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SUNDAY, 12 APRIL 2020 10 pages in 1 section WORLD P6 WORLD P6 NEW DELHI (CITY) ~10.00 FINALPORSCHE 911 OF A TRUMP: BIGGEST DECISION VOLUME XIV NUMBER 3 GENERATION TO BE SOLD I HAVE EVER HAD TO MAKE

PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM BENGALURU, KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW DELHI COVID LED TO 4K-CR FRESH BAD LOANS ON OUR BOOKS: PNB MD PM hints at lockdown extension Punjab National Bank’s (PNB’s) integration Curbs likely till April 30; construction, farm, some industrial activity may begin with Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Stateswantupto Bank of India came at a time when the country was under lockdown. On the eve of ARCHIS MOHAN & RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI INDIA Total WORLD Total PNB’s 126th Foundation Day, the bank’s New Delhi, 11 April VIRUS 7,529 1,724,736 managing director and chief executive officer, TRACKER Active cases Deaths ~10-trnpackage S S MALLIKARJUNA RAO, tells naday India witnessed its largest num- Somesh Jha how coronavirus ber of new coronavirus cases, the central 6,634 104,938 has impacted customer government was set to extend on BS REPORTERS Recovered Deaths Note: Total cases include 1 migration; figures CMs’ outreach programmes related O Saturday the nationwide lockdown by as of 10:50 pm IST; sources: Ministry of Health; New Delhi, 11 April 652 242 to the amalgamation. another two weeks, until April 30. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre DEMANDS While a formal announcement was awaited, Implement ‘Kerala tates on Saturday demanded a package of up to BACK PAGE 10 > official sources said the second phase of the lock- model’, allow S ~10 trillion from the Centre and dues such as com- down was likely to be less comprehensive than movement within pensation on account of goods and services tax (GST), the first, and that agriculture, construction, and besides front-loading grants to local bodies. They also ECONOMY P4 districts with no or limited industrial activity would be permitted. negligible cases wanted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to go for deficit Health insurance Maharashtra, however, didn’t wait for the financing, which is printing notes, to help these packages. Centre’s announcement and said it would extend Allowstates to take During the virtual meeting with Prime Minister premiums setto rise the lockdown till at least April 30. Odisha and a call on intra-state Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Health insurance premiums are set to rise Punjab have already announced the extension. movement Banerjee asked for a national economic relief package of as non-life insurance companies and Interacting with Provide relief ~10 trillion, which can be disbursed to the states. standalone health insurance firms scurry chief ministers via package, clear Funds from this can be used to fight the pandemic as The motto of to revamp their products to include the videoconferencing in MNREGA dues and well as support the states’ economies. modifications mandated by the insurance his third such meeting, the government Last month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Prime Minister earlierwas other payments Sitharaman had announced a ~1.70 trillion central pack- Development Authority (IRDAI). The rise Narendra Modi hinted “jaan hai to Relax fiscal deficit limit age. However, Banerjee contended it was only 1 per cent in premiums could be in the range of at the need to strike a jahaan hai”, from 3% to 4.5-5% of national GDP and the Centre needed to spend more. 5-25 per cent, depending on the features balance between saving but nowit is Allow33% more “Globally we are seeing Japan, the US, and others that each insurance company adds. lives and reviving eco- “jaan bhi jahaan additional borrowing are spending much more in proportion to their GDP. nomic activity. bhi”, the PM said India needs to do the same thing,” she said. So far as her LICCUSTOMERS GET MORE TIME TO PAYPREMIUM P5 According to a gov- Give bonus to farmers state was concerned, Banerjee pressed for a ernment statement, the to incentivise ~25,000-crore special package. PM underlined that the motto of the government staggered/delayed She also asked the Centre to clear GST dues of ~2,393 CORONAVIRUS EFFECT P3 earlier was “jaan hai to jahaan hai” — or the world Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with chief ministers on the Covid-19 procurement of wheat crore for the last four months of FY20, apart from pend- NBFCs may face more exists if there is life. But it now is “jaan bhi jahaan lockdown via videoconferencing, on Saturday PHOTO:PTI Waive 3 months’ ing dues of ~36,000 crore and funds of ~11,219 crore for the liquidity challenge bhi”, he said. “Jaan bhi and jahan bhi — a future interest on crop loans state. “There is no earning but only burning (expenses) where people care about both the aspects, follow and defer recovery by now,” she said. Additionally, she sought special relief Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), their duties and abide by the directions of the gov- MINISTERS, SENIOR OFFICERS TO WHO WARNS measures like a loan-repayment moratorium. commercial banks which are cash-strapped, are bracing for ernment — will be important for India’s prosper- ABOUT DANGERS Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao the challenge of repayments to banks in the ous and healthy future,” the PM said, who was RESUME NORMAL WORK OF PREMATURE Waive interest and urged the prime minister to announce a big economic absence of clarity on moratorium from the seen wearing a cotton scarf as a face cover, as were All central ministers have been asked to resume LIFTING OF penalties on package for the states. For this, he suggested the RBI do Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Banks are some of the chief ministers. work in ministries from Monday and put together RESTRICTIONS P6 industrial loans for deficit financing by way of quantitative easing or print- offering fresh credit at above 8 per cent Modi said there seemed to be a consensus plans for the post-lockdown period to kick-start the six months to enable ing currency notes to the extent of 5 per cent of GDP. while borrowing funds from the RBI comes among the states on the extension of the lock- economy. Also, joint secretary and above rank officers MODI ASKS STATES industry to meet He asked the Centre to increase the states’ borrowing at 4.4 per cent. NBFCs and housing finance down by another two weeks. The chief ministers will resume work in respective departments, sources TO ALTER MANDI urgent costs limit (FRBM) limit to 5 per cent from the present 3 per companies have to give three-month demanded a relief package, besides more financial, said, adding that one-third of the essential staff cent. Citing the revenue loss, the chief minister asked the RULES FOR DIRECT Economic package moratorium to their consumers. fiscal and medial support from the Centre. members in every ministry need to be present. PTI DELIVERY P5 Union government to facilitate deferring loan instal- for MSMEs Turn to Page 4 > ments of states by at least six weeks. Turn to Page 4 > COMPANIES P2 Bengal Chemicals starts MARKET THOMSON REUTERS/ production of HCQ How Covid crisis MOVEMENT CORE COMMODITYINDEX Highway work Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (BCPL), The fall of the Sensex has been Commodityfutures have India’s oldest pharmaceuticals company, too sharp and sudden this year tumbled amid oil volatility said it had again obtained a licence from the is different from in safe zones Directorate of Drugs Control, West Bengal, to THEN NOW THEN NOW manufacture hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Founded in 1892, BCPL had ceased 2008 meltdown likely to be producing HCQ decades ago because of cash constraints and labour issues. United States President Donald Trump had It’s been a sudden slump in economic exempted touted HCQ, an anti-malarial drug, as a game-changer in the fight against Covid-19. activity, as against a slow burn then MEGHA MANCHANDA New Delhi, 11 April KRISHNA KANT COMPANIES P2 Mumbai, 11 April RUPEE vs DOLLAR GROWTH IN BANK'S Construction of highways is likely to be exempted Wipro to startearnings The domestic currency has NON-FOOD CREDIT even as the country gears up for another two weeks of season forIT industry The decline in economic activity because of the Covid-19 lock- not declined as much as it Growth had been declining in lockdown. The decision is being taken after several dis- down is unprecedented in India’s history. Its impact on the real did in 2008 the recent past, has fallen further tricts asked the central government to allow con- Wipro will kick-start the earnings season or productive sectors of the economy is worse than what was struction of roads as it’s essential for any economy, for the information technology industry witnessed in the aftermath of the 2008 Lehman crisis, THEN (Inverted scale) NOW (Inverted scale) THEN (YoY chg %) NOW (YoY chg %) according to officials. next week. This had so far been done by its which had reached its peak in the month of “Some districts have said that areas which are away larger peers — Tata Consultancy Services September 2008. from urban centres and where there have been min- 29.0 25.8 25.9 and Infosys. Wipro will announce its fourth The collapse may appear similar in both 26.0 imal to zero Covid-19 cases may be exempted from the quarter results and annual financial cases, but the reality is different. The 2008 23.1 lockdown and construction activity should be statements on April 15. economic crisis was a slow burn, and events, allowed,” a person in the know told Business Standard. 7.5 7.5 7.1 6.0 including macroeconomic developments, 6.1 Construction of Maharashtra Samruddhi played out over months, while this time Mahamarg — the state’s marquee expressway con- IN DEPTH it is a sudden dip in economic activity AugSep OctNov Dec NovDec Jan Feb Mar necting Mumbai and Nagpur—is believed to be The otherfront-line after the lockdown was announced on 2008 2019 2020 among the projects to March 24. This comes out most clearly MONTHLYTREND IN POWER GENERATION be exempted from workers of the pandemic in the dip in electricity generation and the lockdown. Once passenger vehicle sales where the PASSENGER VEHICLE SALES While it has plunged sharply constructed, the impact has been immediate. Car sales have halved now, it was largely flat during eight-lane express- For example, daily average electricity generation year-on-year in March 2020 the 2008 crisis way would be 701 declined from an average of around 3,800 million units (MU) THEN (YoY Chg %) NOW (YoY Chg %) THEN (mn units) NOW (mn units) kilometre long. The in the first half of March 2020 to around 2,800 MU after March 2019 2020 Ministry of Road 24, a 26 per cent decline, according to the data from the NovDec Jan Feb Mar Transport and 14.8

National Load Despatch Centre. In contrast, electricity gen- 5.6 Highways and the 1,943.6 1,998.9 1,967.3 3,487.2 3,296.0 -0.7

eration was flat even at the height of the Lehman crisis in 2.6 National Highways -8.1 -3.5 2,821.0 September and October 2008, as there was no interruption in -3.8 Authority of India economic activity. (NHAI) are also in

The 2008 crisis had led to a decline in car sales in the .3 discussion with Across India, grassroots workers engaged December 2008 quarter, but sales recovered fairly quickly. In -10.2 many states to eval- -12.7 AugSep OctNov Dec -51 SepOct Nov Feb MarApr in developmental work have taken on the comparison, passenger car sales were down 51 per cent year-on- 2008 2008 2020 uate the situation. role of keeping rural communities safe, year in March 2020 and 47 per cent on month-on-month basis According to an Sources: Reserve Bank of India, Bloomberg, National Load Despatch Centre, Central Electricity Authority, Society of Indian > writes VEENU SANDHU 7 — one of the sharpest decline ever. Turn to Page 4 > Automobile Manufacturers, Compiled by BS Research Bureau official, some states Reviving construction and districts had activity would ensure sought permission to some livelihood for start road construc- migrant workers who tion work where the have been jobless Apple,Googleteamupto‘contacttrace’ thevirus density of population since the lockdown was low. began in March Reviving con- JACKNICAS & DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI other devices they come near, significant in slowing the spread struction activity HOW THE TECH California, 11 April enabling what is known as of coronavirus. Public-health would also ensure some livelihood for migrant work- “contact tracing” of the disease. authorities have said improved ers who have been jobless ever since the coronavirus- WORKS In one of the most far-ranging People would opt in to use the tracking of infected people and triggered lockdown began in March. 1After downloading the public attempts to halt the spread of tool and voluntarily reportif they their contacts could slow the In a video press conference after a meeting of Prime health app, the user will have to coronavirus, Apple and Google became infected. pandemic, especially at the start Minister Narendra Modi with all states, Puducherry permit it to collect anonymous data said they were building software The unlikely partnership of an outbreak,and such chief minister V Narayanasamy spoke of restarting the into smartphones that would tell between Google and Apple, fierce measureshave been effective in construction activity. He said the PM had given an When he/she meets a person, 2 people if they were recently in rivals who rarely pass up an places like South Korea that also assurance that guidelines would be issued for restart- a record will be made contact with someone who was opportunity to criticise each conducted mass virus testing. ing the construction industry in a graded manner. 3If a person updates his/her status infected with it. other, underscoresthe Yet two of the world’s largest The government proposed to segregate the construc- as Covid +ve, the app shall update The technology giants said seriousness of the health crisis tech companies harnessing tion industry into green, orange and red zones, he data on the cloud they were teaming up to release and the power of the two virtually all of the smartphones said while quoting the PM. Other people’s app will check if the tool within several months, companies whosesoftware runs on the planet to trace people’s Experts believe that even though every infra- 4 building it into the operating almost every smartphone in the connections raisesquestions structure project is a priority, widening and expansion they had met any Covid+ve person systems of the billions of iPhones world. Apple and Google said about the reach thesebehemoths of existing roads may get precedence. 5If a match is found, the user and Android devices around the their joint effort came together in have into individuals’ lives and Beginning work on those projects would be easier will be alerted world. That would enable the just the last two weeks. society. Turn to Page 4 > considering they would not require large amounts of smartphones to constantly log Their work could prove to be ©2020 The New York Times News Service land to start work. Turn to Page 4 > 2 COMPANIES NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 1 > IN BRIEF BengalChemicals Trai recommends making STB Flipkart, Tata team up interoperability mandatory restartsproducing The Telecom Regulatory Authority of to deliveressentials India (Trai) on Saturday recommended HCQ afterdecades that all DTH and cable set-top-boxes (STBs) provided to the customers must Distributors of Tata support interoperability, and urged AVISHEK RAKSHIT the Ministry of Information and group firms will Kolkata, 11 April Broadcasting to make it mandatory by list on Flipkart as introducing the requisite provisions. Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Interoperable STBs will allow marketplace sellers (BCPL), India’s oldest pharmaceuti- consumers to change their DTH operator without buying a new cals company, is back in the spotlight set-top box. Presently the STBs deployed in the Cable TV networks PEERZADAABRAR because of surging demand for are non-interoperable — the same STB cannot be used Bengaluru, 11 April hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), the most BALANCE SHEET interchangeably across the different service providers. Trai also sought-after drug in the treatment of Revenue Profit (~crore) 120 recommended the mandatory provisioning of USB port-based -commerce firm Flipkart Covid-19. 110 common interface for all digital television sets in India. PTI< joined hands with Tata Founded in 1892, BCPL, which 95 E Consumer Products to provide once used to manufacture HCQ, its customers access to essential food THE PARTNERSHIPS ceased to produce the anti-malarial Luxury home sales Lupin contributes and beverage products, in the wake of drug decades ago because of cash remain muted, ~21 cr forCovid-19 the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) Consumerscanbuycombo combinations from Tata constraints and labour issues. outbreak. packssuchasTata Teaand Consumer’s distributors The company has once again 25 shows report relief efforts 10 As a part of this, distributors of the CoffeeandTata Sampann Flipkarthad also announced obtained a license from the 5 Real estate developers have Pharma Tata group companies will list them- spices,pulses,andnutri mixes a pilot programme with Directorate of Drugs Control, West been able to sell only 45 per cent major Lupin selves on Flipkart as marketplace sell- Bengal, to begin manufacturing of the 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 The partnership is already Spencers to introduce Source: BCPL of luxury homes (priced above on Saturday ers. Consumers can use the Flipkart to operational in Bengaluru and hyperlocal deliveries of drug that US President Donald Trump ~3 crore) launched during the announced buy different combo packs of essential will be expanded to Mumbai, groceries and essentials in has touted as a game-changer in the last three years, with investors contribution products such as beverages (Tata Tea Delhi and tier-2cities Hyderabad fight against Covid-19. some other synthetic chemicals. still shying away from putting of ~21 crore and Coffee) and foods (Tata Sampann However, BCPL — the only cen- Importantly, BCPL has exhausted money in premium properties for relief spices, pulses, and nutri mixes) Flipkart’s marketplace Earlier, Bigbasket partnered tral public sector enterprise (CPSE) all the raw material it previously had due to lower returns, according efforts offered by Tata Consumer Products. supply chain will fulfil the with Uber to help in delivery that can manufacture HCQ and other to manufacture chloroquine phos- to PropTiger data. Housing directed “The synergies and capabilities of orders by picking up these of essential items anti-malarial drugs — is now facing a phate and is now awaiting raw mate- brokerage firm PropTiger towards mitigating the both Tata Consumer and Flipkart are shortage of raw materials. rial supply. “We had orders for 2 mil- reported that only 5,926 luxury Covid-19 crisis. Lupin's complementary and we are The company, which has been lion tablets from 15-16 state units have been sold till January employees have given their proud to enable an alterna- Consumer’s distributors and 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed scouting for raw materials since as governments. We have been able to this year, out of the 13,290 two days' salaries, together tive business channel built delivering those to cus- by the government to contain the early as March 20, hasn’t been able make around 800,000 tablets and will homes launched by developers contributing a sum of ~5.5 on our marketplace model tomers using its network of spread of Covid-19. to procure any yet. “There hasn’t been need more raw materials to produce across nine major cities during crore to the PM CARES Fund, to deliver great value to con- delivery executives. The Earlier, BigBasket partnered with any success in procuring raw materi- more,” he said. the last three calendar years. PTI< the company said. PTI< sumers in these times of cri- partnership is already oper- Uber to help in delivery of essential als, and this is the major constraint With the current production sis,” said Kalyan ational in Bengaluru, and items, while Grofers said it had hired which can affect production of HCQ. capacity, BCPL can manufacture 1 Krishnamurthy, chief exec- CORONAVIRUS the companies plan to about 2,000 people from industries Besides, we are a small company and million HCQ and chloroquine phos- Production of Fino Payments Bank utive officer of Flipkart expand these facilities in that have been deeply impacted by our resources on this front are limit- phate tablets every day. cooking oil down logs 80% fall in Group. PANDEMIC Mumbai and Delhi in the the current crisis. ed,” said P M Chandraiah, managing Chandraiah said given BCPL’s “Tata Consumer coming week and tier-2 E-commerce companies have director (additional charge) and direc- operational and manpower con- 40%: Adani Wilmar local remittances Products is committed to cities in the future. struggled to deliver orders after the tor (finance), BCPL. straints, it would be helpful if the local Adani Wilmar on Saturday Fino Payments Bank said it ensuring the availability of our bever- This week, Flipkart also lockdown was imposed on March 24. “Imagine a situation when the administration can help the firm pro- said production of cooking oils had seen an 80 per cent age and food brands to consumers announced a pilot programme with Even though the government allowed demand for a certain tablet spikes cure raw materials. has declined by 40 per cent decline in domestic across India, during this difficult time. retail chain Spencers to introduce delivery of essential goods including from 1 million to 100 million sudden- The West Bengal government has due to labour shortage in the remittances volume as This partnership with Flipkart pro- hyperlocal deliveries of groceries and food, pharmaceuticals and medical ly. Will a company be able to cater to stepped in to arrange for raw materi- current lockdown, resulting in migrant workers returned to vides an innovative way to set up a essentials in Hyderabad. equipment through e-commerce plat- the demand if the necessary ecosys- als for pharmaceutical companies to tight supplies of the essential their homes following strong alternative distribution chan- Tata Consumer Products, part of forms, players faced hiccups initially. tem is not there,” he added. make HCQ, and has asked the commodity. Sales of cooking closure of small businesses nel through our wide network,” said Tata group, was formed in February The surge in orders also disrupted BCPL also has licence manufac- Confederation of Indian Industry oils too have fallen 25 per cent due to the nationwide Sunil D’Souza, managing director and this year following the merger of Tata operations for these companies. ture chloroquine phosphate — anoth- (CII) to submit a report on the feasi- with closure of all hotels, lockdown. The payments chief executive officer, Tata Consumer Global Beverages and the consumer Players have now started resuming er anti-malarial drug which is also bility of restarting operations at cin- restaurants and cafeterias bank sees average Products. products business of Tata Chemicals. operations across various cities, clear- being used to treat Covid-19. chona plantations in Mongpu in amid lockdown, said Angshu monthly remittances of close Flipkart’s marketplace supply E-commerce companies have ing pending orders before accepting The base formulation for both of Kurseong district. This plantation, Mallick, deputy CEO of Adani to ~5,000 crore from daily chain will fulfil the orders by picking been exploring unique models to new ones. these drugs is based on extracts from which is spread over 9,600 acres, has

Wilmar. PTI< wage earners. PTI< up these combinations from Tata ensure business continuity amid the With additional inputs from PTI the bark of the cinchona plant and been closed for over 15 years now. ITearningsseasonstarts Donations to CM ‘We foresee strong steel withWiproonApril15 fund won’t qualify demand post-Covid’ DEBASIS MOHAPATRA WHAT TO EXPECT as CSR, says MCA Bengaluru, 11 April While TCSwill announce Q4 IT services major Wipro will earnings on Apr 16, Infosys RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI ment of wages would be “SINCE THE kick-start earnings season for is yetto announce a date New Delhi, 11 April allowed as CSR expenditure GOVERNMENT IS the IT industry next week. This as a one-time exception. This, Most IT firms likelyto post ALSO CONCERNED had so far been done by its larg- Companies can’t claim contri- provided there is an explicit er peers — Tata Consultancy revenue and butions made to the Chief declaration to that effect by OVER THE COUNTRY’S Services (TCS) and Infosys. profit growth in their Minister’s Relief Fund or the the board, duly certified by ECONOMIC GROWTH, While Wipro will announce guided range despite State Relief Fund for Covid-19 the statutory auditor. CONSTRUCTION AND its fourth quarter (Q4) results Covid-19 crisis as corporate social responsibil- On March 28, the govern- along with annual financial ity (CSR) spending, the ment had announced PM INFRASTRUCTURE statements on April 15, market The firm is likelyto Many mayrefrain Ministry of Corporate Affairs CARES Fund to deal with the ACTIVITY WILL PICK leader TCS will hold its board announce the name ofnew from giving guidance for (MCA) has said. Covid-19 pandem- UP SIGNIFICANTLY IN meet the next day (April 16) for CEO after theresignation of FY21 due to uncertain These funds are Ex-gratia ic and any other approval of its financial state- ABIDALINEEMUCHWALA business environment not part of the payments to such emergencies THE LATTER PART OF ments. Infosys is yet to inform Schedule VII of the workers will be that may arise in THE YEAR” investors the date it will Act that enumer- treated as CSR, future. The fund announce its Q4 earnings. new CEO’s name with the impacting their business oper- ates eligible funds provided these was declared an Though making Q4 results results,” said an IT outsourcing ations adversely in March. under CSR, it said. are over and eligible activity public before its competitors advisor who is familiar with the “Wipro’s revenue was Also, payments above wages under CSR of com- doesn’t hold much significance, development. expected to improve across made to temporary panies. sources said Wipro is likely to Names of Bhaskar Ghosh, business segments, barring hi- and daily wage workers during The schedule VII provides announce the name of its new group CEO of Accenture; for- tech and health care. But that the lockdown period would not for setting up a fund by the chief executive officer (CEO) mer Accenture executive view now needs to be recali- be counted as CSR as such pay- central government for socio- after the resignation of Abidali Omar Abbosh; and Ravi brated in the aftermath of ments are a part of “moral, economic development and Neemuchwala. In the first week Kumar S, deputy COO and Covid-19,” ICICI Securities has humanitarian and contractual relief which would be counted of February, Neemuchwala had president at Infosys, are being said in a recent note. “The firm obligations of the company”, as CSR expenditure, an MCA resigned from the firm, citing floated as the likely successor will see obvious impacts of the MCA said. notification said. family commitments. “Amid of Neemuchwala. Covid-19 on growth in FY21, giv- It said any ex-gratia pay- On March 23, the govern- the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, it is Most domestic IT biggies en its higher exposure than ment made to daily wage ment had said contributions important to have a clear lead- are likely to post revenue and peers to segments like oil & gas earners specifically for the towards fighting the coron- With the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cantly in the latter part of the year. ership roadmap. So, it is likely profit growth in their guided and regions like the Middle purpose of fighting Covid-19 avirus pandemic will be treat- pandemic disrupting domestic steel demand, that Wipro will announce its range despite Covid-19 East,” it said. over and above the disburse- ed as CSR activity. ANIL KUMAR CHAUDHARY, chairman, Steel The pandemic has led to several issues Authority of India (SAIL), has chalked out a pertaining to domestic logistics and the strong business continuity plan to combat its supply-chain segment. What are SAIL’s impact. In a telephonic interview with Aditi learnings? Divekar, Chaudhary talks about lessons learnt Our decision to rely on railways, and not Co-livingfirmsopendoorstohealthcarestaff from the crisis, and the demand outlook for roadways, to transport both raw material as steel in FY21. Edited excerpts: well as finished products is bearing fruit. About 85 per cent of our material moves Some also rent out Healthtoopenupitsvacantproperties SAIL has lowered production due through railways. We did not face forhealthworkers.However, the to the pandemic, which has hit any shortage of material despite their premises to IT hospitalchainhassofarnotsoughta steel demand. What are the steps the lockdown. There is only requirementforsuchaspace. being taken to have a strong labour shortage at the contractor's firms’ employees “The construction workers that business continuity plan for FY21? end to unload material, but this are stuck at sitesduring the Firstly, we will be rationalising situation is not specific to SAIL. SAMREEN AHMAD lockdown are staying safe at the steel production according to the ANIL KUMAR Bengaluru, 11 April quarters provided by the firm. market demand. For this, blast fur- CHAUDHARY SAIL continues to have a high Shanders, the parent company of naces — which are more produc- Chairman, Steel labour cost when compared to its Saurabh Chittora, who’s treating Guesture, is taking care of their other tive and cost effective on techno- Authority of India peers. Have you changed your coronavirus disease(Covid-19) needs such as foodand medical economic parameters — would be hiring strategy? How are you patients at a government medical support,” says Sriram Chitturi, kept active, while others will handling the employee cost parameter? college in Kota, Rajasthan, gets done founder, Guesture. remain in standby mode. Secondly, with the Our effort to maximise production and with his afternoon shift by 5.30 pm. The start-up has also tied up with help of our unions, we are keeping contract reduce labour cost per tonne is something The medical practitioner then leaves Tech Mahindra to provide its as well as regular labourers on the support- which will continue. Apart from this, for his new temporary home where facilities to employeeswho do not ive side. They have assured that if extra though 7-8 per cent of our workforce retires he takes the first proper meal of the have any means to work from home. work needs to be done once the situation annually, SAIL is doing only 2 percent fresh day, having skipped lunch. “We have cordoned off an entire normalises, the workforce will be forthcom- hiring against this. This is ensuring cau- “Iamsupervisingthehealthof134 property with 100 beds along with ing. Thirdly, our officials are in touch with tious hiring. Also, we are looking at bring- Covid-19 patientsandhave afamily work desk, Wi-Fi connectivity, end-users, including dealers and distribu- ing down the average employee age in the withparentswhoareover65yearsof housekeeping, and foodfor those tors, trying to ascertain the demand size of company to 42 years, from the current 46 age. Idon’twantto exposethemto any properties in Kota, Jaipur, and NCR provided 24x7 housekeeping. “In employeeswho did not have work- the market after the lockdown. years. This would take about 2-3 years. healthrisk.Bothmy childrenarealso for health care professionals, who are total, we will roll out 500 beds in the from-home facilities,” says Chitturi. below5years.SoIhave movedto aco- on the frontline serving Covid-19 first phase during this month in cities In a similar tie-up, Nexus Venture How do you see the domestic steel demand SAIL has enjoyed monopoly when it came to livingspacefornow,” saysChittora, patients, and people who are including Mumbai and Bengaluru,” Partners-backed co-living platform in FY21, keeping in mind the uncertainty bagging orders from the Railways. Lately, whohasn’tmethisfamilyfor10days stranded because of the lockdown,” says Jagadev. Zolostays has also rented 400 beds in over when the crisis would take a breather? Jindal Steel & Power has been bagging a few despitebeinginthesamecity. says Jitendra Jagadev, founder of Hello World is also in talks with Chennai and Hyderabad to I am foreseeing strong demand for steel orders as well. What is SAIL doing to keep Chittora is staying at one of the Hello World, a co-living venture of schools to convertthoseinto Cognizant and Capgemini for once the coronavirus impact declines over its market share intact? Hello World co-living spaces in Kota, Tiger Global-backed home rental temporary homes for migrant employeeswho were struggling to the next few months. Even if we do not see About 12 per cent of SAIL’s turnover comes which has given out two of its network NestAway. labourers. “We will run our services work from home. “We are charging strong demand immediately, or in the first from the Railways. There is no question of properties — one for health care The company has sofar rolled out for free for up to three months… we any-where between ~7,000 and few months of the fiscal, it may gradually competition with Jindal Steel as we are professionals and another for 150 beds for doctors, nurses, and will belooking at raising external ~10,000 per bed per month which are pick up and, in fact, make up for the loss in complementing each other. The Railways migrants who have been stranded in ward boys in theseproperties. In funds,” says Jagadev. the standard Zolostays chargesincl- the balance part of the year. Since the gov- are going to other suppliers only after hav- the city because of the 21-day order to facilitate the health Anotherco-livingstart-up uding food, Wi-Fi, DTH connection, ernment is also concerned over the coun- ing exhausted their requirements from nationwide lockdown. professionals’ foodat any time Guesturehasalsobeenintalkswith and housekeeping,” says Nikhil Sikri, try’s economic growth, construction and SAIL. So, to that extent, there is no threat to “We have opened five of our during the day, the start-up has also multi-specialtyhospitalNarayana cofounder and CEO, Zolostays. infrastructure activity will pick up signifi- our market share. NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 CORONAVIRUS EFFECT 3

. < NBFCsectorstaring Textile industry reels from at anotherbout of lockdown body blow T E NARASIMHAN sealed and customers cancelling Chennai, 11 April orders, 25 per cent of business has already been lost. The busy roads of Tiruppur, one “European buyers, particularly liquidity challenge of the largest textile hubs in the from Italy and Spain, have already country, look deserted. Gone is asked our members not to export the hum of the 10,000 factories garments to them and wait for a — mainly small and medium minimum of one or two months Most banks are yet to decide on giving moratorium to shadow lenders enterprises — where over till the situation improves and ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA 600,000 people worked. shops are reopened. Some buyers SUBRATA PANDA&ABHIJIT LELE The city used to do around are cancelling orders outright,” Mumbai, 11 April ~25,000 crore worth of exports and said Tiruppur Exporters’ around the same amount in the Association President Raja M he cash-strapped non-banking domestic market. Now the town Shanmugham. financial company (NBFC) sector expects a ~10,000-12,000 crore He said that small and medium T loss in just three months. enterprises will not be able to repay is bracing for another challenge. In the absence of clarity on whether Tiruppur’s fate has been repli- bank loans. “We apprehend that the three-month moratorium applies cated across other major textile due to non-clearance of dues, the to the loans NBFCs have taken, the hubs ever since the lockdown was banks may classify such units as shadow lenders have to repay banks at announced. The textile industry, non-performing assets as per a time when their cash flows have tak- the second largest employer after BASEL norms,” said Shanmugham. en a hard knock due to the coronavirus agriculture, may lose 25 per cent of Even those who manage to resume pandemic. its jobs. Around 12.9 million peo- operations will have to face having Banks are offering fresh credit at ple’s livelihoods depend on the The Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India has asked the to pay 30 per cent more for dyes rates above 8 per cent depending on the industry and nearly 70 per cent of government to consider postponing income tax, advance tax, and GST. and chemicals which will impact tenor, while borrowing funds from the them are women. It also called for a 180-day moratorium on repayment of bank loans their cost of production. RBI at 4.4 per cent. NBFCs and HFCs While the Covid-19 pandemic Some in the industry are pin- have to give a three-month moratori- has completely halted production January 2020 owing to the US- the Clothing Manufacturers’ ning their hopes on demand reviv- um to their consumers on term loans, and new orders, exporters say that China trade war —will be sub- Association of India (CMAI). ing once the virus settles down. as suggested by the RBI last month. payments have also been delayed stantially hit till H1FY21. The Recovery, the CMAI predicts, will Others are focused on getting But majority of the banks are yet to for the shipments sent before the agency assumes Ebitda will drop take at least 10 months to a year. financial support from the gov- decide on granting a moratorium to lockdown. Exporters say some at least 15 per cent in FY21 across Without government support, it ernment along the lines offered the NBFCs and HFCs that are availing Plea in SC challenging 3-month moratorium customers are not taking delivery its textile portfolio. adds, the industry cannot survive by many developed countries credit like any other borrower. of the shipments because they The home textile industry has this unprecedented crisis. hoping to limit the damage caused Moratorium becomes crucial for A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeking direction on have shut shop. Ready-made gar- seen shipments being held up and Bhilwara in Rajasthan was by Covid-19’s disruption of eco- NBFCs and HFCs as disbursements setting aside the RBI's March 27 circular on three-month moratorium on loan ment players had been hoping for faces bleak uncertainty about known as a centre for pv suitings nomic activity. and collections will take a hit because repayment between March 1 and May 31 amid coronavirus pandemic. a revival in demand in China but operations being resumed in the and dyed yarn worth ~25,000 The CMAI has asked the gov- of the coronavirus pandemic, resulting The plea, filed in the apex court by advocate Amit Sahni, has alleged that with the virus spreading to short term. A handful of larger crore. Now it is known as a coron- ernment to consider postponing in cash flow problems. the RBI circular is an "eyewash as it provides that the interest shall be Europe, the US and other major players have sufficient liquidity to avirus hot spot. S N Modani, chair- income tax, advance tax, and GST, Senior executives with NBFCs and chargeable during the moratorium period and it makes no sense in paying markets, there are no orders com- manage the tough times but if the man, Rajasthan Textile Mills give a minimum 180-day mora- experts have warned that the sector additional interest along with the regular EMIs". PTI ing from the major retailers. It’s impact of the coronavirus is larg- Association and managing direc- torium on repayment of all bank may face another bout of liquidity true that the government has er or longer than expected, the tor, Sangam in Bhilwara, said the loans, and provide a disburse- challenge if there is no clarity on the Rating agency CRISIL said the capital markets via instruments like extended the rebate on state and outcome will be grim for the textile industry in the town is ment of 25 per cent additional moratorium. The lenders had faced a analysis of the entities it rates suggests NCDs and CPs. Of late, many have been centre taxes from 1 April to boost smaller companies. With malls worth around ~35,000 crore, working capital loans on zero severe liquidity crunch after defaults that liquidity pressure will increase for borrowing overseas through ECBs, giv- the liquidity and competitiveness and shopping centres closed, including exports. interest to tide over the current by IL&FS Group in 2018. nearly a quarter of them if collections en the liquidity challenges they were of these players but this will not movement restricted, and mass Since the night of March 21, liquidity shortfall. Bankers said they have taken up do not pick up by June this year. These encountering in the domestic market. help many buyers who are going transport unavailable, domestic Bhilwara has been locked down. It has also asked for a wage sub- the issue with the RBI through indus- NBFCs have ~1.75 trillion of debt obli- Raman Aggarwal, co-chairman, bankrupt because the lockdown sales have withered. India export- If the industry can resume oper- sidy to avoid job losses, the cre- try body Indian Bank’s Association gations maturing by then. Finance Industry Development and concomitant closure of stores ed $16.2 billion worth of garments ations after April 14 when the ation of a special Factor Fund for and are soon expecting a clarification. With collections at a low and the Council, said “We had communicated has resulted in a fall in exports. in 2018-19. The apparel sector lockdown is scheduled to be lift- small and medium companies to “We are still not sure and we are moratorium only for their borrowers, the concerns to the RBI and have been For FY20, the margins are like- accounts for 43 per cent of India’s ed, a 15-20 per cent annual basis discount their bills immediately, waiting for a clarification either from raising funds is critical for NBFCs, espe- given assurance that the matter is ly to be impacted by 120-150bp textiles exports in value terms and loss is expected on the topline. urged that banks should not treat the RBI or from SBI,” said a public sec- cially because these lenders, unlike being looked into.” and credit metrics to moderate for 5 per cent of overall exports. The bottomline will be even a failure to repay loans as a non- tor banker. “We feel the RBI circular is banks, do not have access to systemic The CEO of a large HFC said: with pressure on liquidity and From manufacturing through worse because of fixed expenses. performing asset, and provide a fairly clear and it doesn’t exclude sources of liquidity and depend signif- “There are differences between banks higher working capital utilisation, to retail, the garment industry If the lockdown is extended, the one year moratorium on repay- NBFCs from being a beneficiary of the icantly on wholesale funding. on this issue. Some banks are willing to according to India Ratings and employs close to 25 million peo- losses will rise as vertically as ment so that smaller players can moratorium, but a few banks, such as Bank borrowing is a major source of provide moratorium while some oth- Research. ple. If the current situation con- the virus curve. avoid going under. It is only such SBI, have some reservations on it, so funding for the shadow banking sector, ers do not want to. The impact on the The agency assumes that tinues beyond a month from now, Exports from Rajasthan total a package, says the CMAI, that will we are waiting for the RBI to clarify. We especially the smaller ones. Apart from sector will vary among NBFCs depend- India’s exports — already reduced nearly a quarter of the jobs in the around ~10,000 crore. With no allow the industry to see the other will definitely have some clarity soon.” that, they borrow money from the debt ing upon their liquidity position.” by more than 40 per cent till industry will be lost, according to clearance from the ports, borders side of the lockdown. LawenforcerskeepvigilatDelhi’sNizamuddin

RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI and multiple persons who area have been surveyed in the any unnecessary movement. heard that hair can also be a said Surender Sharma, veg- New Delhi, 11 April attended the meeting tested past few days, Mukesh Walia, “Inka koi bharosa nahi hai,” carrier for the virus. etable vendor. positive for Covid-19 — still Nizamuddin station house one of the officers on duty said, Several of those guarding The divide between rich The historic site of the stands, abandoned. officer said. The questions suggesting that the people Delhi’s hotspot are staying and poor in the south Delhi Nizamuddin dargah resem- Just a couple of days ago a posed in the survey are sim- might not be disciplined away from their families. “We neighbourhood is apparent. bles a fortress these days. Days team of doctors geared up in ple: How many people live in enough to follow lockdown in stay back at the police sta- The dargah has become after the Markaz mosque, personal protective equipment the house? Does anyone have the cramped area. tion...We don’t want to put our home to more than a hundred which became Delhi’s epicen- and a battery of Central symptoms of cold and fever? The law enforcers arrive families at risk. For us this is people who lived outside its tre of the coronavirus disease Reserve Police Force (CRPF) “We are maintaining law every day around 8 am and our duty,” Ravinder Kumar, a campus, as they were booted (Covid-19), was evacuated and jawans were escorted into the and order and implementing stay till late evening. They junior police officer said. out of their shanties into a park sanitised, an eerie silence back alleys of the dargah. the lockdown strictly...There come with complete gear, The neighbouring housing adjoining the religious site. hangs over the area, with “After what happened in are no specific instructions including tear gas munitions. society of Nizamuddin West is “We have enough supplies armed men wearing protective Madhya Pradesh with the doc- to us for after April 14 yet,” When asked about the tear gas, also complaining of how for the next two days. My hus- masks dotting the perimeter tors, we don’t want to take any Walia said. a CRPF jawan simply points online delivery services are band is a rickshaw puller and and barricades all over. chance,” one of the policemen So far, there has been no towards the basti and shrugs being cautious and most have now there is no work. I don’t All entry and exit points of posted at the Mathura road positive case. However, CRPF while he says, “Who knows refused to cater to the area. The know how I will manage,” the dargah leading up to the entrance said. and police personnel do not what can happen?” local vegetable vendor man- said Noor Jehan, a mother of basti have been sealed. The Last week, healthcare want to leave anything to However, police know arms ages to enter with a curfew six children, who is living at tent pitched by a team of doc- workers and civic officials were chance. Inside the narrow and ammunition are not pass. “I get vegetables from the the dargah. tors outside the Markaz attacked by a mob in Indore alleys of the basti, two CRPF enough in this war against Okhla mandi, which is so She said sometimes the All entry and exit points of the Nizamuddin dargah leading up to the mosque — to test people at when they went to survey res- companies — around 150 Covid-19. Many on duty at the crowded that it is impossible to CRPF personnel share their basti have been sealed and nearly 1,500 houses in the area have been the site where a religious idents for Covid-19 symptoms. armed guards — have been local police station even maintain any distance with leftover food with them, which surveyed in the past few days PHOTO: DALIP KUMAR meeting was held last month Nearly 1,500 houses in the deployed to keep a check on shaved their heads after they people... But what else to do,” gets them by for a meal or two. Theusefulthingsontheinternetthatcostonlytime You get3more months to deposit money in PPF VEER ARJUN SINGH on the augmented reality guitar ful free trial to its premium service New Delhi, 11 April learning app, Amped Guitar, has been extended from 30 to 90 The finance ministry has Also, if no money is whose premium membership is days. It helps me keep a tab on my relaxed provisions for small deposited in these accounts in It’s just you and the internet. free for the next three months. runs, make use of video coaching saving schemes, allowing peo- FY20, no default fee would be There’s the mindless Ludo, the While an ESP guitar is what I and learn from insights into my ple three more months to make levied if deposits are made till endless scrolling down to see what am trapped with, if you happen to sleep stages and patterns. I am also deposits in their accounts, as June 30 this year, according to people are up to on Instagram and be in the company of a fine set of tracking my meals to estimate my the country battles the coron- a memorandum issued by the those foolhardy attempts at ivories or even an old-school key- macronutrient and micronutrient avirus disease pandemic. ministry. INDIVJALDHASMANA inventing a new dish in the board, check out the piano lessons intake on the HealthifyMe app, The deadline to make kitchen or cooking up a million- on Skoove that gives you real-time which has also launched a tool kit deposits in public provident dollar idea in your head. Before feedback on your progress pow- for a free immunity assessment fund (PPF) and Sukanya triviality has a tenacious grip on ered by an AI engine. For the com- test and tracks frequency of your Samriddhi Yojana for the your mind, freebies are here to poser in you, Apple’s premium hand washes, among other things. financial year 2019-20 (FY20) save you from a looming existen- DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Social isolation can also cause has been extended till June tial crisis. Not the freebies that Logic Pro X (Mac) and the Ableton anxiety and stress to peak. You can 30 this year. However, cus- brands use to lure people into Live 10 Suite (Mac and PC) are trust politician Omar Abdullah, tomers will be able to deposit spending more money later, but free for a 90-day trial period, who is fresh out of a more serious only till the upper limit, the carefully filtered kind that which includes access to a huge kind of quarantine, to recommend which is ~1.5 lakh a year, in should have you jamming through collection of virtual instruments, the right kind of wellness apps. His these two schemes. the blues and maybe even earn effects and loops, providing a com- pick is Calm and Headspace. Both you a certificate from a prestigious plete toolkit to help you create apps offer a select range of guided university. Here’s a roundup of all amazing music. meditations, sleep stories and you can do from the comfort of mindfulness exercises for free. your couch while sipping on a Skill up through it as I write this piece. For people who have an eye for dalgona coffee in your pajamas. MOOC, or Massive Open Online Unacademy has started a “gami- visual detail, Fujifilm is running Get help Course, platforms are like home fied” UPSC CSE Championship photography workshops with It’s true that in a war-like situation Jam away schools for adults. Coursera has offering five free mock tests for celebrity photographers, such as such as this, doctors might not be If you have a dusty old guitar lying seen a 505 per cent year-on-year UPSC aspirants. The top 20 Shantanu Sheorey and Dabboo always available to inspect every around somewhere, join me and jump in registrations. Among the rankers within the programme Ratnani, on every alternate day till case of sore throat in person. But some 10,000 users who have thousands of courses available, 85 will be given a free annual sub- April 28 on its Instagram handle. that doesn’t mean that you should signed up for the Fender’s brilliant of its top certifications from uni- scription that gives them access to not seek help when you need to. repository of online guitar lessons versities such as Penn, Georgia all the features and courses. Isolate those muscles Apollo’s free self-assessment made free for the next three Tech, Johns Hopkins, Caltech, And while the world contem- Online physical trainers are a dime online test can help allay some months. You can choose your Duke and Imperial College plates on the ethics of it, don’t for- a dozen but the hard workouts fears about the Covid-19 conta- instrument (acoustic, electric, London, and from companies get to check out the Internet should be backed with some credi- gion. Infosys co-founder N R bass, ukulele) and go through the such as Google and Amazon are Archive’s National Emergency ble advice. Bengaluru-based health Narayana Murthy-backed Acko entire course manual. It’s like hav- now free till the end of May 2020. Library, which is giving free access care start-up cure.fit has roped in General Insurance, too, has an AI- ing a trusty professional by your You don’t even have to pay to get to its massive repository of 1.4 mil- some extra firepower in the form based risk-assessment test on its side. The more advanced folks can the proof of certification. Closer lion ebooks and audiobooks until of free sessions with celebrity website, which can be followed up jump right into their preferred home, Byjus — one of India’s lead- June 30, along with a 14-day bor- trainer Yasmin Karachiwala, with a free virtual consultation genre, pick an artist and learn how ing online education services — is rowing pass. I have picked André Olympian Mary Kom and actors with a doctor. DocsApp has a free to play a few more songs with giving free live classes to students Aciman’s novel, Call Me by Your Sonam Bajwa and Mandira Bedi 24/7 helpline for senior citizens video tutorials. From Damn Right I till the lockdown is over. More Name, to begin with, which also for anyone who downloads the (080 4719 3443) for complaints Got the Blues by Buddy Guy to Ace than six million new users started made for a really good film. app. Australian actor Chris across all departments. And the of Spades by Motörhead, I am digging through the content just Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cine- Hemsworth’s Centr is free to use American company vHealth by euphoric with this discovery. Want in the month of March. Over six matography here deserves a spe- for all, albeit for a six-week period. Aetna is giving free virtual consul- more? Gibson is offering lessons million people are digging cial mention. If you own a Fitbit device, the use- tation for everyone till April 15. 4 YOUR MONEY NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 1 >

INVESTMENT STRATEGY BS TUTORIAL is unlikely to be the one giving the highest three-year annualised return Jayant Pai in the same year. So even if you Benefitfrom the collective choose a scheme that has outper- Financial literacy formed the market in the recent past, it is highly uncertain if that momen- 1. Which is the only G7 nation building coal-fired tum will be sustained. power plants? A. United Kingdom wisdom of markets Investinabroadbasketofstocks Now that we know that the collec- B. USA tive wisdom of the market usually C. Japan triumphs over actively-managed D. Germany By going with ETFs, funds, there are two ways to passive- you eliminate ly invest in broad market indices. 2. Which of these (all ratherunlikely) companies was Either you can go for index funds, or neverinvolved with the two-wheelerindustry? decision-making, you can choose index exchange-trad- and emotional ed funds (ETFs). A. Kelvinator Other than the fact that an index B. GNFC biases that come fund or an ETF is likely to outperform actively-managed schemes, they also C. Bajaj Hindusthan into play when offer an additional benefit. These pas- D. Brooke Bond sive investment options have a lower picking active funds cost than actively managed schemes. 3. Which of these currently holds the title of the most While both index funds and ETFs valued unicorn? have their own set of advantages, A. Stripe SUNDEEP SIKKA one thing that clearly goes in favour of ETFs is their lower cost. The costs B. Bytedance he Covid-19 episode has giv- associated with investing in ETFs C. Didi Chuxing en rise to uncertainty in all are lower than for index funds, walks of life. While our work which in turn are lower than for D. Airbnb Tculture has already changed actively managed funds. Moreover, drastically, consumption patterns, ETF units can be bought and sold 4. The term Kurzabeit relates to ______. too, are expected to see a massive anytime during market hours, there- A. Loans shift. Earnings of both businesses and by giving you additional flexibility to B. Subsidies individuals are likely to be affected manage your liquidity. over the short to medium term. The C. Wages Payheedtotrackingerror resultant uncertainty has sent mar- D. Trade wars kets all over the world into a tailspin. How should you select an ETF? You The Indian equity markets have fallen must first be certain about the index 5. Which of these companies is named afterthe state by 38 per cent, with the benchmark you want to invest in and if the invest- it was incorporated in? Nifty 50 index going from a peak of ment suits your risk appetite and asset around 12,300 to close to 7,500 within ENJOYTHE ETF ADVANTAGE allocation. After that, you should A. Cisco Systems a matter of weeks. select one based on expense ratio, In a climate of high Going with While an active fund Expense ratios If you select an ETF B. Volkswagen Amid all the hysteria surrounding tracking error and liquidity. us today, it is easy for investors to fall fear and uncertainty, an ETF may beat an ETF over a of several ETFs with good trading Remember that an index ETF does C. Xiaomi prey to negative thoughts about the choosing the right eliminates the certain time horizon, have plunged to volumes, you will be not aim to outperform the market; it D. Gojek choices they have made until now. stock or active funds need to make there is no guarantee it just a few basis able exit it easily merely attempts to mirror market per-

Witnessing the value of your portfolio can be difficult these decisions will do so consistently points during market hours formance. While doing so, there could

o. sc ci an Fr n Sa by ed ir sp in s wa It A. built over several years erode in just a be some tracking error. The lower the 5.

few weeks is not easy for anyone to tracking error, the better it is for the

digest. So, what should an investor do was 100 per cent, 26 per cent, and 21 proven to give higher returns over entire index, and that too in the same investor. On the liquidity front, eval- lockdowns.

COVID-19 the during support

in such a situation? per cent, respectively. The returns longer time periods and hence is suit- proportion. This intelligence of the uate whether the ETF has good trad- temporary

offer to meant is It work. don’t they if even

were on similar lines in the second able for long-term financial goals. But broader market has, in fact, often out- ing volume. This will allow you to buy pay

their of two-thirds companies eligible of

Thefallwillnotbepermanent instance too. This tells us is that over you need to select the right product performed actively-managed or sell it as and when required. workers

pays that scheme government German a It’s C.

It is almost impossible to predict accu- the medium to long term, the global for riding it. Should you go for direct schemes. For instance, as on March 20 An ETF spreads your investments 4.

billion. $75 US around at valued currently is It B. rately when and at what pace the glob- economy and markets do bounce equity investments or should you this year, the average large-cap cate- across sectors while eliminating the 3.

al economy and markets will recover. back, even after a major setback. choose an actively-managed large- gory outperformed the Nifty 100 TRI emotional element from the invest-

e. ag st me

However, the past can provide some At the same time, investors need to cap mutual fund? In our view, at this by 1.5 percentage points over one year, ment process. ETFs have been gaining so

at rs le ee wh o- tw of g in et rk ma or g in ur ct fa nu

guidance. Since 2008, which was the adhere to some of the fundamental stage, neither of them would be the but underperformed for three- and acceptance for some time now. As of ma

e th in er th ei ed lv vo in re we rs he ot e Th C. year of the Global Financial Crisis and rules of investing. The most impor- right choice. Both these options five-year periods, on an asset-weight- February, the asset under manage- 2.

subsequent economic recession, there tant among them is to follow an asset involve an element of arbitrary deci- ed average scale. If we only look at the ment for all Nifty ETFs combined . 11 20 in wn do lt me r to ac re a im sh ku

have been only two instances where allocation that suits their risk appetite sion-making, based on some facts, but average of top five large-cap schemes, stood in excess of ~86,000 crore. Given Fu

e th r te af ts an pl r we po r ea cl nu s it ed ll ba th mo It C.

the returns from Nifty 50 (total return and goals. This varies from one indi- also based on some emotions and they all underperformed over the one- the uncertainty prevailing in the mar- 1.

ons: ti index) for a one-year period have been vidual to the other. Those who have predictions. This makes future per- year, three-year and five-year periods. kets at present, passive index invest- Solu lower than 30 per cent at the lowest not followed an asset allocation until formance from them quite uncertain. Moreover, even the schemes that ing is an idea you should embrace. point in a calendar year. In the first now need to fix this issue right away. If uncertainty is a given, then why outperform the market are unable to Thequizmasterisacertifiedfinancialplannerandhead-products, instance, the annualised return over not rely on the collective wisdom of do so consistently. For instance, a The writer is executive director and PPFAS MutualFund. the next one-year, three-year and five- Gowiththerightproduct the entire universe of equity investors? large-cap scheme that gave the high- chief executive officer, Nippon India [email protected] year periods from November 20, 2008, Equity is the asset class that has been This can be done by investing in the est one-year return in a specific year Mutual Fund

ECONOMY 1 > FROM PAGE 1 > PM hints... in operation. Reddy wanted the lockdown In March, the government of Singapore to be extended to red zones, public trans- introduced a similar coronavirus contact- They flagged how millions had lost liveli- port, schools, malls, theatres, and religious tracing app, called TraceTogether, that Health insurance premiums hoods and needed support. places. He urged the prime minister to detects mobile phones that are nearby. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announce measures to restart the wheels of But given the number of iPhones and pointed to challenges migrant workers were the economy while enforcing steps to con- Android devices in use worldwide, Apple facing as industries did not have the mon- tain the spread of the pandemic. and Google said they were hoping to make set to increase by 5-25 per cent ey to provide for their wages and shelter Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K tracing efforts by public health authorities interminably. They sought the Centre’s Palaniswami asked the Centre to sanction more effective by reaching more people. SUBRATA PANDA Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. assistance to facilitate the harvest of crops an ad hoc grant of ~1,000 crore from the They also said they would provide their Mumbai, 11 April “But if the increase is more than 5 per and grain procurement, relaxing of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to underlying technology to third-party apps cent, then the regular process of file and FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget the state for procuring medical items. to make them more reliable. Health insurance premiums are set to rise use has to be followed. So, we are working Management) Act cap of 3 per cent fiscal He requested a smooth supply of essen- Daniel Weitzner, a principal research as non-life insurance companies and stand- on the changes and evaluating impact of deficit to 4-5 per cent, release of MNREGA tials through the railways and inter-state scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and alone health insurance firms scurry to the proposed changes,” she added. Amit funds to pay wages to workers, and also movements of goods. He urged the prime Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and who revamp their products to include the mod- Chhabra, health business head, Policy- their share of GST compensation. minister to announce a special package was one of those behind the school’s con- ifications mandated by insurance regulator bazaar.com, said, “The scope of a product The CMs pointed out they might not for the agricultural sector and asked for tract tracing app, said Google and Apple’s Insurance Regulatory and Development becomes much broader as things which have massive resources needed to deal with additional funding from the Centre and partnership will help health officials save Authority (IRDAI). were not covered earlier are coming into a spurt in Covid-19 cases if the lockdown allotment of essential items to support time and resources in developing their own The rise in premiums could be in the the ambit of the product. This means that was lifted sooner. Some of the CMs, partic- unorganised-sector workers, agricultur- applications to track the virus’ spread. One range of 5-25 per cent, depending on the prices will rise to compensate for the ularly West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, al labourers, and others. Puducherry Chief challenge for third-party apps is that they features that each insurance company added coverage.” spoke of the interference in the govern- Minister V Narayanasamy sought a package must run constantly — 24 hours a day, sev- adds on its products. Insurance firms have On one hand, insurance companies can ment’s work by governors. of ~300 crore. en days a week — to be effective. been given time till September 30 to refile their products and increase the fea- There were also signs that the lockdown Google said some Android smart- include modifications mandated by the “The regulator has called for some tures that the regulator has asked for, which could be extended beyond April 30 as well. phone manufacturers shut down those regulator. From October 1, the products changes in health products to bring stan- many companies are doing. On the other The PM said at the meeting, “The next 3-4 Apple, Google... applications to save battery life. Apple must have the suggested modifications of dardisation in the exclusions and include hand, some companies are taking this weeks are critical to determine impact of and Google said their tool would also con- the regulator. certain diseases. It has given a provision opportunity to revamp their products by steps taken till now to curb the spread of “It could be a useful tool but it raises pri- stantly run in the background if people Insurers are using this time to revamp stating that if there has to be any premium adding a range of features. the virus.” The World Health Organization vacy issues,” said Dr Mike Reid, an assis- opt to use it, logging nearby devices their offerings by adding new features and changes for the added coverage, and if the Last year, the regulator had come out (WHO) has warned countries against hasti- tant professor of medicine and infectious through the short-range wireless tech- standardising products, according to premium change is within the range of 5 per with guidelines. Essentially, the regulator’s ly lifting Covid-related restrictions, and diseases at the University of California, nology Bluetooth. But it would eat up less IRDAI’s guidelines. They will launch the cent, it can be done on the basis of certifi- concern was that there was no clarity on cautioned such a move could lead to “a San Francisco, who is helping San battery life and be more reliable than revamped products with a higher price cation,” said Rashmi Nandargi, head — what is excluded and included in a health deadly resurgence". Francisco officials with contact tracing. third-party apps, they said. within 2-3 months. retail health, travel & PA underwriting — insurance policy. Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary at the “It’s not going to be the sole solution, but Once someone reports his or her infec- Union health ministry, said according to a as part of a robust sophisticated response, tion to a public-health app, the tool will data analysis done by the Indian Council of it has a role to play.” send the phone’s broadcast beacons, or PEOPLE IN THE NEWS BINAY SINHA Medical Research (ICMR), the number of Timothy D Cook, Apple’s chief execu- anonymous identifiers connected to the cases would have crossed 45,000 had there tive, said on Twitter that the tool would device, to central computer servers. been no lockdown. If no preventive meas- help curb the virus’s spread “in a way that ures were to be taken, the number of posi- also respects transparency & consent.” tive Covid-19 patients would have crossed Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief, also posted on HowCovid crisis... 200,000, he said. Twitter that the tool has “strong controls The PM suggested specific measures for and protections for user privacy.” The non-food credit show a similar agriculture and allied sector, including the With the tool, people infected with coro- trajectory. modification of APMC laws to facilitate sale navirus would notify a public health app In the current crisis, the Sensex lost of farm produce. He said India had ade- that they have it, which would then alert around 38 per cent from its January 2020 quate supplies of essential medicines. He phones that had recently come into prox- high, but has recovered 20 per cent from said the crisis was an opportunity to become imity with that person’s device. The com- the March 23 low. Now, the Sensex is self-reliant and turn the nation into an eco- panies would need to get public-health down 25 per cent from the high, and the nomic powerhouse. authorities to agree to link their app to the rupee is down around 8 per cent. On the tool. President Trump said on Friday that other hand, during 2008-09, the hit on his administration planned to look at the financial markets was more prolonged, States want... tool. “It’s very new, new technology. It’s very and the recovery was gradual and played interesting,” he said. out in 2009 and 2010. The Sensex Rao suggested the Centre take adequate “But a lot of people worry about it in declined 60 per cent from its January steps to restart the food-processing indus- terms of a person’s freedom.” Privacy is a 2008 high to March 2009, and the rupee try, including mills, so that people did not concern given that Google, in particular, had lost around 20 per cent against the face shortages of essentials. has a chequered history of collecting peo- dollar, also over a longer period. Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel wanted ple’s data for its online advertising busi- a boost for micro, small and medium enter- ness. The internet search company came prises (MSME). “Due to the long period of under fire in 2018 after it said that disabling Highway work... lockdown, this important sector, which pro- people’s location history on Android vides maximum employment, has been phones would not stop it from collecting According to a road ministry official, endangered,” he said. location data. health of the workers would be a signifi- He also said given the number of coro- Apple, which has been one of the biggest cant factor for re-starting the work. Work navirus-infected people and their status, critics of Google’s collection of user data, has can start in areas where workers can be Even as most other Indian billionaires have Ritesh Agarwal-led OYO has asked thousands states should get to decide whether eco- not built a significant business around using safe and other projects would follow suit, nomic activities should be relaxed or not. data to sell online advertising. Still, the com- health ministry officials said. lost wealth amid the Covid-19 crisis, the net of employees to go on leave or furloughs for Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra pany has access to a wealth of information “Besides construction of existing worth of Radhakishan Damani, who controls up to three months as the company fights Pradesh said migrant laborers, daily wage about its users, from their location to their roads, the Union government’s flagship Avenue Supermarts, has surged 11% this year the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on laborers, horticulture and aqua farmers had health. There are already third-party tools Bharatmala scheme needs a lot of catch- to $10.7 billion its revenues suffered the most. for contact tracing, including from public ing up in terms of both award and con- He told the prime minister only 7,250 of health authorities and the Massachusetts struction,” Shubham Jain, senior vice- the 103,986 industrial units in his state were Institute of Technology. president & group head at ICRA said. NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 5 > Modi asks states to Vashifoodgrainmarketto shutfromMonday Delhi’s Azadpur mandi to sell fruits and Saturday after a meeting among Vashi APMC for foodgrains, stock of grains in mandi mathadi leaders, APMC officials said, “We have decided to stop godowns and Mumbai will not vegetables in shifts to avoid crowding and traders. Mathadi leaders all business activities here but be deprived of foodgrains. In the alter mandi rules raised serious concerns about traders can come to the market last two weeks, supplies have RAJESH BHAYANI In Delhi’s Azadpur mandi, health of the leaders and do office work also been doubled to Mumbai Mumbai, 11 April Asia’s largest vegetable market, and other market par- Vashi mandi like banking and as consumers wanted to keep sellers will work in shifts and ticipants. has also accounting. However, additional stock. The wholesale mandi or the buyers will be given tokens so On Saturday, the decided to stop they have been told to The grain yard, since the last fordirectdelivery Agriculture Produce Marketing that their entry could be regu- Vashi grain mandi has all loading and vacate the market 10 days, had implemented a Committee (APMC), Vashi, lated. According to an official taken the decision to unloading premises by 2 pm. We mechanism to keep the crowd at which supplies foodgrains to order by the Delhi government, stop all loading and of grains, will continuously the minimum. This will help reduce crowding at markets Mumbai, Thane and nearby police persons and senior offi- unloading of grains following a review the situation.” Loading and unloading was areas, on Saturday decided that cials will be deputed inside the from the mandi, fol- request from Other smaller done every alternate day. SANJEEB MUKHERJEE it will shut business activities mandi. lowing a request from labourers market yards like However, with the virus spread- New Delhi, 11 April from Monday. Two days ago, Mumbai’s labourers to spare spices and dry fruits ing fast, the labourers called for This decision, of closing the vegetable and fruits supplying them, considering the safety were also closed. Vegetables, closure. rime Minister Narendra mandi till further notice, was market yard in Vashi also factor, said an APMC official. fruits, onions and potato mar- In last two weeks, daily sup- Modi on Saturday called taken because labourers feared announced closure from April 11 In other words, no grains will kets have been closed from plies of grains to Mumbai had Pupon state governments that they would be infected by (Saturday) over the same issue. be supplied to Mumbai from Saturday. doubled from 50,000 bags (30 to quickly make necessary coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The decision was taken on Monday. Nilesh Veera, director, Veera said there is ample kg each) a day to one lakh bags. changes to rules governing their mandisso that direct marketing of farm produce can be done without crowding the markets. LIC customers get more Addressing the chief minis- RBI should start buying ters during a four-hour long meeting to discuss the modali- time to pay premium ties for extending the lockdown, corporatebonds:Parekh Modi said that model SUBRATA PANDA ing the amount into the bank Agricultural Produce Market Mumbai, 11 April account registered with LIC. Committee (APMC) laws should ABHIJIT LELE Emphasising on primacy of These payments were more be reformed swiftly. The measures suggested include limiting jurisdiction of Mumbai, 11 April capital, he said companies must Life Insurance Corporation than 20 million in numbers “Such steps will help farm- APMCs to their physical premises increase equity. To be over cap- (LIC) policyholders get one in FY20,” it said. ers sell products at their In a bid to fight the adverse fall- italised is better than to be over more month to renew their The insurer said if poli- doorstep,” the Prime Minister and farmers’ welfare advised to 585 mandis in 16 states. In out of the coronavirus disease leveraged, he felt. “Being over policies where the premium cies can be renewed, it said. The agriculture ministry, states to relax rules governing these letters, all items of food (Covid-19) lockdown, the leveraged will be a disaster and payment falls between March should be done online. in the last few weeks, issued the APMC Act and mandis for and grocery, which are con- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) avoid debt trap at all costs. Give and April, the state-run insur- Policyholders can pay their guidelines and letters to states three months. This will allow sumed by people daily, have should start buying corporate a discount, let investors make ance behemoth said on premiums through any of to ensure agriculture and food farmers to sell crops directly to been defined as essential goods. bonds to provide the much- money. Get private equity. Sing- Saturday. the insurer’s digital payment products reach consumers in a bulk buyers, processors, and big States and administrators have needed liquidity support to cor- apore Airlines is doing a rights It had earlier allowed a options, including the LIC timely manner, while farmers retailers without a licence. been told to follow this defini- porations, said Housing issue as we speak,” said Parekh. grace period — till March 22 Pay Direct app, with no serv- don’t have to come to the man- States have been asked to tion of essential goods. Development Finance He added, the rupee will be — to customers with premi- ice charge. dis to sell them. limit jurisdiction of all APMCs District authorities are issu- Corporation (HDFC) chairman under pressure. “Look at a min- um due in February. This has Moreover, policy premiums This, according to officials, is to the physical premises of noti- ing passes to carry out activi- Deepak Parekh. imum three per cent deprecia- also been extended till will be accepted through meant to ensure that farmers, fied markets only for three ties and services that are “essen- According to him, interest “BEING OVER LEVERAGED tion year-on-year of the rupee April 15 in light of the net banking, debit card, commission agents, sellers and months. That apart, all ware- tial and under exempted rates will go down further, but WILL BE A DISASTER, AVOID even in the best times. We are coronavirus disease credit card, and apps buyers don’t crowd the mandis. houses registered with the category”. However, those busi- banks must pass them on to THE DEBT TRAP AT ALL doing much better at the (Covid-19) crisis. such as Paytm, However, as agriculture is a Warehouse Development and nesses having nationwide sup- companies. RBI lends only to moment with 10 per cent depre- With death toll PhonePe, Google Pay, state subject, the Central gov- Regulatory Authority are being ply chain of essential goods are banks in India and banks are COSTS. GIVE A DISCOUNT, ciation (many are at 25 per increasing each day, LIC BHIM, and UPI. ernment has limited powers to notified as market yards. This facing difficulties. concerned more about their LET INVESTORS MAKE cent).” He said trouble will ens- has said all death claims “Premiums can also be ensure implementation of the will help farmers sell at their States administrators and own balance sheet rather than MONEY. GET PRIVATE ure only if our rating goes to related to Covid-19 would be paid at all IDBI and Axis Bank guidelines. The measures sug- doorstep and all processors and chief secretaries have also been national interest, he said. EQUITY” junk. “Our (India’s) rating, unfo- treated on a par with other branches and in cash gested include limiting juris- bulk users can buy from them told that designated authorities RBI must start buying com- rtunately, has not gone up even causes of death and pay- through Common Service diction of the APMCs to their without going to mandis. under Railways, ports, and air- pany bonds, Parekh had said in DEEPAK PAREKH, in our best years of 8 per cent gr- ments would be made on an Centres, operating at block HDFC chairman physical premises, allowing big Besides, letters by the home ports should be allowed to issue an interaction with members of owth. However, companies are urgent basis. level,” LIC said. retailers and even commodity secretary to all administrators passes to staff and contractual the Young Entrepreneurs getting good borrowing rates.” In the financial year 2019- To ensure that people have processors to buy directly from and the agri ministry to all state labour that are essential for Organisation on Friday. panies to grant borrowers a “The yield on USA’s 10-year 20 (FY20), LIC settled more enough cover during this cri- farmers and decentralising chief secretaries have called for such services. They have also RBI has slashed policy repo three-month moratorium on paper is 0.77 per cent. In India, it than 750,000 death claims sis, LIC is offering five of its authority for issuing passes. decentralising authorisation been told to mobilise resources rate by 75 per cent to 4.4 per loan repayments till the end of is above six per cent. India is at a with 0.75 per cent of the claims products through the online This will help in the move- while issuing passes to move to take advantage of the special cent for banks to draw funding May 2020. He called for pru- BBB (lowest investment grade). remaining outstanding. channel which includes Tech ment of essential goods and around for providing essential trains carrying essential goods. from its liquidity window. In dence in banking relationship If we get graded down, we will “LIC has also ensured that Term, a pure protection prod- critical persons engaged in services. The Centre has relaxed Indian Railways is running 134 response, most banks have also with the advice “build relation- become a junk bond and this policy payments like survival uct, Jeevan Shanti, an annuity essential services. norms for trading on the e- trains in 67 routes, carrying per- reduced lending rates on vari- ship and trust with the banks. will crash the economy. This is benefit, policy maturity and plan, Cancer Cover, and two The letters written by the National Agriculture Market (e- ishable commodities such as ous kind of loans. RBI also per- Don’t move relationships for a also why it will be difficult to annuities are made to policy- unit linked policies — SIIP Union ministry of agriculture NAM) platform, which is linked fruits, milk and dairy products. mitted banks and finance com- quarter or half a per cent”. print money,” Parekh said. holders on due date by credit- and Nivesh Plus.

HEALTH 1 >

FIT & PROPER Exercisingoutdoorswithaface Dialysis patients face Your weekly health guide close-up risk from Preventing UTIs maskinthetimeofcoronavirus coronavirus disease GRETCHEN REYNOLDS ties require a facial covering if ple than others. They are: 11 April you are outside. Masks also Being sexually active, using could reassure people with REED ABELSON a single shift, often sitting less birth control techniques like hen we asked readers whom you share paths or side- 11 April than the recommended six spermicidal agents, what they still wished walks while running and who, feet apart for hours. menopause (lack of estrogen W in my experience, have started Mat Risher leaves the safety of Kidney dialysis patients are to know about exer- in menopausal women can cising during the coronavirus to shy away when we runners his home near Seattle three endemically susceptible to lead to changes in the urinary crisis, one issue topped all oth- pant by. days a week for dialysis at a infection in normal times. The tract, making it more vulner- ers. People wondered about clinic, a treatment he cannot dialysis industry has historical- able to infection), abnormali- running or cycling in a face Does wearing a mask make live without but one that now ly had a poor record when it ties of the urinary tract and mask and how it would affect it harder to run or cycle? most likely increases his risk comes to infection control so other blockages, a suppressed their breathing, performance, Masks also “become quickly of exposure to the coronavirus. the current infectious climate SRIJANA BAGARIA immune system and lack of chances of spreading the virus wet” and wadded as we huff About 20 patients sit in a is fraught with worry. Co-founder, Pee Safe personal hygiene. One must and even vision. into them heavily while exer- small space with him, tethered DaVita and Fresenius, the Women are always surround- also watch out for symptoms To find out, I spoke with a cising and the moisture in our for several hours to machines two for-profit companies that ed by apprehensions whenev- such as a strong urge to uri- number of physiologists and breath collects there, says that filter toxins from dominate the indus- er they need to use a public nate, burning sensation while other scientists about what is Louis-Philippe Boulet, a pro- their blood. All now As the Covid-19 try, say they have toilet due to the fear of catch- passing urine, frequent but known or at least suspected fessor of cardiology and pul- have their tempera- rages, the procedures in place ing dangerous infections, even small amounts of cloudy about wearing a facial covering monology at Laval University tures taken before 500,000 people to keep their though delaying peeing can be urine, blood in the urine or a while exercising and what types in Quebec City, who has stud- they enter. They can who require to patients and staff more risky. And anyone who strong smell, and pelvic pain of masks and fabrics might work spread. In general, outdoor and masks. “Running is good ied asthma in athletes. wear a surgical mask get dialysis are safe and say they has experienced a urinary (in women). best during workouts. exercise, with or without a for health,” he says, “and trans- Drawing in breaths through and are told that the the most have taken aggres- tract infection (UTI) can prob- UTI can be treated with The researchers cautioned mask, seems to be mission risk should damp cloth tends to feel more rooms are cleaned vulnerable sive steps in recent ably vouch for that terrible antibiotics or other medica- that little is known about heavy safe, according to In general, be minimal, both for strenuous than when it is dry. and machinery disin- weeks to prevent the burning feeling and relentless tion, depending on the type breathing during aerobic exer- most experts. outdoor others, if a runner Worse, he says, wet masks “lose fected regularly. spread of the virus at their need to pee. Statistics indicate of infection (bacterial, fungal, cise and how it affects viral ”“I think relative- exercise, with were infected, or for antimicrobial efficiency.” One of the first people to facilities. that UTI affects more than 50 or viral) and the part of the uri- spread. But they had plenty to ly little Covid-19 or without a the runner, if they And then there is the ooz- die from the virus in the Critics of the large chains per cent women at least once nary tract affected. For the say about fit, spit, perceived transmission would mask, seems passed by infected ing. “Exercising in a face mask United States had received say the firms are not taking the in their lifetime and it relaps- upper urinary tract, an exten- exertion, thermoregulation occur outdoors, to be safe, people. will create a warm and humid dialysis at the very same clin- threat seriously enough. es at least 30 per cent to 40 per sive course of antibiotics is pre- and facial saunas. What follows except perhaps in according to Even so, most of microclimate around your ic, information that triggered a Health care workers are con- cent of the times. About 75 per scribed, and the dosage is are their suggestions — and large crowds,” says most experts us probably should face” as the mask traps your panic attack in Risher. cerned about protective equip- cent to 90 per cent of bladder inserted directly into the veins. cautions — about masks and Benjamin Cowling, a cover our faces while exhaled breaths, says Grant As the coronavirus rages ment, with patients being infections affect young and Basic personal hygiene is a exercise. professor of epidemiology and we exercise outside. The Lipman, a clinical professor of from state to state, the asked to reuse masks and scat- sexually active women. must to ward off UTI. Here is biostatistics at the University Centers for Disease Control emergency medicine at 500,000 people whose failing tered shortages of the most UTI can lead to many asso- what you need to be sure of. DoI have to wear a mask of Hong Kong and the senior and Prevention recommends Stanford University who stud- kidneys require them to get protective gear for the nurses ciated health issues if not Make sure you urinate after during outdoor exercise? author of a study published in that everyone now wear a mask ies extreme athletes and wilder- dialysis are among the most and technicians dealing with managed on time. The infec- sexual intercourse. Keep a This answer is more about pol- Nature this month that looked of some kind when they leave ness medicine. vulnerable. Each clinic may infected patients. tion can further pass from the check on the kind of under- icy and politeness than viral at breathing, viral shedding home, and some municipali- ©2020 The New York Times News Service have dozens of patients during ©2020 The New York Times News Service kidney to the blood and lead to wear you use. Choose lubricat- low blood pressure — and in ed condoms that do not con- some cases even mortality over tain spermicide. Spermicide time. The proximity of the ure- can cause irritation and allow thra and anus in women helps the bacteria to grow. Will an antibody test allow us to go back to school or work? the bacteria move into the uri- Maintain personal hygiene nary tract quite easily. after urinating or defecating. APOORVA MANDAVILLI & KATIE THOMAS using antibody tests to see what many countries, including Britain refines it into a second type of anti- people, not just to determine who is Pregnant women need to take It is important to wipe the 11 April proportion of the population has and Italy. But as with any test, they body, called immunoglobulin G, or immune but how widely the virus stricter precautions and pre- seat of the lavatory especially already been infected. are not perfect, and there have been IgG, that can recognise that virus. has spread in the population. vent this condition from occur- if you are using a public rest- When will life return to normal, or at “Within a period of a week or so, problems with their accuracy. As IgG levels rise, IgM levels From 25 to 50 percent of people ring since high levels of prog- room. Keep a good-quality least a new normal? we are going to have a rather large Here’s what we know — and drop; IgG levels peak around 28 days who become infected may never esterone decrease the muscle toilet seat sanitiser spray A major answer to the question number of tests that are available,” don’t know — about these tests. after the onset of infection. develop symptoms, and some may tone of the ureters and blad- handy. of when — and how — Americans Anthony S Fauci, the leading infec- There is a third type of antibody, become only mildly ill. Others may der. This can lead to what is If you are at work, you can can return to public places like work tious disease expert in the US, said Whatexactlyisaserologytest? called IgA, that is present in mucos- have known they were sick, but called a reflux, where urine carry a set of intimate wipes in and school could depend on some- on CNN. He said the White House A serology test looks for signs of an al tissues — like the inner lining of could not get tested. Serology tests flows back up the ureters and your bag to wipe yourself after thing called an antibody test, a coronavirus task force was dis- immune response — in this case, to the lung. IgA is known to be impor- would be able to identify these peo- towards the kidneys. In preg- using the washroom. blood test that determines whether cussing the idea of “certificates of the new coronavirus. tant for fighting respiratory infec- ple and help scientists better esti- nant women, this can cause Drinking cranberry juice has someone has ever been infected immunity,” which could be issued to When your body encounters a tions such as influenza, and is likely mate the death rate of Covid-19, the complications and premature been thought to help decrease with the coronavirus. people who had previously been virus, it takes some time for it to to be central in coronavirus infec- disease caused by the virus. birth or pre-eclampsia. UTI is frequent infections. This is par- People who are believed to be infected. “As we get to the point of recognise the invader and to begin tion, too. Many of the tests being rare in men, especially if they ticularly true for women. immune may be able to safely considering opening the country,” to scale up an immune response. developed look for levels of all Can I take a test and go back to are below 50. However, a prop- Cranberries are known to con- return to work. It would be especial- Fauci said, “it is very important to Immune molecules called antibod- three antibodies; some look for just work? er diagnosis becomes neces- tain substances that can pre- ly important to know which health understand how much that virus ies are a crucial part of this response. IgM and IgG, and still others test Not yet. Most of the tests being sary since many symptoms of vent infection-causing bacte- care workers are protected from get- has penetrated society.” Immunity The first type of antibody to for only one type. developed offer a simple yes-no UTI mimic those of sexually ria from sticking to the urinary ting infected and could continue to certificates, he said, had “some mer- appear is called immunoglobulin M answer to the question of who has transmitted diseases. tract walls. care for sick people. it under certain circumstances.” or IgM, and its levels spike within a What can these tests tell us? antibodies, and who was exposed to There are some risk factors Hydrate yourself well and The Centers for Disease Control The idea of providing proof of few days of infection. But IgM is a The tests are more effective at the virus. But simply having anti- which make the condition drink about seven to eight and Prevention recently immunity to allow workers to return generic fighter. To target and detecting the presence of antibody bodies is no guarantee of immunity. more common in some peo- glasses of water every day. announced that it would begin to their jobs is being considered in destroy a specific virus, the body responses across large numbers of ©2020 The New York Times News Service 6 WORLD NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 1 > Torn overlifting curbs, Trump WHOlookingintoreports of coronavirus patients faces ‘biggestdecision ever’ testing positive again

PETER BAKER, ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS & ALAN RAPPEPORT US cases touch STEPHANIE NEBEHAY Washington, 11 April 500,000; Spain 11 April s he grapples simultaneously The World Health with the most devastating public reports fewest Organization (WHO) said on A health and economic crises of a deaths in over Saturday that it was looking lifetime, President Trump finds himself into reports of some COVID-19 pulled in opposite directions on what two weeks patients testing positive again to do next. The bankers, corporate exec- after initially testing negative utives and industrialists plead with him Spain reported the fewest new for the disease while being to reopen the country as soon as possi- coronavirus deaths since March 23. considered for discharge. ble, while the medical experts beg for In that country and elsewhere, South Korean officials on more time to curb the coronavirus. officials are trying to prepare people Friday reported 91 patients The phone calls from his business for a return to public life. But thought cleared of the new friends compete against the television mortality rates remain volatile, coronavirus had tested positive images of overwhelmed hospitals. The with Italy being the latest to extend again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, public health experts tell him what he is its lockdown. director of the Korea Centers doing is working, so he should not let up US deaths exceeded 2,000 in a for Disease Control and yet. The economic advisers and others in single day for the first time , while Prevention, told a briefing that his White House tell him what he has the country’s total cases climbed the virus may have been “reac- done has worked, so he should begin to over 500,000. New York, which tivated” rather than the The scene from a market in Seoul earlier this week. South figure out how to ease up. Tens of thou- remains the US epicentre of Covid- patients being re-infected. Korean officials on Friday reported 91 patients thought cleared sands more could die. Millions more 19, had a slight decline in fatalities The Geneva-based WHO, of the new coronavirus had tested positive again REUTERS could lose their jobs. after three days of record highs. asked about the report from “I’m going to have to make a deci- Germany recorded the smallest Seoul, told Reuters in a brief ment, a patient can be dis- shed live virus,” it said. sion, and I only hope to God that it’s the In his daily press briefing on Friday, the US President suggested he wanted to increase in deaths in 10 days. statement: “We are aware of charged from hospital after two South Korean health offi- right decision,” Mr. Trump said on move soon, but he also promised to listen to public health officials cautioning A Gilead drug showed promise these reports of individuals consecutive negative results in cials said on Friday that it Friday during his daily news briefing on against relaxing restrictions prematurely REUTERS for treating those with severe who have tested negative for a clinically recovered patient at remains unclear what is the fight against the coronavirus pan- infections, while in the UK, a COVID-19 using PCR (poly- least 24 hours apart, it added. behind the trend, with epi- demic that has killed more than 18,000 “We’re not doing anything until we mate over a $250 billion federal infu- professor said a vaccine might be merase chain reaction) testing Based on current studies, demiological investigations Americans so far and put more than 16 know this country is going to be sion to replenish a fast-depleting loan ready in six months. BLOOMBERG and then after some days test- there is a period of about two still under way. million out of work. “But I would say healthy,” Mr. Trump said. “We don’t program for distressed small businesses. ing positive again. weeks between the onset of “As COVID-19 is a new dis- without question it’s the biggest deci- want to go back and start doing it over Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, “We are closely liaising with symptoms and clinical recov- ease, we need more epidemio- sion I’ve ever had to make.” again.” But he added that the nation’s the Democratic leader, said that the ident is considering, could result in a our clinical experts and work- ery of patients with mild logical data to draw any con- Seizing on new estimates of a lower- current paralysis was not sustainable. Trump administration had agreed to rash of new illnesses and fatalities that ing hard to get more informa- COVID-19 disease, the clusions of virus shedding than-projected death toll, the president “You know what? Staying bipartisan negotiations would rival doing nothing to counter tion on those individual cases. agency said. profile,” the WHO said. signaled that he wanted to start resum- at home leads to death If the 30-daystay- early next week. the pandemic. It is important to make sure “We are aware that some The number of deaths ing business on some basis after his also,” he said. “It’s very at-home guideline But the central ques- Without any of the mitigation poli- that when samples are collect- patients are PCR positive linked to the novel coron- current stay-at-home guidelines expire traumatic for the country.” is lifted, the death tion dominating the con- cies now in place, the death toll from ed for testing on suspected after they clinically recover, avirus reached 100,000 on on April 30, and he announced that he The number of deaths toll could reach versation in Washington, the coronavirus could have reached patients, procedures are fol- but we need systematic col- Friday, as reported cases would name a task force next week to worldwide from the coron- 200,000, even if New York and elsewhere 300,000, according to the projections. lowed properly,” it said. lection of samples from passed 1.6 million, according develop a plan. But he also promised to avirus topped 100,000 on schools remain was how long would it be But if the 30-day stay-at-home guide- According to the WHO’s recovered patients to better to a Reuters tally. listen to public health officials cau- Friday, as a surge of cases closed until summer, until the country could line is lifted, the death toll could reach guidelines on clinical manage- understand how long they REUTERS tioning against a premature move to in Moscow pushed the 25 percent of the begin to get back to nor- 200,000, even if schools remain closed relax limits. Russian capital’s health countrycontinues mal. Gov. Andrew M. until summer, 25 percent of the country In actuality, the decision on when care system to its limit. to work from home Cuomo of New York, the continues to work from home and some and how to reopen is not entirely Mr. Lockdowns were extended and some social hardest hit state, said any social distancing continues. China reports 46 newcases; 42 from abroad Trump’s to make because he never across much of the globe distancing continues easing of restrictions Using the demand for ventilators as ordered it closed. The stay-at-home heading into the Easter would require wide- a stand-in for serious coronavirus infec- China reported on Saturday a including 42 from abroad, up 100,000 deaths. edicts that have kept the vast bulk of weekend, as countries desperately spread testing to cover millions of tion rates, the model foresees a modest rise in new coronavirus infec- from 42 a day earlier, as Hubei But Chinese authorities fear Americans indoors were issued by gov- struggled to slow infections. The strain workers first, while Mr. Trump said that bump immediately after stay-at-home tions, mostly in travellers province, whose capital is the possibility of a second wave ernors state by state. But the president of people out of work and dependent on “you don’t need full testing” but orders are lifted and a major new arriving from abroad, as doc- Wuhan, reported no new cases triggered by arrivals from over- did issue nonbinding guidelines urging assistance was starting to show. A dis- instead concentrated screening in the increase in infections about 70 days tors in the central city of for a seventh successive day. seas or asymptomatic patients. a pause in daily life through the end of tribution of food turned into a bloody most affected areas. after a shelter order is lifted, peaking Wuhan, where the virus ini- Tough curbs imposed in “We can’t say that there is the month. And if he were to issue new melee in a poor area of Nairobi, Kenya. New government projections pre- after 120 days. The projections, dated tially emerged, warned its China since January have no such potential risk,” said guidance saying it was safe to reopen or In the United States, the death toll sented to officials this week concluded Thursday, were prepared by the behaviour was still not well- reined in infections sharply Wang Xinghuan, president of outlining a path toward reopening, has surpassed that of Spain, with only that stay-at-home orders, school clo- Departments of Homeland Security understood. since the height of the pan- Wuhan’s Leishenshan hospital, many states would most likely follow or Italy reporting more. In Washington, sures and social distancing have greatly and Health and Human Services and The National Health demic in February, although its second built especially for feel pressure from their businesses and lawmakers and administration officials reduced infections, but added that lift- obtained by The New York Times. Commission said 46 new cases it has spread worldwide to virus patients. constituents to ease up on restrictions. made some progress in breaking a stale- ing them after only 30 days, as the pres- © 2020 The New York Times News Service were reported on Friday, infect 1.6 million people with REUTERS SoftBank’s WHO warns about dangers of UK yet to reach Covid peak, lockdown Son to donate premature lifting of restrictions 300 mn masks to stay, says health minister Hancock REUTERS ed to the Geneva-based agency, clinical care,” he said. per month Geneva/Zurich, 11 April Tedros said. The World Food Programme MICHAEL HOLDEN tening enough to be able to say Yemen reported its first case - the U.N. agency that handles London, 11 April that we’ve reached the peak,” to Japan The World Health Organization of the novel coronavirus on logistics - will deploy eight 747 he told BBC radio. (WHO) warned countries on Friday as aid groups braced for aircraft, 8 medium-sized cargo Britain has not yet reached the Some scientists have sug- SAM NUSSEY Friday to be cautious about lift- an outbreak in a country where aircraft and several smaller pas- COVID-19 peak which would gested the peak might still be 11 April ing restrictions introduced to war has shattered health sys- senger planes to transport the allow for an easing of tight some weeks off but Hancock curb the spread of the new coro- tems and spread hunger and goods and aid workers needed restrictions of movement, said “nobody knows” when it SoftBank Group Corp CEO navirus and voiced alarm it was disease. Tedros said he was par- in the operation which will have Health Minister Matt Hancock would be. Masayoshi Son said he has taking hold in Africa. ticularly concerned by the large 8 hubs, he added. said on Saturday. “There’s all sorts of sugges- secured a monthly supply The United Nations agency number of infections reported Tedros urged donors to con- The death toll in British hos- tions. Their job is to make their of 300 million face masks would like to see an easing, but among health workers. tribute to WFP's operation pitals has reached almost 9,000, best estimate and advise us and for Japan from May after at the same time “lifting restric- “In some countries reports which will cost an estimated with 980 more deaths reported we have a whole load of differ- reaching a deal with tions could lead to a deadly of up to 10 per cent of health $280 million, while the cost of on Friday, a figure which ent pieces of advice from dif- Chinese electric vehicle resurgence,” WHO Director workers being infected, this is procuring supplies will be exceeded the deadliest day so ferent scientists,” he said. maker BYD Co Ltd, which General Tedros Adhanom an alarming trend,” he said. “much greater”. far in Italy, the country worst The death rate is also has also started producing Ghebreyesus told a press con- A new U.N. supply task force Michael Ryan, executive hit by the virus. expected to increase over the masks. ference. will coordinate and scale up the director of the WHO Health Among those who have next few days, health officials SoftBank will donate two He said there had been a procurement and distribution Emergencies Programme said been infected is Prime Minister A taped-off bench with a notice at London’s Brockwell Park have cautioned, but they say different kinds of mask, ini- “welcome slowing” of epi- of protective gear, lab diagnos- the world owed a tremendous Boris Johnson, who is recover- on Saturday REUTERS they are hopeful that the lock- tially for medical staff, in demics in some European tics and oxygen to the countries debt to front-line health work- ing in hospital after spending down will mean that the overall cooperation with the countries — Italy, Germany, that need it most. ers, and it was vital they got the three nights in intensive care. under increasing pressure to be made, and Hancock said number of deaths will be below Japanese government’s Spain and France — but there “Every month we will need right protective gear. His office said he was improv- detail how long the strict meas- although the number of hos- 20,000. Initially Johnson took a “mask team”, set up to tack- had been an “alarming acceler- to ship at least 100 million med- Tedros said no country was ing and was back on his feet ures on movements would last, pital admissions had started more modest response to the le shortages due to the coro- ation” elsewhere including ical masks and gloves, up to 25 immune from the pandemic, although his recovery was still with people forced to stay at to flatten out, there was not outbreak than other European navirus outbreak, Son said community transmission in 16 million N-95 respirators, gowns which was spreading panic at an early stage. home and many businesses enough evidence yet to have leaders but changed tack when on Twitter. countries of Africa. and face shields, up to 2.5 mil- around the world. Cases have Britain imposed a lock- unable to operate. confidence they were past projections suggested a quar- Addressing the supply Nearly 1.5 million confirmed lion diagnostic tests and large recently been found in some down three weeks ago in a bid Ministers have said Britain the worst. ter of a million people could die crunch is a priority for the cases of Covid-19 and more than quantities of oxygen concen- parts of Japan with no known to curb the spread of the virus needed to pass the peak of the “Our judgement is we’re not in the United Kingdom. Japanese government, 92,000 deaths have been report- trators and other equipment for links to other outbreaks. and the government has come outbreak before changes could there yet. We haven’t seen a flat- REUTERS which will begin delivering two washable masks to households next week — a move that has been widely criticised on social media as Last Porsche911ofagenerationtobesoldforcoronavirus relief inadequate. The government is also targeting domestic produc- HANNAH ELLIOTT president and CEO of Porsche Cars Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche brass The winning bid will also secure tion of 700 million dispos- 11 April North America. He was calling from and renowned driving champions a “911 Speedster Heritage Design able masks. his home in Atlanta, where he has attended the event, which Chronograph” wristwatch made by Son, who has a long his- Coronavirus is doing strange things worked since Porsche offices there culminatedwith the unveiling of a Porsche Design; a letter tory of partnering with and in the car world. closed two and a half weeks ago. 70th-anniversaryedition Speedster authenticating that the chassis investing in Chinese firms, Ford, General Motors, McLaren, “With the last of anything like this, paintedin white and silver racing number applied to this car is indeed said BYD is setting up a new and Tesla have turned their factories you want to make sure it’s in a livery. Porsche made just 1,948 of the last of the 991 cars produced; and line to produce the masks. into outpostsfor medical customer’s hands who appreciates them, which had a starting price a private tour of the Porsche BYD’s production capac- equipment manufacturing; Bentley its uniqueness, soit’s a chance to sell of $274,500. development centre and testtrack ity has reached 15 million is holding cocktail hours for part of our historyfor a goodcause.” Porsche devotees drool over in Weissach, Germany. masks a day, a company journalists, via Zoom; and Audi, A previous Porsche, the special Speedsters for their naturally “The engineers in Weissach are spokeswoman said, con- Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz have 911 Turbo known as “Project Gold,” aspiratedengines (no turbo lag veryshy when it comes to letting firming the firm will supply releasedprintable sketches of iconic took $3.4 million in a charity auction here!) and associatedstick-shift anybody into that cradle of the masks to SoftBank. models soenthusiastscan colour sale in 2018. But Zellmer was careful transmissions; such old-fashioned brand,” Zellmer said. “But in this SoftBank’s supply will them at home. to temper pricing expectations for accoutrements are thought to offer special time, they were all for it. So consist of 100 million N95 Now Porsche is auctioning off this auction set under wildly the purest form of driving attainable it’s a package that usually money masks, which can filter very what could beone of the last non- different circumstances. in a modern car. can’t buy, but in this time actually small particles, and 200 mil- turbocharged911s ever made. The “My hopesare high, but let’s stay Indeed, whoever wins the GT there is a price to it.” lion regular surgical masks. automaker will sell its final seventh- realistic,” Zellmer said. “When we Silver Metallic Speedster that’s up Zellmer declined to comment on The coronavirus pan- generation 911,a Speedster, in an sold that Project Gold car it was a for auction will find it plucky and whether Porsche would someday demic has spurred Son’s online auction with RM Sotheby’s completely different time, and that Porsche will auction the final 991 Speedster for charity in an online sale engaging to drive, as aggressive as a make more analogue-style Speed- return to Twitter, where he on April 15. It was the last 911 to roll car was a completely different on April 15. The 502-horsepower car was part of a special run of 1,948 GT3 and unmistakable with its sters. Current market indicators and has complained that off the production line as part of the project. I certainly hope we get a Speedsters made to commemorate Porsche’s 70th anniversary COURTESY: PORSCHE rounded humps on the rear of the the prevalence of turbo engines and Japan’s response is being wildly successful generation known really goodprice on the [Speedster]. car, minimalist interior, and very paddle-shifting transmissions spearheaded by politicians internally as “991,” which Porsche Let’s see what people do.” turbocharged, engines. (Porsche has decades with examples such as the low roadster-body style. With a zero across the restof Porsche’s lineup rather than scientists and started in 2011 and ended on Dec. 20, The 911 Speedster for sale is a not officially announced the end of so-called 911 “G-Body” Speedster of to 60 mph surge of 3.8 seconds and a imply that chances are slim. polled users on their view 2019. The car is offeredat no reserve. two-door car with a removable its naturally aspiratedrange.) The 1988 and 2010’s 997 Speedster, top speedof 192 mph, the 502- The auction will open for bidding of the government’s All proceeds from the sale will fabric roof. It is consideredhighly Speedsters are a limited-edition which was limitedto just 356 units horsepower Speedster feels like a at 11a.m. East Coast time on response — adding to pres- benefit the UnitedWay Worldwide collectible because it is the last of the model that debutedin the 1950s worldwide. cannonball from behind the wheel: Wednesday, April 15. Bidding will sure to increase social dis- fund for Covid-19 pandemic relief. 991 range and the possible swan with such variants as the 356 Carrera The current version debutedas a It’s tightly constructed and nimble, closea week later, at 1 p.m. East tancing measures. “This car is a significant part of song of Porsche 911s that use GT Speedster. They were produced concept study in 2018 at a crowded with a quick-shifting, six-speed Coast time on Wednesday, April 22. REUTERS our history,” said Klaus Zellmer, naturally aspirated, rather than sporadically through the following gala at the Porsche Museum in gearbox and a throaty engine roar. BLOOMBERG NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 IN DEPTH 7

. < The otherfrontline workers of the pandemic

Across India, grassroots workers engaged in developmental work have taken on the role of keeping rural communities safe, writes Veenu Sandhu PHOTO: CII

Health workers trained by CII distribute ration, daily essentials and hygiene kits to villagers in Maharashtra’s drought-prone Marathwada region

or the last few weeks, Manisha which, until now, didn’t even remotely effective is that the people carrying out exercises in the villages. was a news story that a family in Ghule’s personal network extends Ghule and her team of 30-odd feature in their scheme of things. the work are those who belong to those Harminder Sidhu, a promoter of a Ludhiana had refused to accept the to Anganwadi and Asha workers. And Fwomen have been sleeping for Ghule and Sharma are part of a vast very areas, speak the local language and farmer producer organisation (FPO) in body of an elderly woman who had died then there are other NGOs she is coor- barely three to four hours a day. The grassroots network built and cultivated have the trust of the communities. the Raikot block of Ludhiana in Punjab, of Covid-19,” says Sidhu. “Doctors, police dinating with. Such a web of networks sugarcane cutters, who head to by the CII Foundation, which was set up Sandeep Kumar, for example, is a is working in 50 villages along with local and the administration are already exists in other states too, making these Karnataka and western Maharashtra by the Confederation of Indian Industry member of a farmer cooperative socie- volunteers. Like Kumar, Sidhu and FPOs stretched; they shouldn’t have to deal grassroots workers a fortified force, one every year in search of work, have (CII) in 2011 to undertake developmental ty in Haryana’s Sirsa district. The socie- such as his have been associated with with such problems too.” So now that we need in this trying time. returned to their villages in Beed, the activities across India. In this critical ty was formed by CII Foundation in 2019 CII Foundation on various issues, includ- announcements are made twice a day “Yes, we face problems when we go drought-prone district of Maharashtra’s time, this robust network is coming in to work on stubble burning and crop ing stubble burning. “We are now send- from village temples and gurudwaras out to the villages. But, we also have Marathwada region where Ghule works. handy to extend both material help and residue management. Since all its mem- ing out relief vans to the villages,” says urging people to remain sensitive and help from the local administration and As the lockdown was announced in mental health support to rural and mar- bers are farmers and representatives of Sidhu. Seeing their work, the sub divi- mindful, while also exercising caution. the police in distributing the relief kits response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ginalised communities, among whom the local farmer community, they know sional magistrate has asked them to con- “People are traumatised,” says from CII,” she says. Each kit carries 21 vulnerable seasonal migrants rushed many have lost their livelihoods and the of the below-poverty-line tinue with the campaign. Ghule, who is part of CII Foundation’s products: Atta, rice, oil, toothpaste, soap home. The state borders were getting basic means to get by. (BPL) families and farm “The concept of social “When the lockdown “Woman Exemplar” network, a pro- and other such essentials. sealed, but they somehow managed to Overall, CII is working across 26 states labourers who are in dire distancing does not was announced, it was gramme that recognises exemplary Sharma, a woman exemplar from make the journey back to an uncertain — covering the span from Gujarat to need of ration kits and exist in villages. So we potato harvesting season,” women working at the grassroots and 2019 who is enabling girls from Tonk’s future — and to antagonistic villagers Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil food items after the lock- really had to work hard says Sidhu. “Farmers need- trains them in leadership and capacity- Banjara community to enter the for- who were worried they might have Nadu. So far, it has managed to reach down. Not only are they to tell them whythey ed passes to get out to their building skills. She underwent a three- mal schooling system, says the police brought the virus with them. out to nearly two million people in these helping spread awareness needed to stay away fields and to transport their day training by CII in Delhi in 2017. have been pro-active with their help. Ghule, who works on the health areas with cooked meals, ration and and support in the distri- from one another, produce. We guided them Ghule, who is the founder of an all- “Our relief vans travel with a police rights of women in Beed, has now hygiene kits. Awareness drives in vil- bution of ration kits, but remain home and on how to get these passes, women federation (Mahila Vikas personnel and a nurse to the villages,” diverted her time and energy to provide lages and among distressed, ignored sec- they are also providing decontaminate and in some cases got them Manch) in Beed district, says com- says Sharma, who herself overcome these migrants with ration, daily essen- tions of society, which are crucial to pro- real-time feedback from whateveressentials made for them.” plaint boxes have been kept in every marital violence and financial crisis to tials, hygiene kits, and counselling. She tect them from Covid-19 and contain the the community so that the theybought” Meanwhile, CII sent village — either in the village school, work for the education of marginalised is helping reach out to over 5,000 fami- spread of the virus, are also being under- industry body is able to relief kits and 25,000 sani- the gram panchayat office or other girls. Appreciating her Covid-19 relief lies across 300 villages. taken. The CII Foundation alone, for design its relief strategy according to tiser bottles. “We were judicious in such prominent places. Women can work, the district administration has Over a thousand kilometres away, instance, has carried out Covid-19 relief the needs of the villages. their distribution, keeping those who drop in their complaints or sugges- given her 300 more kits to distribute to in Rajasthan’s Tonk district, Rama work and awareness initiatives among “The concept of social distancing go out into the fields and are, there- tions, which the field staff then acts vulnerable families. Sharma is doing the same for some 300 nomadic tribes, agricultural women does not exist in villages,” says Kumar. fore, more vulnerable as priority.” on. Important information or feed- “When we started the pandemic families from the nomadic Banjara, workers, daily wage earners and the “So we really had to work hard to tell All the chaupals (community back is communicated to CII. relief work, the community had no clue Madari and Qalandar tribes. Besides impoverished and oppressed Musahar them why they needed to stay away from spaces) were shut down and the village Ghule is a local leader in her own that a deadly virus had shaken the distributing ration, masks and sanitis- community across seven states. one another, remain home and decon- youth were roped in to guard the routes right. In the past her efforts have world,” says Sharma, who has been edu- ers to them, she and her team have “All of these initiatives, amongst oth- taminate whatever essentials they to the villages from 6 am to 8 pm. “The ensured that Beed became one of the cating them about it. She has also been been telling them about the virus that er efforts, are being funded by our mem- bought.” Besides ensuring that idea is to get people to avoid all unnec- earliest districts of Maharashtra to telling them to sun themselves and their has brought the world to a standstill. ber companies, where companies are announcements to the effect are made essary travel to and from the village,” implement the Ghar Doghaanche clothes, drink warm potions that have They have taken on the task of explain- contributing either in cash or kind,” says from the temples and gurudwaras in the says Sidhu. A local artist was also Abhiyan, the state government’s spices such as cloves, turmeric and pep- ing to the villagers why it is important CII Director General Chandrajit villages, morning and evening, Kumar brought on board to create catchy scheme for joint property ownership per, and do whatever it takes to strength- for them and their children to fre- Banerjee. “CII is facilitating the transla- and his team have also distributed pam- awareness messages, which are now between husband and wife. Her inter- en their immunity. And, strengthen quently wash their hands, refrain from tion on ground using its extensive pres- phlets in Hindi about the pandemic and announced through loudspeakers on a vention made it possible for 20,000 social solidarity in this time of physical touching their faces and how and when ence and network.” the safety measures it necessitates. They tractor across villages. women to become joint owners of distancing — the way she and networks to use this thing called the sanitiser, What is making these initiatives have also carried out decontamination Then another issue came up. “There their houses. such as hers are doing.

IMO Tackling hunger during the Covid crisis

WADHAWAN FAMILY’S ESCAPE TO PHOTO: DRRAA MAHABALESHWAR the timing of functioning of ration Amit Malviya@amitmalviya Food insecurity is shops and the quantity of free ration to Maharashtra’s health departmentis busyunder on the rise as different categories of cardholders each reporting Covid numbers. month should be disseminated widely ChiefMinister is happygetting celebrity subsidised food in local languages through boards at endorsement for a mere speech. ration shops, display of posters and While the Wadhawan family, some of who are distributed via public announcements in low-income wanted in the DHFL/Yes Bank scam, are being govt-run ration settlements,” says Bhardwaj. “Also, treated like state guests... there should be a helpline number for Friends of Pawar? shops is not easily complaints displayed prominently out- side ration shops.” Shekhar Gupta@ShekharGupta available to everyone DRRAA is also advocating that Shockin Mumbai Police as ‘honest’ top cop gets access to food be further simplified and blamed for scandalous Wadhawan family trip GEETANJALI KRISHNA during this present economic and LOCKDOWN IN INDIA health crisis, food should be available to Rana Ayyub@RanaAyyub Abhishek Singhvi@DrAMSinghvi Napoleon once famously said that an all who ask for it. Blue skies, clean air and masks on our faces. The Ridiculous thtaccused on bail with such serious army marches on its stomach. Many Some of this advocacy seems to irony charges r holidaying in luxury with 23 family frm argue that the present countrywide have reached the government’s ears. #khandala 2mahabaleshwar! Full inquirywithin lockdown is causing widespread pover- “In the initial days of the lockdown, we Minhaz Merchant@MinhazMerchant 3days must fixguilt, starting frm #PrincipalSecy! ty and consequent hunger, making it had highlighted that by shutting down Question for CMs like @TelanganaCMO Pub confidence must b restored! # that much harder for the nation to fight schools, children dependent on the #KCR & @ChouhanShivraj wadhawan #Maha accounts 4fifty%deaths the Covid-19 pandemic. school midday meal would be deprived seeking extension of lockdown: if lockdown is in India! In this context, the work of Dilli of it,” says Raja. “The government has extended by 2 weeks from April 15 & COVID19 case Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA), agreed, in principle, to do something numbers are still high, will you seek yetanother BORIS JOHNSON’S CORONAVIRUS BATTLE Right to Food Campaign in Delhi, is People queue up outside a ration shop in Delhi about this.” extension? India’s economycan’t sustain such a Luke Edwards@LukeEdwardsTele notable. For the last few years, this Meanwhile, the hunger crisis that long shutdown. @narendramodi Glad he’s ok and on mend but I don’t care what group of activists, academics and government’s responsibility!” person on priority category ration they have witnessed on the ground has Boris Johnson is doing in his hospital bed. We frontline field workers has been advo- Consequently, DRRAA has been cards and were following some sys- been so severe that DRRAA members Prof. Steve Hanke@steve_hanke have had the worstCoronavirus daily death figures cating on issues related to food secu- monitoring the state and central gov- tem for social distancing.” have been forced out of their watch- Sledgehammer policies like #Modi's of anycountry in Europe twice and they don’t rity and monitoring Delhi’s public dis- ernment’s relief measures and high- DRRAA activists aver that there is dog role to do relief work. “Much of our #LockdownWithoutPlan are worse than the include those dying in care homes. This is a tribution system. Today, however, the lighting the gaps in the process. “The no system of grievance redressal, so present effort is directed towards ensur- disease. The poorest&most vulnerable in #India national scandal not a triumph of leadership good folk at DRRAA are working over- idea isn’t at all to simply criticise the for example, people don’t know where ing that people don’t starve during the aren't just worried about #COVID19. They're time. “In the last few weeks, even we, government,” says Raja. “We believe and how to complain if their ration Covid-19 lockdown,” says Bhardwaj. worried about being #Jobless & #Hungry. This is Piers Morgan@piersmorgan who have been working on food secu- that if the government plugs the loop- shop is closed. Further, Raja points “DRRAA has responded to SOS calls #ModiMadeDisaster is more #GovtFailure. I’m delighted Boris Johnson is improving in rity-related issues for so many years, holes that we identify, public health out that although Delhi government for food requirements of over 35,000 hospital. We all should be. have been taken aback by the extent of and food security infrastructure can has announced that PDS subsidised people and has been able to raise over Rupa Subramanya@rupasubramanya Butlet’s not be distracted from the shocking fact economic vulnerability of the coun- be strengthened.” foodgrain will be available even to ~8 lakh, which has been directly trans- By April 30th (assuming lockdown ends),75% of that nearly 1000 #coronavirus deaths were try’s lower income groups,” says Annie To this end, DRRAA has been mon- people without ration cards, the pro- ferred to those in need.” the Indian economywill have been shutdown for recorded in the UK yesterdayalone. Raja, member of DRRAA. “In the last itoring the functioning of ration shops cedure for access is difficult. “They Going forward, DRRAA will have its a month and 10 days. Economic devastation will Govt. has serious questions to answer about our two weeks, the food insecurity we’ve and feeding centres through a net- have to fill an online form with 25 work cut out. “Many more are going to be brutal.There's no science, evidence or preparedness for this crisis. witnessed even in the nation’s capital, work of volunteers and ration card- questions to get an e-coupon!” she need government support in the form modelling that backs this total lockdown. No other has left us shaken.” holders. Till April 5, 150 on-ground says. “As many don’t have the means of food, pensions and scholarships after country has implemented anything this draconian Kenneth Roth Boris Johnson@KenRoth She recounts how when they took audits were conducted on 34 ration to do this, we believe that this exercise this lockdown,” says Bhardwaj. “We'll The ironies: UK PM Boris Johnson, having led the relief supplies to a migrant labour shops. “We found that 10 of the 34 (29 could end up being one of exclusion do what we can to ensure their voices Chetan Bhagat@chetan_bhagat anti-immigrantBrexit campaign, is nowbeing colony in Kirti Nagar in Delhi, it near- per cent) shops were closed during rather than inclusion.” Adding to this are heard by the government.” Glad a balance of precaution vs economyis now treated in a hospital system where the eightUK ly resulted in a riot. “The number of working hours,” says Anjali Bhardwaj, is the fact that Aadhaar is still manda- being considered. Have always felt that tough and doctors who have died from the coronavirus were packets was just not enough,” she member of DRRAA. “Of the 15 shops tory for accessing any government Follow Rozi Roti AdhikarAbhiyan Delhi on delicate balance has to be maintained. n all immigrants. rues. “We realised that there was only which were open and distributing social security scheme. Facebook. To contribute towards their food so much that organisations, corpora- grains, 14 were found to be distribut- Based on their findings, DRRAA is relief campaign or get involved in tions or individuals could do; food is ing grains in accordance with the advocating certain changes. monitoring the ration shops in your area, every citizen’s entitlement and the enhanced entitlement of 7.5 kg per “Information about ration available, email at [email protected] 8 DEMOCRACY AT WORK NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 >

X Pakistan’s grudge DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT? CHECKLIST Earlier this week, Pakistan stayed away from the regional trade officials’ video THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: COVID-19 ACROSS THE WORLD conference on Covid-19 because as per the neighboiring country, it should have been managed by the secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional nGermany:Cabinet has approved draft legislation Sichuan province have reported record-high TERBO Cooperation (Saarc), not hosted by India. that will make it easier for authorities to prevent numbers of divorce filings in early March, leading

AT Trade officials of all Saarc countries (except Pakistan) met via videoconferencing foreign takeovers of strategic companies. The to long backlogs at government offices. In Hunan to discuss the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on intra-regional trade and the effect proposal predates Covid-19 pandemic, but the province’s Miluo, “staff members didn’t even

CH of travel restrictions. In the virtual conference, the trade officials broadly agreed German government has vowed to "stand by our have time to drink water” because so many to identify new ways to “sustain and expand” the intra-regional trade to offset the companies" in the face of foreign investors who couples lined up to file divorce, according to a huge economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting was a follow-up to might seek to take advantage of the crisis to report in mid-March on the city government the SAARC leaders’ video conference, that was convened by Prime Minister acquire companies more cheaply. website. Clerks struggled to keep up, processing a Narendra Modi on March 15, in which the special assistant to prime minister on n The UK: Across the world there is a surge in pet record number in a single day, it said. “Trivial health, Dr Zafar Mirza, represented Pakistan. Pakistan feels Saarc should have adoptions. Battersea Animal Shelter says it has matters in life led to the escalation of conflicts, coordinated. It is now contacting health ministers of all Saarc countries, except received an increase in offers to foster an animal, and poor communication has caused everyone to India and Afghanistan, to convene a parallel conference on the same issue. "CORONAVIRUSISTHEBIGGESTTHREATTHAT but it has suspended new applications in order to be disappointed in marriage and make the Pakistan also has issues with the fact that India forwarded the suggestion to set prioritise working with the existing staff and decision to divorce,” the city registration centre’s up a Covid-19 emergency fund. All member countries have pledged contributions THEHUMANRACEHASFACEDINMORETHAN volunteers. The Dogs Trust said it has received "an director, Yi Xiaoyan, was quoted as saying. to the fund, except Pakistan, which has been insisting that the fund be placed ACENTURY. LIFEWILLNOTBETHESAME... overwhelming number of enquiries... not only to n The USA: Chinese American leaders say there under the control of the Saarc secretary general and modalities for its utilisation WITHOURSACRIFICEANDTHEBLESSINGOF rehome dogs permanently, but also to foster our has been a big drop in business in San Francisco's be transparently decided. dogs on a temporary basis". Chinatown and for local Asian American-owned India allegedly scuttled a Saarc meeting that Pakistan was to host in 2016. LORDJAGANNATH,THISTOOSHALLPASS." n China: The divorce rate in China has zoomed. businesses, a huge increase in xenophobia Islamabad has not forgiven Delhi for that. Odisha Chief MInister Naveen Patnaik The city of Xian in central China and Dazhou in following the Covid-19 outbreak.

disease in people in the younger age group large young and middle-aged.

SINHA and among those above the age of 60 years, OPINION the mortality is high. If you look at the coun- In villages, we do have lack of space and a BINAY try’s population statistics, about 12.5 per cent large number of people still living together BY SONIA GANDHI are above 55 years of age. under one roof. It means roughly 87.5 per cent are people You encourage your old men to sleep under whom I call young. So if you take care of the trees. It is about what people have to do to

‘It is imperative ILLUSTRATION elderly and allow the transmission in devise ways to protect themselves and their younger population, but not too fast, just families. Don’t militate. Let them do it. We slow down a bit, it can work. are a democracy. People have the right to do for us to rise above Let it happen. Don’t do overcrowding, try what they want. Can we stop the disease to keep distance from each other. Work has from spreading? No. Now, it will reach an to go on, industry has to be restarted, agri- exponential phase and the fact is that even cultural activities have to start and at the where you slow it down and you don’t have partisan interests’ same time, young people will recover from protection within the community, known to the infection. When the immunity level is be herd immunity; it will come back. he Covid-19 pandemic, sweeping across the world, attained to the so-called protective level, or has caused serious public health concerns, anguish herd immunity, we can say that The current strategy of a and apprehensions across our country. It has imper- the epidemic has been seized. lockdown was to ensure that T iled lives and put at risk the lives and livelihoods of But that doesn’t mean it won’t we “flatten the curve” and buy millions, particularly, the most vulnerable sections of our so- come back again. It may come time for adequate medical ciety. The entire nation stands as one in solidarity in the fight back in another year or so facilities to be in place. Do you to halt and defeat the corona pandemic. but by then, we may have think this has helped us? The 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by you as a a vaccine. We did a short strategy for measure to fight the coronavirus is a welcome step. As pre- three weeks, advised by some sident of the Congress, I would like to state that we will fully But is it plausible for any JAYAPRAKASH MULIYIL people. We tested it out. During support and collaborate with every step taken by the Union government to target “herd this period, at least people have government to ensure the containment of the pandemic. immunity” to counter such a Former principal, Christian learned that there is a disease At this challenging and uncertain time, it is imperative for disease? Medical College, Vellore known as the coronavirus that each one of us to rise above partisan interests and honour our What is the other solution then? exists and they have learnt how duty towards our country and indeed, humanity. It is in the Suggest something else? to protect themselves, by spirit of solidarity and cooperation therefore, that I would like keeping a distance. They have realised to suggest some measures that I believe will help us to address Some countries, such as South Korea, did a crowds are bad for health now. In three the massive health crisis we are about to face and ameliorate lot of testing, for instance… weeks, we were able to educate the nation. the immense economic and existential pain that vulnerable The cost of testing a person for Covid-19 is We have probably bought ourselves a few sections of our society will soon be subjected to: ~4,500. Then, you test everybody — healthy extra weeks for the disease to exponentially n It has been announced that the Union government has al- and unhealthy. Will it be possible to test 1.3 rise. But it will come back when people will located ~15,000 crore to fight the coronavirus, including meeting billion people? The disease is going to be start moving and there will be contacts. We the requirements of doctors, nurses and health professionals. I there — whether you like it or not even if you can’t do anything about it. We cannot run would like to re-emphasise the urgent need to arm our doctors, ramp up your testing. Remember, most of away to the moon. Can we? There is a virus, nurses and health workers with personal protection equipment Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil, former principal of Christian Medical College, Vellore, is one of the country’s leading them are sub-clinical cases. there are people and the only way to protect (PPE), including N-95 masks and hazmat suits. epidemiologists. He has served the Indian Council of Medical Research in various advisory committees in the past and is the way you behave to some extent. One Let us ensure the opening and scaling up of manufacture his work involves decades of extensive research in the area of infectious diseases. Muliyil tells Somesh Jha that the The United Kingdom tried to experiment more thing, if you get the infection once, you and supply of these items so that not a single health professional days of eradicating the disease is over with “herd immunity” but didn’t seem to are protected forever. faces the predicament of contracting or passing on Covid-19 quite succeed. What are your views? owing to unavailability of the PPE. Announcing a special “risk The more the mobility, the rate of the infec- When the national lockdown comes to an allowance” for doctors, nurses and health workers for a period tion spread will be higher. We have to under- end, what should we do? of six months retrospectively from March 1, 2020, is imperative. ‘We have to achieve stand how epidemics normally work. When There will be more cases. We will have to look Health professionals and their support teams risk their lives to a new viral epidemic comes, people are not after them. Even if we don’t have ventilators, work at the front line of the battle against the Covid-19. I believe immune to it. There will be lower resistance we will be able to give some support through we owe it to them to provide protection and incentive. initially. It goes from person to person and oxygen. We need to remember that our n Over the last few weeks, there has been much uncertainty herd immunity’ you cannot stop it. And since it’s most sub- health system is not as advanced as the about designated hospitals and their locations, number of beds, clinical, it becomes difficult to isolate that United States. If they are suffering, how isolation chambers, ventilators, dedicated medical teams, person. But when the virus reaches a par- much more will we suffer? No wishful supplies etc. This has been caused by a paucity of information. ticular level of saturation, it automatically thinking. Ventilator, you know, requires a lot Disseminating all essential information, including the locations How should the government proceed ahead for two-three months and spontaneously dis- stops because it can’t find a host. It depends of expertise to manage. We will have a of designated hospitals and their emergency phone line in the second phase after the current 21-day appeared. Nothing that we did at the point of from virus to virus. For measles, around 90 problem of training people. I think what’s numbers is essential to facilitate management of the pandemic. lockdown period gets over? time was of help. It went away. Why? It is per cent of the population needs to be vacci- hindering us is the fear for the disease. For A dedicated portal for sharing these and all other necessary The principle of the whole strategy is based because of a certain level of herd immunity nated to achieve herd immunity and for those below the age of 55 years, it’s a mild information is one way forward. on an important recognition, that is by that was produced by the infection. So, our influenza, it is 40 per cent. But one has to disease. We will lose a few, but that will be a n Given that even the most advanced and developed health searching cases and isolating them alone, we only hope is that this virus head that way. stagger the process of reaching the herd small percentage. In older people, the mor- care systems in the world are facing an overload of patients and will not be able to contain it. So the question Unfortunately, we are not sure what percent- immunity and slow down the spread of the tality will be higher. So take care of yourself, crumbling under the weight of the sheer numbers of affected of containing the virus is out. What is the age of population would be infected before we infection so that you can handle much more your family and your parents. That’s the persons, the Union government could immediately commission next course? The next strategy is to say, ok, reach that so-called protective level. From efficiently and not lose too many patients. basic principle. and begin construction of temporary facilities with large infections will continue and we need to take then, it will all come down magically. That’s not what the UK did. numbers of intensive care units and ventilators in geographical care of people who fall ill and require medi- But then the problem would be to deter- So you are suggesting that the lockdown areas where the outbreak is expected to be concentrated in the cal help. mine what should be the right ratio. Let’s say But in India, where there is a problem of should be lifted and people be allowed to go near future. However, there is something uncomfort- it’s 50-60 per cent, but for that we need good lack of space, will it be possible to protect back to their lives? n Daily wagers, workers under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural able about this line of thinking because the data coming from the system and it’s vital. the elderly from the younger population? I told you a framework. We have to decide: Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA), factory labourers, spread of virus is going up in an exponential Because in a battle, we cannot fight enemy Keep the elderly in a room and how much How crowded can the buses be? Can we have construction and unorganised sector workers, fishermen, farm fashion, so we will not be able to take care of without information and if it is given to us distance do we need? Two metres. You don’t a cricket match? Even when we go back to labourers and many more form the most vulnerable sections people who need health care as the system properly, then we will be able to study. Now need to have social discrimination, but only normal lifestyle, you cannot afford the rush of our society. It has been recently reported that many busi- will be overwhelmed by the number of that we have said that, we have to ask: By the physical distance. In other words, don’t hug of cases. You need to slow it down. There nesses and companies are laying off and retrenching a large severely sick who will land up in hospitals. time 60 per cent of the population is your father, keep a distance and let them be should be a kind of understanding that there number of regular and temporary employees. It would be in Now we have to ask, given the circumstances, infected, how many will die? there. There is a possibility that they might will be a continued infection, however, the order for the Union government to immediately put in place what do we do? We have to ask: Is there any That will not be an acceptable proposi- still get infected, but it will reduce the days of eradicating it is gone. We have to broad-based social protection measures including Direct Cash other way to contain this problem? In 2009, tion. Immediately, you will realise there is spread. In some areas, it will certainly be a achieve herd immunity. In building it up, we Transfer to these sections to tide over the period of difficulty. I there was an epidemic of H1N1 influenza. another solution. The interesting thing about problem, like for the elderly people in the have to reduce mortality by keeping the eld- have suggested some such measures in the succeeding points. What happened to it? It came in and stayed this disease is that the virus causes a mild slum. But the population in slums is by and erly people away. n The 21-day lockdown comes at the peak of the harvesting season. Crop is ready for harvesting in most states by the end of March. With nearly 60 per cent of India’s population being economically dependent on agriculture, it is imperative that the Union government should take necessary steps to enable Asmallwonder harvesting and procurement of crops at MSP. This is also the right time to suspend all recoveries from farmers for a period of six months and consider indebtedness relief liberally. Three school students in Delhi have come up with a n I sincerely believe that implementing the Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme, that is, ‘Nyay Yojana’ proposed by the Indian robot that can aid health care workers in their fight National Congress is the need of the hour. At this time of immense distress for the poor who are going to weather the against coronavirus, writes Swarnami Mondal major economic fallout of this pandemic, it will give them a basic economic resource to fall back on. hat do a bunch of teenagers do There were news reports, which said doctors Alternately, a cash transfer of ~7,500 to every “Jan Dhan” when schools are closed and in West Bengal and Haryana even resorted to and PM Kisan scheme account holder, old-age/widow/differ- exams are postponed amid a fast- raincoats and helmets to protect themselves. ently-abled person’s pension account and MGNREGA worker’s W spreading contagious pandemic Taking cue from countries like China, accounts, as a one-time special measure to tide over the 21-day that has taken the entire world in its sway? Thailand and Israel where a remotely-con- lockdown period should be considered. Instead of just spending leisure time on trolled robots tend patients, three Class XII May I also suggest distribution of 10 kg of rice or wheat per social media or OTT platforms, they come up students of Delhi schools have come up with family member to every ration card holder through PDS free of with a prototype of a robot that can reduce the their own Robot Prithvi. In China’s Wuhan – cost as a special measure to tide over the difficulty... contact of healthy persons or health care per- where the disease originated — a robot, Cloud n Salaried class is also bearing the brunt of the harsh measures sonnel with the infected people; Ginger, tended patients at a make- required to contain the spread of the disease. The Union gov- more so when the number of health shift hospital. In places like ernment might consider deferring all EMIs for a period of six care professionals, catching Covid-19 Thailand and Israel, robots are months. The interest being charged by the banks for this period from patients, is rising day after day. being used for doctor consultations may consequently be waived. Similarly, all loan installment Consider these: On April 7, two via video conference. A prototype of Robot Prithvi deductions from the salary of government employees may also Mumbai hospitals were cordoned Robot Prithvi has been designed be deferred for six months. off. While 26 nurses and three doc- by Nishant Chanda, Sourav app. "It has a cardboard body and comes with have tried to keep the designed as simple and n All businesses, particularly micro, small and medium, have tors of Wockhardt Hospital were THE OTHER Maheshkar and Aditya Dubey (an a tablet mounted top so that doctors and nurs- ergonomic as possible so that one and all can been facing unprecedented distress from before the onset of tested positive for the Covid-19, INDIA examinee of Class XII boards, which es can hold conversations with the patient via use it without much training.” the pandemic. The pandemic has increased their distress mul- Jaslok Hospital had 10 coronavirus have been postponed). The robot the screen and camera.” Made of cardboard, basic motors, and a tifold. The Union government must consider announcing a positive staffers, including six nurs- aims at minimising contact bet- He added Prithvi came with an in-built programmable board, building the robot comprehensive sector-wise relief package including necessary es. On April 9, 30 health care ween a Covid-19 positive patient Bluetooth and that it could also work seam- Prithvi cost them ~5,000. tax breaks, interest subvention and deferment of liabilities. workers, including doctors and nurses, of and health care workers. lessly on Wi-Fi. On Bluetooth, Prithvi has a Maheshkar hoped if they could launch Mr Prime Minister, if implemented, these measures will AIIMS in New Delhi were advised quarantine Maheshkar said the prototype of Prithvi connectivity range of up to 50 metres. Prithvi at hospitals, sturdier material could be reaffirm our commitment to each and every one of our citizens after they came in contact with a 72-year-old was conceptualised, designed and built after They also plan to add another feature in used to build the bot. when they most need support and protection. We in the patient who was Covid-19 positive. a nationwide lockdown was announced on form of a temperature gun, besides incorpo- “We will use plastic, which can be sanitised Congress party stand with the people of India at this time of With steep and steady rise in the number March 22. “It has been developed to protect rating radio sensors for the bot to function easily and frequently as needed. Prithvi will national crisis and we extend to the government, our full support of coronavirus positive cases over the past few the front line workers so that they don't fall smoothly. reduce the number of touch points with the and cooperation. days in India, health care professionals, who sick in such times.” So, how did they build this? patients who are isolated, thereby reducing are at the front line of the battle against the Chandna said the robot had been designed Maheshkar said at school, they had been risk for health care workers,” he says, hoping Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra pandemic, are most vulnerable, especially to dispense food and medicines to patients exposed to the basics of robotics. “Robot to make their little contribution in this war Modi, April 7, New Delhi with dearth if Personal Protective Equipment. and can be controlled remotely through an Prithvi has been built using those ideas. We against the coronavirus. OPINION 9 > Volume XIV Number 3 NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020

2005 level; and create an additional carbon ger challenge. The India State of Forest should not be reversed in a low oil-price Theclimate‘dividend’ sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide Report of 2019 suggested that the supposed regime (petrochemicals being the basic equivalent through additional forest and increase in forest cover is misleading input for plastic). Equally, cleaner, urban tree cover. If the government's claims that it because the term includes plantations and air owing to lower vehicular movement Lockdown highlights the criticality of climate change agenda may outperform these targets are correct, masks a marked decline in the Northeast should spur state and municipal adminis- then re-focusing on this agenda is critical with its rich biodiversity. Enforcing no-go trations to strengthen public transport lean air, unrestricted views of and growing population. As an article in when the lockdown ends. This will involve areas for manufacturing in endangered for- capacities, including e-buses, to enable gig mountain ranges hidden for McKinsey Quarterly points out, thanks to urgently addressing long-standing anom- est areas is vital not least because it will and migrant workers better access to their decades, and the return of thriv- large stimulus packages there should be alies in the solar power eco-system, the also extend some measure of protection to workplaces than ad hoc, polluting private C ing bird life in urban areas have cheap money available to invest in climate- main renewable energy source. Most solar the rights of India’s disenfranchised options. Getting started on setting up e- been unexpected upsides of the lockdown, friendly energy and infrastructure. companies are in the red on account of the tribal population. vehicle infrastructure (charging stations and they offer a more compelling case for In terms of a domestic agenda, two ele- aggressive (some say unrealistic) price bids Beyond the larger agenda are granular and so on) would also go a long way toward climate change activists than any scientific ments suggest themselves. At the policy by new entrants at progressively lower lev- policies for the Centre and states to consid- encouraging more people to examine this model. This unexpected environmental level, the priority must be enforcing the els, which discourages distribution compa- er. Support to industry on revival could be mode of vehicle ownership. At the corporate dividend offers a useful template for cli- challenging 2020-30 targets India, a coal- nies from buying from existing producers. linked to adopting pollution-free processes level, encouraging enhanced telecommut- mate-change policies. The critical caveat is fired economy, has set for itself under the The scrapping of bids for solar capacities and recycling. It is fairly easy, for instance, ing, a reduction in air travel, and partial that no agenda can be predicated on the Paris climate change accord. India set three through 2019 and the early months of 2020 to adopt waste-water recycling in modern work-from-home policies are obvious solu- cessation of virtually all economic activity, major goals: To increase non-fossil fuels’ do not bode well for the target of achieving industry. The prime minister had high- tions to lowering air pollution, with all the given the hardships it imposes on the poor. share to 40 per cent of electricity generation 100,000 Mw of solar capacity by 2022 (the lighted the perils of plastic in several radio concomitant benefits on public-health out- However, it is possible to imagine a sus- capacity; reduce the emission intensity of country has achieved about a third of that broadcasts. It is vital that this initiative, comes. Learning from the Covid-19 experi- tainable future even with India's massive the economy by 33-35 per cent from the target so far). Creating a carbon sink is a big- which has yielded some positive responses, ence is as vital as coping with it. We’re more civilised now Whythepandemicwill The benefits of modern medicine have led people to demand more from the State, and to value every life. hurtgirls’education Even a modest death toll caused by an epidemic today is unacceptable

BLOOMBERG SAFEENA HUSAIN ening the right to education of the most vulnerable girls. omen, especially girls, play a critical role in the social fabric Girls in rural India W In India, the spread of the virus has of the world. Educating girls is one of the most powerful and proven already hurt marginalised communities vehicles to achieve the United Nations disproportionately. As the household Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). work burden increases for all families, It has a positive impact on at least nine girls are regressing to their earlier rou- of the 17 SDGs, be it in health care, tines — taking up cooking, cleaning and immunisation, child marriage, HIV, other household chores, while caring for income generation or inequality, their younger siblings and elders; working because an educated girl is twice as like- on farms, grazing cattle and engaging in ly to educate her children. activities that can help their families sur- Girls’ education is the key to breaking vive through these tough times. With lim- the inter-generational cycle of illiteracy ited last-mile health facilities in rural and poverty. Globally, girls’ education is India, those who are affected but yet not the biggest lever that can lead to a reduc- critical are being cared for at home, put- tion in carbon emissions. ting the girl child at greater risk of becom- An educated woman has the skills, ing infected. information and self-confidence that she As families lose livelihoods, face scarci- needs to be a better parent, worker and ty of food and other basic needs, the health citizen. Research shows that an educat- and education of girls, their learning ed woman is likely to marry later and requirements and well-being are getting have fewer children, impacting world sidelined. Based on their gender, girls get to population. An educated woman can eat last. With no access to mid-day meals in help a country with its socio-economic schools, as families struggle to buy rations, growth, and reduce the incidence of girls’ nutritional needs will be unmet, domestic and sexual violence as well. As impacting their physiological develop- she stands up against gender inequality, ment. Increasing pressure to care for their she becomes key to changing patriar- families will have a direct impact on their chal mind-sets. emotional growth. As patriarchal families However, despite the return to their earlier gender many positive implications As patriarchal norms of girls working within of girls’ education, millions families return to households, they will prevent of girls around the world are theirearlier them from going back to A magnified coronavirus germ displayed on a desktop computer monitor during coronavirus patient sample detection tests at a virology research laboratory in Belgium being denied their right to gendernorms of school, affecting their learn- education, simply because girls working ing levels in the long term. DIPANKAR GUPTA Look at it another way. The Spanish Flu killed 17 also brought home the fact that inter-laboratory collab- they are girls. Their chances within the With families staying at million in India alone and over 100 million worldwide. oration, oftentimes across national boundaries, has of getting a quality educa- household, they home amid economic hard- ook at the bright side. If isolated attacks in The bubonic plague in past centuries decimated half made the old crackpot genius scientist working out of an tion are smaller if they come will prevent them ship, the incidence of domes- Indore on health workers enforcing quarantine the population of many countries. So far Covid-19 has ivory tower as much a fairy tale as Rapunzel is. Research from a poor family, living in from going back to tic violence, drunken behav- Lhas gained so much publicity it only shows how killed less than 100,000. A mere sneeze in comparison on Covid-19 has scientists everywhere sharing findings a rural area. Girls are just dis- school, affecting iour and child abuse are civilised we have gradually become. In Russia, Britain to earlier pandemics, but the difference is that gov- and putting a lid on parochialising information. A lab- regarded. The root cause of theirlearning rising. If this persists, the and Germany, right upto the 1830s, massive cholera ernments everywhere don’t see it that way. In India too, oratory based in Pittsburgh is collaborating with an girls not being in school are levels in the risks of child marriage, phys- riots broke out which would put Indore’s prickly little our sensitivities are on high alert but the death toll has institute in Paris and an Austrian company. They are the two Ps of poverty and long run ical and sexual exploitation one-day flare up to shame. In those days doctors too just crossed 200. The nationwide worry lines today probably in talks now, as we read, with the Serum patriarchy, because of which of girls, trafficking, and were beaten up, governments and kingdoms shook, all are probably much deeper than when 17 million died Institute of India, one of the largest vaccine manufac- they are exploited, discrimi- unhygienic and unhealthy kinds of rumours were rife, including the poisoning of a hundred years ago in India from the Spanish Flu. Our turers in the world. nated against or just pushed into dis- lifestyles will continue to surge. Stuck in wells for devious reasons of power. In the 14th centu- expectations from governments today are way higher Knowledge generation today is a mammoth affair, parate gender roles. this situation, girls will continue to lose ry, Jews were rounded up and killed as suspected than ever before in human history. This is because with conspiracies and rivalries, no doubt, but the end confidence and lose the motivation to agents of epidemics. Compared to such cataclysmic they are acting as if every life counts. This is something product is more awe inspiring than ever before. Nor Impact of Covid-19 return to mainstream education, making events, the Indore news is a minor, indoor affair. very new. does scientific credibility spring from an individual’s tal- With the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19 them ever more vulnerable. There is no doubt then that we have progressed None of this could have hap- ents as it does from an institution that sponsors such crippling global education systems, exist- along the civilisational route. We are now more caring All States today pened unless State and science minds. Harvard University, or the Mayo Clinic, or the All- ing gender inequalities are getting further The way forward of others, more observant of the public good and, most are straining worked together. Modern medi- India Institute of Medical Sciences has greater charisma intensified. As cases of coronavirus con- While a coordinated policy effort by way of importantly, more trusting of our governments. The themselves to cine has impacted State per- than any of its alumni and experts. Even at the level of tinue to grow, the effort to limit its spread communication, quarantine and treat- Europe that trembled during the cholera epidemics has the limit to formance, leading it to promise primary health, the home and neighbourhood are no has kept over 290 million students out of ment is a must to contain the adverse gradually accepted quarantining and today there is contain Covid-19 more to its people. People might longer relevant, but departments of governments and school globally. impact of this pandemic, there is an urgent no sign of violence against pandemic measures any- and win hearts, joke in bad taste that more people specialised agencies are. In the absence of education, and con- need to ensure that the needs of the most where in the West. Britain was a leader in the admin- even if that die of motor accidents everyday The phenomenal rise in State credibility has also nection with friends and teachers, dis- vulnerable communities, especially girls, istration of quarantine from the 1860s onwards, and by means hurting in India than of Covid-19 in a powered us to scrutinise governments and ask for greater advantaged children — especially girls are taken into consideration. For that to 1892, all of Europe formally accepted the British mod- theireconomies month. Cheerful as the slogan accountability. Have you ever heard of a lockdown dur- from the most marginalised communi- happen, all countries of the world need a el. Indore is a blip on this historical map; it lasted a few may sound, it still won’t make it ing the 1890s plague epidemic in India or the 1918 ties — will be the hardest hit; especially strong gender lens on how to build a holis- hours, but that too has passed. inside a Hallmark “get well” card. Nevertheless, this sta- Spanish Flu epidemic? Not even a suggestion. But today, in nations where patriarchy, illiteracy tic response to Covid-19 that includes relief This clearly demonstrates that we have evolved as tistic is in the air. Therefore, like it or not, our threshold we are outraged when a few hundred die because we val- and poverty are combining to trigger measures from both economic and socie- citizens and that our States today have much greater of tolerance for pain and death are much lower today ue lives more than we ever did in human history. All regressive mind-sets. Over 111 million tal angles. Without intentionality, girls will popular endorsement than they had in the past. To a than what it was even a hundred years ago. The human States today are straining themselves to the limit to con- girls affected by school closures are liv- regress to patriarchal mind-sets, far away large extent, this is because the modern administrative body has not evolved, our nerve ends still hurt when tain Covid-19 and win hearts, even if that means cutting ing in the world’s least developed coun- from education. They will be the first to be apparatuses are more effective, control systems more inflamed; so the only thing that has changed mightily is off their economic legs. tries, where getting an education is forgotten and will be pushed further into centralised and delivery mechanisms more grounded. our capacity for governance. This is a result of not just Yes, we are becoming increasingly civilised. So now, already a struggle. hunger and violence as the pandemic People expect what is generally promised and often get greater power, as some pro-Nietzscheans might say, but will you now be my Quarantine? As the Covid-19 situation aggravates, grips the world. it; leaders have greater ability to oversee and finer because science, at all levels, has grown phenomenally girls will face the worst economic and methods of surveillance, but most of all, the ordinary and proved itself via the State. The writer is a sociologist. He was formerly professor, Centre social marginalisation. Disrupting glob- The writer is founder and executive director, person believes that the State is the helper of last resort. This quantum jump in scientific development has for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University al education systems is literally threat- Educate Girls, a non-profit organisation

> OTHER VIEWS The evidence suggests that Will containmentzones work? E-commerce to the rescue the rupee is overvalued The benefits far outweigh the costs The way India shops may change

RBI should let it fall. This will aid export State governments have tact with — with the outside There will be several societal deliveries, especially to quar- begun experimenting with the world. This would, thus, con- and behavioural changes in the antined zones. growth when global trade picks up idea of containment zones to tain the infection to a specific next few years that we will all The other major change is deal with the coronavirus dis- geography and eventually be able to ascribe to the impact the way delivery services are With continuing uncertainty over the spread of the coron- ease (Covid-19). The mecha- diminish its spread. It is of the coronavirus pandemic. working. Small kirana outlets avirus and its economic impact, there has been a sell-off glob- nism is straightforward. Those broadly inspired by what has Personal hygiene changes will are making local area deliveries ally in risk assets as investors are seeking refuge in safe haven clusters which have seen a rise come to be known as the almost certainly become a of bread, milk and eggs as well assets such as the dollar. Most emerging market currencies in cases — and have shown Bhilwara model of “ruthless norm. Everybody will wash as fresh produce like fruits and have fallen in this period, and while the Indian rupee has also traces of rapid transmission containment”. In Rajasthan, hands more often and carry- vegetables. While some parts fallen, it has fared relatively better than others. The Indian cur- — are sealed. Not only is the the state government pio- ing a small personal hand- of major cities have decent rency has fared relatively better despite a massive sell-off by lockdown in the identified neered this method to tame sanitiser will become a must. access to provisions despite the foreign investors — FIIs have withdrawn around $14 billion in cluster enforced more strictly, the infection after health But what about shopping? lockdown, the fact that certain March. Through this period, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) there is also a complete ban workers in a hospital first got With major outlets closed, tra- hotspots are being sealed as has been actively intervening in the currency markets. Foreign on the movement of resi- infected. It will need time. But ditional retail has taken a hit well as the news that the lock- exchange reserves fell by $10 billion in the week ended March dents. There is also aggressive if, within a fortnight, cases in across the world, which cou- down might continue for sev- 20 — indicating the extent of the intervention. But, notwith- screening and enhanced test- these select clusters diminish, pled with the rise of online eral more days mean that such standing the intervention needed to iron out excess volatility, ing in these clusters. those who have got infected commerce, might make it dif- deliveries are becoming even the evidence suggests that the Indian rupee continues to be The strategy is based on get treated, deaths are avoided ficult for the industry to recov- more vital. These new models, overvalued and should be allowed to fall. The currency's recent that it does not target any particular level, at a time when the belief that this would or kept to a minimal, and the er. But some of the changes in which marketing experts fall, to that extent, corrects for this overvaluation. countries will be fighting to grab export market share in order allow authorities to identify chain of transmission is bro- online commerce, especially would describe as “competi- When the uncertainty over the economic disruption caused to boost growth, the central bank must ensure that the cur- each person who is infected, ken, it will emerge as a model in India in corona times, are tive collaboration”, might be by the coronavirus begins to recede, and economic activity rency’s value does not affect the country’s export offer isolation and treatment, whenever the lockdown is noteworthy. One is the support the way forward for the growth begins to crawl back in, global funds will start flowing back competitiveness. and reduce their interface — eventually lifted. that some online chains, from of e-commerce in India. towards emerging markets, including India. This would exert and the interface of all those Amazon to Zomato, are getting upward pressure on the rupee. While the RBI’s stated policy is The Indian Express, April 10 they may have come in con- Hindustan Times, April 10 from the public authorities in The Pioneer, April 10 10 NEW DELHI | 12 APRIL 2020 1 > PHOTO:PTI ‘Covid-19ledto~4K-cr freshNPAs’

Punjab National Bank’s (PNB’s) integration with Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and United Bank of India (UBI) came at a time when the country was in lockdown to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). On the eve of PNB’s 126th foundation day, the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer SS MALLIKARJUNA RAO tells Somesh Jha about the pandemic’s impact on customer outreach programmes related to the amalgamation. Edited excerpts:

Which sectors have been most affected by But by and large, it’s been extremely smooth. Covid-19? We have seen an impact on apparel and textiles, Cantheoperationsofbranchesberationalised auto and auto components, aviation, tourism, and duringlockdown? financial sectors — including non-banking finance In some parts, it can bedone, but our branch companies (NBFCs), building and construction. We operational ratio right now is 92-95 per cent across do not have huge exposure to aviation, except Jet the country. Airways, which is already a non-performing asset (NPA). The micro, small and medium enterprises Howareyoupreparingforlockdownextension? (MSME) segment will have a problem. In the apparel Asfar as banks are concerned, there are no sector, the issue is that they import raw material problems as we have sufficient cash; we are from Bangladesh, manufacture it here and export. It calibrating branch activities, too. The impact is on will take more for them to come back to normalcy amalgamation. Effective April 1,certain activities, and their accounts will beunder stress. such as customer and employees’ outreach, human resource deployment, which we had planned to Whatisyouroutlook? complete by April 15-30, will bepushed back by a 11,500 ICU beds There can bean impact on profitability as there will month. bemore NPAs. There will besome slippage, which will have to beaccountedfor and it will impact Weresomeproductlaunchesalsodelayed? profitability. I am expecting that things will Asof today, all our productshave been harmonised. improve from October 1.So, there will bean impact Even though database is different for threebanks, reserved forvirus of 6 months. we have customised. For example, human deployment, changing of the name Howlongcanwe affordalockdown? boards, which was to start from April It is not a question of affordability. “THERE WILLBE 1,has been postponed by a month. We will continue to support our SOME SLIPPAGE, patients: Centre customers in the crisis, but there will Howhave manycustomersavailed impressing upon such borrowers that since bean impact on the credit off-take. WHICH WILL thethree-monthmoratoriumon additional demand for interest is not there for HAVE TO BE loanrepayment? March, April and May, the overdue amount as of PRESS TRUST OF INDIA March 22 and went for lockdown from March Howhave yourtargetschangedfor We have given the facility to all March 1 can bepaid till May 31 sothe account New Delhi, 11 April 25. According to statistical analysis, in the thisyear? ACCOUNTED FOR borrowers, except NBFCs. Opting out remains standard. Because of the lockdown, we are absence of lockdown and other containment We had planned for credit growth of AND IT WILL is automatic if customers pay the trying to reach out to such borrowers by April 30. total of 586 hospitals in the country measures, there would have been a 41 per 8 per cent, but because of Covid-19 it IMPACT money. Sofar, loans outstanding of have been marked as dedicated coro- cent increase and 820,000 coronavirus cases will bearound 6 per cent. On around ~4 trillion, out of the total ~7.5 Howmanysuchborrowersarethere? A by April 15,” Agarwal said. NPAs/slippages, we are keeping our PROFITABILITY. I trillion, have been postponed for the The SMA-2 accounts, outstanding as of March 1,that navirus disease (Covid-19) hospitals, with a capacity of over 100,000 iso- He asserted that measures such as fingers crossed to see how the first AM EXPECTING mergedentity (PNB). have become NPAsfor PNB till March 31 are to the lation beds and 11,500 ICU beds social distancing, lockdown and oth- two quarterspan out. We have seen tune of ~2,000 crore and for the combined entity, are reserved for patients, the Union er containment efforts are important an impact of ~4,000 crore, majority THAT THINGSWILL Isthebankhelpingitsborrowersin around ~4,000 crore. This wouldn’t have happened health ministry said on Saturday. in fighting the battle against coron- of which are MSMEs and retail IMPROVE FROM anywaytodealwiththesituation? if the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t hit the country. But Addressing a press briefing, the avirus. “The response of the accounts, for the bank in March, OCTOBER 1” We have releasedfour new products: quarterly slippageswould not behigh. This loan health ministry’s Joint Secretary Government of India has been pre- which otherwise wouldn’t have For farmers — 25per cent of their amount of ~4,000 crore has the potential for Lav Agarwal said the government emptive, proactive and to the extent been there. existing KCC limits to the maximum upgrade sowe are reaching out to them. has taken preemptive action to CORONAVIRUS of being over-prepared and through of ~50,000, we can give money to identify Covid-19 hotspots in the PANDEMIC our graded approach, we have aligned Howistheemployees’morale them by application. They can repay Howareyoumonitoringyouraccountsinthese country. In the absence of a lock- our response with the evolving situa- giventheyhave toreporttowork in a span of 3 years. We have also circumstances? down and other containment tion. Ministry of AYUSH has prepared duringthelockdown? introduced Tatkal Sahayata Rin for We will launch a campaign known as ‘each one, measures, there would have been over a set of guidelines on respiratory There is no doubt that there is self-help groups, under which we are reach ten, each day’on Sunday, which is our 126th 820,000 coronavirus cases in the country till health and to boost immunity. Districts have pressure to work under these SS MALLIKARJUNA RAO extending loans to the tune of ~5,000 foundation day. We are not conducting any April 15, he said. been asked to incorporate this in the district- circumstances. The reason is we MD &CEO, PNB per member and ~1 lakh for group, programmes as such, but reaching out to all our According to the health ministry, 1,035 level contingency plan as well,” he said. are providing services to citizens. repayable in 3 years. The third customers through employees— every day 10 fresh Covid-19 cases and 40 deaths due to the Agarwal also asserted that there is no Footfall in branches being less, we product is personal loan, equivalent customers will betargetedby an employee. We want disease were reported in the last 24 hours shortage in the country of the anti-malarial are operating with 50 per cent staff sothat we can to threetimes of average monthly salary, up to ~3 to understand the requirements of all customers across the country, taking the total number of drug hydroxychloroquine, cited by many as a protect their health. We are maintaining electronic lakh, and the fourth product is for the bigger group, and act accordingly. cases to 7,447 and deaths to 239 nationwide. viable therapeutic solution to counter the channels efficiently sothat customers continue to additional funding to the extent of 10 per cent of Agarwal said: “586 dedicated Covid-19 hos- coronavirus infection. use it and switch from cash mode. We are regularly working capital without insisting on margin. These Theindustrywantsthebankingsystem’s helpto pitals have been earmarked at the state and Responding to a question, a senior official communicating with employeesand I am myself were launched last week and will address cash flow paythreemonths’wagesofemployeesby Centre level. 100,000 isolation beds and of the Indian Council of Medical Research boosting their morale by appreciating their efforts problems. enhancementofworkingcapitalloans.Howdoyou 11,500 ICU beds have been reserved for coro- (ICMR) said, “500,000 antibody testing kits in thesetough times. There are some sporadic seethis? navirus patients across the country. This fig- ordered by ICMR have not been received yet”. incidents across the country such as crowds being Howareyoumonitoringslippagesofgoodloans Our fourth product, releasedthree-four days ago, is ure is being augmented every day, based on The ICMR official said over 1.7 lakh sam- high in front of the bank branch during the direct intobad? actually covering wages for up to 6 months for firms. the evolving situation.” He further added: ples have been tested in country so far for benefit transfer, which is a cause of concern for the If borrowers categorisedas Stress Mention Account Now, we have to reach out to customers as they have “We had done an analysis on the rate of Covid-19, of which 16,564 samples were test- state authorities, who call up branch managers (SMA)-2 as of March 1 have not paid money till to beaware of the product. By April 30, we will have a growth in cases. We observed Janta curfew on ed on Friday. asking for an explanation or for closing branches. March 31, they are categorisedas NPAs. We are goodnumber of customers availing it.

Edtechfirms’momentinthesun deployed in 12 states, UTs to help administration amid lockdown Closing of educational institutions during lockdown offers promise of huge gains > The Union Health Ministry asks all states to prohibit use and spitting of smokeless ANJULI BHARGAVA tobacco in public places to New Delhi, 11 April prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Free online classes, virtual classrooms, UPSC prep sessions live, career guidance, IIT and JEE coach- > Allow states to carry out ing sessions…the list goes on and on. As the coun- economic activities within try came to a standstill, education technology borders, says Chhattisgarh CM (edtech) and online education companies in India moved into overdrive, leaving no stone unturned > 52 out of 102 people who to grab the attention of students, parents, acade- stayed at 13 mosques at the micians, teachers, schools and the media. Chandni Mahal hotspot Ever since the 21-day nationwide lockdown test positive became an imminent threat, edtech players — Medics use a drone to spray disinfectant at a slum in Noida, UP PHOTO:PTI both for-profit and not-for-profit — started gear- > Pray on Easter that world ing up for the big race. What’s new in this race is emerges victorious in fight against that it includes players who are hoping for some ALLINADAY coronavirus: Vice President Naidu prize money and others just for a trophy. Those Council of ministers to start wards > Private doctors asked to help with running the race are being watched by all their > treatment protocol regular fans, but also by those who previously working from offices on Monday > Worst-affected Haryana districts, ignored them. And the race that began in real > UK to receive first batch of 3 > India could've seen 820,000 including Gurugram, to fall earnest in mid March promises to stretch out for million paracetamol a while (at least till July), giving everyone a fair Covid-19 cases by April 15 sans in red zone: Khattar lockdown: Health ministry packets from India chance. With a captive audience of at least 50- Ashish Dhawan, founder of Central Square Foundation, which offers edtech solutions > Doctors of Indian origin form 100 million students (most players are targeted > Singapore thanks India for > Services at Delhi State global collaborative to fight at the upper end of the market), in the first two state governments in India are aware of. As a remain so after the lockdown ends. Its live ses- Cancer Institute suspended coronavirus facilitating evacuation of its weeks of March, several online and edtech offer- result, both the for-profit and not-for-profit play- sions covering eight subjects for classes 5-12 will till further notice as 21 people test residents ings either began to offer their existing products ers are engaging with governments and private remain free till schools resume. Zishaan Hayath, Helpline facilitates over 3,000 positive at the facility: Official > free or launched new products aimed at pulling schools to see if they can increase their portion of the founder of Toppr said they had seen app stranded J&K residents > 51 Indians among 191 newcoronavirus cases in users at a time when getting their attention the total pie. downloads grow 2x, and paid users grow 3x since > Shipment of across India was relatively easier. The idea was mainly to The frenzy of the 4,600-odd private players in lockdown, albeit at a lower paid fee. “In general, hydroxychloroquine to the US in Singapore The Union Territory of cast their net wider: Target an audience that it the edtech space has been evident in an endless more schools are keen to collaborate with tech likely to start next week: IPA > might have previously ignored. The net now stream of tom-tomming of unverifiable achieve- platforms like ours for digital learning”, he added. Puducherryreported its > Red, orange and green zones may come up during includes those who may have been fence sit- ments on a daily basis with PR companies in over- Impartus — a live classroom platform — has > 200 cases registered, over first Covid-19 death with a 71- ters in normal times because of the cost of sub- drive. To cite a few instances, Bengaluru-head- opened its platform to conduct live online class- 3,500 detained for defying year old man, hailing from Mahe, extended lockdown scriptions or those who cannot easily afford quartered Byju’s, the industry leader, made es completely free to schools and colleges. The lockdown norms in Delhi succumbing to the infection at a their products but can do so at a pinch. products free till end of April. Students in classes company claims it has seen a 10 times surge in hospital in Kannur The race now also has new observers who 1-3 can access math and English lessons and stu- daily usage, 80 new institutions and 500,000 stu- > Railways converts 5,000 were earlier averse or even wary of this alien ani- dents in classes 4-12 can learn math and science dents on-boarded in the past 3 weeks. Amit coaches into isolation > Around 2,000 NCC cadets mal. This includes state governments, who are concepts on the Byju’s app. After freeing content, Mahensaria, the CEO and co-founder of the firm, now scrambling as they begin to grasp the mag- Byju’s added free live classes, where students can says there are a lot of schools and colleges who LOCKDOWN, SOCIAL DISTANCING MOST EFFECTIVE nitude of the crisis and its impact on already attend 3-4 regular sessions per week. The com- have shifted from Zoom and Webex, as their plat- abysmal learning outcomes. It also includes budg- pany claimed that there was an overwhelming form is designed for education and “mirrors the 'SOCIAL VACCINES' TO FIGHT COVID: HEALTH MINISTER et private schools, which don’t have the luxury of response to the free lessons on their learning app physical classroom” experience with focus on offering an online or distance learning platform with 6 million new students learning in March student engagement. The company is also pro- like their elite counterparts. alone. Bengaluru-headquartered Vedantu said it viding complimentary training to first-time What is making the whole grim prospect of typically adds approximately 50,000 new paid online teachers so that their classes are smooth Centre sets up control room to address workers' issues millions of children at home rather exciting in a users to its platform annually. However, during and engaging. This has been done with close to way is the fact that traditional education is one of this crisis, it claims it has added130,000 new users 40,000 teachers. But while many agree that the SOMESH JHA among workers who are living in shel- the labour ministry, has been receiv- the sectors most resistant to any kind of change. (again a company claim) over just 15 days. The crisis does present a real opportunity, it also offers New Delhi, 11 April ter homes or relief camps in various ing distress calls from workers com- That’s where the saying how many teachers does company said it was seeing a 10x growth in users clear and present danger for the weaker prod- states. “We understand that the work- plaining about retrenchment or delay it take to change a light bulb emanates from, hint- signing up in the first week (March 12 is when it ucts and offerings. Ultimately, even if more par- The Union labour and employment ers are going through a period of in receiving salaries. A few days back, ing at the fact that a task that can be performed opened up its platform for free to students). After ents and children experiment with paid plat- ministry has set up control rooms stress and as the lockdown extends, Chief Labour Commissioner Rajan easily by a child cannot be managed by teachers creating awareness amongst the students through forms, the test will be holding the attention of a across the country to receive and look they will be more anxious with the Verma had told regional officers to who are notorious for resisting change at all times. media, they say there has been a surge of 52X in famously fickle entity, a child. into the grievances of workers who prevailing situation. The control do a follow-up of all the complaints The crisis presents a massive opportunity for the number of users signing up till date. Center for Civil Society’s founder Parth Shah have been denied wages, or have been rooms are aimed to listen to their and had taken a status report. players who get their messaging right and have Bengaluru based Educational Initiatives (EI) describes it as a “Schumpeterian” moment for retrenched during the national lock- problems and address them at the The ministry reached out to strong products on offer, says Gouri Gupta, direc- also saw its usage and engagement with edtech players. Schumpeter’s theory of creative down, on a war footing. earliest,” a senior labour and employ- employers in some cases, where the tor, edtech for Central Square Foundation (CSF). Mindspark surge after the lockdown. Mindspark destruction leads to the dismantling of long stand- The labour ministry has made ment ministry official said, request- latter had deducted wages of workers A further opportunity presents itself since is one of the only products with independent ing practices in order to make way for innovation, public a list of 60 officers, who are ing anonymity. The official added or laid them off. However, the CLC both schools and state governments across the impact assessments available in the market. resulting in winners and losers. “The surge in labour commissioners in 20 regions that the micro, small, and medium can only monitor the activities of country are struggling to find the right resources. According to the company, their Mindspark demand provides a laboratory of unparalleled across the country, along with their enterprises have shown concerns of industries belonging to the central While learning at later stages can be delayed or school student numbers doubled while the retail scale and the Schumpeterian creative destruc- email address and contact numbers. poor cash flow, specially over paying sphere. This includes all central PSUs staggered — the Western concept of a gap year is numbers (business-to-customer) rose by 10x after tion would establish which products the market It will deal with distress calls of work- salaries to workers. and private sector units in the civil catching up in India too — the gap for students at the commencement of the lockdown. really needs”. In other words, the next few months ers who are working under the central Ever since the national lockdown aviation, banking and finance, the foundational stage can be quite daunting to Mumbai’s Toppr made video classes, covering could separate the wheat from the chaff, one of sphere. This comes at a time when was put in place, the office of the chief telecommunications, insurance, bridge, a fact that schools and increasingly even 17 subjects for 5th-12th classes, free and these will the few silver linings of this global crisis. there is growing discontentment labour commissioner (CLC), under ports, dock, and mines sectors.