CIVIL SNIPPETS

Coronavirus | India pegs fatality rate at 3.3% #GS3 #Economy

India registered over 800 COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday, with the tally touching 12,759 cases and
420 deaths. These include over 10,824 active cases. A total of 1,541 people have been cured and
discharged and one had migrated. The total number of cases include 76 foreign nationals.

The Health Ministry noted that India’s case fatality rate is 3.3% and percentage of people recovered is
12.02. According to reports from the State Health Departments, the total number of COVID-19 cases
in India are 13,339, of which 11,289 are active ones. A total of 452 people have died of the disease.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said the rapid testing kit is not for diagnosis but for
surveillance, especially in hotspots. A total of 3,02,956 samples from 2,86,714 individuals have been
tested as on Thursday.

‘We are not testing less’

“Working in one shift, more than 42,400 samples can be tested per day; if we work in two shifts, we will
be able to test more than 78,200 samples per day,” said ICMR spokesperson R.R. Gangakhedkar.

Refuting allegation that India is not conducting enough coronavirus tests, the ICMR said, “India tests 24
people for one positive case, while Japan tests 11.7, Italy 6.7 and the U.S. tests 5.3. So, one cannot say
that India is testing less.”

The spokesperson confirmed that India has on Thursday received 5 lakh rapid test kits for COVID-19
from China. “These have a sensitivity of over 80% and are serology kits which is not to be used for early
diagnosis but for surveillance purpose, especially in hotspots,” said Dr. Gangakhedkar.
 He added that there was no need to be concerned over the efficacy of the rapid antibody testing kits.
“If an antibody test of a person turns out to be positive, one cannot necessarily be sure the person
would not get infected ever again. This means, even if antibody is present, that doesn’t mean it will
necessarily be effectively able to fight the virus.”

“Rapid antibody tests are for monitoring surveillance, not for diagnosis. Hence there is no concern with
respect to the testing kits being faulty, that concern was with respect to immune response alone,” the
ICMR spokesperson said.

The implementation of containment strategies in some districts which earlier had reported COVID-19
cases has yielded positive results. One of such place is Puducherry’s Mahe district, where no case of the
infection has been reported in the last 28 days. There are 27 other districts also where no positive case
has been reported in a fortnight.

The Ministry added that the Central government has amended the Environment Impact Assessment
Notification, 2006, to ramp up availability and production of bulk drugs. All projects or activities in
respect of bulk drugs and intermediates have been re-categorised, to fast-track their appraisal.

An advisory for safe drinking water practices during lockdown has been issued with the State
governments being advised to augment water supplies with special focus on relief camps and for
vulnerable sections of the society.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-india-pegs-fatality-rate-at-
33/article31360225.ece?homepage=true

Zoom not a safe platform, says MHA #GS3 #SnT #Security

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory that Zoom video conference is not a safe
platform. It was issued on April 12 and the MHA shared it with journalists on Thursday.

U.S. based Zoom video communication has seen an exponential rise in usage in India as office-goers
remain at home owing to the present lockdown. The software used in the online platform is said to be
made in China and some calls were being routed through servers in China. The Cyber Coordination
Centre of the MHA issued a set of guidelines for its safe usage. It was not for use by government offices
and officials, the MHA noted.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/zoom-not-a-safe-platform-says-mha/article31361109.ece

Seafarers may return in three phases #GS3 #Security

The government is working on a plan to allow seafarers to return to India in three phases. This includes
allowing mariners on ships that are already at Indian ports to disembark when the lockdown is partially
eased on April 20.
The standard operating procedure to facilitate return of seafarers is likely to be finalised by Friday, a top
source at the Shipping Ministry told The Hindu.

“In the first phase, we will allow seamen on ships docked at the Indian ports to disembark and sign off.
In the second phase, those on ships in deep sea will be allowed to return by sea. And in the final stage,
we will permit those who have disembarked from their ships and signed off in a foreign country,” the
source said.

Those in deep sea have already been quarantined in the vessel and they can be allowed to return
earlier. He said seafarers on foreign land would be allowed to return to India only when the government
lifted its ban on flights and allowed other Indians stranded abroad to return.

According to estimates, there are nearly 3,000 seafarers on ships at Indian ports, while 20,000 are on
various cruise liners around the world.

“The government’s decision on allowing those at Indian ports to disembark at the earliest will benefit
coastal shipping companies and offshore vessels and ships with Indian seafarers heading for foreign
countries. This will also be an opportunity for cruise liners to halt at Indian ports for crew
disembarkation,” said Sanjay Parashar, chairman, International Maritime Federation.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-seafarers-may-return-in-three-
phases/article31360637.ece

Delhi govt. gets Centre’s nod to start plasma enrichment technique trial #GS3
#SnT
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that the Delhi government has been given
permission by the Centre to start clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique on COVID-19 patients
who are critically ill.

Mr. Kejriwal said that the results of these trials would be out in three-four days from now and hoped
that the technique would work and that live of critical patients would be saved.

“The condition of several COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to hospitals in the last week of March
and the first week of April, is improving now and many of them will be discharged in the next three-four
days. It is those who are already suffering from heart or respiratory diseases who continue to be at a
higher risk of losing their lives. If plasma technology is used in such cases, it can save lives,” the CM said.

The plasma transfusion technology involves taking the blood of a person who has recovered from
COVID-19 that has anti-bodies that helped the person recover in the first place. Plasma is then
extracted from the blood, is enriched, and is then injected into an infected person. The antibodies
from the recovered person then enter the body of the infected patient and help them recover.
The CM said that the government has marked around 57 areas as containment zones under operation
SHIELD to stop the spread of the virus and was ensuring that all essential services were being provided
to the residents as people within the containment area cannot leave the area.

“No residents, excluding essential workers, are allowed to enter or exit these areas. Healthcare
workers will conduct door-to-door screening of the area’s residents for COVID-19 and only those
residents who say that they are suffering from some of the symptoms of the virus during the door-to-
door screening will be tested,” the CM said. He added that operation SHIELD has been successful in not
letting the virus spread in areas like Dilshad Garden and Vasundra Enclave.

The CM asked for the help of the media and others to highlight issues being faced by people in the city,
especially those who are hungry so that the government could reach out and direct them to shelters or
centres.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-govt-gets-centres-nod-to-start-plasma-enrichment-
technique-trial/article31360620.ece

Unorganised labourers need union and legal cover: labour expert #GS3
#Economy

How do you see this extended lockdown affecting labourers across the country considering the
majority of them hail from the unorganised sector?

The national lockdown now is potentially for 40 days and this means loss of income for more than a
month for 400 million informal workers which, according to the ILO, will push them into deeper recesses
of poverty. The informal workers are reported to be not able to avail even the additional free foodgrains
and pulses since they do not have necessary documents such as the ration card.

The issue of employment security will be a limited privilege to the labour aristocrats, i.e. permanent and
skilled workers, and unemployment will be much higher than around 24% estimated by the CMIE. The
absence of decent income flow, inaccessibility of foodgrains, etc., and absence of any social protection
mean starvation and livelihood threats for these millions of unorganised workers.

What steps can be undertaken, within the lockdown period itself, to take care of migrant labour?

One, in each State a multi-partite special task force or a board should be constituted to take stock of
stranded migrant workers, constitute more relief/settlement centres, ensure compliance of basic needs,
provide psychological counselling, etc.

Two, establish helplines through social media, FM and other radio channels, etc. to connect with the
unidentified migrant workers.

Three, empower the tehsildars to issue temporary ration cards valid for 2-3 months.

Four, information regarding the origin States of migrant workers could be built.
Five, most importantly, they should be tested if they have travelled and/or living in congested places.

Six, welfare of construction workers can be taken care of from the Construction Cess Fund.

Seven, strictly implement the orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

Employers are worried about the absent labour. What is the way out once the lockdown ends?

If long-distance migration is weakened, then there could be changes in the geographical composition of
migrant workers in the sense that “neighbourhood migration” might replace “long distance and
indiscriminate migration” as a solution which, if it succeeds, could change long-term migration effects.

Post-lockdown, the market wage is likely to be revised downwards till recovery and then revival phases
which are going to take some time and hence the naturally migrant workers who are used to under-
bidding will be even more needed. But what will surely happen is the strengthening of legal and
institutional frameworks concerning them, including portable ration cards and EPF accounts, etc.

How can one use this as an opportunity to organise the hitherto unorganised labour?

If there is any powerful lesson from this entire dreadful COVID-19 context, it is that unorganised
labourers need two kinds of cover, viz. union organisation cover and legal cover.

In a sense the “market” for unionism is quite high in India as 85-90% of the 470 million workers are not
organised by any trade union. Mainstream trade unions will have to adopt unconventional organising
strategies and adopt sector-specific employment relations strategies to organise the workers, though
some work has already begun in this direction and hence India has witnessed rising unionisation unlike
in the Western countries.

Trade unions need to work hard and persistently to ensure large-scale registrations of unorganised
workers under the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 and pressurise the government to
issue smart portable electronic chip-based registration-cum-identification cards as envisaged in the said
Act. Direct benefit transfer (DBT) to these millions of workers would have been easier. If the union
coverage is larger then trade unions could not have been ignored by the government in the design and
delivery of relief measures.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/unorganised-labourers-need-
union-and-legal-cover-labour-expert/article31361318.ece

India eyes record food production #GS3 #Economy

On the back of a normal monsoon forecast, the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a record foodgrain
production of 298.3 million tonnes for 2020-21, higher than the 291.95 million tonnes estimated for
2019-20.

According to a presentation made by Agriculture Commissioner Suresh Malhotra at a National

Conference on Agriculture-Kharif 2020 Campaign on Thursday, both rice and wheat production targets
are minimally higher than the previous year. However, the focus is on driving the growth in pulses,
coarse cereals and oilseeds.

Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agriculture Ministry’s annual
meeting to review the ongoing rabi or winter season harvest and layout prospects for the coming kharif
or summer cropping season is being held via video conferencing. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar also interacted with State agriculture departments, briefing them on the measures taken to
ensure a smooth and safe rabi harvest in the midst of the lockdown.

Normal rainfall

On Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department issued its first forecast for the monsoon,
predicting normal rainfall, with a chance of above normal rain in August and September.

The main kharif season crop is rice, and the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a harvest of 102.6 million
tonnes, slightly higher than the last kharif season harvest of 101.95 million tonnes. However, it has
lowered its rice production target for the next rabi season to 14.9 million tonnes. This means that the
total rice production target for 2020-21 is 117.5 million tonnes, barely higher than the previous year's
target of 117.47 million tonnes.

Wheat production is also expected to remain steady, with a 2020-21 target of 106.5 million tonnes, in
comparison to the previous year’s estimate of 106.21 million tonnes.

The Agriculture Ministry hopes to ramp up production of coarse cereals this year, but admits that the
challenge is how to create demand for nutricereals or millets. It is targeting a harvest of 48.7 million
tonnes in comparison to the previous season’s 45.24 million tonnes.

With regard to pulses, the target is 25.3 million tonnes compared to the previous season's estimates of
23 million tonnes, with the entire increase projected to come from the kharif season.

Oilseeds major priority

Oilseeds are a major priority, especially due to the disruption in edible oil imports caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The targeted harvest is 36.64 million tonnes, in comparison to the last season's
estimates of 34.19 million tonnes. One challenge could be a shortfall in supply of soyabean seeds to
the tune of 3.2 lakh quintals, due to unseasonal rains at the time of harvesting the seed crop.

The Ministry has also created an action plan for oil palm plantation, given the disruptions in imports. It
hopes to cover 31,500 hectares with about 45 lakh seedlings this year, with the bulk of the plantation in
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-eyes-record-food-
production/article31361029.ece

Ministry issues SOP for sowing of kharif crops #GS3 #Economy

The Union Agriculture Ministry on Thursday laid down the standard operating procedure (SOP) to guide
farmers on safety precautions that need to be strictly followed during planting of kharif crops amid the
threat of COVID-19 pandemic.

“Transplanting of paddy and vegetables are labour-intensive activities. Hence, it is important to

strictly follow guidelines on social distancing, sanitizing and wearing masks,” the SOP released by the
ministry during the national video conference on kharif crops said.

Workers should wash their hands, legs and face with soap when coming out of the field for meal or
rest. For preparing land for sowing of kharif crops, the ministry said, farmers should minimise labour
and use tractor. Farmers should use seed-cum-fertiliser drills and reduce the number of workers in the
field.

As per the SOP, social distancing and sanitization norms should be followed during field preparation,
sowing and fertiliser application. “Maintain social distance of atleast 1-2 metre during farm operations.
Workers should be assigned separate duties with regard to farm activities.

Sanitisation important

“All farm equipment from seed drill, plough to tractor should be sanitized before use. Those working
in the farm field should wear masks or cover their face with three layers of “chunnis, gamchha or
towel,” it added. Each worker should have a separate utensil and clean it with soap after use, the SOP
said.

For operations like weeding and spraying of fertilisers and pesticides, the Ministry asked farmers to
“Burn or bury in soil empty packets of pesticides. Sundry empty bags of seeds, fertilisers for two days for
re-use.” It also advised that farmers take bath and wash clothes with soap and sundry after the day’s
work.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/ministry-issues-sop-for-sowing-of-kharif-
crops/article31361024.ece

New normal: more airport time, no frills and higher fare #GS3 #Economy
Passengers taking a flight must prepare to spend more time at the airport, temperature checks, fewer
frills on board and possibly higher air fares, as airlines, airports and the government work to ensure
physical distancing, hand hygiene and a sanitised environment to keep the COVID-19 infection at bay
once the lockdown is lifted.

“The key aspect we have to keep in mind is the safety of passengers by ensuring social distancing so that
the infection does not spread. This means travel time will increase. Where passengers were asked to
report 45 minutes before the departure time (for domestic flights), they will now have to report two
hours earlier.
We will encourage passengers to use automated modes as much as possible to avoid human contact.
For example, they may be asked to check in through the mobile application or self check-in kiosks,
which will undergo frequent cleaning,” Vistara chief commercial officer Vinod Kannan told The Hindu in
a telephone interview. GoAir, however, requires its passengers to report three hours before a flight.

Norms being finalised

“The Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the safety regulator DGCA and the
aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security are finalising guidelines for airports and
airlines. Several airports have already started marking circles and squares at various contact points on
their premises,” AAI Chairman Arvind Singh said.

The CISF has submitted its recommendations on security protocol to the Ministry of Civil Aviation,
which include measurement of body temperature at the airport entrance, filling up of a questionnaire
on health conditions by passengers, only alternate check-in counters being opened and security
personnel equipped with protective gear.

CISF airport in-charge M.A. Ganapathy said that at the time of entering the terminal building,
passengers would be asked to remove their mask for identification by security personnel and CCTV
cameras.

Once you board the flight, the middle row seat is likely to be left empty, in accordance with the DGCA
guidelines, or possibly four out of six seats in a row could be left empty. While low-cost airlines IndiGo
and GoAir will discontinue meals on board, Vistara will continue to provide them, with some changes
in the delivery.

“In order to ensure a superior quality of service, our cabin crew members interact with passengers
several times and explain the menu. We will limit the number of interactions. We will offer pre-
packaged cold meals to minimise contact,” Mr. Kannan said.

Passengers must also be prepared for a costlier travel so that airlines can operate flights in a cost-
efficient manner despite being required to leave 33%-50% of their flights empty.

“If we are operating only two-thirds of our flight capacity, the cost per ticket will go up. But airfare is a
function of supply and demand and we can’t predict the nature of demand. We know that in the first
few days, there will be a lot of demand from passengers, but what happens thereafter is uncertain,” Mr.
Kannan said.

Vistara and other airlines have already announced that they will remove all reading materials from
seat-back pockets, clean the aircraft after every flight and deep-clean the aircraft after every 24 hours
and provide passengers with hand-sanitisers and masks.

With multiple agencies involved in minimising the risk of infection, Mr. Kannan advises passengers to
travel free of stress. “This is not an easy time, but air travel is the safest mode. The air inside the plane is
re-circulated through HEPA filters to minimise infection. Just remember to wear your mask and factor in
extra time.”

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/new-normal-more-airport-time-no-frills-and-
higher-fare/article31361058.ece

Mumbai team develops ‘voice-based test’ #GS3 #SnT

A university in Rome is conducting a pilot run for a patented artificial intelligence-based tool
developed by three biotechnology students and a professor from Mumbai, which they claim can test
COVID-19 through voice-based diagnosis.

The tool is being tested by the University of Tor Vergata in Rome and has already been tested on 300
individuals. According to the students and the professor from DY Patil Institute of Bio Technology and
Bio Informatics, Mumbai, the tool can be used in smartphones.

The team includes bioinformatics students — Rashmi Chakraborty, Priyanka Chauhan and Priya Garg.

“While several foreign universities are trying to launch a voice-based AI tool for COVID-19 detection, this
Indian tool is fully functional and currently in use in Italy to successfully identify COVID-19 patients. The
students have a full-fledged working software with a rich database of patients and healthy samples.
This tool is being currently used by the University of Rome to detect COVID-19 patients with 98%
accuracy.

“As someone speaks to the microphone on the app, the tool breaks down the voice in multiple
parameters such as frequency and noise distortion. These values are then compared to a normal
person’s values and the patented technique then determines if the patient is positive or not,” he
added.

A team at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is also working on a diagnostic tool based on
analysis of cough and respiratory sounds.

Timbre is key

According to Giovanni Saggio, professor at the Rome university’s Engineering department, the audio-
based disease diagnosis tool can find coronavirus from the timbre of the voice.

“Each human voice has 6,300 parameters, and only a few units, less than a dozen, specifically
characterise individuals. The human ear is not able to distinguish them, but artificial intelligence does.
Each one of our internal organs is sort of a resonator, so if we have a problem with our lungs or our
heart, this is reflected in our voice,” Mr. Saggio said.

“The same person has one voice when they are healthy, and another if they have a pathology. Since
coronavirus compromises lungs and airwaves, the voice is definitely affected. The current novel
coronavirus cases could be picked this way,” he added. Priya Garg believes this tool can be of great
impact in the first level of screening.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/mumbai-team-develops-voice-based-
test/article31361074.ece

Rupee hits a new low #GS3 #Economy

The rupee hit a new low against the dollar as it dropped to 76.87 on Thursday amid concerns of a
delay in economic revival following the spread of COVID-19.

After opening at 76.75 a dollar as compared with Wednesday’s closing of 76.44, the rupee slipped to
76.87 per dollar at close of day, depreciating 43 paise, or 0.56%, on Thursday. The domestic unit
weakened with the dollar strengthening against various currencies.

According to dealers, the rupee will continue to be under pressure till signs of the pandemic peaking
emerge. The government has now extended the nationwide lockdown, which started on March 25, by
another 18 days to May 3, with stricter restrictions.

Currency traders see the rupee slipping to 77.50 to a dollar in the near term. The central bank has not
been aggressive in stemming the rupee depreciation, dealers said. “Rupee traded weak again as we
enter the second day of the second lockdown, wherein the rules have become stringent. There is
volatility in dollar-index trading. Rupee shall keep trading weak on the back of higher gold prices,
along with a slowing economy,” said Jateen Trivedi, senior research analyst (commodity and currency)
at LKP Securities.

Rating agency Moody’s said some firms in South and Southeast Asia could be vulnerable to the dollar’s
surge. “Depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee increases risks for some companies
with currency mismatches and heavy reliance on U.S. dollar debt,” it said in a research note.

https://www.thehindu.com/business/rupee-hits-a-new-low/article31359519.ece

India’s stock surge only a bear market rally, say global majors #GS3 #Economy
Global financial majors believe the recent surge in the Indian stock market is only a ‘bear market rally’
as concerns continue on the rising number of COVID-19 cases leading to a significant contraction in
economic activity, thereby causing a huge dent in corporate earnings.

Goldman Sachs, in its latest report, has lowered India’s rating to ‘market weight’ with a Nifty target of
9,600 by June 2021. “We view the current rally as a bear market rally, which are common in history,”
Goldman Sachs stated in a report released on Thursday.

Domestic risks
“While global tail risks may have reduced, we see significant domestic risks in India. The spread of the
virus has escalated sharply in recent weeks. The extension of the nationwide shutdown for another
three weeks and social distancing measures are likely to cause significant contraction in economic
activity,” it said, highlighting that fiscal easing in India had been limited so far compared to many other
regional and global economies, though it said it expected more easing.

Goldman Sachs added that earnings estimates were likely to see a steep fall and, as market valuations
are still looking ‘optimistic,’ it seemed early to say that the equity market had discounted all the
negatives. Similarly, UBS has estimated a Nifty target of 10,000 by March 2021 with an upside and
downside target of 11,500 and 6,000, respectively.

This assumes significance since this is a huge drop since December, when UBS had estimated a base case
target of 12,300 for the Nifty by June 2020. “We believe Q4 FY20 earnings will take a big hit due to
COVID-19-driven mobility restrictions. Consensus expects headline Nifty earnings to grow 3%, while we
expect a sharp decline of 12%,” a UBS report said.

“However, these numbers may not matter for markets, and investors are likely to focus more on job
losses/furloughs, as these may provide key insights for the shape/timing of the recovery and evolution
afterwards, commentary on supply chain disruptions and recovery capabilities and commentary on
financials’ asset quality and overall liquidity conditions,” it said.

https://www.thehindu.com/business/indias-stock-surge-only-a-bear-market-rally-say-global-
majors/article31359443.ece

To use malaria drug, or not to #GS3 #SnT

On Thursday, Mumbai’s Municipal Commissioner said the drug hydroxychloroquine would be
administered as a preventive to 50,000 people in COVID-19 hotspots, down from the earlier plan of 1
lakh. While this is a scaling down, the national protocol for hydroxychloroquine announced during the
outbreak is that it is to be administered it to very specific groups, such as healthcare workers exposed to
COVID-19 patients.

Besides the hotspots, the Maharashtra government has also begun administering the drug among
Mumbai police personnel, while Rajasthan has cleared it for police posted in hotspots.

What is hydroxychloroquine?

Hydroxychloroquine is an oral prescription drug that is used for the treatment of some forms of malaria,
as well as autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. In use since the 1940s, the drug
has shown anti-viral properties that have been studied for the last 40 years.

A combination of anti-malarial drug chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which is a derivative of

chloroquine, is among the four lines of possible COVID-19 treatment that are being investigated by the
global Solidarity trials under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO). While the efficacy of the
combination is still being researched, a study in The Lancet Rheumatology has found that
hydroxychloroquine decreases the acidity in compartments in the cell membrane. Since many viruses
use the acidity of these compartments to breach the membrane and set off the process of replicating
copies of itself, the reduction of acidity can potentially inhibit viral replication. In 2005, the drug was
used to treat SARS, but it failed to decrease the viral load in mice.

The WHO notes that “there is insufficient data to assess the efficacy of either of these medicines
(hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine) in treating patients with COVID-19, or in preventing them from
contracting the coronavirus”.

What is the national protocol on the use of hydroxychloroquine in the COVID-19 outbreak?

In the context of COVID-19, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended
hydroxychloroquine in very specific cases . It is to be used as a post-exposure prophylactic (preventive
medicine) by asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of
COVID-19, and by asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases.

The Indian Express reported last week that the ICMR recently discussed the possibility of using the drug
at a population level but the option was not taken forward. A source told this newspaper that during the
discussion, questions were raised about the evidence available on the efficacy and side-effects of the
drug.

Maharashtra and Rajasthan, two of the states with the highest COVID-19 counts, have independently
decided to allow use of the drug beyond healthcare workers. The Rajasthan Health Department has
issued an advisory on administering hydroxychloroquine to policemen in COVID-19 hotspots.

What has Maharashtra decided?

The plan announced last week was that about a lakh people in COVID-19 hotspots, starting with the
Dharavi and Worli Koliwada slums, would be administered the drug as a prophylaxis. On Thursday, the
BMC revised it to 50,000.

A technical committee, comprising AIIMS doctors, NITI Aayog experts, and officials from the
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and Public Health Department, met on videoconferencing on
April 13 to discuss the medication. Two groups will be created — one group will be given
hydroxychloroquine along with Vitamin C tablets, while the other will be given hydroxychloroquine
along with zinc tablets — to assess which combination has better outcomes.

The BMC said last week that the drug would not be made compulsory but slum dwellers would be
counselled to be administered it. The drug will not be given to people aged below 15, heart patients or
pregnant woman. For people aged above 55, the drug’s effects will be closely monitored.

Mumbai police began the use of hydroxychloroquine last week after several personnel started showing
symptoms. They are being given hydroxychloroquine along with vitamin C tablets, based on medical
advice.
What is the justification being given for all this?

Mumbai’s population density is 26,453 per sq km, states the environment report of the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2018-19, and in slums the population density doubles. At least 5-8
people stay in one 10×10 sq ft room in Dharavi, where cases have already crossed 50. “In such
places, social distancing is not possible.

We are advising hydroxychloroquine for the population in these hotspots as a preventive measure,”
said Dr Subhash Salunkhe, who helped Maharashtra frame the policy. This was before the number was
scaled down. The entire population in Dharavi and Worli is considered a high-viral burden pool;
government officials see them all as “high risk” contacts.

After the target was reduced to 50,000 on Thursday, Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi said,
“We are doing this on an experimental basis. It is a control group; we do not want to give it to a huge
population.” Additional Municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said, since there are known side-effects,
the civic body held discussions over the last few days on how many and who all would be given
hydroxychloroquine.

What are the concerns?

Besides the fact that hydroxychloroquine’s efficacy as a COVID-19 cure or preventive is not yet
established, there are concerns about its side effects. AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria stressed
hydroxychloroquine is “not a treatment for everyone”. “The drug has it owns side effects. One of them
is cardiac toxicity leading to irregular heartbeat,” Dr Guleria said.

Last week, France’s national drug-safety agency raised the red flag over such side effects, specifically in
COVID-19 patients. It released data of 43 patients who were given the drug and reported “heart
incidents” linked to the drug. “The drug should only be used in hospitals, under close medical
supervision. This initial assessment shows that the risks, in particular cardiovascular, associated with
these treatments are very present and potentially increased in COVID-19 patients,” the agency said.

On March 25, Mayo Clinic cardiologists had issued a warning about the potential side effects of the drug.
A team headed by Dr Michael J Ackerman released “urgent guidance” on patients at risk of drug-induced
sudden cardiac death from off-label COVID-19 treatments.

The specialists pointed out that the drug is known to cause “drug-induced” prolongation of QTc of some
patients (QTc is a measure related to heat rates on an ECG). The specialists said patients with prolonged
QTc are at risk for abnormalities that can lead to dangerous erratic heartbeats and also culminate in
sudden cardiac death.

Another retrospective study (yet to be peer-reviewed), conducted at New York University’s Langone
Medical Centre, looked at 84 COVID-19 patients on hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin
(a combination being strongly pushed by US President Donald Trump, although the evidence is still
emerging.
The NYU study made two observations: in 30% of the patients, QTc increased beyond the normal range),
and in 11% it rose to a level that represents a “high-risk group of arrhythmia”.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/coronavirus-covid-19-malaria-hydroxychloroquine-
6365966/

Punjab cop’s hand chopped off: When a severed hand can be restored, and how
#GS3 #SnT
In Sunday’s attack on Punjab policemen who had stopped a group of Nihang sect members in Patiala
over a curfew pass, the hand of an assistant sub-inspector was chopped off. Surgeons at Chandigarh’s
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) have since re-implanted the
severed hand.

In which cases is re-implantation possible?

When a surgeon makes that decision, the factors that he or she considers include how much time has
elapsed since the injury, the condition of the severed organ, and the nature of the injury— an organ
severed with a clean cut is a better candidate than one severed by a crush type of injury.

Since the policeman’s hand had been amputated with a clean cut and the police rushed him to hospital,
doctors had up to 12 hours to perform the surgery before the hand began to rot.

The surgery, which took 7.5 hours, was a very complex procedure, “which we were able to perform
because of quick action both from the police’s side and from our team of doctors. I received a call about
the incident from DGP Dinkar Gupta at 7:45 am and by 10 am we had begun the surgery,” said PGIMER
Director Dr Jagat Ram.

“The patient also had lost more than a litre of blood, so we had to give him fluids and colloids to
stabilise him until blood transfusion could be arranged,” said Dr Ankur Luthra, anaesthesiologist.

How is such a surgery performed?

It involves conjoining various parts of the arm and the hand — bones, muscles, tendons, arteries, veins
as well as nerves. The process is called anastomosis.

“Both radial and ulnar arteries, accompanying nerves and the dorsal vein were anastomosed
successfully, allowing for the hand to receive adequate circulation,” said Dr Jagat Ram. The bones were
attached using “K wires”, which will be removed once the bones conjoin organically. This takes between
three and four weeks.

Can a reattached hand get its function restored?

That is the goal of doing such a surgery. The extent of restored function, however, can vary from case to
case. While a successful surgery can result in good return of motor function, studies have shown that
sensory recovery can often be poor.

In the policeman’s case, doctors of PGIMER have reported that the repaired left hand of the ASI is viable
and warm. Whether the blood circulation is optimum, however, can only be observed within the next
few days. One concern is that the hand had fallen to the ground after being severed, so doctors cannot
completely rule out an infection. The patient will be kept under observation for at least the next week to
ensure that he is out of danger as far as infection is concerned.

It will take at least three months for his hand to completely heal as each repaired part will take its own
time to naturally conjoin. The patient will also need to attend regular physiotherapy sessions for total
restoration of motor movement and sensation in his hand.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/when-a-severed-hand-can-be-restored-and-how-6365967/

Why gold prices have been rising before and during COVID-19, what next #GS3
#Economy
Much before Covid-19’s impact reverberated across economies and led to a crash in global stock
markets, gold prices had started their upward glide since May 2019 to culminate into a nearly 40 per
cent jump in less than a year, from $1250 (an ounce) to around $1700 (an ounce) plus now. The present
gold prices in India are even higher, as they jumped from around Rs 32,000 per 10 grams to nearly Rs
46,800 per 10 gram during the same period, a nearly 45 per cent return.

Since gold is mostly imported commodity into India, the depreciation of the rupee vis-a-vis the US dollar
of around 7 per cent since last September pushed the gold prices in India even higher. The Rupee on
Wednesday closed at a new record low of Rs 76.86 to a dollar, from Rs 76.44 Tuesday.

Explained: Why are gold prices rising?

Last year, there have been intermittent reports based on economic indicators suggesting that the US
economy could enter into recession after a record 11 years of economic surge since the global financial
crisis of 2008. This expectation of recession sowed the seeds of the gold rally, and the Covid-19 impact,
which has virtually led to a shutdown of major economies across the world, added momentum to the
rising gold prices as a major global recession now looks certain.

The nearly 40 per cent crash in benchmark equity indices in the US and India, forced the US Fed to
announce a record amount of liquidity injection and bond buying programme of more than $3 trillion,
and the promise to do more. On March 27, the Reserve Bank of India too cut its key policy rate by 75
basis points and announced liquidity injection of Rs 3.74 lakh crore in the financial markets.

Any expansion in the paper currency tends to push up gold prices. Apart from this, major gold buying
leading central banks of China and Russia over the last two years supported higher gold prices. While
stock prices have risen over 20 per cent from the March crash levels, supported by record easing by the
central banks, gold has resumed its uptrend after falling initially from $1700 an ounce on March 9 to
$1450 on March 20. This happened as an extreme reaction of investors to move towards cash.

Is there a trend in rising gold prices?

While gold by itself does not produce any economic value, it is an efficient tool to hedge against inflation
and economic uncertainties. It is also more liquid when compared with real estate and many debt
instruments which come with a lock-in period. After any major economic crash and recession, gold
prices continue their upward run.

Analysts in market feel that gold could now overtake the previous peak of around $1900 per ounce. The
empirical findings suggest that gold prices fall with a rise in equity prices. Gold prices also move in
tandem with heightened economic policy uncertainty, thereby indicating the safe haven feature of the
asset, the RBI said in its latest Monetary Policy Report.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 in the US, which led to a worldwide economic
crisis, gold prices jumped from around $700 an ounce in October 2008 to peak at around $1900 an
ounce in September 2011. In the next four years, gold was on a steady decline and crashed to nearly
$1000 an ounce in December 2015. Between 2015 and 2019, gold was in a range of $1000 an ounce and
$1350 an ounce, after which it started its steady run.

Can gold prices crash?

Given the economic uncertainty, gold is expected to touch a new all time high, which will be over $1900
an ounce. In India, the prices will also be supported by any further weakness in the Indian rupee. Any
sudden sale of gold holdings by central banks to tide over the economic crisis, and crisis in other risk
assets prompting investors compensate their losses through sale of gold ETFs (exchange traded funds),
are the key events could stall the gold rise.

For this year, the International Monetary Fund projects growth in advanced economies at -6.1 percent,
while emerging market and developing economies with normal growth levels well above advanced
economies are also projected to have negative growth rates of -1.0 percent in 2020, and -2.2 percent
excluding China.

The adverse economic impact of Covid-19 is expected to linger on for much longer — with comparisons
being made to the great depression of 1929 in the US. As an when economic recovery picks up pace,
which is now expected in late 2021 only, investors will start allocating more funds to risk assets like
stocks, real estate and bonds and pull out money from safe havens such as gold, US dollar, government
debt and Japanese yen. As per historical trends, when equity and risk assets start an upward trend, gold
typically falls significantly as was the case from 2011 till 2015.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-gold-prices-rising-coronavirus-us-rupee-dollar-
6365490/
Refund tickets booked during lockdown for travel till May 3: Govt #GS3
#Economy

A day after senior officials of Civil Aviation Ministry held an online meeting with top airline executives,
the government announced a set of advisories for airlines to refund domestic and international tickets
booked for the flights suspended due to lockdown. However, as per the advisories, airlines will be bound
to provide full refunds only to those passengers who have booked during the first lockdown period —
March 25 to April 14 — for travel between March 25 to May 3.

“Grievances were received from air travellers regarding refund for flights cancelled because of the
nationwide lockdown to combat COVID-19. Advisories have been issued regarding refund for both
domestic & international tickets booked for the flights suspended due to lockdown,” Minister of State
for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge) Hardeep Puri said in a tweet.

The original proposal of the government as discussed during Wednesday’s meeting, was to ask airlines
to reduce the period of credit shell being offered currently against cancellation of tickets from one year
to six months and refund the unused amount after six months.

The Ministry also said: “Bookings are done the world over. There are issues because of time differences.
Different airlines blocked reservations at different times. There may be some passengers who got the
bookings done unknowingly. Such cases also need to be addressed”.

A senior government official said the decision was taken after factoring in the liquidity issues of airlines
and other potential payouts. “Airlines need to survive for future refunds,” the official said, adding the
issue of flyers who booked tickets prior to lockdown will be dealt with at a later stage.

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/aviation/refund-tickets-booked-during-coronavirus-
lockdown-for-travel-till-may-3-govt-6365992/