THE ECONOMIC TIMES
WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
FEARS UNFOUNDED,
YOUR PAPER IS SAFE
PM TO DISCUSS LOCKDOWN EXTENSION WITH CMs TODAY
Focus on Relaxing Lockdown for
Harvesting in Rural India
Aman.Sharma@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi is expected to discuss
proposals to extend the Covid-19
lockdown to the end of the month in
urban centres while easing it selec-
tively for rural areas to allow har-
vesting, said officials with know-
ledge of the matter. Modi is schedu-
led to hold a video conference today
(April 11) with chief ministers, ahe-
ad of the scheduled end of the
three-week lockdown on April 14.
The PM and chief ministers will
debate whether rural areas can be
fully opened up or just to the extent
of allowing the critical agricultu-
ral activity, said the people cited
above. An announcement regar-
ding the shutdown’s extension or
R EVIVAL AF T ER LO C KD OW N
COST OF LOCKDOWN
1] Economy will barely grow
or even slip into recession
Forecast for FY21 (In %)
Goldman Sachs 1.6
Moody’s 2.5
Fitch Ratings 2
2] Unprecedented loss of jobs
unemployment rate in
23 % first week of April: CMIE
Cost would rise sharply if blanket
lockdown extended
LONGER-TERM IMPACT
1] India could even slip into
recession, that is, negative growth
2] Consumption, nearly two-thirds
of GDP, will further weaken
-esp. discretionary consumption
in autos, white goods, etc
CONCLUSION
Steep Fall Makes Cap
Goods Cos Attractive
Capital goods makers face
a stiff task of emerging out
of the downturn triggered
by the disruptions caused by coro-
navirus. But the recent tumble in
their share prices have made valua-
tions of some of these companies
cheap, said analysts. Rajesh
Mascarenhas reports.PAGE 6
ET WEALTH
ON MONDAY
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
Lockdown Blues: Meat Na Mila Re Mann Ka
While the supply of mutton has almost ground to a halt, fish has become scarce in many states
Madhvi.Sally@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The countrywide
lockdown is forcing many meat
eaters to adopt a herbivorous diet as
supply of mutton has almost stop-
ped while fish has become scarce in
many states.
The price of mutton, when av-
ailable, has risen more than 80% in
major cities as slaughterhouses are
shut and people are unable to bring
goats from states like Rajasthan, a
major supplier. Mumbai’s Deonar
mandi, which supplies mutton to
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, as
well as Delhi’s Ghazipur mandi that
caters to north India, are idling.
“The government-run authorised
BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD.
US Bid to Block
China Telecom
AROUND THE WORLD9
Public health specialists have said fears about newspapers being unsafe to touch are ‘unscientific and irrational’. Our presses follow stringent hygiene protocols, and at no time is the paper
handled manually. At the distribution centres, we have provided gloves, sanitisers, masks and other hygiene aids to ensure the last-mile delivery is also safeguarded. Our newsroom is working
overtime to bring you up-to-date and accurate information about the pandemic, and you may rest assured that it is perfectly safe to read about it in your favourite newspaper.
On the Table
Extending lockdown
PM TO GO BY POLITICAL CONSENSUS
Most states
till April-end with
exception to
harvesting activity or
suggesting extension in a dozen
due to rising cases states under
Odisha, Punjab
fully opening up rural already extending containment
areas with no cases
lockdown
otherwise could be made on Sun-
day, the officials said.
The chances of the lockdown be-
ing lifted in urban centres from
April 15 are bleak, officials said, ci-
ting the rising deaths and infec-
tions in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and
Indore. Odisha and Punjab have
extended the lockdown until April
30 and May 1, respectively. Many
other states have suggested the
Costly Lockdown: Case For A Mid-Way Option
The countrywide lockdown slated to end on April 14 has already stalled the economy. It is clear that India
cannot afford a prolonged closure to fight Covid-19 the way richer countries can. A mid-way option is must —
graded opening of greater economic and social activity. ET suggests how it can be done.
IMMEDIATE WORRIES
1] Loss of 4] Self-
standing crop, employed
rural indebt- and service
edness & stress providers
2] Potential will have no
shortage of non- income
cereal foods 5] Manufacturing
3] Daily-wage will take a big
earners will hit, with huge
second order
suddenly fall
into poverty effects
6] Organised sector job
losses, deeper salary cuts
3] Financial sector melt-
down as businesses collapse
4] Massive unemployment
and consequent social unrest
5] Surge in poverty and sharp
deterioration in quality of life
Even all this won’t see the economy running on full steam. But it will help avoid the big cost of an extended full lockdown
DAYS AFTER WORLD BANK’S $1-B SUPPORT PLEDGE...
ADB Assures $2.2 Billion
for India’s Pandemic Fight
ADB chief praises govt’s response to Covid-19
Our Bureau
New Delhi: The Asian Develop-
ment Bank has assured India $2.2
billion in its fight against the Co-
vid-19 pandemic. ADB president
Masatsugu Asakawa, who assu-
red FM Nirmala Sitharaman of
the multilateral lender’s support
in a call on Friday, commended
India’s decisive response to the
pandemic, including a national
health emergency programme.
Asakawa said the bank was
committed to supporting India’s
emergency needs. “We are now
preparing $2.2 billion in immedi-
ate assistance to the health sec-
tor and to help alleviate the eco-
nomic impact of the pandemic
on the poor; informal workers;
micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises; and the financial
sector,” he said.
He also talked about India’s tax
slaughter houses are closed. So
there is no sale. Modern retail
houses which were selling frozen
mutton have finished their in-
ventories. Neighbourhood meat
shops are only providing mutton if
Supply Woes
80% Drop in 50% Jump in retail price of
fish supply to mutton (to `850-900/kg) in
major markets some places
30-50%
Increase in prices
`150-180/kg
Retail price of chicken
in some markets
MUMBAI | 10 PAGES | *.` 4.00 OR .` 7.00 ALONG WITH THE TIMES OF INDIA SATURDAY, 11 APRIL 2020
ON Saturday
Source: worldometers.
States With Most World CASES DEATHS
GLOBAL COUNT
Active 40% 8,000 Tests in India
30% % Increase Over
CORONA
METER
6,039 (+821)
Deaths 20%
Prev. Day
Cases
6,000
4,000
Confirmed Cases
M’rashtra 1,364 (97) Total Till Date 161,330 1,638,216
206 (+37) 100,090
info, WHO
10% 2,000 Delhi 898 (13)
Cured 0% 0 Tamil Nadu 834 (8) Recovered
TOTAL CASES 6,761 516 (+38) Jan 31, ’20 6 Mar Apr 10 Telangana Figures in
473 (7) parentheses 15,663 April 10 369,008
IN INDIA
(as of 9 pm)
(+896) Source: MoHFW, 5pm 7,510: PTI ESTIMATE AS OF 9PM Rajasthan 463 (3) are deaths Source: ICMR DEATH COUNT CROSSES 100,000
To order your favourite newspaper, call 1800 1200 004 toll free or visit subscribe.timesgroup.com. To advertise with us, call 1800 120 5474
EXPORTERS SEEK IMMEDIATE RELIEF
‘NEED TO BE BETTER PREPARED’
Must improve disaster management
system, ensure resource availability
15 million
We mustn’t have to Export Jobs
Choose Between may Succumb
133 districts But
Lives & Livelihood, to Covid Blows
aggressive
nearly
400
districts
Says Niti Aayog VC Textiles may lose up to 3 m jobs,
handicrafts exports another 2 m
have no
plan case so far Our Bureau
WARNING: JOB LOSS AHEAD
Our Bureau
New Delhi: India should improve its disaster Leather, gems & jewellery,
same to the Prime Minister’s Offi- management preparation and ensure the av- New Delhi: More textiles, handicrafts, carpets,
ce (PMO), saying that only harves- Wheat Harvesting in ailability of resources so that the country do- than 15 million jobs engineering sectors at risk
ting be allowed. As many as 133 dis- esn’t have to choose between “lives and liveliho- could be lost in Indi-
tricts in nearly a dozen states—a Punjab and Haryana od” during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a’s export sector due
Apparel exports
sector expects
majority of them with urban con- said Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar. to half of all orders
centrations—are under aggressi- Punjab and Haryana will “I hope we will not have to continuously try getting cancelled
2.5-3 m job cuts
ve containment currently. The go- start harvesting wheat this tradeoff or balance between saving lives and units unable to Handicrafts
vernment doesn’t want to disturb from next week. Procure- and livelihoods,” he said at a global webinar on repay loans due to may see 2 m
this arrangement. ‘Covid-19 — Fallout & Future’ organised by the Covid-19 pande- job losses
ment will start in Punjab on April 15 Bennett University’s Times School of Media . mic and the ensuing
Labour, liquidity,
Vardhan Points to Rapid Rise7 and in Haryana five days later.7 “That’s where we are today,” he said at the lockdown, the apex
closing session of the body of exporters sa-
logistics key concerns
ET GRAPHICS webinar on Thursday, id on Friday. WANTED: EXPORT PACKAGE
listing the lessons The cancellations
Allow export-related
India needs to draw. “I and postponement of manufacturing with
hope that there will shipments have ero- minimum workforce
be enough resources ded packing credits
available with public and impacted expor- Interest-free working
authorities at all ters’ fund-liquidity capital to cover wage,
levels to ensure that position as cash rental, utilities cost
when it comes to flows have complete- EPF and Extension of
situations like this, ly dried up.
SO, OPT FOR PHASED OPENING NO SAFETY NET we have enough “With cancellation
ESIC pre- and post-
waiver for shipment credit
DIVIDE COUNTRY INTO COVID & NON-COVID AREAS Rajiv Kumar said resources to support
lives because liveliho-
of over 50% of or-
ders and gloomy fo- 3 months by 90-180 days
1 For All Areas
Mandatory masks Enforcement of Increase in there was a need ods will get lost when recast for the future, Rollover of forward cover
you have lockdowns.” we expect 15 million without interest, penalty
for everyone social distancing testing capacity to reduce the He said the public job losses in exports
Strategy For Covid Areas healthcare system and rising NPAs
2
Don’t shut down Dedicated PLAN FOR
level of informal must be strengthened (nonperforming assets) amongst exporting units,
so that it can cope with hitting the economy very badly,” said Sharad Ku-
industry hubs entirely Covid-19 hospitals PRIORITY AREAS workforce in such outbreaks. “We mar Saraf, president, Federation of Indian Export
Instead, ensure More quarantine
strict 21-day facilities AGRICULTURE the country need to get our act
together so that next
Organisations (FIEO).
Most of the retrenchment will be in labour-intensi-
Focus on harvesting
lockdown in
infection hotspots
Creating manpower
to deal with cases
& procurement time we get into a
situation we are much
ve sectors such as leather, gems and jewellery, handi-
crafts and textiles.
Use NREGA wages better prepared,” he The apparel exports sector estimates 2.5-3 million
3 Non-Covid Areas
to provide labour said. The pandemic job losses because of order cancellations and buyers
Remove lockdown Encourage work
Allow entire fertiliser, seeds has also exposed the issues arising from having a not clearing dues. “We expect around 2.5-3 million
but with safeguards from home to the big unorganised sector, he said. jobs both direct and indirect to get lost because of or-
Rules for shops and extent possible input chain for cropping
“We have too large an informal sector in our der cancellations and buyers not clearing our dues,”
services with Allow eating out INDUSTRY economy where our workers have no social said Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC)
emphasis on social with appropriate Arrange for return safety net, where it is difficult for us to bring chairman A Sakthivel.
distancing social distancing of migrant labour about any semblance of proper working condi- The apparel sector employs about 12.9 million peo-
Allow economic Start train & air serv- Enforce social distancing tions,” Kumar said. “This informality of our ple and around 70% of apparel units are MSMEs.
activity to resume ices with safeguards workforce — 90% of them are in the informal While the handicraft sector has pegged job losses at
rules in factories
sectors — has to be brought to a close.” 2 million, a representative of the gems and jewellery
Allow ‘non-essential’ ecomm with safeguards He called for more than the mere tokenism of export sector said that there will be retrenchment
signing ILO memorandums and treaties. even though the estimate is yet to be finalised.
‘Need to Attract Healthcare Talent’6 ‘India is Losing Markets to China’6
NO CASH REFUNDS FOR CUSTOMERS
Another Hospital
in Mumbai Sealed
as Nurses Test +ve
Indian Airlines Hold
Authorities on Friday
sealed another private
hospital in Mumbai after
on to `6,000 cr to
and other relief measures to busi-
nesses and a $23-billion (.̀ 1.7 lakh
Help At Hand
ADB support aimed at
helping alleviate impact on
two of its nurses were found to be
Covid-19 positive, taking the number
of medical centres quarantined in the
Avoid Hard Landing
crore) economic relief package
announced on March 26 to provi- poor, informal workers, city to five and its infection count to How cash-strapped global airlines Refunds Would Hit Cash
de income and consumption sup- MSMEs, financial sector 993. Sushrusha Hospital was sealed are sustaining on advance ticket Buffer of Many Carriers
port to the poor, women, and wor- sales and refusing refunds Days of liquidity
Bank also in off and its patients discharged as
kers affected by the lockdown. Current passenger revenues as Days added with pre-sold
talks with part of containment steps. 5 ticket revenue
ADB’s support comes a week af- percentage of cash reserves (%)
ter the World Bank pledged $1bil-
private sector
IAG 75 Lufthansa
for their
lion for India’s Covid-19 emer-
gency response and health sy- financing
India May Begin Lufthansa 95 InterGlobe
stems preparedness project. needs Plasma Testing easyJet 108 Ryanair
World Bank Norwegian easyJet
Talking to Multilateral Institutions6 has announced to Treat Covid-19 Air Shuttle
197
0 200 400 600
$1 b support to India will soon begin *More than 100% indicates negative cash *Cost cuts, liquidity steps excluded
Fiscal Deficit for FY20 India the trials to study BoFA Global Research Estimate Source: Mar 23 Credit Suisse Report
at 5% of GDP in Feb TOP-UP whether the blood
India’s fiscal deficit for ADB Bank to consider plasma of patients who have more free cash than almost all
its rivals combined (`
` 9,000 crore
FY20 stood at 5.07% of assistance all available recovered from Covid-19 can be Funds received from at the end of December).
GDP in February. to be raised, financing used to treat those who are
if needed options bookings made before Carriers have allowed custo-
mers to cancel tickets without
Experts say the numbers hint at seriously ill. Kerala is preparing
the imminent pressure on reve-
Emergency assistance, to use this method after it gets travel curbs come to penalties but they’ve been offe-
red credit vouchers rather
policy-based loans options
nues owing to the lockdown. 7 regulatory permissions , reports the rescue of carriers than cash refunds, said the peo-
Divya Rajagopal. 5 ple cited above.
The ongoing three-week lock-
Anirban Chowdhury
down is to end on April 14 but
EXPERTS FAVOUR & Ashwin Manikandan there’s no clarity on when
GRADUAL OPENING flights will resume, given that
UP OF ECONOMY Mumbai: India’s airline com- many states want the shutdown
PAGE 5
panies are estimated to be hol-
ding about `6,000 crore from pa-
to be extended.
Kerala, for instance, is consi-
they get licence and animal,” Abdul supply. In some cities, mutton has yment for bookings made befo- dering a plan to suspend all
Rehman Abdullah, president of the also been sold at `1,000 per kg as re all travel was suspended to flights until the end of May, ex-
Mumbai sheep and goat broker buyers were ready to pay high Pool Testing curb the spread of Covid-19, ac- cept for emergency travel.
association, said. He said retail prices, traders said. cording to aviation consultants All domestic flights were hal-
prices of mutton had increased to Set to Begin for and senior industry executives. ted from midnight on March 24,
`850-800 a kg because of limited Chicken Sales Below Normal6 These funds, along with some with overseas services having
Faster Results short-term loans, are helping been suspended before that.
India is all set to start airlines stay afloat, they said. In-
THE PROBLEM
Meat supplies “pool testing” to speed
diGo is the exception — it has Travel Demand may Stay Low6
negligible with
abattoirs non-
up results, contact
tracing and reduce workload on STOCK-TAKING BY GOVT
operational laboratories. The pooled testing
Supply of goats method involves putting mul-
Transport Min Meets Truckers
and sheep
blocked due to
tiple swab samples together, The transport ministry held a review meeting with truck-
er associations in the country on Friday to take stock of
and testing them using a single
lockdown problems faced in moving goods across the country
RT-PCR test, reports Teena
Thacker. 5 during the lockdown, reports Nishtha Saluja. Transport minister
Nitin Gadkari had asked officers to reach out to truckers. 7
Illustration: ANIRBAN BORA
 2 Pure Politics
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020

Punjab Government Extends Lockdown till May 1

PREPARING FOR BUMPER HARVEST During a press conference through videoconferencing, chief minister said relaxations would be made for harvest-related activities
Our Political Bureau | PTI
New Delhi | Chandigarh: Punjab on
Friday extended the lockdown till May
1. Given the seriousness of the situa-
tion, the state Cabinet has decided to
extend the lockdown and curfew, the
chief minister said in a tweet.
In a statement, the state government
said the decision was made to check
community spread of the pandemic
and also prevent overcrowding at the
mandis in light of the upcoming har-
restrictions beyond April 14, when My govt is gearing up ‘HELP INDIANS WORKING ON H-1B VISA IN THE US’
the ongoing nationwide 21-day
lockdown is slated to end.
for every eventuality
Singh said he would convey the and has planned for Sonia and PCC Chiefs Share Covid-19 Concerns
state’s decision to the Prime Mini- making arrangements NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asked PCC chiefs to contin-
ster during the videoconference.
Punjab has seen a spike in the num-
in four phases — for ue to extend party’s organisational participation in states during relief
ber of cases in the past few days, pus- 2,000 patients, 10,000 measures. The PCC chiefs presented at the videoconferencing their
hing the total count to 151 with 11 de- patients, 30,000 pa-
aths till Friday evening. On Friday, 21 assessment of the prevailing situation in their respective states.
fresh cases were reported.
tients and 1lakh pa- Meanwhile, the AICC has urged the Centre to help Indians working on
During a press conference thro- tients needing isola- H-1B visa in the US — who are being given only a 60-day period to
ugh videoconferencing earlier in tion and treatment
the day, the CM made clear that re- find a new job in case of a layoff — by persuading the Trump adminis-
CHIEF MINISTER

vest and procurement season. Punjab
was the first state in India to impose
a curfew to check the spread of the
coronavirus. It is the second, behind
Odisha, to extend the lockdown.
The state’s decision comes a day
before a videoconference called by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with chief ministers to discuss the
Covid-19 situation. Several states
have sought continuation of the
laxations would be made, even du-
ring the extended lockdown, for
harvest-related activities. He said
an additional 2,000 mandis were be-
ing readied this time, taking the to-
tal to 3,800, as Punjab was expec-
ting yet another bumper harvest.
He said an experts committee had
projected the outbreak would last
for months. Therefore, Singh said,
he had commissioned a task force
AMARINDER SINGH
to study how Punjab could extrica-
te itself from the lockdown. The
task force would formulate an exit
strategy for a gradual relaxation of
the lockdown in the state.
The Cabinet also approved establish-
ment of a high-powered committee to
suggest a roadmap for the state’s eco-
nomic revival in post-Covid-19 period.
On the current situation in the sta-
te, he told the press conference that
while the number was low in Pun-
jab compared with several other
states, it could not remain isolated
as the pandemic spreads fast.
Pointing out that most of the 27 posi-
ANI
tive cases reported on Thursday —
the highest for a day in the state — we-
re of secondary transmission, the
CM said: “The predictions are hor-
rendous, but we are doing our best.”
Singh sought more central funds and
special economic packages, while re-
jecting as “absolutely insufficient”
tration to raise the period to 180 days. — OUR POLITICAL BUREAU
the `15,000 crore spending announced in four phases — for 2,000 patients,
by the Union government for the na- 10,000 patients, 30,000 patients and 1
tion’s health infrastructure. “How lakh patients needing isolation and
can this be enough for the nearly 1.4 treatment”. While ventilators,
billion people of India,” he asked. masks and other equipment are suf-
Singh said his government “is gea- ficient for the present, more have be-
ring up for every eventuality and has en ordered and those will start co-
planned for making arrangements ming in the next few days, he said.

Jharkhand STAYING UP-TO-DATE Centre Rejects Community

Needs Urgent Transmission Concerns
Help From PUNJAB CM SAYS THAT OUTBREAK IN THE STATE MIGHT BE ENTERING THAT STAGE
Centre: Soren Our Political Bureau
New Delhi: Even as Punjab chief
minister Amarinder Singh ex-
pressed apprehension that the Co-
vid-19 outbreak in the state might
be entering the community trans-
mission stage, the Centre on Fri-
day rejected any such concerns.
The Covid-19 cases in India on
Friday touched 7,000 and deaths
crossed the 200 mark.
Brushing aside doubts on the effi-
cacy of the ongoing 21-day lock-
down, joint secretary (health) Lav
Agarwal said: “There is no commu-
nity transmission. But we still need
to be aware and follow all social dis-
tancing norms. While we should be
ANI
“Yesterday, 16,002 tests were con-
ducted — the highest ever in a sing-
le day. Of these, only 320 were positi-
ve. This shows that only 2% of the
samples tested positive,” Agarwal
said. At 5 pm, the ministry had put
the number of Covid-19 cases at
6,761and deaths at 206.
The Indian Council of Medical
Research had conducted tests on
patients suffering from severe and
acute respiratory illnesses. The
tests had been done to gauge if the-
re is any community transmission
and also whether the patients are
more prone to Covid-19. About 1.8%
of SARI patients tested were found
positive. The health ministry, ho-
wever, did not see this as any sign of
community transmission.
ries which are present in places whe-
re there are already Covid-19 cases.
No contact history was found in so-
me cases means that we need to look
in detail and do contact tracing.”
INDIA HAS ENOUGH RESERVES TO
CATER TO FUTURE DEMANDS
Under flak for allowing export of
anti-malarial drug hydroxychlo-
roquine (HCQ), a prophylactic for
SARS-CoV-2, to countries like the
US, Nepal and Bhutan, the govern-
ment on Friday said India had eno-
ugh reserves to even cater to futu-
re demands. The Centre on Friday
said it had taken the decision to
export HCQ after a detailed analy-
sis of stocks and the country’s
own demand till April-end.

concerned about increasing num-
ber of cases, we should also be con-
‘We are in the early stage of cerned about following social dis-
tancing and lockdown conditions.”
Covid-19 pandemic and help at The government used testing re-
YOUR NEWSPAPER IS SAFE: Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi sults to underline there was no
this point would be crucial’ at his residence in New Delhi — BCCL community transmission.
When pointed out that a majority
of these patients did not have any
travel history to a Covid-19 hit fore-
ign country or any contact history,
Agarwal said: “If we look closely,
these tests were conducted by Viral
Research and Diagnostic Laborato-
“There were certain medicines
that were on the restricted list kee-
ping in view our domestic situa-
tion. This is reviewed over a pe-
riod of time,” foreign ministry ad-
ditional secretary and Covid-19 co-
ordinator Dammu Ravi said.

Kumar.Anshuman@timesgroup.com

Karnataka Sees Gradual MADHYA PRADESH’S TOTAL DEATH TOLL IS 36 Siwan With 29
After Mumbai & Pune,
New Delhi: As the number of Covid-19 cases
has started rising in Jharkhand, chief mini-
ster Hemant Soren is worried that things may Cases is Bihar’s
get out of control if the Centre doesn’t expedite
medical supplies. “Jharkhand is a small, poor
and backward state and needs urgent help from
the Centre as per our demands,” Soren told ET
Rise in Number of Cases Indore in MP Emerges Hotspot District
The state can be considered safe only when there is a decrease in
during an interaction. “We are in the early sta-
ge of the Covid-19 pandemic and help at this po-
int would be most crucial for the state.”
the number of cases over a longer period of time, unlike now Govt’s Biggest Concern Sanjay.Singh2@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Siwan district has

Soren will raise these points while interacting
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
“We were in a comfortable zone till Tuesday.
But all of a sudden nine to ten cases emerged on
Thursday. No one knows how this crisis will un-
fold going forward and accordingly we need to
change strategy,” he said. The state as on
Thursday morning had 14 Covid-19 positive ca-
ses with one reported death.
Jharkhand probably is the only
state where every district shares
border with another state. This
makes the task to implement a
complete lockdown tougher. So-
ren said even during the lock-
Akshatha.M@timesgroup.com Aman.Sharma@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Two weeks ago, Karnataka had New Delhi: After Mumbai and
the third highest number of Covid-19 cases Pune, Indore in Madhya Pradesh
among Indian states. With a massive surge has emerged as the biggest con-
in the number of people testing positive for cern for the government, with the
the infection in other states, Karnataka to- death toll in the financial capital
day may seem to be in a better position with of Madhya Pradesh doubling in
207 cases, the least among southern states. three days to 26 on Friday at a fata-
But that is no reason to cheer, say health ex- lity rate of more than 10%.
perts. Data on daily progression in the num- With five deaths reported from
ber of cases since March 8, when the state re- Indore’s neighbouring district of
ported its first Covid-19 case, show a steady Ujjain, this cluster accounts for
increase, although not exponential. 90% of the state’s death toll of 36.
BCCL
in critical condition in the city.
“With 31 deaths out of 250 positive
cases in Indore-Ujjain, this cluster
has the highest fatality rate,” said
a senior central official.
Indore has identified 55 conta-
inment zones for a “large outbre-
ak containment strategy” as spe-
cified by the Centre. What is of
particular concern is that deaths
in Indore have consistently in-
creased, from nine on April 6 to a
cumulative total
of 13 on April 7,
The silver 16 on April 8, 23
emerged as the Covid-19 hotspot in
Bihar, accounting for 29 of the 60
confirmed cases reported by the
state till Friday morning, 20 of
which belong to a single family
while four others have recovered.
Alarmed by the spread of the de-
adly infection, Bihar administra-
tion has asked its senior officials to
camp in Raghunathpur block of Si-
wan district to ensure a complete
check on the movement of locals.
Among the 29 confirmed cases in Si-
wan district, 20 persons are from one
family and its relatives from a village

down, around two lakh people
‘We were in
comfortable had entered Jharkhand.
zone till Around 80% of the state’s popula-
Tuesday. tion is dependent on agriculture and
But all of a most of the economic activities in
sudden 9 to town is of mining. “Mining is mostly
10 cases controlled by central PSUs. We have
emerged on very limited resources to generate
Thursday. No revenue. All this makes us depen-
one knows dent on the central government,” So-
how this ren said. Soren complained that the
crisis will state was not receiving the support it
unfold’ required to deal with the Covid-19
crisis and would demand more from the Centre. “We
have sent a reminder to the health minister to provi-
de us medical equipment,” he said.
Soren had requested for the supply of 300 thermal
scanners. However, he received only 100 from the
Centre. “There are 4,500 panchayats in the state and
at least one scanner should be there in each pancha-
yat, police station and health centre,” he said. “I
know we are not the only state and hence demanded
lesser number, but what is offered is insufficient.”
Currently, there are only two Covid-19 testing
centres in the state, one each in Ranchi and Jams-
hedpur. The state government is waiting for per-
mission from the Indian Council of Medical Rese-
arch (ICMR) to start more centres. “BJP leaders ac-
cuse us of not able to increase testing. We have got
the testing machines and have requested the ICMR
several times for approval,” he told ET. “Somehow
we would be starting one more centre in Dhanbad.
It’s like having an AK47 without bullets.”
An ET analysis of the cases reported daily BENGALURU As per reports with the govern- lining is that on April 9, and 26 located under Raghunathpur block.
for the last one month shows a rise in cases in ment, Indore has suffered from a nearly 18 on Friday. One family member had recently tra-
the past two weeks. The average number of trend, health experts say. series of setbacks such as a majo- Covid-19 The country’s velled to Oman, said officials.
cases reported during the first five days since Giridhar R Babu, the head of Lifecourse Epi- rity of the early deaths reported patients have first death of a “We are keeping a close eye on the
Patient 1 was diagnosed was six. Since then, demiology at the Public Health Foundation of in the city being of people who recovered in doctor has also village concerned and its adjoi-
the average for every five days progressed India, said the real picture would emerge only showed no symptoms and got ad- Indore been reported ning areas. One company of cen-
from eight to 13 to 47. Then came a reduction when the state starts improving its surveil- mitted to hospitals very late, with from Indore, tral paramilitary forces is deploy-
in cases when only 34 cases were confirmed lance and testing capacity. “The point of focus coronavirus having done much where a private practitioner is ed there to ensure complete lock-
over a period of five days. It again saw a jump now should be on improving surveillance and damage by then, or locals not ta- suspected of having contracted down. One can’t even move from
this month with 53 cases being reported bet- tracing suspected cases of community trans- king their symptoms seriously. the virus from a patient he saw at one house to another house in the
ween April 2 and April 6. During the last four mission. This can happen when the priority Another cluster of positive cases his residential clinic. The silver area,” Bihar’s director general po-
days, the state has recorded 38 cases. shifts from quarantining primary and secon- in Indore is being linked to a big gro- lining is that nearly 18 Covid-19 lice Gupteshwar Pandey told ET.
The state can be considered safe only when dary contacts,” he said. The government has up of people taking part in a funeral patients have recovered in Indo- Sub divisional officer of Siwan
there is a decrease in the number of cases to also intensify testing severe acute respira- procession of a Covid-19 deceased. re. Hydroxychloroquine and mul- Sadar, Sanjeev Kumar, said the ad-
over a longer period of time unlike now, tory illness (SARI) patients to find out the le- Out of 26 deaths in Indore so far, 21 ti-vitamins worked on them, ac- ministration has barricaded an
where every five-day average shows a rising vels of transmission, he said. are of men. Eight more patients are cording to the local authorities. area of three kilometres.
10 A&N People Who Tested +Ve After Attending Tablighi Event Recover
UT, Avijit Roy, told ET that the patients, TESTS NEGATIVE government quarantine facility.” so we went ahead with fruit, tea, rice, daal
Vasudha.Venugopal@timesgroup.com who returned to Port Blair via Kolkata Roy said the patients were put on a vege- and vegetables. We also wanted the meta-
New Delhi: Ten people from the Anda-
on March 24, have tested negative and
will soon be shifted from the GB Pant
‘Their tests have tarian diet, with compulsory vitamin C
food such as lemons. “Each of the 10 pati-
bolism to be kept under check.”
Apart from maintaining sufficient hyd-
man and Nicobar islands, who tested po- Hospital in Port Blair, after spending 14 come negative for ents was bubble-wrapped, given insula- ration, Roy said the patients were given a
sitive for Covid-19 after attending the Tab- days in the isolation ward. “Their tests ted room fitted with an AC and TV. There combination of hydroxychloroquine
lighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi have come negative for Covid-19. We ha- Covid-19... They was only one challenge with food as many and Azithral for five days. Two patients
last month, have recovered and are being ve sent their blood samples for regular of them were non-vegetarians. There is with a history of hypertension and dia-
moved to a government quarantine facili- examination for other parameters, af- will be shifted to a govern- no problem with non-vegetarian food. betes however, did not respond much to
ty for the next 14 days, officials told ET. ter which their X-Rays will be taken. But we wanted to limit the exchange of the medicines till their other health issu-
The chief medical nodal officer of the From tomorrow, they will be shifted to a ment quarantine facility’ material between outsiders and hospitals es were brought under control, he said.

COVID-19 IMPACT ‘AHMEDABAD CORPORATION FIRST EMULATED CHINESE MODEL, THEN ADOPTED SINGAPORE MODEL, NOW WE ARE IMPLEMENTING KOREAN MODEL’

Gujarat MLAs Campaign to Generate Awareness

DP.Bhattacharya
@timesgroup.com
Ahmedabad: Two legislators
from Ahmedabad’s walled city that
has been designated as a Covid-19
buffer zone have helped persuade
the community to cooperate with
the administration to contain the
pandemic. The Ahmedabad Muni-
cipal Corporation (AMC) has de-
clared the entire stretch of the wal-
led city a buffer zone for Covid-19.
Imran Khedawala, MLA from Ja-
malpur Khadia, has started visi-
ting the areas under quarantine
with a medical team to convince pe-
ople to come forward for testing and
many have responded positively.
“The fear of getting quarantined
Sacred Heart Cathedral near Gol Dak Khana in New Delhi with the entire family if tested po-
remained closed on Good Friday — ANI sitive weighs heavily on some peo-
ple’s mind and that’s what prompts
some reluctance,” Khedawala sa-
id. “But we have been telling them
that there is no other way and we
have to stand as one with the go-
vernment to fight this pandemic.”
On Thursday, some Covid-19 posi-
tive patients refused to be hospita-
lised. AMC commissioner Vijay
Nehra posted a reaction on the so-
cial media saying: “Now, those
who have tested positive are refu-
sing to get admitted in a Hospital”
and “How much more difficult
will some people make it for us to
save their lives?” The patients, ho-
wever, were later persuaded to get
admitted in hospital.
Khedawala is joined in his effort
by Gyasuddin Sheikh, MLA from
Dariapur, another Covid-19 hots-
hot within the walled city.
Sheikh maintained that illitera-
cy, stress of the lockdown in cong-
ested living conditions and fake
news are all adding to the misun-
derstanding of the people.
“The government is doing all it can
and best efforts are
indeed being made,”
said Sheikh saying
misunderstanding
spread among the pe-
ople is causing serio-
us concerns.
Government
is doing all it Meanwhile AMC
can and best has scaled up testing
efforts are to track positive pati-
indeed being ents. AMC Commis-
made: Sheikh sioner Vijay Nehra
said the corporation
has been learning from other co-
untries like China and Singapore.
“We are now implementing the So-
uth Korean model of aggressive tes-
ting to track the positive cases and
have taken the number from 20-30
tests per day to about 800-900 tests a Poliloquy R PRASAD
day in Ahmedabad alone,” Nehra sa-
id, adding that the per million test ra-
tion in Ahmedabad is now about 500.
“All the 58 cases reported on Thurs-
day were results of our proactive
tests, where a lot of people were
asymptomatic and would otherwise
have gone ahead and infected seve-
ral hundred people,” he added.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 positive
patients are rising in the state
and 22 clusters have been put un-
der quarantine to contain the
outbreak. While 14 areas in Ah-
medabad has been put under
cluster quarantine, in the walled
city movement is totally.
Two spots each in Surat, Bhavna-
gar, Vadodara and Rajkot have be-
en put under cluster quarantine,
effecting 98401 people.
 Pure Politics 3
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020

BID TO ENSURE SOCIAL DISTANCING TO FIGHT COVID-19 CRISIS

MHA Asks Prisons to Screen Foreign
Inmates, Use Videoconferencing for Kin
More than 466,084
persons are lodged in
1,318 prisons across
India: NCRB report
Rahul.Tripathi @ timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Faced with overcrowded
jails amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the
Union home ministry has asked pri-
son authorities in states and Union
Territories to screen foreign inmates
and their visitors, and encourage me-
etings of prisoners with visitors thro-
ugh videoconferencing.
More than 466,084 persons are lod-
ged in 1,318 prisons across India, ac-
cording to the 2018 report of the Na-
tional Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB). The occupancy rate increa-
sed to 117.6% in 2018 from 113.7% a ye-
ar earlier.While advocating social dis-
tancing inside prisons, the ministry
said “due care may be taken in hand-
ling prisoners including foreign na-
tionals and visitors to prisons”. “Sta-
tes and UTs are requested to engage
with health departments for arran-
ging screening devices and kits to be
used in prison for screening inmates
and their visitors. You are also requ-
ested to encourage meeting of priso-
AFTER I&B MINISTRY’S LETTER TO STATES
Amid
COVID-19
crisis ,
prisoners
released
from Cen-
tral Jail in
Bhopal last
week —PTI
Shah Asks BSF to Step up Vigil along Pak, B’desh Borders
New Delhi: In wake of COVID-19 out-
break, Union home minister Amit Shah
directed Border Security Force (BSF) to
ensure heightened vigil along the
Bangladesh border to not allow people
to cross the fence inadvertently.
Officials said a review of passes issued
to farmers and those cultivating land
across the border will be held by the
state administration. Shah reviewed
border guarding arrangements with
Pakistan as well with BSF Command
and Sector Headquarters. He directed
that vigil on borders may be intensified,
especially along the
unfenced area, to
ensure that no cross-
border movement is
allowed, officials
added. The home minister said farmers
in the border areas must be educated
about COVID-19 and the preventive
Baby Dies at UP
Quarantine Centre
Gorakhpur : A 10-month-old
baby girl died on Friday at a
quarantine centre set up in a
primary school in Uska Bazar
area of Siddharthnagar district.
The toddler was rushed to the
district hospital in an am-
bulance but doctors declared
her brought dead, an official
said. The family had come from
outside and was instructed to
stay at a primary school at
Chaurasi village, DM, Siddharth-
nagar, Deepak Meena said. —PTI
measures to be taken to prevent its
spread in these areas. Also, in coordina-
tion with the district administration, the
BSF must ensure that the people do not
venture across the border fence in-
advertently, according to an official
statement. Besides awareness, the BSF
should also help in sanitisation efforts,
wherever possible in the villages,
provide face masks and soaps, said
the home ministry.— OPB
Bobde to Decide on SC
ners with their visitors through vide-
oconferencing facility available as e-
Mulakat, to avoid physical contacts,”
the ministry said in its directive.
Earlier, the ministry had urged sta-
tes and UTs to use the facility of vide-
oconferencing for appearance of pri-
soners before magistrates. As per the
2018 NCRB report, West Bengal had
the highest number of foreign natio-
nals in its jails – 2,316 out of a total of
4,720. The state government had also
released the highest number of pri-
soners, more than 35,000 undertrials
and convicts, on interim bail and pa-
role in order to reduce overcrowding
in prisons.In the wake of the Covid-19
outbreak, prisoners across the count-
ry were released after the Supreme
Court on March 23 directed all states
and UTs to submit written replies on
steps being taken to prevent the spre-
ad of the pandemic among prisoners
and juveniles. The apex court sug-
gested that prisoners convicted of,
or charged with, offences invol-
ving jail terms of seven years or
less be considered for parole or in-
terim bail. Delhi’s Tihar Jail relea-
sed more than 3,000 prisoners whi-
le Uttar Pradesh granted relief to
more than 11,000 prisoners, accor-
ding to officials.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the home mi-
nistry asked agencies to maintain vi-
gil on social media against circula-
tion of any objectionable content.
NITI Suggests Mandi
Norms Relaxation for
Farmers for 6 Months
‘Idea is to keep APMC
mandi running but let
farmers be free to sell
produce anywhere’
Anubhuti.Vishnoi
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: NITI Aayog member
and agricultural policy expert Ra-
mesh Chand has recommended to
the government that the Agricultu-
ral Produce Market Committee
(APMC) Act be kept in suspended
animation for the next six months in
view of the Covid-19 outbreak. This
should be done across states even if
an ordinance is required, he said, to
ease pressure on farmers and ensu- DELIVER DIRECTLY
re smooth supply of farming goods.
The government is considering Advisable to allow
the recommendation seriously, ac-
cording to people aware of the mat- farmers to deliver at
ter. The APMC Act empowers state
governments to specify market are- warehouses directly
as – operated and regulated by mar-
ket committees – where farmers
and bring produce
bring their produce for sale. Any re-
laxation in the provisions of the
after cleaning in fields
Act will have to be done through sta-
te governments. “I have recommen-
itself: Niti Aayog
ded that the APMC Act kept in su-
spended animation for six months.
member Chand
Whether this is legally possible or period till June 30 from May-end.
not will have to be seen. It may requ- “It is also advisable to allow far-
ire the ordinance route. States can
and should do so,” Chand told ET. “I
mers to deliver at warehouses direct-
ly and bring produce after cleaning

Six States to Set up SC-Mandated Summer Vacation Soon

Samanwaya.Rautray
strongly feel that this needs to be do-
ne to address ground level issues.
The idea is to keep the APMC man-
di running but let the farmer be free
in fields itself – work which was ear-
lier done at the mandi. The farm is
safer vis-a-vis the more congested
mandi for such activity,” said Chand.

Committee to Monitor Govt Ads @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India SA Bobde will

Vasudha.Venugopal
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: While Congress president
Sonia Gandhi's request to stop govern-
ment advertisements in media has at-
tracted sharp criticism from news pub-
lications, only six states are setting up
the Supreme Court-mandated panel to
regulate the content.
In 2015, the Supreme Court had ordered
the setting of such a panel in each state.
While five of these states — Karnataka,
Goa, Manipur, Mizo and Nagaland — are
not ruled by Congress, Chhattisgarh un-
der former chief minister Raman Singh
had tasked a central panel with the re-
sponsibility of regulating the content of
its advertisements. The information
and Broadcasting ministry, after being
instructed by the panel led by former
chief election commissioner OP Rawat,
had written to all states twice in the last
three months. The letter had sought
confirmation of the “constitution of a
three-member committee to regulate
the content of government advertise-
ments”.
ET reviewed the letters which also said if
the states are not keen on constituting the-
ir own panels, they can vest the authority
in the three-member content regulation
committee formed by the Centre.
According to the SC guidelines, go-
vernment advertisement campaigns
should “not be directed at promoting po-
litical interests of a party”. They also
prohibit any government advertise-
ment from mentioning the ruling party
by its name, glorifying anyone except
the President, Prime Minister or Chief
Cracking the Whip
I&B ministry letter says
if states are not keen on
constituting their own panels,
they can vest the authority
in the Centre’s three-member
content regulation committee
Panel asks In 2015,
ministry to the SC had
put states on a ordered the
‘strict deadline setting up of
to respond to such a panel
SC orders’ in each state
STATES IN AGREEMENT
K’taka, Goa, Manipur, Mizo and Nagaland to form panel while
Chhattisgarh under ex- CM Raman Singh had tasked a central
panel with the responsibility
Justice of India, or attacking the views
or actions of opposition parties and in-
cluding any party symbol or logo.
Karnataka had responded to the Cent-
re's call last month by saying it has put in
place a committee led by retired IAS offi-
cer BN Krishnaiah, journalist Naheed
Ataulla and former bureaucrat M Ravi-
kumar. States such as Goa, Mizoram and
Manipur also informed the ministry re-
cently that they are in the process of
constituting committees. No other sta-
te, however, has replied to the ministry's
letters yet.
According to the SC guidelines,
government ad campaigns should
‘not be directed at promoting
political interests of a party’
The Rawat-led committee was suppo-
sed to meet last month but owing to the
COVID-19 spread, it has postponed its
meeting. In its next meeting, it is expec-
ted to take the matter forward, an offici-
al said. The panel comprises former Pra-
sar Bharati member Ashok Kumar Tan-
don, advertising veteran Ramesh Nara-
yan and additional director general of
the Bureau of Communication Maushu-
mi Chakravarty. The panel has also as-
ked the ministry to put the states on a
"strict deadline to respond to SC orders
or be treated as in contempt of court”.
take a call in three-four days on whether to can-
to sell his produce anywhere.”
The NITI Aayog member further
suggested that farmers be allowed
to take processed or cleaned up pro-
Noting that the agriculture sector
has not been as heavily impacted
by the pandemic as most other sec-
tors, Chand said that an economic
cel the court’s summer holidays to make up for duce directly to the warehouse. So package is required for the entire
the disruption in court work due to Covid-19, peo- far the Centre has relaxed norms to economy and other sectors where
ple aware of the matter said on Friday after a se-
nior advocate wrote a letter to the CJI seeking
allow them to ferry produce to ‘ac-
credited’ warehouses besides man-
the impact is much stronger. He al-
so indicated that the upcoming har-
cancellation of the vacation, which is due from dis and extended the procurement vesting situation is under control.
May 18 to July 6.
A day earlier, the Delhi High Court had decided to
cancel its summer holidays, due from June 1-30.
Punjab State 9-Governance Soclety
Many other high courts are expected to follow suit.
A decision will be taken regarding the summer ho- 0/6 Directorate of Governance Reforms, Punjab
lidays of the top court by the CJI after consulta-
tions with other judges and the health ministry, sa- E-mail Id:- dgr@Dun* ab.gg-yin
-
id people in the legal fraternity.
Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi said in his let- Applications are invited for the positions of Four (4)
ter to the CJI that the summer vacation should be Technology Experts. Eligible candidates may apply by
cancelled to make up for court days lost due to the May 01, 2020 . For details, visit www.dgrpunjab.gov.in.
virtual closure of the court over the pandemic.
Almost all courts are functioning on a skeletal
Note: Any corrigendum(s) to the recruitment notice
staff and are sitting intermittently to only deal shall be published on the above website.
with matters of utmost importance. DPR/Pb.: 937-D Member Secretary
Government of
Maharashtra

Wadhawan Row Detain Wadhawans till R t

Exposes Fissures Lockdown Ends: CBI,

within Maha Govt ED to Satara Police
Krishna.Kumar@timesgroup.com Rashmi.Rajput@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: The controversy over the Wadhawans’ Mahaba-
leshwar trip, facilitated by a letter from a Maharashtra offi-
cial, has exposed the fissures within the political constitu-
ents of the state’s ruling coalition, with chief minister Udd-
hav Thackeray clearly distancing himself from the defence
of the home ministry.
The letter, in the nature of a ‘character certificate’, was issu-
ed by the principal secretary (Home) and facilitated the travel
of the Wadhawans from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar. The chi-
ef minister has not only left home minister Anil Deshmukh to
defend himself, but has also not issued either a statement or
used social media to give his reac-
tion until late Friday.
Sources say that the Wadhawan
Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the .
Enforcement Directorate (ED) have asked the Satara Police I I I
in Maharashtra to keep the Wadhawan brothers — Kapil and
Dheeraj —under detention until the end to the lockdown, as
the promoters of the now insolvent DHFL are wanted by the
two central agencies for their respective probes into an alle-
ged Yes Bank fraud. As per official sources, sleuths from the
ED enquired with the Satara police on the whereabouts of the
Wadhawans on Thursday. Around the same time, the local poli-
The Great Social Reformer
ce had received a call from Wadhawans' neighbour informing
them that around 20 people travelling in five different cars had The Champion of Farmers ' Cause
arrived at the Wadhawans' bungalow in Mahabaleshwar.
Pioneer of Women ' s Education
“After the case was registered, the Wadhawans were not trace-
able and have been travelling in and out of Mahabaleshwar. This

Humble Tributes To
issue highlights the limitations of information was not shared by the police with
the chief minister’s writ in the the central agencies despite a non-bailable
Promoters warrant being issued by a special CBI court. It

MAHATMA JOTIRAO PHULE

functioning of the government,
underscoring the counter-weight
from the NCP, a constituent part-
ner in the government. Those clo-
se to the developments said that
while Thackeray has made his
displeasure clear, it was too early
to say how things would progress.
For now, Deshmukh has sent Chief minister Uddhav
the principal secretary (Home), Thackeray: Unhappy
Amitabh Gupta, who signed the
letter, ‘calling the Wadhawans a family friend’, on
compulsory leave.
Deshmukh claimed that the Centre should take action aga-
inst the officer. “Removing an IPS officer is not in the hands
of the state, the powers rest with the Centre; the Centre sho-
uld act against him,” Deshmukh said.
He also said that Maharashtra additional chief secretary,
Manoj Saunik, has been asked to probe how and why Gupta
gave the ‘character certificate’ that allowed the Wadhawan
family to travel to Mahabaleshwar.
The Wadhawans have told the Mahableshwar authorities
that Gupta had allowed them to travel for medical treatment.
However, Mahableshwar authorities have refuted the claim
stating the family members have been quarantined at the ST
Xaviers High School in Mahableshwar.
Meanwhile, the chief minister is clearly upset with the
manner in which the home department in Maharashtra has
functioned lately, said sources.
of now was only on Thursday when the neighbours
insolvent raised an alarm and an enquiry was made by
DHFL are ED, the Satara police sent all 23 in the house to
wanted by the
on his Birth Anniversary...
institutional quarantine," said an official.
agencies for Separately, the CBI officially told local autho-
their probes rities that the brothers be not released “witho-
into an alleged ut NOC from CBI or order of the Court and (be-
Yes Bank fraud fore) taking other necessary steps to prevent
the accused persons from absconding”.
The agencies have managed to piece together their move-
ment since March 7. “On March 7, they moved with their ento-
urage to a rented premises in Khandala. However, they were
asked to vacate it last week, following which they approached
their contacts within the Maharashtra government and got a
letter issued that helped them travel from Khandala to Maha-
Instructions : On the backdrop of spread of Covid-19 ,
baleshwar,” revealed another official. “Enroute, they were
stopped at one of the checkpoints by a constable, but were allo-
wed to go after they showed the letter.” Meanwhile, the Maha- this year citizens should observe the birth anniversary
rashtra government has instituted an inquiry against princi-
pal secretary (special) Amitabh Gupta to probe the circums- by staying at homes only.
tances under which Gupta issued the letter.
“Only inspectors general, commissioners and district su-
perintendents of police have been authorised to issue travel
passes during lockdown; so the letter issued by Gupta itself Deputy
is illegal. Also, these passes are issued online or in a desig-
nated format, the letter doesn't even meet the said criteria www .mahanew s.gov.in Follow: , G /MahaDGIPR Subscribe : MaharashtraDGIPR mahasamvad.in
and was issued in a personal capacity by the officer," said a O*
senior official from the state home department.
Directorate General of Information and Public Relations , Government of Maharashtra
 4 Covid-19 Impact: Companies
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020 *
For Etail, April may be the Cruellest Month Covid-19 Takes
SLIPPERY SLOPE Ecommerce businesses will be majorly hit this year if govt continues to ban sale of non-essential goods
Aditi.Shrivastava1
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Ecommerce firms in In-
dia, including leaders Amazon and
Flipkart, will take a major hit if sales
of non-essential items continue to be
restricted and the lockdown is pro-
longed, industry executives and
analysts said.
Smartphones, electronics, furni-
ture, large appliances, among others,
have been categorised as non-essen-
tial items in the current situation,
but contribute more than 90% of
sales at these etailers, according to
Forrester Research.
The ecommerce sector cumulative-
ly clocked sales of $32 billion last
year. “The economic impact of these
three weeks itself will take about
three months to recover,” said a part-
ner at a growth-stage investment
firm requesting anonymity.
“The strict lockdown is a bad signal
for investors, businesses and people
globally, especially in the technology
space, on the continued risks at-
tached to doing business in India,” he
Essentials’ Supply
Gets Caught up as
Lockdown Tightens
Consumers are finding it difficult to buy
food, groceries at retail stores & ecomm sites
Alnoor.Peermohamed
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Consumers are
finding it difficult to buy
food, groceries and other es-
sential goods at retail stores
and through ecommerce
platforms after several states
intensified efforts to lock
down the so-called Red Zones
with a higher density of Co-
vid-19 positive cases.
According to a survey by
community platform Local-
Circles, the percentage of
consumers who were able to
buy essential goods from of-
fline stores dropped to 65%
between April 9 and April 10,
compared to 70% between
April 5 and April 6.
For purchases through on-
line platforms, it dropped to
50% between April 9 and April
10 compared to 53% in the pre-
vious reporting period.
“We have received several
complaints from consumers
located in hot spots in Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh that retail
stores carrying essential
goods have been shut and
ecommerce deliveries are also
restricted to a few designated
spots, leading to many con-
sumers being unable to pro-
cure essentials,” said Sachin
Taparia, the founder and
chairman of LocalCircles.
Ecommerce platforms told ET
that they were facing issues in
delivering goods to some areas
of UP and Mumbai, where gov-
ernment action has been
among the most strict.
Companies like BigBasket
and Grofers are being asked to
drop off deliveries at residen-
tial society gates or in some
cases told to work with local
Taiwan to Send Medical
Equipment to India
NEW DELHI: India’s balancing
Act in East Asia has seen not
only China supplying medical
equipment to Delhi on a com-
mercial basis but also Taiwan
readying to despatch critical
items to handle health crisis.
ET has learnt some critical
medical supplies from Taiwan
are being commercially pro-
cured and will reach India in
near future. Earlier India had
procured PPEs and ventila-
tors from China. Key medical
supplies have also been obtai-
ned from other East Asian sta-
tes -- South Korea and Japan
besides Singapore, India’s key
partner in SE Asia.
During a phone call with So-
uth Korean President on
Picture Abhi Bahut Costly Hai, Mere Dost
Coronavirus is costing Bollywood `400 crore every week as stay-at-home orders keep moviegoers away
Gaurav.Laghate@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Coronavirus is inflicting
a loss of nearly `400 crore every
week on Bollywood, and the world’s
most prolific film-making industry
may find the way to recovery a
costly and arduous one, according
to experts.
At a webinar arranged by media
measurement and analytics com-
pany ComScore, these experts
concurred that the first challenge
after the lockdown lifts will be to
convince the audience that scree-
ning halls are safe.
In the past two months, the in-
dustry has lost about ` 2,000 crore as
stay-at-home orders and social
distancing norms to contain the
spread of Covid-19 kept moviegoers
added. Some rules may quickly need
to be relaxed for businesses to
breathe easy, he said.
If the online channel is opened up
gradually, ecommerce firms will
have to closely work with manufac-
turers, importers, the labour minis-
try, and ecosystem players to ensure
that orders are fulfilled. They will al-
so have to fix supply chain gaps by
forging partnerships with neigh-
bourhood stores, offline retailers and
last-mile businesses.
This is no mean task. Already, the
top two ecommerce firms in the
country by Gross Merchandise
Value (GMV), Amazon and Flip-
kart, as well as several other
niche e-tailers, including Len-
skart, FirstCry and Nykaa,
have seen sales slump, sim-
ply because most or all of
their products are termed
non-essential goods right
now.
“There will be limited de-
mand for non-essential
goods due to the impact on
jobs and income... but there
might be an uptick in de-
NO STOCK!
The percentage of con-
sumers who were able
to buy essential goods
from offline stores
dropped to 65% be-
tween Apr 9 and Apr 10
authorities to supply goods.
“In some areas, while we have
collaborated with Resident Wel-
fare Associations (RWAs) to deliv-
er group orders at the gate, we are
also working closely with the au-
thorities for seamless supply of
essentials in those areas where
any movement is restricted…,”
said Saurabh Kumar, founder of
Grofers. Other companies told ET
that it was inevitable, even as de-
liveries are being ramped up in
other parts of the country.
In areas that have been cor-
doned off fully, a senior executive
of a retail firm said there might
be a temporary lull in people re-
ceiving essentials.
What’s Available
AVAILABILITY OF ESSENTIAL GOODS
March 20-22 83% 65%
March 23-24
March 25-26
68%
57%
21%
39%
March 27-28 60% 41%
March 30-31 62% 45%
April 5-6
April 9-10
70%
65%
53%
50%
Offline Online Source: LocalCircles
Thursday Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi expressed appre-
ciation for the technology-ba-
sed response deployed by the
Republic of Korea for mana-
ging the crisis. The S Korean
President appreciated the way
Indian authorities have moti-
vated the vast Indian popula-
tion for fighting the pandemic.
The two also discussed the is-
sue of supplies of medical
equipment to India from So-
uth Korea.
In a phone call with Shinzo
Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
on Friday, Modi discussed the
global health and economic
challenges emerging out of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
—DipanjanRoy Chaudhury
away. Dimitrios Mitsinikos, fo-
under of theatrical predictive
analytics company Gower Street,
said that in terms of actual recove-
ry, there will be three elements to
watch out for — cinema readiness,
audiences’ willingness, and av-
ailability of content.
Looking at historical evidence on
how people flocked to cinema halls
after World War II, or after a 45-day
strike in India in 2009, multiplex
players are hopeful of a repeat this
time too if safety can be assured.
“The fact that the film business is
recession-proof has been proven
without a doubt, but at this time the
most important point for the count-
ry is to get to the other side of this
crisis as soon as possible,” said
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR
Pictures. He said cinema would be
The economic
impact of these
three weeks itself will
take about three
months to recover
PARTNER AT GROWTH-
STAGE VC FIRM
For News and Views
YOUR NEWSPAPER IS SAFE SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh
reading his favourite paper to get the news
HELPING HAND New-age firms are helping corner stores find solutions to cater
to the demand surge from customers during the national lockdown
Supply Chain Firms Help
Kiranas Keep Stocks up
Priyanka Sangani &
Aditi Srivastava
Pune | Bengaluru: Your neighbour-
hood store just got a new saviour —
supply chain firms. These firms are
helping corner stores find solutions to
cater to a demand surge from custo-
mers during the ongoing 21-day natio-
nal lockdown.
GoFrugal, which helps small stores
manage their inventory, recently laun-
ched an app that corner stores could
customise for their customers.
“In the past six months, we had about
30 customers (read, corner stores) for
this. We’ve added 100 new customers in
the last two weeks, with another 100 be-
ing onboarded,” said Kumar Vembu,
CEO of GoFrugal.
It has also launched an app for drivers
to manage deliveries.
Both these apps are hel-
ping stores reach out to
customers seamlessly
even with their limited
operating hours. ShopX,
which helps retailers digi-
tize their operations, said
there has been a 70% in-
crease in its app usage
over the past two weeks.
“We have a feature that al-
lows the automatic build-
up of a shopping cart for
Report Flags Worries about WFH
Sanghamitra.P@timesinternet.in
Bengaluru: Almost every IT profes-
sional lacks at least one major attribu-
te to productively work from home, ac-
cording to a new report.
A mere 0.2% of the entire IT workfor-
ce showcases highly productivity at-
tributes, the report by HR firm SCI-
KEY said.
The MindMatch report is based on
insights from 10,559 IT professionals,
A Sad Scene
In the past two months, the
industry has lost .̀ 2,000 crore
due to stay-at-home orders
mand during Diwali,” said Satish
Meena, an analyst at Forrester Re-
search.
If the sector opens up for business
fully soon, Meena estimates that the
e-commerce industry would grow 9-
10% this year to touch $35 billion, al-
though the rate of growth itself will
be sharply lower from the 27% it
clocked last year.
Analysts said they expect the
growth to come on the back of
consumers getting accus-
tomed to shopping online as
they maintain social distanc-
ing even after the lockdown is
lifted.
Sale of essential goods,
helped by the ongoing 21-day
lockdown and probably some
more, will grow by about 3%, Meena
said.
Earlier this week, industry body In-
ternet and Mobile Association of In-
dia urged the government to allow
ecommerce companies to re-
sume operations completely,
since they are best placed to fol-
low social distancing guide-
lines by delivering products at
retailers using our algorithms, and the
retailer can check out with a single
click,” said Amit Sharma, CEO of
ShopX. Automating the process of or-
dering online makes the otherwise
challenging task of adding dozens of
products to a cart easier. Jumbotail is
helping set up small stores within lar-
ge residential communities and stock-
ing them up with essentials to minimi-
Even though there is
demand, a lot of shops
are closed, resulting in
wastage. While supply
chain is tech enabled, there
are still close to 4,000
people on the ground
THIRUKUMARAN NAGARAJAN
CEO, Ninjacart
from different domains including soft-
ware developers, IT infrastructure,
technology support, project managers,
architects, support engineers, busi-
ness development,
digital marketing
and UI/UX engi-
neers in the 22-
47 age group.
The rese-
arch indi-
cates that
99.8% of
doorsteps. This comes after industry
tracker Counterpoint Research cut
India’s 2020 smartphone production
forecast by 7-8% from the 300 million
units predicted earlier.
It also warned that the demand for
smartphones is unlikely to pick up
anytime soon. To be sure, even cate-
gories where ecommerce companies
operate unhindered, such as grocery
and pharma delivery players like
BigBasket, Grofers, 1MG and Phar-
measy, have largely missed order and
delivery timelines, mainly as a result
of acute labour shortages and capac-
ity issues.
Hindustan Unilever, the country's
biggest consumer goods firm, said
earlier this week that average daily
sales and factory output had tumbled
to about 40% of its usual run rate,
hurt by lack of labourers and trans-
port disruptions.
To counter such a scenario, Flip-
kart group CEO Kalyan Krishna-
murthy told employees during a re-
cent townhall that the company will
actively forge more ecosystem part-
nerships since this would be a criti-
cal enabler for growth.
“ET is undoubtedly one of the
most reputed and trusted En-
glish business dailies and is, in
fact, a one-stop source providing
financial, political, corporate
and sports news. The news
articles are well-balanced and
provide great insight. I enjoy
reading the editorial and opin-
ion pieces. ET editors, reporters
and those on the desk are doing
a great job in the difficult times
by delivering a great newspaper
every single day. My compli-
ments to all of you. I recommend
that every business person,
every entrepreneur and every
policy maker read The Economic
Times every day.”
AJAY SINGH
Chairman & MD, SpiceJet
se the need for residents to step out.
“There is a large mismatch in de-
mand and the capacity of stores to ser-
vice this,” said Ashish Jhina, cofoun-
der of Jumbotail.
The supply chain company is also
using its demand data to advise store-
owners on what products are in de-
mand, and to stock up accordingly.
Sharma of ShopX said the company
was helping rice traders also sell
FMCG essentials like home and perso-
nal care products because of high cus-
tomer demand.
Sumit Ghorawat, cofounder of Indo-
re-based B2B supply chain startup
ShopKirana, said empowering corner
stores to provide essentials at custo-
mer doorsteps is the need of the hour
since ecommerce firms cannot fulfil
the entire demand.
The company has received a licence
from the Madhya Pradesh government
for online orders and delivery of essen-
tial goods in partnership with local sto-
res. where the corner store acts like a
dark-store pod for last-mile deliveries.
Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO of
Ninjacart, said since various cities
had different permissions and sepa-
rate rules on how to operate, it was a
difficult proposition for retailers.
Jhina of Jumbotail said the firm
was using tech for better route plan-
ning which allows them to do twice as
much with the same resources.
the workforce lacks at least one of the
required qualities such as communica-
tion, learning agility, focus, decision
making and self-management skill.
The study further revealed that
16.97% of the employees are chal-
lenge driven.
Such employees should be given chal-
lenging tasks and can work seamlessly
with minimum intervention.
The study identified 17% of employe-
es as instruction driven and need clear
cut directions to deliver.
the first segment to bounce back
compared with the other options of
entertainment.
“Once we are allowed to open, we
will have to take a lot of measures to
win back consumers and raise our
standards much more – like tempe-
rature checks, deep cleaning, stagge-
red sitting etc.,” he said.
Alok Tandon, CEO of Inox Leisure,
said the situation is unprecedented
and beyond any possible business
continuity plans.
Kulmeet Makkar, CEO of Pro-
ducers Guild of India, said pro-
ducers, distributors and exhibitors
who wish to survive in the long run
will have to bear the losses.
It could include a period of zero
revenues and incurring cost in
safety campaigns and sanitisation
to gain people’s trust.
a Toll on Telcos,
4G Signups Hit
Telcos could partly offset the revenue impact
by monetising higher home internet usage
Kalyan Parbat &
Himanshi Lohchab
Kolkata | New Delhi: Despite a
spike in mobile internet consump-
tion, overall growth for telecom
companies Bharti Airtel, Reliance
Jio and Vodafone Idea are expected
to fall below expectations in FY21,
especially with Covid-19 curbs
bringing 2G-to-4G conversion to a
grainding halt, analysts said.
Telcos could partly offset the reve-
nue impact by monetising higher
home internet usage during the
lockdown, they said, but that too is
likely limited as subscribers wor-
king from home have loads of unu-
sed data they are carrying forward
and unlikely to upgrade to higher
value plans.
Rajiv Sharma, research head at
SBICap Securities, expects “a
sharp fall in 2G to 4G smartphone
conversions” as availability of 4G
smartphones would be dis-
rupted if the lockdown is
prolonged. “These conver-
sions may have added 15%
on-year growth in overall
data consumption and
consequently, telco data
ARPUs in FY21 but this
won’t happen,” Shar-
ma told ET.
Nitin Soni, director
(corporates) at global
rating agency, Fitch, sa-
id the financial perfor-
mance of the Big 3 tel-
cos could be affected
with smartphones sa-
les expected to decli-
ne by at least 30% in
April-June.
Sathish Gopalaiah,
partner and tele-
com sector leader,
Deloitte India, ad-
ded that due to In-
dia having the lo-
west data rates
in the world,
growth in data volu-
mes does not trans-
Voda Idea Sees Usage Surge
New Delhi: Vodafone
Idea Limited (VIL) has
recorded a year’s worth
of internet traffic
growth on its networks in a week’s
time as people stayed indoors and
used data services more during
the nationwide lockdown imposed
to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The company’s chief technology
officer, Vishant Vora, also told ET,
“We continue to augment capacity
to add capacity in our networks to
Beer Firms Send SOS
to DPIIT, State Govts
to Switch Lights on
Seek nod to reopen
beer shops and allow
ecomm delivery
Smita.Balram@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Leading brewers in-
cluding United Breweries, Carlsb-
erg, Anheuser-Busch InBev and
Bira 91 have jointly written to the
Centre and several state govern-
ments, urging them to allow beer
to be sold offline and online even if
the lockdown is extended.
“Beer industry alone contributes
over `50,000 crore per year as reve-
nue to the state exchequer which
can be well-invested in healthcare
now,” Shobhan Roy, director gen-
eral of All India Brewers Associ-
ation (AIBA), submitted in a letter
to the Department for Promotion
of Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT) and some states including
Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, And-
hra Pradesh, West Bengal and
Maharashtra. The move comes as
the industry anticipates 25% de-
cline in sales this fiscal due to the
Covid-19 lockdown, especially as
summer, the peak season for its
business, has started.
BHARAT COKING COAL LIMITED
`A Mini Ratna Company '
(A Subsidiary of Coal India Limited)
E-TENDER NOTICE
Open F.-Tender No. BCCIA AMIP I WD/2020-04
Corrigendum Type :- Date extension . Corri gendum Title :- Date extension
Due to some unavoidable circumstances , the due dat e of opening for above
mentioned has been extended as mentioned below.
SIN Previous date of opening
01 13-04-2020
DATA USAGE UP
CLSA estimates
mobile data
traffic has shot up
20-25% since the
lockdown started
on March 25
late into commensurate growth in
revenue, as the bulk of data is being
consumed using bundles for which
price is capped.
“It is, in fact, a double whammy
for telcos who are bearing the cost
of providing these services and
battling with declining net user ad-
dition,” Gopalaiah added.
Brokerage CLSA estimated mobi-
le data traffic has shot up 20-25%
since the lockdown started on
March 25. “However, with
most of 4G subscribers
on 28/56/84-day plans,
which offer 1-3GB data
daily and unlimited
calling, there will be
limited upside from
subs plan upgrades,” CLSA
said.
Bharti Airtel, Jio and VIL
collectively added around
45 million 4G users in
the December quarter,
helped by rising
smartphone penet-
ration and more fea-
ture phone-to-
smartphone con-
versions. They did not
reply to ET’s request se-
eking comment.
Rajan Mathews, di-
rector general, COAI,
downplayed the im-
pact, saying the nega-
tive impact of a tem-
porary slowdown in
conversions could
be offset by an up-
surge in data usage
amid lockdown.
accommodate the enormous amo-
unt of traffic growth that we have
experienced over the last month.
The longer we stay in, the busier
the ‘data highway’ will get.”
The government is set to take a
call on whether or not to continue
the ongoing 21-day lockdown on Sa-
turday. “To accommodate all those
changes, our teams have been out
there in the field to make sure that
we make our network strong…,”
said Vora. — Our Bureau
“About 30-40% of all the beer busi-
ness happens in the first quarter of
the fiscal,” said Shekhar Rama-
murthy, MD of UB.
“If the lockdown continues, two
months of the high business sea-
son will be lost. We must balance
saving lives and livelihoods,” he
said. Members of AIBA said this
could be the right time to bring beer
into the sphere of online sales.
“States can now look at the possibil-
ity of permitting online sale of beer
as a long-term measure with proper
rules and age regulations framed,”
Ramamurthy said.
ial
e-tender Notice No. 02 of
+.ifl
2020-21 (Open)-Engg/DDU
On line (throug h e-tendering) for the
following work is invited by DRM/Engg/
DDU for and on behalf of the President of
India from experienced and financially as
well as technically sound contractors
including those enlisted with the Railway,
CPWD , BSNL , MES, PWD and other
public sector undertakings.
(i) Name of work with its location
Tender No. 01-DDU-SRDEN-II-20-21
Raising and extension of PF No.2/3 M/Lto
HL at DOS as per RDSO under
ADENIDOS. (ii) Approx . cost of the
work . Z 15304874.41 , (iii) Earnest
Money :T226500.00
(ii) Name of work with its location
Tender No.02-DDU-SRDEN- 11-20 .21
Provision of wharf on abgeela siding at
M a n p u r (MPO) s t a t i o n u n d e r
ADEN/Gaya. (ii) Approx. cost of the
work. Z 13798122.77, (iii) Earnest
Money :Z219000.00
(iv) Date & time for submission Of
e-tender : 30.04.2020 , Up-to 12.00 hrs.
(v) Website particulars of e-tendering.:
www.ireps. gov.in
Divisional Railway Manager/DDU
PR10022/DDU/Engg./T/20-21 /40
Dated : 20-03-2020
Extended date of opening
20-04-2020
sw-
Area Personnel Manager
Washery Division

Fifth Hospital
in City Sealed
after 2 Nurses
Test Positive
Our Bureau
Mumbai: Authorities on Fri-
day sealed another private
hospital in Mumbai after two
of its nurses were found to ha-
ve contracted Covid-19, ta-
king the number of medical
centres quarantined in the ci-
ty to five and its coronavirus
infection count to 993.
Shushrusha Hospital was
sealed off and its patients dis-
charged as part of contain-
ment measures.
By Friday evening, the city
had reported 218 new cases of
coronavirus infection and 10
deaths from it. So far, 64 peo-
ple in Mumbai have succum-
bed to the illness.
Earlier this week, four pri-
vate hospitals were sealed af-
ter healthcare workers and
staff at these hospitals tested
positive for Covid-19.
Shushrusha Hospital was
sealed off and its patients
discharged on Friday
Over 60 nurses of South
Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospi-
tal have tested positive for the
disease, and the ward under
which it comes has the highest
number of Covid-19 patients.
The other hospitals that have
been cordoned off are Bhatia
Hospital, Jaslok Hospital and
Hinduja Hospital in Khar.
Mumbai has the highest fa-
tality rate in the country.
Most of the infection spread
in the city seems to be happe-
ning either in high contain-
ment zones or in hospitals.
In an interview with ET, SP
Kalantri, medical superin-
tendent of Kasturba Hospital
in Wardha, said that lack of
personal protective equip-
ment and training in use of
the gear is putting hospitals
and their staff at risk.
Also, it is getting “impossib-
le for hospitals to distinguish
between a coronavirus-posi-
tive and negative patient, and
it takes close to 72 hours for
the test results to come, Ka-
lantri said.
India to Export
Malaria Drug
HCQ Only to
Foreign Govts
Press Trust of India
New Delhi: India will export an-
ti-malarial drug hydroxychloro-
quine, high in demand globally,
only to foreign governments and
not to private companies, as the
product is under prohibited or
banned category of exports, so-
urces said.
Although exports of this medi-
cine is completely banned, India
has decided to export this anti-
malarial drug in sync with its glo-
bal commitment to deal with the
coronavirus pandemic.
"Hydroxychloroquine continu-
es to be a prohibited item. Priva-
te-to-private company or a do-
mestic exporter-to-foreign im-
porter trade is ban. The procedu-
re, which the government is
adopting, is to help countries
which are in dire need or which
are traditionally dependent on
India for this medicine or friend-
ly countries like Nepal, Sri Lan-
ka and Bhutan," the sources said.
They said countries that have
to import HCQ would have to ro-
ute their application through
the ministry of external affairs.
India is learnt to have received
requests from over 20 countries
including Sri Lanka and Nepal
for the supply.
Safety Gets Top Billing at Malls to Secure Consumers
Precautionary measures such as fever screening, keeping adjacent seats in theatres vacant being considered
Faizan Haider & Sagar Malviya
New Delhi | Mumbai: From
restricting shoppers through
token-based entry, maintaining
strict fever screenings, installing
full-body fumigation chambers, and
even keeping adjacent seats vacant
at theatres and food courts — top
malls and retailers are planning a
slew of measures to instil con-
fidence in shoppers that malls are
safe zones and there’s no risk in
shopping and eating out again.
Of course, such measures could
reduce footfalls drastically, squee-
zing cash flow further, but mall
operators say it could also help
convince authorities and consu-
mers that there was no danger in
visiting malls again.
“Malls have single owners who
The Search for a Covid Killer
This week marked the 100th day of World Health Organization declaring Covid-19 as an
emergency. What began as an infectious disease in China, spread across the world, forcing
countries including India to lock down cities and even the entire country to fight the disease.
There is still no cure for the disease. However, work on treatment options has begun, early
as compared to other pandemics. This week several companies came out with their plans
for a cure or a vaccine. Divya Rajagopal takes a look at some of the major initiatives
Pfizer Vaccine & Drug
US drug giant The JV holds potential to supply millions
Pfizer has made an of vaccine doses by end of this year
upfront payment of
$185 million Pfizer also said
to vaccine mak- that its anti-
er BioNTech for viral has shown
developing its mRNA initial success in
vaccine. The vaccine preliminary clinical
is expected to go on study against the
human trial this April Sars-Cov2
The mRNA vaccine platform is widely used to
develop a cure for infectious diseases because
of low cost of production and its better safety
profile, compared with conventional vaccine
In Search for a Cure, Govt Set
to Start Blood Plasma Trials
Move comes after Kerala used this approach; ICMR may release protocol in a couple of days
Divya.Rajagopal
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: India will soon begin tri-
als to study whether the blood plas-
ma of patients who have recovered
from Covid-19 can be used to treat
those who are seriously ill. Kerala
is preparing to treat some patients
using this method after it gets ne-
cessary regulatory permissions
from the Drug Controller of India.
The convalescent plasma therapy
works on the science that the blood
of a recovered Covid-19 patient wo-
uld have created antibodies to help
fight the virus in an ill patient.
“ICMR will draft the protocols for
the trial of plasma therapy; this
should be out in couple of days,”
Manoj Murhekar of ICMR told ET.
The plasma therapy was used to
treat patients suffering from
other infectious diseases like
SARS, the Middle Eastern Respi-
ratory Syndrome (MERS) and
H1N1, Murhekar said.
A few studies emerging from
China and the US showed Co-
POSITIVE STEP?
‘Pool Testing’ Planned
to Speed Up Results,
Cut Workload of Labs
Govt’s changing testing
strategies to break
chain of transmission,
according to officials
Teena.Thacker@timesgroup.com
New Dekhi: India is all set to start
“pool testing” to speed up results,
contact tracing and reduce worklo-
ad on laboratories. The pooled tes-
ting method involves putting multi-
ple swab samples together, and
testing them using a single RT-
PCR test. If that est is negati-
ve, it means that all the
people tested are nega-
tive. However, if the
test is positive, eve-
ryone whose sam-
ples were part of
the test have to
be tested sepa-
rately, to identi-
fy positive indi-
viduals.
According to
officials in the
government, the
new testing strategy
will not only widen reach but will
speed up results.
Pool testing has been used during
large outbreaks and invisible com-
munity transmission. Resear-
chers from Israel have demonstra-
ted that testing combined samples
can control and administer the
rules set out by the government.
There is controlled point of entry
and each one can be manned
carefully with rules enforced
strictly. With most malls tempera-
ture and access controlled, saniti-
sation is easier to manage,” High
If the vaccine
gets approval,
the companies
promise to
“produce hundreds
of millions of
doses” in 2021
Two other companies
CureVac and Moderna
are also working on
similar mRNA vaccines
Figuring Out a Way
ICMR protocol on plasma
therapy expected soon
What will ICMR look into...
What kind of patients
need to be included?
How will Will such
they be patients be
followed mild and
up? severe cases?
What are the recovery rates of these cases?
vid-19 patients (15 in all) recove-
ring from the disease. The ICMR
said that it will submit this proto-
col to the drug controller and the
ethics committee for the trial to
begin. “We are hoping this will be
expedited by the drug controller,”
said Murhekar.
There is currently no treatment
for Covid-19 and the vaccines un-
der test seem at least a year away.
However, the plasma treatment se-
ems to be a viable option of treat-
from up 64 people for Covid-19 sig-
nificantly sped up results and bro-
ught down cost.
Government officials say that
they have been widening the tes-
ting basket and changing testing
strategies to break the chain of
transmission.
As reported by ET on Friday, the
centre has rushed a team of ex-
perts consisting of doctors, epide-
miologists, microbiologists to “cri-
tical states” which are reporting
increasing number of Covid-19 ca-
ses. “The experts are tasked to con-
duct pool testing in these areas so
as to contain the infection,” said a
government official.
The Indian Council of
Medical Research
(ICMR) late on Thurs-
day also revised its
testing strategy in-
cluding all sympto-
matic patients in
clusters, hot
spots and in lar-
ge migration
gatherings, eva-
cuees centres.
As per the new
guideline, all
symptomatic pa-
tients with influeza
like illness (fever, cough,
sore throat, runny nose) will be tes-
ted. The ICMR has said to conduct
RT-PCR within seven days of ill-
ness for such patients and after se-
ven days of illness, antibody test
should be conducted followed by
RT-PCR.
We are in initial
talks with cine-
ma hall operators,
retailers on how to
ensure social dis-
tancing for 3-4
months.
MANOJ GAUR
MD, Gaur Group
Street Phoenix Mall’s president
(west), Rajendra Kalkar, said.
Currently, retailers selling dis-
cretionary products from apparel
to lifestyle merchandise are not
allowed to open stores.
Once the lockdown is lifted,
social distancing norms will
What is plasma
therapy?
It works on science
the blood of a
recovered Covid-19
patient would have
created antibodies
against the virus
These antibodies
are injected to the
infected person
which would
neutralize the virus
ment in the absence of a vaccine,
experts say. Nearly 70% of the Co-
vid-19 patients in India are mild to
very mild cases, that is they reco-
ver without showing any major
symptoms. Health experts say that
interventions are needed in mode-
rate to severe cases due to lack of
treatment options. Plasma therapy
in the US and China worked when
used with other interventions like
accurate oxygen support, the limi-
ted studies showed.
A Clean Sweep
STEPPING UP : (Top) A worker sprays disinfectant outside a
sanitiser cabin to curb the spread of coronavirus in Palghar.
(Below) A municipal worker operates a customised tractor
to spray disinfectants on a road in Patiala on Friday. - PTI
become an integral part of mall
maintenance, owners say.
“We are in initial talks with
cinema hall operators and retai-
lers on how to ensure social dis-
tancing for at least 3-4 months.
While cinemas may not be allowed
to book more than 50% of the seats
and ensure no one sits next to each
other, retailers will be advised to
ensure limited number of people
inside the store at a time,” said
Manoj Gaur, the managing direc-
tor of Noida-based Gaurs Group.
With thousands of retail and
restaurant doors shut and zero
sales, several retailers are not in a
position to pay rent and even
wages to employees.
Many have appealed to their mall
and high-street landlords to
change their contracts to a reve-
nue-sharing model for the next
Covid-19 Impact: Pharma
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020
ICMR Antibodies
The Indian Council
of Medical Research
will see if the plasma of a
recovered Covid-19 patient
can be a potential treatment
option for severe cases of
Covid-19 patients. The idea
is that the recovered person
would have developed
antibodies — prove as a shield
— which could act as a shield.
Beacon Pharma Favipiravir
Beacon Pharma, a generic drugmaker
from Bangladesh, will start clinical trials
to see if the anti-viral drug Favipiravir
is a safe option to treat Covid-19. In an
interview to ET, Monjul Alam, senior
vice-president, Beacon Pharma,
said that the company is
looking at the safety profile
of the drug compared with
HCQ that is being widely used
by frontline workers handling
Covid-19 patients. Favipiravir is
an anti-viral drug of Japanese
drug maker FujiFilm.
Experts Favour a
Gradual Opening
Up of the Economy
Early lockdown may keep infection low, they say
while calling for testing, isolation to be stepped up
States Seek Nod for
Plasma Therapy
NEW DELHI: Saddled with a spike
in Covid-19 numbers, Maharash-
tra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have
sought the Centre’s permission
to conduct convalescent plasma
Devi Shetty Randeep Guleria
therapy. The demand came up at
a meeting of health minister
Our Bureau
Harsh Vardhan with all state
health ministers. The three-hour
New Delhi: India went for a lock-
long video-conferencing saw
down at a very early stage so mor-
states under pressure with tality from Covid-19 in the count-
rising numbers demanding ry should come down by at least
Centre’s intervention in using 50%, though it would definitely
innovative new technological see an increase in the numbers,
solutions to combat Covid-19, Narayana Health chairman Devi
Shetty said.
writes Nidhi Sharma. According
Speaking at a global webinar, ‘Co-
to sources, the states of Maha- vid-19 – Fallout & Future’, organi-
rashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi sed by Bennett University’ Times
sought permission to conduct School of Media on Thursday, Shet-
plasma therapy. ty called for lifting of the lockdown,
except in the disease hotspots.
Other panellists in the session on
‘Learnings from different countri-
es and prescrip-
tion for corona
pandemic’ were
All India Institu-
te of Medical Sci-
ences-New Delhi director Randeep
Guleria, IAS officer Dinesh Arora
who is currently a Sommer Scho-
lar at Johns Hopkins University,
and Harvard Global Health Insti-
tute director Ashish Kumar Jha.
“We need to revive the economic
activity in the country where on-
ly 6% of the population is depen-
dent on the organised sector,” sa-
id Shetty. He said the lockdown
for an extended period could crea-
te problems.
Guleria agreed that India’s infec-
tion graph might not rise sharply
due to the timely lockdown, tho-
ugh the situation was likely to be
challenging for the next few weeks.
He said more data were needed be-
fore a decision could be made on lif-
ting the lockdown.
Arora called for a gradual ope-
With Concerns Over
Kit Quality, Antibody
Testing Yet to Take Off
State govts haven’t
procured kits over
reports of their
non-effectiveness
Divya Rajagopal
& Teena Thacker
Mumbai | New Delhi: India’s
plans to start antibody testing in
the fight against the coronavirus
are getting stalled amid reports
about their ineffectiveness, dela-
ys in supplies by kit manufactu-
rers and slow decision-making by
state governments.
The Indian Council of Medical
Research recommended the use
of rapid antibody testing for Co-
vid-19 in high containment zones
nine months to help tide over the on April 2, but none of the state
crippling effect of the coronavirus governments has procured the
pandemic. kits so far, ET has learnt.
While retailers maintain they Consignments of testing kits
will take adequate precautions that were supposed to arrive in
wherever customer contact is India earlier this week were held
involved and use technology like back after failing quality tests in
contactless payments to curtail China, government officials said.
contamination risk, some brand “The kits were supposed to re-
outlets which have high-contact ach India on Wednesday. Howe-
services like make-overs and ver, there seems to be a little de-
testers will discontinue these lay now,” said one person aware
services. of the developments. Concerns
“Inside the store, we will have over the quality of these kits
sanitiser stations and floor mar- arose after the UK reported that
kers to facilitate social distancing. they not work. The ICMR earlier
We will be frequently steaming this week said that it had ordered
garments and disinfecting sur- 500,000 antibody kits. The kits are
faces such as escalators, cash “on their way,” Lav Agrawal, the
counters, card machines, shop- health secretary, said on Friday.
ping bags, etc.,” Lifestyle Inter- Manufacturers and distributors
national managing director Va- of the kits told ET that state go-
santh Kumar said. vernments have been erratic and
5
ET GRAPHICS
Sesderma
Protein Supplement
Sesderma in a statement to
ET said that its vitamin supplement
drug has “successfully cured 75
patients” in Spain and it will be
starting trial of this drug in 300
more patients in Madrid and
Valencia. The company said it has
made an offer to ICMR to treat 30 to
40 patients with this drug, and was
waiting for a nod from the regulator.
Scientists in
Australia Molecules
Researchers in Australia,
in a study published
in the Nature mag-
azine, said that they
have identified six drug
candidates from more than
10,000 compounds that
may help treat Covid-19.
The research tested the
efficacy of approved drugs
and drug candidates in
clinical trials and other
compounds, PTI reported.
Ashish Kumar Jha
ning of the economy, even as he la-
id out a four-point agenda for go-
ing ahead: “Protect the high-risk
groups, like population over 65
and health workers; continue
lockdown in hotspots but open up
the economy gradually; ramp up
testing by leveraging the private
sector and use technology for
surveillance.”
Jha called for a substantial ramp
up in testing and isolation to redu-
ce the spread of the disease. “It also
needs to look at the economic cost
and focus on a short, targeted lock-
down,” Jha added.
In another session on the same
theme, David Nabarro, the World
Health Organization’s special en-
voy on Covid-19,
said the lock-
down should be
there only till ab-
solutely necessa-
ry. “The best thing to do now is to
develop community-level capaci-
ty for detection and isolation of
positive cases,” he said, adding
that there might be some vaccine
in 18 months.
Wenjuan Zhang, the director of
the Center for India-China Studies
at OP Jindal Global University, sa-
id though China did not realise the
magnitude of the problem initial-
ly, it went for a complete lockdown
to limit the spread of the coronavi-
rus infection.
Italy, said Beatrice Galleli of Uni-
versity of Bologna, failed to take
the threat seriously at first. “The
government was also too wary of
the economic fallout of a complete
lockdown,” she said. Italy has the
highest number of deaths from Co-
vid-19 so far.
Tricky Situation
Cos need Cos have
one of them,
approval from
NIV, import not all
licence from
drug controller
Over 10 cos
have import
States said to licence
be too slow in
placing orders
“too slow in taking a decision” on
placing orders. There’s also confu-
sion about procedure for impor-
ting the kits. Companies need app-
roval from the National Institute
of Virology for efficacy of kits and
an import licence from drug cont-
roller. Many companies have the
approval or the licence, not both.
Some state governments have
allegedly placed purchase or-
ders, but are not making pay-
ments. Sometimes, tenders are
opened and then abruptly closed
without explanation.
“Governments are wasting ti-
me,” said an official of a Chinese
antibody kit maker. The Livzon
Group participated in a tender to
supply 1 million kits but has not
heard anything from the Central
government. “Our company’s
kits have an import licence, NIV
approval and our tech is most ac-
curate, yet we have not received
orders,” Vineet Lekhwani, direc-
tor of business development, in-
ternational markets, told ET.
 6 Markets: Beating Volatility
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020

STREET AHEAD
 Forex Reserves
Decline $902 m to
$474.66 billion
MUMBAI: The country's
foreign exchange reserves
declined by $902 million to
$474.66 billion in the week
to April 3 due to a fall in foreign cur-
rency assets, according to the latest
data from the RBI. In the previous
week, the reserves had surged by
$5.65 billion to $475.56 billion. The
reserves had touched a life-time high
of $487.23 billion in the week to March
6, after it rose by $5.69 billion. During
2020-21, the country's reserves have
risen by almost $62 billion. In the
reporting week ended April 3, the
foreign currency assets decreased by
$547 million to $439.12 billion.
 Oil Producers Reach
Deal on Production Cut,
Mexico Concurs
MEXICO CITY: The presi-
dent of Mexico — the lone
holdout in an global deal
to cut crude production —
said Friday he has reached a deal with
President Donald Trump to reduce oil
output. Mexico will cut production by
100,000 barrels per day (bpd), Presi-
dent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
said, adding that it was Trump who
reached out to him. The announce-
ment came hours after OPEC revealed
that major oil producers around the
world — except Mexico — had agreed
to cut output by 10% in a bid to sup-
port falling prices. Oil prices have
been wallowing near two-decade
lows due to the coronavirus pandem-
ic and a price war between key play-
ers Saudi Arabia and Russia.
 BSE’s Small, Midcap
Indices Lose up to 30%
in March Selloff
NEW DELHI: The small-
and mid-cap indices of the
BSE plunged up to 30% last
month, underperforming the bench-
mark, as markets had a harrowing
time due to the Covid-19 crisis. March
turned out be a nightmare for the
domestic stock markets as worries
related to the impact of Covid-19
badly hit investor sentiment. The
coronavirus pandemic led to lock-
downs across the world, triggering
fears of a global recession. In the
month of March, the BSE mid-cap
index fell 4,030.09 points or 27.6%,
while the small-cap gauge tanked
4,100.09 points or 29.9%.
L&T, SIEMENS, KEC INTERNATIONAL, KALPATARU POWER AMONG TOP PICKS
Up to 50% Fall from 52-wk Highs
Makes Cap Goods Cos Attractive
Rajesh.Mascarenhas
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Capital goods makers
face a stiff task of emerging out of
the downturn triggered by the dis-
ruption caused by coronavirus. But,
the recent tumble in their share
prices have made valuations of
some of these companies cheap,
said analysts. L&T, Siemens, KEC
International, GE Power, Kalpataru
Power, Cummins and AIA Engi-
neering are among the top picks.
Many of these stocks have fallen
by over 50% from their 52-week
highs. Kalpataru Power has
slumped 68%, KEC International
has dropped 56% and L&T has de-
clined almost 50%.
“Majority of capital goods compa-
nies are trading at attractive valua-
tions. This provides an opportunity
to buy into companies with strong
balance sheet, growth fundamen-
tals, business moats and manage-
ment pedigree,” said Renjith Siva-
ram, an analyst with ICICI Securi-
ties. “In a longer-term normalised
perspective, companies trading at
Nifty Likely to Trade in the
8520-9480 Range Next Week
US market and India’s
lockdown decision to
be key factors to decide
market direction
Ram.Sahgal@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Nifty could gyrate
within a 1000-point range in the
coming week, options for April 16
expiry showed at closing Thursday.
The closing price of the 9000 strad-
dle — call and put at 9000– was `480 a
share (75 shares make one contract)
that day. This means the straddle
seller doesn’t expect the Nifty to ex-
pire below 8520 and above 9480 for
the week ended April 16. The range
for the market is 8520 -9480.
The seller receives premium from
the options’ buyer and that is the
maximum she earns. She sells a
straddle in the belief that the mar-
ket would trade within a range and
makes the maximum money if it
Right Choice
Stock CMP (`)
% Down from PE 10Y ROE
52-W High (TTM) Avg PE (%)
Larsen & Toubro 812.35 -49.44 11.67 23.38 14.56
Siemens 1,155.45 -32.69 36.29 37.34 12.29
Bharat Electronics 70.15 -42.57 12.44 15.86 21.90
AIA Engineering 1,264.70 -36.29 19.72 21.56 14.70
Cummins India 353.45 -55.79 14.17 27.40 17.39
Thermax 712.45 -39.62 28.26 33.62 13.02
KEC International 157.65 -56.00 7.09 15.65 22.36
deep discount in a FY22 estimated Analysts warn that the recovery
earnings perspective such as L&T, for the sector could be tedious as in-
Siemens, Cummins India, KEC In- frastructure projects are expected
ternational, Kalpataru Power, AIA
Engineering and GE Power are the
to slow down further as a result of
the lockdown. Factories have been
ones we recommend.” shut down, while payment delays
Valuations of the majority of and employee costs are expected to
these companies, measured by drain companies. Analysts said in
price to earnings (PE) ratio, are such a situation, investors should
trading below their ten-year averag- focus on companies that are geared
es. For instance, L&T is currently up to bounce back faster.
trading at 11.67 times trailing 12 Shares of infrastructure and capi-
months earning as compared to its tal goods companies have been un-
10 -year PE of 23.38 times. derperformers in the past decade in
Nifty 50
Thursday’s close of 9112.
The 9131.7 level was the April 8
high hit from the low of 7511.10
11000 10458.4
9111.9
made on March 24. After hitting
that level, the market closed low-
10000
er at 8748.75. On April 9, the mar-
ket closed above the resistance of
9000 9038.9, which was the high of the
8000
same week when 7511.10 was
made. But it closed below the
7000
MAR 11, 2020 APR 9, 2020
high of 9131.7.
Rohit Srivastava, founder, India-
Charts, expects 9131.7 to be broken
conclusively and that the Nifty
expires at the level she sold the call
and put, 9000 in this case.
Every point the Nifty moves
above or below that level reduces
would head toward 10000 this
month. Analysts expect factors like
US market performance and deci-
sion on the lockdown in India to be
her profit until the upper break- some of the influencing factors for
even (9480) or lower breakeven the market.
(8520) points are reached. Beyond In the calendar year to date, FIIs
and below these points, unlimited have sold shares worth Rs 50,981
losses would begin unless she has crore. They were cumulatively net
placed a stop-loss. short Nifty and Bank Nifty con-
Market constituents like Hor- tracts by 17288 contracts. HNIs and
muz Maloo, director, Afco Invest- corporate clients have net short in-
ments, said he’d like to see the Nif- dex futures by 17511 contracts. The
ty close conclusively above 9131.7, latter have hedged themselves or
as this would determine whether are betting on a correction in Nifty,
the rally would extend beyond for now.
lumes would be anywhere betwe-
the absence of capex spending.
Analysts said companies with
short-cycle businesses would bene-
fit as their net cash balance sheets
will help them in maintaining low
fixed cost against that of highly lev-
ered players.
“Siemens and ABB with strong
global parentage stand out as they
have low fixed costs and the highest
cash balances, thereby enabling
them to absorb the shock from eco-
nomic downturn for a considerable
time, while Thermax has relatively
high fixed cost, which may require
some addressing if the situation
worsens,” said Nilesh Bhaiya, re-
search analyst, Motilal Oswal Fi-
nancial Services.
Edelweiss said it prefers compa-
nies such as L&T, Siemens, BEL
and Greaves Cotton which have
tweaked their business models
successfully and aligned them
with customer needs amid eco-
nomic disruptions. “L&T’s recent
de-rating to below GFC level with a
much resilient business model of-
fers a much favourable risk-re-
ward,” said Amit Mahawar, ana-
lyst, Edelweiss Securities.
FED DECISION HELPS
Wall St Looks
to Jumpstart
Junk-Debt Deals
of Riskier Cos
Bloomberg
Bankers who arrange debt sales for
companies with less than stellar
credit ratings are preparing to
ramp up new offerings after the Fe-
deral Reserve threw an unprece-
dented lifeline to the market for ris-
ky borrowers.
The Fed’s plan to directly buy debt
issued by companies recently
downgraded to junk -- alongside so-
me bond ETFs and top-rated tran-
ches of collateralised loan obliga-
tions -- provided a much-needed do-
se of confidence to Wall Street and
triggered a flurry of phone calls to
drum up business. Junk-debt offe-
rings may start to be unleashed as
soon as the long weekend is over.
“If it weren't for the holiday, I wo-
uld have started doing deals tomor-
row,” said Richard Zogheb, global
head of debt capital
markets at Citigroup
Inc. “You are absolu-
tely going to see a
pick-up in leveraged
issuance over the next
Rate Transmission
a Far Cry Despite
Liquidity Overhang
The banking system
has hit the surplus
level seen during the
demonetisation period
Saikat.Das1@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Surplus cash in the
banking system has surged to as
much as `4.74 lakh crore, surpass- “Unprecedented liquidity is an
ing liquidity levels seen four endeavour to make lenders gener-
years ago during the demonetisa- ous,” said Soumyajit Niyogi, an
tion period. associate director at India Rat-
But, the liquidity glut is not ings & Research. However, that
bringing interest rates down, as ability to lend is not percolating
risk-averse banks stay off from
fresh loans amid an alarming Co-
into keenness to lend owing to
multiple uncertainties. But, high
vid-19 scene. liquidity is also seen as a good
“The entire liquidity could ig- shock absorber at the time of cri-
nite credit expansion once nor- sis,” he said, adding: “In absence
malcy is back,” Federal Bank ex- of normal activities, it is difficult
ecutive director Ashutosh Khaju- to expect better rate transmis-
ria said. “High liquidity is a good sion albeit sporadic.”
measure to prevent any collapse In a state bond auction, Kerala’s
of a bank which has stress on the 15-year bonds yielded as much
deposit front. For some banks, it 8.96%, more than 200 basis points
prompts to lend.” higher than equivalent sovereign
But, there is no demand for cred- papers.
it due to the Covid-19 situation, The role of the central bank is
Khajuria said.
There was a net cash surplus, or
liquidity, of `4.41-4.74 lakh crore
now to restore market normalcy
amid crisis, then look for rate
transmission, dealers said.
in the system in the second week Bank certificates of deposit rate
of April, show data from the Re- with 12-month maturity has jump-
serve Bank of India.
A surge in the benchmark bond
ed 28 basis points since March 30,
the day before the RBI cut its policy
yield, a key gauge to price any
bonds, indicates that the high liq-
rate by a sharp 75 basis points, or
0.75 percentage point.
uidity has failed to bring down Most bank employees are now
rates on longer-term papers.
The benchmark yield has gone
working from home unless it is
branch banking. Such a set-up
up by 35 basis points since the un- has crippled normal banking ac-
scheduled RBI policy meeting on tivities. This has resulted in thin-
March 27, pulling prices down. ning business activities.
Realty Woes Continue,
Home Prices Moderate
Covid-19 to cause more
disruptions, mainly in
affordable housing,
shows an RBI study
Our Bureau
Mumbai: The residential real es-
tate sector continued to suffer
from low demand and large inven-
tory overhang last year, a Reserve Puri, chairman of Anarock Prop-

Travel Demand may Stay Low en 3-4% of the overall business

From Page 1
“Airlines have their bookings
open after April 15 but no custo-
mer is booking right now,” said
one of the executives cited above.
Travel demand is likely to be at
an all-time low for several months
after restrictions ease, they said,
given fears of contagion in enclo-
sed spaces.
Bookings being made now for the
May-June period are down 80%
from the year earlier, Sydney-ba-
sed consultant CAPA-Centre for
Aviation said in a recent note. CA-
PA also said it will take up to 12
months after curbs are lifted in In-
dia for the entire fleet of 650 planes
to be flying again.
PNRS ACTIVE
Indian carriers are dependent on
advance ticket sales. All of them
have kept PNRs active for future
travel. Close to 75% of these are
for flights till the end of June. Go-
Air and IndiGo have told pas-
sengers that their PNRs will re-
main active for a year. SpiceJet
has said they can be redeemed
until February 2021 and Air India
until September 2020.
Airlines will have to rework
schedules once restrictions are
lifted with a likely staggered re-
launch of services depending on
demand and where they are allo-
wed to fly. Many carriers will ope-
that we process on our chan-
nels,” said Vishwas Patel, CEO of
couple of weeks.”
Bankers are talking to large com-
panies that had been waiting for the
market to improve before laun-
Bank of India study has said.
With new launches of residential
projects declining, reflecting the
erty Consultants. “This could re-
sult in deferred property purchase
decisions in 2020 and ultimately
CC Avenue, a leading payment ching new deals, according to peo- large inventory overhang, all India derail the segments growth mo-
Airlines Beat Lockdown gateway. “We are unable to auto-
credit refunds to our customers
as the entire process flow has be-
ple familiar with the matter.
They're also talking to private equi-
ty firms about options for their
house price levels had moderated
as of end-December, it said.
While Mumbai and the Delhi-Na-
mentum.”
According to Anarock, nearly
610,000 affordable housing units
Blues via Social Media en disrupted. There is no money
in our settlement accounts as
new tickets are also not being
portfolio companies. The possibili-
ty of raising debt would offer an al-
tional Capital Region reported
nearly 5% drop in house prices,
southern metros of Chennai and
are under construction across the
top seven cities in the country,
which is 39% of the total about 1.56
ternative to bank financing or cash
Mumbai: While planes may be grounded due to the Covid-19 pan- purchased. It’s a process issue from equity investors to help them Bengaluru belied the trend with million under-construction hous-
demic, the social media teams of airlines have been active, poking along with a bit of liquidity through business shutdowns due to price increase of nearly 13-16%. ing units in these cities.
fun at each other. It started when the Twitter handle of IndiGo as- stress.” the Covid-19 pandemic, said the pe- Now, the Covid-19 pandemic is ex- Unsold affordable housing stock
ked rival Vistara whether it was “flying higher” these days, play- Experts said restarting boo- ople, who asked not to be identified pected to cause further disruption could rise by 1-2% on an annual ba-
ing on the latter’s marketing tagline. kings without knowing when because the talks are private. in the country’s housing market sis, it said.
Vistara responded saying being on ground was wonderful and fly- flights will resume is unfair to Around a dozen companies have that has been battling for survival. Ratings agency India Ratings has
ing would not be a “smart” choice, drawing GoAir into the play customers. sold junk bonds or leveraged loans A study by Anarock Property also said demand for residential
whose tagline is Fly Smart. The chain went on, with GoAir calling “As of now, significant funds of in the past couple of weeks as mar- Consultants has predicted that real estate could remain sup-
on AirAsia and the latter tweeting that staying home was the “Red passenger are already locked kets started to thaw. But they've of- affordable housing could be the pressed in FY21 in light of the in-
Hot Spicy” thing to do, a play on SpiceJet’s tagline. with Indian carriers as a result of ten had to pay double-digit interest worst affected among all real es- creasing downside risks to the
The tweets attracted several thousand of retweets and comments, in- advance bookings prior to the rates to do so. For some issuers the tate categories. country’s economic growth.
cluding from pilots. When a Twitter user asked IndiGo if it was obser- lockdown and decision to allow Fed action could mean that they'll “The affordable housing segment Demand-side risks, combined
ving social distancing even in the hanger, Vistara responded, “Right now bookings post April 14 without simply have to pay less to borrow. will be severely impacted by the with rising uncertainty over
we are in a long distance relationship, right IndiGo?”— Our Bureau any decision of the lifting of Secondary prices rallied across Covid-19 outbreak as the target au- credit availability, could add to
lockdown will increase the risks bonds and loans Thursday on confi- dience typically has limited in- refinancing and liquidity risks
which needs to be avoided,” CA- dence that the Fed was willing to do come and unemployment fears for developers, the agency said
rate a skeletal network. Redee- Balu Ramachandran, air busi- PA said in a separate advisory. more. currently loom large,” said Anuj in a recent report.
ming credit vouchers could be ness head at online travel agent “Giving credit vouchers for all
troublesome, especially for those Cleartrip, said it’s working on a advance bookings prior to the
bookings made through travel tool to help customers redeem lockdown was expected and is re-
agents, said some of the people
cited above. IndiGo’s Twitter fe-
ed is filled with customer comp-
their credit vouchers.
However, payment gateway ope-
rators are clogged and call cent-
asonable but not for bookings
post April 14.”
There are concerns about the vi-
Talks on with Multilateral Institutions causing disruptions in India’s tra- further increased if needed. We
laints pertaining to refunds and res aren’t a help, according to so- ability of the industry, with all From Page 1 de and manufacturing supply cha- will consider all financing options
rescheduling. It has referred ma- me customers, who say they ha- planes parked on the ground. The country is in talks with vario- ins, along with the slowdown in to- available with us to meet India’s
ny to the travel agents they used. ven’t been able to communicate “Closure of Kingfisher Airlines us multilateral institutions to urism and other economic activity. needs, including emergency assi-
GoAir has upgraded its pay- with airlines on refunds. and Jet Airlines has already re- strengthen its efforts to fight the This has led to financial stress for a stance, policy-based loans, and
ment system to enable redemp- The traditional refund process sulted in massive losses to pas- pandemic. large number of micro, small, and budget support to facilitate swift
tions and rescheduling irrespec- has been disrupted. sengers as refunds couldn’t be Asakawa said the policy measu- medium-sized enterprises, and hurt disbursement of ADB funds,” Asa-
tive of how the the ticket was boo- processed resulting in crores of res announced by the government the livelihoods of formal and infor- kawa said.
ked, said senior advisor Sanjiv ‘LIQUIDITY STRESS’ losses to passengers,” CAPA said will provide much-needed relief mal labourers across the country. On March 18, the ADB announced
Kapoor. “On a normal day, the refund vo- in the advisory. and stimulus to the most vulnerab- The ADB is also engaged with the an initial package of around $6.5
le people as well as businesses and private sector to meet its financing billion to address the immediate
become a basis for faster recovery. needs during this period, the Mani- needs of its developing member co-
The aid comes at a time when wea- la-based lender said in a statement. untries, including India, as they

‘India is Losing Markets to China’ ‘Need to Attract kening global economic growth is “ADB assistance for India will be respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From Page 1
The engineering exports sector could lose an es-
timated 50,000-75,000 jobs.
The textiles and garments sector employs aro-
und 32 million people. The bulk of this employ-
ment is unorganised and includes workers on
contract, working through labour agencies, per-
manent and temporary staff. It is the second lar-
gest employer after agriculture.
Sakthivel said labour is the largest cost in the
industry, with wages amounting to 25-30% of the
cost of production. “Further, units operate at
thin margins of 3-4% and are completely depen-
dent on export benefits granted by the govern-
ment,” he said. These estimates come days after
the International Labour Organisation said abo-
ut 400 million workers in India’s informal econo-
my are at risk of falling deeper into poverty du-
ring the Covid-19 crisis.
“We are left with very (few) orders and if facto-
ries are not allowed to work with a minimum
work force to execute them (in a) timely (man-
ner), many of them will suffer irreparable losses
and bringing them to the brink of closure as they
are saddled with fixed costs, which in any case
have to be absorbed by them,” Saraf said.
He said India is losing markets to China as it
has resumed work and said the country needed
to restart factories without delay. “Small econo-
mies like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka too have an-
nounced relief packages,” he added.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Calling for a balance between life and livelihood,
Saraf asked the government to immediately an-
nounce a relief package for exports. FIEO has as-
ked for export-related manufacturing to be allo-
wed to resume immediately with a minimum
workforce adhering to safety, sanitisation and
social-distancing norms.
It suggested interest-free working capital term
loans to exporters to cover the cost of wages, ren-
tal and utilities. It also asked for waivers on EPF
and ESIC payments for three months from
March to May.
The grouping also sought extension of pre- and
post-shipment credit by 90-180 days on maturity,
rollover of forward cover without interest and
penalty, automatic enhancement of limit by 25%
to address liquidity challenges and extension of
interest equalisation benefits.
A representative of the cotton textile industry
said layoffs could be avoided if banks are lenient
in offering working capital to the sector and pro-
vide support when contracts in foreign currency
collapse.
“The issue of layoffs can become serious if
banks don’t show forbearance,” the person said.
“This is crucial so that we can retain labour espe-
cially because they are trained labour.”
This an opportunity for India to mitigate the
risks associated with products from China and
capture market from competitors such as China,
Bangladesh and Vietnam, the person said.
Healthcare
From Page 1
These need to be implemented, Kumar
warned, or next time the country won’t
be able to control the exodus of people
as migrant workers stream out of cities
to their homes, as happened after the
lockdown was imposed.
“This time we were able to, but it is so-
mething that is quite untenable,” he sa-
id, calling for social and medical safety
nets.
On the healthcare side, he said there
was a need to dramatically reduce the
cost of medical education in the count-
ry, which may have got over-professio-
nalised.
“Caretakers can come in different
forms… We can have technically qualifi-
ed and yet not-so-expensive specialists,”
he said, referring to an over-emphasis on
MBBS degrees. He also called for scaling
up research capabilities and attracting
talent back to India for healthcare rese-
arch so the country can come up with
answers to new challenges.
“Why should it take as long as it takes
to come up with a retroviral or a vacci-
ne?” he said, calling for more resources
and bringing together fragmented re-
search capacities.
Chicken Sales Below Normal
From Page 1
“Mutton supplies in the country have
dried up with major mandis, from Aj-
mer mandi in Rajasthan to Deonar
mandi in Mumbai, closed,” said Shan
Kadavil, founder & CEO of FreshToHo-
me, an online fresh fish and meat store.
Lots Wholesale — a subsidiary of
Siam Makro Public Co Ltd, Thai-
land’s leading Cash & Carry opera-
tor — has stopped mutton sales. Its
managing director Tanit Chearava-
nont said there was no supply becau-
se slaughterhouses were shut.
“We also notice a slight alteration
in customer behavior as ready-to-eat
meals like chicken tikka, chicken
nuggets, kebabs, etc, has seen an in-
creased sale,” he said.
Chicken is available but sales are still
below normal, partly because of the se-
ries of religious festivals, and in some
cases due to rumours that its consump-
tion may cause infection.
Fish supply has fallen sharply in
northern India although there are
signs of some improvement in supp-
ly in parts of western and southern
India. Markets closer to coastal are-
as and inland fishery farms are get-
ting barely 10-20% of the fish they
usually consume.
The supply is better in West Bengal.
The secretary of Howrah fish mar-
ket in Bengal, Syed Anwar Maqsood,
said the wholesale market was well
supplied. “Price of fish has dropped
at the wholesale market. A 1.2 kg ro-
hu which was commanding a price
of Rs 155 before lockdown is now av-
ailable at Rs 135 per kg,” he said.
However, retailers find it difficult to
travel to the wholesale market in the
absence of transport. This has pus-
hed up prices at the retail level by 12
-15%, said Ajay Haldar, a fish seller in
Kolkata’s Gariahat market.
Less availability of cold storage is al-
so a challenge for the fish trade, said
Jagdish Fofandi, president of Seafood
Exporters Association of India. He sa-
id that only 1-2% of the fishermen we-
re going to the sea in small canoes, fac-
tories were running at 20% capacity
and sales were less due to lockdown.
(With inputs from Sutanuka Ghosal in
Kolkata and PK Krishnakumar in Kochi)
Vegetable
Sales Rise in
Mumbai Mandi
New Delhi: Sales of vegeta-
bles, onion and potato rose
sharply in Mumbai’s mandi
on Friday as vendors and re-
tailers stocked up, traders
said. The Vashi mandi will
now be shut until further or-
ders to contain the spread of
the coronavirus, after a trader
tested positive for Covid-19.
"Supply of onion and pota-
to was 25% more than yes-
terday at 70 trucks of 20
tonnes each. We completely
sold out and sales were 50%
higher than the last few
days," said Girish Karotra
of Rupesh Trading, which
trades in onion and potato
at the Vashi mandi. “Prices
too increased simultane-
ously as buyers increased.”
Karotra said potato prices
increased by 20% in a day to
`24 a kg and onion by 10% to
`18 a kg.—Madhvi Sally

Unseasonal
Rains to
Harm Rabi
Crops: IMD
Shashwat.Mohanty
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Unseasonal rains,
thunderstorms and snowfall
across certain pockets in the co-
untry in the coming days due to
a fresh western disturbance
might cause damage to the stan-
ding rabi crops, the weather of-
fice warned on Friday.
While thunderstorms and gus-
ty winds are expected in parts of
Maharashtra in the coming da-
ys isolated scattered rainfall is
also likely in the southern parts
of the country, India Meteorolo-
gical Department (IMD) said.
Jammu and Kashmir, Hima-
chal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand
can expect widespread snow-
fall, while parts of the north
east might see thunderstorms
accompanied with hailstorm
over the next two to three days,
it said. “Thunderstorm accom-
panied with rain, lightning, and
gusty winds with speed rea-
ching 30-40 km per hour are lik-
ely to occur at isolated places in
the district of Kolhapur,” a go-
vernment official said, adding
that there is a possibility of ha-
ilstorms as well.
Punjab Gets
`1,237 cr as
Grants-in–Aid
New Delhi: Central govern-
ment released `1,237 crore as
grants-in–aid to Punjab, taking
the total goods and services tax
(GST) compensation to the state
to `14,094 crore for the period of
July 2017 till March 2019.
Sources said that the amount
released came from arrears of
compensation for the loss of re-
venue for the 2017-18 and 2018-19
financial years, due to revision
in base year of 2015-16 revenue.
The Centre had earlier relea-
sed ad-hoc GST compensation
amounts of `4,618 crore and
`8,239 crore for 2017-18 and 2018-
19 financial years, respectively.
Punjab’s finance Minister
Manpreet Singh Badal thanked
the Centre for its financial sup-
port during the critical time
created by the Coronavirus
spread. —Our Bureau
RELIEF FOR STAFF EARNING UP TO `15,000 A MONTH
Labour Min Notifies PF Contribution Scheme
For 3 months, govt will contribute 24% of employee and employer provident fund share per month
Our Bureau
New Delhi: The labour ministry on
Friday notified the special scheme
wherein the government will contri-
bute 24% of the employee and emplo-
yer provident fund share per month
for three months to PF accounts of
employees earning less than `15,000
to tide over the impact of Covid-19 on
small establishments.
Under the scheme, the central go-
vernment will grant
relief in form of credit
of EPF & EPS contri-
butions (24% of wa-
ges) for three months
in UANs of contribu-
tory EPF members,
EPFO has put
in place an earning monthly wa-
electronic ge of less than `15,000.
It will cover staff alre-
mechanism
as part of the ady employed in EPF-
ECR filing to covered establish-
enable the ments/factories emp-
Cos to avail loying up to 100 emplo-
the relief yees with 90% or more
of such employees
earning monthly wage of less than
`15000.
“This would prevent disruption in
the employment of low wage earning
EPF members and support EPF cove-
red establishments employing up to
100 employees,” the ministry said in a
notification.
The EPFO has put in place an elec-
tronic mechanism as part of the elec-
tronic challan-cum-return (ECR) fi-
ling to enable the establishments to
avail the relief in respect of their eli-
gible employees.
In Lockdown, Taxmen Unlock Spiritual Capital
I-T dept officials, HC judges, ITAT and Bar Associations members engaging in live sessions with spiritual leaders
Gulveen.Aulakh@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Mental wellness and
health may be top of the mind for
private firms during the ongoing
21-day nationwide lockdown, but
the government machinery isn’t far
behind.
Income Tax Department officials,
judges of various High Courts,
members of the Income Tax Appel-
late Tribunal and those of Bar
Associations across the country are
engaging in live sessions with
spiritual leaders on staying positive
during the stressful times in view
of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Friday, over 700 officials and
members of the judiciary interac-
ted with spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar on how to remain happy
while discharging duties in office,
Wheat Harvesting in Punjab, Haryana Next Week
KICKSTARTING THE ECONOMY First major economic activity after lockdown; farmers, traders to maintain strict social distancing
R E V I VA L A F T E R LO C K D OW N
Parshant.Krar@timesgroup.com
Chandigarh: India’s bread-basket
states of Punjab and Haryana will
start harvesting wheat from next we-
ek, marking the launch of the first
major economic activity after the
three-week lockdown that has cripp-
led most business activity.
Punjab will start procuring grain
on April 15, while Haryana will com-
mence operations five days later. The
two states contribute about 65% of
the grain for the national food secu-
rity scheme, officials said.
Need Balanced Exit Strategy
from Lockdown: India Inc
Our Bureau
New Delhi: In working out an exit
strategy from the current na-
tionwide lockdown, the go-
vernment should aim to-
wards bringing about a
fine balance that on one
hand normalises eco-
nomic and social acti-
vity and yet contains
Covid-19 from sprea-
ding and getting out of
control, industry bo-
dy FICCI suggested
on Friday.
Though India in
the global context,
so far has not seen a
larger number of
cases who would ne-
ed hospitalization,
however, the increa-
se of infected peo-
ple in the past few
days may lead to a situation whe-
rein more and more patients may
require respiratory assistance
and intensive care.
“At the same time, for a country
like India we also can’t afford to ha-
The employer in relation to any eli-
gible establishment, shall disburse
wages for the month to all employees
of the establishment and file ECR
with required certificate and declara-
tion to avail the benefit.
After ECR is uploaded and eligibili-
ty of establishment and employees is
validated, the challan will separately
show the amount of employees’ and
employers’ contributions due as cen-
tral government relief in respect of
eligible employees and the remaining
amount payable by the employer.
ILO: Employers &
Workers’ Bodies
Must Join Hands
New Delhi: The International
Labour Organization (ILO)
has asked employers’ and
workers’ organisations to
make collaborative efforts to
effectively address work relat-
ed issues to slow down the im-
pact of Covid-19.
“In crisis settings, collabora-
tion and dialogue between em-
ployers and business member-
ship organizations (EBMOs)
and workers’ organizations
can boost economic and social
progress and enable accelerat-
ed recovery,” ILO said in its lat-
est report. Covid-19 has killed
more than 97,000 people and
infected over 1.6 million peo-
ple. —Our Bureau
Govt mindful of mental health
issues among officers
Promotes
yoga and
meditation
Live sessions
with spiritual
leaders being
organised
and with family and society, thro-
ugh video conferencing, where the
Art of Living Foundation founder
gave some pro-tips during an hour-
long session.
Covid-19 Impact: Economy & Companies
Agri Relief
Punjab to start GROWING ANXIETY
procuring grain on
Punjab eased tough
April 15 lockdown norms for
Haryana com- villagers amid growing
mences operations anxiety in the
on April 20 agricultural state
Both states con- Rising fears that stand-
tribute about 65% ing crop would be ex-
of the grain for na- posed to rain, hailstorms
tional food security
scheme
Punjab announced relaxation of to- traders, while entry into the market
ugh lockdown norms for villagers will be regulated and policed to ensu-
amid growing anxiety in the predo- re social distancing norms for the
minantly agricultural state over the process that usually involves 2 mil-
uncertainty in procurement of gra- lion people and largescale move-
in after the bumper harvest, and fear ment of trucks, tractors and people.
that that standing crop would be ex- Authorities will issue mobile
posed to rain and potentially devas- alerts, enforce strict sanitary mea-
tating hailstorms. sures and regulate crop arrival in
Authorities have made masks man- both states. “Not more than 50 far-
datory for villagers, labourers and mers will be allowed from 8 AM to 2
The Proposal EXTEND LOCKDOWN FOR
Prepare an
exit strategy to
establish new
high-risk groups
The elderly citizens
Hotels
Industry-Services
normal (IT/ITes)
Education sector
India can’t
afford an Remove Partially Remove
extended lockdown for Lockdown for
lockdown Common Citizens
Manufacturing
Social of non-essentials
Workforce in
distancing 22-39 age group outside hotspots
paramount
Agri/ Labour FMCG, Retail
INCREASE
TESTING Meat, Poultry, Ecommerce
Fish Sectors
The pandemic Domestic Air Travel
will keep Public Transport- Trains, Metro
evolving Roadways
ve a prolonged lockdown that lasts state Chief ministers on Saturday
for months,” the industry body said to take a final call on whether the
in submission to the government. current lockdown will be exten-
The industry body’s suggestions ded beyond April 14, as number of
come ahead of the Prime Minister positive Covid-19 cases in the co-
Narendra Modi's meeting with untry remain on the rise.
Migrant Workers Key to
Restarting Production
Nehal.Chaliawala
@timesgroup.com Point of Return
CII suggestions to get
Mumbai: Manufacturing in the co-
outstation workers to return:
untry won’t take off as soon as lock-
down restrictions are lifted due to Aggressive
an acute shortage of workers who messaging
have returned to their home states,
industrialists said. The automobi-
campaign on
preparedness
le, textile and engineering indu- of govt and
stries, among others, depend pri- industry to
marily on outstation employees for restart
working at their plants.
“Such workers may need some ti- Issuing e-passes
me to get back to Bengaluru, where Arranging special
our production base is, as inter-dis- transportation
trict or interstate travel is also cur- facilities
tailed during the lockdown,” said
Naveen Soni, senior vice president,
Offering Covid-19 insurance cover
sales and service, Toyota Kirloskar
Motor. “Considering such condi-
tions, the first few days may see fe- Even if workers manage to move
wer numbers of workers turning in back to their workplaces, they may
to office.” not be welcomed by their landlords
Given the chaos that surrounded due to fear psychosis, pointed out
the exodus of workers from indust- Sudhir Mutalik, managing director
rial clusters like the National Capi- of Nashik-based Positive Metering
tal Region when the lockdown star- Pumps. “Even medical practitio-
ted on March 25, the concern is ners are being questioned in hou-
whether transportation facilities sing societies out of fear of Co-
are adequate to allow all workers to vid-19. Do you think societies will
travel back to the cities after the allow migrant workers to come
restrictions are eased. back from outside?” Mutalik asked.
devote time to spiritually streng-
then ourselves, so that we do our
work more efficiently,” he added.
The ITAT is set to organise more
Issues advisory sessions with spiritual gurus in the
videos for coming weeks, and aims to have
lowering anxiety more people join in as, Justice Bhatt
said, keeping the morale of front
ITAT to make line staff providing essential servi-
live sessions ces high was all the more crucial.
weekly “We are hoping to have Brahma
Kumari Shivani for a session next
exercise
week,” he said.
The government is aggressively
working to tackle issues of anxiety
and mental health amid the spread
of the outbreak, which has killed at
ILLUSTRATION: ANIRBAN BORA least 200 people so far.
“Capacity building for each and The Ministry of Health and Fami-
every member is very important,” ly Welfare is promoting yoga and
said Justice PP Bhatt, president of meditation to manage stress and
the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. has posted several videos of yoga
“This is the time when we can classes.
7
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020
Farmers and labourers will be are not willing to take up the work,”
SAFETY FIRST checked for influenza-like symp- said Amandeep Singh Chinna, pre-
Authorities have made
toms. Other steps include fumiga-
tion, cleaning, disinfection and pro-
sident, Arhtiya Association Amrit-
sar. He said that the operations will
masks mandatory for villag- viding sleeping areas of labour. have to be extended to tackle shorta-
ers, labourers and traders “Foot controlled washing taps and ge of labour.
hand sanitizers are being installed Punjab has roped in yards of rice
Regulated entry into markets
in all mandis to ensure hygiene du- shellers, cotton traders, vacant pan-
ring the mandi operations,” Ravi chayat lands to increase collection
Police to ensure social dis-
Bhagat secretary Punjab Mandi Bo- centres to 5,000. Farmers will be told
tancing norms
ard Ravi Bhagat told ET. He said a about specific days with a token with
Authorities to issue mandi would cater to 2-3 villages and official hologram system to ensure
mobile alerts, enforce arrival will be regulated to avoid social distancing.
strict sanitary measures, crowd in mandi. “Around 50 quintal per individu-
regulate crop arrival The threat of disease has dried up al at a time will be allowed in man-
the seasonal flow of migrant labour dis and a 72-hour rotation will be
from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West followed. Mobile alerts will in-
Bengal. Over 7-8 lakh workers are en- form about when to allow trans-
PM, and in the second batch between gaged in the mandi operations in the port vehicles to check conges-
2:30 to 6 PM in the mandis. Farmers two states and the number has tion,” Bhagat said.
will be informed on daily basis about dwindled to a third this season. Even Farmers in Haryana will be infor-
the schedule to bring produce for though the administration has pas- med a day in advance by telephone or
procurement. All mandis have been sed on the list of Mahatma Gandhi SMS to bring produce for procure-
asked to ensure availability of National Rural Employment Gua- ment. The secretaries of the market
masks, alcohol based sanitizers, so- rantee Act (MGNREGA) workers to committees have been directed to
ap and running water,” Sanjeev arhiyas but the labour shortage re- provide masks, sanitizers, and ther-
Kaushal, additional chief secretary, mains a big worry. mo-scanners at the mandi gates for
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare “Mandi operations needs skilled farmers, traders, and laborers wor-
Department, Haryana told ET. workers as it is hardy job and most king in the mandis.
Employers to Feb Fiscal Deficit at 5.07%,
List PM CARES
Revised Target Too Stiff
Donations
in Form 16 Our Bureau
The Worries
New Delhi: The entire amount
that employees contribute to
New Delhi: India’s fiscal deficit sto-
od at 5.07% of the gross domestic
Fiscal deficit touched 5.07%
of GDP upto Feb FY20
the PM Cares Fund, which is
exclusively meant to combat
product as of end February, indica-
ting that the country may fall short FY20 Revised Target :
the Covid-19 pandemic, thro- of its revised fiscal deficit target of
ugh their employers will be ex- 3.8% of GDP for 2019-20.
3.8% of GDP
empt from tax under Section
80G, which deals with dona-
The monthly report released on
Thursday by the expenditure de-
Experts say
achieving fiscal deficit
tions to worthy causes. partment showed pressure on reve- target difficult
The deduction will reflect in nues that would have been further
individual income tax filings impacted in March due to the Co- STATE FINANCES:
through Form 16 issued by their vid-19 outbreak and the nationwide
companies, the Central Board lockdown started on March 25, ex-
States received `90k cr
of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has cla- perts said. as tax devolution in March
rified. The benefit will take ef- “Given the lockdown situation and Centre released `29k cr
fect only in the I-T filings for the that economic activity started slo- to states for govt schemes
next assessment year, 2021-2022. wing down, which would affect tax in FY20
Companies will have various collections, the possibility that the
ways to show the donation, government may not achieve even Additional `1.44 lakh cr
such as issuing a separate TDS the revised target is very much the- to states in FY20 as per
certificate to employees or auto re,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, princi- 14th FC recos
populating the amount in their pal economist at India Ratings and
respective Form 16s. Research.
“It is hereby clarified that the The government, though, can al- tailment or deferment of non-ur-
deduction in respect of such ways defer certain payments to try gent expenditure will help to ease
donations will be admissible meet the fiscal deficit target, he said. some pressure created by the loo-
u/s 80G of the Act on the basis The report is in line with monthly ming revenue shortfall.”
of the Form 16/certificate issu- accounts released by Controller Ge- The government was expecting so-
ed by Drawing and Disbursing neral of Accounts for February re- me revenues to flow in from tax am-
Officer/Employer in this re- cently. nesty scheme for direct taxes, but
gard,” the Board said in a noti- Aditi Nayar, principal economist deadline for it had to be deferred in
ce on April 9. —Our Bureau at ratings agency ICRA, said, “Cur- the wake of the lockdown.
Transport Affordable Oil Prices Key to
Ministry Meets
Truckers to
Demand Recovery: Pradhan
New Delhi: Affordable oil pri-
ces would be key to facilitating
Dharmendra Pradhan wrote
on twitter after the first-ever
Resolve Issues demand recovery, Oil Minister G20 Energy Ministers’ virtual
Dharmendra Pradhan told a summit.
virtual gathering of energy Oil markets are experiencing
Nishtha.Saluja ministers of the G20 group of deep demand destruction due
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The transport mini-
the world’s largest economies
on Friday.
“Appreciated the efforts of
to the coronavirus pandemic.
A price war between Saudi
Arabia and Russia has further
stry held a review meeting with
trucker associations in the co-
untry on Friday to take stock of
problems faced in moving goods
OPEC and OPEC+ to balance
supply-side factors. Also, advo-
cated for a stable oil market,
and the need for targeting oil
contributed to the supply glut.
Members of oil cartel OPEC
and allies led by Russia are now
back to the negotiating table
across the country during the prices at affordable levels to al- and working towards a massi-
lockdown. Transport minister
Nitin Gadkari had asked officers
low for a consumption-led de-
mand recovery,” Oil Minister
ve supply cut target to push up
oil prices. —Our Bureau
earlier this week to reach out to
truckers. India has been under a
nationwide lockdown since
March 25 to curb the spread of the
Covid-19 outbreak.
Vardhan Points to Rapid Rise
“We wanted to understand their PK Mishra, principal secretary
From Page 1
concerns and are working to see
that their movement is facilita- “We are in the third week of the
to the PM, met the 11 empowered
groups of officers on Covid-19 on
ted,” a transport ministry official lockdown. Usually, all experts Friday to review steps to assist
told ET. say if you use lockdown, it takes farmers across the country to
Transport associations have de- three-four weeks to flatten out harvest their produce while ma-
manded that the government the curve,” Union health mini- intaining social distancing. Issu-
should help build confidence ster Harsh Vardhan said in a vi- es related to supply chain and lo-
among drivers to come back to deo conference on Friday with gistics management to ensure
work and ensure this through foreign diplomats. “I expect that the availability of essentials and
publicity in the media, said a per- in the coming days or weeks, we arranging shelter for vulnerable
son present at the meeting. expect better results and India groups such as migrant workers
Meanwhile, truck associations will come out of this crisis with and the homeless were also revi-
have also demanded that the go- minimal loss of lives.” ewed by the senior officials on
vernment should extend `25-50 He pointed out that more than Friday.
lakh insurance to drivers affected 400 districts in the country had The government is also close-
by Covid-19. “We have received an not reported a single infection ly studying the experience of
in-principle approval from the go- and India had the lowest coro- other countries with lockdown
vernment and we are expecting an navirus positive numbers in strategies, including Japan
announcement on the same any ti- the world--3.4 cases per million and Singapore imposing a
me now,” the person said. population. In another video lockdown after a second wave
ET reported on April 7 that only conference with state health of positive cases. Modi spoke
10-15% of the 8 million truck fleet ministers, Vardhan however with Japanese Prime Minister
was operational at the moment, pointed to a second surge in ca- Shinzo Abe on Friday. They
which has affected the movement ses in Japan, South Korea and discussed the measures taken
of essential commodities. China and said some states in by their countries to deal with
India were now seeing an “unu- the crisis.
sual speed in positive cases.” Eleven states are under scru-
The prime minister will take tiny and relief from the lock-
a call by arriving at a consen-
sus with chief ministers, a se-
nior central government offici-
al told ET.
down there looks difficult, the
officials cited above said. The-
se are Maharashtra, Tamil Na-
du, Delhi, Rajasthan, Telanga-
“The harvesting of the rabi na, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Gu-
crop is essential and the same jarat, Andhra Pradesh, Mad-
The mygov.in website has also will be allowed,” he said. “Sta- hya Pradesh and Karnataka.
been issuing advisories on be- tes have to specify an action Of the 133 districts in these sta-
havioural health through video plan if they are confident of tes, those reporting more than
messages on several issues that opening up the rural areas ful- 15 cases each have been targe-
employees may face during the ly without risking the spread of ted with a ‘large outbreak con-
lockdown, such as identifying and infections. Much of rural India tainment strategy.’ A ‘cluster
addressing sources of anxiety and is safe from the coronavirus so containment strategy’ shas be-
stress, and practical tips to take far but the question is if a chan- en applied to those with 6-15 ca-
care of one’s mental health. ce can be taken.” ses each.
A senior tax official said the lock-
down had given him more time than
the usual half an hour to spend on
meditation and exercise since most Mallya Gets Reprieve from UK Court
tax department officials have been LONDON: In a relief to Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the high co-
asked to work from home. He said the urt in London has deferred hearings on a plea by the SBI-led
government’s pro-active approach consortium of Indian banks, seeking the indebted tycoon to be
would help in putting anxious minds declared bankrupt to enable them recover a loan of around £
at ease, especially when fake news is 1.145 billion from him. Justice Michael Briggs of the insol-
spreading via messaging platforms. vency division of the high court granted relief to Mallya, ru-
“The government has introduced ling that he should be given time till his petitions to the Su-
fact checking, which is available to preme Court of India and his settlement proposal before the
everyone... stringent laws have been Karnataka High Court be determined, allowing him time to
put in place too,” he added. repay his debts to the banks in full. —PTI
 8 Breaking Ideas
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020

India needs a set of fiscal measures, and granular back-to-work protocols, to save both lives and livelihoods
Industry Rises to
Covid-19 Challenge
It can do even more, help nation, themselves
Fumigation is in the Details SME supply chains, and workers are
It is most encouraging that a variety of India’s manufac- laid off. If this triggers risk aversion
turers have altered their production lines to supply vital or even loss of depositor confidence, it
medical kit in urgent demand to contain Covid-19. Lead-
will be difficult to recover from.
Given the magnitude of potential Adversity to
ing textile producers and the Railways have, in a matter unemployment, business failure and
of days, stepped up domestic output of personal protecti- risk for the financial system, a com-
prehensive package of fiscal and mo-
Advantage
ve equipment (PPE) required by those attending to Co- netary interventions needs to be plan-
vid-19 patients. Only a few weeks ago, all such bodysuits Anu Madgavkar & ned, keeping Scenario 2 in mind, to be
THE XIV DALAI LAMA

were imported. It is welcome that the Indian industry Rajat Gupta triggered progressively and executed As a Buddhist monk, I have
rapidly as the situation evolves. Such learnt that what principally

FILE PHOTO
has been able to quickly boost production of other essen- he Covid-19 pandemic is the a credible, system-wide stabilisation upsets our inner peace is what
tial supplies such as masks, sanitisers and even compact
ventilators designed to be carried in a suitcase. The pro-
duction capacity for personal protective equipment is
now reportedly over 12,000 units per day, and is expected
to rise to 20,000 units a day early next week.
T greatest health and human-
itarian challenge the world
has faced since World War 2.
package could exceed `10 lakh crore,
or more than 5% of GDP.

In response, India has moved More Direct Role

Mega pest control

quickly to implement a nationwide, Broad themes for consideration could along with measures to step up liqui-
21-day lockdown, with a view to flatte- include GoI paying part of the payroll dity in corporate bond and govern-
been in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thai-
land — with unambiguous criteria
we call disturbing emotions.
All those thoughts, emotions
and mental events that reflect a
negative or uncompassionate
state of mind inevitably un-
dermine our experience of
ning the curve and using the time to of the 60 million informal workers lin- ment securities markets. and clear rules for activity laid down. inner peace.
But the potential demand is far higher, and must be consolidate its healthcare resources. ked to companies and providing di- To manage the macroeconomic The definition of a ‘zone’ would need Negative thoughts and emo-
met. Import of machines to make PPE suits has been Along with its unprecedented hu- rect income support for the 135 mil- consequences of a fiscal package of to be granular — ward, colony, or buil- tions obstruct our basic aspira-
held-up in China. It would surely make sense for an agen- man toll, the pandemic has triggered lion that are not. For bankruptcy pro- this order of magnitude, it should be ding cluster — to allow as much eco- tion to be happy and to avoid
a deep economic crisis. The global tection and liquidity support, MSMEs clearly communicated that these me- nomic activity as safely possible, whi- suffering. When we act under
cy such as the Defence Research and Development Orga- growth outlook is bleak. If the virus could receive liquidity lines from the- asures are deep, but temporary. Some le targeting infection as accurately as their influence, we become ob-
nisation (DRDO) to come up with blueprints to make the were contained by the current lock- ir banks, refinanced by RBI, with sub- support may be structured as conting- possible. Since there is a very real pos- livious to the impact our acti-
needed capital goods here. DRDO has down, India’s GDP may grow 1-2% in stantial credit backstops from the ent liabilities that only get reflected in sibility of the virus lingering on thro- ons have on others: they are,
FY2021. But if it needs to be government, conting- the fiscal deficit when they devolve. ugh the year, this micro-targeting app- thus, the cause of our destruc-
been instrumental in designing and extended until mid-May in ent on these compani- Given that India’s fiscal resources roach could help decelerate its spread tive behaviour both toward
testing low-cost ventilators, and its ex- its current form, with a gra- es protecting their are constrained, RBI may need to fi- while keeping livelihoods going. others and to ourselves.
pertise must be tapped for scalable in- dual restarting of supply employees. Existing nance some portion of this incremen- Specific actions could be tailored to So, can we train the mind?
chains, India’s GDP in Q1 credit guarantee tal government spending. The infla- different districts, depending on po- There are many methods by
novation at low cost. All major rail- FY2021 could contract by funds could be expan- tionary effects may be low as lock- pulation density, the relative strength which to do this. Among these,
way workshops and coach factories 20%, and by 2-3% in FY2021. ded with GoI absor- downs severely constrict demand, but of their healthcare systems, and the in the Buddhist tradition, is a
have now shifted product lines and ge- In the event of more natio- bing a major portion price increases could occur in sectors scale of infection locally. India could special instruction called mind
nal lockdowns, it could REVIVAL AF TER LOCKDOWN of the costs of likely like food, so appropriate steps are nee- gear up for local execution by equip- training, which focuses on cul-
ared up to make available equipment contract by as much as 8- new NPLs. ded to maintain supply chains. ping 700-plus high-performing go- tivating concern for others and
to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Ordinance factories 10% for FY2021. For large corporates, banks could Beyond stimulus measures, the pa- vernment officers, and from cities turning adversity to advanta-
have also been tasked to produce personal protective Assuming Scenario 2 plays out, the be allowed to restructure the debt on ce and pattern of lifting lockdowns like Mumbai and states like Kerala ge. It is this pattern of thought,
livelihoods of 32 million workers, in- their balance sheets, and procedural will be crucial. How it unfolds in India that are today fighting the pandemic. transforming problems into
equipment and other critical supplies. The way forward cluding many in the informal work- requirements relaxed for raising ca- will depend on the availability of cru- happiness, which has enabled
is to promptly leverage the startup ecosystem to shore up force, could be affected. High credit pital. In select distressed sectors (tra- cial testing capabilities, granular da- Midterm Solutions the Tibetan people to maintain
innovative products and services — such as rapid testing strain would be seen in travel, trans- vel, logistics, auto, textiles, construc- ta and technology to track and trace These officers could be deputed to their dignity and spirit in the
port and logistics, textiles, power and tion, power, etc), GoI could infuse capi- infections and the healthcare faciliti- work with the district magistrates, face of great difficulties. Indeed,
for Covid-19 — and to manage logistics of delivery and the hotel and entertainment sectors, tal through a temporary Tarp (troub- es to treat patients. dynamically developing and execu- I have found this advice of prac-
supply. Use of ultraviolet light to kill germs is a part of and for MSMEs across the board. led asset relief programme)-type Protocols, co-created with industry, ting locally tailored lockdowns, he- tical benefit in my own life.
many water purifiers. It can be used to kill any bug stick- With widespread MSME and corpo- programme. will be needed for different settings althcare expansion efforts and back- A great Tibetan teacher of
rate financial stress, non-performing Again, appropriate conditions wo- (mandis, factories, BPOs, etc). Indust- to-work protocols, supported by cross- mind training once remarked
ing to vegetables or grocery brought home. Designing loans (NPLs) in the financial system uld need to be imposed to safeguard rial areas like Vapi and Baddi could be functional centres of excellence at that one of the mind’s most
and producing such sanitisers can put small industry to could rise by 7 percentage points of lo- workers and MSMEs and make the ring-fenced for safety, with local dor- state and/or Centre. marvellous qualities is that it
ans. The financial system could face process transparent. Some banks/ mitories set up for the labour and mi- Both lives and livelihoods must be can be transformed. I have no
work as well.
both solvency and liquidity risk, as non-banks may require measures to nimal movement in and out of the site preserved in this crisis. India must doubt that those who attempt
Leading producers can well use their corporate social payments freeze in the corporate and strengthen their capital and liquidity, allowed. While the principles may be consider a set of fiscal measures, and to transform their minds, over-
responsibility funds to step-up resources for testing the the same for construction sites and granular back-to-work protocols, to come their disturbing emotio-
BPOs, the specifics would differ. make it happen. ns and achieve a sense of inner
novel coronavirus. Further, the exports of PPE suits,
Ageographic lens could be overlaid peace, will, over time, notice a
masks and ventilators also need to be actively considered. The inflationary effects may be low as lockdowns to determine how quickly the lock- Madgavkar and Gupta are partner, change in their attitudes and
down could be lifted with the new pro- responses to people and events.
severely constrict demand, but price increases tocols in place. Red, yellow and green
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), and
senior partner, McKinsey & Company, I offer my prayers that everyo-
could occur in sectors such as food zones could be created — as they have respectively ne who makes this their goal
will be blessed with success.

Minimise Covid-19
Collateral Damage Revving to Start Up After Lockdown Citings

Scenario
Covid-19 is the top, often overwhelming, priority of the health- those who don’t; support those with business grinding to a halt; spiralling ors to expect delays. The tough deci-
growth opportunities; and, in gene- receivables; new business conversa- sions on reducing headcount were
care system. It has resulted, in some cases with tragic outco-
mes, a neglect of non-Covid-19 patients. For these patients and
ral, find ways to help founders. For tions postponed. And almost all of dealt with as humanely as possible. Analyses
founders, however, it has been far them having to undertake painful Most conversations started with
their families, it has been a harrowing and disheartening ex- from predictable. From scaling busi- cost-reduction measures. how the business had fallen to near-
ERIC CLEMONS
perience. It is critical to ensure that those suffering from other nesses and preparing for fund-raises, In all this gloom, two things stand zero levels. But they ended with a
diseases and afflictions have access to medical care, doctors to having to worry about ‘Day Zero’ out: the sense of optimism among note of optimism around how they It is not usually necessary to
Ganapathy Venugopal scenarios have been quite sudden. founders, and the speed with which will bounce back. Every venture perform scenario analyses for
and treatments in a safe manner. More so, as those with under- Every crisis brings with it some un- they have adapted to the evolving capitalist (VC), across large and small short-term uncertainties. We
lying ailments that compromise immunity are more suscep- seen opportunities. Every crisis also ‘normal’. In every single case, the funds, I spoke to endorsed the sense of know how to predict the re-
tible to contracting Covid-19. As an early stage investor, my world tests the limits of our resilience. Amid founder had some basic idea of what optimism among their portfolio found- sponses of others over the
Doctors stress isolating suspected and confirmed Covid-19 is largely surrounded by startups. mathematical models and economic they needed to survive this crisis, and ers and how quickly they had adapted. short term, and we even know
Many of these businesses serve as projections, one powerful factor is of- had put in place a plan to execute on There are a number of unknowns on how to predict the effectiveness
patients from others. Hence the dedicated, Covid-19 treatment barometers for what is happening in ten overlooked: the power of human that. Most of them had put together a the business front. There is no line of of their responses. But we’ve
centres. At the same time, patients with critical healthcare ne- the larger economy. In this unpreced- optimism. While India’s startups are plan to extend their ‘Day Zero’. Some sight on how long this shutdown will never faced a threat like the cor-
eds such as dialysis and chemotherapy ented Covid-19 crisis, we are surroun- still only a small portion of the larger of the larger ones had a business last. Views on the shape of recovery onavirus pandemic, and gov-
must be able to access care and those with ded by frenetic WhatsApp forwards, economy, if we are looking for hope, continuity plan in place. vary. When will rebuilding begin is un- ernments have never tried to
never-ending streams of conference they may be a good place to start looking. They had worked out various dema- certain. But one thing is clear: startup implement the same set of re-
chronic conditions such as heart ailments calls, scraps of epidemiological For most portfolio founders I have nd scenarios. Business model chang- founders are prepared, optimistic and sponses before…We sort of
and diabetes get their treatment regimen wisdom and geometric possibilities been in touch with, the first two es, pivots, new ideas for distribution, believe they have it in them to bide this know where we are now. We are
and check-ups. Health is a state subject of recovery. Finding some hope and weeks of lockdown resembled a automation — nothing was out of qu- crisis. That they want to do this while confronting a new virus. It
sanity in all of this has been hard. dystopian reality — advanced term estion. Most had put in place a daily taking decisions as humanely as possi- seems to spread faster than the
and it is the duty of state governments to
For investors, the last few weeks sheet conversations held up; startups or weekly communication cadence ble, and leading by example suggests the flu, because we have no immu-
ensure this via clear provisions, designat- have been quite predictable — make stuck with cross-border fund raise; with all their team members. If they Indian startup system is in safe hands. nity from previous infections
ing hospitals that will take on non-Covid- sure every portfolio company has an founders stuck abroad not able to were anticipating a crisis in collecti- with this virus. Likewise, we
19 cases. To this end, given the health emergency that Covid-19 extended runway; get capital for return; several founders seeing their ons, they had reassured their vend- The writer is CEO, Axilor Ventures have no vaccines to slow the vi-
rus’s transmission from per-
poses, state governments should rope in private hospitals. Cen- son to person…What will the
tral government health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat effects be when we shut down

Eat, Pray, Perish

and state government schemes can help underwrite costs. The entire segments of the econo-
state governments will need to ensure that private hospitals my? We’ve had recessions that
emerged over months or years.
do not overcharge and those turning away patients must be We’ve never had a self-im-
punished. State and district administrations must ensure posed, instant and long-lasting
that primary healthcare centres continue to provide services. bles coronaviruses in bats, its su- ch, salivate, urinate, defecate and generally unpopular. On their part, recession before.
Such moves are vital to minimise Covid-19’s collateral damage. spected reservoir, and pangolins, a bleed around their human handlers, developed countries have neither Here are the two questions
possible but yet-unconfirmed inter- interspecies viral spillovers may done enough to nab the illegal that, if we could answer them,
When an ailing elder contracts Covid-19 and dies, should it be mediate host. It may have gone from occur. Wherever they land up, wildlife trade’s transit-providers, they would enable us to predict
accounted to Covid-19 or the underlying disease? Some gov- bats to humans via an animal go- wild-caught animals may harbour nor fully avowed the equally alar- how deep and how long the re-
ernments are reportedly yielding to the temptation to keep between, pre-adapting to infect pathogens acquired before capture. ming health and ecological costs of cession would be. They also
down their Covid-19 count. That will not wash. humans. Or it turned pathogenic Traditional Chinese medicine mega-scale factory farming. would allow us to predict how
Rupa Sengupta post-jump, during unsuspected farms are dicey too. Pangolin scales Seizures of smuggled species and catastrophic the impacts of
human-to-human spread. If the first are prized for ‘medicinal value’. But products in Europe and the US both COVID-19 would be on the
hypothesis is true, there’s greater pangolins are severely endangered. reveal and mask the scale of the health of our populations. We
The chorus is growing. United Nati- risk of recurring outbreaks. Plus, they may be Sars-CoV-2’s host, global collusion in wildlife traffick- need to slow the spread of CO-
ons Convention on Biological Diver- From a public health standpoint, akin to Sars-related civet cats or Mers- ing, which rakes in $7 billion to $23 VID-19. But can we flatten the
Quoting the Ramayan, Brazilian sity’s acting executive secretary Eli- illegal trade isn’t the only headache. linked camels. Their harvesting is billion yearly. Animals are unlaw- curve, and slow the spread of
president sends epic SOS to PM Modi zabeth Maruma Mrema, many lead- China plans to monitor ‘legal’ indefensible on both counts. But try fully hunted on every continent. the virus? There is so much we
ing infectious diseases experts, and wildlife trade when (read: if) its ban convincing Chinese health officials Bushmeat and body parts sell clan- cannot predict, because we
241conservation groups have dem- becomes law. When a measure stops who prescribe medicines contai- destinely in London, Paris and New have not tried this before…

Hailing Hanuman anded worldwide bans on wet mar-

kets. Are overt and covert patrons of
the wildlife trade listening?
As we’ve learned the hard way, wet
wildlife consumption but allows
non-food uses like medicine, fur and
leather, you can bet the exemptions
will be misused. Wildlife for fur or
ning bear bile for Covid-19 patients.
Experts say bats should especially
exit from lunch menus, as should
bat faeces and body parts from lists
York. Primates or pangolins, repti-
les or raccoons, rhino horn or ivory,
tiger bones or leopard skins, there
are takers everywhere.
From: “COVID-19 Pandemic: What
Will the Next Six Months Bring?”

In Portuguese markets don’t just sell seafood and

domesticated animals. They also
hawk wildlife, possible hosts of
The devil, it’s said, can cite scripture for his own purposes. potentially deadly pathogens. Be-
While not even his most censorious critic would liken Brazi-
lieved to have spawned the severe
acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)
lian president Jair Bolsonaro to His Satanic Majesty, he does
seem to play host to an imp of the perverse, as evidenced by
and the novel coronavirus (Sars-
CoV-2), these germ-incubators are
his downplaying fears about the coronavirus pandemic, caus- reportedly reopening in China,
despite a late-February ban on
ing not a few to label him as the original Brazilian nut. How- illegal wildlife trade.
ever, like his presidential colleague in the US, the Brazilian China’s crackdown in 2003 on wild-
leader has done an about-turn on Covid-19 and sent an SOS to life markets ended after Sars exited.
PM Narendra Modi asking for supplies of hydroxychloroqu- History is repeating itself, this time
while the Covid-19 pandemic is
ine, which is believed to be effective in treating the disease. raging. Clearly, Chinese authorities
The Brazilian president has cited the Ramayan episode in have so long blessed the breed-and-
which Hanuman saves the life of a gravely wounded Laksh- kill industry as some sort of get-
man by bringing to him a Medicine Mountain, which has the rich-quick cultural entitlement that
it won’t evaporate by fiat.
magical resuscitating herb, Sanjeevani. While it is not known But while beating back the latest
if PM Modi will move metaphoric mountains to accede to this enemy virus, China’s corona-war-
plea, an Indian hakim might suggest that Brazilians should riors miss one point. Killer patho-
take a daily dose of a spice that in north India is called kalon- gens aren’t easily vanquished, least
of all by countries left no wiser by
ji and, according to social media, is supposed to contain hyd- serial ravages of zoonotic disease:
roxychloroquine. Called nigella in the West, the condiment is HIV-Aids, Sars, the Middle East
respiratory syndrome (Mers) and
medicine will appear on the black
market as food. And breeders will
tag poached animals as farm-bred.
The legal-illegal distinction is lau-
ghably flimsy, anyway. Eating wild-
life endangers human health. So do
breeding, handling and slaughter in,
say, abysmally regulated fur farms.
Wherever terrorised, immunologi-
cally weakened animals bite, scrat-
FILE PHOTO
of medicinal ingredients. These
flying mammals with formidable
immune systems safely harbour
microbes that can turn vicious
inside less-resistant hosts. Many
killer diseases spring from bat-
borne pathogens: rabies from lyssa-
viruses, Marburg and ebola from
filoviruses, Nipah and Hendra from
henipaviruses, and Sars and Mers
from coronaviruses.
Warning that disturbing bat habi-
tats boosts the chances of zoonosis,
researchers decry habitat and
biodiversity loss in general. Human
takeover of land and forests endang-
ers species while escalated human-
animal encounters facilitate patho-
genic spillovers, whether in wildlife
markets or meat factories. Mean-
time, deforestation and climate
change help spread vector-borne
blights like malaria and dengue.
None of this is a secret.
Yet, global resolve to protect bio-
diversity and promote animal
welfare seems weak, since everybo-
dy has a stake in plundering nature
With wildlife’s eye-popping prices,
greed, vanity and corruption fuel
this tentacular business that bruta-
lises countless species, pushing
many to near-extinction. As for
livestock, countless sentient beings
become antibiotics-laced meat in
the high-speed assembly lines and
kill floors of industrialised slaugh-
ter, potential nurseries of untrea-
table superbugs.
Unsurprisingly, around two-thirds
of emerging infectious diseases af-
fecting humans are animal-related,
three-fourths of them wildlife-link-
ed. Virologists also reckon animals
and birds might host 1.67 million yet-
unearthed viruses, of which as many
as 827,000 could afflict humans.
Debuting stealthily and killing exp-
editiously, Sars-CoV-2 ups the zoono-
tic ante. Able to spread asymptoma-
tically, it has wrecked social bonds,
paralysed economies and strained
health services. Placing a globalised
world under an unthinkable lock-
down, it offers a preview of the
chaos pathogenic mutations and
Chat Room
Ignore Irrational
Faith Peddlers
Apropos ‘The Last Supper’ by
Sumit Dhanraj (Speaking Tree,
Apr 9), regular church-goers
must be longing for ‘regular
church services’ to stay connec-
ted and enjoy physically sharing
space with others. The impact of
‘live-streamed or virtual servi-
ces’ on the believers and the
sufficiency of them for their
spiritual life remain to be seen.
One preacher was heard telling,
“No virus can touch me if God is
with me.” Nonetheless, his
words are not to be taken at face
value as long as Covid-19 is
circulating and looking for
human hosts. People must take
precautions like ‘social dis-
tancing’ and ‘hand-washing’ and

widely used in cooking and is believed to be the inspiration

ebola, to name a few.
for the name of UK’s celebrity chef, Nigella Lawson. Brasilia
Research on Sars-CoV-2 is ongoing.
might ask her for suitable recipes, following the Indian in- Said to have evolved by natural
junction that jugaad helps those who help themselves. selection, the virus broadly resem-
and its non-human progeny. Live spillovers might unleash in future. ignore irrational faith peddlers.
animal markets thrive across Asia The message for us is clear: stop
and Africa where initiatives that hit living voraciously — or, rest assu- G DAVID MILTON
Snake oil salesmen, a virulent species livelihoods, even to save lives, are red, nature will strike back. Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
 CONTRAPUNTO Fame doesn’t end loneliness.
CLAIRE DANES Around the World 9
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020

QUICK HITS
Uber to Provide Masks in
Virus Safety Move
San Francisco: Uber said on Thurs-
day it planned to give out “tens of
millions” of masks to drivers
worldwide as part of its efforts to
boost safety amid the coronavirus
pandemic. The global ridesharing
giant said it shipped its first order
of masks to drivers in New York
City, which is the current US
epicentre of the outbreak, and
expects another half-million that
will go other US cities. “We’ve
ordered tens of millions more
masks and expect them to arrive in
other cities and regions around the
world in the coming weeks,” Uber
safety vice president Gus Fuldner
said in a statement. “Supplies are
limited and healthcare needs will
always take priority, so global
shipments will take time.” AFP
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Boeing Mulling Plan to Cut
10% Workforce: Report
Washington: US airplane giant
Boeing was mulling a plan to cut
about 10% of its workforce amid
the fallout caused by the Covid-19
pandemic, according to a media
report. The plan, which could
include buyouts, early retirements
and involuntary layoffs, were
expected to mostly target the
company’s commercial arm, since
turmoil in the global airline in-
dustry has put the unit under
immense strain, Xinhua news
agency quoted the Wall Street
Journal as saying in a report on
Thursday. No decisions on cuts
have been made, with the potenti-
al 10% decline in labour force still
under consideration, according to
the report. IANS
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Biden’s Next Big Decision:
Choosing a Running Mate
Des Moines, Iowa: Joe Biden faces
the most important decision of his
five-decade political career:
choosing a vice president. The
presumptive Democratic presi-
EU Finance Ministers Agree on US Threatens to
Block China Telecom
$590-Billion Coronavirus Package from American Mkt
Ministers also agree to work on temporary fund that would help kickstart the recovery department said in a statement.
Brussels: European Union finan-
With several key Cites legal and The agencies — which also in-
cluded the justice department,
ce ministers agreed on a ¤540-bil- divisions papered over on security risks, the commerce department, the
lion ($590 billion) package of mea- US trade representative and US
sures to combat the economic fallo- Thursday, disagreements leaves final counter-intelligence — said
ut of the global coronavirus pande-
mic. It’s now up to EU leaders to
are likely to resurface decision to FCC China Telecom is vulnerable to
“exploitation, influence and
approve the accord, which will re- when leaders are control” by the Chinese govern-
quire overcoming profound politi- Washington: The top depart- ment.
cal disagreements. called to sign off ments of the US government ha- They said it has inaccurately re-
In an emergency teleconference ve endorsed cutting off Beijing- ported to US authorities where it
on Thursday, finance chiefs appro- which have been pushing for it to controlled China Telecom from stores its US re-
ved a plan to stave off what’s expec- be financed through joint debt is- serving the US market because of cords and how it
ted to be a recession of unprece- suance. Yet the text skirted the qu- legal and security risks, the justi- The agencies manages cyber-
dented size. The deal will lay to rest estion of common debt and only ce department announced on said China security.
at least for now concerns that the mentioned “innovative financial Thursday. The departments, in- Telecom is The agencies
EU was incapable of uniting be- Mannequins in soccer uniforms with the faces of ‘virtual fans’ who bought instruments”, a reference that cluding defence, state and home- also made the re-
vulnerable to
hind a common strategy when it tickets online are seen on grandstand seats during the match between FC even countries like Germany, that land security, said after a broad “exploitation, commendation
was most urgently needed. Dynamo Brest and FC Shakhter Soligorsk in Brest, Belarus. Belarus is the are loath to agree to further risk review that the Federal Commu- influence and based on “the na-
In a sign of relief, ministers broke last country in Europe still hosting pro sports in front of spectators. AP sharing could live with. nications Commission should control” by ture of China Te-
out in applause once consensus The wording on the use of credit “revoke and terminate” all aut- the Chinese lecom’s US ope-
was struck. lion of liquidity to companies, as finance minister Bruno Le Maire lines from the bailout fund left a lot horisations for the Chinese gi- government rations”, which
“Today [Thursday] we agreed on well as credit lines of as much as said the fund could be decided on in to be desired for all camps. The con- ant’s US subsidiary, China Tele- they said allow
three safety nets and a plan for the ¤240 billion from the European Sta- the next six months and may total ditions attached to these funds we- com (Americas), to provide inter- Chinese government actors “to
recovery to ensure we grow toget- bility Mechanism, the euro area’s ¤500 billion. re the main sticking point earlier national telecommunications engage in malicious cyber activi-
her and not apart once the crisis is bailout fund, to backstop states as All of it needs approval by govern- this week, with the Netherlands services to and from the US. ty enabling economic espionage
behind us,” Mario Centeno, the they go on a spending spree to help ment leaders as early as next week, lobbying for a requirement that en- “The executive branch agencies and disruption and misrouting
Portuguese finance minister who economies back on their feet. and tensions persist. With several sures countries return to fiscal he- identified substantial and unac- of US communications”.
runs the so-called Eu- The ministers also key divisions papered over on alth once the crisis is over. ceptable national security and The recommendation has to be
rogroup meetings, told agreed to work on a Thursday, disagreements are lik- In the end, the Dutch got a slightly law enforcement risks associa- decided upon by the FCC, but will
reporters. temporary fund ely to resurface when leaders are stricter commitment that countri- ted with China Telecom’s opera- almost certainly involve the Whi-
The common response that would help called to sign off. es would strengthen their “econo- tions, which render the FCC aut- te House, where it could be weig-
includes a joint employ- kickstart the reco- mic and financial fundamentals” horisations inconsistent with hed amid ongoing trade negotia-
ment insurance fund very and support A COMPROMISE? once the crisis was over. Meanwhi- the public interest,” the justice tions with Beijing. AFP
worth ¤100 billion, a Eu- the hardest-hit co- The result was an EU compromise. le, the lines would be able to finan-
ropean Investment untries while lea- The agreement on the recovery ce “direct and indirect healthcare,
Bank instrument inten- ving how it would fund was a victory for countries in- cure and prevention related costs,”
RE V I VA L A F T E R LO C K DOW N
ded to supply ¤200 bil- be financed. French cluding France, Spain and Italy, a likely narrower scope. Bloomberg
Trump says Airline
Rescue Plan Soon
Olympics Doubtful
even in 2021: CEO
It’s Another Day
Global cases touch 1.6 Million,
Washington: US President Do- Tokyo: The chief executive of the deaths 95,808
nald Trump said on Thursday Tokyo Games said on Friday he
his administration would pre- can’t guarantee the postponed US: 465,295 Iran reports
sent a plan this weekend to save Olympics will be staged next year cases, death toll 122 virus
the flagging airline industry, — even with a 16-month delay. at 16,627 deaths, raising
which is facing vastly reduced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo total to 4,232
business as a result of the coro- Abe issued an emergency declara- Spain sees lowest
navirus pandemic. tion this week to battle the virus, virus daily toll Belgium
Trump did not give out much putting the country under restric- in 17 days, with coronavirus An empty beer garden at a closed pub in Lulworth Cove
detail at his press briefing. “We tions after it seemed it had avoided 605 people dying deaths top
on Friday 3,000
WHAT IS BRITAIN
will probably be putting out a the spread. “I don’t think anyone
proposal and giving (airline would be able to say if it is going to
companies) some of the details, be possible to get it under control Yemen has 1st Italy eyes

WITHOUT THE PUB?

dential nominee expects to name a
committee to vet potential running
mates next week, according to
three Democrats with knowledge
of the situation. Biden, a former
vice president himself, has com-
mitted to picking a woman and told
donors this week that his team has
discussed naming a choice well
ahead of the Democratic con-
vention in August. Selecting a
running mate is always critical for
a presidential candidate. But it’s an
especially urgent calculation for
the 77-year-old Biden, who, if he
wins, would be the oldest Ameri-
can president in history. The
decision carries added weight
amid the coronavirus pandemic,
which, beyond its death toll,
threatens to devastate the world
economy and define a prospective
Biden administration. “We’re still
going to be in crisis or recovery,
and you want a vice president who
can manage that,'' said Karen
Finney, a Democratic strategist.
“This seems like a much more
important decision than usual.” AP
some very powerful details over by next July or not,” Tokyo organi-
the weekend,” he said. sing committee CEO Toshiro Mu-
He did not rule out direct con- to said, speaking through an inter-
versations with individual airli- preter at a news conference con-
nes in the coming days. “I think ducted remotely. ''We’re certainly
it’s going to be a very acceptable are not in a position to give you a
package, it’s a very big package clear answer.”
and acceptable package,” Trump The Olympics were postponed
said. “It will be good for the co- last month with a new opening set
untry and good for the airlines. for July 23, 2021, followed by the
Good for lots of people.” AFP Paralympics on August 24. AP
Melania Highlights Trump’s Reluctance to Wear a Mask
Washington: In a message on Twitter
accompanied by a picture of her face
partly covered by a medical mask,
Melania Trump, the first lady, urged
Americans on Thursday to protect
themselves from the coronavirus by
wearing face coverings in public, an
image all the more striking because it
contrasted with her husband’s mixed
messages on the subject.
“As the CDC continues to study the
spread of the Covid-19, they’re
recommending people wear cloth
face coverings in public settings
where social distancing measures
can be difficult to maintain,” she said
in an accompanying video.
confirmed virus lockdown
case, more than extension to
10,000 in Israel May 3
if I need to go to a pub.”)
London: In the midst of a glo- Even the 20th century wars
Father says Boris Johnson likely out of
bal pandemic that has sicke- could not close down the pubs.
action for a while
ned more than 60,000 people in But as easy as it is to lament
Britain and killed more than the loss of the storied British
China’s Wuhan to keep testing residents as
7,000, the desire to sit inside a tradition of drinking, pub clo-
lockdown eases musty room and share an un- sures are being acutely felt by
cleaned glass of beer with fri- business owners and workers
ends ranks low among natio- across Britain. By last count,
nal priorities. That doesn’t there were
make it any easier.
It may seem trivial, but the
closing of pubs is unpreceden-
Pubs have
been granted
about 48,000
pubs employ-
ing around
“Remember,” she added, “this does briefing room, according to White ted for Britain. Never before in permission to 450,000 peo-
not replace the importance of social House officials. “I don’t know, some- the history of the country have sell food for ple, all of
distancing.” how sitting in the Oval Office behind the pubs been closed outright. carryout, but whom are wit-
But President Donald Trump offers that beautiful Resolute Desk,” the “I do accept that what we’re no alcohol hout work in-
his own interpretation of the rules: president told reporters Friday, “I doing is extraordinary. We’re definitely.
He has told reporters that he would think wearing a face mask as I greet taking away the ancient, inali- (The government has said it
not be interested presidents, prime ministers, dic- enable right of freeborn peo- will revisit the closures next
in wearing a mask tators, kings, queens, I don’t know — ple of the United Kingdom to week.) Pubs have been gran-
She waited until unless he deemed somehow, I don’t see it for myself. I go to the pub,” Prime Minister ted permission to sell food for
official govt it important. just — I just don’t. Maybe I’ll change Boris Johnson said when he carryout, but no alcohol.
guidance was Instead, everyone my mind, but this will pass, and announced the closures of all “This is pretty much the
released to who comes into hopefully it’ll pass very quickly.” pubs, restaurants, bars and worst time in my life,” said Ro-
begin filming close contact with According to an administration cafes on March 20. (Three days sie Wesemann, who has ow-
Trump must now official, the first lady waited until earlier, when Johnson had re- ned The Scolt Head, a pub in
public service
announcements be tested for the official government guidance was commended that the public East London, with her brot-
and issuing virus, including released to begin filming public avoid pubs and other social ve- her for the past 11 years. Wese-
warnings on journalists in the service announcements and issuing nues, his own father respon- mann has had to furlough all
Twitter White House warnings on Twitter. The New York Times ded, “Of course I’ll go to a pub 40 of her employees. NYT

FLU BLUES: TIPS, TRIVIA & TRENDS YOUR DAILY DIET OF FUN AND FACTS Crossword 7692

Singapore Stops Zoom Facebook Sues Techie

Asia Cracks Down on 1 2 3 4 5 6 DOWN
1 Rachel’s misled bloke (7)
2 Decoration causing rig to col-
for Online Education as over Deceptive Ads 7
lapse (5,5)

Hackers Strike
Singapore has
on Coronavirus
Facebook has filed a lawsuit against
Virus ‘Fake News’ 8 9 10
3 Headgear for retirement
needs patching every-
where (8)
4 What kids do when hurt, not
being brave? (6)
suspended the Indian-American software architect Hundreds of 11 12 5 You and I devour trendy drink
use of Zoom Basant Gajjar who violated the company’s people have been (4)
policies by providing cloaking software arrested across 13 6 Force out former Canadian PM
for online short of gold (7)
education after and services designed to circumvent Asia for posting 14 15 16 7 Another vehicle tours Georgia
hackers automated ad review systems, and purported false and South Africa for big
show (12)
hijacked a ultimately run deceptive ads on both coronavirus 17 18
10 Easily understood, like moun-
lesson and Facebook and Instagram. Gajjar operated information, 19 20 21 22
tain streams (7,5)
under the name LeadCloak and provided according to an 13 Funny projectile ruins stupid
showed race (7,3)
obscene ad-cloaking software designed to push AFP investigation, 23 15 Section of perimeter or all of
images to fake news and scams related to Covid-19, deepening it? (3)
24 25 18 Number of pins at St Andrews
students. In cryptocurrency, pharmaceuticals, diet concerns that growing government efforts to combat “fake news” seen on the left here! (8)
what is known as “Zoombombing”, two pills and fake news pages. Some of will target the wrong people and silence dissent. From teenagers to 26 20 Lucifer’s former prison (3,4)
22 Towards the centre where pa-
hackers interrupted a geography lesson cloaked websites also included images of a TV star, people have been wrongly detained under vaguely tients are found (7)
27 28
a day after Singapore closed schools on celebrities. LeadCloak’s software also worded cybercrime laws or broad state-of-emergency powers 23 Quiet one’s running round
Wednesday as part of partial lockdown targeted a number of other technology ushered in since the outbreak began, rights groups say. fast (6)
26 Children’s author fooled about
measures to curb local transmissions of companies including Google, Oath, “Governments are using the ‘fake news’ label to dress up their with length (4)
WordPress, Shopify, and others, claimed rights-abusing efforts to censor views and statements that are at 29
Covid-19. Singapore’s ministry of
education said it was investigating the Facebook in its lawsuit filed in federal odds with whatever strategy they have taken to deal with the SOLUTION TO No. 7691
“serious incidents” and may file police court in California. According to Gajjar’s Covid-19 crisis,” said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for ACROSS 19 Worldwide blog hacked by a stu- ACROSS: 1 On paper. 5 Admits.
reports. “As a precautionary measure, brief profile available on the Internet, he Human Rights Watch (HRW). At least 266 people have been 1 I’m a cleaner, hence my wipes must dent (6) 9 Tenuous. 10 Dustman. 11 Cat.
be changed (7,5) 21 One breaking wind the result of er- 12 Nondescript. 13 Learn.
our teachers will suspend their use of is a digital marketer, SaaS expert, and arrested for posting coronavirus-related information in 10 Asian 8 Work in hospital looking into com- ror in court? (8) 14 Master key. 16 Existence.
Zoom until these security issues are founder and system architect at countries, from Thailand to India and Mongolia, according to an plaints? (1-6) 24 Where new branch starts, one de- 17 Run up.19 Centrifugal.
9 Left a nut stupidly in charge of idi- signed to hold 500 (4) 22 Her. 23 Scarabs. 24 Eardrum.
ironed out.” AP LeadCloak.com. IANS AFP tally based on police reports. AFP ot (7) 25 Retreat, having large prize reje- 26 Akimbo. 27 Moneyed.
11 Clubs hope to avoid this, say, in as- cted (10) DOWN: 1 Optical. 2 Punctuation
sociation (10) 27 Energise a spouse going round part mark. 3 Pro. 4 Resin. 5 Ad-

Microsoft Giving 3 Months Paid
Parental Leave
Microsoft is offering 12
weeks of paid leave to
employees who are parents
as schools remain closed
during the coronavirus
crisis, according an internal
memo reviewed by Business Insider. Microsoft
executive vice president Kurt DelBene notified
employees about the benefit in an April 6 email. “The
HR leadership team heard your feedback and requests
for greater flexibility and time off to help accommodate
WFH schedules as you face extended school closures,”
DelBene wrote in the email. “To help alleviate some of
this pressure, we are extending your leave options.”
The memo is sparse on details about who is eligible but
says parents can use the benefit on a “continuous,
reduced or intermittent basis”, meaning they could take
off one or two days a week and work remotely for the
rest, among other options. Business Insider
US Man Arrested for Hitting Mom over Toilet Paper 12 Cheer up lad, by the sound of it (4)
14 Queen Victoria hosted casual as-
of UK (7)
28 Shops return nearly all fliers about
dressee.6 Music. 7 Tom Dick and
Harry. 8 Knotty. 12 Nonet.
sortment of vessels (8) post office (7) 14 Manifesto.15 Enrol.
A California man was arrested this week after allegedly punching his mother — who had apparently
hidden the family’s stash of toilet paper because of his excessive use of the hot commodity. Police
16 Bear right after Rugby gym (6)
17 Sanctimonious European’s dish (3)
29 Cook leeks on Skye, saving time for
openers (8,4)
16 Excess. 18 Pyramid.
20 Realm. 21 Gleam. 25 Ran.
were called to the family’s home in Saugus, north of Los Angeles, at 3am on Monday following a ©The Daily Mail
dispute over the whereabouts of the hygiene product, Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa
Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, told AFP. The argument between Adrian Yan and his mother escalated
and he punched her in the face, Miller said. He was detained on charges of battery, she added. The
mother told deputies that she hid the toilet paper from her 26-year-old son because he used too
much of it at a time when the product is in short supply because of the Covid-19 pandemic. AFP
Dilbert by S Adams
Tokyo Bars, Eateries to Shut by 8pm Daily
Bars and restaurants in Tokyo were on Friday ordered to shut down by
8pm daily as part of the Japanese governments strict measures to contain
the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike
told reporters that the new restrictions would come into effect Saturday
onwards and follow the state of emergency declared earlier this week by
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reports Efe news. Koike announced that
alcohol could be served in bars and restaurants only till 7pm and they
would have to close down an hour later. She said restaurants and bars
could open for business from 5am to 8pm. IANS
 10 Life in the times of Covid-19
The Economic Times, Mumbai, Saturday, 11 April 2020
New Normal: Home Sounds
Mingle with Work Noises
As staff working from home struggle to cope with the demands of office and house work, employers
use humor to allay stress. Kala Vijayraghavan and Lijee Philip report
T
he chairman of a south-
based conglomerate was
recently discussing a criti-
cal issue with his top team
during a video conference
when he was suddenly interrupted
by the piercing whistle of a pres-
sure cooker in the background. The
stunned team relaxed and laughed
only when the chairman said he
hoped to be invited for the meal.
“We waited for the whistle to end to
continue our discussion. But we all
better get used to it. No one knows
how long this will last,” he said,
laughing.
Another CEO said their meetings
are sometimes disturbed by a dog
barking in the background or the
loud chatter of children. But this is
what India Inc chieftains call the
“new normal” way of work life.
As employees adjust to the new way
of work life at the very place where
they live, business leaders are try-
ing to make things easier by using
humour to allay panic and stress.
Business tycoon Anand Mahindra
recently said in a Twitter post that
he wears lungis during work from
home video calls.
Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan
Munjal has been one of the busiest
corporate leaders during the lock-
down, having addressed about 10
interactive townhall meetings with
over 4,000 employees over video con-
ferencing.
“Given the challenging situation
the automobile sector is in, it is im-
portant to understand the anxiety of
our employees and show empathy,”
Munjal said.
Social Tensions, A Human History of
Privacy Concerns
Add to Woes of Those
Suspected of Exposure
Varuni Khosla &
Anjali Venugopalan
A
26-year-old businessman
and his family of four from
New Delhi went into self-
quarantine after a doctor he
hadvisitedthismonthtested
positive for Covid-19.
Even though the businessmen
himself tested negative, his misery
had just started. Gates to his home in
the colony were sealed soon after the
“home under quarantine” notice by
the district authorities went up. By the
next morning, street vendors stopped
selling fruits and vegetables to them.
Their cleaning staff stopped com-
ing. Photographs of the notice and
rumours about how he may have
been infected started to circulate on
the colony’s WhatsApp groups.
“We could not order anything online
and have had no choice but to just eat
the grains that we had. Khichri is on
the menu most days,” he said.
Scores of Indians have been sub-
jected to highhandedness, aggressive
behaviour from neighbours, commu-
nity-based coercion and discrimina-
tion due to the paranoia surrounding
Covid-19. Gratuitous discrimination
against those under quarantine or
those who have returned from over-
seas has also increased.
“I’ve had no peace of mind since I
came back,” said a 25-year-old gradu-
ate student who returned to Kerala
from Italy two weeks ago. “The peo-
ple here are an even bigger virus than
Covid-19. They threatened to file a case
saying I had been roaming outside…
Maybe they’re doing it out of jealousy
because I study in Europe. Some are
saying it to settle past scores.”
Another student from Italy, cur-
Several Recruiters Commit to
Honoring Offers to Students
Prachi Verma Dadhwal
& Sreeradha D Basu
Amidst growing uncertainty over job
offers getting revoked at campuses,
here are a dozen top recruiters who
have committed to honouring all job
offers made to students. Companies
like Capgemini, HUL, ITC, Airtel,
Aditya Birla group, Vedanta Group,
Flipkart, Godrej, L’Oreal, KPMG,
Dabur, Capgemini, Whirlpool, Dabur
and PayU that ET spoke to said they
would honour all job offers handed out
across all campuses they visited.
The last few weeks since the Covid19
outbreak in India has left students even
at top IITs and IIMs anxious after US-
based recruiter Gartner revoked offers.
“He speaks to us and even our
families and kids quite regularly
through his digital townhalls,” a top
Hero official told ET on condition of
anonymity.
Bio c on ch a i r p er s on K i r a n
Mazumdar Shaw finds it quite nor-
mal to see children peeping into
video conferences or playing in the
background.
“These are homes, not workspaces,
and we all have to show empathy
about that. It is about rallying to-
gether to stay focused at work in the
current confused environment,” she
said.
Many employees working from
home are struggling to cope with
the demands of office and house
work. Counsellors say working from
home is like navigating a new terrain
in terms of how to collaborate with
teams, fill in communication gaps
rently in a quarantine camp in New
Delhi, said he started receiving mes-
sages from friends and relatives ask-
ing if he was one of the Indians on an
evacuation flight. A WhatsApp image
portrayed these people – mostly stu-
dents – as “terrorists who are spread-
ingcoronavirus”andreturningonthe
“government’s money.”
“Within a matter of minutes, some-
thing like this spreads on WhatsApp
– it’s not correct,” the 26-year-old
student said. “They don’t know what
it was actually like over there. We
didn’t have any option, that’s why we
cameback.”BackfromtheCaribbean,
a 27-year-old lady from Mumbai was
accused of not having informed the
authorities about her return, even
though she had.
“Some neighbours accused me of not
following precautions while using the
lift as well,” she added.
“This is a time when any amount of
power can get used, misused and am-
plified. People are arrogating to them-
selves certain powers and rights,” said
social commentator Santosh Desai.
Arguments and conflicts are going
viral on social media, leading to com-
promisedprivacyandlastingrancour.
Numerous reports have also come in
of doctors getting harassed and as-
saulted by neighbours.
Recently, a video of a lady trying to
leave her colony to pick up her domes-
tic help went viral on Twitter. The lady
was vilified on social media as an ex-
emplar of entitled behaviour.
Last week, a couple in their early 30s
in Bengaluru was stunned by a slew of
messages they received on WhatsApp
at about 2 am. To their horror, their
names had – mistakenly – found their
way on to a state website, which men-
tioned they had recently travelled to
the UK. The couple started to receive
calls the next day from neighbours
asking about where they had been
and whether they were in quarantine.
“There is a major xenophobia an-
gle here because we are not from
Bengaluru,” they said. “We were
treated with hostility even though we
shouldn’t have been. We had to clarify
to everyone that we did not travel and
that this was the address an old tenant
used to obtain their passport.”
Earlier this week, HRD minister
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in his
tweet had appealed to all campus re-
cruiters not to withdraw job offers to
graduating students of technical edu-
cation institutions.
“We (IIMs) held an online interac-
tion with recruiters where most com-
panies confirmed that they would go
ahead with offers,” said Amit Karna,
chair of placements committee at IIM
Ahmedabad. In a good year, close to
90% of students across top campuses
get job offers, with crore-plus packages
at the high end.
Walmart-owned Flipkart has as-
sured employees there will be no pay
cuts and all job offers, including in-
ternships, will be honoured. KPMG
is also going ahead with campus
ANIRBAN BORA
and still get the job done.
“For those who always worked from
home, business would be as usual.
But for those who haven’t done it
before, the ambiguity is wrecking
chaos,” said Shefali Batra, founder
of MINDFRAMES, a behavioural
and emotional wellness solutions
provider.
The lack of alternative work op-
tions for employees is frustrating
and perplexing, counsellors say.
The lockdown can be seen as a sort
of captivity and can trigger panic.
In an office, people are used to mov-
ing from one meeting room to anoth-
er or meeting up with colleagues in
the cafeteria. At home, everything
requires more conscious and deliber-
ate efforts.
Working from home requires div-
vying up Wi-Fi access, setting up
appropriate backgrounds for video
Ozone
A lesson worth
remembering these
days is that when the
world really wants, it can
accept scientific research
and organise against
future threats. Vikram
Doctor reports
The recently discovered formation
of a hole in the ozone layer over the
Arctic region seems almost hap-
pily old-fashioned in the time of
Covid-19. Remember when the great-
est fear of global destruction seemed
to be that the depleting ozone layer
would let through harmful ultravio-
let radiation from the sun?
Even the uncertainty seems fa-
miliar. First came the news that
the hole over the Antarctic was
smaller than ever, a testament
to the world’s success in phasing
out the use of chlorofluorocarbon
(CFC) gases that were implicated
in destroying atmospheric ozone.
Then came the news that an unu-
sually large hole had opened over
the Arctic, also due to CFCs, which
need very low temperatures to be-
come particularly active, and this
was happening with a prolonged
polar vortex. But we were told this
was only temporary and so the
news was still good. Such confu-
sion always seemed to accompany
ozone-layer stories, with scientists
constantly disputing how bad
things were.
Perhaps this just reflects our un-
certain times, when science news
is vitally important, yet frustrat-
ingly unclear.
For a purely chemical substance,
ozone has always seemed curiously
linked to human history. Even be-
fore its nature was understood,
scientists became aware of its pow-
erful properties of changing other
substances through what we now
know as oxidation.
The identification of ozone – from
the Greek word ozein, meaning to
smell – as an allotrope, or different
form, of oxygen, with three atoms
rather than dioxygen, with its two
atoms, which is common in the
atmosphere, increased its allure.
recruitment (both finals and intern-
ships). Still, the new recruits’ joining
may get delayed given the current
business scenario.
“We will honour all offers, but given
the business scenario, their join-
ing might be delayed,” said Sarthak
Raychaudhuri, VP-HR, Asia at
Whirlpool Corp.
ITC has just concluded online in-
duction for its summer interns from
management schools who have com-
menced their projects, working from
home. “Despite the challenging and
unprecedented situation, ITC is hon-
ouring offers made across all types
of campuses,” said its corporate HR
head, Amitav Mukherji.
Sumit Mitra – head, group HR
and corporate services for Godrej
calls, finding space to work without
getting disturbed and sometimes
even wearing formal clothes – and,
at the end of the day, still getting ex-
hausted.
Internet speeds at homes have
slowed with several members of the
household fighting for Wi-Fi. Many
people have had to quickly get up to
date with new software to connect
with teams in other locations.
Some companies insist that their
teams dress formally for meetings
to maintain a sense of normalcy
about work.
Many employees live in small
houses with no dedicated work ar-
eas, one CEO acknowledged. Many
are unwilling to come on video calls
and when it is made mandatory, they
do so using a wall or curtain as the
background, the CEO said.
According to Venu Srinivasan,
chairman of TVS Motor, a sub-
stantial amount of work gets done
through video conferencing as em-
ployees seem to be focussed at work.
The CEO of a consumer company
said one of his team members opted
for audio calls since he was frequent-
ly interrupted with his toddlers rush-
ing into the room during meetings.
“All of us are learning empathy
about such things. Many employees
stay in flats in cities which really do
not give that kind of space for a sepa-
rate work studio,” he said.
Gopal Vittal, CEO (India and South
Asia) at Bharti Airtel, does a virtual
townhall with all employees every
week to motivate them, given the
telco’s critical role in ensuring solid
communication networks during the
Dioxygen sustains life on earth, so
how much more potent could this
other form of oxygen be? The idea
grew that ozone was healthy and
people flocked to areas like the
seaside, which seemed ozone-rich.
In 1903, the Times of India printed
an article titled ‘The Ozone Cure’
about a German scientist who con-
cluded that “in travel by sea lies the
grand hope of the race… since the
effects of ozone-abounding sea-air
and the rush through it at the rate
of fifteen or twenty miles an hour,
free from business or other cares,
have already been proved up to the
hilt.” Cruise liners have used this
appeal – until Covid-19 provided a
contagious counter-argument.
Interest in ozone as “a restorer
of exhausted human vitality,” as a
ToI correspondent wrote in 1913,
continued to grow, with new uses
being found for it in purification of
water – ozone-treated swimming
pools are still touted as superior,
if expensive, alternatives to more
common chlorine treatment – and
other anti-bacterial uses.
This grew to such a point that the
American Medical Association is-
sued an irritated appeal the same
year against ozone obsession, not-
ing that its purifying abilities were
not great and, in fact, too much ex-
posure was harmful. It pointed out
that a lot of ozone’s appeal seemed
to derive from its characteristic
smell which “has the property of
masking bad odours [yet] it de-
stroys neither their cause, nor
effect.”
Ozone, in fact, had started to
seem dangerous when it was de-
tected as one of the components
of the bad air blanketing modern
cities. In his book The Great Smog
Industries and associate companies
-- said all offers to the 2020 batch would
be honoured with no changes to salary
packages or joining dates.
B-school summer trainees have al-
ready begun a 100% agile version of in-
ternships at HUL, and the company is
set to onboard recent graduates to join
lockdown.
“I want to again reiterate the con-
tradiction that we face – personal
anxiety and professional urgency.
Not one or the other, but both. Both
are here and now. Both have been
thrown at us so that we make a mark
in our own history,” Vittal said at one
townhall.
Vittal told ET that he asks his em-
ployees to first take care of them-
selves and their families.
“I tell them to be relaxed about work
intruding into your home. There is
anxiety about how we can work in
a world that seems to have changed
so much. There is personal anxiety
about the intrusion of work into the
home – kids running around or cry-
ing when you are in the midst of a
call. Is that ok or not? Above all, there
is the anxiety of going in to work,”
he said.
Still, working from home can be
anything but relaxing and many
people find it can be quite draining.
“People are wondering – why am
I so tired? This exhaustion is more
emotional than physical. The home
environment isn’t conducive to work.
Our brain associates the home with
relaxation, pleasure and, above all, a
break from work. That is why sleep-
ing on a bed and waking up to work on
it all day (as it is in some middle-class
households) is taxing,” said Batra.
Then there’s the absence of social
contact – everyone is missing col-
leagues, friends and even casual ac-
quaintances. Managers need to deal
with their own stress while caring
for their teams, so wellness webinars
and consultations have started.
ANIRBAN BORA
of India, Siddharth Singh details
the history of air pollution, noting
how in the 1950s scientists at the
California Institute of Technology
recognised that exhaust from cars
and oil refineries combined with
Los Angeles’ abundant sunlight
and “triggered certain chemical
reactions that generated ozone”
causing a photochemical haze
around the city.
Yet, just a few decades later,
the pendulum swung again to-
wards ozone’s beneficial powers.
Research identified the ozone layer
as a key safeguard for earth, per-
haps as essential to the growth of
life as dioxygen was for sustaining
it. The troubling holes were identi-
fied and links made to CFCs, which
were abundantly used in refrigera-
tors. It was early proof of how hu-
man activity harmed the planet,
potentially fatally.
As always with ozone and hu-
mans, there is another side.
Perhaps the key point about ozone
and CFCs is not that it was hap-
pening, but that the world finally
moved to fix it. Despite doubts about
science, opposition from industry
and protests from the developing
world that it was paying for the
problems of the developed world, in
the end, countries came together to
sign the Montreal Protocol to limit
CFCs and save the ozone layer.
The reduction of the hole over the
Antarctic is directly linked to this
and it shows that when the world re-
ally wants, it can accept scientific
research and organise against fu-
ture threats. That is worth remem-
bering now, when even more global
cooperation will be needed to fight
a threat even more immediate than
the once-vanishing ozone layer.
Trying Times
Over a dozen companies will
honour job offers to students
across top campuses
including IITs and IIMs
These companies say that
entry level top talent is
crucial for them for growth
Since the lockdown, there
are concerns among students
that some companies may
revoke offers
Earlier, HRD minister had
also appealed to recruiters
not to withdraw offers
Unilever Future Leaders Programme
as management trainees from early
May.
Even Vedanta Group and Capgemini
are going ahead honouring all cam-
pus offers including at the IITs and
IIMs said their respective HR heads,
Madhu Srivastava and Pallavi Tyagi.
We See India as a Bigger
Bet: Coca-Cola APAC Chief
Less than five months after The Coca-
Cola Company’s president for APAC,
Manuel “Manolo” Arroyo took on an
additional role of global chief market-
ing officer, the world barelled into a
crisis unlike anything it’s seen in recent
history. Last month, the company that
owns brands like Coke, Fanta, Sprite,
Minute Maid, Thums Up and tea and
coffee brands - Georgia and Costa,
withdrew its 2020 outlook, citing the
impact of the novel Coronavirus.
During his visit to India before the na-
tionwide lockdown, Arroyo spoke ex-
clusively to ET Brand Equity’s Delshad
Irani and Amit Bapna, about dealing
with the global pandemic, economic
downturns, and building billion-dollar
brands through good times and bad.
Edited excerpts:
How is the company dealing with
the Covid-19 threat?
We are trying to do our part to support
our communities and help prevent
further spread of the virus, while also
supporting the needs of our local cus-
tomers, consumers, and employees.
From day one, we have put the health,
safety and security of people first. We
will continue to evolve our business
models to the changed scenario, stay-
ing close to our bottling partners, cus-
tomers and suppliers. We will continue
work to keep the confidence of our
investors high.
To ensure our products’ availability,
we maintain business continuity plans
to address any supply chain challenges
that could arise. We also have rapid-
response teams throughout the world
to help identify issues that may need
to be resolved so we can continue to
operate efficiently and effectively. The
company has had this process in place
for 20 years.
What’s your reading of the prevail-
ing economic and socio-political
situation, and how are you dealing
with dramatic disruptions?
We are a business that has been around
India’s 3G Food
Revolution
The lockdown has made
cooks out of merely
eaters, and started a
new phase
Silk Stalkings
Reshmi
Dasgupta
This pandemic lockdown has truly
achievedwhatevenIhaddeemedimpos-
sible: my best friend has become a cook.
Not a chef yet, mind you, but certainly
a cook. For the past two weeks she has
been whipping up a mean repertoire
of dals and subzis, pastas and gratins
like a pro, ably aided by an enthusiastic
pre-teen daughter and a highly amused
live-in domestic help.
As her late husband had been an adept
home chef, supplementing the creations
of their part-time cook, she had not felt
the need to step into the kitchen. After
his passing, she has had a highly ef-
ficient duo of helps in South India to
manage the show, and preferred—natu-
rally—to eat and appreciate rather than
cook. Until curbs on movement hobbled
the kitchen, of course.
She has kept her culinary triumphs
away from social media but many oth-
ers have not. Instagram, facebook, you
name it, the internet is redolent with the
gastronomical achievements of many
people who preferred to order in rather
than step in to kitchens. It could be said
that the current lockdowns have trig-
gered the third generation (3G?) of the
food evolution in India.
There was a time when cooking was
a daily chore, and quite under-appre-
ciated. Families had comfort food and
recipes were passed down mostly from
mother(inlaw) to daughter(inlaw) with
exceptions in
the form of
a few epi-
curean
males.
Eating
out be-
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for 130 years, and we’ve seen almost
anything that one can imagine. We
don’t mean everything but almost
anything, and that includes hyperinfla-
tion, massive devaluations etc. One of
the biggest lessons that we have learnt
internally, and which very much has
become a part of our DNA is that in
tough times, one needs to invest more,
and that’s one of the keys to long-term
success. At Coca-Cola, we have always
been focusing on strong long-term
growth and performance, and we will
continue to do that.
How have you seen the market
change in India?
India in the last 5 years has grown what
most of the other geographies have
not even seen in 20 years. The speed of
change in India is somewhat similar to
the pace in China, some years ago. So,
everyone has been focused on China
so much so that the companies missed
out on the fact that there is a new, even
better lion than China that has come in,
and that is India. As a company, we see
India as a bigger bet, geographically
than any other geography around the
world and that includes everyone.
came a ‘thing’ only about 30 years ago in
India, though older cities like Calcutta
and Bombay had a restaurant culture.
Then, as the 21st century dawned,
there was an explosion of interest in
food, much of it vicarious—via cook-
ing reality shows, internet surfing and
watching videos. Food became inter-
national signatures cultures and na-
tions, tourism magnets and platforms
to display knowledge. So much so that
food historians are now regarded with
as much awe as other categories of his-
torians.
This surge of interest in food had
its impact on social media. Bloggers
shared knowledge and tips, travellers
offered fine dining “secrets” and rec-
ommendations. Food became an “open
source” rather than being restricted to
experts and epicures. Chefs, writers and
restaurateurs were routinely quizzed
about their variants of classic dishes by
those who had the internet as back-up.
That naturally sparked heated debates
on “authenticity” with enthusiasts duk-
ing it out over essentially arcane techni-
cal issues. And the popularity of “food
porn” put additional pressure on chefs
and their creations to look good too.
How much a dish was photographed
and shared became crucial. This was,
I feel, an unnecessary corollary of the
food revolution.
The pressure to eat well—and trend-
ily—inevitably led to the advent of home
delivery so that “restaurant quality”
food became a daily practice for many,
more so thanks to the many apps that fa-
cilitated it. The need to actually use well-
appointed kitchens and trendy gadgets
(once it was air fryers, then instant pots,
etc) receded, as fancy food was available
at the click of a button.
The individual need to wield a ladle
or even boil an egg diminished. Why
bother if Eggs Benedict can be home de-
livered or had at a café during a break-
fast meeting? People felt virtuous in out-
sourcing—the food business led to the
creation of many jobs, after all. Never
mind that the ‘bais’ who had been the
lifeline of non-cooking people for years
faced an uncertain future.
Then came the pandemic—and the
temporary cessation or restriction of
ordering in and eating out. The added
‘stay home’ orders for part time cooks
and helps has led to many having to do
more than just buy cookbooks, look at
cookery videos and read food blogs.
Many have discovered not only how
much effort goes into cooking, but also
that it is not that difficult at all.
My best friend is unlikely
to bid adieu to her super-effi-
cient band of part-time female
helps in the long run given the
demands of her job, but she now
knows more about the intricacies
of their work than before. She’s
also realised how much of “res-
taurant quality” food can actu-
ally be made at home too. And
she is not the only one. This is
the beginning of India’s 3G food
evolution.