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ow it is clear that the COVID-19 crisis has completely changed the world over the past few months. Besides forcing us to confine into our homes, as a par t of mega Mega Lock-down, it has hampered all kind of economic activities. It won’t be wrong if we say, the ‘Corona crisis’ has stolen the sleep of all across the world. Not only the human being instead, there are other species, including few species of wildlife animals and others, have been impacted. In such difficult times, we have been working continuously everyday so that we can get rid of all obstacles or possible hindrances. The entire business houses are working round the clock to keep track of developments and regain their old potentials. Apart from exhausting their energy in gathering relevant information, they are developing their actionable insights to keep up businesses and finances just to protect our jobs or interests. On the other hands, the Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDE), where the Coronavirus crisis has triggered a policy response like no other, both in scope as well as in magnitude has strengthened the provision of health services and extended unprecedented support to households, firms and financial markets. The limited policy space has also kept the response at a smaller magnitude than in advanced economies. These large groups have diverse features in many ways and comprise emerging markets and low-income countries. The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the world economy in such a way that the economic activity, mostly in EMDEs, has decelerated with a vast pace in at least 50 years. Several countries are experiencing a sharp decline in trade and capital flows, and the impact of an unprecedented decline in oil and other commodity prices. Meanwhile, the IMF has come up with overwhelming speed and magnitude to support countries, protect lives and livelihoods of the citizens. As such, economic stabilization and a sustainable recovery of financial crisis cannot be ruled out. Many nations have faced multiple difficulties due to tough policy decisions and others lacked strong economic foundations and technical know-how’s to design and implement the necessary policies. This makes progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals even more challenging, particularly for the most fragile and vulnerable countries. In India, the country’s pre-emptive lockdowns have saved many lives, besides reducing long-run economic costs of the Covid-19 crisis. But now it requires large stimulus to compensate short-run economic losses of the lockdown and to revive growth. Phased opening now allows supply to recover while keeping the virus in check. Here, the financial conditions can be relaxed, especially as essential structural improvements are adequate and over-tightening created stress. The experts believe that the credit growth in India has been pro-cyclical tending to follow and over-enhance rather than lead growth. The post Covid-19 macro-financial package could trigger a virtuous growth cycle, by raising marginal propensities to spend above those to save, as demand is kept a step ahead of gradual relaxation in supply constraints.
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BRIEFING COVER STORY
24
REVIVAL MANTRAS OF INDIAN ECONOMY POST LOCKDOWN
NATIONAL
10
India Denies Trump’s Involvement in Mediation to End Face off with China
INTERNATIONAL
12
OPINIONS
72-Yr-Old Danish Priest, Who Questioned Existence of God, Dies
16
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
14
More Efforts Needed to Counter Deadly Coronavirus
IN-DEPTH
India’s Natural Rubber Productions Grow up to 7.12 Lakh Tonnes
July 2020
20
Tempting ‘Super Earth’ Witnessed In Nearby ‘Galaxy’
OBSERVER DAWN
7
BRIEFING
32
DEFENCE Whether China is Trustworthy to India…!
42
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38 8
INT’L BIZ No Negotiation Regarding Trade Deal With China: President Trump
BUSINESS TIPS Need to improve the performance and profitability of your business? Adopt the Kaizen approach!
OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
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CAREER How to Start Investing in the Stock Market?
TOUR & TRAVEL Virtual World
HEALTH & HYGIENE Unprecedented Health Benefits of ‘Ginger’
National
INDIA DENIES TRUMP’S INVOLVEMENT IN MEDIATION TO END FACE OFF WITH CHINA OD Bureau
A
mid prevailing tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India has said that the country was engaged diplomatic and military level talks with China. India believes in ending the border standoff that involves thousands of troops even as it tacitly ruled out any possibility of US mediation to end the face-off. Since tensions flared along the LAC after violent clashes involving hundreds of soldiers in Sikkim and Ladakh sectors early this month, both sides have deployed additional soldiers, especially in Galwan
Valley in eastern Ladakh. India has said it will oppose any unilateral attempts to alter the status quo along the LAC. Faced with a flurry of questions on the standoff and whether India agreed with China’s characterization of the situation as “stable and controllable”, external affairs ministry spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava, told a virtual news briefing that both sides are engaged at different levels to address tensions, but New Delhi will make no compromises on sovereignty and national security. Asked specifically about US President, Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between the India and China, Srivastava denied third party involvement in these issues. He said, “As I’ve told you, we are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this issue”. India and China, he said, have established mechanisms at military and diplomatic levels to peacefully resolve situations that may arise in border areas through dialogue, and “continue to remain engaged through these channels”. He reiterated that the India troops had not violated the LAC, a charge leveled by China soon after the standoff became public. Sivastava said, “India is committed to the objective of maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas with China and our armed forces scrupulously follow the consensus reached by our leaders and the guidance provided. At the same time, we remain firm in our resolve to ensuring India’s sovereignty and national security”.
SC CANNOT EXCLUDE ‘INDIA’ AS COUNTRY NAME: CJI OD Bureau
T
he Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde, has on Wednesday said the Supreme Court cannot exclude the very word ‘India’ from the country name, as given in the Article 1 of the Indian constitution. A PIL seeking amendment in the Constitution to exclude India from country name was filed. “The SC cannot do it as, India is already called Bharat in the Constitution itself”, Bobde said while hearing the PIL. However, the court allowed the petitioner to make a representation to the government in this regard. As per the petition, the PIL has sought an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution to retain only ‘Bharat’ and exclude India from country name. The petitioner, who is a resident of Delhi, has claimed that this kind of amendment will ensure the citizens of this country to get over the colonial past. The plea claimed, “The removal of the English name though appears symbolic, will instill a sense of pride in our own nationality, especially for the
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OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
future generations to come. In fact, the word India being replaced with Bharat would justify the hard fought freedom by our ancestors”. The petitioner, while referring the to the 1948 Constituent Assembly debate on Article 1 of the then draft constitution, said even at that time there was a strong wave in favor of naming the country as ‘Bharat’ or ‘Hindustan’. But all remained as usual.
National
NATIONAL BROADCASTERS BEGIN WEATHER FORECASTS OF POK OD Bureau
T
he National Broadcasters including Doordarshan, has decided to start including weather forecasts for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas from May 8, 2020.A senior government official said that Doordarshan National, DD News, All India Radio and Kashir channels had been told to include these territories in its daily weather bulletins along with other places in the country. Doordarshan’s weather bulletin will have forecasts for Mirpur and Muzaffarabad in Occupied Kashmir and Gilgit in Northern Areas. “The step will also be a constant reminder to the Imran Khan government and its few supporters that India will not allow Islamabad to take any steps to legitimise its illegal occupation,” said a
senior government official. The decision coincided with New Delhi’s strong protests this week over the order of Pakistan’s top court that provided for setting up a caretaker administration in Gilgit-Baltistan to hold fresh elections. India claims the whole of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which was given near-provincial status by the Pakistan government in 2009. In January 2019, Pakistan’s top court had ruled that its powers extended to “Gilgit-Baltistan” provoking sharp protest from New Delhi, which declared “the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, has been, is and shall remain an integral part of India”. Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court went a step further and allowed the government to amend the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 to set up a caretaker administration in the region to conduct fresh elections. The order was issued in response to a petition filed by the Imran Khan government. On May 4, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a demarche, a formal diplomatic note, on a senior Pakistan diplomat stationed in the national capital. New Delhi said neither Islamabad nor its judiciary had any locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. The written protest reads, “India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Instead Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation”.
TWENTY TWO NORTH-EAST INSURGENTS BROUGHT BACK FROM MYANMAR OD Bureau
T
he Myanmar Government has on May 15, handed over a group of 22 northeast insurgents to the Indian government. These were wanted in Manipur and Assam. A top Government official said, “This is a huge step for the Myanmar government and a reflection of the deepening ties between the two countries”. It all came into light only after the aircraft made its first stopover in Manipur capital Imphal, before heading to Assam’s Guwahati on Friday evening. The insurgents have been handed over to the local police in the two states. A senior Government officer said, “This is the first time that the Myanmar government has acted on India’s request to hand over leaders of the northeast insurgent groups”. He added that entire operation was carried out under the supervision of the National Security Adviser ,Ajit Doval. This is seen as a result of increasing intelligence and defense cooperation between the two countries from both sides. Among those deported by Myanmar are some senior and long-wanted Indian insurgent leaders such as NDFB (S) self-styled home secretary Rajen Daimary, Capt Sanatomba Ningthoujam of UNLF and Lt Pashuram Laishram of PREPAK (Pro).
insurgent groups over the last few years after the Myanmar military agreed to conduct operations. Last year, the Myanmar army carried out continuous operations through February and March 2019 on the basis of pin-pointed intelligence provided by Indian security agencies. The Myanmar army attacked multi-group terror camps at Taga in the north of the country across the Vijaynagar salient in Arunachal Pradesh in the first phase, and decimated Arakan, Nilgiri and Haukyat camps in the second. The 22 insurgents were caught by the Myanmar army in Sagaing Region in these operations. A national security official said Myanmar’s decision to hand over the insurgents is a huge message to the outfits that Naypyidaw is in sync with New Delhi on dealing with them.
Almost 12 of the 22 insurgents are linked to four insurgent groups in Manipur: UNLF, PREPAK (Pro), KYKL and PLA. The remaining 10 are linked to Assam groups such as NDFB (S) and KLO. The treacherous terrain along India’s over 1,600-km border with Myanmar makes the area ideal for camps of insurgent groups that have been fighting the Indian state for decades. But pressure has been building on the
July 2020
OBSERVER DAWN
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International
72-YR-OLD DANISH PRIEST, WHO QUESTIONED EXISTENCE OF GOD, DIES OD Bureau
T
he 72-year-old Danish Lutheran minister, who attracted who had proclaimed that there was no God or next world died on May 10, 2020. However, he had withdrawn his statement after being suspended. The man had though caught international attentions. Reverend Thorkild Grosboell was suffering from cancer, his daughter, Mette Kathrine Grosboell said the media. She added, “He was a great man. He should be remembered for that”. Grosboell was suspended by his bishop after a May 2003 newspaper interview about a book he had written on faith, in which he told
the interviewer: “There is no heavenly God, there is no eternal life, there is no resurrection”. Helsingoer bishop Lise-Lotte Rebel, whose diocese included Taarbaek, a small town north of Copenhagen where Grosboell was the pastor, handed his case to the government requesting that it take the necessary steps to dismiss him. In Denmark, Lutheran ministers are employed by the state and only the government can fire them after a recommendation from their supervising bishop. The pipe-smoking Grosboell, known for his provocative comments, eventually retracted his statement, apologized and his suspension was lifted. Grosboell was later suspended once more, for ignoring church orders not to repeat the beliefs about which he had made the retraction, from the pulpit. The second time, Rebel said he had made “provocative remarks” and had spoken in “a strongly provocative, hurting, and confusing way.” In 2005, he was finally allowed to return to his parish, and stayed there until he retired in 2008, the newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad said. In December 2018, he called himself “a Christian atheist.” More than 80% of Denmark's population belongs to the State Evangelical Lutheran Church, though only about 5% attend church services regularly.
CLINICAL TRIAL OF ‘HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE’ FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS SUSPENDED: WHO OD Bureau
T
he World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended the clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on COVID-19 patients. The safety data of the anti-malarial drug is however, being reviewed by the WHO authorities. The WHO DirectorGeneral, Tedros Adnom Ghebius, said it is a temporarily suspension. The Lancet Medical Journal had on May 22, published an observational study on HCQ and chloroquine and its effect on COVID-19 patients. As per the research scholars, the patients receiving the drug, when used alone or with a macrolide, they estimated a higher mortality rate. “The Working Group of Solidarity Trial, representing 10 of the participating countries, met on May 23, 2020”, Tedros said during a virtual press conference on Monday. He also discussed a comprehensive analysis of all the evidence available globally and Agreed to review critical evaluation. The review will consider data collected so far in the Solidarity Trial and in particular robust randomized available data, to adequately evaluate the potential benefits and harms from this drug, he said. Tendros added, “The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the HCQ arm within the Solidarity Trial while the safety data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. The other arms of the trial are continuing”. The WHO initiated the Solidarity Trial, a plan to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four
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OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
drugs and drug combinations against COVID-19 more than two months ago, which include HCQ. According to the WHO, over 400 hospitals in 35 countries are actively recruiting patients and nearly 3,500 patients have been enrolled from 17 countries under the Solidarity Trial.
International
EUROPEAN UNION TO LAUNCH MASSIVE COVID-19 RECOVERY PLAN
only after the group of 27 nations showed their concern towards anticipated economic recession as an impact of coronavirus pandemic. Practically, most of the countries have broken the EU’s deficit limit as they have spent to keep health care systems, businesses and jobs alive. During the first week of May 2020, the leaders of Germany and France — historically, the two main drivers of EU integration — agreed on a one-time 500 billion-euro ($543 billion) fund, a proposal that would add further cash to an arsenal of financial measures the bloc is deploying to cope with the economic fallout. The proposed plan comprises the EU borrowing money in financial markets to help sectors and countries that are particularly affected by the pandemic. The blueprint of European Commission is likely to resemble the Franco-German plan in many ways while attaching the fund to the EU’s next long-term budget.
I
n a bid to help the countries rebuild their deteriorating economies, the European Union is likely to launch a massive coronavirus recovery plan worth hundreds of billions of euros, The EU’s recent plan came into light on Wednesday morning
Now the significant questions come ahead are how much money will take the form of grants and how much would be loans. Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden — a group of countries dubbed the “Frugal Four” for their budgetary rectitude — are reluctant to see money given away without any strings attached, and their opposition to grants could hold up the project. Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said, “Will it be grants or loans? And if it will be grants, who are going to pay the grants? Loans, I think is a more interesting way forward to discuss, but we also have to discuss under what conditions shall we give these loans”. The Commission’s plan is likely to spark heated debate and the EU does not have time for the wrangling to drag on.
TWO OFFICIALS OF PAK HIGH COMMISSION CHARGED FOR ESPIONAGE IN INDIA, EXPELLED
G
overnment of India has expelled two officials of the Pakistan high commission after they were apprehended by law enforcement authorities on charges of engaging in espionage. A senior officer from the special cell of Delhi Police, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that altogether three officials of the Pakistani mission were detained at Bikanervala Chowk in Karol Bagh at 10.45 am on May 31, 2020 while allegedly trying to obtain classified materials on the Indian security establishment. The officials said that the three men – identified as Abid Hussain Abid, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, Mohammad Tahir Khan, 44, a clerk, and Javed Hussain, 36, a driver – had been under surveillance for the past few months. “They were caught red-handed while obtaining documents on the Indian security establishment from an Indian national and handing over cash and an iPhone to him”, said one of the officials cited above.
The three men initially claimed they were Indians and even produced fake Aadhar cards, the officials said. “Later, during interrogation, they confessed they were officials at the Pakistan high commission and worked for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)”, another officer said. A case was registered against them under the Official Secrets Act, the officials said. The detentions were the result of an operation jointly mounted by Delhi Police and Military Intelligence, they added. Consequently,
the government ordered the expulsion of Abid and Khan, who both work for the visa section at the Pakistani mission. Abid had been posted in the mission since December 2018, while Khan was posted here in October 2015. A statement issued by the external affairs ministry, without mentioning the names of those detained, said, “Two officials of the high commission of Pakistan in New Delhi were apprehended by Indian law enforcement authorities for indulging in espionage activities”.
July 2020
OBSERVER DAWN
13
Business Outlook
A DEVICE MEANT TO WARN OF ABOUT CORONAVIRUS INFECTION
R
ight from the time, the deadly coronavirus came into light and gradually turned pandemic across the globe, we stayed in wait and watch mode. We all have been told time and time again about one symptom in particular that we all need to be on the lookout for. Here, we are talking about a fever, of course, and temperature checks have been lauded time and time again as crucial steps to reopening the economy. However, as it turns out, a fever might not be as common a coronavirus symptom as we all spoken. In reality, a recent study conducted by some research scholars suggests that fewer than half of patients who are infected with COVID-19 get a fever. It may be somewhat surprising since elevated temperature is the one thing we have been told to be on the lookout for first and foremost. However, there’s something else that might be an even better indicator of a novel coronavirus infection. As this deadly virus attacks the lungs, people who catch COVID-19 can often tell by checking their blood oxygen level. Normal blood oxygen readings are between 95% and 100% according
to the experts, but coronavirus patients have been found with readings as low as 50%. When it is marked under 90%, it may be considered as unhealthy. It is often known as the most effective pulse oximeters (Oximeter is an instrument for measuring the proportion of oxygenated hemoglobin in the blood). The device offers us a peace of mind on our finger, adjustable vibration feedback for low oxygen level and irregular heart rate. And, hence it makes us aware about the presence of coronavirus in our body.
INDIA’S NATURAL RUBBER PRODUCTIONS GROW UP TO 7.12 LAKH TONNES
I
ndia’s natural rubber productions have grown up to 7.12 lakh tonnes, registering a growth rate of 9.4% 2019-2020. And hence, the productions crossed 7 Lakh tones, for the first time since 2014-15. The rise in production was attributed to several activities initiated by Rubber Board at Regional and field levels, with active cooperation
of rubber producers' societies, Rubber Board Executive Director K N Raghavan said in a statement here. The overall tapped area increased by 40,000 hectares during the period while the rain-guarded area was 2.50 lakh hectares, up by about 40000 hectares. This was in addition to 4,000 hectares brought in through the plantation adoption programme of the board. The volume of consumption was down from 12,11,940 tonnes in 2018-19 to 11,34,120 tonnes in 2019-20. At the same time, the production consumption gap also declined to around 4,22,000 tonnes from 5,61,000 tonnes the previous year. The import volume marked a decline of 20 per cent while exports increased from 4,551 tonnes in 2018-19 to 12,194 tonnes in 201920. The statement projects the production of Natural rubber for the current fiscal at 7.10 lakh tonnes, taking into consideration the crop loss due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, world production level is expected to decline by 2.2 per cent to become 13.43 million tonnes while consumption too will be down by 4.6 per cent to become 13.13 million tonnes, according to a study by International Rubber Study Group. In view of the present situation faced by small growers due to COVID-19, the board has submitted a proposal to Ministry of Commerce and Industry, seeking minimum import price and restrictions on imports with minimum price mechanism in the domestic market.
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OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
Business Outlook
NATURAL FARMING AND AGRO-ECOLOGY GET MAJOR BOOSTS IN INDIA
O
ther Agro-ecological approaches including natural farming like: organic agriculture, have great promise for a renaissance of Indian agriculture. It all shows that farming is not only productive instead it’s regenerative and sustainable. During an international convention organized by the NITI Aayog in New Delhi on May 30, 2020, the experts said, they have endorsed efforts to significantly boost Agro-ecological and natural farming approaches in India. The experts provided evidence from latest studies, cutting-edge research and science as well as practical experience from economics, finance and markets. While addressing the audience, comprising national and international experts, the Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar said, “the natural farming is our indigenous system based on cow dung and urine, biomass, mulch and soil aeration. In the next five years, we intend to reach 20 lakh hectares in any form of organic farming, including natural farming, of which 12 lakh hectares are under Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP)”. He added that the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana that was launched
SEBI EXTENDS DATE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF POA
in the year 2015 to promote organic farming among small and marginal farmers has covered 7 lakh hectares and 8 lakh farmers in the last four years. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala have taken up natural farming on a large scale. Andhra Pradesh alone has brought 2 lakh hectares under natural farming under this scheme. He concluded by highlighting that the need of the hour, in light of the covid-19 pandemic, was to have 'food free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides', while not ignoring the need to feed and nourish the country.
ecurity and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the date for implementation of norms regarding power of attorney given by clients to trading members or clearing members by August 1, 2020.
S
that margin obligations to be given in the form of securities by client will be by way of pledge or re-pledge in the depository system. This apart, the title transfer of securities to the client collateral demats account of the TM/ CM for margin purposes will not be permitted. But if a client has given a POA in favor of a TM / CM, such holding of POA will not be considered as equivalent to the collection of margin by the TM/ CM in respect of securities held in the demat account of the client with effect from June 1.
The SEBI had specified guidelines with regard to margin obligations to be given by way of pledge and re-pledge in the depository system in February 2020. These provisions of the circular were likely to come in to force from June 1, 2020. In a bid to curb possible misuse of the Power Of Attorney (POA) given by the clients to the trading member (TM) or clearing member (CM), the SEBI had prescribed
However, amid the situation arising due to COVID -19, the regulator received representations from stock brokers and broker associations regarding difficulty in implementing the provisions due to work in progress by market infrastructure institutions. The main decisions regarding such provisions were taken by the SEBI on May 29, 2020.
July 2020
OBSERVER DAWN
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Opinion
MORE EFFORTS NEEDED TO COUNTER DEADLY CORONAVIRUS
T
he Coronavirus pandemic has spread into the entire world. Our motherland, India is no exception to it. Obviously, it has turned to be a tough time for every individual whether they are infected or not. It has been its toll on everything be it health, economy, international trade or even international relations, all are worst affected. No doubt, all countries, even every individual, are trying hard to get rid off the situation. Now the question is, where does India stand in its battle against Coronavirus? The first case was reported on January 30, 2020 in Thrissur district of Kerala. Later, on March 11, World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a pandemic and various states in India declared educational institutes and other places of public gathering to remain shut till further order. When number of COVID-19 cases crossed 324 on March 22, the PM appealed people to observed Janata Curfew on the same day and also urged people to pay tribute to the Corona warriors. On March 24, the PM announced the first lockdown in the country. In the meantime, Tablighi Jamat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi happened with thousands attending the event playing
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its role in spreading infections. They were all provided medical assistance and quarantined for a stipulated period. The lockdown was extended till May 3, by this time the cases rose up to 12,759 with 420 deaths. The lockdown was again extended till May 17 in the country and then it was further extended to May 31 making it the fourth lockdown. And on
OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
The lockdown was again extended till May 17 in the country and then it was further extended to May 31 making it the fourth lockdown
May 19 India crossed the one lakh mark of people getting infected with the disease. Over the past three months, India witnessed four lockdowns in a row. All the industries are shut, export and import put on hold except for necessary items and perils of coronavirus just inflated in a country of 1.3 bn people.
Opinion Pictures of thousands of migrants trying to go back to their homes are popping up all over social media. They are stranded in large crowds near bus stations, breaking rules of lockdown, but is it their fault? These migrant workers have been out of job due to the lockdown and it is now being very hard for them to survive as they have no food, money and shelter. Many are forced to sleep on footpaths and are unable to follow social distancing making then susceptible to prey to virus. Undoubtedly, the Modi government has been trying to give some relief to these people but there is still a lot to be done. When the rush of migrant workers continued, the UP government decided to send them by bus to their homes till the time Centre started
healthcare facilities, the country Shramik Express trains. Along The central has been facing challenges with this, trains for migrant government to deal with the menace. workers stranded in Ghaziabad now needs to Possibly, this pandemic would and Noida also started for gear up to not stay as long as the vaccine is other parts of UP and for Bihar only to protect not available and India might as well. This is good news the economy but also the be ready to fight to an extent for those workers who are in people of the but how long will it take for Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida. country as we the country’s economy to be in However, the government’s might have shambles? The RBI has already late response to the needs to stay in declared that the GDP of India of migrant workers caused a restrictions for the entire 2020 lot of chaos and even many will slip into negative territory killed in accidents or other t h i s y e a r. T h e c e n t r a l such troubles. The testing of government now needs to coronavirus in India started at a dawdling gear up to not only to protect the economy pace but now it has picked up with over but also the people of the country as we one lakh tests being conducted daily. Due might have to stay in restrictions for the to the lack of infrastructure and proper entire 2020.
‘DIASPORA’ SOUNDS BETTER THAN MIGRANTS
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rior to the COVID-19 pandemic, “migrant” and “migration” were emotionally-neutral words used to describe Indians who have moved their residence from one part of the country to another, temporarily or permanently. Now, with due respect to the media and to the wise people who speak on behalf of them, the word “migrant” has acquired an emotional charge, value judgment and social stereotyping, and a new slice of society called “the migrants” has been consecrated. “The migrants” is now shorthand for a people who are poor, homeless, hungry, neglected by the states and Centre, usually from two or three of the poorest states and, most of all, who do not qualify for belonging to the city where they work. No one thinks of software folks who come from all over the country to the electronic city in Bengaluru Sena said that South Indians “The migrants” in search of work as migrants, didn’t belong in Maharashtra. is now shorthand for even though they too qualify for With our new, thoughtless use a people who the “migrant” label. In today’s of the collective noun, “the are poor, context, “migrant” has become migrants”, to describe people homeless, a label that declares someone who leave Mumbai — when hungry, as a perpetual outsider, despite in trouble — to return to their neglected by the states and having crossed no national immediate or extended families, Centre, usually boundaries, and despite we are rekindling that same from two or Indians having the right to live flame again: The risky “insiderthree of the wherever they want without outsider” narrative for Indians poorest states any need for any permission or within India. Of course, many registration. The government of us have a “home state”. It of Kerala, in a move much lauded by many, defines, often not always, my ethnic and has called them “guest workers”. Guests are cultural identity (not the same as my national those who come to my house and will stay identity), what I eat, what my mother tongue or go at my pleasure and enjoy privileges is, how I drape my sari, my religious and based on my levels of hospitality. How can social customs. an Indian state government classify Indians from other states as guests? The creation of a new class called the migrants makes us forget that they are Some of us may remember the ugliness people and all rules that apply to people, of the 1960s and ’70s when the Shiv apply to them as well. The fact is, they are
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going to their other home for pretty much the same reason many upper-class kids are back from their colleges abroad to be with their families, or, why company executives may choose to relocate to their parents’ homes if they lose their jobs in Mumbai or Delhi and find the rents prohibitive. Because life at the other home may be safer and better than in a city where work has dried up, the living conditions are abysmal, and the risk of dying high. So let’s replace the label starting now. ‘Casual-wage-labour’ or ‘multistate residents’ would be a less dangerous, more specific label — a category, rather than a class or caste. Diaspora is a better collective noun than migrants. But Hindi serves the purpose so much better — shramik means workers, labor or “the working class”. While this categorization does signal socioeconomicoccupational hierarchy, it doesn’t signal “insider-outsider”.
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Opinion
COVID-19 CRISIS CLARIFIED ‘IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE’ FOR A HEALTHY SOCIETY
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f course, Corona has made us to listen to our common sense. It will recharge our commitments to our cultural, socioeconomic and political worldviews, and transform the processes of society building approach. Two concepts of development based on fraternity and science will be celebrated. This approach calls for investing in Gandhian philosophy in our ways of life that should be based on wellbeing of humankind and fraternity as a pillar of society. The second investment should be made in the field of medical science and technology. Covid-19 across the globe has shown that fraternity and medical science is crucial for a healthy society. Society adapting these two concepts of developmental Even among BRICS countries India spends least when Brazil spends approach can change the socioeconomic and political ways of life. 9.2 per cent, South Africa 8.1 per cent, Russia 5.3 per cent and China This will also give importance to “civic federation” where village 5 per cent of their GDP on healthcare. Moreover, when we analyze the Niti Aayog State wise health index, we find that units or municipal units will become problem solving since decades Bihar is in the only state which is at the centres and will also expedite the processes of economic India which is bottom on health parameters for the last 15 years. inclusion. When we analyse the various countries on the parameter of investment in Medical Science we find that with 16.4 per cent USA, 7.5 per cent UK, 7.5 per cent Cuba, 6.5 per cent Italy, 11.2 per cent Germany, 11.2 per cent Norway, 11.2 per cent France, 11.2 per cent Australia, 10.9 per cent Japan; all spends approximately 10 per cent of their GDP on the health system. These nations have world’s best healthcare system but in spite of that, they witnessed huge casualties due to Covid-19. Just imagine if their health infrastructure would have not been good then casualties would have been multiplied many folds.
the fifth largest economy of the world and aspires for becoming third largest economy by 2035 spends only 1.29 per cent of the total expenditure by the centre and state GDP (2019-20) on healthcare system
India which is the fifth largest economy of the world and aspires for becoming third largest economy by 2035 spends only 1.29 per cent of the total expenditure by the centre and state GDP (2019-20) on healthcare system. Moreover the 12 states spend less than 1 per cent of GSDP on the health infrastructure.
Under Nitish Kumar’s rule Bihar has not invested much on health infrastructure, therefore during this critical time of Covid-19 his government is facing an uphill task. After the relaxation in lockdown, the return of migrant workers from all parts of the country has added further strain on the crumbling healthcare system of Bihar.
The people of Bihar need 622 Referral Hospitals but have only 70 Referral Hospitals, it needs 212 specialized Sub Divisional Hospital but has only 49 of such hospitals. To capitalize on talents, Bihar needs 40 medical colleges but has only 9 colleges, as per sanction post of doctors, Bihar should have 12,000 doctors but at present has only 2700 doctors. The ratio of people per doctor at national level is 1 doctor per 11000 people, whereas in Bihar there is only 1 doctor per 40788 people. On other hand when we look at the availability of beds than India ranks lowest globally with 0.9 beds per 1000 population which is far below the global average of 2.9 beds. Bihar hospitals are running with only 43 per cent of doctors, 29 per cent of nurses, and 28 per cent of technicians. In Community Health Centers there is a shortage of 93 per cent of specialized doctors. The NSSO data gives us an idea that approximately 92 per cent of the population in the state is dependent on private healthcare system. Worst has come to reality for the health system of Bihar, when Coronavirus Quarantine were discovered functioning without proper protocol. Moreover, the absence of clinical de-contamination rooms for doctors to monitor respiratory symptoms and nonexistent biohazard precaution levels during this Covid-19 will surely shake the political as well as intelligence of Bihar in the context of health infrastructure in the upcoming Bihar assembly election due in November 2020.
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Opinion
DEATH OF PREGNANT ELEPHANT IN KERALA’S PALAKKAD IGNITES POLITICAL CONTROVERSY
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he recent death of a pregnant elephant in the southern Indian state, Kerala, has erupted into a political controversy. Here the Hindu Right forces have launched a ‘hate campaign’ over the incident. The 15-year-old elephant was allegedly consumed a pineapple filled with firecrackers that exploded in its mouth, leaving it in searing pain as it walked around the village for days.
The animal eventually died standing in a river on May 27, 2020 near the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala's Palakkad district, prompting shock and anger across the nation over the cruel death.
The animal eventually died standing in a river on May 27, 2020 near the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala's Palakkad district, prompting shock and anger across the nation over the cruel death. The autopsy report conducted by the wildlife department officials found it had major wounds in its mouth consistent with an explosion. However, the Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan, said through tweeter that three suspects have been identified and that the case will be jointly investigated by the state police and forest departments. He also said - "Justice will prevail”. The perpetrators could face animal cruelty charges that could bring fines or a jail term. In the meantime, a controversy erupted after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian, Maneka Gandhi, also an animal rights activist, said the incident happened in Malappuram district, which has 70 percent Muslim population and lies 85km west of Palakkad. She said, "Its murder. Malappuram is famous for such incidents it's India's most violent district. She also added that they threw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds and dogs die at one time”. The statement by the senior BJP leader triggered a storm of anger on social media, with hundreds of posts suggesting the perpetrator could be a Muslim. "Seeing all the hatred on the pregnant elephant's killing in Kerala, need to add something. The elephant was found dead in the Velliyar river which flows through Palakkad district," wrote Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of southern India-based The News Minute website, on Twitter.
Union Minister, Prakash Javadekar, repeated Maneka Gandhi's statement that the killing happened "in Malappuram, Kerala" and the central government has taken a "very serious note" of it. He posted, "We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed firecrackers and kill”. The CM, Vijayan, in response to above said that some people tried to import bigotry into the narrative of the elephant's death. He also said that all were saddened by the fact some have used this tragedy to unleash a hate campaign. Lies built upon inaccurate descriptions and half truths were employed to obliterate the truth. The state of Kerala is governed by the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist). One of the parliamentarians from the state is Rahul Gandhi, former president of the main opposition Congress party. Entire incident came to India's attention after a wildlife officer, Mohan Krishnan, posted an emotional apology. ‘Sorry sister’, Krishna, who witnessed the elephant's death, wrote in the Malayalam language in a Facebook post, which received almost 10,000 reactions or comments. With its mouth and tongue destroyed in the explosion, the elephant paced around hungry without being able to eat. She must be more worry about the health of the child inside her than about her own hunger, the writer said. The images of the pachyderm shared on social media showed it standing in a river after the incident, dunking its mouth and trunk in the water hours before it died. Cricket captain, Virat Kohli, said he was “appalled”, while Bollywood, actor Akshay Kumar tweeted that the incident was in fact, heartbreaking, inhumane and unacceptable. The chairman Emeritus of Tata, Ratan Tata, stated that the killing was not less than acts of meditated murder against other humans. “Justice needs to prevail”, he said. The poor villagers in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere often use firecracker or explosive-filled pineapples - which act like pressure-activated landmines - to protect their fields and homes from wild animals.
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In-Depth
TEMPTING ‘SUPER EARTH’ WITNESSED IN NEARBY ‘GALAXY’ By Mike Wehner
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n case the human beings are success in managing to make it off this planet in large enough numbers to sustain a civilization elsewhere, they would obviously want to find a world that is similar to Earth. The astronomers have now discovered a number of potential candidates that offer the slim hope of eventually becoming our ‘Earth 2’, and the scholars as well as the researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have just added another thought to the list. It is often termed as an ‘Exoplanet’ called Kepler-62f and it has a member of an exclusive group of ‘SuperEarths’ that reside within the habitable zones of their respective stars. In the case of Kepler-62f, though, there are a number of questions that remain to be answered before we can declare it suitable for life.
We still have no clue as to the condition of the planet’s atmosphere (if it even has one) or the features of its surface. It could a dried-up, burnt-out husk, or it could be covered with water. We just don’t know. As the researchers describe in their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the discovery of Kepler-62f was made possible thanks to the magic of a technique called gravitational microlensing. The delay in spares support, however, has not affected the IAF”s operational preparedness and COVID-19 related operations, due to the HAL restarting operations last month
First, the good stuff. Kepler-62f is believed to be a rocky planet like our own, though it’s likely larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune. It’s within the habitable zone of its host stary — where temperatures would allow for liquid water to exist on its surface — but it orbits at a much slower rate than Earth does. In fact, a year on Kepler-62f is over 600 days long.
The star at the center of the planet’s system is tiny, even when compared to our own undersized star. It has just 10% the mass of our Sun, which helps explain the slower orbit of Kepler-62f. All of these sounds are pretty good if we are imagining the existence of life on Kepler-62f, but it’s still far too early to celebrate.
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“The combined gravity of the planet and its host star caused the light from a more distant background star to be magnified in a particular way. We used telescopes distributed around the world to measure the light-bending effect”, said Dr. Herrera Martin, who is the lead author of the paper. He says, “In order to get an idea of the rarity of the detection, the time it took to observe the magnification due to the host star was approximately five days, while the planet was detected only during a small five-hour distortion. After confirming this was indeed caused by another ‘body’ different from the star, and not an instrumental error, we proceeded to obtain the characteristics of the star-planet system”.
A Super-Earth was spotted near the galactic center, and it appears to be in the habitable zone of its star. The planet is larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and its star is just 10% as massive as our own Sun. (The writer, Mike Wehner, is a renowned tech- writer and blogger. He has also served as Tech Editor at the Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today and other media groups around the world).
In-Depth
SSEC, WHO LAUNCHES A FRESH ‘COVID-19 GUIDE’ FOR YOUTHS
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he Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Inter-Academy Partnership (IAP)—a partnership of 140 national academies of science, engineering and medicine—has developed a fresh COVID-19 for youths. This new rapid-response guide is meant for the between the age groups of 8–17.
The WHO provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices
This is based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals aiming to help young people understand the science and social science of COVID-19 as well as help them take actions to keep themselves, their families and communities safe. Questions raised by the researchers explore the impact of COVID-19 on the world, how to practice hand and respiratory hygiene and physical distancing and how to research more information about COVID-19. It teaches youth the way they can take action on the new scientific knowledge they learn to improve their health and the health of others. Besides, others the guide includes updated research, activities, quotes from scientists and frontline public health officials, and physical and emotional safety tips on COVID-19. It also integrates inquiry-based science education with social and emotional learning and civic engagement. The SSEC director, Carol O’Donnell, said, “We are immensely grateful to WHO, the IAP, our colleagues at the Smithsonian and other senior project advisors and translators for their perspectives and technical support in ensuring the science is accurate”. He added, “We are also grateful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their support during the development of this module. This work represents the power of collaboration and working closely with others across the globe, even during a time of physical distancing”. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the Chief Scientist at WHO says, “Through this project, the Smithsonian Science Education Center makes science exciting and approachable
for children and youth all over the world and encourages them to learn by doing”. “It is so important for children—wherever they are in the world—to develop their scientific understanding and rational thinking,” said Professor Volker ter Meulen, president of IAP. “Only by being able to make rational decisions based on the best science and evidence can any of us adjust our behavior to keep ourselves and our families safe from infections such as COVID-19”, Dr Soumya said.
Details about SSEC, WHO and IAP SSEC The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) is transforming K–12 Education Through Science in collaboration with communities across the globe. The SSEC is nationally and internationally recognized for the quality of its programs and its impact on K–12 science education.
WHO The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Its main objective for 2019–2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies and provide a further billion people with better health and well-being.
IAP Under the umbrella of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), more than 140 national, regional and global member academies work together to support the vital role of science in seeking evidence-based solutions to the world’s most challenging problems.
July 2020
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In-Depth
DESPITE RAMPANT CORONA FEAR HUNDREDS PARTICIPATE IN ‘COMMUNION RITUALS’
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undreds of children and adults were in queues to participate in the centuries-old ritual of Holy Communion, while following the conducts of proper social distancing. Here, the priest dips a spoon into the chalice of bread and wine, which the faithful believe is the body and blood of Christ, and puts it into the mouth of the first person in line. Then, with a move that would alarm an epidemiologist, he dips the spoon back into the chalice and then into the next person’s mouth and repeat it again and again, through the entire congregation. Contrary to what science says, the Greek Orthodox Church insists it is impossible for any disease — including the coronavirus — to be transmitted through Holy Communion. Reverend, Georgios Milkas, a theologian in the northern city of Thessaloniki said, “In the holy chalice, it isn’t bread and wine. It is the body and blood of Christ. There is not a shred of suspicion of transmitting this virus, this disease, as in the holy chalice there is the Son and the Word of God”. These are well proven through the centuries of experiences, he said. Scientists warn that shared utensils can spread the coronavirus, and they also point to outbreaks linked to religious services around the world. Dr. Nathalie MacDermott, an academic clinical lecturer for Britain's National Institute for Health Research at King's College London, says that the communal spoon presents fairly significant dangers. “The danger of transmitting any kind of respiratory viral pathogen or even bacterial infections is quite high with the sharing of utensils,” she said. “And for it to be passed among what is probably a relatively large group of people means that all it would take is one person to have coronavirus at the back of their throat, which potentially is in their saliva as well”. Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, says that any suggestion that illness or disease could be transmitted by Holy Communion is blasphemy, a stance echoed by the Church of Cyprus. In a Circular on social distancing measures issued during the May second week, it said, “Regarding the issue that is unjustifiably raised from time to time about the supposed dangers, which in these blasphemous views are said to lurk in the life-giving Mystery of Holy Communion, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece expresses its bitterness, deep sorrow and diametrical opposition”. The Synod underlines one more time to all those who, either due to ignorance or conscious faithlessness, brutally insult all that is holy and sacred, the dogmas and the sacred rules of our faith, that Holy Communion is ‘the medicine of immortality, antidote to not dying, but to living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ forever. Whether Holy Communion should be changed or suspended for health reasons has become a hot button issue across much of the Christian Orthodox world, with churches generally refusing to bow to pressure from governments and scientists. Some concessions were made in Russia. In mid-March, the Russian Orthodox Church released instructions on adjusting the sacrament during the pandemic. Priests were told to wear gloves when handing out the bread, to disinfect the spoon and to use disposable cups for the wine. In Ethiopia, which has the largest Orthodox Christian flock outside Europe, the ritual is unchanged, as it is in the Georgian
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In-Depth
reported 175 deaths and 2,900 confirmed cases. But many of the faithful chafed under the lockdown that closed places of worship for all religions for about two months. It ran through Easter, the most important religious holiday for Christians, and the inability to attend services weighed heavily on many.
Orthodox Church. In response to public pressure against using a common spoon, the Georgian church noted the tradition is thousands of years old.
When it was lifted May 17, thousands flocked to church. “The issue of Holy Communion in particular is the only red line of the church and of the faithful in our souls,” said 19-yearold Michalis Gkolemis, attending services in Thessaloniki. “We don’t say that Holy Communion is the cure for all diseases, from the flu, for example, but we say that you cannot get sick by receiving Communion. You can’t catch a virus, something which isn’t proven scientifically but exists through experience”. After ordering churches closed, the government has been more circumspect and has avoided the sensitive issue of Holy Communion. The limited spread of the virus also has reduced the risk of a renewed outbreak, at least for now.
“Throughout these years, there have been many cases of life-threatening infections, during which Orthodox believers did not fear but strived even harder to get Communion For scientists, through a common chalice and a For scientists, concern is tempered by knowing concern is common spoon,” it said in a statement. that opposing the powerful Orthodox Church, tempered In Greece, a firebrand priest, former with a majority of Greeks as believers, could be by knowing Metropolitan Ambrosios, said he counterproductive. “This is a matter of public health that opposing had excommunicated the education concern,” said Dr. Gkikas Magiorkinis, assistant the powerful minister, prime minister and the civil professor of hygiene and epidemiology at the University Orthodox protection deputy minister — the first of Athens. “As an epidemiologist, I would like to be able Church, with for suggesting the coronavirus could be to reduce the risk of transmission”. But it is very difficult a majority transmitted through saliva during Holy to change the minds of any devotee, he said adding, “It’s of Greeks as Communion, and the other two for a matter that can only be solved through discussion, and believers, could closing churches during the lockdown. theological discussion rather than scientific discussion. be counterThe Holy Synod did not back him up, Scientific discussion never helped, and it might have productive. however, saying only it had the authority even worse results”. to excommunicate. Discussions with the church were always open, said Magiorkinis, Greece imposed a lockdown early on, a move who also advises the government on the virus. “Only the church credited with curbing infections. The country has can provide a solution”.
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Cover Story
REVIVAL MANTRAS OF INDIAN ECONOMY
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Structural improvements in agriculture will restrain food inflation, while flexible inflation targeting moderates the pass-through from commodity price shocks. Banks’ net NPAs are in single digits, there is improvement in governance and in riskbased lending.
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sudden deterioration in financial conditions, adjustments of government spending and better coordination with states can encourage a growth cycle. The country’s pre-emptive lockdowns have saved many lives and may have reduced long-run economic costs of the Covid-19 crisis. But it necessitates a large stimulus to compensate for the short-run economic losses of the lockdown and to revive growth. Apart from medical supplies, the first measures aimed at helping workers and firms survive the large negative supply and demand shock. A phased opening now allows supply to recover while keeping the virus in check. As supply recovers while commodity prices remain constrained, there is an opportunity to switch from the low credit and money growth that characterized India’s post 2011 growth slowdown, to a credit-led recovery that also reduces the financial sector stress. Financial conditions can be relaxed, especially as essential structural improvements are adequate and over-tightening created stress.
According to the experts, the credit growth in India has been pro-cyclical tending to follow and over-enhance rather than lead growth. Especially since 2011, pro-cyclical regulations and focus on financial cleaning and reforms squeezed credit growth. The post Covid-19 macro-financial package could trigger a virtuous growth cycle, by raising marginal propensities to spend above those to save, as demand is kept a step ahead of gradual relaxation in supply constraints. Activating India’s large domestic
demand can potentially insulate from global shocks and a likely prolonged shrinking of trade. A calibrated reversal of the macro-financial tightening of the last decade may also actually reduce financial risks and improve stability. Across most of the world, new liquidity infusion is following quantitative easing that drove up asset prices. There are risks since credit is based on a Ponzi-type leverage on asset value. A collapse of stretched asset values is possible, and can create a large financial shock. But in India, there is the opposite problem. Credit growth has been very low, so a loosening of financial conditions can help asset values recover. Tightening following the excesses and scams of the post-global financial crisis period created a trust deficit. There were valid moves away from giving individual favours towards improving business conditions. But in a large external shock like Covid-19, aid from the government and regulators can apply balm to current as well as old wounds, revive trust and help society pull together once more.
Restraints of Growth Among these constraints are commodity price shocks and other supply-side bottlenecks; financial repression, monoculture and discretionary allocation; and fiscal space. Changes in the political economy of oil pricing, diversified sources of supply, and a secular fall in demand will keep oil prices soft. Structural improvements in agriculture will restrain
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Cover Story food inflation, while flexible inflation targeting moderates the pass-through from commodity price shocks. Banks’ net NPAs are in single digits, there is improvement in governance and in risk-based lending. The IBC has improved credit culture and repayment incentives. Financial space is still constrained. In order not to overstrain government finances, stimulus should work through the financial sector, be targeted, temporary and selflimiting. Financing schemes will have to be designed to minimise impacts on future fiscal deficits, while maximising growth revival. Fiscal stimulus can be increased to the point where reduction in debt ratios due to increased growth equals the increase in debt ratios from further borrowing. Changing the composition of expenditure and cutting flab would enhance the growth boost. India’s conservative polices was a fear of outflows. But size and diversity in a $2 trillion-plus economy creates much more depth and resilience. Steady domestic inflows are a counter. Financial markets absorbed many shocks since 2017, but recovered. Large outflows seed fund can be leveraged over March-April illustrate many times. For example, again that global risks credit guarantees are Polices adopted in matter more for them off-budget sheet many countries than domestic policy. around the world items, and may not include transfers, Growth matters add much to debt credit guarantee more than other as recovery takes funds, interest rate risks. even for place. Banks can subventions, liquidity rating agencies. and be incentivized to and refinance facilities, spending to revive not invoke them. loan extension and growth is acceptable, If the guarantee is forbearance, tax especially since every only partial, banks relief, deferrals and country is doing this. will lend, but rather regulatory easing. Despite this peer effect, continue to carefully emerging markets have to assess credit risks. be more careful. If early preemptive action and effective follow-up Wage/PPF subsidies and interest rate makes India relatively less affected by subventions should be targeted to MSMEs Covid-19, inflows will resume. and the most affected sectors, and made conditional on preserving employment Reversal of the tightening of financial in the short-run, and upskilling and reconditions that characterized the last structuring over time. Moratoria on debt decade will help the financial sector repayments and provisioning deferrals move forward. Critical complementary must be given until growth recovers, but reforms include fiscal restructuring, better not indefinitely. Temporary and targeted coordination with States, strengthening measures reduce moral hazard. corporate governance, and counter-cyclical financial sector regulation. Transfers should only be to low income groups, combining tax and Aadhaar databases. All government payments Short-term Measures due must be made and expenditure on Polices adopted in many countries around the world include transfers, credit the national infrastructure pipeline guarantee funds, interest rate subventions, frontloaded. Movement to India’s optimal liquidity and refinance facilities, loan tax structure of low rates and a large extension and forbearance, tax relief, base must not be given up. Voluntary deferrals and regulatory easing. Many contributions for the Covid-19 effort must of these expire over time, and pay for be encouraged from the well-off, especially themselves as they revive growth. A the super-rich.
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The RBI can announce an OMO calendar and if necessary, finance special Covid-19 government bonds. These would take pressure off the bond markets, allowing interest rates to ease, while it is clear they are for a well-defined purpose and limited time. There is room to expand reserve money since broad money growth has been low for some time, and a monetary expansion that finances a growth recovery would not be inflationary. Firms that are not receiving payments are afraid of running out of cash and are hoarding liquidity. Since banks now only make risk-based lending, a government credit guarantee would be necessary for banks to undertake wider liquidity infusion. Even so, alternative direct liquidity channels may have to be established to reach those starved of funds. The incumbent crisis reveals longer-run supply-side opportunities and directions for change. Examples include a larger share of distance work, economizing on fuel — the import of which has been India’s weakness — and encouraging the digital economy, which is India’s strength. Supply chains can be incentivised to shift from China. States that are the source of migration should think of packages to attract FDI, thus reducing out-migration, excess labour living precariously in large cities. While some firms will suffer irreversible balance sheet shocks, and may not recover, others such as pharma, digital businesses and home services will do well.
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EMPOWERMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR STABILITY IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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he premier, financial institution of the world IMF, in response to the spread of deadly Coronavirus, has moved with unprecedented speed and magnitude. The institution has extended hands to support countries, protect lives and livelihoods of the citizens. And, hence economic stabilization and a sustainable recovery, however, will require more than financial assistance. While, many nations have faced multiple difficulties due to tough policy decisions, others lack the strong economic foundations and technical knowhow to design and implement the necessary policies.
those who need it the most – especially when it comes to health expenditures and social protection systems. The IMF has been working with tax administrations and budget offices in many countries to help them restore operations and strengthen support to businesses and individuals, without compromising safeguards and accountability. This apart, greater challenge lies ahead for policymakers in debt management, resulting from worsened fiscal positions and higher financing costs. The IMF has provided immediate debt service relief to
For managing debt well, statistics are crucial. Short, “micro-learning” videos on the IMF Institute’s YouTube Channel have also been developed to tackle issues related to public sector debt data. No doubt every stakeholder or the beneficiaries are navigating uncharted territory in adapting to new ways of working. The IMF recognizes this and is building virtual platforms to facilitate knowledge sharing, including a policy tracker covering the actions taken by 196 economies to combat the impact of COVID-19.
For example, the impact of COVID-19 on national budget including massive spending pressures, lost government revenues and higher debt. This makes progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals even more challenging, particularly for the most fragile and vulnerable countries. Now the question is why the IMF has been providing immediate and real-time policy advice and capacity development support to over 160 countries to address urgent issues such as cash management, financial supervision, cyber security, and economic governance. Direct and ongoing conversations with the policymakers to develop capacity to tackle these issues always go hand-in-hand with IMF financial support. Hence more than 90% countries that requested pandemic-related emergency financing have also received capacity development support in the form of handson technical advice, practical tools and policy-oriented training.
Empowering Debt Management and Public Finance Continuity in business and protecting revenue streams are crucial for governments to rapidly mobilize and maintain domestic resources. And as countries ramp up emergency spending, they also want to ensure that they have strong institutional frameworks and good governance so money can quickly get to
27 of our poorest member countries, and together with the World Bank, has led the call to major bilateral creditors to suspend debt service payments from the poorest countries. Debt managers worldwide are grappling with strategic, recording, and management issues in the COVID-19 environment—and are working with IMF technical experts to revise and update their debt management strategies and systems. An important element in this process is data, because it provides key information to assess the crisis and associated financing needs.
Now the question is why the IMF has been providing immediate and real-time policy advice and capacity development support to over 160 countries to address urgent issues such as cash management, financial supervision, cyber security, and economic governance.
July 2020
Altogether 45 Special Series Notes have been produced to provide practical policy guidance to the countries that are crisisrelated to policy challenges. They have expanded free online courses to increase global access to IMF expertise on topics such as fiscal policymaking, financial inclusion, and macroeconomic management. The IMF is also leveraging its global network of regional capacity development centers to respond quickly to countries’ emerging needs and ensure closer coordination with development partners. As a former policymaker, I know first-hand the important role economic institutions can play in shaping policies that impact ordinary people. The laborious task of strengthening economic foundations is not glamorous—but it is one that can have the greatest, long-term impact on the economic and social wellbeing of people.
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ACROSS THE GLOBE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC TRIGGER POLICY RESPONSES IN EMDES
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hen we talk about the Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDE), the Coronavirus crisis has triggered a policy response like no other, both in scope as well as in magnitude. In spite of their diverse features in many ways, this large group of countries—comprising emerging markets and low-income countries—has strengthened the provision of health services and extended unprecedented support to households, firms and financial markets. The limited policy space has however kept the response at a smaller magnitude than in advanced economies. The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the world economy in such a way that the economic activity, mostly in EMDEs, has decelerated with a vast pace in at least 50 years. Several countries are experiencing a sharp decline in trade and capital flows, and the impact of an unprecedented decline in oil and other commodity prices. Hence the Policy Tracker of IMF, summarizes key policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some common threads are as follows:
Monetary Policy The Monetary Policy has been at the forefront of the EMDE response, where the health crisis is necessitating massive health spending, though this increase has been dwarfed by the resources needed to support the broad economy. Countries have provided loans, guarantees, and tax breaks to corporations and SMEs, and extended support to vulnerable households with higher unemployment benefits and subsidies on utility prices. Financing for these new measures emerged from a variety of sources, including borrowing, drawing down buffers, reprioritizing within existing budgets, and multilateral support. Some economies entered this crisis in a vulnerable state with already sluggish growth, high debt levels and limited fiscal space to support the health sector and the flagging economy. About half of all low-income countries were considered in debt distress or at a high risk of debt distress even before the crisis, as assessed by the IMF’s Debt
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FACTS:
MEGA LOCKDOWN IN SAVING LIVES OF THOUSANDS
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s the first Coronavirus outbreak was witnessed in China in December 2019, the disease spread to more than 200 countries and territories. In the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment, governments worldwide have responded by implementing unprecedented containment and mitigation measures— the Mega Lockdown. On the other hands, it all resulted in multiple economic losses and a decline in global economic activity across the world. The containment measures have been very effective in flattening the pandemic curve. The stringent containment measures put in place in New Zealand. Restrictions on gatherings and public events implemented when
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cases were in single digits. Consequently schools and workplaces were closed and all were directed to stay-at-home. And hence, just a few days later the fatalities reduced more than 90%. In other words, the results suggest that, in a
Cover Story Sustainability Framework. Partly reflecting these constraints, the total discretionary fiscal response to the shock has been lower (although still sizeable) in both emerging market and low-income economies at 2.8 and 1.4 percent of GDP respectively in extra spending and tax reductions, compared with 8.6 percent of GDP in advanced economies.
Support from Monetary and Financial Sector
Keep Flexible
The central banks of EMDE have cushioned the impact of the shock on credit conditions through policy rate cuts and liquidity injections. Unlike previous episodes of capital outflow pressures—including the early stage of the Global Financial Crisis— most emerging market economies lowered policy rates (most of them by 50 basis points or more) rather than raising them. This could be attributed to lower inflation pressures and generally more credible monetary policy frameworks. Like many advanced economies, some emerging markets possess little room to cut interest rates further and implemented “unconventional monetary policy ” responses—such as purchases of government and corporate bonds. Specific restrictions including on liquidity and loan classification have been loosened to help banks play a more supportive role during the pandemic.
Countries such as Bolivia and Indonesia are using digital technology to counteract the sudden economic distress on households and small and medium-sized enterprises, and to limit the spread of the disease by encouraging cashless payments
country like New Zealand, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths would have been at least ten times larger than in the absence of concrete preventive actions. Quick intervention and containment measured as the number of days it took a country to implement containment measures after a significant outbreak— public health response time in epidemiology lingo—played a significant role in flattening the curve. Countries such as Vietnam that were faster to put in place containment measures witnessed a reduction in the average number of infections and deaths of 95 and 98 percent respectively. The effect of containment measures also varied depending on variations in country and social characteristics. The impacts were stronger in countries where colder weather during the outbreak produced higher infection rates, and where the
population was older and hence more vulnerable to infection. The way civil society responded to de jure restrictions mattered as well. Countries where lockdown measures resulted in less mobility, and therefore more social distancing, saw a greater reduction in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Ultimately, all explored whether the effect of containment varies across types of measure. Many of these measures were introduced simultaneously as part of the country’s response to limit the spread of the virus, making it challenging to identify the most effective measure. Nevertheless, our results suggest that while all measures have contributed to significantly reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, stayat-home orders appear to have been relatively more effective.
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Currencies of EMDEs with flexible exchange rates have depreciated in response to outflow pressures and heightened risk aversion—over 25 percent in a few cases. A major chunk of economies took advantage of their buffers to offset some of the pressure by intervening in the foreign exchange market and drawing down their international reserves. A few countries eased existing capital controls on inflows, while recourse to measures to curb capital outflows has been very limited.
Major Role of Digitization Countries such as Bolivia and Indonesia are using digital technology to counteract the sudden economic distress on households and small and medium-sized enterprises, and to limit the spread of the disease by encouraging cashless payments. Others, such as Colombia and Kenya, are ensuring affordable access to digital and financial services.
Managing Supply Disruptions As the pandemic and prolonged lockdown hampered global supply chains, many countries took steps to ensure food security and continued access to medical supplies, mostly on a temporary basis. For example, several countries introduced price controls and issued regulations against price gouging for basic food items and medical supplies. Some eased import controls. Unfortunately, in several cases restrictions were introduced on the exports of food and pharmaceuticals.
Worldwide Solidarity In response to the COVID-19 shock, the global financial safety net has been activated and strengthened. The U.S. Federal Reserve has established new swap lines with central banks in several major advanced and emerging economies. The G-20-led debt moratorium initiative and financial assistance from the IMF and other institutions are helping EMDEs cope with the challenges. The IMF has quickly provided emergency assistance to more than 60 countries. In addition, massive liquidity provision by major advanced economy central banks, while directed primarily at domestic financial conditions, has also alleviated pressures on emerging market and developing economies. At the same time, EMDEs are also extending assistance to each other and other countries in need. In particular, Regional Development Banks are providing support for private sector enterprises, trade finance and continued access to medical supplies. Examples of bilateral assistance include Albania, which dispatched a team of doctors to Italy, and Vietnam, which donated medical supplies to neighboring countries as well as advanced economies.
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Defence
COVID-19 OUTBREAK AFFECTS SUPPLY OF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PARTS OD Bureau
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he coronavirus outbreak has badly adversely affected the supply of the spare parts for aircraft maintenance in India. It all happened due to the distribution of the rail and road network during the ongoing nationwide lockdown meant to prevent the spread of this deadly virus, the Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Space), Air Vice Marshal, said the media. According to the officials, the disruption in the supply of spares is for aircraft, which are manufactured by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics LimitedNSE 2.83 % (HAL) and undergo major repairs by the company. Several aircraft in the IAF”s inventory has been manufactured by HAL. Spares coming from abroad have also been delayed. The supply of spares to the defence services has been affected, because the supply chain was ‘disrupted’ and remained “standstill” during the lockdown, sources at the HAL said. This is in regard to raw materials required for manufacturing, bought out finished parts as spares for use in sub-assemblies, assemblies, line replaceable units (LRU) repair and fresh LRUs. The delay in spares due to the pandemic has also delayed repairs. Sources also said that HAL had to take proactive measures to ensure supply of spares. It took special permission under essential services and resumed operation in the fourth week of April. It is currently producing all indigenous spares on priority, especially for the IAF. It has already supplied some urgently required spares, which were available in stock and were being manufactured after restart of operations. However, the major suppliers of spare parts are from Russia and western countries, which are under lockdown, resulting in further delay in the supply of spares. Most of the original equipment manufacturers have postponed supplies due to the lockdown. Spares from these countries are also delayed due to pending payments from customers.
The delay in spares support, however, has not affected the IAF”s operational preparedness and COVID-19 related operations, due to the HAL restarting operations last month
The delay in spares support, however, has not affected the IAF”s operational preparedness and COVID-19 related operations, due to the HAL restarting operations last month. IAF aircraft and helicopters have been undertaking regular sorties across India to airlift essential supplies and medical equipment, which would require regular maintenance. It has also been kept on standby to evacuate stranded Indians from abroad. “Distribution of rail or road movement has affected spare support for maintaining aircraft,” Singh said.
He also said, “flying training has been affected as the stipulated social distancing norms affect aircraft maintenance, as well as flying activities”. HAL sources added, “The pandemic has
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caused delays in supplies resulting in consequent delays in repairs.”
During the lockdown period, spares supply to the defence services were affected both at HAL and the company’s other OEMs since the supply chain was disrupted and remained stand still. The HAL took proactive measures to kick-start the functioning by taking special permission under essential services and the company resumed operations in the fourth week of April 2020. Sources said, “Currently, all indigenous spares are being produced on priority. HAL has supplied certain urgent requirements of spares which were available in stock and which were under manufacturing immediately upon opening”. Major suppliers of spares are of western and Russian origin and they are currently under lockdown, resulting in spares supply delays. HAL was the first Central Public Sector Enterprise to be accorded special approval for commencing regular production activities, which were put under lockdown due to COVID-19. Other measures include fast tracking part payments, resource study for life extension of spares and others.
Defence
INDIAN DEFENSE TO ACQUIRE SUPERCHARGED F-16 SOON By Kris Osborn, Senior Journalist
As a part of an effort to match, rival or exceed Chinese air supremacy, especially during the days of conflict, the Indian Defense System is likely to get a supercharged F-16 soon. It has been tailored by Lockheed Martin.
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ockheed developers said, the remodeled planes of the F-21, incorporated several specific-toIndia technologies. Some of these technologies include an advanced, Northrop built APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare systems and Triple Missile Launcher Adapters ‘allowing the F-21 to carry 40-percent more air-to-air weapons than previous F-16 designs’. The Lockheed spokesman, John Losinger, said, “The F-21 is also the only fighter in the world capable of both probe/drogue and boom aerial refueling, and it has the longest service life of any competitor—12,000 flight hours”.
The F-21 also uses a U.S. Navy-built advanced Infrared Search and Track targeting technology. IRST is used extensively in U.S. Navy Super Hornet F-18 upgrades
The new AESA radar, he added, nearly doubles the range of existing radar systems, enabling much more substantial detection and targeting capability. The F-21 also uses a U.S. Navy-built advanced Infrared Search and Track targeting technology. IRST is used extensively in U.S. Navy Super Hornet F-18 upgrades. Navy officials have described the IRST system is a passive, long-range sensor that searches for and detects infrared emissions. IRST is designed to simultaneously track multiple targets and provide a highly effective air-to-air targeting capability, even when encountering advanced threats equipped with radar-jamming technology, Navy developers explained. The IRST technology was specifically engineered with a mind to the fast-changing electromagnetic warfare environment and the realization that potential future adversaries are far more likely to contest U.S. dominance in these areas. IRST also provides the Super Hornet an alternate air-to-air targeting system in a high threat electronic attack environment, developers explained. The IRST technology, designed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is designed to search for heat signals over long distances, providing the aircraft with key targeting information. The IRST system—which has been tested on F/A-18s, is passive and therefore harder to detect than some radar technologies which give off radiation, Navy officials said.
The F-21 could doubtless have a strategic impact upon the India-China rivalry as advanced 4th Gen aircraft are still quite viable given the series of upgrades. The U.S., for instance, has embarked upon substantial weapons and technology upgrades for its F-16, F-15 and F-18 in an effort to sustain the combat efficacy and service life of the aircraft; they still very much pose a substantial threat to potential adversaries. However, it is fair to say that an advanced F-21, while potentially producible on a fast timeframe, may not be equipped to rival the Chinese J-20 or J-31 5th-Gen stealth aircraft.
At the same time, India’s ultimate decision on the F-21, which recently appears to be leaning toward acquiring the plane, could easily be further influenced by recent Chinese provocations. A May 29 report in The Indian Express reports that satellite images show a threatening Chinese deployment near the Indian border. “Highly placed sources said a detailed analysis of satellite images has shown extensive deployment of towed artillery and mechanized elements on the Chinese side, bringing Indian deployments within striking distance”, the paper writes.
(The writer is the new Defense Editor for the National Interest. He previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology.)
July 2020
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Defence
WHETHER CHINA IS TRUSTWORTHY TO INDIA…! By Narayan Swamy
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was told by the Chinese leadership that it was strange that the CPI opposed the Nehru government when it pursued a progressive and anti-imperialist policy. Mao himself had told Ajoy Ghosh that border disputes were a matter of concern but as long as the Ganges and the Yangtze rivers flowed, SinoIndian friendship would continue. So how could the Chinese suddenly start fomenting anti-India Dutt and his feelings? Surely the Dutts were wrong. wife Gargi
n 1958, a China expert, Vidya Prakash Dutt, along with his wife returned from Beijing with the distinct impression that chauvinism was overtaking Communism in China. It was almost 4-years before the Sino-Indian war occurred. The couple also felt that anti-India attitudes were being cultivated by the Communist Party of China (CPC), at a time when ‘Chini-Hindi Bhai Bhai’ was still dominating public discourse in India. Dutt and his wife Gargi reported this directly to the CPI leadership and also through Mohit Sen, a party leader who, almost 10 years later, would break away to form his own Communist party. Then the CPI General Secretary, Ajoy Ghosh, gave them a patient hearing. After feeling they were overreacting, he told them and Sen to keep silent. Sen, who had spent three years in China earlier when he met Mao, also felt that the Dutts were making a mountain of a molehill. The experts however kept their points in following ways.
reported this directly to the CPI leadership and also through Mohit Sen, a party leader who, almost 10 years later, would break away to form his own Communist party
Deliberate Outrage against India. The kind of discomfort felt by Sen was, indeed undeniable. Only two years previously, in 1956, the Chinese Communist Party had decided on a strategic alliance with India in a bid to promote world peace. A CPI delegation touring China in 1957
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The late 50s and early 60s were tumultuous times in China, what with Mao unleashing a disastrous Great Leap Forward to boost the nation’s economy (the campaign was a disaster) and the Dalai Lama escaping to India. The Sino-Soviet differences were getting sharper. China began to assert itself in the Communist world after having been subservient to Stalin for long. Jawaharlal Nehru had been under attack from both within the Congress and the opposition ever since the Chinese overran Tibet. The increasing bitterness over the disputed border only brought him under further pressure over his alleged softness towards a belligerent Beijing in the name of Afro-Asian solidarity and internationalism. Much like now, China suddenly took a hard stand over the McMahon Line, which the Communist regime refused to
Defence Deng Xiao-ping had the audacity to claim years later that China wanted to teach India “a lesson”. The 1962 war was a disaster for India. It killed Nehru both politically and physically. He was a pale shadow of his old self until passing away in May 1964. China went on to encourage a split, first, in the CPI, which refused to bow to Chinese claims on India and later in the CPI-M by openly encouraging the Naxalbari revolt. Beijing provided clandestine and not-so-clandestine support to insurgents in Nagaland. At the same time, it insisted that the Dalai Lama, an internationally respected figure, should not be allowed to talk against the Chinese regime. Even courtesy meetings between Indian politicians and the Tibetan icon would draw angry reactions in Beijing. In later times, China refused recognise. Maps published in Beijing showed vast tracts of to give visas to people hailing from Arunachal Pradesh (as territory in India’s northwest and northeast as belonging they were its nationals anyway!). Although the Nehru regime to China. (China now calls Arunachal Pradesh went out of its way to support China’s candidature southern Tibet.) When the CPI, at the urging of for a UN permanent seat, Beijing used its Indian leaders the then Indian Defence Minister, raised the matter veto right and other international forums have claimed, with the Chinese, they said these were old, preto oppose India on various issues. Much like justly so, that Communist maps. But China made a volte-face Nehru in an earlier era, Prime Minister Narendra the India of and told India that the areas claimed by Beijing had Modi’s courting of the Chinese President too has now is not the been annexed by the British and that the Chinese not helped. people felt strongly about the territory because the India of 1962. remains of their ancestors rested there! Indian leaders have claimed, justly so, that the But it is equally India of now is not the India of 1962. But it is true that One fine day Indians woke up to learn that Chinese equally true that today’s China is dramatically today’s China soldiers had ambushed and killed 19 Indian different from that of 1962. When the 1962 war is dramatically soldiers. China refused to express any regret, took place, China was a Communist state that different from saying the dead men belonged to “aggressive was beginning to isolate itself, which would leave that of 1962 and reactionary armies”. (Note the insistence it in the times to come with only North Korea now by Chinese media that it is Indian troops and Albania as friends. Today’s China, despite calling itself a developing country, is a global economic giant, who are the aggressors.) Although some writers have despite the setbacks caused by Covid-19. Besides it is a huge argued that it was Nehru who provoked the northern military power and it looks down upon India, whose economic neighbour, Beijing needed no needling. As (the late) Mohit growth has taken a massive beating due to Covid-19. The times Sen records in his highly readable autobiography, such was when we journalists used to accompany Indian Prime Ministers the nature of the Chinese revolution that nothing could stop to the UN Assembly, we saw how mainstream American its Communists from turning chauvinistic. No wonder that media gave prominence to the Chinese President while burying the Indian leadership in inside pages. Indian diplomats would blame it on “nuisance value” – the more a country has it, the more the interest in it. Each time Chinese leaders say that New Delhi and Beijing need to work together, one wonders what is going on in their mind. It must be frustration with doublespeak that may have forced Modi to say that he discussed the border trouble with China with the US President. India normally shies away from discussing bilateral issues with a third party. For the first time, it not only broke the norm but also made a public admission. Full credit must be given to the Chinese leadership for generating so much lack of trust that India decided that a U-turn was vital to safeguard its interests. (The writer is a senior journalist and defense columnist)
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Int'l Biz
NO NEGOTIATION REGARDING TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA: PRESIDENT TRUMP
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xpressing disappointment over Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the United states President, Donald Trump, has denied any renegotiation regarding trade deal with China.
Over 3,00,000 people, including more than 80,000 in America, have died due to the Coronavirus outbreak across the world. Noticeably, the U.S. and China in the beginning of the year signed Phase-1 of a trade deal, ending a bitter two-year tariff war that had rattled the global economy. Talking tgo the media, President Trump said, “The Chinese said somewhere that they would like to renegotiate the (trade) deal. We are not going to renegotiate”. “I am not happy about anything having to do with that particular subject (China) right now. Everything I said turned out to be right. You look at other countries they charge us tariffs to do business and we are not allowed to charge them”, President Trump added. When asked, Trump said the Chinese have always stolen Intellectual Property (IP) from the U.S. “They were never called (out). Now they are being called out”, he stressed.
“I am not happy about anything having to do with that particular subject (China) right now. Everything I said turned out to be right. You look at other countries they charge us tariffs to do business and we are not allowed to charge them”
Trump said, “We can stop them, they are going to try doing it. I mean you could also stop doing business with them, which is one thing. Look, we have lost a fortune dealing with China. We have rebuilt China”. The President said he does not want to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping right now. There are many things that the United States can do, he asserted. “There are many things we could do. Even we could cut off the whole relationship. Now if you did what would happen? You would save USD 500 billion, if you cut off the whole relationship. Look, at what point does — and I said this for years I said it with other countries also you know — China is not the only country ripping us off at the NATO where we defend Europe for nothing by the way essentially nothing I was able to get them to pay hundreds of billions of dollars more”, President Trump said. The deadly coronavirus that had first emerged in China’s Wuhan city in December last has killed over 3,00,000 people with 4.3 million confirmed cases across the world. More than a quarter of all confirmed COVID-19 cases are from the U.S.
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Int'l Biz
US RESOLVES TO STOP PLANNED EXPEDITION MEANT TO RETRIEVE TITANIC RADIO
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perished and whose remains should be given appropriate respect. The Titanic was traveling from England to New York when it struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the However, the U.S. attorneys filed a legal 2,208 passengers challenge before a federal judge in Norfolk, and crew. Distress Virginia. The expedition is expected to calls to other ships begin by the end of August. It would exhibit that were made by the telegraph while telling the stories of the the Marconi wireless telegraph machine operators who broadcast the sinking ship’s are credited with helping to save hundreds distress calls. of people on lifeboats. The U.S. filed its arguments with the same federal judge Recently the company showed its interest who ruled last month that to recover the radio equipment the salvage firm could dive from a deck house near the The Titanic nearly 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) Titanic’s grand staircase. The was traveling to recover the telegraph mission could require an from England equipment. The Titanic wreck underwater vehicle to cut into to New York site sits on the floor of the the rapidly deteriorating roof when it struck North Atlantic about 400 if the submersible is unable to an iceberg miles (645 kilometers) off slip through a skylight. The U.S. and sank in Newfoundland, Canada. attorneys said that the company could not do that. They say 1912, killing all In May, U. S. District Judge federal law requires the firm but about 700 Rebecca Beach Smith agreed to get authorization from the of the 2,208 with the salvage firm that Secretary of Commerce before passengers and the telegraph is historically conducting salvage expeditions. crew. important and could soon disappear within the rapidly The agreement with the United decaying wreck. Smith wrote that Kingdom regulates entry into the hull recovering the telegraph would contribute sections to prevent disturbances to the hull to preserving the legacy of the ship and and other artifacts and any human remains. its passengers. Noticeably, the National The international agreement calls for the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Titanic to be recognized as a memorial (NOAA) represent the public’s interest to those men, women and children who he United States Government will strive to stop a company’s planned salvage mission to retrieve the Titanic’s wireless telegraph machine. The US Authorities argued that the expedition would break federal law and a pact with Britain to leave the iconic shipwreck unhindered.
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in the shipwreck. NOAA has operated for years as a – friend of the court. The NOAA’s legal challenge escalates a simmering debate over who can approve salvage missions to the world’s most famous shipwreck. The federal agency argues that federal laws and international agreements should apply to the wreckage. The salvage firm disagrees, claiming that hundreds of years of maritime law give authority to the court in Norfolk. George Rutherglen, a law professor who teaches admiralty law at the University of Virginia, said the case is likely far from over. Depending on how Judge Smith rules on NOAA’s status as a party to the case, Rutherglen said the U.S. government could still try bringing its case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said, the appeals court in Richmond has shown its interests in cases involving the nation’s agreements with foreign countries as well as cases concerning the disturbance of grave sites.
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Int'l Biz
AFTER COVID-19, LOCUSTS POSING SEVERE THREAT TO PAKISTAN
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ampant invasion of locusts have caused severe damage to crops and orchards in Pakistan. It has been posing a serious threat to food security in an impoverished Islamic nation that is already struggling to tackle a virus pandemic over the past 3-4 months. The Pandemic coronavirus has caused more than 1,300 deaths in Pakistan. Massive swarms of the desert locust, which experts say originates in Africa and is the most destructive of the locust species, began damaging crops in Pakistan last month. But the situation worsened this week and authorities began dispatching aircraft and spraying machines filled with pesticides mounted on vehicles to eliminate the insects, which are roughly the length of a finger and fly together by the millions. Farmers could be seen wading through clouds of the insects as some tried to kill them with sticks. Chaudhry Asghar, an agriculture officer in the Punjab provincial capital of Multan, said millions of desert locusts had already damaged orchards, crops and vegetables. “We have intensified efforts to save our crops from any further invasion of locusts”, Syed Fahar Imam, national food security minister, said Friday. He said the government will buy five more aircraft for spraying crops.
The insects have wreaked havoc on swathes of farmland in eastern Punjab, southern Sindh and southwestern Baluchistan province. They also attacked crops in the northwest bordering Afghanistan. The locusts have also brought agricultural destruction to neighboring India, where critics pointed the finger at Pakistan as a new breeding ground for the desert locusts. Pakistani officials said no country should blame another for the situation, but all affected countries need to make collective efforts to prevent a possible food crisis in the region. Farmers say while crops of rabi, a type of grain, were than 64,000 cases confirmed Chaudhry and more than 1,300 fatalities. sown in winter and harvested Asghar, an The country on Friday reported in the spring, locusts are agriculture 57 virus-related deaths in the damaging cotton and vegetable officer in past 24 hours, its most in a crops sown in April. “I have the Punjab single day since the outbreak already lost my cotton crop provincial capital of began in February. Infections and vegetables because of Multan, said increased recently across these locusts”, said Abdul millions of Pakistan, including in the Rehman, a farmer in Baluchistan desert locusts capital of Islamabad, after the province. He wondered had already government eased lockdown what they would eat if the damaged restrictions, ignoring warnings locusts continued unchecked. orchards, crops from medical professionals. The National Disaster and vegetables Despite increasing numbers Management Authority said of cases and virus-related resources fatalities, Pakistan announced Friday were being mobilized and that it would resume international operations were underway air travel, starting on Saturday, after to curb the locust invasion. In a statement, it said 1,150 teams flights were suspended in March to contain of experts have expanded operations the spread of virus. It said all required by spraying swarms of desert locusts measures will be taken for the safety of in 61 districts across the country. passengers by deploying medical teams at Arrangements were also being airports to screen passengers and cabin made to combat another possible crews. As such, the locusts have emerged attack of desert locusts expected as a fresh economic as well as the human in July and August. threats in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan has struggled to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, with more
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During the last week of May 2020, flocks of locusts had also wreak havoc vast portions of Uttar Pradesh and suburban regions in India.
Int'l Biz
BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS IN GREECE TO BE REOPENED, DESPITE CORONA FEAR
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he newest bar & restaurants of Mykono, an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea in Greece seemed to appear from nowhere. Tables, coffee machines, light fittings, music mixers and staff wearing matching black face masks were still being slotted into place as Greek visitors trickled in at the start of a long holiday weekend. Majorly depending on Tourism, the country has officially opened the ways for foreign tourists since second week of June. The authorities hope that the pinned on prime destinations like the islands of Mykonos, Rhodes, Corfu, Crete and Santorini, will attract more tourists soon after opening all ways from July 1, 2020. Greece has gambled on a decision to relax COVID-19 health inspections at ports and airports to try to avoid another crippling recession, having only recently emerged from a painful financial crisis. No matter how much we wish for it and want it, it won’t be more than that. We expect that tourists from central Europe will come first, and hopefully Americans at a later stage. They are our best customers. Timely and strictly enforced lockdown measures have so far kept the infection rate in Greece low and the death toll below 200. Mykonos Mayor Konstantinos Koukas told the AP that islanders feel prepared and have clear government guidelines. He said, “We want to open back up and we are heading into the 2020 season with optimism. But we are fully aware that it will be nothing like the
season in 2019 — and hopefully nothing like the season in 2021”.
should be kept in place, with authorities only permitting travel to those recently tested in countries of origin. A safety net had been built for the islands — with An island that so many epitomizes high-life connections to each other and to mainland and hedonism, Mykonos would normally hospitals for testing and health evacuations. look very different in early June. Its winding The network of doctors and support staff whitewashed streets would be packed. will be deployed with the help of more than High-paying customers would be spilling 100 mobile units in cars and out of the bars, eyeing luxury speed boats, and backed by the storefronts and competing This year, coast guard, air force, and civil with crowds from cruise ships beaches authorities. The authorities for a restaurant table. The VIP are empty, believe that each island will be watchers have spotted pop star rented cars attached to a fully equipped Katy Perry and soccer great fill fenced-off lots, and most mainland hospital. Greece’s Cristiano Ronaldo among a large stores remain gamble follows a decade of crop of celebrities seen here in padlocked. tourism growth and increasing recent summers. Stray cats and reliance on the industry, with the island’s annual visitor numbers more This year, beaches are empty, mascot, a large, light pink than doubling since 2010 to 34 rented cars fill fenced-off pelican, roam million last year and revenue lots, and most stores remain the streets for up 80% to some 18 billion padlocked. Stray cats and the company euros ($20.2 billion). island’s mascot, a large, light pink pelican, roam the streets for company. Mosaic artist Irene Syrianou has kept her workshop open despite the lack of customers. The government's reopening policy has been criticized by the left-wing Syriza main opposition party, which argued tougher controls
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Business Tips
NEED TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE AND PROFITABILITY OF YOUR BUSINESS? ADOPT THE KAIZEN APPROACH!
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ittle or very little known, even little used in our companies, the Kaizen approach, essential for the implementation of Lean Management in the company, has however proven itself in many small, medium and large companies in the world. The Kaizen strategy is the most important concept in Japanese management; it is the key to the competitive success of the Japanese industry. Kaizen means continuous improvement involving everyone, Directors, Managers and workers. Kaizen is a compound of two Japanese words that together translate as "good change" or "improvement." However, Kaizen has come to mean "continuous improvement" through its association with lean methodology and principles.
There are mainly 2 approaches to solving business problems: - The first involves innovation, advanced methodologies, often very expensive technical solutions, investments... - The second uses "common sense", very efficient systems as well as tools and techniques that don't cost a lot of money.
The second approach is called Kaizen. Kaizen is based on the philosophical belief that everything can be improved: some organizations look at a process and see that it's running fine; organizations that follow the principle of Kaizen see
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a process that can be improved. This means that nothing is ever seen as a status quo – there are continuous efforts to improve which result in small, often imperceptible, changes over time. These incremental changes add up to substantial changes over the longer term, without having to go through any radical innovation. It can be a much gentler and employee-friendly way to institute the changes that must occur as a business grows and adapts to its changing environment.
that is empowered to make immediate decisions and changes. The results are typically major improvements in terms of quality, reduction of lead times and cost of products or services. It is absolutely necessary to establish a detailed planning for the implementation of solutions during the Kaizen workshop, as well as to plan and then hold periodic meetings to review the implementation of changes.
What is a Kaizen workshop? A Kaizen workshop is a dedicated teamwork, under a mode of operation in training-to-action which is disciplined and rigorous and whose goal is to create and develop quick, practical solutions to one or several company The Kaizen strategy is problems, whether it the most is a clear problem important resolution, a process concept in streamlining activity Japanese or an improvement of management; it is the quality, delay or cost key to the performance. competitive success of the Japanese industry.
It involves the people who actually do the work, that is to say the actors of the process or who are "responsible" for it through a very concentrated multifunctional approach, results-oriented, over a period of 2 to 5 days.This approach requires, as a prerequisite, an intensive support from management, a multifunctional team
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Business Tips
It is absolutely necessary to establish a detailed planning for the implementation of solutions during the Kaizen workshop, as well as to plan and then hold periodic meetings to review the implementation of changes. There are several dimensions to the Kaizen approach: There is not only one format and only one "dimension" for Kaizen workshops. These dimensions, which can differ from one company to another and from one subject to another, are characterized by: - The relative complexity of the subject to be treated - The duration of the Kaizen workshop itself which can last from 2 days to 5 days depending on the subject
purchasing, engineering, human resources, etc.) - 10% to 40% improvement in the quality of products or services - 15 to 60% reduction in product costs
- Integration of this into a business approach - The impact it (or these) can have on the company.
The ten principles of Kaizen Because executing Kaizen requires enabling the right mind-set throughout a company, 10 principles that address the Kaizen mind-set are commonly referenced as core to the philosophy. They are: 1. Let go of assumptions. 2. Be proactive about solving problems. 3. Don't accept the status quo. 4. Let go of perfectionism and take an attitude of iterative, adaptive change. 5. Look for solutions as you find mistakes. 6. Create an environment in which everyone feels empowered to contribute. 7. Don't accept the obvious issue; instead, ask "why" five times to get to the root cause. 8. Discard information and opinions from multiple people. 9. Use creativity to find low-cost, small improvements. 10. Never stop improving. The extent of the complexity of Kaizen workshops can vary widely. This can range, for example, from the definition and implementation in a team of visual management elements to the reconfiguration and rationalization of all key business processes, or the dramatic improvement of the quality of products or services. Many of our companies, on the other hand, make more or less fruitful attempts by trying to deploy Lean through Kaizen workshops in a sporadic manner, by theme or by function. This approach, unfortunately, will only have visible effects on the performance, profitability and competitiveness of the company in the long term;and will then speak of continuous improvement.
Typical Kaizen workshop results are in the order of: - 30 to 60% reduction in lead time for processes (manufacturing, logistics,
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Achieving improvements in the business with one's own solutions and ideas, as well as with the contribution of one's own employees, on an ongoing basis, generally results in creating a competitive advantage and a culture that cannot be bought and transferred from the outside. It is a lasting and unique culture of the company , retained within. There are a number of reasons why Kaizen can be an advantage for an organization; however, there are some situations for which it is less suited.
Some of Kaizen's advantages are: • W i t h i t s f o c u s o n g r a d u a l improvement, Kaizen can create a gentler approach to change in contrast to big efforts that may be abandoned due to their tendency to provoke change resistance and abandonment. • Kaizen encourages scrutiny of processes so that mistakes and waste can be reduced. • Inspection needs are lessened because errors are reduced. • Employee morale grows because it can bring about a sense of value and purposefulness. • Teamwork increases as employees think beyond the specific issues of their department. • C l i e n t f o c u s i n c r e a s e s a s customer requirements awareness are raised. • Systems are in place to ensure improvements are encouraged both in the short term and the long term.
Some of Kaizen's disadvantages are: • C o m p a n i e s w i t h c u l t u r e s of territorialism and closed communication may first need to focus on cultural changes to create a receptive environment. • Short-term Kaizen events may create a burst of excitement that is shallow and short-lived and, therefore, gets abandoned before long.
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Science & Technology UFOs have fascinated and puzzled people for decades, yet hard evidence seems abstract
SPECIAL ON
WORLD UFO DAY 2 JULY
UFOS: THE MYSTERY CONTINUES
A
liens- what does this word make you think: A greenish-olive group of organisms with antennas on their heads from outside the Earth. Wait but isn’t Earth the only planet with life on it? Sightings of UFOs in the sky have led people over the world think differently. World UFO Day is a day dedicated to the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects i.e. UFOs. It’s an awareness day for people to gather together and look at the sky for unknown flying objects. This day is celebrated on 2 July. UFOs have fascinated and puzzled people for decades, yet hard evidence seems abstract. Many people are convinced that not only are extraterrestrials i.e. aliens visiting Earth, but that governments have perpetuated a
TODAY, MOST PEOPLE EQUATE UFOS WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE
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Science & Technology
a careless reporter misunderstood as saying that the objects themselves resembled "flying saucers," and that mistake launched many "flying saucer" reports in later decades. Investigators think that Arnold probably saw a flock of pelicans and misjudged their size, their large wings creating the "V" shape he described. The most famous UFO crash allegedly occurred when something crashed on a ranch in the desert outside of Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and the debate rages to this day. The first UFO abduction case — and to this day the most famous — was that of Barney and Betty Hill, an interracial couple who in 1961 claimed to have been chased down and abducted by a UFO. However, since there were no other eyewitnesses to the event and they didn't report the abduction at the time, many remain skeptical. Another famous UFO sighting occurred near Phoenix, Arizona, in March 1997 when a series of bright lights were reported
AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, BUT THIS IS A VERY RECENT IDEA. top-secret global conspiracy to cover it up. Here's a look at UFOs throughout history. Today, most people equate UFOs with extraterrestrial intelligence and advanced technologies, but this is a very recent idea. That's not to say that historically people did not report seeing unusual things in the skies, for they surely did: comets, meteors, eclipses and the like had been reported for millennia — in fact some researchers believe that the Star of Bethlehem may have been an illusion created by a merging of Jupiter and Saturn, which occurred right around Jesus' birth).
in the night skies. Though it is known that the military dropped flares over a nearby proving ground during routine exercises around the time of the sightings, UFO buffs dismiss the government's explanation of the lights and insist there's more to the story. It's not hard to understand why there are so many UFO sightings. After all, the only criterion for a UFO is that some "flying object" be "unidentified" by whoever is looking at it at the time. Any object seen in the sky, especially at night, can be very difficult to identify because of the limitations of human perception. Even the planet Venus — at least 25 million miles away — has been mistaken for a UFO by pilots and others on many occasions.
But it's only been in the past century or so that anybody assumed that unknown lights or objects in the sky were visitors from other planets. The first reports of what could be called UFOs emerged in the late 1800s, though in those The most famous days they didn't use terms like "UFO" or "flying UFO crash allegedly saucer," but instead "airships."
Psychologists also know that our brains tend to "fill in" missing information, which can mislead us. For example, many sightings of three lights in the night sky are reported occurred when as appearing as a triangular spacecraft. something crashed The most dramatic early UFO encounter The fact is that any three lights in the occurred in 1897 Texas, when E.E. Haydon, sky, whether connected or not, will on a ranch in the a newspaper reporter for the Dallas Morning form a triangle if you assume (without desert outside News, described an amazing encounter e vidence) that each of those lights of Roswell, New complete with a crashed spacecraft, dozens of are fixed at the ends of three points. Mexico, in 1947, and eyewitnesses, a recovered dead Martian body, Had a witness seen four lights he or she the debate rages and metallic wreckage. The fantastic tale unraveled would have assumed it was a rectangularto this day when researchers could find no eyewitnesses to shaped object in the night sky above him; support Haydon's story, and nothing of the alien or the our brains sometimes make connections "several tons" of mysterious spacecraft wreckage was ever where none exist. found. It turned out that Haydon had made the whole story up as a publicity stunt to attract tourists. All that is needed to create a UFO sighting is one person who may not recognize a light or object in the sky. But just UFO sightings because one person — or even several people — can't immediately identify or explain something they see doesn't mean that someone Early newspaper hoaxes aside, there have been countless UFO else with more training or experience (or even the same person reports over the decades, and a few of them stand out as especially seeing the same object from a different angle) may not instantly important. The first report of a "flying saucer" dates back only to recognize it. While it's possible that extraterrestrials in spacecraft 1947 when a pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine exist and have visited Earth, the UFO sightings so far provide no objects resembling boomerangs in the sky. He described their real evidence. movement as "like a saucer if you skip it across the water," which
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Career
HOW TO START INVESTING IN THE
STOCK MARKET?
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Career What is the stock market? A market where both the purchasing and selling of stocks happens is known as the stock market. There are two significant securities exchanges in India. One is the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the other National Stock Exchange (NSE). Stockbrokers are required to purchase any stock. There are numerous acceptable stockbrokers in India. Stockbrokers have their different charges, contingent upon which stock intermediary you bought the stock from.
How to Start Investing in the Stock Market? 1. Get a PAN Card: PAN or Permanent Account Number is a primary requirement for entering any financial transactions in our country. It is unique 10 digit Alpha-Numeric number assigned to an individual by the Tax Authorities for assessing their tax liabilities. PAN is however required for opening a bank account, investing in mutual funds, filling Income Tax returns etc. Also the first thing you will need to be able to invest in shares in India is a PAN card, so get it first.
2. Get a Broker: We cannot directly go to the stock exchange and buy or sell stocks/shares like we would buy or sell any other thing. People are authorized to buy and sell on the markets and they are called brokers. Brokers can be individuals or companies and even online agencies that are registered and licensed by SEBI or Securities and Exchanges Board of India that regulates the share markets. Get a broker, they can be individuals you know and are reliable, or you can approach various companies that are licensed to trade and deal in securities in the markets.If you are comfortable with internet and online stuff, you can even have online broking through companies.
3. Get a Demat and Trading Account: Once you have a broker, whether in form of a person, company or online, you will now need a Demat and Trading account. Demat account will hold the stocks or shares in your name and the same will reflect in your stock portfolio. You cannot hold shares in physical form or store them physically. They have to in Dematerialized state or Demat state. A Demat account does that for you. It will store the shares you buy from the markets through your brokers in your account in your name. The selling will also be from here and it will reflect in your Demat statements that you receive from time to time. You will never have a physical share certificate in your hands; it will be reflected in your Demat Account Statement.
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The buying and selling of shares you wish to have or want to sell will however require a Trading account. Trading account will be like an intermediary who facilitates the buying and selling. Usually your broker takes care of all this. Whether you approach an individual broker, a broking firm or online agencies, the Demat and Trading accounts will be opened simultaneously as it is one without the other is useless for investing in shares in India.
4. Depository Participant: There is also a Depositary Participant that you need to be aware of. There are two depositories in India: NSDL and CDSL which stands for National Securities Depository Limited and Central Depository Services Limited. These two have their agents in the form of Depository Participants who will provide an account to store the shares you hold. It is not the same as Demat and Trading account as in Demat it shows the number shares you hold and the Trading reflects the buying and selling that has taken place in your account. Depository Participants will hold those shares you bought and release the shares you sold. However, it is usually taken care of by the broker who will also guide you through the Demat, Trading account opening process as well as register with a Depository. But you need to be aware of it none-the-less.
5. UIN if you want to invest BIG: UIN or Unique Identification Number is required in case you trade for Rs. 1,00,000 or more at a single time. If you plan to go BIG in share markets, UIN is needed. Otherwise, for regular investors it is not required.
6. Buying and Selling: For buying or selling shares, you need to inform your broker about which share in what quantity you wish to buy at which price. In case of online broker too, they usually have customer care numbers where you can place your order if you do not have access to the internet at that point. When the share reaches that price, transaction will be made on your behalf. Same is done in case of selling. The sell order will be processed when the share reaches that price. However the buy and sell orders remain valid only up to a certain time, usually the same day or the next. Your broker will inform you of the same. If during that time frame the buy or sell price is not reached, the order is cancelled and you need to place a new order. Now that you know how to get started with your investment in shares, do not get carried away as stock markets can be tricky and it won’t take time for you to lose money if you make a slight mistake in judgement or follow stuff blindly. Use your best judgement. Happy Investing!!!
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Tour & Travel
VIRTUAL d l r o W We may all be temporarily grounded, but thanks to the miracles of the internet, we can tour this big beautiful world from pretty much anywhere -- with the added bonus of not having to deal with lines and fellow tourists. Virtual tours can take you pretty much anywhere, from distant lands to historic museums to your local zoo. Through them, you can witness eye-popping natural phenomena, explore mountain tops and deep caverns, and tour cities you've always dreamed of visiting. And you can do all of this from the couch.
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Tour & Travel
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ith the world at our virtual fingertips, there are plenty of ways to feed your inner traveller from the comfort of your bed. When you think of virtual reality, you might equate it to video games. There are some shared qualities between the two technologies. But you should think of them as parallel but not the same. A video game revolves around completing a task, whereas VR is about a visual experience. VR comes in many different forms. Some devices are as simple as Google Cardboard. It transforms your phone into a simple VR device. Although it isn’t as impressive, it’s affordable and easy to pair with VR apps. The bottom line is that you should manage your expectations when it comes to virtual travel. Nothing will replace a real trip somewhere. But it’s still impressive what you can do now with minimal investment. You don’t even need any VR equipment to check out some fantastic experiences. If you have a UHD TV, you can preview virtual tours to see if VR is a good fit for you before you invest in any gear.
home. Here’s a list of ways you can travel virtually and keep your wanderlust spirit alive:
Books Reading is one of the best and most budget-friendly ways to “travel” when you’re stuck indoors. You can transport yourself to far-flung destinations and get inspired by the power of words — all from the comfort (and safety) of home.
Movies
You don’t have to be a professional traveler to be able to appreciate a successful cinematographic production, which should be about travel or to inspire you to travel. At Virtual callings least with your mind and soul, if right now, physically and Meetups are in fashion (and is not possible. There are many amazing films to necessity) in times choose online right now. Now, between Hulu, like these. You can go ahead and try HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, you apps like zoom to can get anything you want. There are plenty of virtually meet new people or even stay travel-related content out there such as Wild, connected with Midnight in Paris, The Beach, Lost in Translation, Into your old friends the wild, A Map for Saturday, to name a few.
Many destinations and museums now let you “visit them” virtually. And there are also plenty of amazing books you can read, interesting films and TV shows you can watch, and fun meetups and classes to join.In short, you can still see the world from
Virtual Meetups Virtual callings and Meetups are in fashion (and necessity) in times like these. You can go ahead and try apps like zoom to virtually meet new people or even stay connected with your old friends.
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Tour & Travel
VIRTUAL TOURS It seems every destination or museum is now offering some virtual tour. While it’s not the same as being there in person, it’s still an enjoyable way to pass the time, get inspired, and learn about the world. Here are some of them:
The Great Wall of China One of the greatest feats of human engineering and most significant pieces of architecture to this day, the sheer scale of the Great Wall of China alone is enough to strike admiration. While the wall stretches almost 14,000 miles, only parts of the wall are walkable as much of the rest are in various states of disrepair. While you may not currently be able to visit these parts, why not consider visiting the incredible monument virtually?
The Louvre The title for the most visited museum in the world goes to the Louvre, and it’s easy to see why – from its stunning contrasting Renaissance buildings with the modern additions done by I.M. Pei to the countless priceless treasures the museum holds. A victim of its own success, the Louvre, just like many other tourist hotspots, has been plagued by over tourism. While it is now closed, their virtual tours remain open where you can continue to marvel at the museum’s iconic Egyptian Antiquities and its historic moat.
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Tour & Travel The Vatican The home to the Catholic faith and priceless artworks, Vatican City is full of treasures and unsurpassed beauty. The city’s museum department, which showcases such incredible and storied pieces, offers free virtual tours for you to explore from the comfort of your home. Marvel at ‘The Last Judgement’ by Michelangelo in the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel, or tour the iconic Raphael Rooms filled with magnificent frescoes by the legendary Rafael.
Marvel at ‘The Last Judgement’ by Michelangelo in the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel, or tour the iconic Raphael Rooms filled with magnificent frescoes by the legendary Rafael
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Part of the Smithsonian Institute, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers self-guided virtual tours to all who want to see it. The museum hosts truly inspiring pieces and installations in its collection, from fossils to taxidermy, human evolution to space science. These installations consist of a mix of permanent and temporary exhibitions, including the now-iconic Smithsonian Elephant, and best of all – you can not only see current exhibitions but past ones too.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Widely regarded as one of the most critical and influential museums in the world for modern art, MoMA is a definitive institution that is integral to the movement of modern artworks. Known for its extensive collection, which ranges from Vincent Van Gogh’s legendary Starry Night painting to the radical genius of Jackson Pollock’s One: Number 31. The museum has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to bring you an interactive virtual gallery, showcasing its pieces with detailed information.
San Diego Zoo America’s most-visited zoo, the San Diego Zoo sees over 4 million annual visitors on its sprawling grounds spread across 99 acres. It homes thousands of animals, which are mostly housed in spacious, open-air habitats allowing them to roam freely. The zoo is perhaps also well known for its live streams of its magnificent creatures, including koalas, elephants, and polar bears. They also have historic footage of its now-defunct iconic Panda Cam, after the People’s Republic of China seized the giant pandas.
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Tour & Travel
National Aquarium Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the National Aquarium is a sprawling aquarium widely regarded as one of the best aquariums in the country with over 20,000 specimens and virtual tours. The aquarium spreads across seven floors, accommodating various intricately recreated habitats, including an Indo-Pacific reef which houses sharks, stingrays, and a green sea turtle and a reconstruction of the Umbrawarra Gorge with birds and lizards roaming freely around rock formations and a 35ft waterfall.
Yosemite National Park Easily one of the most beautiful places on earth, Yosemite National Park brims with never-ending wonderment. One of the most popular spots in the park is Glacier Point, due to its easy accessibility, expansive views, and the iconic Overhanging Rock.
The park is also home to striking vistas of forests, mountains, and canyons, as well as rich freeroaming wildlife, all explorable through its virtual tours
There’s also Mariposa Grove, where the thousands of years old towering giant sequoias stand, and there are majestic falls, cliffs, and lakes sprawled throughout the spectacular park.The park has a virtual tour that comes complete with sound!
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is not merely a jaw-dropping beauty; it’s also a testament to the remarkable feats of nature. Well-known for its geysers (of which are 60% of the world’s geyser population) painted in spectacular vividness, these extraordinary wonders put on spectacular shows for visitors, bubbling, steaming, and erupting. The park is also home to striking vistas of forests, mountains, and canyons, as well as rich free-roaming wildlife, all explorable through its virtual tours.
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While you might not be able to fly to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower or Japan to see the Osaka Castle at the moment, you can do it from the comfort of your home using Google Earth’s virtual reality capabilities. It’s free, safe, and perfect for you to start planning your post-
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COVID-19 trips. Learn something new. Or meet some new friends in a virtual meetup. Or just chill out and eat snacks and watch some movies. We’ll be back on the road again. But, until we can, at least we can travel the world through our computer.
Tour & Travel
TAKE A VIRTUAL TRIP TO A STRANGE NEW WORLD WITH NASA
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e live in a universe teeming with exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. Unfortunately, even the nearest exoplanets are light-years away, so sending spacecraft and humans to these intriguing worlds remains a distant dream. But on NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration website, you can explore an imagined surface of an alien world via 360-degree, interactive visualizations. As you investigate each planet’s surface, you’ll discover fascinating features, like the blood-red sky of TRAPPIST-1d, or stand on a hypothetical moon of the massive planet Kepler-16b, which appears larger than either of the planet’s two suns. The view from each planet’s surface is an artist’s impression based on the limited data that is available; no real photos of these planets exist. The newest planet to feature this 360-degree surface visualization is Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet orbiting a star much cooler and redder than the Sun. Scientists don’t know if Kepler-186f has an atmosphere, but with the NASA visualization tool, you can see how the presence or absence of an atmosphere would change the view of the sky from the planet’s surface. Many of the exoplanets featured on the Exoplanet Exploration website were discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. All the 360-degree visualizations are viewable on desktop and mobile devices, or in virtual reality headsets that work with smartphones.
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Rural India
WHAT’S IN THE BOX FOR
RURAL INDIA POST-PANDEMIC? By Saurabh Dwivedi
R
ight after the downfall of British Raj and Indian independence, industries have been the driving horse of modern India. With the enlargement of the service sector and its contribution to the economy, i.e around 60 percent. Bythe-way, it employs just 25% of the labour force in the country. Thus, the decisionmakers are building human resources, with interests in essential services, for example, healthcare and education. In this regard, the government is focusing on urban development, ignoring the relegating co of agriculture in the Indian economy. At the time of freedom, in 1947, agriculture accounted for 54% of India's GDP. In 2018, it is at about 16%. But at the time of Independence 60% of India depended on agriculture for a living. In 2019, it is about 50% or 650 million people as opposed to about 200 million in 1950. In general, it is very hard to believe that development in rural India has been static whereas the country developed in the decades post-Independence. Policies made for the villages were mainly focused on improving the local conditions, like lack of food, malnutrition and minimum wages. With the spike in urban population and the ongoing migrant crisis in the COVID forced lockdown -- there is a social distrust in the workers and this lockdown has damaged the dream of urban opportunity for which the migrants came in metropolitan cities. The return of daily wage labourers might be advantageous for the rural economy. If the nationwide lockdown is extended, there would be much more job losses. This has already led to approx 12.2 crore Indians losing their jobs amidst the lockdown in April alone, estimates the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). It also added that the urban unemployment rate is skyrocketing to 30.9% and the most affected were small traders and daily wage labourers. This has led to migrant workers walking their way back to villages, a large number by foot; and the stranded ones want to return home and be with their families. Although the government is in the rescue by operating Shramik Special trains to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other parts of the country.
Challenges This recent turnout of lockdown events with migrant workers will possibly lead them to work in their own villages or some other nearby place, their dream of moving to megacities to work and
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earn a nominal livelihood has been shattered. Now, the returning labourers will see their villages from a different perspective, from living in substandard conditions and poor neighbourhood to seeing their villages as socially safe locality. The recent developments in rural infrastructure, i.e roads, housing, sanitation, gas In general, it cylinders, and piped water is very hard to will work as an assurance believe that and catalyst in this social development adjustment.
in rural India
The homecoming of a has been large number of workers static whereas also brings great demand of the country agricultural works. To fulfil developed in the demand of employment the decades while residing in the village post-- few state governments Independence. are working out on the allotment of common lands in the form of orchards to returning migrants. In some regions, the probability of land intensification in existing agricultural fields can be expected. There will be a spike in the demand for work in Mahatma Gandhi
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Rural India National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) scheme. However, several skillful labourers specialised by working in the metropolitan cities —as part of the advance ecosystem -- like Uber or Ola drivers; working in factories (clothes or machine engineering) or involved in services and utilities (electricians or gym instructors) -- are suppose to find their respective jobs in their native markets and contribute in the local economy.
Rise in the demand for improved rural infrastructure People from the rural areas shifted in cities for the lucrative medium of income and better social infrastructure endowed with good education and better public services. With massive number of workers returning to villages from urban environment, the demand for better public services and good education system may the cities helped to provide balance in the fluctuations of the agri-economy. To address this issue, the state has to make large investments for increased irrigation, insurance, and climate adaptivity. The peer pressure will be on the government to introduce agricultural reforms to boost the income and maintain the stability of agri-economy. Also, advancing agricultural output is more crucial in order to improve farmer profits, and it requires higher yield, improved productivity through the efficient utilization of materials, minimal crop losses, and ensuring that growers are provided with fair prices for the produce.
arise. Nonetheless, this pandemic will shape the future of rural households and their healthcare needs. While state governments have been alarmed by the centre over preparedness on containing COVID-19 in villages -may have hit a nerve of poor healthcare infrastructure in rural parts of the country. This health crisis has given birth to the need for a well-functioning health system in the rural parts of country due to its vulnerability for the infectious diseases. The need for social protection will also be the main issue as people working in the informal sector lacks social protections. Currently, we almost have 450 million informal labourers, and each year we add near about 10 million more. Last year, the Ministry of Labour presented a bill in the parliament, paving the way for universalisation of social security with a
new set of protection guidelines for 50 crore workers in the country. And efforts like these are expected to be redoubled post-COVID-19.
Agricultural economy Suresh and Amarender Reddy, scientists at ICAR said that “reverse migration due to COVID-19 provides an opportunity for hinterland administration to engage the returned labourers in gainful employment, and the sole short-term option is to leverage the potential of agriculture. Especially labour-intensive sectors like livestock, fisheries and food processing have not developed over the years, and the labourers who have returned can be used to reverse this trend which will ultimately help in boosting the rural economy�. Apparently, there are chances of economical headwinds in rural India also because the remittances of migrant workers living in
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Author is a columnist and writer based in New Delhi. He also keeps an eye on the International relations of India.
https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/ service-sector-india-paradigm-shift https://www.prsindia.org/report-summaries/ economic-survey-2019-20 https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-over-12crore-indians-lost-their-jobs-during-the-coronaviruslockdown-in-april/article31520715.ece https://idronline.org/what-we-need-is-a-commonsmanifesto/ https://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/ economy/indicators/national-database-of-workers-ininformal-sector-in-the-works/articleshow/73394732. cms h t t p s : / / w w w. l i v e m i n t . c o m / Po l i t i c s / bK0wi486ff4HkV3NDcCTVI/Economic-Survey2017-says-labour-migration-higher-than-earli.html https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/ economy/policy/social-security-code-bill-introducedin-lok-sabha/articleshow/72468216.cms?from=mdr https://thewire.in/agriculture/reinventing-agriculturein-the-time-of-covid-19
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Health & Hygiene
UNPRECEDENTED HEALTH BENEFITS OF
Ginger is being studied extensively for its effect on cancer cells
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When you think to get hooked on any spice, you must make it ginger. Undoubtedly there are tons of great spices that offer significant health benefits, but it’s tough to top ginger for the sheer number of positive attributes. And unlike other popular daily supplements, it tastes great, too.
Health & Hygiene
‘GINGER’ G
inger is basically anti-inflammatory, which means it can relieve pain and swelling. It is also an antioxidant that neutralizes harmful free radicals in the body. This can reduce your lifetime risk of cancer. Significant features of Ginger are as Follows:
Ginger Resolves Acid Reflux Based on the type of meal you ate or simply due to your particular anatomy, acid reflux can occur any time. Some people are especially prone to it. In any case, it is painful and disruptive! Ginger is so good at reducing acid reflux that its active substances are used in acid reflux medications. Researchers believe that consuming ginger every day, whether in a special tea or in your food, can eliminate acid reflux all together.
Controls Inflammation/ Heals Injuries Inflammation is a defense mechanism that is useful when an injured or infected portion of the body needs to be isolated
has the potential to stop you from getting headaches all together, even migraines.
Controls Obesity
to limit damage to other areas. However, the inflammatory process isn’t very good at recognizing when that inflammation is helpful and when it just hurts. So people with chronic inflammatory conditions, like: arthritis can experience a lot of relief from eating ginger. This same capacity makes ginger good for healing after injuries of all kinds.
Reduces Risk of Cancer Ginger is being studied extensively for its effect on cancer cells. Research has shown that it kills ovarian cancer cells more quickly and safely than chemotherapy drugs. That’s incredible news, as chemotherapy tends to cause as many health concerns as it solves. Ginger has also been found to prevent colon and intestinal inflammation, which is a risk factor for cancers of those body parts. Watch for the results of ongoing studies on ginger and cancer!
Improves Digestion
Weight loss is a tricky thing to accomplish. The body looks at stored fat as its emergency reserve, and really prefers not to burn it. Diet plays a big part, but a lot of the blame for your weight also goes to genetics. So it’s important to work with your body in the effort to lose weight, and ginger can be an excellent source of support. Ginger is known to keep your metabolism chugging along, which is important because intensive dieting often slows it down. Once your metabolism slows, you are likely to regain all the weight you lost once you stop dieting. A daily dose of ginger can help prevent this problem.
Reduces Muscle Pain and Soreness Another common kind of pain is muscle soreness, often caused by exercise or daily exertion. Studies have shown that ginger can help here, too. However, it doesn’t tend to immediately relieve muscle pain. Besides, if it is taken daily it can reduce the level of pain that develops and shorten the duration of healing when your muscles do become sore. These were among myriads of other health benefits of Ginger in Human body. Besides, ginger can be effective whether raw or cooked, fresh or dried. With a sweet and slightly spicy flavor, ginger is ideal for use in baked goods, stir fries and fruit salads.
Ginger doesn’t just quell acid reflux and reduce inflammation in your intestines. It can also soothe nausea. Part of the reason is that ginger is a natural antibiotic that can knock out the harmful bacteria that cause stomach upset. Ginger is also good for stimulating saliva, which is an integral part of the digestive process. Whether you have a bug, are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, or simply ate something that didn’t agree with you, ginger can be a real lifeline.
Provides Relief from Headaches The anti-inflammatory properties of ginger are also helpful in treating the most common complaint of the human condition – headaches. Many over-the-counter headache medicines are in fact simply anti-inflammatories rather than actual pain relievers. Ginger is a natural way of achieving the same end, but without the side effects of chemical formulations. In fact, studies show that eating ginger every day
July 2020
OBSERVER DAWN
53
Health & Hygiene
TRADITIONAL SUPER FOOD KEEPS YOU AWAY FROM WRATH OF DEADLY CORONAVIRUS
MUST INCLUDE
‘GHEE’ IN YOUR DAILY DIET PLAN
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Health & Hygiene
I
nclusion of ‘Traditional Super-food’, GHEE, in our daily diet plays a significant role in everyone’s role. Since ancient times, this super-food has been in inevitable part of our Diet plan and important as well because it contains several vitamins. Besides other benefits, Ghee is much more beneficial in maintaining our immune system. The experts however, advise the use of spice in meals. Ghee is the most recommended item to be included in our daily diets at home. It allows our body to access essential fats. All of the fat soluble vitamins can actually be assimilated in our system every time, we have ghee. The experts believe that Ghee contains Omega 3 and Omega 9, essential fatty acids, along with vitamins A, D, E and K. It is prepared from made from the organic butter of pastured cow milk. This is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). And, 9 phenolic anti-oxidants, as well as numerous other minerals are present in this super-food.
In Ayurveda, Ghee is considered as one of the most treasured foods and it has incredible healing properties. From our dal, khichdi to halwas and chapatti, this is one kitchen staple we are never getting enough of. Ghee consists of fat soluble vitamins, which aid weight loss.
Vitamin D, is linked to the immune function. For eyes, Vitamin A is good. Vitamin K is important for the heart. A teaspoon of ghee for breakfast, lunch and dinner is good.
Keeps Us Warm from Within This an essential part of winter season in Indian. According to Ayurveda, ingesting ghee helps you keep warm from within, and this is why it is widely used in many winter preparations likegajar ka halwa, moong dal halwa, pinni and panjeeri.
Useful for Clogged Nose It is often termed as a panacea for cough, cold and clogged nose. When we have difficulty in breathing, our taste sense is hampered, especially when we suffer from headache and exhaustion, Ghee essentially help[ us resolving all such issues. Ayurveda has an interesting nasal drop remedy that
Decreases Glycemic Index When applying or spreading ghee over chappatis and can bring down the glycemic index of the chapatti by certain amounts. Besides, it also makes chapatti/roti more moist and digestible. Latest research suggests that about 4 tablespoons of oil is the adequate amount of saturated fats per meal, so one percent of the saturated fats could be derived from sources like ghee. Ghee facilitates the digestibility of the chapatti.
Ghee Keeps You Away From Constipation The Ayurved experts and researchers have termed the use of ghee as an effective remedy for constipation. “Taking 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of ghee in a cup of hot milk at bedtime is an effective but gentle means of relieving constipation”, experts say.
In Ayurveda, Ghee is considered as one of the most treasured foods and it has incredible healing properties. From our dal, khichdi to halwas and chapatti, this is one kitchen staple we are never getting enough of. Ghee consists of fat soluble vitamins, which aid weight loss. It also plays a key role in balancing hormones and maintaining healthy cholesterol, apart from having a high heat point, which prevents productions of free radicals that damage cell function.
Significant Benefits of Ghee are as follows
are three macronutrients that are essential for sustaining a healthy life. Removing any food group from your diet is never a sustainable way to lose weight. What you do need to do however is - choose better. Here ghee is one of the most preferred vehicles for oleation: a process of ingesting oil over a period of time. This actually helps pull fat soluble toxins out of the cells and triggers fat metabolism, a process where the body kick-starts to burn its own fat for fuel.
Good for Heart
may help soothe clogged nose. The experts call it the Nyasa treatment for cold and it involves pouring a few drops of warm pure cow ghee into the nostrils, first thing in the morning. Doing so may provide quick relief as the ghee travels all the way down to the throat and soothes the infection.
A Significant Source of Energy Ghee is a good source of energy. It contains medium and short-chain fatty acids. Nursing mothers are often given ladoos loaded with ghee, since they are loaded with energy.
Important Source of Good Fat In a bid to lose weight, you may have even considered eliminating all fats sources from your diet. But doing so may do you more harm than good. Fats, carbs and proteins
July 2020
Ghee is considered as a safer bet to invest in for heart health as compared to refined oil. The fats present in ghee are not associated with heart disease in the way that long-chain fatty acids are, as they are used directly as energy by the body and not stored as fats. Small quantities of ghee can be consumed daily in as a source of saturated fats. Children can afford to have a larger quantity every day.
Great For Skin Ghee has been a staple part of various beauty care rituals since time immemorial. It’s vital fatty acids act as a nourishing agent that can do wonders to infuse life in your dull skin. Pure desi ghee is prepared from cow milk and is extremely powerful in making your skin much more soft and supple. It is suitable for all types of skin. Ghee contains vital fatty acids that help in hydration of the skin cells. As such, adding small quantities this traditional super-food in your diet plan will definitely add value to your health and hygiene.
OBSERVER DAWN
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Health & Hygiene
‘DIETS’
THAT KEEP OUR
‘IMMUNE SYSTEM’
STRONGER By Akshama Bhardwaj, Dietician
T
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his is widely known to all of us that the Coronavirus outbreak has emerged as a big set of challenge not only in India or the Asian countries but it has also spread its wing around the world. Moreover, absence of vaccine or right medicine to cure the infectious disease caused by the COVID – 19, has been creating havoc among the masses. As a consequence, thousands of Lacks of people have been infected of this deadly virus and more than 3 lakhs have lost their lives over the past five months.
immune system stronger. Hence, the wholesome responsibility of all individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic lies in making an effort to choose a healthy lifestyle.
As per the available resources, CRONAVIRUS can be defeated through physical & social distancing, using mask, keeping up strong immune system and other such activities as guided by the WHO/medical officials. At this stage, ongoing lockdown are among the significant preventive measures. In India, lockdown 4.0 has been announced on May 19, 2020. Barring health care facilities and a limited number of essential services, all remained closed during this period. Here, what we need more is nothing but to maintain a healthy diet to keep up our health and make our
Being a dietician, I am pleased to share a sample diet plan with multiple options. Of course, an easy to follow diet chart, if followed during the lockdown, it can provide you all with utmost benefits.
OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
Eating healthy diets comprising fruits and vegetables, taking proper exercises, getting adequate sleep etc are among the factors that can make your immune system stronger. In addition to taking care of one’s dietary intake, the collective responsibility of us, the dieticians and nutritionists as health care worker is to avoid the spread of misinformation related to nutrition and dietary intake, during this pandemic COVID-19.
Significantly, COVID Is directly related to Nutrition…. C - Stands for complex carbs. O - Stands for Omega 3 fatty acids. V - Stands for Vitamin C,E,D,K,B6 and B12. I - Stands for Iron. D - Stands for Dietary fibres. Our diet must composed of all above mentioned micro and macro nutrients to immunize our body to fight against this Crisis of Covid 19.
Health & Hygiene COVID-19 NUTRITIOUS AND IMMUNITY BOOSTER MEAL PLAN MEAL
MENU
EARLY MORNING (6-7 A.M.)
• • • • • • •
LEMON JUICE 1 GLASS SOAKED ALMONDS=WALNUTS 4 PIECE JEERA WATER 1 GLASS ALOE VERA JUICE 1 GLASS AMBLA JUICE 1 GLASS TURMERIC TEA 1 CUP CRUSHED GARLIC CLOVES 3-4
PRE BREAKFAST (7-8 A.M.)
• • • • •
½ BANANA 1 ORANGE 1 APPLE GREEN TEA 1CUP KADHA 1 CUP(BASIL LEAF+CLOVES+GINGER+BLACKPEPPER+GLOY STICK+HONEY(OPTIONAL))
WORKOUT OF 60 MINUTES
•
YOGA+CARDIO(INDOOR)
BREAKFAST (9-10 A.M.)
• • • • • • • •
POSHTIK VEGGIE (SUJI,OATS,DALIYA,VERMICELLI) UPMA 1 BOWL+CINNMON TEA 1 CUP SCRAMBLED EGGWHITES/OMELLETE 1 EGGWHITE/PANEER TOAST 1+MILK 1 GLASS CHICKEN/PANEER TIKKA 1 PLATE SPROUTS/BEANS/FRUIT CHAAT 1 BOWL POSHTIK CHEELA 1+CORINADER/MINT CHATNI+MILK 1 GLASS POSHTIK PANCAKES 1-2 PIECE+CHATNI NUTRI NUGGETS 3-4 PIECE+MINT CHATNI+TEA 1 CUP
MID MEAL 1(11-12 P.M.)
• • • •
ANY CITRUS FRUIT(ORANGE,GREEN,YELLOW IN COLOUR)200-300 GM LASSI 1 GLASS COCONUT WATER 1 GLASS ROASTED MAKHANE/PEANUTS/CHANA HANDFUL+LEMON JUICE 1 GLASS
LUNCH (1-2 P.M.)
•
1 KAORI GREEN VEGGIE+1 KATORI DAL?EGG OR PANEER BHURJI+CURD 1 KATORI+SALAD 1 PLATE+2 WHEAT FLOUR ROTI/2 MULTIGRAIN ROTI/1 ROTI+1 CUP BOILED RICE
MID MEAL 2(3-4 P.M.)
• •
GREEN/HERBAL/BLACK/CINNAMON TEA 1 CUP+BISCUIT 2/KHAKRA 1/MULTIGRAIN JOR HANDFUL KADHA 1 CUP(MENTIONED ABOVE)
TEA SNACK (5-6 P.M.)
• •
SOUP 1 BOWL CITRUS FRUIT(ORANGE,GREEN,YELLOW IN COLOUR) 200-300 GRAM
WORKOUT OF 30 MINUTES
•
CARDIO(INDOOR)
DINNER (7-8 P.M.)
• • • • • • •
1 BOWL DAL DALIYA+SALAD 1 PLATE 1 BOWL POSHTIK PORRIDGE 1 KATORI GREEN VEGGIE+1 ROTI+SALAD 1 PLATE 1 BOWL BEANS CHAAT+SALAD 1 PLATE TANDOORI/STEAMED/BOILED CHICKEN 50-60 GRAM+TOSSED GREEN SALAD 1 PLATE 1 BOWL VEGGIES /BEANS /EGGDROP / CHICKEN SOUP+SALAD 1 PLATE BOIED EGGWHITES 2+SALAD 1 PLATE
• • •
1 GLASS TURMERIC MILK(SUGARFREE) MUST 1 CUP KADHA 1 CUP CINNAMON OR JEERA WATER
POST DINNER (30 MIN PRIOR SLEEPING)
GENERAL GUIDELINES •
STAY HYDRATED DRINK 10-12 GLASS OF LUKEWARM WATER PER DAY
•
DO EXERCISE OF 40-60 MINUTES TWICE A DAY INCLUDING 30 MIN OF YOGA(PRANAYAM,ANULOMVILOM,KAPALBHARTI,BHRAMNI ,SURYANAMASKAR,TAD ASAN,VAJR ASAN ETC) AND REST30 MIN INCLUDES CARDIO,JOGGING,STRETCHING,BENDING ETC.
•
AVOID JUNK,FAST,PROCESSED,FRIED FOOD.
•
AVOID REFINED SUGAR AND SWEETS.
•
HAVE A BEAUTY AND STRESSFREE SLEEP OF ATLEAST 7-8 HOURS PER DAY.
•
USE GINGER,GARLIC,ONION PASTE IN FOOD PREPERATION IF POSSIBLE
•
STAY AWAY FROM THE CROWD AND STAY SAFE AT HOME.
July 2020
OBSERVER DAWN
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Life Style
Lifestyle Diseases THE NEW AGE EPIDEMIC Lifestyle diseases (also sometimes called diseases of longevity or diseases of civilization) are diseases that appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer. Such diseases do not spread from one person to another through touch, air, food, water or sexual contacts. These diseases may develop in a person due to faulty eating and living habits. Lifestyle diseases can be prevented by small but persistent changes in lifestyle.
?
More and more young people are seen smoking and drinking despite knowing the fact that these are harmful to health
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OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
Life Style
A
lifestyle is the pattern of living that we follow - how we work, what and when we eat, how and when we sleep, how much physical activity we do and whether we smoke or consume alcohol. Lifestyle diseases may develop in a person due to faulty eating and living habits. These diseases are called life style diseases. These appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer.Theseare chronic (long term) in nature and cause dysfunction in the body and impair the quality of life. They may also lead to death. These diseases usually develop relatively over long periods. In the beginning there may not be any symptoms but after the disease sets in there may be a long period of impaired health. This leads to reduction in productivity. As these are chronic conditions they are a financial burden for lifetime. Therefore, there is an increasing concern these days about lifestyle diseases that can be easily prevented but not cured.
Lifestyle disease potentially can be prevented by changes in diet, environment, and lifestyle. Some of the most common lifestyle diseases include: Atherosclerosis, Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, GERD & Hiatus Hernia, Hypertension, Dyspepsia (Indigestion), Constipation, Heart disease, some types of cancers, metabolic syndrome, etc. Diet and lifestyle are major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many diseases. Drug abuse, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking, as well as a lack of exercise may also increase the risk of developing certain diseases, especially later in life.
You must have observed that i) More and more young people are seen smoking and drinking despite knowing the fact that these are harmful to health. ii) Our nutritious and balanced meals are giving way to fast food and junk food. Fresh
fruits and vegetables are being rejected in favour of processed and packed food; and soft drinks are replacing milk. iii) We prefer to use a motorbike or car instead of walking even for short distances. iv) More and more machines are being developed each day to reduce physical labour associated with our work. Diet and lifestyle are major factors thought to influence All the above practices susceptibility to many have led to our becoming diseases. Drug abuse, overweight and obese. tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking, Obesity is excess as well as a lack of body-weight than exercise may also normal or ideal weight increase the risk of for our height. developing certain Obesity is the main diseases, especially later in life underlying causes for other lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc.
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Life Style
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is far higher among the poor than they report, and is as high if not higher among the poor than among the rich. In many Western countries, people began to eat more meat, dairy products, vegetable oils, sugary foods, and alcoholic beverages during the latter half of the 20th century. People also developed sedentary lifestyles and greater rates of obesity. Rates of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer and lung cancer started increasing after this dietary change. People in developing countries, whose diets still depend largely The lifestyle factors associated with on low-sugar starchy foods with little these diseases can be of two types1. Modifiable (those that can be changed) meat or fat have lower rates of these like food habits, physical activity level, cancers. It is time we learn from these addiction (smoking, tobacco and alcohol) experiences of the west, and do not and stress. allow excessive westernization to affect our lifestyles and predispose us 2. Non-modifiable (those In many Western countries, people that cannot be changed) to more deadly lifestyle began to eat more like age and heredity. diseases. meat, dairy products, vegetable oils, sugary The health of youth The good news foods, and alcoholic is getting affected by is that Lifestyle beverages during the three factors: People diseases can be latter half of the 20th are getting busier with p revented by century. People also developed sedentary their jobs, technology small but persistent lifestyles and greater is leading to changes in changes in lifestyle. For rates of obesity sleep and lifestyle patterns, prevention of lifestyle and with more disposable diseases, people need income, health has taken a back to change their habits in the seat as they give attention to other things. direction of healthier living. You can do a Social prosperity comes with inherent lot to prevent the occurrence of lifestyle health risks. The nature of diseases too diseases. changes – emanating from depravity to excess of nutrition. In the last 25-30 Some healthy tips are:years, our society has evolved and hence i) Take up regular exercise like walking, it is obvious thatongoing risks will also yoga, dancing, aerobics or cycling one emerge. hour a day. India is projected to experience more deaths from NCDs such as heart diseases, diabetes and cancer than any other country over the next decade. It is usually believed that such diseases are far more common among the rich, especially in developing countries like India, which still have a high burden of infectious diseases. The poor in India don’t suffer from fewer “lifestyle diseases” than the rich — they just don’t know it. A new study shows that the actual prevalence of common
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ii) Use stair-case instead of lift or escalator as far as you can. iii) Take a balanced diet at proper meal times. Do not over-eat. iv) Avoid processed and packaged foods that are rich in sugar, fats, salt and calories and low in fiber, good quality protein, minerals (iron and calcium) and vitamins. v) Eat whole grains like cereals (wheat, whole wheat flour), millets (jowar, bajra) and avoid refined foods like maida.
OBSERVER DAWN July 2020
vi) Eat 400 - 500 gms of seasonal fruits and vegetables in a day. vii) Drink plenty of water. viii) Practice yoga or meditation to avoid stress in life. ix) Keep away from Smoking, Tobacco and drinking alcohol. x) Spend less time in sitting and watching television and pursue outdoor games and activities like gardening, playing a sport like football, cricket and badminton. You can educate people around you regarding healthy lifestyle practices. It is possible to keep these diseases under control, if you make sensible alteration in your lifestyle. India is a young country where we are seeing an increasing number of lifestyle diseases. In the future, unless we become self-aware, these diseases are likely to increase on an exponential basis and cause an epidemic in India, and thus it needs urgent attention, not only by the government and NGO, but more importantly by people themselves, and the private healthcare organisations involved in medical care. The need of the hour is to take self-ownership of health. Education, continuous public awareness and adopting more self-control measures in life are the only ways to manage lifestyle diseases. Meanwhile healthcare providers have a great responsibility to ensure that the best advice and treatment are provided to patients.