First India-Ahmedabad Edition-17 May 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

30°C - 42°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 171

INDIA

WORLD

3,10,816 46,83,467 2,862 90,398 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

625

GUJARAT

10,989

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,495,492 SPAIN 276,505 RUSSIA 272,043 UK 240,161 ITALY 224,760 BRAZIL 222,877 FRANCE 179,506 GERMANY 175,843 TURKEY 148,067 IRAN 118,392 CANADA 75,770

89,130 27,563 2,537 34,466 31,763 15,046 27,633 8,002 4,096 6,937 5,677

USA

+623 +104 +119 +468 +153 +229 +104 +1 +41 +35 +115

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO

LETTING IT GO!

Mother Nature has an incredible influence on our lives and thanks to the changing nature of life, each and every day presents us with new mysteries! This bed of breathtakingly beautiful red and orange foliage offers us a chance to reconnect with ourselves as we preserve our safe havens during the lockdown in place due to deadly Coronavirus pandemic!

ZAMEEN SE FALAK TAK! IN THE 4TH TRANCHE OF ECONOMIC PACKAGE, GOVERNMENT BROUGHT MASSIVE CHANGES IN EIGHT SECTORS INCLUDING COAL, MINERALS, DEFENCE PRODUCTION, AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT, AIRPORTS, MRO, POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES IN UTS AND SPACE SECTOR COAL SECTOR

For the coal sector, she announced allowing the private sector in commercial mining as well as auction of even partially explored coal blocks. Also, turning coal into liquid or gaseous fuel will be incentivised while rights to exploit of gas lying below coal bed (CBM) in blocks owned by state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) will be auctioned. An investment of Rs 50,000 crore is envisaged in coal evacuation infrastructure to help meet CIL’s target of 1 billion tonnes of production by 2023-24.

Union MoS for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur addresses a press conference as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman looks on.

Aditi Nagar New Delhi: Unveiling the fourth tranche of the Covid economic measures as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Selfreliant India Mission’), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement on Saturday focussed primarily on eight sectors—coal, minerals, defence production, airspace management, airports, MRO, power distribution companies in UTs, space & atomic energy.

MoS Finance Anurag

Thakur said, “Today’s announcements have unleashed a new frontier of business and domestic innovation with private partnerships.

There will be a tectonic shift in how India imports and does business.

These sectors employ millions and will have a great significance in enhancing the economic outlook of the country in this decade. It is given to visionary approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government, Reform – Perform – Transform have been kept in mind while devising the economic stimulus package.”

DEFENCE SECTOR

To boost Make in India in defence production, FM said FDI limit in defence manufacturing will be hiked to 74 per cent from 49 per cent while some weapons and platforms will be banned for imports. Items banned for imports can only be purchased from within the country, she said presenting the fourth tranche of the economic stimulus package.

MINING SECTOR

FM announced structural reforms in mining of minerals through introduction of a seamless composite exploration-cum-mining-cumproduction regime where 500 mining blocks would be auctioned. A joint auction of bauxite and coal mineral blocks would be done to enhance aluminium industry’s competitiveness by reducing power generation cost.

SPACE SECTOR OPENS FOR PVT PLAYERS

Private sector gets a role in India’s space programme, including in satellites, launches and space-based services. For boosting private participation in space activities, government will provide level playing field for private companies in satellites, launches and space-based services. Will also provide predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players, she said while announcing the fourth tranche of the economic stimulus package.

Private sector will be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capacities. Future projects for planetary exploration and outer space travel would be open for private sector, she said, adding liberal geo-spatial data policy will provide remote sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs. Turn on P6

HANDSOME

AND SHY THAKUR! Vaishali

New Delhi: The one line message of his three media session is though he has had a great global exposure, MoS Finance Anurag Thakur still comes across as a shy person who does not like much media attention.

Although certain section of the public and media itself thinks Thakur is one of the most handsome men out there, yet the four time MP chooses to remain subdued!

24 labourers killed as 2 trucks collide in UP

Auraiya: As many as 24 labourers were killed and several injured after the truck they were traveling in, collided with another truck in Auraiya on Saturday morning.

According to the official, the incident occurred at around 3.30 am. All the labourers were mostly from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. 24 people were brought dead, 22 have been admitted and 15 who were critically injured have been referred to Saifai PGI. They were going to Bihar and Jharkhand from Rajasthan.

UP & West Bengal governments announced compensation for the family of the deceased and those injured. PM Modi expressed grief over the deaths.

—ANI

LOCKDOWN 4.0 FROM MAY 18 New Delhi: India will enter into the fourth phase of lockdown from May 18 but with a different set of rules and guidelines as announced by PM Modi on May 11. 90% lockdown may phaseout and only 30 districts in the entire country, including Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur may be under restricted lockdown. Country’s Covid-19 caseload areas are expected to have stricter curbs as compared to other parts.

LAST UPDATED: MAY 16, 2020, 11:00 PM

IN GUJARAT DISTRICT

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

AHMEDABAD VADODARA SURAT RAJKOT BHAVNAGAR ANAND BHARUCH GANDHINAGAR PATAN PANCHMANHAL BANASKANTHA NARMADA CHOTA UDEPUR KUTCH MAHESANA BOTAD DAHOD PORBANDAR JAMNAGAR MORBI SABARKANTHA ARAVALLI MAHISAGAR KHEDA GIR SOMNATH VALSAD TAPI NAVSARI DANG SURENDRANAGAR

8144 639 1049 79 107 82 32 163 38 69 83 13 21 14 75 53 22 4 34 2 32 77 48 40 23 8 2 8 2 4 12 5 1 1 10989

493 32 49 2 8 8 2 6 2 5 4 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 625

DWARKA JUNAGADH RAJASTHAN AMRELI TOTAL

SAMPLES TESTED NEGATIVE CASES

14 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19

1,38,407 1,27,418

UNDER EXAMINATION

0

Gujarat crosses 10K mark, 625 dead, 4,308 discharged WEEK’S WORTH OF SUPERSPREADER DATA TAKES A’BAD TO 973 NEW CASES IN ‘24 HRS’ First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Ahmedabad’s daily tally shot up to 973 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday after the state health department added 709 cases—a week’s worth of super-spreader numbers—on one day.

The city now has 8,144 cases of Sars-CoV-2 infection, 264 of which

were actually reported in the past 24 hours.

As many as 23 pregnant women admitted in the gynaecology ward at Shardaben hospital are among the latest patients infected with Sars-CoV-2.

They, and the doctors on duty at the ward, have been shifted to Civil Hospital and and Sardar Vallabhbhai Hospital for further treatment.

Meanwhile, it re-

CLASS XII SCIENCE RESULTS TODAY

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board will declare the results for the Class XII Science stream on Sunday. Students can visit www.gseb.org for results after 8 am.

SK BJP MP COMPLAINS AGAINST SP

A medical team from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation takes nasal swabs for COVID -19 testing as they conduct door-to-door testing near Rabari Colony crossroads.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

mains unclear why the super-spreader data was not updated

on a daily basis.

According to the state press release, 33,500 su-

per spreaders were screened in Ahmedabad over the past week. Of

Sabarkantha BJP MP Dipsinh Rathod in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has complained about District Superintendent of Police Chaitanya Mandlik. The letter states that, under Mandlik’s leadership, the police is not taking people’s representatives into confidence and are also not considering their suggestions in public interest. these, samples were tested from 6,587 people, 709 of whom were con-

firmed as being infected.

As of Saturday, Gujarat has 10,989 posi-

tive cases and 625 fatalities, with 348 new cases and 19 deaths reported in the past 24 hours. With 273 patients discharged in a one-day period, 4,308 have been discharged so far. With this, the state’s recovery rate—which was 40.63% on Friday— dropped to 39.20% on Saturday.

Till date, 1,38,407 samples have been tested in the state, with 3,961— 811 more than on Friday—being tested in the past 24 hours. Turn on P6

NEWS AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

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LOTUS-POTUS BONDING: PM MODI THANKS TRUMP GOVT FOR VENTILATORS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump. —FILE PHOTO

Donald Trump had announced the decision to send the ventilators on Twitter to underline close relations between the two countries New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday thanked Donald Trump after the US president offered to donate hundreds of ventilators to India to help it fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“Thank you @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. This pandemic is being fought collectively by all of us.

In such times, it’s always important for nations to work together and do as much as possible to make our world healthier and free from COVID-19,” PM Modi tweeted.

“More power to INUS friendship!” he

added.

Trump had announced the decision to send the ventilators on Twitter to underline close relations between the two countries.

“I am proud to announce that the United States will donate ventilators to our friends in India. We stand with India and @narendrmodi during this pandemic,” the president wrote in the tweet, as he went on to acknowledge the vaccine projects.

The United States will airlift 200 mobile ventilators to help Indians combat Covid-19, people familiar with the devel-

opments told HT. One ventilator will cost $13,000 (Rs 9.6 lakh at current exchange rates) approximately and India will have to pay $2.6 million (Rs 192 million) plus freight charges for all of them.

Trump reiterated the point at his press conference later, referring to his India visit in February, the role played by Indian expatriates in the US and described PM Modi as a “good friend of mine”.

“We are working closely with India,” he told reporters.

Trump also said the US and India were cooperating to develop a

vaccine for Covid-19 as more than 4.5 million people have contracted the disease and over 307,000 have died globally.

The US move comes weeks after Prime Minister Modi acted on Trump’s request to reverse a ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that was championed by the US president as a “game-changer” in the fight against the coronavirus disease.

Hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ, is being used in India as prophylaxis for health workers at the frontline of the country’s response to the epidemic.

PM Modi, V-P Naidu wish ‘spiritual, organic’ Sikkim on statehood day New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended greetings on Sikkim’s statehood day, saying the state has enriched India’s progress in many sectors.

On this day in 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of India.

“Greetings on Sikkim’s Statehood Day. Home to talented and compassionate people, Sikkim has enriched national progress in many sectors,” the prime minister tweeted.

He pointed out that

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

—FILE PHOTO

Sikkim’s progress in areas such as organic farming have been admired all over.

“Praying for Sikkim’s progress in the years to come,” he said.

In his message, Vice President Naidu said known for its natural beauty and rich spiritual heritage, Sikkim is India’s first fully organic state, “demonstrating the importance of living in harmony with nature”.

“My best wishes for a happy, healthy & prosperous #Sikkim,” he said.

CM to give gaushalas ‘25 per head of cattle at total cost of ‘30-35 cr Governmentrun hospitals treated 13 lakh OPD patients in the first 2 weeks of May First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has decided to give financial aid of Rs 25 per cattle to gaushalas and panjarapoles, at a total cost of about Rs30-35 crore, Information and Broadcasting Secretary and Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashwani Kumar announced on Saturday.

The move comes at a time when 13 lakh patients have benefited from the out-patient departments of state-run hospitals, which have also treated 66, 000 indoor patients in the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the irrigation portfolio, announced that water from the Narmada Canal will be used to fill 550 lakes of north Gujarat under the Sujalam Sufalam Programme from May 20. On the same lines, 27 reservoirs and 547 check dams will be filled with Narmada water

CM Vijay Rupani held a video conference with officials from cooperative banks on Saturday.

under the Sauni scheme. This will help in meeting the demand for potable water in Saurashtra-Kutch and northern Gujarat. It will also allow farm-

ers to cultivate crops in the summer.

Patel, who is also the state’s health minister, has stated that medics at the state’s 2,144 health

centres, 362 rural and urban community health centres, 1,525 primary health centres have seen 13,61,762 OPD patients and 65,066 in-

door patients in the first half of May. Of these, 53,869 patients were treated for fever and cold, with 4,97,853 patients have taken various tests

including X-rays for 4,559 patients. Every day, 2,000-2,200 births take place at private and government hospitals, he also said.

In his briefing to the

press, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Kumar also stated that as of midnight on Friday, 396 trains had left the state with 5.42 lakh migrant workers. Fifty more trains left from the state on Saturday carrying 68,000 workers to their native states. So far, 14.06 lakh migrant workers have left for their home states across the nation, of which 38% were from Gujarat.

Distribution of free rations to NFSA, Antyodaya and BPL cardholders will begin on Sunday. About 68 lakh cardholders are likely to benefit from the programme

by May 27.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

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03

high discharge Something fishy going on in Despite rate, 53% cases active Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital Gargi Raval

Increasing number of complaints against Civil Hospital could land state in hot water First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The city’s Civil Hospital is turning out to be the Achilles’ heel for Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s government, which has otherwise been called sensible and caring.

In only the most recent example of questionable decisions taken by Civil Hospital administration, a man discharged with a clean bill of health on Thursday was found dead a day later at a BRTS bus stop.

And, there’s been another case where the family of a COVID-19 patient was not informed of their death for a whole week. In addition, First India receiving reports that family members of positive patients are neither being tested

CASE STUDIES

—FILE PHOTO

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

nor quarantined. Anyone who is admitted to hospital summarily loses contact with their family.

On Friday, the body of 67-year-old Ganpat Mackwana was found at the Danilimda BRTS bus stop. According to the police report, Mackwana’s son Dharmendra has stated that his father had been admitted to the Civil Hospital

on May 10 as a confirmed case of COVID-19. He was discharged on May 14, just a day before he was found dead.

It is unclear if the man walked from Civil Hospital to Danilimda, or if an ambulance dropped him off. Hospital authorities have not clarified whether discharged patients are dropped to their

residence in an ambulance or if they are expected to arrange for their own transport.

In the second incident, a family in the walled city area was shocked to receive a call from the hospital on Friday asking them to collect the body of their relative who had died during treatment for COVID-19.

They had already buried their relative the previ-

ous day.

These are not the first such cases. Just a few days ago, First India had reported that a cancer patient’s death was not reported to his family members for one week. Now, another case has come to light where a family of a patient who was admitted on May 04 and died on 06 was not informed of his death for eight days.

Ahmedabad: On Friday, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi claimed that the state had a recovery rate of 40.63%. It is interesting to note that this high recovery number only came after the Central government revised its patient discharge policy. However, the state still has a whopping 5,291 COVID-19 patients under hospital care.

With 62% cases still active, Ahmedabad remains the hardest hit.

The city and district account for 60% of the state’s active cases. As many as 5,106 of the total 8,144 cases reported here are still considered to be active.

According to senior physician Dr Pravin Garg, “The discharge rate has been increasing because of the new policy adopted by the Central government. Earlier. patients used to stay in the hos-

A medical team takes a sample.

As many as 5,106, or 62%, of Ahmedabad’s total 8,144 cases are still active cases pital for up to or even more than 30 days.

Now, patients are getting discharged within a week or less. In the coming days, there will be more discharged patients than active ones.”

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Saturday issued a list of hospitals and assigned as

AMC out of health Opinions divided on agro product deregulation cards for vendors, extends validity First India Bureau

Shop owners and vegetable vendors queue up for health cards in Ahmedabad’s Chandlodiya on Friday. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: A queue more than a kilometre long was lined up at the urban health centre in Indrapuri ward of the civic body on Saturday, when vendors showed up to receive their health cards. The cards being issued by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) permits them to operate their business for one week. After the civic body ran out of cards, it has extended the validity of the cards to two weeks.

However, due to a shortage of cards at centres near their homes, several vendors from other areas queued up at Indrapuri. On Friday, officer on special duty at the civic body Rajiv Gup-

SMART MOVE

Ahmedabad: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that the Centre will amend the Essential Commodities Act by deregulating agricultural products.

The move was aimed to provide farmers with leverage to fetch good prices. Whether this will actually happen, is yet to be seen.

Agriculturist and Gujarat Kisan Sabha president Dahyabhai

Patel has strongly condemned the deregulation, calling it a hoarder-friendly decision set to benefit foreign investors. “If Indian farmers had crop holding capacity, they never would have been victims of trader exploitation. Until now, it was the local traders looting farmers, now big-time multinational companies will do the same,” he stated.

Elaborating on his stance, Patel said, “The minimum support price (MSP) of cotton is

—FILE PHOTO

Market yard in Gondal.

Rs1,100 for 20 kg, against which farmers have been receiving Rs800-900. Similarly, the MSP of wheat is Rs385 but, farmers have never

DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

Economist Hemant Shah feels differently.

“We should experiment with the deregulation and give it time. For 65 years, these products have been under essential commodities and yet farmers have never benefited. When late Prime Minister Morarji Desai removed sugar from essential commodities in 1978-79, sugar prices crashed. I am optimistic that this decision will help not just the farmers but also the customers,” he opined.

been paid beyond Rs340.

Once the agricultural commodities are placed on the open market, it will worsen the situation for the farmers.”

2% extra rebate for online property tax First India Bureau

ta stated that there were 700 super-spreaders (vendors) who had tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 in the city. During last week’s blanket ban, the AMC authorities had suspended operations of all vendors (fruits, vegetables, and grocery shops) and screened and tested them.

Two men fish in the Sabarmati river while perched amid the pillars of the century-old Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad, during the ongoing lockdown.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

body also provides a 10% rebate to senior citizens separately. Therefore, if the taxes are paid online

by May 31, senior citizens will stand to get another 10% rebate along with the existing 12%, taking the total refund amount to 22%.

The SMC’s tax collection has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown. As compared to last year’s figure of Rs208 crore in advance property tax, this year, the civic body has collected only Rs27 crore through online or offline payments.

Surat: The standing committee of local civic body Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Friday decided to give an additional two percent rebate on property tax to promote online payments.

Every year, in the month of April, citizens who paid SMC’s property tax in advance were given a 10% rebate. After extending the scheme till May this year, the additional two percent will increase the rebate to 12%. Notably, the civic

CURB VIRUS, NOT TESTING

Gujarat should be testing 8,000 samples daily, says expert Haresh Jhala Ahmedabad: According to experts, the only solution to control the spread of COVID-19 infection is testing, locating and isolating confirmed patients. If a prolonged strategy is put in practice, sample testing should not be reduced at any cost.

In a conversation with First India, Dr K Kolandaswamy, who retired last month as Tamil Nadu’s director of

Public Health and Preventive Medicine suggested that Gujarat needs to be testing at least 8,000 samples per day. He based his suggestion on the high-risk urban population, where the virus infection is more likely to spread.

According to medical experts, people residing in major cities have a high chance of contracting the virus than people in second-tier cities or small towns.

The people in villages

We are not paying heed to vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, pregnant women and people already suffering from other illnesses.

—Dr K Kolandaswamy,

Former Director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Tamil Nadu

or rural areas have a comparatively lower risk of contracting the infection.

“We are not paying heed to vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, pregnant women and people already suffering from other illnesses. It is advisable that aggressive testing be conducted on these groups. They should be moved to a low-risk area, or at least be asked to self-isolate,” he said.

“There will be a flatter curve in terms of number of cases, but when in case of a sudden spurt the situation

may get out of control,” he added.

He strongly believes that hand sanitizers cannot replace soap and water. The former director highly recommends washing hands only with soap and running water in order to get rid of all dirt and germs. Dr Kolandaswamy also suggested setting up hand wash facilities at public places such as roadsides, building entrances, bus stops and railway stations.

Gujarat

Tamil Nadu

Population (crore)

6.5

8.5

Government labs

15

38

Private labs

7

20

Total samples tested (as of May 15)

1,27,859

3,03,104

Daily average testing

3,000-4,000 11,000-12,000

Positive cases (as of May 15)

9,932

10,108

Deaths

606

71

Discharged patients

4,035

2,599

Patients under treatment 5,291

6,520

—FILE PHOTO

many as 42 private hospitals as designated COVID-19 hospitals with a ceiling price. The listed hospitals will reserve 50% of the total beds for the patients referred by the civic body while remaining beds can be used privately to suit their own needs.

“More health facilities with proper hospital infrastructure are being added keeping in mind future needs. It is likely that cases will increase in the city. At present, existing COVID-19 facilities are running at capacity,” said an AMC official.

Wedding organizer held in Bhuj: DGP Jha

DGP Shivanand Jha

First India Bureau Gandhinagar: A wedding organizer has been booked in Bhuj town for violation of approval stipulations and not practising social distancing at a wedding on Saturday. Police have also relaxed lockdown norms for farmers moving out from their homes for work.

On Saturday, Director-General of Police (DGP) Shivanand Jha said, “All agriculture and related activities have been granted relaxation from the lockdown. The police cannot stop farmers from work and any complaints by the farmers will be taken seriously.”

The DGP further stated, “In Bhuj town, a family was granted permission to organize a wedding with 30 guests.

But, when police checked out the venue, over 60 people were present at the event and social distancing was not practiced by anyone.

A complaint has been lodged against the organizers of the wedding in violation of the lockdown.”

Meanwhile, a total of 810 cases have been filed against 1,666 people for spreading rumours.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

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IN-DEPTH

SPEEDING UP CASH FLOW TO REVIVE ECONOMY

FIVE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES THAT GOVERNMENT MUST PRIORITISE

W

e seem to be fumbling at every step of our fight with the novel coronavirus even as lockdown restrictions are being eased to revive the economy. The sudden shutdown left lakhs of migrant workers in different states staring at a stark future.

These traumatised men, women, and children began marching back to their home states. On the way, policemen waited as if in ambush, to greet them with lathi blows.

Some of them were even put in jail for violating the restrictions. Their woes were compounded by penury, hunger, and thirst.

What motivated them to brave all adversity was the fervent desire to reach home come hail or storm. Sadly, few states understood the scale of the reverse migration which had begun in the right earnest. An insensitive bureaucracy further complicated matters all across.

After over 50 days of lockdown and death of around 100 migrants due to fatigue, starvation, and road accidents, Union Home Ministry issued a circular telling state to ensure that migrant workers don’t walk their way back home. What prevented the Centre and state governments from providing help to these hapless hordes? Is it due to a lack of empathy and respect for the poor man’s dignity? Perhaps labourers do not trust the bureaucracy after what they experienced.

Shelter homes and quarantines without basic facilities of food and toilet have dominated television news forcing one to once again ask if officials are ever sensitised to human misery. To alleviate the misery of eight crore migrants, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised one nation, one ration card facility, a long-term proposition, even as they would immediately require a job and some cash to pick up the threads once again.

With migrants’ issues dominating the Covid-19 narrative economic revival has been relegated to the second spot. To some extent, the tranches announced by Nirmala Sitharaman are responsible for the subdued response to her proposals. She has promised concessional credit to farmers, small credit to street vendors, and Rs 3 lakh crore credit to MSMEs. How many of the loan seekers from the above categories will be able to get the loan will largely depend on the discretion of bank officials who would be wary of adding to their non-productive assets.

How will farmers and floriculturists be compensated for the crops they have had to destroy because the supply chain lay disrupted? Even if they do get the help, how soon will they be able to restart to make up for the losses and also repay their loans is anybody’s guess.

What the FM has not mentioned so far is about reviving demand. With little or no cash in hand, unemployment numbers likely to be high, labour reforms being made exploitative and prices expected to zoom after the lockdown, how does one boost consumer and capital demand is a challenge staring us in the face?

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

F

The growing rift between the USA and Iran.

Sanctions have been imposed on Iran by the US and there is the UN Embargo under which countries are prevented from selling advanced weapons to Iran.

Iran’s economic situation is dire.

The US President threatening Iran will be counterproductive

or the last few months, humankind has had only one item on its agenda, coronavirus. It is global, deadly.

Hospitals, doctors, and nurses, the media, and governments have given almost all their time to this pandemic.

Patients with heart, kidney, liver, cancer, and other fatal disease have not received the attention and care they do.

To some extent, this is understandable but is no comfort or consolation to no Covid-19 patients. So far the priority has been to cope with the coronavirus. Now that governments and institutions have concluded that COVID-19 is not going away from the world, so one must turn to major international problems that can no longer be set aside.

I shall name five. One. In which direction will the US and China relations proceed. Will existing tensions continue, ease, or increase. Will America anti- China’s verbal overkill continues. Secondly, will China come clean and disclose facts.

The two sides must resort to diplomacy. Also, China shall not bend. It is a great nation and will never bow. It is used to coping with crises. The real worry is that in the White House a steady hand is not visible.

Two. The growing rift between the USA and Iran.

Sanctions have been imposed on Iran by the US and there is the UN Embargo under which countries are prevented from selling advanced weapons to Iran.

Iran’s economic situation is dire. The US President threatening Iran will be counterproductive. Its European allies are not with the US when it comes to Iran.

Regardless of the arms embargo, Iran has not changed its regional policies. Russia will be only too willing to supply arms to Tehran. One reality that is costing Iran deer is the dramatic fall in the price of oil.

Three. The Israel-Palestine problem continues to simmer.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not win the recent national election. He did not even scrape through. His hold overpower is tenacious. Yet he wants to annex the West-bank permanently. What will keep Prime Minister Netanyahu in the office is his warm friendship with President Trump? The twostate solution is all but dead.

Four. What about Britain and the European Union.

The UK cannot do without the European Union and the EU needs the UK Brexit has not disappeared. The real tragedy for the UK and the European Union is weak and uninspiring leadership on both sides of the channel.

Additionally, Corona Virus has caused havoc in the UK The transition period following the UK leaving the European Union expires on 31 st December. The future UK- EU relations remains cloudy. This is worrying.

Five. Climate change. This is the greatest problem facing the World. Yet, the The most powerful country’s President takes no interest in this issue. This is not the only abdication of duty, but it is also utterly irresponsible. He walked out of the Paris

Serious concerns are being expressed that in a few months a second wave may hit the USA and the UK. Deaths are on the rise. The worse sufferers are pregnant mothers and their newborn babies

climate change conference.

Such indifference to so vital an issue is unfortunate. The USA has always given a lead in times of crisis. It is now left to former President Barak Obama to give the people of hope and succor.

President Trump’s priority now is to get re-elected in November. He’s calling his democratic opponents names shows the President in poor light and lack in manners.

His initial reaction to the

Why women make better crisis leaders W

hile many countries continue to grapple with escalating COVID-19 outbreaks, two have declared theirs effectively over: New Zealand and Iceland. It is no coincidence that both countries’ governments are led by women.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Icelandic counterpart Katrín Jakobsdóttir have both received considerable – and well-deserved – praise for their leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. But they are not alone: of the top ten best-performing countries (in terms of testing and mortality), four – Estonia, Iceland, New Zealand, and Taiwan – have woman leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Danish Prime Minister

04

Mette Frederiksen have also been commended for their pandemic leadership.

Women account for less than 7% of the world’s leaders, so the fact that so many have distinguished themselves during the COVID-19 crisis is noteworthy. But that’s not all.

Some of the worst-performing countries are led by unapologetically oldfashioned “men’s men.”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s entire persona channels a retrograde masculinity and a patriarchal view of women.

Accordingly, he has called the virus a “measly cold,” boasting that he “wouldn’t feel anything” if infected.

In the United Kingdom – which has recorded the most COVID-19 deaths in Europe – Prime Minister Boris Johnson also has a history of sexist comments. Like Bolsona-

Women account for less than 7% of the world’s leaders, so the fact that so many have distinguished themselves during the COVID-19 crisis is noteworthy

ro, Johnson’s first instinct was to minimize the threat COVID-19 poses, though he changed his tune after being infected and ending up in an intensive-care unit.

It’s the same story with US President Donald Trump. A leader who came to power gloating about powerful men’s ability to assault women sexually – which he and his supporters dismissed

as “locker-room banter” – Trump has often worn his misogyny like a badge of honor. He, too, has consistently downplayed the COVID-19 crisis, focusing instead on “making China pay” for allowing the virus to spread beyond its borders.

Just as leaning into masculine stereotypes seems to correlate with poor pandemic responses, many observers seem to believe that woman leaders’ success may be rooted in their traditionally “feminine” qualities, such as empathy, compassion, and willingness to collaborate. Forbes called Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s televised address to her country’s children an example of the “simple, humane innovations” that are possible under female leadership.

This reading is outdat-

ed, reductive, and simply wrong. Trump and his ilk may act tough, but ultimately their leadership is an incompetent charade of bluster, vacillation, and self-aggrandizement. High-performing female leaders, by contrast, have been resolute, assessed the evidence, heeded expert advice, and acted decisively.

Following the mantra “go hard and go early,” Ardern imposed a strict lockdown four days before New Zealand’s first COVID-19 death. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen introduced more than a hundred public-health measures in January – when the World Health Organization was still casting doubt on the possibility of humanto-human transmission.

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pandemic was not serious.

Even now he is blaming doctors working for him in the White House. What an extraordinary way to function.

His chances of getting reelected have apparently decreased mainly due to his erratic handling of the crisis produced by the Virus.

The Modi government needs to be commending for the efficient and caring manner in which he has kept the Chief Ministers and public at large of the progress that has been made in checking the spread of the virus.

Exceptions are four states.

The worst-hit are Gujarat and Maharashtra. In these states, there is no let-up.

However, there is no room for complacency.

Serious concerns are being expressed that in a few months a second wave may hit the USA and the UK. Deaths are on the rise. The worse sufferers are pregnant mothers and their newborn babies. This is painful beyond words. Let me quote the English poet Tennyson: “I sometimes hold it half a sin To put in words the grief I feel For words like nature Half reveal and half Conceal the soul within.”

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Ahmed Patel @ahmedpatel Migrant crisis is now as big as corona pandemic itself. Govt cannot be a bystander as poor either go hungry or lose their lives in accidents. Speeches are not a solution.1000 cr of PM care funds must reach their hands. If need be govt must use Army to help migrants reach safely Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal To provide relief to migrant labour, Indian Railways is ready to run “Shramik Special” trains from any District in the Country.

District Collectors should prepare lists of stranded labour & destination and apply to Railways through the State nodal officer.

Spiritual SPEAK

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father.

—Matthew 13:43

Vol 1 Issue No. 171 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.

Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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Think about people: RaGa

05

AURAIYA ACCIDENT

Government must reconsider the Rs 20L cr economic package, the Gandhi scion said New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the financial package announced by the Centre as the country continues its fight against coronavirus.

“Today our poor people need money; I am requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he should reconsider this package. He should consider direct bank transfer, MGNREGA for 200 days and money to farmers directly, as these people are our future,” said Rahul Gandhi during a press conference held via video call.

“I have heard that the reason behind not giving money to people is ratings. It is being said that if we increase our deficit today, the foreign

CBSE Board exam dates to come out on Monday

New Delhi: HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank twweted, “#CBSE is taking into consideration some additional technical aspects before finalising the datesheets of the board exams of classes 10th and 12th, due to which, the date sheets will now be released by Monday i.e. 18-05-2020.

Inconvenience caused is sincerely regretted,” HRD minister tweeted.

The pending exams of class 12 will be conducted from July 1 to 15. The examinations were earlier halted twice this year, first due to violence at Maujpur-Babarpur areas of North East Delhi, and later due to coronavirus pandemic.

The exams will now be conducted only for 29 major exams – includes six exams for class 10 students for North-East Delhi and 12 subjects for students of class 12 to be held across the country. —ANI

Pained by the news of the death of 24 labourers and injuries to many people in the accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish speedy recovery for those injured.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with migrant workers, who were walking near Sukhdev Vihar flyover in New Delhi on Saturday, to return to their home states. Party workers later arranged vehicles to take them to their home state.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Congress Leader

tre. “Do NYAY temporarily, but please start putting money directly into small businesses, into the migrants' bank accounts, if we do not, we will have a catastrophic result,” he said.

NYAY scheme promised to provide Rs 72,000

annually to the poorest 20 per cent families, in Congress-ruled states.

PM Modi had announced Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package for the country to become 'self-reliant and fight coronavirus.

SC declares its summer break as a period of functioning

Call the army, says BJP leader Kirit Somaiya

declared as period of functioning,” the apex court said in a notification on Friday.

The rest of the aforesaid notification dated October 14, 2019 remains unchanged, it said.

The top court had on Friday decided to continue its work during the summer vacation, and that too, with almost the full strength of the court and committing to work as much as possible at least till June 19. —ANI

Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP leader, Kirit Somaiya demanded immediate deployment of Army in Maharashtra as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state. He had earlier shared a video on his twitter page claiming that a crowd gathered at a market on Friday. In the video, he questioned the Uddhav Thackeray-led government and asked, “Where is Thackeray government's police?” —ANI

agencies will downgrade our ratings,” he said.

“Our ratings are made by India, by farmers, by labourers, small and big businesses who need money. Now, is the time think about India not others,” the Congress leader said.

New Delhi: In view of the court functioning affected due the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the Supreme Court has decided to declare its summer vacation as a period of functioning of the court.

“In a partial modification of notification of even number dated October 14, 2020, notifying the list of Supreme Court Holidays, 2020 and the summer vacation of the court, it is hearby notified that the

He emphasised that people need to be provided with financial help directly.

He also suggested that the NYAY scheme, proposed by the Congress during LS elections last year, maybe introduced by the Cen-

five-week period from May 18, 2020, to June 19, 2020 of the summer vacation of the Supreme Court calander 2020 has been rescheduled and

—ANI

Priyanka slams govt over migrants death New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the government for failing to provide buses to migrant workers who were killed in an accident in Auraiya district and said the government remains 'oblivious' to everything.

“The heartbreaking incident has once again raised the question that after all what is the government thinking to not provide proper arrangements for the workers to go home? Why are buses not being run to take laborers inside the state? Either the government does not see anything or..” Priyanka said in a tweet.

The Congress leader further said “Is the government's job only to deliver statements?

They remain oblivious even after seeing everything,” she

The heartbreaking incident has once again raised the question that after all what is the government thinking to not provide proper arrangements for the workers to go home? Why are buses not being run to take laborers inside the state? Either the government does not see anything or..”

—Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Cong Gen Secy Disturbed by news of the tragic accident in Auraiya, UP in which 23 workers died. I request all BJP workers to fully cooperate with administration in relief work. My condolences to the families of victims. I pray to God for quick recovery of the injured.

—JP Nadda, BJP National President tweeted.

Priyanka further requested to send the bodies to respective family members and in addition to that, the injured should be provided with proper treatment.

In yet another mishap involving migrants, 24 labourers were killed after the truck they were traveling in, collided with another truck in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district. —ANI

‘1,034 Shramik trains ‘Wear masks to fight Corona’ NPR-2021 exercise postponed in UP being run since May 1’ New Delhi: Union Railway and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that the Indian Railways has operated 1,034 Shramik Special trains to transport the stranded migrant workers across the country.

In a tweet, Goyal said, “To bring back the workers till date, the Railways has operated 1,034 Shramik Special trains. Out of which 106 were operated yesterday (Friday). Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has taken steps positively and 80 per cent of the total Shramik Special trains have been operated by these two states.”

SOLDIER’S WIDOW DONATES RS 2 LAKH TO PM CARES FUND New Delhi: Moved by the gesture of an 82-year-old widow of a soldier who lost his life in the 1965 war to donate Rs 2 lakhs to PM CARES fund, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat urged everyone to follow her example. 82-year old Darshani Devi of U’khand whose husband was a Havaldar in the Army and

—Rahul Gandhi

Police officials put a body of a migrant in an ambulance who was killed in the accident.

died in the 1965 war with Pakistan, donated Rs 2 lakhs from her savings to the PM CARES fund.

The Indian Railways has started to run Shramik Special trains to transport the stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists since May 1.

Till date the railways has transported over 12 lakh people across the country in these Shramik Special trains. —ANI

New Delhi: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan interacted with around 660 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) on completion of four years of the ambitious scheme launched to improve the health of women.

The minister, besides inquiring about the availability and delivery of gas amid lockdown, appealed to everyone to wear masks and encouraged people to download the Aarogya Setu app. Apart from beneficiaries, officials and stakeholders too participated in the

5 MIGRANT WORKERS KILLED AS TRUCK OVERTURNS IN MP Bhopal: Five migrant workers died in an accident in Madhya Pradesh as the truck they were travelling in overturned on Sagar-Chhatarpur road. Another 18 co-passengers got injured in the incident. According to police, on Saturday morning the cargo truck was going from Sagar to Chhatarpur. The driver lost control of the vehicle near Semra Bridge and it overturned there. The accident took place under the Bakswaha police station area of Chhatarpur district. The injured have been admited to the hospital in Banda.

video conference.

“I want to appeal to our Ujjawala family to wear masks and encourage everyone to wear it. Corona can stay for months while our scientists are working to find a vaccine for it. Till then there is only one cure which is to wear masks, which can be your dupatta as well.

We need to defeat Corona,” Pradhan said.

Speaking to one of the beneficiaries from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, the minister asked if she was getting free wheat and pulses. He also urged the beneficiary to motivate and ensure that her friends and family downloaded the Aarogya Setu app.

The minister also asked beneficiaries whether they were satisfied with steps taken

by PM Modi to contain Coronavirus. Everyone answered in affirmative & praised the government for measures taken to contain COVID-19. —ANI

UP NO LESS IN NATION BUILDING, PRASADA SLAMS COLLEAGUE New Delhi: Congress leader from UP Jitin Prasada has hit out at his party colleague and data analytics department chief Praveen Chakravarty after and old video of the latter where he is seen analysing the resource allocation between states for a media house, went viral.

Prasada said contribution of UP can’t be ignored

in nation building. “The migrants that you see headed back home to UP are the ones fuelling the growth in the states you are talking about. You cannot ignore UP’s contribution to nation building and India’s growth story,” said Prasada. Chakravarty, head of data dept of Congress criticised the party in a video message.

New Delhi: In the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak, the first phase of Census 2021 & updation of National Population Register (NPR) has been postponed until further orders in Uttar Pradesh.

The Census 2021 was scheduled to be conducted in two phases-Phase I i.e. House List-

ing and Housing Census during April-September, 2020 & Phase II i.e. Population Enumeration from February 9 to February 28, 2021.

The updation of NPR was also proposed to be done along with the Phase I of Census 2021 in all States and Union Territories, except Assam. —ANI

DELHI: 3 MORE CISF PERSONNEL TEST POSITIVE New Delhi: Three more Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the force to 118 across the country , said the CISF on Saturday. Among the new cases reported, one case was reported from Mumbai Airport, one from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and one from the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSEL), Kolkata. A total of four personnel were cured and discharged on Saturday.

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‘Give free ration to 8 cr migrants’

State govts were asked to immediately lift food grains from the godowns & distribute them for free New Delhi: As hundreds of migrants continue to travel a long distance in this COVID-19 crisis, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday appealed to state governments to immediately lift food grains and pulses from the godowns and distribute them for free within a fortnight to 8 crore migrants who neither have centre nor state ration card.

According to the Food Ministry, about 142 lakh migrants will benefit in Uttar Pradesh

and in Bihar (86.45 lakh), Maharasthra (70 lakh), West Bengal (60.1 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (54.64 lakh), Rajasthan (44.66 lakh), Karnataka (40.19 lakh), Gujarat (38.25 lakh), Tamil Nadu (35.73 lakh), Jharkhand (26.37 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (26.82 lakh) and Assam (25.15 lakh).

In the national capital, about 7.27 lakh migrants will get free 5 kg food grains per person and 1 kg chana per family for May and June.If the number of migrants exceeds the current estimation of 8

crore, the Centre is ready to provide additional grains for free supply but the identified person should be genuine which state

governments have to validate,” Paswan told the media via video conference here.

The allocation has been made consider-

ing 10 per cent of the existing 81 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA ( National Food Security Act).

The free food distribution to 8 crore migrants for two months was announced by the Centre on May 14 as part of an economic package to help those who bore the brunt of the clampdown to fight the COVID-19 crisis. ”This decision is in the interest of migrants.

Congress may say give more quantity of foodgrains for free.

The NFSA, under

which 5 kg per person subsidised grain is given to 81 crore through PDS, was framed during the UPA time. But, the Modi government is doing maximum.

This is not the end of all. The Prime Minister is sensitive and aware of the situation,” Paswan noted.

Paswan, an NDA ally, further said his ministry has made all arrangements, but the state governments which have to implement at the ground level, have to be proactive in this regard. —ANI

AIRLINES TO CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY

149 FLIGHTS, 40 COUNTRIES: VANDE ‘Yes, our aircraft are BHARAT MISSSION PHASE II BEGINS New Delhi: Vande Bharat Mission, which started on May 7 to bring back stranded Indian nationals back home from other countries, initiated its second phase of operation from Saturday (May 16) by sending three Air India flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Under the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission a total of 149 flights, including feeder flights, will be operated to bring back Indi-

ans from 40 countries.

Out of the 149 flights, 13 flights will come from the US, 11 from the UAE, 10 from Canada, 9 each from

Saudi Arabia & UK, 8 each from Malaysia, Oman, 7 each from Kazakhstan and Australia. India began phased repatriation of its citi-

zens stranded abroad from May 7.

In the second phase, 31 flights will come to Kerala, 22 to Delhi, 17 to Karnataka, 16 to Telangana, 14 to Gujarat, 12 to Rajasthan, nine to Andhra Pradesh, seven to Punjab, six each to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, three to Odisha, two to Chandigarh, and one each to Jammu and Kashmir, Jaipur, Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh. —ANI

CHINA’S SANY GROUP DONATES 1MILLION MASKS TO INDIA

135 BSF PERSONNEL RECOVERED SO FAR

New Delhi: In order to help India fight against the coronavirus pandemic, China-based Sany Group has donated about a million masks to India as well as other South Asian countries.

It has been reported that this is the largest donation of medical protective articles to any overseas country by the Chinese company. Indian Embassy supported the move.

New Delhi: As many as 135 BSF personnel have recovered from COVID-19 so far, as per information provided by BSF. Since yesterday, 98 BSF personnel have been discharged from hospitals after testing negative for COVID-19 post treatment. While 42 personnel were discharged from Jodhpur, 31 were discharged from Tripura and 25 from Delhi. —ANI

‘NO HUGS, NO HANDSHAKES THIS EID’ New Delhi: Prominent Muslim clerics advised the community members not to hug each other and shake hands on Eid on May 26 and maintain social distancing. “Since the entire world is at present battling coronavirus, the happiness of Eid is in not hugging each other and not shaking hands this time over,” said Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation. —ANI

CYCLONE AMPHAN: IGC INITIATES MEASURES Kolkata: In view of cyclone build-up, the Indian Coast Guard has initiated various measures in co-ordination with West Bengal & Odisha.

“Indian Coast Guard has initiated various measures in co-ordination with West Bengal and Odisha. ICG vessels are directing fish-

ing boats to return to harbour and giving warming in local language,” said CPRO Kolkata, Ministry of Defence. A private forecaster, Skymet weather said that coastal areas of Andhra, Odisha and West Bengal are vulnerable to Cyclone Amphan. —ANI

New Delhi: A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark IV warship built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair by Lt. General P S Rajeshwar, the commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

The warship, INLCU L57, is the seventh LCU Mark IV to be inducted into the Indian Navy, the government-run GRSE said in an official statement.

LCU Mark IV is an amphibious ship with its primary role being transportation and deployment of main battle tanks, armoured

towards self-reliant India. He said Prime Minister’s mantra of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’ is the key of India’s phenomenal

growth in the last six years.

“I thank PM Narendra Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for today’s landmark deci-

sions which will surely boost our economy and further our efforts towards Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

“A strong, secure and empowered India is PM Narendra Modi’s topmost priority. Raising the FDI limit in defence manufacturing to 74 per cent and banning import of selected we a p o n s / p l a t f o r m s with year-wise timelines will surely boost ‘Make in India’ and reduce our import burden,” he added. —PTI

POWER Gallery SACHAN REPATRIATED TO DOT

Shiv Shankar Sachan, who was Director in the Ministry of Skill Development, has been repatriated to his parent DoT. He is an ITS officer.

COTTON CORPORATION TO GET NEW CMD IN PK AGARWAL ON JUNE 1

Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, Director (Marketing), CCI, will be taking over the charge as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Cotton Corporation of India Limited (CCI) on June 1, 2020. Agarwal, whose appointment to the post has been approved by the ACC, will succeed Dr Alli Rani retiring in May this year.

RAJESH GOEL TAKES OVER AS DG, NAREDCO

Rajesh Goel has taken over the charge as Director General, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

RLY MINISTRY ADVERTISES TWO VACANCIES OF VC (JUDICIAL), RCT IN ADVANCE

The Railway Ministry has now advertised for two posts of Vice Chairman (Judicial) in the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) at Mumbai and Secunderabad for vacancies anticipated upto December 31, 2020.

EXTENSION OF JURISDICTION OF CAT, CHANDIGARH NOTIFIED

The jurisdiction of CAT, Chandigarh has been extended. According to Notification, now UTs of J&K & Laddakh will also come under CAT, Chandigarh. Other states under CAT, Chandigarh are- states of Himanchal, Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh UT. CAT, GUWAHATI HAS BIGGEST JURISDICTION New Delhi: With the possibility of resuming domestic flights soon, airlines in India have submitted their aircraft’s airworthiness report to the country’s aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

As per the set protocol, airlines have to submit their aircraft details to the DGCA and the MoCA before the resumption of their flight operations.

“Airlines are submitting their aircraft’s status and airworthiness report to the regulator,” sources in the MoCA told ANI. The Central government is planning to start domestic flights with several guidelines, but as of now, no clear

THE DIRECTIVE

vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore.

“The first ship of the Mark IV LCU Vessels INLCU L51 was commissioned into Indian Navy in March 2017,” the GRSE said.

The entire design of these LCU Mark IV ships has been developed in-house by GRSE

Among the 17 CATs, the Guwahati CAT has the biggest jurisdiction. Apart from Assam, it has other six states of NE. PAWAN KUMAR SINGH APPOINTED DDG, POSTAL DIRECTORATE

Pawan Kumar Singh has been appointed DDG (FS), Postal Directorate, New Delhi. He is a 2000 batch officer of Indian Postal Service.

T NIRMALA DEVI APPOINTED PMG, HQ REGION, AHMEDABAD

T Nirmala Devi has been appointed PMG, HQ region, Ahmedabad Gujarat circle. She is a 2000 batch officer of Indian Postal Service. instruction has been given to them.

MoCA has informed all aviation stakeholders including airlines through the draft SOPs that “people over the age of 80 will not be allowed to travel in the first phase of flight commencement.” Central Govt and AAI have issued instructions for passengers. —ANI

LCU L57 warship inducted into Navy

Strong, secure, empowered India PM Modi’s top priority, says Shah New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hailed the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the fourth tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package and said that a “strong, secure and empowered India” is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s topmost priority.

In a series of tweets, Amit Shah said the landmark decisions will boost the economy and strengthen efforts

ready to fly again’

06

as per requirements specified by the Navy.

“The seventh of the eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ship INLCU L57, built at GRSE, Kolkata, a Mini Ratna Category 1 and leading shipyard of the country, was commissioned at May 15 at Port Blair by Lt. General PS Rajeshwar,” it said. —PTI

APPAKANNU GOVINDARAJAN APPOINTED PMG, NORTHERN REGION

Appakannu Govindarajan has been appointed PMG, Northern region, Muzaffarpur, Bihar circle.

He is a 2000 batch officer of Indian Postal Service.

METICULOUS EFFORTS BY CBI OFFICER, SUMAN KUMAR PAVES WAY FOR MALLAY’S EXTRADITION

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lauded the painstaking investigation, the hard work and the meticulous efforts undertaken by the investigating officer, Suman Kumar, Additional SP in successfully pursuing investigation and extradition proceedings against the economic offender and fugitive, Vijay Mallya. The High Court of Justice, London, UK has rejected the application of the liquor baron Mallya seeking permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against its order.

POST OF CMD IN J&K BANK BIFURCATED

According to a few reliable official sources, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, has bifurcated the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Jammu & Kashmir Bank subject to the Reserve Bank of India’s approval.

FROM PG 1 Gujarat crosses...

Three new cases have emerged from rural Ahmedabad in the past 24 hours, taking the rural tally to 133. Viramgam, Dholka and Sanand Taluka reported one case each.

Following a meeting between Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel and in-charge Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar, aggressive screening and sampling will be conducted at 160 locations in 10 wards over the next 15 days. The task has been assigned to AUDA (Ahmedabad Urban De-

velopment Authority) Chief Executive Officer Atul Gaur. Dhanvantri ambulances will be used to conduct the tests.

Zameen se...

Discoms in UTs to be privatised: Electricity distribution companies in Union Territories (UTs) will be privatised and this is expected to provide a model to be replicated in states later to improve efficiency and attract investment.

FM said there is suboptimal performance of power distribution and supply in the country.

She said privatisation of discoms will lead to

better service to consumers and improvement in operational and financial efficiency in power distribution.

Restrictions on Indian air space use: Finance Minister announced easing of restrictions on utilisation of Indian air space, benefiting civil aviation sector by about Rs1,000 crore per year. She said only 60& of Indian airspace is freely available.

More air space available would reduce travel time and save on fuel, she said.

Six Airports to be auctioned : Apart from this six more airports will be auctioned for

private participation.

Also, an additional investment of Rs13,000 crore will be made by private players in 12 airports auctioned in first and second rounds.

Research reactor in PPP mode: India will also set up a research reactor in PPP mode for production of medical isotopes. This will produce medical isotopes and make available affordable treatment for cancer & other diseases, she said unveiling the fourth tranche of the economic stimulus package. It would use irradiation technology for food preservation.

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07

Preventing a COVID-19

FOOD CRISIS

FOOD-PRODUCING COUNTRIES HAVE IMPOSED EXPORT BANS some major Ftriesurthermore, food-producing counhave already imposed

export bans or quotas in response to the pandemic, as Russia and Kazakhstan have done for grain, and India and Vietnam have done for rice. Meanwhile, other countries are stockpiling food through accelerated imports, as is true of the Philippines (rice) and Egypt (wheat).

Such food protectionism

may seem like a good way to provide relief to the most vulnerable segments of the population, but simultaneous interventions by many governments can result in a global food-price surge, as happened in 2010-11.

The World Bank estimates that protectionism accounted for about 40% of the increase in the global price of wheat and 25% of the rise in maize prices at that time.

PANDEMIC HAS LED TO FALLING GROWTH ne can understand these O countries’ nervousness. While the COVID-19

The pandemic is amplifying the risk of a world-wide food-price spike, which would trigger outright crises in many developing countries

E

ven before the pandemic, there were signs that global food prices could soon surge. Extreme weather events induced by climate change have become more common. African swine fever wiped out over one-quarter of the world’s pig population last year, causing food prices in China to increase by 15-22% year on year so far in 2020. And more recently, the worst locust blight in 70 years has destroyed crops in East Africa. In Kenya, the price of maize, a sta-

T

he coronavirus pandemic has brought hunger to millions of people around the world. National lockdowns and social distancing measures are drying up work and incomes, and are likely to disrupt agricultural production and supply routes — leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat.

The coronavirus has sometimes been called an equalizer because it has sickened both rich and poor, but when it comes to food, the commonality ends. It is poor people, including large segments of poorer nations, who are now going hungry and facing the prospect of starving.

“The coronavirus has been anything but a great equalizer,” said Asha Jaffar, a volunteer who brought food to families in the Nai-

ple food, has risen by over 60% since 2019.

COVID-19 is amplifying the risk of a worldwide food-price spike, which would trigger outright crises in many developing countries. In the poorest of these, food accounts for 40-60% of the consumption basket, about 5-6 times its share in advanced economies.

While lockdowns have led to a collapse in demand for durable goods and discretionary services, the opposite is true of food. In cities around the world, reports of panic buying and food hoarding have proliferated since the pandemic began.

pandemic has led to falling growth, rising unemployment, widening fiscal deficits, and soaring debt in advanced and emerging economies alike, the appearance of new infection hotbeds in developing countries will mean an even starker tradeoff between saving lives and protecting livelihoods. Moreover, developing countries are already facing a sudden stop in capital and remittance inflows and a collapse in tourism, while the terms of trade and currencies of the many oil and primarycommodity exporters among them are crashing.

Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index ranks 110 countries based on their exposure to large foodprice swings, taking into account their nominal GDP per capita, the share of food in household consumption, and net food imports. The

GLOBAL GRAIN STOCKPILES COULD DEPLETE QUICKLY n the supply side, global O grain stockpiles are healthy but could quickly be

depleted as the virus disrupts food production and distribution. And shortages of animal feed, fertilizers, and pesticides have increased both the costs of farming and the risk of bad harvests.

Moreover, from harvesting fruits and vegetables in India to operating meat plants in America, labor shortages are becoming increasingly apparent as cross-border travel restrictions in much of the world disrupt the normal seasonal cycle of migrant farm workers. And transportation shortages are making it more challenging to get produce to market – when there is one.

Farmers need to reconfig-

G20 CREDITORS HAVE AGREED TO SUSPENDED DEBT-SERVICE PAYMENTS ultilateral institutions M have mobilized quickly during the crisis to pro-

vide emergency loans to a record number of developing countries, while G20 creditors have agreed to a temporary suspension of debt-service payments from poor countries that request forbearance. But because the risks posed by surging food prices do not apply only to the most vulner-

ure their supply chains away from bulk wholesale to (currently closed) restaurants, hotels, and schools, and toward grocery stores and home delivery. But that takes time,

territory.”

The world has experienced severe hunger crises before, but those were regional and caused by one factor or another — extreme weather, economic downturns, wars or political instability.

This hunger crisis, experts say, is global and caused by a multitude of factors linked to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing interruption of the economic order: the sudden loss in income for countless millions who were already living hand-to-mouth; the collapse in oil prices; widespread shortages of hard currency from tourism drying up; overseas workers not having earnings to send home; and ongoing problems like climate change,

robi slum of Kibera after the fatal stampede. “It’s been the great revealer, pulling the curtain back on the class divide and exposing how deeply unequal this country is.”

Already, 135 million people had been facing acute food shortages, but now with the pandemic, 130 million more could go hungry in 2020, said Arif Husain, chief economist at the World Food Program, a United Nations agency. Altogether, an estimated 265 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by year’s end.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Mr. Husain said. “It wasn’t a pretty picture to begin with, but this makes it truly unprecedented and uncharted CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI

able economies, temporary debt relief may need to be extended to other countries as well. With the pandemic threatening to wreak economic havoc, governments must work together to address the risk of disruptions to food supply chains. Some modicum of global policy coordination is essential to prevent food protectionism from becoming the postpandemic new normal.

not least because commercial and consumer food products are prepared and packaged differently. In the meantime, fresh produce has had to be destroyed.

WHY CORONAVIRUS HAS BEEN CALLED AN EQUALISER?

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

latest reading shows that of the 50 countries most vulnerable to a sustained rise in food prices, nearly all are developing economies that account for nearly three-fifths of the world’s population.

In fact, surging food prices would be a global problem, because they are highly regressive everywhere. Even in developed economies, a jump in food prices would drive a bigger wedge between the rich and poor, exacerbating alreadysevere wealth inequality.

No one should ignore the age-old connection between food crises and social unrest.

DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

violence, population dislocations and humanitarian disasters.

Already, from Honduras to South Africa to India, protests and looting have broken out amid frustrations from lockdowns and worries about hunger. With classes shut down, over 368 million children have lost the nutritious meals and snacks they normally receive in school.

There is no shortage of food globally, or mass starvation from the pandemic — yet. But logistical problems in planting, harvesting and transporting food will leave poor countries exposed in the coming months, especially those reliant on imports, said Johan Swinnen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington.

One of the best ways to rise above the ordinary is to read. Read whatever interests you, but read it in-depth and with a thought for understanding and analysis.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

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LATE IN RUNNING TRAINS n the ongoing Corona crisis, by the time the government came out of its slumber, 50 days had passed since the lockdown came into effect, and lakhs of migrant labourers had started on their way home travelling thousands of kilometers amid hunger and braving the tropical sun. A few reached their destination, several others were put in isolation and then there were those who became a victim of the road itself.

According to an estimate, there are eight crore migrant labourers who had left their homes in search of job.

The railway has decided to run 300 trains and maintaining social distancing while around 1,200 labourers are ferried in each train. An estimate says that the railways will have to run 66,666 trains to ferry these eight crore migrant labourers and the time taken to complete this task is 182 days.

The Railway claims that of the total expenditure incurred on running special trains for

I

labourers, it is realising only 15 per cent from states since these trains are only travelling one way with passengers while returning devoid of them. Keeping in mind social distancing, the middle berth has been removed and the passengers are being provided with food and water for the journey.

So the railway is incurring an expense of Rs 6 to 8 thousand per person of which they are charging only 15 per cent. It should be noted that the Modi government has allotted a total Rs one lakh crore to the railways to take the migrant labor home and if sources are to be believed, the railways are chugging out Rs 50 lakh for each train journey.

WHY ARE NON-BJP MEN BEING KEPT ALOOF? ost trains, for the ‘ghar-wapsi’ of labourers, are being run for Uttar Pradesh. Out of a thousand trains, 400 are for UP. When a presser was called in this regard by Railway Minister, a clarification came that states like Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and

M

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

Ramnath Kovind

Nitin Gadkari

Piyush Goyal

Nitish Kumar

Odisha did not raise any demand. On this, the Chief Ministers of three states showed their previous videos where they had raised demand and accused the Railways minister of leading the country astray. When poultry owners were culling their birds fearing businesses taking a dip in lockdown, they were questioned the reason behind their action.

They answered that they won’t fetch a good price for chicken in markets since the amount they were spending to

feed the birds, not even half of it was being recovered. Hence the migrant labourers who have been kept in isolation in UP, the state government is paying Rs 40 to NGOs for their meal ie Rs 120 for the entire day whereas, states like Rajasthan have been paying NGOs Rs 300.

When NGOs in UP questioned officials over the same, their quota was increased to Rs 70 but the file is still stuck under red tapeism while the labourer is leaving isolation centres and

reaching their homes.

PPP mode. Once the green signal is given to this project, the next major task of land procurement will be initiated and the government has started giving toll rights as well since the government believes that the toll itself would give it Rs 25 thousand crores.

DELHI TO MUMBAI IN 14 HOURS he dream project of Union minister for Highways and road transport Nitin Gadkari is taking shape even while the country is under lockdown. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs one lakh crore and after the project is completed, the journey between Delhi and Mumbai will be completed in 14 hours. The government is not going ahead in the project on

T

NITISH COULD BE ‘SAFFRONSTUNNED’ ihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s alleged ignorance over migrant labourers could prove dear to him. An

B

08

online survey supported

by BJP has revealed that since lockdown was announced, there has been a tremendous fall in Nitish’s popularity. The survey also says that if Nitish contests in the upcoming assembly elections on his own and not with BJP, he would win on a meagre 20 seats. If Nitish and BJP come together to contest under one banner, then JDU’s candidates have a winning chance of 50 per cent while BJP candidates could have a winning edge of 70 per cent. However, now there could be a tussle between BJP and JDU over the distribution of seats where Nitish wants 15-20 seats from the saffron party while the BJP can pitch in the equal bifurcation of seats. If Nitish continues with his ‘big brother’ attitude, then BJP could give him 2-5 seats extra with the condition that the next CM will be decided by elected legislators.

donated his salary for the month of March in PM Care Fund and keeping in view of the economic condition of the nation, he announced a 30 per cent cut in his annual salary. The Rashtrapati Bhawan was going to buy a new limousine car this year which has now been cancelled.

Other expenses including purchase of products for beautification have also been halved.

Even the guest list has been cut short and so has the food menu.

Where in normal times, some or the other part of the Rashtrapati Bhawan would be under maintenance, the works have now been called off. Expenses incurred on President’s tours have also been halved and the President will now take aid of technology to reach people directly. Really, the President has tried to present an example before the nation.

PRESIDENT’S LARGEHEARTEDNESS resident Ramnath Kovind has already

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

P

COVID TESTS

CM, Ahmed grab each other by scruff of neck CM ASKS CONGRESS LEADER TO CHECK HIS SOURCES OF INFORMATION; HE REPLIES: MY SOURCE IS YOUR GOVT First India Bureau Ahmedabad: A war of words has broken out between Congress heavyweight Ahmed Patel and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani after the former questioned the State Government for reducing the number of tests against the national policy of intensive checking of people for Covid-19.

It all began with Patel, who is AICC treasurer, tweeting on Saturday afternoon about the falling number of daily tests in the hotspot Ahmedabad. He also posted a graphic. Rupani rebuffed this and rolled out cumulative figures to dispute Patel’s claims.

When Rupani, in his tweet, asked the Congress leader to check his sources of information,

Patel retorted asserting that his source was the Gujarat Government’s very own Covid-19 site.

Patel even tweeted a sample from it, to buttress his point that the tests were going down in the State.

The graph attached

by Patel showed the number of tests in Ahmedabad dropping from 2,522 on May 1 to 1,240 on May 14. “Why is (the) Gujarat government reducing testing?

This is very disturbing & is contrary to national policy of increasing tests. In a pandemic it is important to be honest about the problem rather than trying to conceal it,” Patel tweeted.

According to the graph, 1,724 samples were tested on May 17, as against 2,522 samples on May 1. On May 12, 1,227 samples were test-

Ahmed Patel v\s Vijay Rupani @ahmedpatel

@vijayrupanibjp

Mr CM,

Mr AHMED PATEL,

1)Gujarati culture doesn’t permit me to use the tone u have used

Gujarat has not at all decreased number of tests. Kindly recheck your information sources which are far away from facts and ground realities.

2)My source is ur govt data:http://gujcovid19. gujarat.gov.in Either u or ur govt is wrong, someone must resign?

3)Stop hiding behind no of cumulative tests,how many tests have been conducted per day in last 15 days?

As on 16/05/2020 Name of city/state

Sample Tested

Test Per Million

Ahmedabad

52,277

6419.5

Surat

23,928

3479.5

6,731

2048.8

1,27,859

1943.3

20,39,952

1478.0

Vadodara Gujarat India

ed, while on May 13, it was 1,503 samples, and 1,240 on May 14.

Hitting back, CM Rupani tweeted a table of total tests conducted in Gujarat, as well as in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara districts till May 16.

“Mr. AHMED PATEL, Gujarat has not at all decreased (the) number of tests. Kindly recheck your information sources which are f ar away from facts and ground realities,” he tweeted.

Rupani said Gujarat had tested 1,27,858 samples at the rate of 1,943.3 samples per million people, which was higher than the country’s per million average of 1,478 tests. He said 52,277 samples had been tested in Ahmedabad district, at the rate of 6419.5 samples per million.

Villagers protest Surat returnees entering without being quarantined

Four-year-old ‘fairy’ beats corona, hospital bids her emotional adieu

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Balasore/Surat: Tension erupted at Pihanagadia village in Odisha’s Balasore district late on Friday night after a couple reportedly returned to the village from Surat without staying in a quarantine centre.

Sources said the couple belonging to Pihanagadia village under Khaira block returned from Surat

Villagers protested against Surat returnee couple entering without being quarantined.

on Friday. Instead of staying at the government quarantine cen-

tre, they went home straight. What is more, they also tried

to contact their neighbours. This caused a lot of resentment among the locals as the health status of the couple was not examined.

They alleged that even the local sarpanch was not aware of the arrival of the returnees.

Angry over this, the villagers staged a protest late on Friday night.

The police reached the spot and pacified the villagers.

Vadodara: Natasha, all of four, has beaten the coronavirus and emerged from the Gotri Covid Hospital with her doll in tow on Saturday.

She was admitted to the hospital on May 5.

Although Natasha was tested positive, she had no symptoms.

Assistant Professor Dr. Kamna Gandhi said, “We kept this little fairy in isolation

4-year-old Natasha being discharged from Covid hospital in Vadodara.

as per the rules and treated her for 10 days. Natasha has

been granted leave today.”

Natasha greeted

everyone at the hospital in her distinctive style and the staff bid goodbye to her like a VIP. The hospital staff at all levels welcomed the cute girl with a round of applause.

Natasha’s mother Nasreen, who was also undergoing treatment here, was given leave though their other family members are continuing the treatment.

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09

AHMEDABAD, SUNDAY MAY 17, 2020

KARISHMA GWALANI karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

W

omen who ride are braver than those who don’t, I believe. With the modern smoother, faster and lighter motorbikes on the road, it is not physical courage but a mental one to enter into a world dominated by men. It was Elspeth Beard that first led me on the hunt for female riders who faced the road alone. Here’s her story in the tiniest of nutshells: At 24 years of age, she became the first Englishwoman to ride a motorcycle around the world, a journey spanning 3 years and 54,000km in 1980.

We give you quick tips on the motorcycles which are suitable for women though there are no motorcycles made specifically for women. The Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Super Low is a popular bike with women. It is Harley’s entry-level model, and since Harley dominates the female market share, and women are the fastest-growing segment of new riders, it makes sense that Harley-Davidson’s entry-level model would be the most popular motorcycle ridden by women today.

The V Star 950 is also a popular motorcycle choice among women, putting Star Motorcycles right behind Harley-Davidson as the second most popular brand of bikes among female riders. The V Star 950 is a strong middleweight contender that is hugely versatile as an urban cruiser or one that can be outfitted for touring.

The Honda model which is liked by women is naturally, one of the Shadow models. This venerable platform has been hugely popular among women riders for decades.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250 and the 300 have been a beginning bike for many women.

Choose wisely, learn smart, kit up properly and ride in to the sunset or sunrise for that matter. Remember to wear a proper helmet and to tie your hair, long flowing hair look nice only in movies are a risk otherwise. Happy Riding!

HARD & FAST-RIDE ON! There is something very romantic about riding a bike into the sunset and though traditionally women have ridden pillion, now more and more women are riding bikes and how! Hold Tight and join us for the ride!

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AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

10

Coronavirus and its Impact on the Indian Automobile Industry

RITVIK GUPTA

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

T

he year 2020 seems to be what 2012 tried to become.

We started the new year with good wishes and a good vibe. Little did we know that the future has some other plans for us.

What seemed to be a rather minor outbreak very quickly turned into a Pandemic. The Novel Coronavirus or the COVID-19 has brought the entire country to a standstill. Factories shut down, offices empty and roads looking like the endless mirages in a desert. It was the 23rd of March In India when a Lockdown was put in effect. As I am writing this, the lockdown has been extended twice and is in its third phase now.

2019 | A PREMONITION

country was divided into 3 zones viz. Red, Orange and Green zones. Red is a highly vulnerable area while orange being mildly vulnerable and green ones being the areas where life can be brought back to normal.

With plenty of restrictions in place, companies were given permission to start the production plants once again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritvik Gupta is an Automobile Engineer. He is currently pursuing his career as an Automotive Content Developer at GoMechanic. Ritvik is an automobile enthusiast with a knack to decode the nitty-gritty of the Indian automotive scene.

THEN THE LOCKDOWN HAPPENED

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

24th March came in like a wrecking ball for the Indian automobile industry. The sector that was already trying to recoup the losses from the previous year, got hit once again. A Lockdown meant total shutdown of factories, dealerships and service centres nationwide.

The first phase of the lockdown was expected to end by the 14th of April.

But, seeing the rising infection levels, the Lockdown was extended up to the 3rd of May. For the first time in history, automobile manufacturers reported ZERO car sales in the month of April. Furthermore, Lockdown 2.0 made it nearly impossible for car dealerships to survive without sales.

Unsold stocks were lying unsold, car service centres with no cars. Carmakers like Maruti Suzuki stepped up and offered support to their dealership network for the sake of sustainability. But it was not enough.

3rd of May and the Lockdown was extended for an-

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Let’s rewind back a little bit. The year 2019 was when the Great Indian Automobile Crisis happened. The automobile industry has never faced such a slump in over two decades. The transition from BS4 to BS6 emission norms saw the sales pile driving in double digits, people started losing their jobs. It was a BIG problem. Big enough for the government to step in and

introduce some major changes to the years budget to help jump-start the sector. And as we all know it didn’t do much. This was evident in February at the Auto Expo 2020, where major car manufacturers like Honda, Ford, Jeep, BMW, Audi and almost all twowheeler makers decided to skip the biennial automotive event.

other 2 weeks. Lockdown 3.0 was in effect. But, this time the government had to

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

do something in order to revive the economy or else India would have entered a

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

So now comparing the if ’s and but’s, the near-future of the automobile industry seems to be bleak. The industry has demanded that the government lifts the taxes on the purchase of new vehicles or at least reduces them in order to boost the sales. But seeing the current condition of the government depository, it seems highly unlikely that there will be any relaxation.

This industry which accounts for 7% of the country’s GDP and 49% of manufacturing GDP has been affected by a slump for over a year now. And this Coronavirus-induced lockdown is only adding to the sorrow.

If relaxations are not given and the sales networks are not opened, production will only add to the pile of stocks and there will be no benefit for the manufacturers and the economy alike. Given the current situation, 2020 seems to be lost and only time will tell what the year 2021 will bring for the Indian automobile sector.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Your spouse will feel very happy around you as you are the best partner that one can expect. You will get immense respect for the work that you have been doing lately.

Listen to your heart and take decision based in your intuition. Times are tough but it will get better.

You will go for higher studies, don’t let these tough times discourage you. Outing is not possible at this time so try sometime new at home that will keep you occupied.

Hours spent on something will not go waste therefore don’t loose patience till the very end.

Your friend will keep his/ her word and you won’t be disappointed. Count your blessings and express gratitude to the mother nature for all that is good in this world. You will get closer to your spouse by doing small things. You will be handling some prestigious projects.

A candle light dinner arrangement is what you can do right now to make your partner feel special.

Trust your parents, they will not let you down. Long distant relationship is no big deal for you as you are a person of deep understanding. You may be in the need of loan.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You will get the financial support , may be a from a person or from a group of people. sooner or later you will surely get successful in your endeavour as you are a person or strong will. There will be many opportunities in future for now focus on enhancing your skills.

You will have good time at home and this is the time when you can develop great understanding with your partner. Your family will support you no matter what. You may wish to officialise your relationship with your long time friend. Have patience, you will get into many business ventures.

You may need the money that you gave as a loan to someone close, you must politely ask the person to return the favour. You will get closer to your friends even if you cannot meet them in person. These are the time to self reflect. You will get an excellent opportunity professionally.

Your partner will fulfil all your emotional needs and he/she will also keep trying until they get successful in cheering you up. Keep trying don’t let the hard times kill your spirit because after every dusk there is a dawn.

Your quality of life will improve but give some time.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

For now stop taking tension about property related matters, have faith in the power above all. This is the right time the person know that you are in love with him/her. Your spending habit will change for good. Don’t get into office politics just do you work religiously and ear your living.

Youngsters must not loose hope because of the lockdown your education won’t be hindered and you will get the success that you always dreamt of, one way or the other. Keep paying your outstanding dues if you can, so that you can relax in future.

Don’t poke your nose anywhere.

On domestic front, you will help your spouse more than you ever imagined. You will be amazed to receive a gift of sentimental value from someone you didn’t expect. Those on the quest of getting desired body must have an exercise regime as you will not find any time better than this.

Have confidence and no matter what don’t let anyone slow you down.

Start expressing your feeling to the people who need to know how you feel about them. It good to meditate some or the other time. You will get surprisingly good returns from an investment.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

KOMAL PANDEY, Content Curator

stage of a recession similar to the European countries.

This is when the whole

Restarting from a total standstill is not an easy task. Given that the Government has not allowed 100% of workforce and operations to function, the companies had to come up with a plan to make it work while only the essential workers were available.

Production has started but what about the sales? Let’s take a look at a few highlights here: It’s a probability that people will start buying vehicles post lockdown.

Two-wheeler sales can see some boost due to the people preferring personal transport over public ones.

There have been nationwide layoffs and salary deductions so that the companies can sustain in these hard times. This means that there will be a lesser cash flow in the market and this flow is not expected to take a turn towards the automobile industry.

The economy has to be revived. Hence, the gov-

ernment decided to increase the tax on petrol and diesel which has led to an increase in fuel prices. This is also a concern that needs to be addressed.

For the sake of sustainability, NBFCs and banks are not willing to lend any more.

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

A

mid the ongoing lockdown, several Hollywood stars, including Katy Perry, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Snoop Dogg, will be bringing the party to fans’ homes through the ‘In the House’ livestream event. Houseparty, video-chat app, has lined up 40 stars for a three-day live-streaming event this weekend. The event will include performances by Perry and Legend, along with segments featuring Doja Cat, Alicia Keys, Jos Andras, DaBaby, Bad Bunny, Neil Patrick Harris, Keegan-Michael Key, Idina Menzel, Sarah Michelle Gellar and more. The line-up also includes names like David Blaine, Lindsey Harrod, Gabi Butler, Snoop Dogg, Chvrches and Dua Lipa. They are hosting a three-day long, free event for users in India and across the world from May 15 to May 17. The users can join the party and to hang out with their favourite celebrities. Everyone who opens Houseparty during an ‘In The House’ live video can add it into their own group chats for a private viewing party.

—IANS

Virtual house

PARTY Dua Lipa and Katy Perry; (inset) Katy’s post

About Survival!

Feeling nostalgic!

T

aking a trip down the memory lane, actor Deepika Padukone on Saturday remembered one of her early meetings with megastar Aamir Khan.

Padukone took to Instagram to share the picture in which she is seen sitting with her father

A

Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy

fter years of speculation, actors Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy have finally admitted that they didn’t get along with each other while working on ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, saying everything was about survival. In a recent interview, Theron and Hardy opened up about their feud while working on the 2015 action film. Theron, 44, feels she and Hardy, 42, were at loggerheads with each other mainly due to the challenges of filming George Miller’s movie, and the constant delays in production.

The filming for the project was shut down three times. “In retrospect, I didn’t have enough empathy to really, truly understand what he must have felt like to step into Mel Gibson’s shoes,” Theron said of Hardy, adding: “That is frightening!”

—IANS

Making the most of it!

... her post

Prakash Padukone, mother Ujjala Padukone, superstar Aamir Khan and two of her relatives.

Sharing the details behind the picture, the 34-year-old actor wrote in the caption, “major throwback to 1st January 2000. I was 13 & awkward. I still am. He was having lunch.

Curd Rice to be precise. I was hungry like I always am.

But he didn’t offer and I didn’t ask... random anecdote @_ aamirkhan,” her caption further read.

The ‘Love Aaj Kal’ actor has been posting many such throwback pictures for her fans ever since the lockdown has been imposed.

—ANI

‘Explain your rules’

B

S

acred Games fame actress Elnaaz Norouzi is making good use of the quarantine time. She has taken up an online acting course from the New York Film Academy.

“I love working on myself and on my acting skills, I believe there is still so much to learn. New York Film Academy is one of the best if not the absolute best in the world and I always wanted to go there but have fortunately always been busy with work,” she said.

“So I found this to be the best time to do their online course, which is very extensive too. I don’t like sitting around and waiting. At least I know that I’ll get out of this pandemic as a better actor - and I couldn’t be happier,” she added.

She is currently locked down in Germany and keeps busy cooking and gardening, among other activities.

—IANS

11

Elnaaz Norouzi

Deepika Padukone

irthday boy Vicky Kaushal posted a new picture on social media on Saturday that is all about rules.

Vicky, who turned 32 on May 16, took to Instagram and shared a picture where he flaunts this logo in red on a grey Tshirt: ‘Explain your rules’.

He captioned the image with the emoji of a man raising his hands in the air.

Fans couldn’t stop gushing over his photograph on the photosharing space. A user said: “First rule nobody loves you more than me.”

“I’ll explain my love for you,” another wrote. “You rule over my heart,” said

Vicky Kaushal

a netizen.

On the acting front, Vicky was last seen in ‘Bhoot - Part One: The Haunted Ship’. The film tells the story of a young shipping officer, Prithvi, grappling with a personal loss. He takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery of a haunted ship.

—IANS

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NATWAR @ 91

One Life is Not Enough!

Natwar Singh completed 91 years on 16 May, Saturday.

City First wishes him all the best!

close but complex political relationship with Sonia Gandhi over the years. He remains a man with a Nehruvian old fashioned sense of decency.

His has not been an easy life but there is an aura of great personal dignity around him, I am surprised that how easily and perfectly he mixed the demands of public service, the upheaval of politics with his intellectual capacity and love for books for so many years.

He stays in Delhi in his beautiful home with his wife, the totally beautiful and regal Heminder Kumari. He continues to be active, reading and writing regularly and is presently working on a book for young readers, a book on Mahatma Gandhi. On his 91st birthday, First India wishes he completes a century, the world needs people like Natwar Singh!

ANITA HADA

anita.hada@firstindianews.com

W

hen I met Natwar Singh, the first word which popped in the mind was ‘consummate gentleman’ and I just prayed that I manage to age even half as gracefully as him.

A conversation with him is filled with thoughtful pauses, every word a gem and anecdotes that make you smile inadvertently, delivered in perfect concise English.

His writings are much as he himself is, wise, insightful, blunt and very interesting. We, at First India are privileged to have his opinion piece every Sunday on our Edit page.

Natwar Singh, an out and out Indira Gandhi loyalist and devoted admirer was also a friend to her and actually told her during Emergency that “while it was possible to explain the Emergency to our critics, it was

Natwar Singh

not so easy to convince our friends [in London, where he was posted in the Indian High Commission].”

Natwar Singh left the Indian Foreign Service after an exemplary career in early 1984 and immersed himself in the local politics of Rajasthan and Congress. He was a close confidante and guide to Rajeev Gandhi and after his assassination, the sensitive and gentle Natwar Singh took it upon himself to guide Sonia Gandhi for political life.

It was natural that he became the foreign minister in the UPA-I government, when

Warriors

Sonia led the Congress to a less-than-expected victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll.

Natwar Singh’s autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough, is a treat to read about the highs and lows of his political life. The book is a no-holds-barred account of his political career, providing an insider view on the various machinations of Delhi’s political circles. The book reveals many sensitive developments during Indira Gandhi’s, Rajiv Gandhi’s, Narasimha Rao’s and Manmohan Singh’s regimes. It also describes the changing contours of Natwar Singh’s

AHMEDABAD | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

Wonders all the way!

Rujuta Diwekar CITY FIRST

F

LO Jaipur chapter under the leadership of its new Chairperson Wandana Parnami, organised its first virtual session ‘Boost your Immunity’ by Rujuta Diwekar on Saturday, where she talked about simple practices to be followed in our daily life and stressed on the importance of Ghee and local foods. Rujuta is India’s leading nutritionist and exercises Science expert. During the session, Wandana shared that the FLO Jaipur chapter is taking an initiative to create a platform for Women Artisans of Rajasthan by creating an eCommerce

... during the online session

website to sell their artefacts. In these difficult times, this little help could do wonders

for the artisans who are not able to sell their products. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

SETTING UP NEW TRENDS! CITY FIRST

W Heminder Kumari and Natwar Singh celebrating their anniversary.

—FILE PHOTO

12

ith the thought to celebrate the International Mother’s Day while dedicating the event to our corona warriors and their mothers, Lions Club Jaipur Hawamahal and Forti Youth Wing organised the third season of ‘Ek Shaam Maa Ke Naam’. The event created a unique world record set in the Golden Book of World Records, of being broadcast live on more than 30 Facebook pages and watched

Ankit Khandelwal

by more than 1 million people, during the global pandemic due to coronavirus.

Talking about the initiative and setting up the record, Forti Youth Wing Executive Chairman, Ankit Khandelwal said that his thought of not giving up to celebrate the spirit of motherhood while praising the efforts of our frontline workers, made this dream come true. He also added, “Through this technique, we can simultaneously show any event live on more than 10,000 social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc.” cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

on DUTY! A CITY FIRST

midst the ongoing lockdown, JITO Chennai is doing social service in various areas of the city. While distributing ration kits to migrant labours, it was realised by the team that the Police department is putting their lives at risk just to protect us.

With the scorching temperature approaching, JITO Chennai decided to distribute buttermilk amongst the police personnel every day. The campaign was initiated by JITO Chairman, Doulat Jain, Chief Secretary, Nimish Tolia, Executive Committee, DK Jain, Ashok Jain, Anand Surana, Madanlal Gundecha, Manish Maradia, Bharat Jain, Goutam Bokadia, Naresh Shah and Zone Chairman, Ravikant Chowdhury. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Gujarat: With the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) reopening access to essential commodities, people gathered in large groups to buy vegetables from vendors at Shrinandnagar in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE

Gujarat: A life-size replica of the novel coronavirus hangs outside a housing society in Shahibaug located near UN Mehta Hospital. The residents of the society made the model using thermocol and plastic to signify the ongoing health crisis in Ahmedabad.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Uttar Pradesh: The news of 24 migrant labourers killed and 36 others injured in a road accident in Auraiya district, Uttar Pradesh, has put the country in distress. The mini-truck was carrying 18 migrants and the truck trolley had around 42 others when the accident happened. To mourn the deaths of these workers, the National Secretary, AICC, Vivek Bansal, lit candles along with his team members to pray for the departed souls and quick recovery of injured workers on Saturday at Dharampur Courtyard, Marris Road, Aligarh. On the occasion, he said that the migrant workers are facing a lot of hardships to reach their destination, and are also losing their lives in the process, which is very sad.

Rajasthan: During the ongoing series of ‘Hum Tum7’, organised

by Jaipur Citizen Forum, a webinar is going to be held today at 5:00 pm, featuring Hema Malini and Esha Deol Takhtani with the moderator Akanksha Arora, JK Jajoo and Shreya Rawat.

Rajasthan: On the third day of the ongoing ‘Online Learning – Children’s Summer Festival’, viewers learned about ‘Characterisation’ as a theatre element. The performing arts session on ‘Theatre’ was conducted by theatre artiste Mudit Tripathi.

Through a series of fun activities, children were encouraged to create a character and a short act based on the discussion. They also learned about the techniques of characterisation through the use of objects.