-
year-old Delhi resident who
had stayed at a guest house of
a factory in Baddi and died at
the PGIMER, Chandigarh, on
April 2.
Of the 389 samples sent
for testing on Wednesday, 227
tested negative for the infection
while reports of the rest are
awaited, Additional Chief
Secretary (Health) R D
Dhiman said.
Four active cases from
Una, two cases each from
Chamba and Hamirpur and
one case each from Kangra and
Sirmaur are being treated at
Tanda's RPGMC, Bhota
Charitable Hospital in
Hamirpur and the Katha's ESIC
in Baddi.
Twelve patients from Una
district, five from Solan, four
from Chamba, three from
Kangra and one from Sirmaur
have recovered from the infec-
tion so far. Four patients were
taken to a private hospital out-
side Himachal Pradesh.
?=BQ B78;0
Himachal Government
would provide all possible
help to the industrialists for
smooth running of their units
besides ensuring uninterrupt-
ed supply of raw material and
finished products to the mar-
kets, Chief Minister Jai Ram
Thakur said on Wednesday.
Interacting with industri-
alists of steel industries of Kala
Amb area in Sirmaur district
through video conferencing
from Shimla, the Chief
Minister said the State
Government was providing
various concessions to indus-
trial, commercial units includ-
ing tourism sector, agriculture
and other electricity consumers
in the State due to outbreak of
COVID-19 in the country.
He said that the payment of
demand charges in respect of
industrial, commercial and
agriculture consumers for elec-
tricity consumption of April,
2020 would be billed in May,
2020 and for the consumption
of May, 2020 to be billed in
June, 2020 has been deferred
till 30th June, 2020 and these
charges would be recovered in
three equal instalments during
the months of July, August
and September, 2020.
Thakur said a rebate of one
percent subject to maximum of
Rs. 10,000 will be available for
industrial, commercial and
agriculture consumers who
will pay the bills on or before
31st May, 2020 for the con-
sumption of April, 2020 will be
billed in May, 2020 and pay-
ment of bill on or before due
date for consumption of May,
2020 will be billed in June,
2020.
The Chief Minister urged
the industrialists to effectively
maintain social distancing in
their factories. He also assured
the industrialists that govern-
ment would consider their
other demands sympathetical-
ly.
Representatives of Steel
Industry Hem Raj Garg, Sanjay
Jain and Pawan Saini raised
various demands of industry
during the video conferencing.
Additional Chief Secretary
Industries Manoj Kumar,
Additional Chief Secretary
Health R.D. Dhiman and other
senior officers were also present
on the occasion.
CM THANKS PEOPLE OF
SERAJ CONSTITUENCY
Addressing workers of
Seraj Vidhan Sabha area of
Mandi district through video
conferencing from Shimla,
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur
thanked the people of the area
for contributing about Rs. 25
lakh towards PM CARES and
HP SDMA COVID -19 State
Disaster Response Fund. He
said that this amount would
help the State Government in
providing PPE kits and other
safety equipments to the coro-
na warriors.
The Chief Minister urged
the people to download Arogya
Setu App as this would go a
long way in preventing spread
of COVID-19 virus, adding
that this App was an important
weapon to fight coronavirus, as
with the help of GPS and
Bluetooth sensor it sends out
notification whenever one
comes in contact with infected
person.
He said government was
ensuring adequate arrange-
ments for smooth transporta-
tion of agriculture produces to
the markets. The CM said that
the party workers should also
motivate the people to avoid
any kind of social and religious
gatherings, as this could be
risky in catching the coron-
avirus. He said the government
has allowed entering the peo-
ple of the State stranded in
other States, pointing out that
all of them were being med-
ically examined before entering
the state but it must be ensured
that they remain in home quar-
antine for atleast next 14 days.
CENTRAL GOVT PRO-
VIDES RS. 1899 CRORE AS
CENTRAL TAXES SHARE
TO HIMACHAL
The Central Government
has provided Rs. 1899 crore to
the State government in April
2020, including revenue deficit
reimbursement, GST deficit
reimbursement, Himachal's
share in central taxes, MGN-
REGA amount, NHM pro-
gramme, disaster relief amount
and EAP, a government
spokesman said on Wednesday.
He said in view of the epi-
demic of COVID-19, the
Centre has also increased the
limit of Ways and Means of the
states by 60 percent. This would
help Himachal Pradesh to fight
the coronavirus epidemic effec-
tively, he added.
The spokesman said that
news circulated in a section of
media that the Central gov-
ernment has deducted the
share of Himachal taxes was
misleading and not factual.
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The number of Covid-19
positive cases in the State
surged to 125 after seven more
persons tested positive for the
virus on Wednesday.
While three cases were
reported from Baleswar dis-
trict, one case each was from
Jharsuguda, Keonjhar and
Deogarh districts and capital
city Bhubaneswar.
The three Baleswar cases
include a 44-year-old man, a
61-year-old man and a 63-
year-old-man. All of them have
a travel history to Kolkata. All
of them were asymptotic and
were in quarantine. Their con-
tact tracing is being done, said
Information and the Public
Relations Department.
Earlier in the day a 60-year-
old man of Panchapalli in
Keonjhar district, a 34-year-old
man of Basudevpur in Deogarh
district and an 18-year-old girl
of Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda
district had tested positive. All
of them are West Bengal
returnees. All of them were also
asymptomatic and under quar-
antine.
This was the first time that
Covid-19 cases were detected
in Keonjhar, Deogarh and
Jharsuguda districts. With
these fresh cases, the total
number of districts in the State
hit by the virus rose to 14.
The first positive case
reported in the day was a 77-
year-old man of Madhusudan
Nagar in Bhubaneswar and a
close relative of case no. 41.
This new case was reported
from the capital city after a gap
of 14 days. With this, the total
number of cases in Khordha
district rose to 46.
While there are still 85
active cases, the recoveries in
the State now stand at 39 as one
more case in Bhubaneswar
recovered from the disease,
said the Health and Family
Welfare Department.
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With the increasing Covid-
19 positive cases in the
State, Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik Wednesday urged peo-
ple to keep abiding by the
lockdown restrictions and
cooperate with the
Government in the battle
against the deadly virus.
“A little carelessness can
cost us dear. This is a matter of
life and death. Even disobedi-
ence to lockdown guidelines by
10 per cent people can multi-
ply the positive cases in the
State,” Patnaik said in a video
message.
Expressing concern over
the rising Covid-19 cases in the
State, he said, “Ten days ago
when I had addressed the State,
the number of positive cases
was only 61 in Odisha. Now,
the number has risen to dou-
ble. However, there is nothing
to fear about it. We can avoid
it if we remain alert.”
The State Government has
realised that West Bengal
returnees are now the new
challenge for Odisha after
Delhi’s Nizamuddin. Speaking
about it, the Chief Minister
said, “Earlier, the persons with
foreign travel history were the
major challenge for us.
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Chief Minister Hemant Soren
today said that he has talked
to Union railway Minister
PiyushGoyalandhasurgedhim
for special train facility if the
Central Govt gives instructions
to bring back stranded labour-
ers and students of Jharkhand in
various parts of the country. The
CM said that after such direc-
tion from the Centre the
Railway Ministry should help
the State Govt.
The CM said that the stu-
dents and labourers of the
State, who are trapped due to
lockdown in other States want
to come back home. “The State
Government is constantly
being urged by his family
members to bring them back.
Constant pressure is being put
on the Government to make
arrangements for the return of
our children and labourers by
the guardians of children, rel-
atives of labourers, people's
representatives like other states.
The Government wants to
bring back the students and
labourers, but is unable to do
so due to the respect and com-
pliance of the order of the
Government of India,” he said.
The CM said that by May
3, 2020, if the Central
Government issues guidelines
to bring them back, then
through proper means they
will be brought back to the
State. “If the guidelines from the
Central Government are not
issued after May 3, then the
State Government will take
necessary decisions. In this
regard, the Prime Minister has
been conveyed through a letter.
State Government is following
the guidelines of the Central
Government in bringing the
migrant labourers and students
trapped in other states, and no
law is being violated,” he added.
Soren, while interacting
with MPs and MLAs of Santhal
Pargana region said that there
is a need to establish a system
of social policing in the State.
“For this work, the work of
connecting social people like
Manki, Munda, Parganait,
Gram Pradhan etc should be
done. The benefit of social
policing system will be avail-
able even after the current
time and lockdown ends. After
the lockdown opens, a large
number of labourers will come
to Jharkhand and their coop-
eration in their maintenance
and quarantine system will
prove important. With the
establishment of social policing
system, it would be conve-
nient to coordinate many
important works,” said he.
The CM said that many
relief works are being done by
the State government to deal
with coronavirus infection in
all the districts of the State. A
letter has been sent to the
Ministry of Home Affairs to
form a committee of local pub-
lic representatives for moni-
toring all these works. As soon
as the guidelines are received
from the Ministry of Home
Affairs, a committee of public
representatives will be formed
in the state. The formation of
the committee will facilitate the
local legislators to reach out to
the needy in their area. This
will bring transparency and
uniformity in all works.
Soren discussed with the
MPs and MLAs of Santal
Pargana the measures to con-
trol the corona virus (Covid-
19) infection in their areas. The
CM asked the MPs and MLAs
of Santhal Parganas that all the
people's representatives should
keep in mind that the lock-
down is strictly enforced in
their areas. The CM said that
everyone in their areas should
be cautious about the fact that
no person can move from one
area to another, ensure com-
pliance.
Minister Haji Hussain
Ansari, Dumka MP Sunil
Soren, MLA Pradeep Yadav,
Deepika Pandey Singh, Amit
Kumar Mandal, Lobin
Hembram, Randhir Singh,
Narayan Das in their respective
areas before Chief Minister
Hemant Soren discussed in
detail the work going on and
also kept their suggestions.
Principal Secretary to the
Chief Minister Rajiv Arun
Ekka, OSD to the Chief
Minister, Gopalji Tiwari, Press
Advisor to the Chief Minister,
Abhishek Prasad, Sr Pvt
Secretary to CM Sunil
Srivastava were present on the
occasion.
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Two fresh cases of COVID-
19 –one each from Ranchi
and Jamtara– were reported on
Wednesday, taking the total
count of Coronavirus cases in
Jharkhand to 107, health offi-
cials said. Only four new cases
of the lethal viral infection
have surfaced in State in the
past two days – a major relief
for the health machinery here
after 35 cases reported on
Sunday and Monday, health
officials said.
“One suspect tested posi-
tive for COVID-19 in Jamtara
today (Wednesday). Another
man from Ranchi's Hindpiri
also tested positive,” said Health
Secretary Nitin Madan
Kulkarni.
The Hindpiri man who
tested positive on Wednesday
is 54-year-old, health officials
said.
Wednesday's test results
took the total number of cases
in Ranchi to 78. As per records
with the health department, out
of the 106 cases in Jharkhand,
78 are from Ranchi alone – a
district with 15 containment
zones and rapidly growing
cases of Coronavirus infec-
tion. Out of the remaining 29
cases, 10 are from Bokaro,
three each from Hazaribag,
Garhwa and Palamu. Two each
from Simdega, Dhanbad,
Jamtara and Deoghar, and one
each from Giridih and
Koderma.
The figures are as per the
daily COVID-19 bulletin
released by National Health
Mission (NHM).
While the COVID-19 tra-
jectory has witnessed a steep
fall after an unprecedented
rise, the spread of the virus in
rural areas is a cause for con-
cern, health officials said.
Besides urban areas, the virus
has entered Bero in suburban
Ranchi, villages in Jamtara,
Bokaro and Simdega. Ranchi
alone accounts for more than
70 per cent of COVID-19 cases
in Jharkhand. Out of the 106
cases, 77 are from Ranchi
alone.
The Government has iden-
tified 15 containment zones in
the State capital. Hindpiri –the
Coronavirus hotspot of the
State– is the only large con-
tainment zone here. Besides,
there is also a containment
zone in Bundu, which is locat-
ed off the National Highway 33,
connecting Ranchi to
Jamshedpur.
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Haryana Government has
got the Centre's nod to use
testing kits manufactured by a
South Korean company to con-
duct COVID-19 rapid tests,
Health minister Anil Vij said
on Wednesday.
The State Government had
received its first lot of 25,000
rapid test kits from SD
Biosensor, a South Korean bio-
diagnostic company, a week
ago. Last week, India had pro-
cured 5 lakh rapid antibody test
kits from two Chinese firms
and they were distributed to
several states reporting a rise in
the number of coronavirus
cases. The Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR),
however, advised states to stop
using these kits till it examined
their quality in the wake of
complaints that they were not
fully effective.
Vij had earlier brought to
the Union health ministry's
notice that Haryana had pro-
cured 25,000 rapid test kits
from a South Korean compa-
ny and it was not using the
Chinese ones, but the state was
asked to put these also on
hold for the time being.
“However, now we have
been given permission by the
Centre to go ahead and con-
duct the tests using the kits
which we had procured from
the South Korean company,”
the Haryana health minister
said on Wednesday. He said the
rapid test kits will be first used
to test health and sanitation
workers as well as police per-
sonnel who are at the frontline
of the coronavirus battle.
Hawkers, ration depot
holders, vegetable sellers, milk
sellers and others who come
into contact with several peo-
ple daily will also be tested, the
minister said, adding besides
the tests will be conducted in
containment zones. Some of
the coronavirus positive
patients, who are admitted in
hospitals will also be re-tested
using these kits, “which will
give some idea about the accu-
racy of these tests”.
Besides, rapid tests will be
conducted on nearly 11,000
people who have shown symp-
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Nine fresh cases of
Coronavirus were report-
ed in Chandigarh on
Wednesday taking the total
number to 68 in the city.
While seven more positive
cases were reported from
affected pocket of Bapu Dham
colony (BDC), one each was
reported in Sector 38 and
Sector 32 here.
Report of 22 samples was
awaited till going to press.
The total number of cases
stood at 68 while active cases
were 50, as per Chandigarh
Administration’s evening health
bulletin. “Seven new cases of
COVID-19 has been reported
in BDC. These are communi-
ty contacts of BDC positive
patient, 30 years old GMCH-32
ward boy,” said an official
spokesman. The spokesman
said that in Sector 38, a 79 years
old lady has been tested posi-
tive for Coronavirus. Apart
from his, a 30 years old male
staffer at GMCH-32 is also test-
ed positive. He is a resident of
Sector 32 C. The contact trac-
ing of new cases has further
increased concerns of the UT
Administration amid the out-
break of Coronavirus in the
city.
About the 33 years old
GMCH-32 staffer, the
spokesman said that a total of
three household contacts and
four community contacts have
been traced so far. The patient
also has three workplace con-
tacts, he added.
A total of 3193 people
were put under home quaran-
tine in the city while 1759 have
completed the quarantine peri-
od. Till now, 1013 samples
have been tested in the city. No
Coronavirus related death has
been reported in the city so far.
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The portals of Kedarnath
shrine were ritually
reopened for the summer at
6:10 AM on Wednesday with
the first ritual worship-
Rudrabhishek in the shrine
being offered on behalf of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. As the Rawal (chief
priest) Bhimashankar Ling is
under quarantine at Ukhimath,
the priest Shivshankar Ling
conducted the rituals as his rep-
resentative at Kedarnath which
is currently surrounded by
upto six feet of snow.
The rituals for reopening of
the portals began earlier at 3
AM. The priest Shivshankar
Ling and other pundits wor-
shipped at the southern
entrance before entering the
shrine. After various rituals
including invocation of
Bhairavnath, the portals of the
shrine were opened at 6:10
AM.
The rituals were conduct-
ed while observing social dis-
tancing. The temple was
decked in about 10 quintals of
flowers on the occasion.
It should be mentioned
here that while lord Kedarnath
will now be worshipped here
for the next six months, pil-
grims are not being allowed to
undertake the pilgrimage pre-
sent in view of the lockdown in
force to contain the spread of
COVID-19.
About a dozen persons
including priests and officials
were among those present at
Kedarnath during its ritual
reopening. The State’s chief
minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat and the Tourism and
Culture minister Satpal
Maharaj greeted the devotees
on the reopening of Kedarnath.
They expressed hope that the
nation and the world will soon
be free of the COVID-19 pan-
demic and that the Char Dham
Yatra will also pick up pace.
Tourism secretary Dilip
Jawalkar has already issued
elaborate directions regarding
the Char Dham Yatra so that
after the end of the pandemic
and following directions from
the top level, the pilgrimage can
be brought back on track.
It should be mentioned
here that with four to six feet
snow in the Kedarnath area, a
path was cut through the snow
and the temple precinct was
cleared of snow for its reopen-
ing.
This time, the army band
did not perform during the
reopening of Kedarnath as in
past years. It will be recalled
here that of the Char Dham
shrines in Uttarakhand,
Gangotri and Yamunotri were
reopened for the summer on
April 26. Badrinath shrine is
now slated to be reopened on
May 15.
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The State cabinet took vari-
ous decisions in its meeting
on Wednesday in view of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The State cabinet Minister
and State Government
spokesman Madan Kaushik
briefed the media about the
decisions taken in the meeting.
He informed that the cab-
inet approved a sum of C2.48
crore for boosting immunity
amidst the pandemic. This
sum will be used to purchase
the homoeopathic medicine
Arsenicum Album 30 and
Ayurvedic formulations made
from Giloi, Ashwagandha and
Tulsi to boost the immune
system.
The cabinet also approved
opening of tele-medicine in the
state and e-hospital at the
Government Doon medical
college hospital. The Chief
Minister later inaugurated this
facility on the same day.
Further, the testing of samples
for COVID-19 has been
approved from April 30 in the
Srinagar government medical
college while proposals will be
sent for facilitating the same in
Almora and Haridwar too.
Apart from this, container
OPD facility will be provided
free for general health checks.
The cabinet also approved e-
payment, mobile and other
means for payment of charges
related to the registry office.
In another important deci-
sion, the cabinet also approved
25 per cent additional subsidy
to farmers along with the exist-
ing subsidy on Kharif crop
seeds.
Approval was also granted
to five posts each in the med-
ical colleges to be built at a cost
of C325 crore in Rudrapur,
Haridwar and Pithoragarh.
Apart from this, the chief min-
ister was authorised to select
the firm for online examination
of the subordinate services
commission.
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Angry on being not given
permission to meet the
Chief Minister with his dele-
gation, the Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) chief Pritam
Singh refused to attend his
scheduled meeting with CM on
Wednesday.
The PCC president Pritam
Singh had sought an appoint-
ment with CM Trivendra Singh
Rawat with an objective of
providing information about
people of State stranded in
different parts of the country.
The CM office had set up
the appointment for 12 pm on
Wednesday but when the PCC
president arrived at CM resi-
dence he was told that the CM
would not entertain entire del-
egation. On it the members of
the delegation that included
Vice Presidents Jot Singh Bisht
and Surya Kant Dhasmana,
senior leader and son of former
CM Major General ( Retd) B C
Khanduri, Manish Khanduri,
former MLAs Rajkumar and
Vikram Singh Negi and
Mahanagar President Lal
Chand Sharma expressed
resentment.
The PCC President then
decided not to meet CM and
returned from there. Later talk-
ing to the media persons, an
angry Pritam Singh said that it
appears CM has became very
scared from Coronavirus and
don’t want to listen to the
advice of members of political
parties. On sarcastic note, he
said, “ The power and positions
are temporary but what he has
done today is murder of
democracy.
I deplore it in strongest
possible manner. We wanted to
meet the CM to inform about
the plight of people of state
stranded in different parts of
the country.
In the App launched by the
Manish Khanduri more than
15000 people have registered
their problems.
Similarly Jot Singh Bisht
and Vikram Singh Negi also
have made their lists of such
people who need help. We
wanted to inform him about
the problems of farmers and
food grain supply,’’ he said.
Manish Khanduri also crit-
icised the CM for not caring to
meet Congress leaders.
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The Director of JB Institute
of Technology (JBIT),
Dehradun, Sandeep Singhal
feels that the prevailing lock-
down in the country that has
been enforced by the govern-
ment to contain the infection
of novel Coronavirus (COVID-
19) has given a unique oppor-
tunity to the students and
teachers to adapt to the new
teaching and learning plat-
forms made available by the
technology.
Talking to The Pioneer,
Singhal said that it is hearten-
ing that both teachers and stu-
dents have taken up the chal-
lenge and have nicely adapted
to the changes. “Technology
today provides many platforms
of online learning and teaching.
The lockdown has actually
proved to be a blessing in dis-
guise as it has accelerated the
change which was inevitable.
We in our institute were appre-
hensive how the teachers would
adapt to the technology but
they have accepted it rather
well. Interestingly, the atten-
dance in the online classrooms
has shown a marked improve-
ment. The attendance which in
real classroom was 60-65 per
cent has become in excess of 90
per cent in the online class-
rooms. The students are also
positive for these classes as they
can attend them from comfort
of their homes. As the lecture
given by the teacher can get
saved, the students have the
luxury of going through it
again,’’ he said. On the limita-
tion of online classrooms,
Singhal said that for practical
classes the laboratory is still the
best place for students even
though virtual labs are also
available for them. Further the
different students have differ-
ent apprehensive capabilities
and it applies to the usage of
online learning platforms as
well, he added. When asked
about the negative effect on
employment generation by the
pandemic, Singhal said, “The
industry has so far shown a
positive attitude. The place-
ment officer of our institute
informed me that so far not
even a single company has
cancelled its offer made to the
student. The industry has not
yet gone on the back foot
which is a good sign.’’
He however added that
the students should increase
their skill sets to become more
competent for needs of the
industry. “The students seem to
have understood the need to
augment their skills so as to
become fit for the market. In
our pre-placement classes, the
attendance has become almost
100 percent which proves that
the students have become more
serious,’’ he quipped.
Singhal opined that India
due to its cheap labour and
technology stands to gain from
the negative sentiment for
China which prevails in the
world today in the wake of its
role in spread of the pandem-
ic. He said that the Indian
Industry should rise to the
occasion and make necessary
changes. He added that the aca-
demic and training institutes
should also grab the opportu-
nity to provide the competent
manpower to the Industry and
said that the practical aspects
should get more emphasis in
the institutes.
The director of the JBIT
said that even after lifting of the
lockdown, the norms of social
distancing to prevent the con-
tagion would persist and every-
one should follow them.
“We at JBIT have decided
to remodel our existing class-
rooms and reduce the number
of students per class from exist-
ing 60 to 20-25.
We have spare classrooms
available for it. Further we
would redraft our time tables
and have decided to make
changes in the mess routine in
hostels so that the social dis-
tancing is observed,’’ he said.
On the financial con-
straints faced by the institute
due to prevailing lockdown,
Singhal said that though there
is some pressure but things are
being managed by the reserve
fund. “We are making our
salary payments and other
commitments on time and
have even given advance to
class IV staff,’’ he claimed.
Singhal added that the institute
has donated Rs 2.51 lakh to the
Chief Minister’s relief fund
and has been providing food
packets to the poor with the
help of local police.
About the Institute
Set up in the year 2009 in
Dehradun, the JBIT has made
its appearance among premier
engineering colleges of
Uttarakhand within a short
span of time. Located in serene
surroundings of Himalayan
foothills, the institute officers
courses in technology, applied
sciences and pharmacy to the
students.
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The number of novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
patients in Uttarakhand
increased to 55 on Wednesday
with the State health depart-
ment reporting one patient of
the disease in Udham Singh
Nagar district. This district
incidentally had no active case
of the disease till Tuesday. In
the state, 36 patients have so far
won the battle against the dis-
ease and have been discharged
from the hospitals. On
Wednesday, two patients the
disease, the natives of west
Bengal were discharged from
the Government Doon
Medical College (GDMC) hos-
pital on the day.
With them 17
patients have so
far recovered in
Dehradun dis-
trict which still
has 14 out of
total 18 active
cases of the dis-
ease.
The additional secretary,
state health department, Yugal
Kishore Pant said one sample
out of those tested on
Wednesday was found positive
for COVID-19. He said that
reports of 237 samples are still
awaited by the department.
The authorities have so far
taken swab samples of 6046
suspected patients for COVID-
19 test. On Wednesday, sam-
ples of 181 suspected patients
were taken and sent to the lab
for test. The authorities have
so far provided psychiatric
counselling to 22461 migrants
labours kept in different relief
camps of the state. In the state,
1011695 people have so far
downloaded the Arogya Setu
App. The active cases of
COVID-19 are now in the
Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital
and Udham Singh Nagar dis-
tricts. In Dehradun 14 active
cases are there while two active
cases each are in Nainital and
Haridwar districts and Udham
Singh Nagar has one active
case. On a positive note, the
state no death from the disease
has occurred in the state which
has so far has claimed more
than 1000 lives in the country.
In the state, 66.67 percent of the
patients have so far recovered
from the disease.
Out of the total samples
taken less than one percent (
0.96 %) have been found pos-
itive for COVID-19.
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The director of All India
Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh,
Ravi Kant has said that two
members of the nursing staff
of the hospital have got novel
Coronavirus from patients
and their attendant.
In a message the director
said that nursing staff has
not infected the patient and
one attendant but it is other
way around. He said that the
doctors and nurses are treat-
ing the patients even though
they know that they are com-
ing from hotspots of the dis-
ease. Four persons which
included two members of
nursing team of AIIMS have
so far been found positive for
the disease.
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The area under Municipal
Corporation of Rishikesh
where the COVID-19 infected
patients were recently found
has been declared as a con-
tainment zone on Wednesday
by Dehradun district magis-
trate Ashish Kumar
Shrivastava.
Reportedly, the novel
coronavirus positive patients
were found in Shiva Enclave,
ward number 24. Under the
Uttarakhand Epidemic
Disease COVID-19
Regulation 2020 and Disaster
Management Act 2005, that
area of Shiva Enclave has been
declared as containment zone
which is enclosed by lane
number seven of Shiva temple
to the east, lane number four
of Bharat Vihar to the west,
the road of Housing
Development to the north
and the main gate and gate
number two of Shri Guru
Ram Rai School to the south.
The said area will remain
under the complete lockdown
for the minimum period of 14
days and DM has instructed all
the officers concerned to pro-
vide all the necessary items and
services to the locals during this
period.
The DM said that if anyone
is found violating the rules in
the containment zone, legal
actions will be taken against
them.
Meanwhile, after receiving
the complaints of several
locals regarding the illegal
slaughtering of animals in
Dehradun, a team of the offi-
cials of the district adminis-
tration and local police raid-
ed the areas of Paltan Bazaar,
Majra and Macchi
Bazaar where the fine was
imposed on three people apart
from cases being lodged under
provisions of Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act
and the Food Safety and
Standards Act.
Action was also taken
against two illegally operating
meat sellers in Vikasnagar
under Food Safety and
Standards Act.
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AMassive Open Online
Course (MOOC) on math-
ematical economics developed
by the Doon University here
has found place among the top
30 online courses of the world
in the year 2019. The ranking
was released recently by the
‘The Class Central’, - a free
online course aggregator from
top universities like Stanford,
MIT, Harvard etc. Incidentally
six courses of the Study Webs
for Active Learning for Young
Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM)
platform of Ministry of Human
Resource Development
(MHRD) have figured in the
list of top 30 courses. In what
can be termed as an achieve-
ment for Uttarakhand, the
courses developed by two var-
sities, the HNB Garhwal uni-
versity and Doon university are
in the elite list. The MOOC
course on Mathematical
Economics was developed by
the Sikha Ahmad, an Assistant
Professor in Department of
economics in Doon University.
This course has been ranked
10th among the 30 top ranked
course of 2019 and has found
a place in best online courses
of all time. The course on
Mathematical economics has
also been listed among 100
most popular free online cours-
es of 2019. Expressing happi-
ness on the development, the
Vice Chancellor (VC) of the
Doon University Ajit Kumar
Karnatak and Registrar of the
Doon University, Mangal Singh
Mandarwal has congratulated
the department of economics
for the unique feat.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Uttarakhand
Environment Protection
and Pollution Control Board
(UEPPCB) will have to respond
to the notice issued earlier by
the State Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(SCPCR) about the issues
resulting from operation of
the Sheeshambada waste man-
agement and recycling plant
which was apparently having a
negative effect on the children
nearby, said chairperson of
SCPCR Usha Negi.
During January, the SCPCR
had issued a notice to the pol-
lution control board on the
complaints of the locals stating
that the foul smell and disease
causing conditions were occur-
ring in the area due to the waste
management plant. The chil-
dren were bound to stay
indoors and had to use masks
all the time which was causing
hindrance in
their studies as
per the com-
plaints of locals.
A r o u n d
that time, the
plant was also
operating with-
out No
O b j e c t i o n
C e r t i f i c a t e
(NOC) but the
board has
r e c e n t l y
renewed the
NOC of the
p l a n t .
Reportedly,
UEPPCB has not responded to
the notice of the commission so
far. According to Negi, if the
board has renewed NOC of the
plant, it will have to explain on
what grounds the board
renewed it because the locals
are still not satisfied.
It is important to know
whether the board has handled
all the issues of the plant, said
Negi. On being asked about the
notice issued by SCPCR, the
UEPPCB chief environment
officer SS Pal responded by say-
ing that nothing is being done
due to the lockdown and all the
work in the board will possibly
resume only after the lockdown
is lifted.
?=BQ 70A83F0A
After a woman from
Haridwar district under-
going treatment at AIIMS
Rishikesh was found positive
for COVID-19, the health
department stepped up con-
tainment efforts in Nagla
Imarti village in Roorkee of
which the patient is a resident.
The health department team
reached the village and sent 28
villagers including relatives of
the woman to isolation ward in
the hospital.
The woman patient had been
admitted to AIIMS a few
days ago for treatment of a seri-
ous ailment.
The health department
team had camped in the village
after receiving information
about the woman from the vil-
lage being found positive for
COVID-19. Haridwar chief
medical officer Dr Saroj
Naithani informed that cur-
rently 28 people including fam-
ily members of the patient
have been admitted to the iso-
lation ward in Roorkee while
the two relatives with the
patient at AIIMS have also
been isolated there. Samples of
those in isolation here will be
taken for testing after five days
as there is a possibility that their
samples might test negative
now but turn out positive later.
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As the Government is yet to
take a call on bringing
back Indians from the Gulf
countries, the Navy is ready-
ing its three warships for the
possible evacuation. The
national carrier Air India and
transport planes of the IAF
may also be deployed for the
mission likely to commence
after May three when the
national lockdown ends.
In the backdrop of sever-
al Indians working in the
Gulf countries informing the
embassies their intention to
return in the backdrop of
coronavirus pandemic and
massive job loss due to drop
in oil prices, the Government,
while yet to take a final view,
has asked the armed forces
and the Air India to be on
standby, sources said here on
Wednesday. The stakeholders
were also asked to apprise the
Government of the possible
evacuation plan, they added.
As per an estimate, there
are more than five to seven
million Indians in the Gulf
countries and the ministry of
external affairs has already ini-
tiated consultations with the
States here for the necessary
arrangements.
Moreover, the embassies
in the Gulf region were also
directed to firm up report
about those willing to return
and provide all assistance to
them, officials said.
Discussions between various
wings of the Government
were also on as to who will
bear the expenses of the evac-
uation-will it be those return-
ing or the central govern-
ment, sources added. Apart
from the evacuation, the cen-
tre has to plan in collaboration
with the states about the quar-
antine process of the return-
ing people and sources said
talks were on between the
stakeholders.
As regards the Navy, INS
Jalashwa, a 17,000-ton
amphibious warship or land-
ing platform dock, can accom-
modate 1,000 to 1,200 people,
and is now getting ready at its
base at Visakhapatnam. The
other two smaller such ships
are in the western seaboard
and are also on a standby
mode, sources said adding all
the weaponry and other items
were removed to make place
for ferrying people.
In case, if smaller number
of people are to be brought
back, the IAF may press into
service its C-17 and IL-76
planes, they said adding these
planes recently evacuated
more than 200 Indians from
Iran and Wuhan. Besides the
armed forces, the government
has the option of tapping the
civil aviation sector which
has more than 500 aircraft
available for the evacuation,
sources said.
In the past, India brought
back more than 1.5 lakh of its
citizens in 1990 after Iraq
launched military offensive
against Kuwait. Similarly, in
2015, 5,500 people were evac-
uated after Saudi Arabia
launched air strikes against
Houthi rebels.
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After Moody’s Investors
Service slashing India
growth forecast for calendar
year 2020 to 0.2 per cent, from
2.5 per cent projected in March,
the Centre on Wednesday pro-
jected the agriculture growth
rate at least 3 per cent which is
the long-term growth rate
despite most of the economic
activities are at standstill amid
the nationwide lockdown due
to coronavirus. Agriculture
and allied sector''s growth
stood at 3.7 per cent during the
2019-20 fiscal.
Addressing the media,
Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar said
that agriculture Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) was
at 3.7 per cent during last year.
“I am confident that this
growth in future will not be
impacted much, Tomar added.
Presenting a very positive
outlook for the sector, the
Minister said despite the lock-
down in the country, the sow-
ing of summer crops had
increased to 57.07 lakh hectare,
which is more than 38 per cent
over the area sown last year.
“Even in such trying cir-
cumstances and conditions,
sowing has not decreased. In
other related activities, the sec-
tor is making good progress
due to the good practices
adopted by the government
and hard work by farmers,”
Tomar said.
Echoing the sentiments,
agriculture expert and NITI
Aayog member Ramesh Chand
on Wednesday said that even at
a time when 60 per cent of
India’s economy is closed, in the
case of agriculture, things are
happening. “Our estimate is
that the sector will see a growth
rate of 3 per cent despite all pre-
vailing adverse circumstances.
The share of agriculture sector
in the economy is 17 per cent.
I am sure that during these dis-
tressing times, agriculture will
rise and give support to the
economy,” he added.
The contribution of agri-
culture to the Gross Domestic
Products (GDP) decreased
from 18.2 per cent in 2014-15
to 16.5 per cent in 2019-20.
The decline was mainly due to
a decrease in share of GVA of
crops from 11.2 per cent in
2014-15 to 10 per cent in
2017-18, according to the eco-
nomic survey.
The share has been declin-
ing on account of relatively
higher growth performance
of non-agricultural sectors.
However, according to
Chand, prices of major com-
modities and vegetables were
higher in mandis this year
than last year. “When prices are
favourable and terms of trade
are better, farmers invest more.
As much as 60 per cent of
India’s economy is closed, but
in the case of agriculture,
things are moving.
It will register a 0.5 per
cent growth rate and the fear
that the Indian economy will
shrink will be negated,” said
Chand.
According to Chand, good
monsoon, 40-60 per cent high-
er water availability in the
reservoirs, and 5 per cent high-
er offtake of fertiliser during
the first four months of this
year are the major signs indi-
cating a bumper production
this year.” On top of that, 20
per cent increase in the sale of
seeds and high food prices,
showing better terms of trade
and more encouragement to
the farmers to produce are also
expected to give cues to an
affluent crop season,” Chand
added.
Earlier, the Minister said
that there is a surplus food-
grain in the country and there
is no shortage of vegetables
during the lockdown.
According to Tomar,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi remains committed to
doubling the income of farm-
ers by 2022. “The agriculture
sector has remained unaffect-
ed due to the Covid-19 lock-
down, but there have been
other problems. As soon as the
situation improves, we will
start working towards the
goal,” he said
Regarding the damage to
the crops due to recent weath-
er conditions, the minister said
there were provisions available
between the states and the
Centre to tackle the issue.
Recounting the measures taken
by the Government to aid the
sector, like the PM Kisan and
increasing coverage of the
KCC, he said the Modi gov-
ernment increased the MSP of
various crops by 50 to 109.
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The new academic session
for freshers may begin in
universities from September
and for already enrolled stu-
dents in August in the wake of
the COVID-19 outbreak in
the country, the University
Grants Commission (UGC)
told universities on Wednesday.
Detailing the guidelines
for examinations and academ-
ic calendar for the universities
in view of the COVID-19 pan-
demic and subsequent lock-
down, the commission said
the exams for final semester
students be conducted in July.
Intermediate students will
be graded based on internal
assessment of the present and
previous semester. In states
where the COVID-19 situation
has normalised, there will be
exams in the month of July.
For terminal semester stu-
dents, exams will be held in
July, the UGC said.
Universities may follow a
six-day week pattern and devise
proforma to record travel or
stay history of staff and students
for the lockdown period.
Extension of six months will be
granted to MPhil, PhD students
and viva-voice be conducted
through video conference, it
added.
The commission clarified
that the guidelines are adviso-
ry in nature and varsities may
chalk out their own plan taking
into consideration issues per-
taining to the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
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Scientists from the CSIR-
Central Mechincal
Engineering Research Institute,
Durgapur, have developed a
robot ‘HCARD’ to assist the
frontline healthcare workers
battling Covid-19 in maintain-
ing physical distance from the
virus infected patients and save
themselves getting infected.
The robotic device
HCARD, in short for Hospital
Care Assistive Robotic Device,
is equipped with various state-
of-the-art technologies and
works both in automatic as well
as manual modes of navigation.
This robot can be con-
trolled and monitored by a
nursing booth with a control
station having features such as
navigation, drawer activation
for providing medicines and
food to patients, sample col-
lection and audio-visual com-
munication, said Prof. (Dr.)
Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-
CMERI.
He explained, “The
HCARD could be effective for
frontline healthcare officials
dealing with Covid-19 patients
in delivering services while
maintaining mandatory phys-
ical distancing”.
The cost of this device is
less than C5 lakh and the weight
is less than 80 kilograms, added
Prof. Hirani.
The CSIR-CMERI is also
working on war footing to
minimise the impact of the con-
tagion through technological
interventions.
Scientists at the CMERI
have also developed a few other
customized technologies,
including Disinfection
Walkway, Road Sanitiser Unit,
Face Mask, Mechanical
Ventilator and Hospital Waste
Management Facility, said Prof
Hirani.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Congress on
Wednesday hit back at
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman saying instead of
twisting facts she should
come up with simple answers
on the issue of wilful default-
ers.
Congress spokesperson
Randeep Singh Surjewala
took to Twitter to fire four
queries at the Finance
Minister.
To mislead or misstate
facts, while holding the august
office of Finance Minister, is
most unfair, Nirmala
Sitharamanji, Surjewala
tweeted as he pointed to an
apparent discrepancy in the
amount of money
reportedly recovered from
Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
and Vijay Mallya.
You tweeted that Rs
2,780.50 crore had been
recovered from Modi-Choksi-
Mallya. On March 16, 2020,
parliament was told that the
Enforcement Directorate had
recovered only C 96.93 crore
in five years under PMLA-
FEMA! he stated.
“1. Why has Modi
Government written off bank
loans worth C6,66,000 crore
between 2014/15 and
2019/20?
2. Is RBI's RTI reply dated
April 24, 2020, of bank loans
write off of C68,607 crore
wrong or right?
3. Why is Modi govern-
ment writing off bank loans of
absconders and
fraudsters like Nirav
Modi+Mehul Choksi (Rs
8,048 crore), Jatin Mehta (Rs
6,038 crore), Mallya (Rs 1,943
crore) and others as per RBI's
RTI reply of April 24, 2020?
4. Who permitted such
huge write offs of bank loans
and defaulters and why,
S u r j e w a l a
questioned.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Prakash Javadekar on
Wednesday accused Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi of mak-
ing false claims on “wilful
defaulters, bad loans and write-
offs”, calling them an attempt to
“mislead people in a brazen
manner” and sensationalise
facts.
While Sitharaman accused
Rahul of “trying to mislead
people in a brazen manner”,
Javadekar advised the former
Congress chief to take tuition
from his party colleague and
former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram.
He said he was taken aback
by the Congress leader's com-
ment that Modi
government has waived off Rs
65,000 crore of loan defaulters.
“@RahulGandhi should
take tuition from
@PChidambaram_IN on the
difference between “write off”
and “waive off ”. @naren-
dramodi govt has not waived
off any loan. “Write off” is a
normal accounting process. It
doesn’t stop recovery or action
against defaults,” Javadekar
said.
“Writing off is process to
show depositors correct pic-
tures of bank. It doesn’t stop
banks from taking actions and
pursuing recovery. We’ve seen
how Nirav Modi’s assets are
seized and auctioned. Mallya
has been left with no choice but
to come back as his appeal in
HC has been rejected,” he said.
Sitharaman accused
Congress leader of “trying to
mislead people in a brazen
manner”. She also listed the
cases of Mehul Choksi and
Vijay Mallya and said that the
Narendra Modi-led BJP gov-
ernment is pursuing these will-
ful defaulters.
Rahul had said on Twitter
that the government waived
loans worth C6.66 lakh crore
since 2014 till September 2019.
The former Congress president
said he had asked in Parliament
the names of the top 50 bank
loan defaulters in the country,
but the finance minister
did not answer. Now, the RBI
has given out the list which
includes Nirav Modi, Mehul
Choksi and many of BJP’s
“friends”, he said.
Sitharaman, in a series of
tweets accused Rahul of sen-
sationalising facts by taking
them out of context.
Highlighting that between
2009-10 and 2013-14, sched-
uled commercial banks had
written off Rs 1,45,226 crore,
she quipped, “Wished Gandhi
consulted former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on
what this writing-off
was about”.
She said provisions are
made for Non-Performing
Assets according to a four-year
provisioning cycle laid down by
the RBI. “Upon full provision-
ing being done, banks write-off
the fully provided NPA but
continue to pursue recovery
against the borrower. No loan
is waived off,” she wrote.
The Finance Minister said
that wilful defaulters were ben-
eficiaries of ‘phone banking’
under the UPA regime and the
Modi government is chasing
them to recover the dues.
She also referred to media
reports quoting former Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) governor
Raghuram Rajan as having
said that a large number of bad
loans originated in the period
2006-2008 and “too many loans
were made to well-connected
promoters who have a history
of defaulting on their loans”.
“Useful to recall the words
of Raghuram Rajan: “A large
number of bad loans originat-
ed in the period 2006-
2008…Too many loans were
made to well-connected
promoters who have a history
of defaulting on their
loans…Public sector bankers
continued financing promoters
even while private sector banks
were getting out. RBI could
have raised more flags about
the quality of lending…”
Raghuram Rajan (said)…
From 2015, PSBs (Public Sector
Banks) were asked by the gov-
ernment to check all NPAs 50
crores for wilful default,”
Finance Minister
responded to Rahul Gandhi on
Twitter.
The Finance Minister also
explained how properties
belonging to fugitives Nirav
Modi, Mehul Choksi and
Vijay Mallya have been
attached by the Modi
Government after they
defaulted on the loans.
Sitharaman maintained
that immovable and movable
properties belonging to fugi-
tive Nirav Modi worth more
than C2,387 crores have been
attached or seized, including
foreign attachments of
C961.47 crore. “The auction of
luxury items belonging to
Nirav Modi has yielded for
C53.45 Crore. He is in prison
in the UK,” she said
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While the race is on to find
a cure for the Covid-19,
the Union Ayush Ministry has
handed out a recipe of an
immunity boosting herbal for-
mulation to the States and
firms in the sector for the man-
agementofthehighlyinfectious
viruswhichhascausedhavocall
across the world.
To be prepared from the
extracts of herbs Basil (tulsi)
leaves, cinnamon bark, sunthi
(Zingiber officinale) and krish-
na marich (Piper nigrum), the
decoction will be known as
‘Ayush Kwath’ or ‘Ayush
Kudineer’ or ‘Ayush Joshanda’,
saidtheAyushMinistryinalet-
ter to the stakeholders recent-
ly.
The Ayurveda companies
are already on their job. Delhi-
based AIMIL Pharma engaged
in producing a range of herbal
products, said that it is in the
process of launching the ‘Ayush
Kwath’ in powder and tablet
forms in the market soon.
“Various reports have
shown that Coronavirus has
been found to be fatal for peo-
ple with weak immune system.
“The herbs enlisted by the
Ministry for preparing 'Ayush
Kwath' are well-known known
for their immunity enhancing
properties,” Sharma said
emphasizing that the decoction
will be for the benefit of the
humankind struggling with the
pandemic.”
The AIMIL Pharma’s
herbal drug, Fifatrol is already
well-accepted in the market
for its efficacy to fight off vari-
ousvirusesand has beenfound
to be effective in curing major
bacterial infections.
According to health
experts, while Coronavirus
reduces the immune response
oftheinfectedperson,ithasalso
been observed that mostly its
target is people with low
immune system.
The experts feel that
improvement of the immune
system helps in reducing the
effects of the infection and also
fight the Covid-19.
The Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann ki
Baat’ last week had reiterated
usageofIndianalternativemed-
icine system, saying that people
acrosstheworldarepayingspe-
cial attention to the importance
of ayurveda and yoga amid the
Covid-19 pandemic and that
the social media is full of write-
ups related to its benefits in
boosting immunity.
In fact, Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shiv Raj Singh
Chauhan too announced that
his government will distribute
the Ayush decoction to at least
overonecrorepeopleacrossthe
State in next three months in a
bid to enhance their immunity
to fight the virus.
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The Union Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment
on Wednesday asked the States
and Union Territories to ensure
that the Covid-19 centres for
testing/ quarantine and treat-
ments at the hospitals are dis-
abled-friendly.
In a letter to the Chief
Secretaries of all the States and
UTs, Shakuntala Gamlin,
Secretary, Department of
Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities (DEPwD) at the
Ministry, pointed out that the
current crisis poses greater
threats to the PwDs not just due
to their compromised immu-
nity and ability to perceive or
comprehend information but
also due to absence of accessi-
bility features in the physical
environment and eco-system
provided at such Covid-19
related facilities.
Asking the States to imple-
ment the guidelines prepared in
this direction by the Ministry in
letter and spirit, the senior offi-
cial said that“ priority treatment
for the PwDs and provisions of
safety, healthy living and
hygiene for them, attendants,
care-givers and accessible ser-
vice providers, such as sign lan-
guage interpreters should be
ensured.”
In addition, it is also nec-
essary that basic physical acces-
sibility features are ensured, as
per reasonable accommoda-
tion in the centres for Covid-19
testing and quarantine facilities
as well as for treatment at hos-
pitals and health centres, said
Gamlin.
It must be ensured that
basic features of accessibility
such as signages, requisite items
like soaps and gloves are pro-
vided at these centres so that
persons with restricted mobil-
ity and those dependent upon
attendants/caregivers are not
inconvenienced further, espe-
cially during the times of this
pandemic, she reminded.
The Government has clas-
sified health facilities into three
categories Covid-19 Care
Centre, Dedicated Covid-19
Health Centre and Dedicated
Covid Hospital. These dedicat-
ed facilities will have separate
earmarked areas for suspected
cases and confirmed cases, and
ensuretheavailablehospital bed
capacity is used only for mod-
erate to severe cases of the infec-
tion.
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Novel Coronavirus, which
has exploded across the
globe, is more brutal to men in
outcomes and fatality is almost
2.5 times when compared to
women, though both genders
have the same prevalence,
according to a study published
in a recent journal of Public
Health.
So far, researchers have
confirmed that older Covid-19
patients and those with co-
morbidities, such as heart dis-
ease and respiratory condi-
tions, are at greater risk of
severe disease and death.
However, Dr. Jin-Kui Yang, a
physician at Beijing Tongren
Hospital in China, noticed that
the number of men dying from
the virus appeared to be high-
er than the number of women.
This raised a question:
are men more susceptible to
getting or dying from Covid-
19? We found that no-one had
measured gender differences in
COVID-19 patients, and so
began investigating.
Yang and a group of col-
leagues analyzed several
patient datasets to see if there
were differences in how men
and women respond to Covid-
19. This included data on 43
patients who the doctors had
treated themselves and a pub-
licly available dataset on 1056
Covid-19 patients.
The virus responsible for
Covid-19 is similar to the
virus behind the 2003 SARS
outbreak, and it attaches to the
same protein, called ACE2, on
cells it attacks. Given this
similarity, the doctors also
analyzed a dataset of 524
SARS patients from 2003.
Strikingly, in the largest
Covid-19 dataset, over 70 per
cent of the patients who died
were men, meaning that men
had almost 2.5 times the death
rate of women. And interest-
ingly, being male was a sig-
nificant risk-factor for worse
disease severity, regardless of
age.
In the SARS dataset from
2003, the researchers found a
similar trend, with a signifi-
cantly higher mortality rate
amongst males compared
with females. Interestingly,
levels of ACE2, the protein
involved in the viral attack in
both SARS and Covid-19,
tends to be present in higher
levels in men, and also
patients with cardiovascular
disease and diabetes, all of
whom have worse outcomes
in Covid-19.
However, further research
is needed to determine exact-
ly why men with Covid-19
tend to fare worse than
women. While the current
study has a small sample size,
and larger studies are needed
to confirm the results, this is
the first preliminary study
investigating the role of gen-
der in morbidity and mortal-
ity in patients with the dead-
ly pathogen.
Globally, the number of
novel coronavirus cases have
surpassed 3.1 million along
with reporting more than
200,000 deaths across the
world.
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