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More than 54,000 personsare under community

surveillance against the back-drop of coronavirus pandemicand the health workers are inregular touch with them,Health Minister HarshVardhan informed Parliamenton Tuesday. People with flu-like symptoms but without ahistory of travel abroad areunder community surveil-lance.

Informing the RajyaSabha about measures takento fight the pandemic, theHealth Minister assured RajyaSabha members that any com-plaint about reported unhy-gienic conditions in the quar-antine is getting due attention.

Highlighting the role ofthe medical fraternity, HarshVardhan said, “As one metresocial distancing is requiredto be taken while dealingwith those affected with thevirus, I laud doctors andparamedics who are workinghonestly with dedicationwhile taking risks in treatingthese patients.”

“I laud all doctors andparamedics, be it in villages orcit ies or in private or

Government incontrolling coro-navirus at all lev-els,” he told theHouse whilereplying to sup-plementaries dur-ing Quest ionHour. Hisremarks werelauded by al lmembers, includ-ing those fromthe Opposition.

The Ministeralso urged MPs tovisit quarantinefacilities in theirareas and suggestways to helpimprove facilities.He noted that theresponse has been

positive in appreciating thehigh quality treatment atquarantine facilities.

On reports about poorfacilities at such centres,Harsh Vardhan said thesereports are exceptions.

“I can agree with you thatthe facilities may not be good.It is quite possible that atsome places bathrooms maynot be 5-star type. We areactiing in strongest possiblemanner on such complaints.These are rare complaints,” hesaid.

The Minister also saidthe Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) scientistsare in touch with scientists allover the world regarding theuse of retroviral drugs intreating coronavirus patientsand in the research underwayacross the world in findingtreatment of the virus.

Fielding questions onimpact of the pandemic ontourism sector, TourismMinister Prahlad Singh Patelsaid in the Upper House theGovernment’s immediate pri-ority is to ensure safety ofpeople and it will later eval-uate losses incurred by theculture and tourism industrydue to restrictions on visitors.

Responding to series ofqueries during the QuestionHour, he said theGovernment has bannedtourist visit and evenArchaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) monuments andtemples are shutdown.

Taking a view contrary tohis former party presidentRahul Gandhi, Congress MPKarti Chidambaram sprang a

surprise in the Lok Sabha bycomplimenting the UnionGovernment for its efforts totackle coronavirus and saidone should not “play politics”over the issue.

Rahul has all along beentargeting Modi Government’sresponse in tackling coron-avirus and accusing it of beingin stupor.

Karti, however, pointed tocomplaints that people, beingquarantined over coronavirussuspicion, have been kept in“substandard” facilities under“unhygienic” conditions.

He said many of thesepeople, most of whom werequarantined following theirreturn from abroad, havewherewithal for self-isolationand should be allowed to do.

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After the SupremeCourt on Tuesday

asked the Kamal Nath-led CongressGovernment in MadhyaPradesh to respond byWednesday 10.30 am toa plea by senior BJPleader Shivraj SinghChouhan seeking imme-diate floor test in theAssembly, the MPCongress moved the SCseeking direction to theCentre and theKarnataka Governmentto grant it the access to itsrebel MLAs.

The Congress urgedthe SC to declare as ille-gal the action of theCentre, the KarnatakaGovernment and theBJP’s State unit of con-fining its MLAs inBengaluru. It also soughta direction for rebelMLAs to participate inthe Budget session.

The trust vote shouldbe held only in the pres-ence of MLAs, said pleaby Govind Singh, partychief whip in MP.

Earlier, a benchcomprising Justices DYChandrachud andHemant Gupta issuednotices to the MP CM,the Speaker andAssembly PrincipalSecretary and said it willhear the plea of the BJPat 10.30 am onWednesday. “In view ofthe urgency of situation,notice is made returnableat 10:30 am on March

18,” the SC said. Former Chief

Minister Chouhan andnine BJP MLAs, includ-ing the leader ofOpposition and BJP’sChief Whip in theAssembly approachedthe top court on Mondayafter the Speaker citedcoronavirus concernsand adjourned theHouse till March 26without taking the floortest apparently defyingthe directions ofGovernor Lalji Tandon.

“We have heardMukul Rohatgi, seniorcounsel, along withMishra Saurabh,Advocate-on-Record,appearing on behalf ofthe petitioners(Chouhan and others).

In view of theurgency of the situation,the notice is madereturnable at 10:30 amon 18 March 2020,” thebench said in itsorder.The top courtallowed Chouhan toserve the notice on theState Government andothers “through e-mailin addition to the usualmode of service”.

The court alsoallowed 16 rebelCongress lawmakers,who have purportedlytendered their resigna-tions to the Speaker, tofile an application seek-ing impleadment as par-ties to plea filed byChouhan. Senior advo-cate Maninder Singh,appearing for rebel

Congress MLAs,said that the resig-nations of six law-makers, out of 22,have already beenaccepted and therewas no reason fornot accepting res-ignations of the 16MLAs.

“ M a n i n d e rSingh, the seniorcounsel, states thathe would be filingapplication forimpleadment onbehalf of sixteenMLAs who, it issubmitted, havetendered their res-ignations.

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The BJP Government head-ed by Chief Minister

Trivendra Singh Rawat com-pletes three years in officetoday. When the BJP highcommand chose Rawat for thecoveted post of CM by sidelin-ing stalwarts like MajorGeneral (Retd) B C Khanduri,Bhagat Singh Koshyari andRamesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’many expressed apprehen-sions over the choice.

However in the last threeyears Rawat has proven hisdetractors wrong and takenbold decisions like makingGairsain the summer capitaland creation of Char DhamDevsthanam board.

In an interaction withGajendra Singh Negi of ThePioneer, he highlighted theachievements of his govern-ment and his plans for future.Here are the excerpts.

How do you rate perfor-mance of your Governmentin last three years?

Our Government hastaken the state on the fasttrack of development. I canclaim that in last three yearswe have fulfilled 75 percent ofthe promises made in our

vision document which theparty released ahead of assem-bly elections. This is a bigachievement. We have per-formed splendidly in DirectBenefit Transfer (DBT)schemes and got second posi-tion in the country in thisrespect.

We have adopted e- officesystem and started holding e-cabinets. The files are mov-ing at a fast pace now. We havecurtailed the seven desk sys-tem of file movement to four

in secretariat. We have takenhistorical decision of consti-tuting Char DhamDevsthanam board. I canclaim with conviction thatthese three years would weighheavy on the past ten years.

Corruption was a majorissue on which your partytargeted Congress in assem-bly elections. How yourGovernment has tackled it?

Our government has

adopted zero tolerance oncorruption and it has yieldedresults. The corruption hasreduced in governance. Wehave made the fourth floor(CM secretariat) free fromthe mafia. The mafia aroundthe ministers is also finished.

How has the doubleengine government benefit-ed Uttarakhand?

Ours is a triple enginegovernment. With the help of

union government, the allweather road and Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail link projectsare going on at fast pace.Dehradun- Delhi expresswayis also on anvil.

What is the status ofagriculture sector and farm-ers in the state?

We are focusing onincreasing the income offarmers and for it we are pro-viding interest free loans tofarmers and the farmergroups. The state has savedchemical fertilizers worth Rs188 crore by adopting soilhealth cards. We are focusingon timely payment of farmers.

The State has launchedAtal Ayushman UttarakhandYojana (AAUY) in healthsector but is it facing imple-mentation problems?

We have made certainchanges like removing thereferral system in AAUY.More than 1.2 lakh peoplehave benefited from thescheme and 12000 life savingoperations have been done.

Under the GST regime,the central government com-pensation to states would

cease after 2022. What arethe plans of the state to meetthis challenge?

We are focusing on servicesector to augment our income.The state is promoting Pirul(pine needle) based and solarpower projects. My govern-ment is developing 83 growthcentres in the state. The homestay scheme is also receivingvery good response.

The opposition is tar-geting your government forfailing to provide employ-ment; what is the govern-ment doing for employmentgeneration?

In last three years we havecreated 4 lakh new jobs. Frominvestor’s summit alone 57000jobs were created. Yes, therecruitment process in gov-ernment jobs has got affecteddue to legal and other issuesbut we are sorting them out.

What is yourGovernment’s plan forKumbh Mela -2021?

We preparing for a megaKumbh Mela. All the worksbarring one would be com-pleted before December thisyear. We are focusing on aGreen Kumbh this time.

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The top leadership of theRashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) has extended itssupport to the campaign beingundertaken to enable the offi-cial use of Hindi and otherIndian languages in theSupreme Court and 25 HighCourts of the country.

Law expertChandrashekhar Upadhyay hasbeen undertaking ‘Hindi SeNyay’ campaign across thenation for this purpose for

about three decades now.Addressing the media, the statehead of the campaign com-mittee Dharmendra Dodhi saidthat this is a moral victory forthe campaign.

He said that Uttarakhand isthe birthplace of this cam-paign as Upadhyay, the firstIndian student to pass LLM inHindi medium for facilitationof all court procedures in Hindiat the high court in Nainital.

Dodhi said, “Article 348 ofthe Indian constitution shouldbe amended without delay.The RSS Akhil BharatiyaPratinidhi Sabha has accordedits support to this demand. Weare encouraged by this and areconfident that the CentralGovernment will take suomoto cognisance and respectthis wish of the people ofIndia.”He further informed

that in 2013, Pandit DeendayalUpadhyay’s great grandson,Chandrashekhar Upadhyay’sefforts succeeded with the HighCourt of Uttarakhand for thefirst time accepting a petitionin Hindi. At that time theHindi Se Nyay SanchalanSamiti got about 4.5 lakh sig-natures from across the stateand submitted these to thethen chief justice of the highcourt.

A signature campaign wasstarted again in 2020 and morethan eight lakh signatures havebeen received from across thestate. “We have set a target ofcollecting 10 lakh signatures.

These signatures will besubmitted to the PrimeMinister. We have sought timefrom the Prime Minister’s officeto meet him regarding this,” headded.

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To prevent the spread of novelcoronavirus (COVID-19) in

the city, the MunicipalCorporation of Dehradun(MCD) started the task of spray-ing disinfectant in all the mainparts of the city where crowdsare most likely to gather.

Besides, the MCD alsoincreased the numbers of kiosksset up to distribute masks anddispense hand sanitizers forimmediate use in its compoundconsidering the visits by a largenumber of property taxpayers inthe corporation.

On Tuesday Dehradunmayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’flagged off the tank carrying thedisinfectant from the MCDcompound to sanitise the maincrowded areas of the city.

Talking about the preventivemeasures against coronavirus

taken up by MCD, Dehradunmunicipal commissioner VinayShankar Pandey said that masksand sanitisers are being provid-ed to people visiting the corpo-ration and the disinfectant is alsobeing sprayed in the city.

While talking to ThePioneer, the chief municipalhealth officer Dr Kailash Joshisaid that the municipal corpo-ration sprayed one tank of dis-infectant on Tuesday but byWednesday two more tanks ofdisinfectants of 1000 litre capac-ity will arrive in the corporationwhich will be used across the cityto sterilise the crowded areas.

According to Joshi, the dis-infectant 1-per cent SodiumHypochlorite will be sprayed atthe locations where the peoplemostly gather in large numberslike Railway Station and InterState Bus Terminal (ISBT). Thechances of the spread of germs

are more in the crowded areas,therefore, the disinfectant sprayswill be used to sanitise such areaswhich will reduce the risk ofgerms transmission among thepeople, said Joshi.

He further added that MCDis taking measures against coro-navirus as per the guidelinesgiven by the Health depart-ment. Meanwhile, in the last twodays, more than 2,000 propertytaxpayers have visited the cor-poration in spite of the threat ofcoronavirus and the property taxof around Rs 40 lakh was col-lected by MCD.

Therefore, two additionalkiosks were set up by MCD inits compound for the distribu-tion of masks and to dispensethe hand sanitisers to the pub-lic before entering the com-pound due to the surge in thenumber of property taxpayers inthe corporation.

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The driver of the Haridwar dis-trict excise officer’s vehicle died

while the officer and his assistantwere seriously injured after the jeepcollided with a truck transportinggas cylinders.

The accident which reported-ly took place when the officer wastravelling from Haridwar toDehradun has left the districtexcise officer Omkar Singh and hisassistant in a serious condition.

They have been admitted to ahospital at Saharanpur in UttarPradesh for treatment. Followingthe mishap, the Haridwar districtmagistrate C Ravishankar hasexpressed concern and wished forthe speedy recovery of the injured.

According to the informationreceived, one person was killed onthe spot after the Haridwar exciseofficer Omkar Singh’s jeep collidedwith a truck.

The accident took placebetween Ganeshpur and Mohandnear the Delhi-Saharanpur highway

when the officer was travellingfrom Haridwar to Dehradun.

A total of three persons are saidto have sustained serious injuries inthe mishap.

Saharanpur police arrived onthe spot on receiving informationabout the accident. At theSaharanpur district hospital, the

doctors recommended sendingSingh to a higher centre in view ofhis critical condition.

However, due to the sensitivecondition of the injured officer, hewas admitted to a nearby hospitalfor treatment. He is being kept in theICU where his condition remainscritical, according to sources.

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The vice president ofUttarakhand Congress, Jot

Singh Bisht has said that thewrong financial managementof BJP Government ofUttarakhand has put a hugedebt burden on the State.

Addressing media personson Tuesday, the seniorCongress leader said that thepeople of the State had given ahuge mandate to the BJP in theassembly elections of 2017 bitthe government in last threeyears had tricked the people.

He said that the growthrate of the state has dropped by5.5 percent and the govern-ment is hiding it. Bisht said

that the unemployment rate isat its peak at 14 percent and thecorruption is very high.

The Congress leader saidthat the BJP government in lastthree years has taken a loan of�20000 Crore. TheGovernment don’t have themoney for the developmentalworks.

He added that the BJPGovernment is running awayfrom its responsibilities in deal-ing with dreaded Coronavirus.

Bisht claimed that the tollfree number 104 being circu-lated by the Government forinformation about the diseaseis not functioning and isolationwards in districts have notcome up yet.

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Various measures are beingtaken to prevent the spread

of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state with the stateauthorities also asking citizensto adopt measures to maintainhygiene.

However, a heap of garbagehas become a regular featurenear the office of DehradunDistrict Magistrate (DM).Interestingly, both the districtadministration and theMunicipal Corporation ofDehradun (MCD) are notowning the responsibility ofclearing the heap.

For more than ten days, aheap of garbage has been lyingnear the office of DM AshishKumar Srivastava. Initially, itwas just a pile of trash thatincluded dry leaves, few dis-posable glasses and plasticwrappers but within a few daysit has turned into a heap ofplastics, waste papers and dis-

posable glasses which arereportedly thrown by the peo-ple in the compound.

On being asked about thegarbage accumulation nearDM’s office, Srivastava saidthat the MCD is responsible forcollecting the garbage fromthe buildings. The corporationhas been asked to pick up thegarbage from here too like itdoes from other buildings, headded. However, according tothe officials of MCD themunicipal corporation collectsgarbage which is put up in itsgarbage collection vehicle bythe workers or managers of thebuildings.

When the governmentauthorities are appealing thepublic across the State to takepreventive measures like main-taining hygiene to stall thespread of coronavirus, itappears that the district admin-istration and MCD are not seri-ous about the level of sanitationat the collectorate.

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As a preventive measureagainst the spread of novel

coronavirus (COVID-19), thestate’s chief wildlife wardenhas prohibited all tourismactivities in all protected areasfrom March 17 to 31.

With this, no visitors willbe allowed in national parks,wildlife reserves, tiger reservesand zoos across the state.

In addition to this, thepermissions granted for filmingand research activities havealso been revoked with imme-diate effect till March 31.

New directions will beissued later by the departmentafter reviewing the conditions.

It is pertinent to mention thatwith wildlife tourism attrac-tions like the Corbett tigerreserve, Rajaji national parkand Gangotri national parkapart from other protectedareas, a considerable number ofdomestic and foreign touristsvisit these destinations inUttarakhand.

With more than 400 tigersand a larger number of ele-phants, leopards and otherwild animals, the state is afavoured destination forwildl i fe enthusiasts andtourists.

It is also worth mentioninghere that various other statesincluding Assam, Maharashtraand Kerala have already closedtheir protected areas to tourists.

The Archaeological Surveyof India has also barred entryto archaeological/religious sitestill further notice.

The Government of Indiatoo has directed that unneces-sary travel be avoided as part ofthe precautionary measuresagainst the spread of novelcoronavirus.

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The Vice President ofUttarakhand, Surya

Kant Dhasmana hasbeen kept in isolationafter he allegedly visitedthe ward where theCoronavirus affectedpatient is kept in theGovernment DoonMedical College(GDMC) hospital.

The Congress leaderhad gone to GDMC hos-pital to take stock of thesituation on Monday.

It is learnt that hewent inside the wardwhere the patient of thedisease was kept. Thisaction of his promptedthe administration toput him in isolation.

Meanwhile, politicshas started on the deci-sion of the administra-tion to put Dhasmana inisolation. Senior

Congress leader JotSingh Bisht said that theadministration is adopt-ing double standards indealing with the situa-tion. “From Congress,Dhasmana visited thehospital and he waswearing double masks.

BJP leader KhajanDas also visited the hos-pital but administrationdecided to put onlyDhasmana in isolation,’’he said. Meanwhile in astatement, Dhasmanasaid that he has decidedto remain in isolation fornext 14 days.

He however addedthat he had worn doublemasks during his visit tothe hospital and hadsanitized himself proper-ly.Dhasmana said thathe found no responsibleofficer or team of med-ical experts inside thehospital.

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Nineteen new sus-pected patients of

COVID-19 were foundin the State on Tuesday.The samples of thesepatients have beentaken and sent for test.

The officials ofhealth departmentinformed that samplesof 10 suspected patientsfrom Dehradun, sixfrom Udham SinghNagar and three fromHaridwar were takenon Tuesday. Reports of

six samples taken earli-er were received on theday and all of themwere found negative.The department has sofar collected 51 samplesin the state out of which28 have been foundnegative.

One patient so farhas been found positivefor the disease. Thehealth department hasalso taken swab sam-ples of 27 trainees ofIndian Forest Service(IFS) for COVID-19test.

19 new suspectsof Coronavirusreported

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To prevent spread ofcoronavirus, the

Dehradun district magis-trate Ashish KumarSrivastava has orderedsuspension of all semi-nars, training pro-grammes, workshopsand such events whichare likely to be attendedby a large number ofparticipants till March31. In case, such suspen-sion delays governmentwork, separate permis-sion should be sought.

As another preven-tive measure, the DMhas also ordered closureof all government andprivate universities/insti-tutions in the district till

March 31. He has direct-ed the sub divisionalmagistrate, city magis-trate and police officersconcerned to ensureimplemention of thisorder. Violation of theseorders will be taken cog-nisance of seriously andwill elicit action, hestressed.

Meanwhile, the DMalso refuted rumoursbeing spread through thesocial media about clo-sure of vegetable marketsin the district in view ofcoronavirus.

Srivastava clarifiedthat there is no plan toshut down any vegetablemarket, food grain shop,institutions or Mandisin the district.

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The Haridwar district mag-istrate C Ravishankar held

a meeting of the officers of thedistrict’s incident responseteam to review the situation inview of the novel coronavirus(COVID-19).

Keeping in mind the dan-ger posed to public health bythe epidemic, the DMinstructed all departments tomake preparations to dealwith all kinds of situations.

He sought informationfrom the Chief MedicalOfficer on the isolation wardsand other facilities currentlyset up in the district toobserve and treat people sus-pected of coronavirus.

The CMO Dr SarojNaithani said that so far onlysuspected patients have beenfound in the district. They arebeing kept under observationfor the necessary period andbeing sent home after that ifthey test negative for thevirus. The DM directed the

CMO to ensure that person-nel in these wards and centresare fully trained to handle thissituation. Everyone should

be kept prepared for dutywhile treating the suspectedpatients with sensitivity,promtpness and awareness.

Action should be takenagainst the personnel con-cerned in case any complaintis made regarding negligence

in the treatment of thepatients in the hospitals. Healso directed that the sanita-tion workers be trained to dis-charge their duties while alsoobserving precautions them-selves. The DM directed thatregular monitoring be done toascertain the availability ofadequate food and cleandrinking water along withspecial care of the patientsplaced here.

The DM also appealed tothe management of religiousinstitutions to raise awarenessand assist pilgrims visiting thereligious centres in the dis-trict.

He gave special instruc-tions to raise awarenessamong people to maintainsocial distance through loudspeakers at parks, play-grounds and other publicplaces.Senior Superintendentof Police Senthil AvoodaiKrishnaraj S, chief develop-ment officer Vineet Tomarand all departmental officerswere present in the meeting.

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The Forest ResearchInstitute (FRI) director

Arun Singh Rawat has takenover as director general of theIndian Council of ForestryResearch and Education(ICFRE) after repatriation ofthe previous DG SC Gairolato his parent cadre ofMaharastra on March 16, 2020.Rawat is an Indian

Forest Service officer of1986 batch belonging toJharkhand State Cadre. Heis presently posted as theFRI director. He is Mastersin Physics and Forestry. Healso holds Bachelor Degreein Law and Post graduateDiploma in HumanResource Development andOperation Research.He is inthe rank of PCCF inJharkhand state.

He worked in the fieldof territorial and wildlifearea of Jharkhand. Rawathas vast experience inresearch, education, admin-istration and finance.

Apart f rom havingworked in various capacitiesin the state of Jharkhand, hehas also attended varioustrainings and internationalworkshops in India andabroad.

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Facing all-round criticism foraccepting Rajya Sabha seat as

Presidential nominee, former ChiefJustice of India Ranjan Gogoi onTuesday said he would speak in detailabout accepting the offer after he takesthe oath.

Talking to reporters who went tomeet him at his residence in Guwahati,Gogoi said, “I will go to Delhi proba-bly tomorrow (Wednesday)... Let mefirst take oath, then I will speak indetail to the media why I accepted thisand why I am going to the RajyaSabha.”

Ironically, last year itself, as CJIGogoi had observed: “There is astrong viewpoint that post-retirementappointment is a scar on independenceof judiciary”.

While Congress reminded theModi Government the opinion offormer Law Minister Arun Jaitley oncooling off period for judges, theCPI(M) urged the President to rescindthe nomination of Gogoi.

In a gazette notification onMonday, President Ram Nath Kovindnominated Gogoi to the Council ofStates to fill the vacancy caused due tothe retirement of one of the nominat-ed members.“I have accepted theoffer of the nomination to the RajyaSabha because of a strong convictionthat the legislature and judiciary mustat some point of time work togetherfor nation-building. My presence inParliament will be an opportunity toproject the views of the judiciarybefore the legislature and vice-versa,”he said.

There have been debates in the

political circles and other quarters onthe nomination of Gogoi, who hadretired in November last year as theChief Justice of India (CJI) after serv-ing for about 13 months.

Gogoi’s former colleagues, Justice(retired) Madan B Lokur commentedthat the last bastion (read judiciary)has fallen. “There has been speculationfor sometimes now about what hon-orific would Justice Gogoi get. So, inthat sense the nomination is not sur-prising, but what is surprising is thatit came so soon.

This redefines the independence,impartiality and integrity of the judi-ciary. Has the last bastion fallen?,”Lokur said in his reaction on Gogoi’snomination to the Upper House.Slamming the BJP on the nominationof former CJI, senior Supreme Courtadvocate and Congress leader

Abhishek Manu Singhvi contrastedfreedom fighter Subhash ChandraBose to BJP’s ideology.

Quoting Bose’s “Give me blood, Iwill give you freedom”, Singhvi said theBJP had tweaked it to “Give us a judg-ment favourable to our ideology, wegive you Rajya Sabha seat”.

He added that it was not aboutGogoi, but about the “concept ofindependence of the judiciary”.

Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala asked whetherPrime Minister Narendra Modi con-sidered the advice of his late LawMinister before nominating Gogoi.

“Did PM Modi consider the adviceof his former colleague and LawMinister and Finance Minister, Late ShArun Jaitley before recommending ex-CJI, Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha,” heasked on Twitter.

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With 137 positive cases byTuesday evening and

three deaths, latest in Tuesdayin Maharashtra, theGovernment has decided torope in accredited privatelabs to conduct tests for theinfection and recommendedanti-HIV drug combinationLopinavir-Ritonavir on case-to-case basis for treatment ofthe viral infection.

At present onlyGovernment labs are per-mitted to do the test and theCentre is making arrange-ments to nearly double itstesting capacity.

A Union Health Ministryofficials said that around 60accredited private laborato-ries are likely to be given per-mission to conduct the testssoon. Confirmatory tests forCOVID-19 are currentlybeing done free-of cost atGovernment set-ups.

As per the guidelinesissued by the Government forprivate labs, test should beonly offered when prescribedby a qualified physician as perICMR guidance for testing.

Since the guidanceevolves periodically, the lat-est revised version should befollowed.

The guidelines state thatthe ICMR will share the SOPsfor laboratory testing andprovide positive controls forestablishing the test as soonas the private laboratory con-cerned has procured theprimers, probes and reagentsas per SOPs.

Adoption of commercialkits for testing should bebased on validations con-ducted by lCMR-NationalInstitute of Virology (NIV),Pune.

It also states that appro-priate biosafety and biosecu-rity precautions should beensured while collecting sam-ples from a suspect patient.Alternatively, a disease spe-cific separate collection sitemay be created.

All the private testinglaboratories have been askedto ensure immediate/real-time reporting to the Stateofficials of IDSP (IntegratedDisease Surveillance Programof Government of India) andICMR HQ for timely initia-tion of contact tracing andresearch activities.

Raman R Gangakhedkar,head of the Epidemiologyand Communicable Diseasesat ICMR, said the testingcapacity is not an issue as perthe capacity of 52 labs, Indiacan conduct up to 10,000tests per day at present.

“Around 600 samples arebeing tested per day,” he said,adding 60,000 testing kits areavailable now and additional200,000 kits have beenordered.

According to the currenttesting protocols, only thosewith history of travel to high-risk countries affected by therespiratory virus and thosewho came in contact withpositive patients have beenasked to be quarantined for14 days. Others with symp-toms of the infection arebeing tested.

The official said the deci-sion to allow anti-HIV drugcombination on case-to-casebasis follows the success inthe treatment of an Italianelderly couple at Jaipur’s SMShospital.

The couple had tested

positive in the first week ofMarch and their tests turnednegative after being treatedwith the HIV drug.

As per its revised guide-l ines on the ‘Cl inicalManagement of COVID - 19’issued on Tuesday, theMinistr y recommendedLopinavir-Ritonavir for high-risk groups patients agedabove 60, suffering from dia-betes mellitus, renal failure,chronic lung disease and areimmuno-compromised.

To ascertain if there is anycommunity transmission, theMinistry has also started ran-dom testing of people, whoare suffering from respirato-ry ailments such as influen-za and pneumonia but do nothave a history of travelabroad.

Presently, around 1,040samples of patients admittedat various hospitals, includingprivate facilities, due toinfluenza-like illness andsevere acute respiratory ail-ments have been collectedand majority of them havebeen tested to check if thevirus has infected those with-out a history of travellingabroad.

So far, none of the sam-ples has tested positive forCOVID-19. The final resultswi l l be declared onWednesday.

In the meantime, theCentre and States continuedtheir strategy to keep thevirus at bay.

The Centre issued a freshtravel advisory on Tuesdayprohibiting passengers fromAfghanistan, the Philippines,and Malaysia from travellingto India with immediateeffect while the States likeGujarat banned entry of vis-itors to the Statue of Unity tillMarch 25.

Tourism activities innational parks and tigerreserves in Uttarakhand,including Corbett and Rajaji,were prohibited till March 31on Tuesday as a precaution-ary measure against coron-avirus, an official order said.

With Maharashtrareporting 41 cases and onedeath, the Mumbai policehave ordered closure oforchestra/dance bars, dis-

cotheques, pubs, live bandsand DJ performances in citytill March 31 in view of coro-navirus threat.

Similarly, the Srinagardistrict administration onTuesday announced a slew ofadditional measures, includ-ing plans of televised classesfor students, to ensure thatthere is no outbreak of coro-navirus in the city and theValley. As a prevention mea-sure, the Air Force onTuesday postponed sched-uled test for airmen recruit-ment planned at 86 citiesfrom March 19 to March 23to the last week of April,

while Naval base underSouthern naval Command ina Press statement said that itis gearing up to provide quar-antine facilities for Indiannationals being evacuatedfrom Covid-19 affected coun-tries.

In a bid to ensure effec-tive management of the virus,the Centre has deputed 30officers of Joint Secretaryand above level to assist theState Government in theirefforts.

The Centre’s move to banentry from more countriesfollowed concern that most ofthe cases reported in Indiahave been related with trav-el history abroad as so far nocommunity transmission ofthe virus has been observedand there have only been afew cases of local transmis-sion so far.

So far 137 cases havebeen reported including 22foreign nationals. Delhi hasso far reported seven positivecases, while Uttar Pradeshhas recorded 13 cases, includ-ing one foreigner.

Karnataka has eightcoronavirus patients whileMaharashtra 39, including 3foreigners . Ladakh hasreported four cases whileJammu and Kashmir three.Telangana has reported fourcases.

Rajasthan has also report-ed four cases including that oftwo foreigners.

Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh and Punjab havereported one case each.Odisha reported its first caseon Monday.

In Haryana, there are 15cases, which includes four-teen foreigners , whi leUttarakhand has reportedone case.Kerala has recorded24 cases, including two for-eign nationals.

The number also includesthree patients who were dis-charged last month after theyrecovered from the conta-gious infection with flu-likesymptoms.

According to theMinistry’s data, 13 peoplehave been discharged so farwhich includes the threepatients from Kerala.

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Lucknow: To contain thecoronavirus spread, the UttarPradesh government onTuesday extended the closureof all educational institu-tions, cinemas, mulitplexesand tourists places in the statetill April 2 and implementedwork-from-home protocolto the extent possible.

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In a bid to discouragegathering of large crowds

in view of the coronavirus,some zonal railways havehiked the platform ticketcharges from Rs 10 to Rs 50,officials said on Tuesday.

!��(��)�� New Delhi: Union Minister VMuraleedharan, who visited aKerala-based medical insti-tute whose hospital laterreported a coronavirus case,has placed himself underhome quarantine as a pre-caution even as he testednegative for the infection.

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Delhi Police, health depart-ment officials and mem-

bers of Resident WelfareAssociations’ (RWAs) urge tothe Shaheen Bagh anti-CAAprotesters to call off their sit-in af ter the DelhiGovernment invoked theEpidemic Diseases Act torestrict any gathering of over50 people in the wake of

coronavirus outbreakhas fallen on deaf ears.

Tuesday was thesecond consecutiveday when authoritiesabortively tried to per-suade the protesters tovacate the place.Refusing to listen tothe request, the pro-testers said the CAA ismore hazardous tothem the coroanvirusepidemic, and theywil l continue toprotest till the CAA isrevoked.

However a pro-tester said, “Womenare regularly cleaningtheir hijabs. No needto be scared of coron-avirus.”

Seema, another protester,said, “Instead of asking theprotesters to end their sit-in,

the Governments in Delhiand at the Centre should have

sent them face masks andhand santisers.”

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi onTuesday made his attack against

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla moredirect and fiercer alleging with nodiscussion happening the lowerhouse had become a “loudspeaker”of the Government. He said not onlyhim but even the Tamil Nadu MPswere disallowed from speaking ontheir mother language issues.

The former Congress chief alsocontinued attacking Prime MinisterNarendra Modi over the economicsituation in the country, saying thePM should get his head “out of thesand” to deal with the problem fac-ing the country. Rahul said Indiashould be preparing itself not just tofight the coronavirus but also for theeconomic devastation that wouldaffect crores of people.

Rahul said it was an “insult” tothe people of Tamil Nadu that MPswere not allowed to ask questions onthe regional language issue, andalleged that with no discussion hap-pening, the Lok Sabha had becomea “loudspeaker” of the Government.

Rahul’s remarks came afterOpposition members, includingfrom the DMK, the Congress and theNCP, walked out of the Lok Sabhaclaiming they were not allowed to aska supplementary question related to

official language during the QuestionHour.

Speaking to reporters outsideParliament, Rahul said he was notallowed to ask a supplementary onMonday on a question on the 50biggest wilful defaulters and thesame happened to Opposition MPson a question on the Tamil language.

Rahul alleged that the Speakertook away the rights of the people ofTamil Nadu by not allowing the sup-plementary question on their lan-guage.

“Now it is ok for the Speaker tohurt me, I understand he doesn’twant me to speak. But today theentire Tamil people wanted to ask asupplementary about the Tamil lan-guage. This is not about one person,this is not about Rahul Gandhi, thisis about the people of Tamil Naduand their language and even theywere not allowed to ask that question,this is absolutely an insult to the peo-

ple of Tamil Nadu,” he said.Asked if he believes the Lok

Sabha speaker is acting in a partisanmanner, Rahul Gandhi said, “This isa House that belongs to all states, alllanguages. There should be a dis-cussion here, but no discussion ishappening these days. Nobody canask a question.” “There is one-waytraffic and it (Lok Sabha) has become

a loudspeaker,” he said.Later, in a tweet, Rahul said the

people of Tamil Nadu were “disre-spected” when the Speaker refusedto allow a supplementary question onthe Tamil language.

On the state of economy andCOVID 19, he said Indian economywill be devastated and it is like atsunami is coming Narrating an

incident to highlight the gravity ofthe economic situation, he said thatbefore the tsunami came, waterreceded off the Andaman andNicobar Islands and when fishermenwent to sea, the tsunami struck.

“So the water is going to come.I have been warning the governmentthat a massive (economic) tsunamiis coming and they are fooling

about, they are not clear about whatto do. India should be preparing itselfnot just for COVID-19 virus but forthe economic devastation that iscoming,” he said.

“I am saying it again and again,nobody is listening to me. I am sorryto say, our people are going to gothrough unimaginable pain in thenext six months,” he said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi onTuesday lauded the work of all health

workers and doctors handling crisis inthe outbreak of coronavirus and askedBJP MPs to spread awareness about thepandemic while making it clear thatthe ongoing Parliament’s Budget Sessionwill not be curtailed.

Modi, who was addressing the BJP par-liamentary party meet, said the Parliamentshould continue till April 03 as lawmakers theyshould be seen to be doing their work at a time

when a health concern stares at 130 crore people,he said. Modi praised all doctors and other

medical staff besides airline crews and oth-ers involved in tackling the coronavirus

crisis, saying they have worked posi-tively and tirelessly, ParliamentaryAffairs Minister Pralhad Joshi toldreporters.

Modi also praised the media forspreading awareness on the virus.

He asked BJP MPs to spread aware-ness among the people in small groups and

suggested that they should refrain from launch-ing any mass agitation till April 15.

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As a Bill to amend the CompaniesAct 2013 and decriminalise

various offences under it was intro-duced in Lok Sabha on TuesdayOpposition members of variousparties said that the Governmentwas decriminalising corporateoffences on the pretext of ‘ease ofdoing business’ and not looking afterthe interest of common investorswhile protecting big businessmen byreducing penalties.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said

the Government was giving banksa long rope in the “guise” of ease ofdoing business and “reducing penal-ties” when “banks are failing”.This , he said, would encouragecriminals. Mahtab said the Act hasbeen amended repeatedly whichreflect an “adhoc approach” of theGovernment.

Questioning the timing of intro-duction of the Bill, the BJD MPasked, “Is this an opportune time tointroduce the Bill when a large pri-vate bank has collapsed?”

On March 5, the Reserve Bank

superseded the board of Yes Bank inthe wake of deepening crisis, main-ly due to huge bad loans and a mora-torium has been imposed. Under arevival plan, SBI and some privatebanks have made investments in YesBank.

Many companies are folding upbecause of the activities of promot-ers, Mahtab said.

Sauguta Roy (TMC) said theGovernment was influenced byindustry in amending the compa-nies act. “Today (former) CEO ofYes Bank is in Enforcement

Directorate custody...TheGovernment is seeking to decrim-inalise certain regulations in thename of ease of doing business,” Roysaid.

Yes Bank co-founder and for-mer CEO Rana Kapoor is in EDcustody. Backing TMC and BJDmembers, Congress leader of theHouse Adhir Ranjan Chowdhurysaid the Government can be “iden-tified as by the corpoates... for thecorporates”.

He claimed that theGovernment is diluting Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) normsto help the corporate sector.

Manish Tewari (Congress) saidGovernment was seen to be withdefaulters rather than with thesmall investors . He also said thatpeople were “losing confidence inbanking sector.”

Introducing the bill, Minister ofState for Finance and CorporateAffairs Anurag Thakur made itclear that the Government was notlooking to decriminalise non-com-poundable offences which includefrauds and injury to the public.

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In a bid to contain the novelcoronavirus, the Centre on

Tuesday ordered the installationof thermal scanners at the entrypoints of Government buildingsand suspended temporary andvisitors passes with immediateeffect. The regular supply ofhand sanitisers and soap mustalso be ensured, the Departmentof Personnel and Training(DoPT) said while announcinga slew of measures to contain thespread of the virus.

“Those found having flu-like symptoms may be advisedto take proper treatment andquarantine, etc,” it said.

The entry of visitors inoffice complexes must be dis-couraged to the maximumextent possible, the DoPT saidwhile directing Ministries tosuspend routine visitors andtemporary passes with imme-diate effect. “Only those visitorswho have proper permission ofthe officer who they want tomeet should be allowed afterbeing properly screened,” it said.

Asking officials to avoidnon-essential travel, it askedthem to hold meetings as muchas possible through video con-ferencing. Besides, meetingsshould be either rescheduled orthe number of participants min-imised. “Undertake essentialcorrespondence on official e-mail and avoid sending files anddocuments to other offices, tothe extent possible. Facilitatedelivery and receipt of dak at theentry point itself of the officebuilding, as far as practicable,” itsaid.

The order also said all gyms,recreation centres and creches in

Government buildings shouldbe closed and the workplace,particularly frequently touchedsurfaces, be properly cleanedand frequently sanitised. “Ensureregular supply of hand sanitis-ers, soap and running water inthe washrooms,” the order said.

Asking for a liberal leaveprocedure, the order said leavesanctioning authorities areadvised to sanction leave when-ever any request is made for selfquarantine as a precautionarymeasure. The order asked allofficials to take care of their ownhealth and look out for respira-tory symptoms or fever. If feel-ing unwell, they should leave theworkplace immediately afterinforming their reporting offi-cers and adhere to home quar-antine, it said.

The department order alsoadvised employees in higherrisk categories like older, preg-nant employees or those withunderlying medical conditionsto take extra precautions.

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As more people isolate them-selves at home in the wake

of coronavirus outbreak, theAndaman and NicobarAdministration has advisedDoordarshan Port Blair andCable TV operators to telecastinteresting programmes andmovies to encourage people tostay home.

In an order on COVID-l9issued on Tuesday, theAndaman and Nicobar Islandadministration has directed allDivisional Commissioners toask DD Port Blair and CableTV operators to show interest-ing programme on the DDand Cable TV to ensure thatpeople remain in the house.

In a tweet, Chetan Sanghi,Islands administrator stated:“No visitor needs to come to

Government offices. “ Officerswill take phone calls during vis-itor hours. DD Port Blair &Cable TV being advised totelecast interesting programs &movies to encourage people tostay home.”

“If people are sitting athome and can’t go tomovie or shopping

malls due to coron-avirus outbreak, he/she mayopt for cable TV network orDD channels for time pass toremain at home,” said an offi-cial of Andaman Island. Thenumber of coronavirus cases inIndia reached 137 on Tuesday.The administration has alsoadvised officials to insist the vis-itors to discuss or solve their

grievances on telephone insteadof visiting personally in offices.

The administration has alsodecided the payment of currentelectricity and water bill may bemade with next month billingcycle without late fee surchargein the Islands. Earlier, as a pre-

cautionary measure, theAndaman and Nicobar

administration has direct-ed tourists to refrain from trav-elling to the islands from March16 midnight. The islands are afavourite tourism spot fordomestic and international vis-itors alike. “As a precautionarymeasure, beaches, eco-tourismspots and water sports will beclosed from March 16, 2020 toMarch 26, 2020,” it said.

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In a major judgment to provideequal opportunities in the armed

forces, the Supreme Court onTuesday ordered the Navy to grantpermanent commission to womenofficers in three months and said theycan sail as efficiently as male officers.This opens the door for women offi-cers to be deployed on warships. Thejudgment comes nearly a month afterthe apex court granted permanentcommission to women in the Army.

Maintaining that women andmen officers should be treated equal-ly, the a Bench headed by Justice DYChandrachud on Tuesday also saidthere cannot be “101 excuses” for notgranting gender equality in thearmed forces and a level playing field

is needed. Denying permanentcommission to women officers whohave served the nation would resultin a serious miscarriage of justice, itsaid.

The Bench, also comprisingJustice Ajay Rastogi, rejected theCentre’s stand that sea sailing dutiescannot be granted to SSC (ShortService Commission) women offi-cers in the Navy because its vesselsdo not have washrooms for them.

Such arguments, the court said,are contrary to the Centre’s policy of1991 and 1998 which lifted thestatutory bar on the induction ofwomen officers in the Navy.

The Bench quashed the prospec-tive effect of the policy barringwomen officers inducted before2008 from being granted permanentcommission in the Navy. It also

granted pension benefits to womenofficers who have retired and werenot granted permanent commis-sion.

It said there cannot be genderdiscrimination in granting perma-nent commission to women officersin the Navy after the statutory bar

was lifted by the Centre to allowentry of women.

“Once statutory bar was lifted toallow entry of women officers then

male and female officers are to betreated equally in granting perma-nent commission,” the court said. Italso said there is enough documen-tary evidence to suggest womenofficers in the Navy have broughtaccolades to the force.

The first naval woman pilot -Sub-Lieutenant Shivangi - joined theoperational duties at the Kochi navalbase on December 2 last year. She hasbeen flying the Dornier surveil-lance aircraft of the Indian Navy.

In August, Indian Air Force’sWing Commander S Dhami becamethe first woman officer in the coun-try to become the Flight Commanderof a flying unit. Wing CommanderDhami took over as FlightCommander of a Chetak helicopterunit at the Hindon airbase inGhaziabad near Delhi.

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In an apparent reference toCongress MP Rahul Gandhi,

Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesdayit was not right to raise questions onthe decisions of the Chair outsidethe House even as Oppositionmembers, including Congress,DMK and NCP, walked out of theHouse claiming they were notallowed to ask supplementary ques-tions during the Question Hour.

The Speaker’s comments in theHouse came a day after Congressleader Rahul Gandhi said that hewas not allowed supplementary toa question on the willful defaultingbanks in the country.

The Opposition members whowere supported by Rahul sought to

ask supplementary when Ministerof State for Home Affairs NityanandRai was replying to a questionrelated to official language. Raiwas replying to a question as whatwas being done to make Hindi anational language.

As the Speaker took up the nextquestion during the Question Hour,

DMK leader T R Baalu vociferous-ly protested that they should beallowed to ask supplementary ques-tions.

Amid the din, Congress leaderRahul intervened by standing upand saying that it was an issue atthe heart of the people of TamilNadu and that supplementariesshould be allowed.

He was referring to issuesregarding official language.

With the Speaker continuingwith the next question, membersfrom various Opposition parties,including DMK, Congress and NCPwalked out from the House.

Some Congress leaders werealso seen talking to TMC leaderSudip Bandhoypadhya but theparty’s members remained in their

seats. Earlier , when the House took

up a question related to cold stor-age for fish, where many supple-mentaries were asked stretching toa good 20 minutes when Speakermoved on with the next question.Speaker had, at the beginning,sought members to ask short ques-tions so that maximum questionscould be answered by the ministers.He has also been asking ministersto reply in brief.

“If one question takes around15-20 minutes... And then sayingsupplementary questions are notbeing allowed after 12 (noon) is notgood,” Birla said. He also said thatraising questions against the deci-sion of the Chair outside the Houseis not right.

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If you have a disliking for the chemicalhand sanitisers then you can look to a

herbal option that has been scientifical-ly developed by Indian scientists from theCouncil of Scientific & IndustrialResearch’s (CSIR) lab, Institute ofHimalayan Bioresource Technology(IHBT) at Palampur in HimachalPradesh.

The IHBT developed sanitiser con-tains natural flavours, active tea con-stituents and alcohol content as per theWorld Health Organisation (WHO)guidelines. The product is free fromparabens, triclosan, synthetic fragrance

and phthalates, said a RK Sud, scientistfrom the IHBT.

The technology has been transferredto a private unit through a pact inked onTuesday between the CSIR lab and A BScientific Solutions at the HimalayanState.

As per the agreement, CSIR-IHBTwill transfer its expertise for making handsanitizers and other disinfectants to theprivate firm, A B Scientific Solutionswhich will be setting up a unit at the Stateitself. It will market hand sanitizers andother disinfectants in all the major citiesacross the country, said the scientist.

The development of herbal hand san-itizer is very timely considering the cur-

rent stupendous rise in demand of a gen-uine product for preventive measureagainst Corona virus and amidst reportsof many spuriousmaterials beingsold in thenational market.

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Coimbatore: A 40-year old tourist fromThailand, quarantined at a Governmenthospital here, tested negative for coro-navirus but died hours later earlyTuesday due to “kidney failure”, officialssaid.

The man was a diabetic and beenundergoing dialysis at the GovernmentMedical College Hospital since hisadmission three days ago and died dueto renal failure, hospital Dean Dr Asokantold reporters. The patient’s blood andsputum samples sent to Chennai earli-er for testing returned negative forcoronavirus on Monday night, he said.

According to officials, the man waspart of seven-member team which hadcome to the country for pilgrimage ear-

lier this month and visited variousspots, including places of worship.

As the team was to leave forChennai, he was found with symptomsof coronavirus during screening at theairport here on Sunday and admitted inthe isolation ward of the hospital.

Meanwhile, two women — a 58-yearold estate worker from nearby Valparaiand 22-year old from Pollachi — havebeen admitted to the hospital with sus-pected symptoms of coronavirus.

The estate worker had gone toKollam in Kerala and returned two daysago while the other had a travel historyto Hyderabad and been suffering fromthroat pain and fever sinceMonday. PTI

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The Tamil NaduGovernment has drawn up

plans to conduct thermalscreening of passengers at rail-way stations following thecoronavirus threat, HealthMinister C Vijayabhaskar saidon Tuesday.

The Government’s onlyplea to the people was to avoidtravelling unless necessary, hesaid.

Talking to reporters afterreviewing precautionary mea-sures at the central railwaystation here, he said thermalscreening would be taken up inassociation with railway policeand health department staff aspart of an awareness cam-paign.

Vijayabhaskar saidSouthern Railway officials haveinformed him that specialtrains operating from Chennaiwere cancelled in view of thecoronavirus scare.

“..Railway police will takeup thermal screening inside thetrain.We have planned likethat,” he said, adding railaypolice and staff would under-go orientation programme atMadras Medical College inthis connection.

He said nursing studentsat MMC would also be work-

ing on three shifts as part ofawareness campaign at railwaystations.

To a query, he said 1,84,860passengers were screened at theairport till date and 147 sam-ples taken for testing and onlyone case tested positive onMarch 7.

The 45-year-old man hasrecovered and will be dis-charged soon from the gov-ernment hospital here, theminister said. Appealing tothe people not to panic, he saidthose people who have travelhistory of visiting the virusaffected countries and thosewho have symptoms of cold,cough and breathlessness needto undergo tests for COVID-19.

The minister said the gov-ernment has received theCentre’s nod for setting uptesting centres at Tiruvarur,Theni and Tirunelveli. Thelab at the government hospitalwould also begin testing sam-ples for COVID-19 virus, hesaid.

The Southern Railway saidit has taken several precau-tionary measures in the wakeof the virus outbreak.

Various advisories havebeen issued by the union gov-ernment such as avoidance ofnon-essential travel and mass

Puducherry: Puducherryreported its first coronaviruscase on Tuesday even as ChiefMinister V Narayanasamyannounced closure of allschools, colleges, cinemas andgymnasium centres in theunion territory till this month-end as a precautionary mea-sure.

A 68-year-old woman test-ed positive in Mahe, an enclaveof the union territory in Kerala,and her condition was stable inthe government general hospi-tal there, director of Health andFamily Welfare Services MohanKumar said.

Sources said the womanhad returned from SaudiArabia after a pilgrimage onMarch 13.

Narayanasamy chaired ajoint meeting of officials ofHealth and other departmentshere and reviewed the stepstaken to prevent the spread ofthe infection in the union ter-ritory.

The government has ear-marked Rs 7.5 crore to theRevenue Department to pro-cure on emergency basise-quipment to rise to any exi-gency, he told reporters.

The Health Departmenthas been asked to immediate-ly recruit doctors and nurses tomeet the shortage in man-power to meet any require-ment.

All the tourists coming toPuducherry from other statesand also abroad would be sub-

ject to intensive screening at theentry points, bus terminals, air-port and other vulnerablespots.

Already, there was a declineby 50 per cent in the flow oftourists into the former Frenchcolony.

“The government does notwant to remain slack and hencea multi-pronged approach hasbeen adopted to keep the infec-tion at bay,” he added.

Those organising socialfunctions, including marriages,had been asked to restrict theinvitees.

Places of worship had alsobeen asked to put in place thenecessary facilities for the pil-grims and devotees to washtheir hands. PTI

Thiruvananthapuram : Atleast 300 Keralites, includingstudents, are stranded at theKuala Lumpur airport follow-ing cancellation of flights toIndia due to the coronavirusoutbreak.

Those stranded have comefrom various countries includ-ing Philippines, Cambodia andMalaysia.

“We are students fromPhilippines. We are strandedsince the past few hours asmany flights have been can-celled. We cannot go back toPhilippines and neither theIndian government is preparedto take us. We are trying to con-tact Indian officials.

None of us want to go backto Philippines,” a woman stu-dent said in a video telecast byvarious channels.

According to her, there aremany from various parts of thecountry, who have been wait-ing for hours at the transit air-port at Kuala Lumpur airport.

After they got the boardingpass, they were informed thatflights have been cancelled,some of them said in a video. PTI

Wayanad (Ker): Multi-lingual pam-phlets are now part of awareness dri-ves against coronavirus in Kerala,where the State Government hasstepped up divergent initiatives tocontain its spread.

Thinking out of the box in creat-ing awareness on containing and safe-guarding against the disease, the dis-trict administration in Wayanad, amajor tourist centre, on Tuesdayreleased pamphlets on the do’s anddon’ts on the virus in different lan-guages including foreign languages.

Pamphlets are ready in three for-eign languages— French, Spanish andGerman and six Indian languagesincluding Bengali, Assamese, Telugu,Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, officialsources here said.

Being a place where tourists from

the world over throng, a leaflet inEnglish alone would not be sufficientto all who are from other non-Englishspeaking countries, Europe in partic-ular, authorities said.

Pamphlets in other Indian lan-guages are also ready for distributiontargeting north Indian labourers, theysaid.

District collector Adeela Abdullasaid the initiative would go a long wayin properly educating and guidingpeople of different regions to under-stand and get guided accordingly to notonly prevent the spread but to take careofthemselves.

Developed by Totem ResourceCentre in association with the districtadministration, the first leaflets werereleased by State Transport minister AK Saseendran at a function held in thecollectorate here this morning. PTI

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After Siddhivinayak templetrust decided to shut the

doors to fight coronavirus pan-demic, Shri Mata Vaishno DeviShrine Board authorities onTuesday appealed to the pil-grims to postpone their visit tothe Holy Cave Shrine till nor-malisation of the situation.

Since January 1, 2020 morethan nine lakh pilgrims havealready performed darshan atthe cave shrine recording high-est ever footfalls in the last fiveyears during the period. Anaverage number of over 20,000pilgrims were currently reach-ing Katra base camp and grad-ually the footfall was expectedto increase in the coming dayswith exam season getting over.

In Katra, Spokesman ofthe Shrine board issued a writ-ten statement after ChiefExecutive Officer, Shri MataVaishno Devi Shrine Board,Ramesh Kumar reviewed allaspects related to yatra and thesafety of pilgrims.

“Considering the spreadof Coronovirus, the CEOappealed pilgrims to postponetheir visit to the Holy CaveShrine till normalisation ofthe situation”, the statementsaid.

The Shrine Board hastaken several other preventive

measures for ensuring safety ofthe pilgrims. These includecurtailing of Atka Aarti slots,closing of Garbhjoon Cave atAdhkuwari, restricting yatra ingroups etc.

Shrine Board spokesman,however, maintained, all thepilgrims visiting the Holy CaveShrine have to fill SelfReporting Form available atYatra Registration Counters,Accommodations, HelipadTerminal of Shrine. Further,they are required to passthrough mandatory ThermalImage Scanning at Katra beforeproceeding for yatra. Largenumber

For last two days, largenumber of pilgrims enrouteKatra were facing hardshipsdue to closure of restaurants,eating joints, food stalls, dhabas

across Jammu region.On its part Shri Mata

Vaishno Devi Shrine boardauthorities had earlier issued anadvisory to the NRIs/ foreign-ers and other visitors not tovisit the Shrine for 28 days afterlanding in India as a precau-tionary measure againstCoronavirus.

The domestic visitors hav-ing symptoms like cough,heavy fever and breathingproblems also advised toreschedule or postpone theirvisit to the Holy Shrine, theadvisory said. “The advisoriesare also being issued on themultipurpose audio systemthroughout the track fromKatra to Bhawan for creatingawareness about the coron-avirus.

Meanwhile, the

Government Tuesday extend-ed J&K Epidemic Disease(COVID-19) Regulations, 2020to both the divisions of Jammuand Kashmir to step up effortsto tackle the contagious coro-navirus disease.

The Regulations wereextended to whole of J&Kunder the orders of LieutenantGovernor Girish ChandraMurmu which define powers,duties and responsibilities tothe surveillance personnel,duties and responsibilities ofMedical Officers andPractitioners, Enforcement &Offences.

In Jammu and Kashmir, atotal number of 2615 travelersand persons in contact withsuspected cases have beenenlisted for surveillance and, sofar, three cases have testedpositive in Jammu andKashmir. 2060 persons havebeen kept under home quar-antine and 28 are in hospitalquarantine. Persons who areunder home surveillance standat 297 while as 230 personshave completed their 28-daysurveillance period. “113 sam-ples have been sent for testing,of which 105 tested as negativeand three cases have tested pos-itive, so far, while as reports offive cases are awaited till March17, 2020”, Governmentspokesman said. Bengaluru: Three people,

including a doctor who hadtreated the country’s first coro-navirus victim, have tested pos-itive for the infection in the last24 hours, taking the total num-ber of COVID-19 cases inKarnataka to ten.

The family doctor of the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagiwho died last week was amongthe infected, the Health andFamily Welfare Departmentsaid in an update on Tuesday.

The 63-year-old doctorhad treated the elderly man whodied “due to co-morbidity andalso tested positive for COVID-19.” He is under strict homequarantine, the department said.A 20-year-old woman, a resi-dent of Bengaluru, whoreturned from the UK, has alsotested positive for the virus.Earlier on Monday, a 32-year-old man, a software engineerwho arrived from the US viaLondon earlier this month, test-ed positive for the virus.

He was on the same flightas another person who waslater confirmed to be infected.He was under home quarantine,and has now been admitted toan isolation facility, the updateadded. PTI

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Maharashtra, which has sofar recorded a maximum

number of confirmed Covid-19cases in the country, sufferedfirst fatality on Tuesday, as a 63-year-old coronavirus-affectedpatient died at Mumbai’sKasturba Hospital and the totalnumber of persons tested pos-itive for the pandemic rose to40 in the State.

With the latest coronaviras-related death in Mumbai, thetotal number of deaths arisingof Covid-19 climbed to three inthe country. Earlier, one deatheach had been reported fromKarnataka and Delhi.

“Apart from the patientwho died today, there are 40other patients who have testedpositive are undergoing treat-ment at hospitals. Of them, thegravity of symptoms is notsevere but the condition of one

patient is critical. The remain-ing 32 others are not display-ing symptoms of disease,” chiefminister Uddhav Thackeraysaid.

Denying speculation in asection of electronic mediathat the State Governmentwould close down suburbantrain services in the metropo-lis and it would shut downMantralaya (State Secretariat)and Government offices forseven days, the Chief Ministersaid: “We will not discontin-ue operation of suburban trainsin the city. Nor will we closedMantralaya and Governmentoffices as speculated in themedia. We are constantlyassessing the emerging situa-tion. We will take appropriatedecisions at appropriatetime”.

Talking to media personsafter reviewing the Covid-19situation in the State, Uddhav

appealed the Mumbaikars totravel in trains and buses if itwas very essential for them.“Since trains and buses areessential services, we have noplans at the moment to shutdown the public transport sys-tem. Similarly, there is no planto shut down Mantralaya andGovernment offices. But, weare considering if we can bringdown the number of employ-ees in Government by 50 percent,” the Chief Minister said.

The senior citizen, whodied at the Kasturba Hospitalon Tuesday morning, hadreturned to Mumbai fromDubai on March 5, “He wasfirst admitted to HindujaHospital on March 7 for treat-ment of high blood pressure.He was on March 12 shifted toKasurba Hospital where hetested positive for Coronavirus.Initially, he* was responding totreatment. He breathed his lastat 7 am today,” State HealthMinister Rajesh Tope said.

The total number of con-firmed Coronavirus cases rose

from 39 to 41, as two fresh pos-itive cases were reported onTuesday. Of the two freshcases, one is a 49-year-old manwho had returned to Mumbaifrom the United States onMarch 7, while the secondpatient is a 26-year-old man,who had returned to Pune onMarch 14 and is currently at aPimpri-Chinchwad MunicipalCorporation (PCMC)-run hos-pital at Bhosari.

Confirming the death of

the 63-year-old man at theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC)-runKasturba Hospital, a statementreleased by the Epidemiologycell of the hospital said: “Patienthad high blood pressure, pneu-monia and inflammation ofheart muscles and increasedheart rate, leading to his death.He was a positive case ofCOVID-19”.

Meanwhile, a statementissued by the Ministry of

Health said in New Delhi saidthat the patient who died atKasturba Hospital, had notrevealed his travel history whenhe was initially admitted to aprivate hospital for five daysbefore being shifted toKasturba Hospital. “The patienthad travel history to Dubai,which he reportedly did notdisclose at the time of hisadmission to the private hos-pital,” the Heatlh Ministrystatement said.

There are currently 105suspected Coronavirus cases inthe state. “All these 105 personsare hospitalised. As of today,as many 1169 people havecome from Coronavirus pan-demic-hit countries. Afterfound suffering from fever,cold, irritation in throat, asmany as 900 people have beenquarantined in various hospi-tals . Of them, 779 peoplehave tested negative, while 41persons have tested positive forCovid-19,” Tope said.

Listing new measures ini-tiated by the State Government

to prevent the spread ofCoronavirus, the chief minis-ter said: “We have spoken to theheads of various drug compa-nies and experts in health sec-tor. They have offered to coop-erate with the state govern-ment. The companies haveeven offered to give us drugs,masks, sanitzers and ventilatorsfrom their CSR funds...Wehave authorised the districtcollectors to purchase ventila-tors and other equipmentrequired for their needs fromthe local market”.

“We have intensifiedscreening of passengers arriv-ing at the airports or ports atthe airports and ports. Wehave made adequate arrange-ments for quarantining peoplecoming from abroad,” the chiefminister said.

“The persons whom wehave advised to quarantinethemselves at their homesshould take care of themselvesand not stir out of their homes.We have also ordered closure ofschools in rural areas and

asked the authorities to keepsanitizers, soap and water atpublic toilets in rural areas,”Uddhav said.

Official sources said thatthe state government wouldbook 20 rooms at Mirage(Madison Group), 100 at ITCMaratha, 70 at PWD GuestHouse in Andheri and 50 atNiranta Airport Transit Hotel,which would be designated asa ‘quarantine’.

Those requiring quarantineare being sent to Seven HillsHospital, Mumbai. MunicipalCommissioner Pravin Pardeshihas meanwhile called uponthe private sector to implement“Work From Home” (WFH) asfar as possible for the next cou-ple of weeks. In a related devel-opment, the Western Railwayhas decided to cancel 35 tripsof 10 train services due to lowoccupancy arriving out ofCOVID-19. The CentralRailway has cancelled 23 trainsdue to low occupancy arisingout of the outbreak ofCoronavirus.

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Close on the heels of the clo-sure of the famous

Siddhivinayak temple inMumbai and Tuljabhavanitemple in Osmanabad districtin the aftermath of the outbreakof Coronavirus, the authoritiesdowned the shutters ofrenowned Shiridi Saibaba tem-ple in Ahmednagar district onTuesday afternoon.

“Shri Saibaba temple willremain closed for darshan from3 pm today till further notice.Similarly, the temple’sPrasadalay, accommodationcentre and Canteen will alsonot be open for the devotees foran indefinite period,” SaibabaTrust’s Chief Executive OfficerArun Dongre said.

Talking to media persons,Dongre said: “There wouldnot be any crowd in around thetemple. There would be just

four to five priests when wetake out a customary palkhi (procession) of Saibaba onThursday. Though the templewould be closed to devotees fordarshan, the on-line darshan ofSaibaba will continue. So is thelive telecast of pujas”.

On Monday, the manage-ments of Siddhivinayak templein Mumbai and Tuljabhavanitemple at Osmananad had dis-continued darshan for devoteesin view of the Covid-19 situa-tion in the state.

Reports from Kolhapur,meanwhile, said that thefamous Ambabhavani templein the western Maharashtratown would also be closed fordarsan to devotees. “A formaldecision in this regard wouldbe taken at joint meetingbetween the district collectorand temple trust chairmanMadhav Jadhav,” a templespokesperson said.

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Bengaluru: The functioningof the Lokayukta as an organ-isation came under scrutiny ofsome Karnataka legislators,with a Congress MLA claimingit has become a “toothlessbody” and seeking a compre-hensive law to strengthen it, asthe Assembly on Tuesdaypassed an amendment to theLokayukta Act.

The Assembly on Tuesdaypassed the KarnatakaLokayukta (Amendment) Bill,2020, to further amend theKarnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984to enable the organisation tofunction more effectively.

As the Law and

Parliamentary Affairs MinisterJC Madhuswamy moved theKarnataka Lokayukta(Amendment) Bill, 2020 for theconsideration of the House,senior Congress legislator andformer Speaker KR RameshKumar questioned the effec-tiveness of Lokayukta.

Pointing out that earlierthere was state vigilance com-mission which was replaced byLokayukta duringRamakrishna Hegde’s tenure asChief Minister, he asked, “isthere any use because ofLokayukta? is there any quali-tative change? the purpose forwhich this institution was cre-

ated, has it served the pur-pose?”

He asked as to what wasthe “net result”, after Lokayuktatook up several cases of cor-ruption, and also wanted toknow was there any valuebased change.

“A few people have refusedto file their assets and liabilitiesbefore Lokayukta, which ismandatory for public servants.

Is it to rehabilitate some-one?” he asked, as he appealedto the government to go in fora drastic law to achieve theintended objectives, whichthe whole country shouldappreciate.

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Rajinikanth is here to stayand leaders of other polit-

ical parties better start ways andmeans to check his caravan asit begins its journey acrossTamil Nadu soon. This wasstated by the film actor himselfduring a private function lateMonday at Chennai.

“There has been a groundswell of public support to myannouncement about the pre-conditions for launching thepolitical outfit. As we approachthe 2021 Assembly Election inTamil Nadu, this could devel-op into a political tsunami inmy favor,” said Rajinikanth.

Last Wednesday sawRajinikanth addressing themedia in Chennai after a briefinteraction with the district-level office bearers of RajiniMakkal Manram. Though hedid not take any questionsfrom the media, he stated thatthere was a political vacuumin the State and people want-ed a change. His declarationthat he would not be the chiefministerial candidate has gonedown well with Tamil nation-alist film makers like BharatiRaja and Vadivelu, anothersuper star who immediatelyannounced their support toRajinikanth.

Since Rajinikanth is not anatural Tamilian, there arereservations among Tamilchauvinist movie makers andartists against his politicaldreams. But his decision not toaccept the chief ministership ofthe State and announcementthat he would be a watch dogof the Government has beenwidely welcomed.

But the Muslim commu-

nity in the State is not humoredby the actor’s decision to ven-ture out into the terrain of pol-itics. “Rajinikanth is beingdeployed by the RSS-led sanghParivar to mislead people inTamil Nadu. All his plans,including two separate personsheading the party and the gov-ernment resemble the RSSstyle. The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah experiment at theCentre is being extended toTamil Nadu,” said P AbdulRahman, vice president, TamilNadu Thowheed Jamaath.

Rahman said in a releasethat the Sangh Parivar’s effortsto enter Tamil Nadu met witha failure as the people could seethrough their “evil intentions”.“The RSS has selectedRajinikanth to implement theirHindutwa politics in the Stateand this would not work here,”he said. The TNTJ leaderpointed out that the actor wasfully behind the RSS in theCAA issue and that itself gaveout his true colours.

But an interesting reac-tion came from KManickavasagam, a decoratedpolice officer from Thanjavur.“The exemplary and extraor-dinary political ideas are apreview to your outstandingbrand of politics for providinga corruption-free, dynasty-freeand service oriented govern-ment for the people of TamilNadu is a welcome move,” saidManickavasagam in a letter toRajinikanth. The super starhad declared last Wednesdaythat there would not be anyprofessional politicians in thesystem envisaged by him andno one should join him withthe aim of making money oroccupying positions of power.

Allahabad: In the wake of thependency of the case in theSupreme Court, the AllahabadHC on Tuesday pushed thedate for the compliance of itsorder for the immediateremoval of anti-CAA protest-ers' posters toApril 10.

The order was passed bythe High Court Bench com-prising Chief Justice GovindMathur and Justice RameshSinha on an application movedby the Lucknow district mag-istrate.

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment on Monday hadmoved an application beforethe court, seeking more time tofile the compliance report inthe matter.

The State Governmenthad contended that a specialleave petition (SLP) againstthe March 9 decision of theHigh Court is pending beforethe Supreme Court, which hasreferred the matter to a largerbench.

“Having considered thefacts stated in the applicationand the affidavit annexed thereto, at this stage we deem itappropriate to extend the timefor the filing the compliancereport up to April 10, 2020,” theBench observed. PTI

Bengaluru: Rebel CongressMLAs from political crisis-hitMadhya Pradesh on Tuesdayclaimed 20 more MLAs fromthat party want to join themand they were thinking of join-ing BJP in the days to come.

Speaking to reporters forthe first time after arriving inBengaluru and sending in theirresignations, the 22 MLAs saidthey were ready to face anyconsequences.

“Jyotiraditya Scindia isour leader; we have been doingpolitics with him for years,most of us are in politicsbecause of him...We are stillthinking regarding joining BJP.If we get protection from cen-tral police, we will go toMadhya Pradesh andthink about it,” a woman MLAsaid.

The legislators claimed 20more MLAs are with them, buthave been kept in captivity. Ifthey too were with the rebels,

Congress would have clearlybroken and no law could havebeen enforced on the group.

The rebel MLAs said theyare ready for any consequencesand were confident that peopleof their constituencies are withthem.

In a massive setback forthe Congress, its prominentyouth leader JyotiradtyaScindia quit the party and in acoordinated rebellion last week22 MLAs loyal to him resignedin Madhya Pradesh, pushingthe 15-month-old Kamal Nathgovernment to the brink of col-lapse.

Scindia joined the BJP onMarch 11.

“We were quiet when ourleader Jyotiraditya Scindia wasnot made Chief Minister.Kamal Nath, who became CM,did not give any funds to our

constituencies, while clear-ances were given forChhindwara (constituency rep-resented by Nath) at almostevery cabinet meeting”, a rebelMLA said.

Another MLA said Nathhad no time to meet them andhear their grievances.

“When there is no devel-opment in our constituency,what is the use?”

Several MLAs also allegedthat seniority and capabilitywere not considered in form-ing of Ministry after the elec-tions.

They said they even metCongress leader Rahul Gandhiin this regard, but nothingcame of it. Rejecting claims byCongress leaders that they wereheld hostage here, the MLAsclarified that they had come tothe city voluntarily. PTI

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Much to the relief ofCongress backed Left

Front Rajya Sabha candidateBikash Ranjan Bhattacharyathe Election Commission onTuesday cancelled the nomi-nation of Dinesh Bajaj anIndependent nominee backedby the Trinamool Congress ontechnical grounds.

Bajaj a former TMC MLAhad filed his nomination for theRajya Sabha elections barely aminute before the closure of thedeadline.

With the cancellationBajaj’s nomination only fivecandidates remain in the frayfor five seats indicating thatBengal will see no contest in theelections for the Upper House.The other four candidates areformer TMC MPs Dinesh

Trivedi, Subroto Bakshi,Mausam Benazir Noor, andArpita Ghosh. All but Bakshihad suffered a defeat at thehands of the BJP candidates inthe May 2019 parliamentaryelections.

A much relievedBhattacharya who had last timesuffered a fate almost similar tothat of Bajaj later said “a con-spiracy being hatched by theTMC and the BJP to defeatdemocratic forces has finallybeen defeated on technicalgrounds … The BJP and TMChad conspired to field a com-mon candidate in the lastmoment so as to ensure cross-voting by pumping in ill-gottenmoney.”

Meanwhile after the StateElection Commission post-poned the civic poll process forthe time being in view of

Corona threat the StateGovernment is reportedly plan-ning to bring an ordinance toappoint an administrator forthe Kolkata MunicipalCorporation

Senior State Minister andKolkata Mayor Firhad Hakimon Tuesday said that theGovernment has no choice butto get the polls conducted inthe month April which seemsunlikely due to Corona threator bring an ordinance appoint-ing an administrator for theKolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC).

Much to the chagrin of theopposition BJP the Mayor saidunlike the Bengal MunicipalAct or Howrah MunicipalCorporation Act there is noprovisions to appoint anadministrator for the KMC. “Inthat case an ordinance will have

to be brought to that effect if atall no election can be con-ducted in April,” he said.

Reacting to Hakim’s state-ments senior State BJP leaderSayantan Basu said the TMCwas trying to evade polls andavoid a sure defeat.

“They know that theirdefeat is certain and so they aretrying to bring an ordinance forKolkata. We know that there isa Corona threat. But they canwait till the month of Maywhen the polls can be con-ducted. The present KMCboard has its term till May…They are trying to hide behindCorona virus to escape thepolls,” he said.

Elsewhere the StateGovernment took extraordi-nary measures to check Coronaproliferation by shutting downall the cinema halls and even

shootings at Tollygunge filmcity for the next two weeks orso.

Apart from this all the his-torical monuments likeHazarduari, CoochbeharHouse etc were closed for thepublic even as about 6,300suspected people were forcedinto home isolation.

The Corona scare took itstoll on transport business toowith most thoroughfares wear-ing a near-deserted look. Seniorofficials at Kolkata MetroRailway said a drop in ticketsale by at least 1.5 lakh per dayon an average. Lack of passen-gers led the Indian Railways onthe other hand to cancel anumber of trains includingHowrah-Mumbai DurantoExpress, Puri Express and anumber of local and passengertrains, sources said.

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The Indian National Ship-owner Association (INSA)

has written a letter to DGshipping as onboard crew isbeing termed as virus carrierand hence not allowing themfor sign in /off despite end ofcontract period.

Speaking exclusively withThe Pioneer, Indian nationalsserving in Merchant Navy saidthat the Indian Sea Fearers hav-ing no travel history to Chinaand Covid -19 affected coun-tries are not being allowed tosign off and sign in.

Admitting the fact thatthe maritime trade has fallen10-17 percent so far andexpected to be worsen more asorders for upcoming monthshave been shut, a senior offi-cials said that several maritimeoperations have been halted,instance - Crew sign in/ off,repair work of the ships, vettinginspection on tankers, addingcertification of Indian vesselcould get jeopardized and drydocking of ships.

Crew sign on/off, Serviceengineers / Repair work of theships, vetting Inspection ontankers, Certification of theIndian Vessel could getJeopardised and dry dockingof ships. The Pioneer spoke tomany sailors on boards on this.

In their letter to AmitabhKumar, Director General ofShipping, the association mem-ber mentioned that Indianseafarers on board Indian shipswhich are operating on theIndian coast should be allowedto sign off without any restric-tion. “Indian seafarers on boardIndian ships have no history ofhaving visited any of COVID-19 affected countries in thepast 30 days should be per-mitted to be sign off freely.Iffound to be symptomatic theymay be asked to undergo test-ing and quarantine. Indianseafarers joining ships shouldbe allowed to sign on to Indian

ships without any hindrance orrestriction,” the letter read.

While speaking to the cor-respondent, onboard sailorsshared their experience to be insea amidst the COVID -19.These remote workers whoare bound to stay away fromtheir families at least for the sixmonths are being termed as thevirus carrier at harbor.

“We follow the instructionsand with limited stock of foodand wine , we try to maintainjoy in sea. We are the supplychain as at any condition, weneed to transport the essentialwhich are require for survival,instance - oil and coal, there aremany countries in the Southhemisphere which are reliableon oil to produce electricity..but, in this difficult timeswhen no one wants to see us atharbor, it is difficult for us alsoto sustain in blue waters forlong,” said a third officer deput-ed on the merchant ship.

Adding insight to sailor'stough time, another sailor saidthat we are receiving advi-sories in every hour and beingguided by seniors what to doin hard times , however Coronapain is more hitting psycho-logically than affecting ourphysical health… staying awayfrom families and dedicated todeliver the supply in time , seashore companies are not pro-viding us the quarantine suitseven..everything is not wine,”he added.

Meanwhile , many issuespertaining to repair squad andspecialist engineers are beingfaced as the engineers should bepermitted to board Indian shipsfor the purpose of carrying outrepairs and maintenance.

Citing the example ofSingapore, Liberia and MarshalIsland, shipping agencies urgedDG shipping to grant extensionto the existing ships certificatesfor a period of at least six - eightmonths for smooth maritimetrade functioning.

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Since 1991, a lot has been said,written and debated ad lib aboutliberalisation, globalisation andease of doing business. However,not much has been said about the

need to free the employment market.Discussions on a new/alternative labourlaws do take place. So do talks on the needto revise minimum wages. Do we notrealise that tinkering of this naturewould take the economy nowhere? Timeand again, Governments raise the min-imum wages to seek applause. Somelabour or trade union leaders do clap butthat would be about it. Such moves do notincrease employment. If anything para-doxically, they bring down wages.

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947,has been the guiding code of all employ-ment, except for the uppermost layer ofofficers and executives. When the Act waspassed, it was intended essentially forworkers by the then Government.Because of the low salaries prevailingthen, clerical staff got included. In theabsence of any other guidelines, the sit-uation has degenerated to the extent thatany employee can file a suit in a labourcourt. As a result, every responsibleemployer thinks not twice but thricebefore making appointments at Class II,III or IV levels. As far as the number ofjobs is concerned, it is these categories thatare critical. Employers, up to a point, takeshelter in outsourcing. However, suchproxy appointments can hardly be a helpin generating jobs on a national scale.

If one wants to see glaring examplesof what damage the Industrial DisputesAct and its corollaries have done in India,one may visit West Bengal. This State,which was once India’s leading industri-al province, has become a graveyard ofindustries. Kerala is another State, whichis also a cemetery of industries, albeit asmaller one, because the IndustrialDisputes Act-inspired trade unionismstopped the State’s economic growthearly in its tracks. In the heyday ofmonopolies and restrictive trade practices,a majority of large business houses wereheadquartered in Kolkata. The IndustrialDisputes Act-bred trade unionism effec-tively chased them out. It is, therefore,time that India reconsiders the IndustrialDisputes Act.

Prima facie, unions are meant to pro-tect and promote the welfare of theirmember workers. As it happens, mostunions are affiliated to one politicalparty or the other. Their leaders havepolitical ambitions. In the bargain, the pri-ority of their loyalty may be the party.Moreover, fundamentally, the strength ofa trade union lies in the number of itsmembers; their welfare is a lower prior-ity. Further, the concept of the worker’sunion is traced to the desire for revolu-tion; aid and abet to bring down bour-

geois institutions.A paradox of the Indian

scenario is its high populationand, hence, the consolation of ademographic dividend on theone hand, and minimum wagesdeclared by State Governmentsplus the laws and labour courtsbeing prejudiced againstemployers. The other paradoxis the national outcry for morejobs. None of the points we havemade so far help achieve greateremployment. If anything, theyactually shrink the prospects foremployment.

Three years ago, a MorganStanley report had stated thatIndia’s labour laws force firmseither to remain small, employ-ing fewer workers or to use cap-ital-intensive technology. Nowonder, the share of India’smanufacturing sector in GDPterms is one of the lowestamong emerging markets.India’s track record in creatingproductive jobs has been poor.

How can there be any pro-ductive job growth if the coun-try’s labour market is shackledwith regulations made 60 or 70years ago? Another factor so faroverlooked is that work itself isa training as well as experience.Even if a youngster has missedsufficient schooling, his earlystart in a job can offset the dis-advantage to a significantextent. On the other hand, ifhe/she has to be without workfor several years, he/she would

lose self confidence, learn littleand lack experience, which is aspringboard for building acareer, however humble. Anidle mind is a devil’s workshopis an old truism. The imposi-tion of a minimum wageignores this old wisdom. Inassuring one person with acomfortable wage, it ruins upto nine potential careers. Thesenine include those who remainjobless merely because theminimum wage stifles thegrowth of the economy.

There was a time when anunemployed person could liveoff his family, which in turndepended on farming its land.But now, with increased popu-lation and a reduction in the sizeof most farms, this alternativefor a man without a job orincome is no longer there; itwould be difficult to survive.Therefore, some income is amust. A low wage is better thanno wage. The flip side of this sit-uation should be an encourage-ment to entrepreneurs. Demandfor handmade goods, especial-ly in the affluent world, isbelieved to be limitless, provid-ed it is not too expensive.

Labour law is a concurrentsubject under the IndianConstitution. Thus, both theCentral and State Governmentshave the right to formulate lawson the subject, which meansmultiplicity of laws, at timeswith overlapping jurisdictions.

For example, there are 44Central laws and about 160 Statelaws on the issue of labour(source: ILO, 2013). Most arearchaic, dating to pre-indepen-dence era. There is an urgentneed to overhaul these laws toattune them to present realities.There are multiple laws govern-ing a single area. For instance,there are 19 laws governing con-ditions of work and industrialrelations, 14 laws on socialsecurity and labour welfare,among others.

It is, therefore, advisable toscrap all these laws, includingthe Industrial Disputes Act. Intheir place, a worker contractBill should be passed, whichwould be between an employ-er and an employee, as per theirmutually agreeable wishes,including the salary/wage. Theonly universal condition shouldbe that 25 per cent of thissalary should be handed over asa draft of a public sector bank,payable exactly five years later.These drafts, month by month,would be the employee’s post-employment benefits. This is toassure him/her that even if theemployer closes down, the ben-efits are safe. Otherwise, thereshould be total freedom, whichwould enable numerous pro-jects, especially labour-intensive,to mushroom and bloom.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Viewsexpressed are personal))��(�� )��*��

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Taxing the driver” (March 17).It’s surprising that despite a fall ininternational prices of crude oildue to the spread of COVID-19,fuel prices in the country remainat an all-time high. Yet again, theGovernment has hiked the exciseduty on diesel and petrol by �3.Oil prices have crashed by about50 per cent since mid-January.Whenever international pricesof fuel increase, the oil companiesimmediately increase the retailprice. There is a need to pass onthe benefit of price reduction inthe international market to thepeople. The major portion of thecountry’s revenue is generatedfrom the sale of fuel and liquor butunfortunately, both are kept outof the purview of the Goods andServices Tax (GST).

Aditi SangarVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “The Corona diplomacy”(March 17). It’s good that Indiahas reported fewer positive cases

of COVID-19 than others suchas China, South Korea, Iran,Italy or even the US. Yet we mustdouble our efforts to stop thespread of the virus because ourcountry has a pathetic record indisaster management. A sud-den rise in the number of casesmay make us vulnerable.

The Government’s move toput a blanket ban on tourist visasfrom all countries is commend-able. But first and foremost, itmust try to stop panic as deathsdue to other reasons could alsobe construed as death due toCoronavirus. Clear communica-tion is key. As far as wearing

masks is concerned, it must beclearly communicated throughall available channels whetherthey serve any purpose or not.More than the masks, peopleshould keep their hands germ-free. This is why we must devel-op the healthy habit of washinghands for at least 20 seconds and

use alcohol-based hand sanitis-ers. The Central as well as theState Governments must ensurethat masks and sanitisers areavailable in quantities, especial-ly in high-risk prone areas and ataffordable rates.

Vinod C DixitAhmedabad

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “The Corona diplomacy”(March 17). Due to the lack of amedicine/vaccine in sight, theCoronavirus pandemic hasbesieged the world. Thankfully,several nations are conductingresearch to develop a vaccine. Butit was shocking that instead ofworking together with Germany,which is developing a potentialvaccine for COVID-19, the UShas acted shamefully by demand-ing that the said medicine beavailable exclusively forAmericans. COVID-19 is a glob-al threat and nations have to fightit collectively.

Akhiliesh KumarNoida

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British educationist Alick Maclean undertookarguably one of the earliest attempts at pro-ducing a university ranking system.

Maclean’s study Where We Get Our Best Men(1900), which betrays the late Victorian England’sobsession with its own laurels, remained unno-ticed outside the university circuits in England.However, more than a hundred years later, thecontext, connotations and the scope of such rank-ings have changed dramatically. With the inclu-sion of higher education as an “internationallytraded” service in the General Agreement onTrade in Services (GATS), universities havebecome commodities that must sell to sustainthemselves in a globally-competitive educationindustry. Rankings are loudly advertised and havebecome the very touchstone of marketability. Evenin a welfare State like India, where the bulk ofhigher education is Government-aided andtherefore beyond the pale of market vagaries, therehas been, of late, a near-feverish fixation withrankings. And while (because) Indian universi-ties weren’t performing too well at Times HigherEducation Supplement (THES), Shanghai JiaoTong University (SJTU) or Webometrics worldrankings, we introduced leagues of our own inthe form of National Assessment andAccreditation Council (NAAC) and NationalInstitutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Tomany of the stakeholders, “ranking” is an unwar-ranted western import which puts the institutionsof developing countries at a natural disadvantage.

With their emphasis on measuring researchoutput in terms of publications in English lan-guage journals, the global system of accreditationperpetuates the dominance of Anglo-Americanand to a lesser extent, European institutions.Besides the system of peer-review and mutual-referencing aren’t the most transparent of acad-emic practices. Since the Government appearskeen on incrementally linking an institution’sdomestic and international standings with the vol-ume and the manner of funding, some even sus-pect that the entire hoopla is a decoy for privati-sation. And then there are those critics whobelieve that at a time when the majority of uni-versity graduates, as highlighted in theGovernment’s own findings, are unemployable,our pursuit of global stature reeks of waylaid com-petitive nationalism, hollow chest-thumpingand the general lethargy of a stagnated eductionsector. They argue, with some merit, that it wouldprofit the universities more if the staff aremobilised towards research and teaching insteadof tedious report compilation. Till a few years ago,before the launch of NAAC and NIRF, manybelieved that better rankings accrue from user-friendly websites and perception management.

Under the circumstances, quality becomes aprocedural casualty and our estimation of a uni-versity’s true worth, based on a set of universalparameters, remains delusional and misleading.For example, in several assessment paradigms, theshare of international faculty and foreign studentssubstantially propels an institution’s ranking.While this may not be the strength of Indian uni-versities, not many countries of the world canboast of a higher education system which is morecommitted to affirmative action and socialinclusion, than our own.

The massification of education and steep risein enrollment rates may not deliver immediatedividends but these steps will see India rise as aleader in research and development (R&D) intimes to come. Fortunately, the NIRF identifiesan institution’s inclusivity at the levels of region,

class, gender and physical disability asa parameter in quality assessment. Butthere are, as yet, no points for diversi-ty in faculty.

As India aims to overhaul its high-er education infrastructure through aNew Education Policy (NEP), creatingworld-class institutes of eminence (IoEs)and acquiring better global rankingsappear to be two of the priorities. It isexpected that resources generatedthrough public private partnership(PPP) and introduction of industry-cen-tric courses will provide stimulus tothese enterprises. The Ministry ofHuman Resource Development’s(MHRD) pitch for IoEs encouragesinternational outreach. Under thescheme, the 16 designate institutionshave been empowered to collaboratewith foreign universities and recruit upto 25 per cent of their total facultystrength from outside India.

The success of the much-touted‘Study in India’ campaign, too, is large-ly hinged on our ability to create IoEsand secure better ranking. The cam-paign, if successful, will not only bringrevenue but the increase in the numberof offshore students would also improveour global stature. The degree of inter-nationalisation of higher education,which is partly consequent upon glob-al ranking, will certainly augmentIndia’s soft power. The Government’swebsite on the initiative lists instructionin English medium, the size of India’smarket, recent start-up culture and plu-ralist campuses as our strengths. Butwhen we leverage our educationalinfrastructure to entice the global stu-dent community, we need to ask the fol-lowing question: who are we inviting tostudy in India and what do we have tooffer? Given India’s financial constraintsand our social commitment to bring themajority into the fold of higher educa-tion, planners and policymakers willhave to make a series of difficult choic-es. They will have to choose between

scaling a few hand-picked institutionsto global stature and making the major-ity of Central/State universities compet-itive with respect to education infra-structure in Asia and Africa. Let us notforget that as of now, Indian universi-ties cater mostly to students fromSouth Asian Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) and Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)countries.

In some cases, to the wealthy SouthKoreans and Africans, too. In terms oftheir preferred academic destinations inIndia, these foreign students choosemostly institutions located in metropol-itan centres. Therefore, we also need tochoose between buttressing the existingpatterns of student-inflow and creatingregionally diverse centres of learning.Further, we have to decide between pro-moting subjects which feed the localindustry and those that are most soughtafter in the target countries. If we are toinvite students to study in India, whenthe domestic expectation itself is of acosmic proportion, we must think ofways of marrying the two prerogatives.A balance must be struck between thestrategic need to invite foreign studentsand delivering on the moral imperativesof the State.

Policymakers need to think ofdeveloping regional centres of excellencebased on local trends, proclivities,resources and history. Delhi is nearlysaturated, so are Bengaluru, Hyderabadand Pune. India needs to create morehubs, showcasing local strength andareas where Indians excel. To thateffect, here is a modest proposal.Institutes based in the north-easternStates can be developed into hubs fortraining in cottage and small-scaleindustries. Maharashtra and Gujarat canbecome centres of commerce and tradeeducation. South India could be devel-oped into India’s science hub whileBengal and Bihar can shine as regionscatering to humanities and social sci-

ences. Haryana can do exceptionallywell in sports and physical health andMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh andOdisha can lead global research on trib-al knowledge systems and sustainablehuman ecology. At the same time, wemust also think of capitalising ondomains of knowledge to which we havehad privileged access and that have tra-ditionally been our strength. In subjectssuch as ayurveda, yoga and mentalhealth, with an untapped global market,we have a lot to offer even to the mostadvanced countries of the world. Thereis an ayurvedic medical college in myown nondescript village in Bihar. Butover the years, instead of attracting stu-dents from other States, let alone fromother countries, the institution hasshrunk both physically and in terms offootfall. Instead of investing in disci-plines where global competition is stiff,the MHRD should think of promotinga few institutes dedicated to indigenousknowledge systems as IoEs. In theseareas, the chances of becoming a worldleader are bright, realistic and hugelyrewarding.

But as we draw these schemes, wemust never forget that a lot will dependon the quality of teachers employed atthese institutes. Paradoxically, as thingsstand today, students studying outsideIndia, with their international experi-ence and exposure, are being project-ed as key to the success of the ‘Study inIndia’ initiative. We have to put in placea robust system of attracting and retain-ing talented students and teachers.Given the current state of affairs,appointment of teachers would be agood beginning point. Unless we engageand strengthen our workforce, theseschemes will be reduced to corporatestyle weekend workshops on capacitybuilding that offer nothing but a distrac-tion from monotony. That too on aweekend.

(The writer teaches English at theUniversity of Delhi)

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Aclear picture of the full ramifi-cations of the extraordinaryCoronavirus outbreak is yet to

emerge. Till about two weeks ago thevirus was just a news story but now, ithas touched all our lives. Right fromwork, play, entertainment, the right topray and to “what is for dinner today”,every aspect of the common man’s lifehas been affected. It has changed nor-mal routines and many are now work-ing from home. Students are on a forcedholiday and irritable as they havelargely been confined to home by

schools and institutions of higher edu-cation shutting down. Even those stay-ing in hostels have been told to pack upand go home. Worried parents havethemselves given up socialising, goingto restaurants or the cinema. It has alsoresulted in an unprecedented focus onhealth and hygiene, not just in the pub-lic sphere but also in our private space.Authorities have issued numerous pub-lic health advisories and dos and don’tsto prevent the spread of theCoronavirus. Right now, the situationseems to be spiralling out of control andas of now no end is in sight.

But this should not result in panic.It is indeed a good thing that theGovernment has declared it as a“national calamity” and the States andthe Centre are working in tandem tocheck the spread of the dreaded virus.The number of confirmed cases inIndia has risen to 137, with three casu-alties, according to the Health Ministry’sdata. As the number grows daily, many

businesses have closed, there is mayhemon the stock market, hospitals are over-flowing with patients and even themovie industry has postponed new filmreleases with movie halls being shuttemporarily. It will certainly take a longtime for the country to recover from theeffect of this pandemic.

Even the gods have not beenspared, say media reports. Apparently“fearing” that the deities, too, could beinfected with the Coronavirus, thepriests of a famous temple in UttarPradesh have covered them with masksand asked the devotees to clean theirhands with sanitizers before touchingthe idols. Some like the Swaminarayantemple have been shut indefinitely. Forthe first time, the centuries oldTirumala Tirupati Devasthanam hascancelled major services.

Interestingly, the Coronavirus hascome as a blessing in disguise for theNarendra Modi Government as it haspushed almost all other burning issues

to the background. Politically impor-tant issues like the flailing economy, theanti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) protests, the Delhi riots and soon, have been put on the back-burner.Even in Parliament the debate on theanti-CAA protests was not as stormy asexpected. The Modi Government gotaway with muted attacks, though theformer Congress president RahulGandhi continues his tirade against theCentre on the sliding economy.

Coronavirus is taking a toll on eco-nomic activities around the world as theentire supply chain continues to beaffected and major global events areeither being cancelled or postponed.The impact on the Indian economy isgoing to be much worse now, thoughthe Government is yet to come up withan assessment.

Indian economists are worriedthat the Coronavirus outbreak coulddrag growth in the current January-March quarter and the next financial.

The Government has projected five percent growth in the current financial yearand the projected growth for the nextfiscal, starting April 2020-21 has beenpegged at six per cent to 6.5 per cent.

The manufacturing industry, thereal estate sector, the aviation and hos-pitality industry, major sports eventsand almost every segment of econom-ic activity has seen a downtrend.Airline tickets and hotel bookings aregoing at almost half price.The $46 bil-lion global cruise industry is alsowatching the Coronavirus outbreaknervously. If the spread of the diseaseisn’t contained soon, it could even affectthe advertising and marketing spendsof brands.

The Reserve Bank of IndiaGovernor, Shaktikanta Das recentlywarned that the pharma and electron-ic manufacturing sectors might getimpacted due to the virus and the GrossDomestic Product (GDP) growth islikely to go down further. He said that

the Coronavirus outbreak appears to beworse than the Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) andthis time China’s share in the worldGDP and trade is much higher. IndianIT companies depend on Shanghai andBeijing and the big picture points to thefact that many existing projects mightnot be completed. India’s leadingautomakers — Mahindra, Tata Motorsand Hero MotoCorp — admit that theCoronavirus outbreak has hit produc-tion and supply of spare parts. The sec-tor saw sales decline by 15 per cent inthe April-January period.

Fear of the unknown is powerfuland the virus still remains alien. SARStook about six months to stop, largelythrough public health measures. Beingthe second-most populous country inthe world, India has cause to worry butthere should be no panic. Coronavirusis an evolving disease and we have noother option than to wait ad watch.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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With normal banking ser-vices in Yes Bank to

resume at 6 pm on Wednesday,the private sector bank'sadministrator and newinvestors assured all depositholders that their savings in thebank were absolutely safe andcustomers would have muchbetter experience when theyresume usual interaction withthe lender.

"There is no need to worryabout safety of deposits in thebank. The bank has emergedstronger with the equity sup-port of domestic banks andquick action by the RBI and theGovernment. So when normalbanking services resumetomorrow, customers canexpect to get much better expe-rience," Prashant Kumar, YesBank administrator and thenext MD and CEO of thebank's newly constituted board,told media persons at a Pressconference.

Responding to questionswhether there would be a flur-ry of withdrawals from thedepositors once normal bank-ing services resume onWednesday, he said that YesBank has sufficient fundinglines available with it and basedon analytics and positive vibes

generated by the restructuringscheme, there would not be aflurry of withdrawals.

"Even during moratoriumperiod, only one-third ofdepositors withdrew their sav-ings to the extent of �50,000while the remaining did notwithdraw at all. In fact, in lastfour days, Yes Bank has seenmore inflows than outflow,"Kumar said.

Asked if there was a con-tingency plan to check with-drawal rush, he said he had noreasons to believe why thatwould happen but even in theevent of an eventuality, thebank has sufficient fundinglines available to it.

The State Bank of India

(SBI), which has become theanchor investor in Yes Bankafter if picked up close to 49 percent stake in the bank, also saidthat it did not see nervousdepositors flocking Yes Bankbranches for withdrawals oncenormally banking servicesresumed. "There are sufficientfunding lines to meet any even-tuality. We do not see anothermoratorium being put inplace," said SBI ChairmanRajnish Kumar.

He added that everyonewanted to lift moratorium onYes Bank at the earliest givenstrong presence of SME sectoron its portfolio. Longer restric-tions would have impacted thesegment.

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State Bank of India ChairmanRajnish Kumar on Tuesday

said that the state-run bank willnot sell any of its shares in thecrisis-hit Yes Bank in the nextthree years. The SBI has beenallotted 605 crore shares in YesBank for an investment of�6,050 crore and would be thelargest shareholder in therestructured bank with a stakeof 49 per cent.

Its statement gains signif-icance as the reconstructionplan for Yes Bank said that thelargest public sector bank willhave to hold at least 26 per centstake for the next three years.Concerns of a possible profi-teering by the investing bankshave arisen as the prevailingshare price of Yes Bank isnearly six times the price atwhich the domestic banks havesubscribed to its shares. YesBank shares closed at �58.65 apiece on BSE on Tuesday.

Rajnish Kumar on Tuesdaysaid that although he cannottalk about other banks, regard-ing SBI, "not even a single sharewill be sold in three years".

Other private sector bankswho have put in a total of�3,950 crore so far, would haveto hold at least 75 per cent oftheir investment for a three

year period under the terms ofrestructuring scheme.

Even if such entities wantto sell the 25 per cent of theirinvestment now, which they arefree to execute under thescheme, they would end up notonly recovering their entireinvestment but also makingwindfall gains.

Among the private players,ICICI Bank and HousingDevelopment FinanceCorporation committed Rs1,000 crore each. Axis Bank andKotak Mahindra Bank com-mitted to invest �600 crore and�500 crore, respectively. BothFederal Bank and BandhanBank have been allotted sharesfor �300 crore each as per theircommitment and IDFC FirstBank has been issued equityshares in the crisis-ridden bank.

Rajnish Kumar said that itwas decided that a two-stagefunding should be carried outfor Yes Bank as trying to raisethe total required capital in onego would have extended themoratorium on the privatesector lender.

"Enough money was avail-able, but in the first stage (it wasdecided) let it be within Indiandomestic bankers. Lot of for-eign investors had interest... butthat would mean longer mora-torium," he said.

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Shares of Yes Bank continuedto remain in heavy demand

for the third consecutive dayand further jumped over 59 percent on Tuesday after Moody'supgraded the company's rat-ings.

Rising for the third con-secutive day, the company'sscrip zoomed 58.09 per cent toclose at �58.65 on the BSE.During the day, it jumped72.91 per cent to a day's highof �64.15. On the NSE, it rosesharply by 59.29 per cent toclose the day at �59.10.

The scrip has jumped over134 per cent in three days. Thecompany's market valuationhas risen by �8,570.52 crore to�14,958.52 crore in these threedays. In traded volume terms,221.96 lakh shares were trad-ed on the BSE and more than22 crore shares on the NSE dur-ing the trade.

Yes Bank shares had onMonday also jumped sharplyby over 45 per cent afterannouncement of a restruc-turing plan.

The rating agency upgrad-ed the company's ratings andalso its outlook was changed topositive. In a filing to the BSEon Monday, YES Bankannounced that the board ofdirectors of the company hasbeen approved for reconstitution.

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There is no plan to privatiseIndian Railways as it

belongs to the people of thecountry, Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal asserted in RajyaSabha on Tuesday after somemembers raised concerns overit. Replying to a discussion onthe working of the Ministry ofRailways, Goyal announced aninvestment of �50 lakh crore inthe national transporter overthe next 12 years.

"I want to make it crystalclear that there is no plan orproposal to privatise IndianRailways, it will not happen.Indian Railways belongs to thepeople of this country, it willremain so," Goyal said.

Keeping in mind develop-ment of the railways, the gov-ernment may, however, bringin a few services under privatesector in order to provide bet-ter services to the passengers,he added.

Participating in the dis-cussion, several Rajya Sabhamembers raised concerns overthe poor financial health of therailways, decline in job oppor-tunities and delay in execution

of major projects, besides pri-vatisation of the national trans-porter. Goyal said the govern-ment was committed to mak-ing Indian Railways world classin every aspect.

"In the next 12 years we aregoing to invest �50 lakh crorein the Indian Railways. We willdo it in public private partner-ship. We will also give thechance to the people of thiscountry to be part of thisprocess," he added.

Goyal, in reply to allega-tions by Trinamool Congressmember Derek O'Brien, saidthat sharing of funds betweenthe Centre and state govern-ments for new railway projectswas started during the UPAregime of which the TrinamoolCongress was a part, and it wasinherited by the BJP as a lega-cy. The minister, however,added it was "not a bad prac-tice".

Goyal cited various newsreports on the performance ofthe railways under formerRailway Minister andTrinamool Congress chiefMamata Bannerjee. "I don'twant to politicise the issue oflosses," he added.

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Amazon India has said it isworking extensively with

seller partners to ensure prod-uct availability, and bringing onadditional capacity for delivery,after stocks ran out on some popular items, especial-ly in the household staplescategory.

With coronavirus fearsprompting more and morepeople to shop online, thecompany said it is working toensure that prices are not arti-ficially raised on basic needproducts during the pandem-ic and has blocked or removedtens of thousands of items, inline with its policy in thisregard.

Summing up actionsAmazon India has taken tominimise the spread of thecoronavirus while supportingthose directly and indirectlyimpacted by the global pan-demic, the company in a blogon Monday said it has recent-ly seen an increase in peopleshopping online, which, in theshort term, is having an impact on how it serves cus-tomers.

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Automobile dealers' bodyFADA on Tuesday said it

has filed an application with theSupreme Court seeking exten-sion of sale and registration ofBS-IV vehicles till May 31, 2020— an extension of two monthsfrom March-end deadline toclear the stock of such models.

The Federation ofAutomobile DealersAssociations (FADA) on behalfof its members has once againapproached the SupremeCourt, and has filed an inter-locutory application along withan application seeking modifi-cation in writ petition datedOctober 24, 2018.

In the petition, in the mat-ter of M C Mehta versus Unionof India and others, the apexcourt had directed that nomotor vehicle conforming toemission standard BS-IV shallbe sold or registered in theentire country with effect fromApril 1, 2020.

"We have submitted anapplication with the SupremeCourt for extension of regis-tration process of BS-IV vehi-cles till May 31, 2020. We are

now seeking an urgent hearingon the matter," FADA PresidentAshish Harsharaj Kale toldPTI. The two-wheeler BS-IVinventory at dealerships acrossthe country stood at around8.35 lakh units valued ataround �4,600 crore, he added.

"The situation in the pas-senger vehicle and commercialvehicle segments is much bet-ter as compared to two-wheel-ers," Kale said. FADA had filedan application earlier as wellwhich was rejected by the apexcourt on February 14 this year.

"Post our initial applica-tion, necessitated due to hugeunsold BS-IV inventory andslowing sales, getting rejectedby the apex court on February14, 2020, there has been adrastic change in circumstancesin conducting business asusual," Kale said.

The spread of coronavirushas led to a drastic drop in salesand customer walk-ins havereduced to a trickle, he added.

"As caution sets in due tofear of spreading of the virus,counter sales has fallen by 60-70 per cent across auto dealer-ships in these past few days,"Kale said.

London: Britain's Chancellorof the Exchequer Rishi Sunakis getting ready to unveil a res-cue package on Tuesday forbusinesses hit by the coron-avirus outbreak, a day afterPrime Minister Boris Johnsonannounced unprecedentedmeasures for everyone torefrain from social contact andunnecessary travel.

The near-lockdown in placeto tackle the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed 55 lives inthe UK, has threatened the clo-sure of large numbers of busi-nesses in the country, includingpubs, bars and restaurants.

The package being

finalised by the Indian-originfinance minister will build onthe 12 billion pound he had setout in his first Budget lastweek, when he suspended busi-ness rates for many firms inEngland, put in an emergencytemporary loan facility in place,extended statutory sick payfor workers, set up a "hardshipfund" for local authorities andboosted NHS funding.

He is chairing a committeeon Tuesday to address theescalating economic repercus-sions of the pandemic and willdiscuss further potential mea-sures with Johnson to beunveiled later. PTI

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The negative impact of thecoronavirus outbreak on

the economy will be balancedto "a very large extent" by thedecline in global oil prices, asenior government official saidon Tuesday. The official furthersaid he expects the economy togo on an upward trajectory in2020-21, adding that a degreeof fiscal stimulus may also bewarranted to boost growth.

"We had expected that theeconomy had bottomed out inthe third quarter of fiscal 2019-20 and the last quarter of currentfiscal will see an improvement,followed by further improve-ment in the fiscal 2020-21.

"However, there is no deny-ing the fact that the Covid-19'simpact on the global economywill be significant. This isbound to affect Indian eco-nomic prospect as well," he toldPTI. On the other hand, avery bright silver lining hasbeen provided by the collapseof oil prices, he added.

"It is well known that adecline in global oil prices hasa significant upward impact oneconomic growth in India.

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While the world economyhas taken some beating

after the outbreak of coron-avirus or COVID-19, Ministerof State for Finance AnuragSingh Thakur on Tuesdaypointed out that the latest data"do not suggest any adverse impact on the econo-my" after the outbreak ofCOVID-19.

"Additionally, a positiveimpact on India's economymay arise from decline in glob-al oil prices triggered by theoutbreak of COVID-19,"Thakur said in reply to a queryraised by Rajya Sabha memberVaiko.

The minister said that theoutbreak of coronavirus hasemerged as a key risk to humanhealth as well as the globalgrowth outlook throughnumerous channels like trade,production and supply chaindisruptions; decline in demand;lower tourism and businesstravel; loss of investors' confi-dence; and productivity lossesfrom the morbidity and mortality of the workforce.

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Investor wealth dropped by�9.74 lakh crore in two days

of market fall this week trig-gered by weak global trendsand fears of coronavirus hittingthe overall economy. In twodays, investors have lost�9,74,176.71 crore wealth. Atclose of trade on Tuesday, themarket capitalisation of BSE-listed companies was at�1,19,52,066.11 crore.

Fag-end selling pulled downthe BSE's key bellwether indexby 810.98 points or 2.58 per centon Tuesday. Markets erased allits early gains, tracking weakglobal cues and finally closed at30,579.09. On Monday, the keyindex had plummeted 2,713.41points or 7.96 per cent.

"The Indian markets con-tinued to plummet on Tuesdaytracking weak global cues. Themarkets across the globe arewitnessing high volatility andthe recent stimulus measureshave failed to assuage theinvestor fears.

"On the domestic front, themarkets will continue to followthe global cues and thereforefurther downside cannot beruled out in the near-term,"according to Ajit Mishra, VP —Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

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Stock indices erased early gainsto sink deeper into red on

Tuesday as the global equity routintensified amid the coronavirus-triggered recession fears. Afteropening on a positive note, the 30-share BSE Sensex traded modest-ly higher for a majority of the ses-sion, but succumbed to a suddensell-off in the last hour of trade.Itfinally closed 810.98 points or 2.58per cent lower at 30,579.09, aftergyrating 1,653 points during theday. Likewise, the broader NSENifty slumped 230.35 points or2.50 per cent to finish at 8,967.05.Nifty has ended below the key9,000-level after March 2017.

Global markets reeled afterthe Wall Street suffered its worstcrash since the ‘Black Monday’ inOctober 1987, with the US Fed’semergency rate cut failing to liftinvestor sentiment amid thedrumbeat of negative news sur-rounding the Covid-19 pandem-ic. Unabated foreign fund outflowsand a weak rupee further weighedon domestic bourses, traders said.

ICICI Bank was the top loserin the Sensex pack, tumbling 8.95per cent, followed by IndusIndBank (8.89 per cent), Bajaj Finance(6.26 per cent), HDFC (4.74 percent), Infosys (4.68 per cent) andKotak Bank (4.53 per cent). Onthe other hand, HUL spurted

3.49 per cent, Hero MotoCorp3.09 per cent, Asian Paints 3.05 percent, PowerGrid 2.53 per cent andMaruti 2.12 per cent.

According to traders, value-buying lifted benchmarks duringthe first half of the session, but thegains could not be sustained asmarkets succumbed to coron-avirus-led fears of an impendingrecession. “After trading in thepositive for the majority of theday, the indices turned red duringthe last hour of trading, with sell-ing mainly seen in financials.European markets and Dowfutures added to the negativity.“Covid-19 showed no signs ofabatement and with central banks’monetary policy actions havinglimited impact, calls were out formore actions to contain the spreadof the virus,” said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services. BSE bankex,finance, telecom, teck, IT andrealty indices gained up to 4.46per cent, while FMCG ended inthe green. Broader BSE midcapand smallcap indices ended upto 2.27 per cent lower. Elsewherein Asia, bourses in Shanghai andSeoul ended in the red, whileHong Kong and Tokyo turnedpositive. Markets in Europecracked up to 3 per cent in earlytrade. Meanwhile, the rupee wasflat at 74.20 per US dollar (intra-day).

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Budget carrier GoAir onTuesday announced sus-

pending international opera-tions and offering leave with-out pay programme for itsstaff on a rotational basis, amidsharp decline in air travel dueto the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to PTI, theairline said the sharp decline inair travel that it was experi-encing was “unprecedented”.

Against this backdrop, thecarrier said it was temporarilysuspending all internationaloperations, starting March 17until April 15.

“GoAir has also initiated ashort term and temporary rota-tional leave without pay pro-gramme that will not only helpthe company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, butwill also ensure that a cross sec-tion of our employees stayaway from the workplace toensure business continuity,”the statement said.

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Moody’s Investors Service onTuesday lowered India’s

GDP growth forecast for 2020calendar year to 5.3 per cent, oncoronavirus implications on theeconomy. Moody’s had inFebruary projected a 5.4 percent real GDP growth for Indiain 2020. This too was a down-grade from 6.6 per cent earlierforecast. The 5.3 per cent realGDP growth forecast for 2020compares to 5.3 per cent growthestimate for 2019 and 7.4 percent achieved in 2018.

Stating that there was sig-nificant economic fallout frommore rapid and wider spread ofthe coronavirus, the ratingagency on Tuesday said damp-ening of domestic consumptiondemand in affected countriesexacerbates disruptions to sup-ply chains and cross-bordertrade of goods and services.

“The longer the disrup-tions last, the greater the risk ofglobal recession becomes,” itsaid. Moody’s forecast a 5.8 percent growth rate for India in2021. “A number of govern-ments and central banks haveannounced countervailing mea-sures, including fiscal stimuluspackages, policy rate cuts andregulatory forbearance; howev-er, the effectiveness of policyeasing will be blunted by mea-

sures to contain the outbreak,and policy space is constrainedfor some sovereigns,” it said.Also, tighter funding condi-tions and exchange rate depre-ciation could stress sovereignswith high foreign currencyexposure, heavy reliance onexternal market funding or lowforeign currency reserve cover-age, it said.

Moody’s said oil price shockadds to growth and fiscal pres-sures for exposed sovereigns. “Aperiod of lower oil prices willfurther weigh on the econom-ic and fiscal fundamentals of oilexporters, while mitigating thetrade shock for importers.”

Meanwhile, Moody’sInvestors Service has said thatglobal spread of new coron-avirus (Covid-19) will signifi-cantly slow economic growth,which will in turn amplify itsfinancial impact on several keyfree movement-driven sectors.“Sectors reliant on trade and thefree movement of people aremost exposed, such as passen-ger airlines, shipping, and lodg-ing and leisure, which includescruise lines and restaurants,”Vice President - Senior CreditOfficer - Benjamin Nelson atMoody’s said in a statement.Global automakers are alsounder great pressure because oftheir reliance on internationalsupply chains, while gaming and

non-food retail in certainregions are also exposed tosupply chain disruptions, andthe inevitable decline in foottraffic. “Companies’ ability towithstand the effects of thevirus will depend on its dura-tion, and we caution that asevents unfold very rapidly on adaily basis, our assessment ofexposure will change over time,”another Vice President - SeniorCredit Officer - at Moody’sRichard Morawetz said.Moody’s assessment is based onits baseline scenario, whichassumes a normalisation of eco-nomic activity in the second halfof the year, and the ability ofsome companies to withstandthe effects of the virus willdepend on its duration.

The agency’s downside sce-nario factors in a jump in casesand public fear that the viruswill not be contained in the firsthalf of 2020, leading to exten-sive and prolonged travelrestrictions and quarantines,along with a prolonged slump incommodity prices. The numberof deaths around the worldlinked to Covid-19 has topped7,000, after Italy announced anew surge in fatalities, with over1,75,000 infections recordedglobally so far. In India, thenumber of infected cases stoodat 125, as per union health min-istry log.

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Script Open High Low LTPOBEROIRLTY 436.50 449.00 426.30 439.20YESBANK 40.80 64.15 40.80 58.65RELIANCE 1041.20 1059.00 1004.00 1008.90HDFCBANK 1002.00 1012.85 955.00 975.25ICICIBANK 405.00 410.05 364.05 366.85SBIN 226.05 229.80 212.25 214.90BAJFINANCE 3728.00 3750.00 3402.50 3444.85INDUSINDBK 664.00 705.80 590.60 604.30INFY 585.20 592.05 550.10 555.60HDFC 1861.00 1869.00 1740.20 1754.80TATAMOTORS 82.70 84.80 77.50 77.90IDEA 6.01 6.25 4.71 4.85TATASTEEL 297.25 307.70 280.40 282.30TCS 1725.00 1731.00 1623.00 1658.20MARUTI 5549.00 5746.45 5500.00 5603.95IBULHSGFIN 154.95 174.90 150.10 160.10KOTAKBANK 1380.00 1401.40 1302.55 1321.40LT 967.25 1005.00 940.25 955.20ITC 147.35 155.80 140.00 149.20SUNPHARMA 373.45 395.15 364.50 370.55UPL 375.00 376.20 343.30 351.00RBLBANK 165.90 174.30 157.60 165.15BHARTIARTL 464.65 480.70 444.40 454.10AXISBANK 513.00 531.00 478.00 489.10HINDUNILVR 1951.00 2087.95 1931.35 2009.00BAJAJFINSV 7481.15 7599.25 6959.65 7016.25ONGC 60.80 63.20 59.70 60.05VSTIND 3421.00 3617.25 3416.25 3571.50ZEEL 163.00 169.00 131.65 133.20GODREJCP 506.00 540.00 496.65 525.70MUTHOOTFIN 729.00 730.05 620.95 657.00JUBILANT 334.35 334.35 295.95 301.85ASIANPAINT 1691.10 1778.95 1670.00 1734.20JUSTDIAL 339.35 339.35 299.20 311.50PVR 1243.45 1368.50 1185.20 1313.55PIDILITIND 1471.10 1591.10 1469.30 1557.00VEDL 75.55 80.40 74.45 75.00INDIGO 945.00 1005.65 936.95 983.25COALINDIA 145.00 155.25 142.35 145.90INFRATEL 209.35 213.30 190.70 194.05FDC 211.40 216.95 202.85 204.85BANDHANBNK 280.00 292.55 252.25 257.75JSWSTEEL 185.00 193.50 175.20 176.45JINDALSTEL 110.00 116.75 105.90 107.15HDFCAMC 2535.00 2625.00 2411.00 2449.00L&TFH 71.00 73.50 66.10 66.60BANKBARODA 64.95 69.60 62.15 66.10ESCORTS 674.70 686.05 629.45 650.35MANAPPURAM 125.55 126.25 100.45 103.25PEL 887.00 937.70 850.00 876.85STAR 366.00 366.00 318.00 320.00APOLLOHOSP 1465.00 1517.50 1415.40 1431.50BPCL 366.50 385.60 354.05 356.85MOTHERSUMI 66.75 68.00 60.30 60.80TITAN 1000.00 1038.00 978.50 1001.70SRTRANSFIN 760.00 829.50 760.00 781.00HINDPETRO 204.50 221.95 200.20 216.95NESTLEIND 14694.00 14849.00 14271.25 14541.50AUROPHARMA 409.95 444.60 407.00 413.10EICHERMOT 16855.80 17449.95 16567.30 17085.75ADANIENT 134.00 140.40 130.80 133.30ULTRACEMCO 3525.00 3575.00 3455.25 3499.00M&M 391.75 407.65 370.00 376.30HCLTECH 450.00 478.50 443.50 452.25DLF 147.65 155.00 143.80 144.60SAIL 27.70 30.40 27.00 28.25FORTIS 131.00 134.00 127.60 131.80HDFCLIFE 475.00 486.00 459.90 463.90JUBLFOOD 1415.25 1436.15 1281.25 1323.45ACC 1133.00 1161.30 1103.65 1121.40POWERGRID 157.50 170.25 155.75 162.15ADANIPORTS 264.50 283.35 264.50 267.35IOC 90.05 93.45 89.00 89.45WIPRO 184.80 185.50 170.85 173.80SIEMENS 1155.00 1207.15 1126.80 1135.90SRF 3218.30 3359.25 3109.80 3255.75MIDHANI 205.00 219.45 199.00 201.10CANBK 100.50 104.75 98.00 99.50BRITANNIA 2760.00 2793.65 2670.20 2700.00MGL 880.00 886.50 847.80 877.85LTI 1527.00 1527.00 1430.00 1489.05NAM-INDIA 282.50 292.00 268.25 273.05BERGEPAINT 428.00 464.60 422.50 449.50BHEL 24.00 25.30 23.00 23.40HEROMOTOCO 1783.00 1901.90 1758.05 1839.15INDIACEM 103.90 103.90 97.15 98.70ADANIPOWER 28.25 29.75 26.15 26.90BIOCON 269.00 275.00 261.00 264.00CIPLA 395.50 421.85 391.00 401.75NCC 20.90 22.30 20.20 21.40GLENMARK 212.15 223.70 204.75 206.30GRASIM 566.80 585.00 553.50 556.10FEDERALBNK 66.50 66.50 57.15 58.15M&MFIN 260.00 275.30 245.20 248.55NMDC 73.55 78.50 72.90 73.90DIVISLAB 1890.00 1961.65 1873.20 1935.00NTPC 90.05 95.80 86.30 88.45BALKRISIND 880.00 932.50 868.90 880.45BATAINDIA 1350.05 1370.50 1297.10 1306.75DEEPAKNI 428.80 446.50 403.00 409.15AUBANK 906.15 915.70 810.00 838.45LICHSGFIN 260.00 273.35 247.50 250.75SPICEJET 41.60 45.65 39.80 42.05SYNGENE 265.90 266.00 248.00 254.00PNB 35.95 37.20 35.00 35.40HINDALCO 115.60 120.50 113.70 115.50TATACONSUM 305.00 309.00 282.00 284.05MRF 61650.00 63717.35 60284.10 61769.40

TRENT 568.00 580.15 527.20 534.00AMBUJACEM 178.20 181.45 170.10 171.75ASHOKLEY 63.50 66.00 62.00 64.40DRREDDY 2800.00 2902.00 2759.55 2791.15GODREJIND 341.05 341.05 322.30 325.00UJJIVAN 240.00 252.15 205.85 213.45DMART 1935.00 2095.00 1911.00 2029.35TECHM 595.00 617.40 584.00 599.00NIITTECH 1308.00 1308.00 1171.30 1190.00SUNTV 353.00 375.00 334.00 364.55IDFCFIRSTB 25.70 27.60 25.05 25.25PFC 92.50 99.10 89.40 90.20NATIONALUM 30.00 31.70 29.20 30.25NESCO 540.00 556.00 528.25 535.70TATAELXSI 772.00 784.45 706.65 723.70LUPIN 608.25 646.20 599.60 619.95SHREECEM 20061.30 20811.85 19369.40 20030.00LAXMIMACH 2388.00 2645.05 2388.00 2604.40NAVINFLUOR 1310.30 1398.00 1285.00 1285.00IGL 387.00 391.25 370.25 377.65BAJAJ-AUTO 2339.00 2371.20 2252.70 2262.00SBILIFE 720.10 769.00 676.00 683.65BEL 66.35 71.40 65.95 69.95MINDTREE 819.00 882.00 809.30 868.00PETRONET 207.00 211.40 198.60 201.50GAIL 78.10 80.75 73.00 74.40MCX 1094.75 1164.10 1048.85 1054.80ICICIPRULI 341.00 369.50 330.85 335.15DABUR 430.00 450.75 424.75 430.05ADANIGAS 106.95 111.40 102.20 107.60RECLTD 95.00 99.90 92.10 93.85PAGEIND 19030.70 19700.00 18636.65 18906.60COLPAL 1153.00 1196.70 1143.20 1159.00HEXAWARE 282.65 325.20 274.55 277.45VOLTAS 615.25 626.05 590.80 595.00MARICO 250.15 257.05 245.70 250.55CGCL 178.45 191.70 173.80 185.20OMAXE 161.00 164.10 157.60 158.50BANKINDIA 35.60 37.15 35.00 35.90EQUITAS 69.50 70.95 58.70 62.20

INTELLECT 65.05 71.50 62.50 63.30GRAPHITE 152.10 163.45 152.10 157.60IPCALAB 1321.95 1352.25 1263.25 1339.50BEML 507.65 512.00 478.40 486.00OIL 70.00 73.75 68.45 71.45DELTACORP 84.20 90.00 77.45 78.25ATUL 3972.45 4077.35 3938.25 4015.00TVSMOTOR 373.10 400.25 373.00 384.25HAVELLS 566.00 585.15 561.85 570.20HEG 690.00 715.00 660.00 662.50DALBHARAT 582.65 609.20 541.90 550.00APOLLOTYRE 99.80 101.50 92.60 93.50TATAPOWER 41.00 42.40 38.55 38.95GUJGAS 253.20 259.95 244.95 249.00LALPATHLAB 1501.00 1554.00 1485.00 1500.00GMRINFRA 16.30 17.00 16.10 16.70CADILAHC 248.15 268.20 247.45 261.90CANFINHOME 366.55 367.20 350.10 363.30POLYCAB 828.90 874.00 799.95 838.00SUNTECK 292.50 292.50 276.45 284.70RADICO 308.00 308.70 292.00 301.50UBL 950.65 1013.00 943.55 965.25TORNTPOWER 281.20 291.45 273.90 280.35BOSCHLTD 11160.00 11375.25 10332.00 10453.55THYROCARE 517.00 573.75 504.80 538.95MFSL 400.00 415.00 373.70 378.45TATAMTRDVR 42.10 44.10 38.60 39.05RAMCOCEM 625.50 647.00 599.60 609.00WELCORP 88.00 95.00 82.00 83.55IRCON 363.60 367.30 340.00 340.00NATCOPHARM 568.70 570.15 514.50 548.95ABCAPITAL 55.30 56.25 52.35 52.90UNIONBANK 29.70 31.10 29.00 29.85CHOLAFIN 233.55 241.80 214.50 217.35ABBOTINDIA 14364.60 15085.00 14147.35 14922.50ICICIGI 1082.00 1122.75 1050.00 1075.50DCBBANK 135.50 142.95 129.05 130.00BHARATFORG 370.75 389.90 351.10 357.70INFIBEAM 41.00 41.00 38.90 38.90ADANIGREEN 117.00 124.50 112.70 123.30TORNTPHARM 1965.00 2025.00 1933.10 2001.45BLISSGVS 104.55 107.95 95.00 104.80BOMDYEING 46.50 51.40 46.00 48.05IDBI 22.10 23.20 21.25 21.70SPARC 109.00 111.00 101.70 102.45CASTROLIND 117.00 119.05 113.00 113.35AVANTI 337.00 343.95 320.45 326.00GRANULES 153.00 155.35 149.20 149.80VENKYS 775.00 789.85 710.00 719.85CONCOR 355.00 367.00 338.10 340.05ASTRAL 1020.35 1051.95 985.50 1008.55IRB 63.20 70.30 62.50 64.50

INOXLEISUR 305.00 309.55 280.90 290.65RPOWER 1.24 1.33 1.22 1.23PIIND 1282.00 1350.00 1257.00 1261.35STRTECH 70.60 74.85 69.65 70.55RAYMOND 306.00 322.30 295.00 305.40MAHINDCIE 95.00 95.00 81.20 83.65ITI 54.95 59.90 52.80 55.10PFIZER 4230.00 4249.00 4126.00 4152.00LTTS 1251.00 1281.50 1210.00 1238.90PNBHOUSING 240.00 249.15 224.70 231.00NAUKRI 2180.00 2201.85 2069.15 2080.00ISEC 375.25 387.25 334.00 345.20DIXON 3999.90 4013.00 3780.00 3796.60CHAMBLFERT 124.80 124.90 116.10 119.75METROPOLIS 1681.70 1702.15 1614.00 1647.00AJANTPHARM 1261.45 1309.35 1230.90 1256.65RELAXO 642.00 668.75 615.00 615.00GSKCONS 8594.00 9036.45 8396.75 8700.00WELSPUNIND 29.90 32.70 27.00 31.15WOCKPHARMA 210.25 218.00 203.00 204.85GODREJPROP 778.90 797.30 754.00 757.15GNFC 128.00 129.65 121.50 122.30WHIRLPOOL 2055.00 2079.55 2011.05 2050.10FORCEMOT 875.00 875.00 810.00 832.60NBCC 17.75 18.35 16.75 17.05INDHOTEL 105.00 108.30 99.05 100.80BALRAMCHIN 101.60 108.50 100.50 101.20PTC 36.15 37.30 35.25 35.50HINDZINC 138.00 142.05 130.05 134.05JAICORPLTD 58.75 59.90 55.00 55.30MPHASIS 700.00 729.00 655.00 696.60HEIDELBERG 155.00 155.00 145.50 146.30NOCIL 75.00 77.05 71.45 72.15IDFC 22.35 22.40 20.20 20.50CEATLTD 814.00 830.45 783.20 790.603MINDIA 18950.00 18950.00 17909.40 18139.00AMARAJABAT 540.35 545.10 522.70 527.60IIFL 113.50 115.25 107.45 110.00SUZLON 2.01 2.10 2.01 2.04EXIDEIND 138.55 143.70 137.70 140.00KTKBANK 50.00 51.40 48.85 49.25HONAUT 30000.00 30570.00 29000.00 29046.75SOUTHBANK 6.60 6.73 6.14 6.27SANOFI 6900.50 6968.00 6751.15 6786.15SWANENERGY 100.90 104.50 99.95 100.00RAJESHEXPO 625.00 627.95 595.50 598.95WABAG 126.50 127.90 115.30 120.00GODFRYPHLP 1016.45 1024.80 931.00 931.00NHPC 19.40 19.40 18.05 18.25BASF 1058.40 1058.40 988.00 993.55CUMMINSIND 415.60 460.00 415.60 448.00EDELWEISS 61.00 65.20 56.60 57.65RAIN 65.80 68.90 61.25 62.35VINATIORGA 792.00 821.05 785.00 804.00MEGH 43.15 43.85 40.20 40.20AAVAS 1680.75 1680.75 1545.00 1654.00PHILIPCARB 74.50 76.50 71.10 71.70AKZOINDIA 2192.05 2249.85 2096.90 2209.00SCI 42.45 44.70 41.70 42.40BBTC 940.80 1006.40 865.00 871.00ALKEM 2436.15 2509.90 2291.25 2333.80TV18BRDCST 16.30 16.80 15.30 15.60RCF 30.25 30.85 28.30 29.00GODREJAGRO 375.00 375.00 338.90 345.25RITES 266.00 270.25 253.55 260.05VBL 712.25 742.75 686.55 705.10APLLTD 542.00 550.55 523.50 545.00JMFINANCIL 81.10 83.90 63.50 64.90KEC 277.95 277.95 257.85 260.45GILLETTE 5200.00 5555.00 5060.05 5102.50CREDITACC 699.95 708.00 625.20 644.60REPCOHOME 207.65 207.65 195.30 201.60SUPREMEIND 1000.20 1058.75 988.95 1055.00BAJAJHLDNG 2900.00 2900.00 2607.30 2652.00JSWENERGY 45.05 45.25 41.50 43.90ENGINERSIN 63.90 63.90 53.00 54.50GESHIP 219.40 219.40 211.20 218.10RESPONIND 79.00 85.00 77.85 84.75HAL 612.90 612.90 546.00 555.00MASFIN 986.00 1040.00 928.00 938.00SYNDIBANK 15.80 16.15 15.05 15.25GSFC 42.00 43.80 41.00 41.40PCJEWELLER 11.50 11.70 11.00 11.15INDIANB 53.00 54.55 51.00 51.55NLCINDIA 43.90 43.90 40.60 40.85RVNL 16.40 16.80 15.75 16.00KANSAINER 433.00 448.65 400.00 414.15CROMPTON 242.90 242.90 220.05 222.00ORIENTBANK 38.20 42.45 38.20 40.00CESC 483.30 506.85 470.30 483.90JINDALSAW 65.10 65.10 59.85 60.65GHCL 102.20 105.65 95.05 101.55ORIENTELEC 204.35 212.00 193.20 198.15CUB 180.65 184.10 175.00 177.20FSL 34.90 35.50 33.60 33.90DBL 266.10 285.10 265.00 272.55HINDCOPPER 24.00 24.50 22.20 23.20PGHH 10060.00 10151.70 9762.75 10069.00BALMLAWRIE 82.35 85.45 78.95 80.50PRESTIGE 210.00 219.00 200.00 207.75VAIBHAVGBL 760.00 828.85 760.00 797.80DEEPAKFERT 69.05 72.75 68.20 69.35VGUARD 178.00 179.95 167.50 172.55KAJARIACER 464.10 468.40 458.25 462.10JKTYRE 47.40 51.65 47.40 47.95RELCAPITAL 4.95 5.06 4.73 4.75ABFRL 212.00 213.90 204.95 206.05WESTLIFE 349.75 352.60 330.00 338.00RALLIS 196.50 201.05 190.60 194.90

SONATSOFTW 228.00 266.00 223.00 223.80LAKSHVILAS 15.40 15.80 14.60 14.95TRIDENT 4.51 4.51 3.90 4.03RELINFRA 12.55 12.55 11.85 11.85JBCHEPHARM 545.50 556.95 539.95 539.95TTKPRESTIG 5211.10 5244.25 4544.35 4787.45PHOENIXLTD 650.15 652.45 612.70 639.50BIRLACORPN 584.20 597.20 562.80 565.65KEI 359.95 365.90 333.80 337.75ASTRAZEN 2190.00 2286.35 2141.00 2221.95IEX 143.40 147.70 141.60 145.75DISHTV 5.77 5.95 5.53 5.92QUESS 410.00 420.45 371.85 381.40FINEORG 2033.65 2126.20 1950.50 2108.35VIPIND 300.00 327.25 291.00 293.40IFCI 3.89 4.05 3.74 3.89COROMANDEL 568.00 576.55 551.15 561.05SUDARSCHEM 388.65 388.65 361.00 363.00APLAPOLLO 1400.00 1401.45 1305.60 1337.45AIAENG 1661.00 1661.00 1515.00 1537.60CARBORUNIV 236.75 249.20 234.45 245.00PGHL 3572.90 3678.70 3480.00 3480.00JCHAC 2550.00 2640.05 2321.00 2590.00TIINDIA 460.50 468.20 442.00 451.90ASHOKA 64.75 68.10 56.60 59.20GICRE 131.00 140.00 123.00 129.80FCONSUMER 11.95 11.95 11.63 11.63HUDCO 23.45 23.60 21.85 22.70EMAMILTD 200.10 202.65 192.25 195.75KRBL 208.00 212.95 191.00 191.00GMDCLTD 36.50 39.25 36.00 36.50FINOLEXIND 492.00 497.45 481.20 490.75JAMNAAUTO 27.50 28.40 25.80 26.65ADANITRANS 188.10 188.10 165.00 180.00BAYERCROP 3960.00 4039.65 3840.00 3885.00BAJAJCON 132.00 135.35 129.00 133.75LINDEINDIA 485.00 504.25 474.75 482.00NH 288.90 295.80 271.60 275.20CYIENT 347.00 347.00 320.00 325.65AEGISLOG 168.85 170.05 150.00 156.90GSPL 190.00 196.70 186.00 191.40TVSSRICHAK 1077.85 1113.45 966.00 1010.00AMBER 1268.10 1279.90 1205.10 1207.00GLAXO 1230.55 1258.60 1207.00 1246.05ALBK 8.50 8.68 8.04 8.10IBULISL 70.95 70.95 70.95 70.95COCHINSHIP 235.00 246.00 227.00 233.05TIMKEN 892.15 896.60 849.80 872.10BLUESTARCO 667.00 730.00 667.00 710.20HSCL 39.60 39.60 37.05 37.35ERIS 396.20 416.30 389.15 401.75CARERATING 341.00 374.05 340.00 360.00OFSS 2022.00 2044.45 1993.00 1993.00GREAVESCOT 99.00 104.00 98.30 99.80EIDPARRY 147.00 149.45 135.90 139.85HFCL 10.01 10.64 10.00 10.35MOTILALOFS 592.70 623.05 580.20 601.00SJVN 19.45 19.75 19.20 19.45FLFL 293.00 318.00 272.50 297.00JYOTHYLAB 105.00 106.85 100.00 100.95KNRCON 229.00 234.40 222.90 231.05MOIL 106.40 111.50 100.00 101.00MINDAIND 307.00 307.00 289.55 292.20INOXWIND 22.55 26.00 22.55 22.60VMART 1723.70 1810.85 1705.00 1792.00JISLJALEQS 4.13 4.13 3.92 3.92CORPBANK 10.00 11.10 10.00 10.20DBCORP 83.15 88.50 81.35 86.00SUNDRMFAST 354.55 358.25 332.20 335.50RATNAMANI 1247.60 1248.25 1184.25 1222.20TATACOFFEE 64.35 66.00 62.90 62.90SOBHA 212.55 219.65 194.90 196.50MMTC 12.50 12.90 12.20 12.60NIACL 84.00 86.90 80.95 82.90BAJAJELEC 352.00 353.70 345.00 345.00CRISIL 1366.90 1386.45 1346.25 1375.15DCAL* 65.00 65.00 61.05 61.05JAGRAN 45.00 45.75 42.25 42.75CHENNPETRO 69.30 72.00 67.60 68.15DCMSHRIRAM 232.00 237.80 226.55 227.10REDINGTON 103.90 106.00 90.10 92.75GALAXYSURF 1335.00 1386.60 1333.25 1356.05JKCEMENT 1178.15 1240.45 1150.00 1150.00

CENTURYPLY 120.20 129.00 110.50 115.00CAPPL 266.00 285.00 261.00 261.00DHANUKA 319.35 348.25 319.35 323.60LUXIND 1148.35 1191.35 1126.10 1168.00TATAINVEST 706.30 727.65 706.30 720.55PARAGMILK 62.40 65.80 60.00 60.85UCOBANK 11.85 11.85 10.70 10.74TAKE 51.50 53.50 47.00 47.95SYMPHONY 1040.00 1105.70 1039.95 1043.00TATAMETALI 489.00 497.70 461.00 461.95ANDHRABANK 9.95 10.10 9.50 9.68PNCINFRA 135.30 140.30 130.05 134.35CCL 185.00 185.60 177.70 181.10UFLEX 168.00 170.70 161.40 164.10ALLCARGO 86.05 88.20 84.05 84.10CENTRALBK 13.50 13.65 13.05 13.05BLUEDART 2180.00 2323.30 2180.00 2300.00GARFIBRES 1266.80 1266.80 1200.00 1204.95IOB 7.99 7.99 7.23 7.40MAHLIFE 284.50 284.50 265.00 272.80JKLAKSHMI 226.15 237.90 226.10 237.90SUPRAJIT 150.00 152.65 127.50 134.60SADBHAV 45.50 45.50 43.25 43.25SHANKARA 333.00 340.25 332.50 332.50LAURUSLABS 370.00 389.35 369.20 371.80MHRIL 158.00 172.00 158.00 166.00ITDC 144.30 148.50 137.45 138.00SCHNEIDER 74.90 74.90 67.00 67.90VARROC 225.15 231.30 211.45 214.20SKFINDIA 1727.00 1740.00 1651.40 1704.00ENDURANCE 752.10 752.10 701.05 735.05KALPATPOWR 252.00 257.70 235.70 250.00JSL 30.65 31.50 29.40 29.70ADVENZYMES 115.65 124.80 115.60 122.70FINCABLES 259.00 279.00 259.00 262.00GEPIL 578.10 605.85 575.70 588.75SHILPAMED 352.75 352.75 338.45 338.45SHK 83.50 87.20 80.60 82.20GUJALKALI 238.15 240.05 229.00 230.00NETWORK18 19.60 19.80 18.55 18.55ITDCEM 44.30 44.30 38.00 39.35GPPL 62.00 63.85 58.00 63.30J&KBANK 14.90 15.00 14.10 14.55MAHSCOOTER 3140.20 3200.00 3075.00 3200.00WABCOINDIA 6293.00 6390.00 6269.40 6330.00GDL 103.05 104.00 95.60 96.85ARVINDFASN 230.25 232.70 185.55 200.10SHRIRAMCIT 1048.60 1075.00 1006.00 1059.00MAHABANK 10.00 10.00 9.41 9.52BDL 194.00 199.00 190.85 192.75SCHAEFFLER 4500.00 4896.00 3993.55 4136.40MRPL 36.60 36.85 34.20 34.30SOLARINDS 1020.05 1039.25 998.00 1021.10BRIGADE 180.00 188.05 172.00 172.85ZENSARTECH 100.90 102.40 99.00 101.15PRSMJOHNSN 47.30 47.30 41.55 41.60GICHSGFIN 70.00 72.30 66.90 68.45JSLHISAR 41.65 42.80 39.25 39.25PERSISTENT 586.10 601.15 584.45 592.55KPRMILL 496.00 511.35 455.00 455.00FRETAIL 138.40 138.40 138.40 138.40ASTERDM 115.70 116.15 112.20 113.40MINDACORP 72.00 76.00 72.00 73.10EIHOTEL 90.65 90.65 80.00 80.50ORIENTREF 162.05 180.00 160.00 160.10SIS 364.00 444.05 364.00 436.00HERITGFOOD 286.00 295.30 251.20 276.35LEMONTREE 36.25 38.50 35.50 36.00TIMETECHNO 35.45 35.45 32.95 34.40ECLERX 404.95 421.05 390.75 394.00CHOLAHLDNG 452.20 469.05 431.05 469.00TEAMLEASE 2150.00 2192.95 2110.00 2123.00THERMAX 776.55 778.40 746.00 777.20UNITEDBNK 4.65 4.86 4.61 4.66ORIENTCEM 55.40 60.50 54.80 56.40ESSELPRO 157.70 162.55 157.10 157.10HIMATSEIDE 70.55 73.55 67.00 71.30GRINDWELL 530.90 544.00 525.40 536.55MAGMA 25.85 26.90 23.25 23.25INDOSTAR 272.60 276.20 272.50 273.75GULFOILLUB 576.10 600.00 576.10 594.00VTL 905.05 923.05 856.15 895.00TEJASNET 40.95 43.65 38.50 40.60GET&D 93.15 95.25 86.00 86.00ZYDUSWELL 1306.65 1318.10 1305.10 1313.20DHFL 12.32 12.32 12.32 12.32IBREALEST 50.85 50.85 50.85 50.85NILKAMAL 1200.00 1217.45 1198.20 1198.20IFBIND 370.25 370.60 330.60 343.60MAHLOG 275.10 283.50 274.65 277.75TVTODAY 160.00 164.20 155.25 159.50CERA 2348.55 2378.95 2332.20 2339.85LAOPALA 180.25 181.00 169.00 169.00TCIEXP 640.10 699.75 620.00 639.00TNPL 119.30 122.95 117.10 118.10HATHWAY 15.00 15.15 14.20 14.70SOMANYCERA 126.15 135.90 126.15 130.00VRLLOG 195.00 195.00 178.30 179.50KPITTECH 71.00 73.05 62.40 64.90CENTRUM 12.00 12.35 11.30 11.30STARCEMENT 70.15 71.55 69.10 70.50MAXINDIA 75.55 79.25 75.00 76.80MAHSEAMLES 228.55 232.50 224.60 224.60NBVENTURES 47.50 49.00 43.30 43.30SFL 1479.00 1479.00 1418.15 1449.90SHOPERSTOP 274.05 278.10 255.45 258.65TCNSBRANDS 450.00 477.00 450.00 470.70CHALET 239.20 240.55 234.90 240.55GAYAPROJ 12.60 12.60 12.60 12.60

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 9285.40 9403.80 8915.60 8967.05 -230.35YESBANK 40.80 64.90 40.80 59.10 22.00HINDUNILVR 1955.55 2088.00 1951.95 2001.95 60.05EICHERMOT 16710.00 17460.00 16600.05 16950.00 456.30HEROMOTOCO1783.00 1903.60 1756.35 1829.00 45.50COALINDIA 145.20 155.40 142.30 147.25 3.35MARUTI 5502.00 5746.95 5502.00 5600.00 119.75CIPLA 397.00 422.00 390.75 405.00 8.60ASIANPAINT 1699.00 1779.80 1670.00 1720.00 36.60POWERGRID 156.55 170.35 155.75 161.15 3.20ADANIPORTS 265.00 283.35 265.00 265.95 4.55ITC 148.00 155.80 146.05 149.15 1.90NESTLEIND 14500.00 14777.00 14250.00 14573.95 176.75HCLTECH 450.00 478.60 443.35 455.00 4.30SUNPHARMA 376.00 395.60 364.20 371.00 2.45VEDL 76.55 80.45 74.40 75.05 0.20ONGC 61.10 63.00 59.65 60.20 0.05BRITANNIA 2720.00 2795.75 2669.05 2704.95 -4.05ULTRACEMCO 3520.00 3575.00 3454.70 3507.95 -10.10HINDALCO 117.00 120.85 113.85 115.20 -0.45RELIANCE 1047.25 1060.00 1003.20 1011.50 -4.20TITAN 1005.00 1038.00 977.80 1006.75 -4.60TECHM 600.00 617.95 583.30 600.00 -3.40IOC 90.00 93.50 88.95 89.10 -0.60BHARTIARTL 465.00 481.00 444.35 458.00 -6.80LT 972.00 1005.00 940.15 953.00 -15.70DRREDDY 2830.00 2904.00 2757.75 2765.00 -61.95HDFCBANK 1008.00 1010.00 954.70 976.20 -23.30BPCL 365.00 385.65 354.00 356.00 -8.65TATASTEEL 300.00 307.65 280.50 282.00 -7.60BAJAJ-AUTO 2345.20 2372.70 2250.05 2270.50 -69.05NTPC 91.00 95.90 86.35 88.05 -2.75GRASIM 571.30 585.65 553.25 556.35 -20.55WIPRO 178.55 185.55 170.75 173.20 -6.55TCS 1730.00 1731.00 1623.15 1632.00 -64.40M&M 392.00 408.00 369.95 376.35 -15.45INFY 588.10 592.00 550.00 560.00 -23.15SBIN 227.20 229.90 212.05 213.90 -9.45AXISBANK 515.15 531.30 477.45 485.65 -22.95KOTAKBANK 1392.00 1402.95 1303.10 1319.45 -64.25HDFC 1858.05 1869.90 1740.00 1755.85 -85.90JSWSTEEL 188.90 193.50 175.15 176.00 -10.00GAIL 78.50 81.00 72.95 73.45 -4.70BAJFINANCE 3702.10 3734.70 3402.00 3448.95 -223.30BAJAJFINSV 7501.00 7521.95 6956.80 7017.55 -478.05TATAMOTORS 83.05 85.00 77.40 77.50 -5.45UPL 370.00 379.95 343.10 350.55 -26.25INFRATEL 209.90 214.50 190.70 193.55 -15.85ICICIBANK 407.00 408.45 364.00 366.95 -35.95INDUSINDBK 670.00 707.45 585.40 603.05 -61.10ZEEL 162.50 169.20 131.60 133.00 -33.35

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 22210.00 22802.55 21843.00 22003.15 -181.20HINDPETRO 206.00 221.90 200.25 218.90 14.10PIDILITIND 1474.70 1592.00 1469.80 1560.00 79.40CADILAHC 249.30 268.35 247.10 261.50 12.15IBULHSGFIN 154.05 174.95 150.10 161.00 7.40BERGEPAINT 428.50 465.55 422.30 449.05 19.80AUROPHARMA 414.60 444.90 406.00 420.00 15.10LUPIN 605.25 646.25 596.35 619.15 20.15GODREJCP 506.00 540.70 496.50 525.05 16.00NIACL 84.90 87.00 81.20 85.00 2.50DMART 1945.00 2096.10 1912.00 2045.00 48.70SRTRANSFIN 765.00 829.35 763.00 781.65 18.00DIVISLAB 1892.00 1963.10 1872.25 1928.00 36.10ASHOKLEY 63.50 66.05 61.90 64.45 1.10DABUR 431.50 450.90 424.40 438.00 6.50BANKBARODA 63.80 69.60 62.15 64.65 0.95HAVELLS 565.90 585.45 561.00 570.00 4.15PAGEIND 19146.00 19739.50 18650.05 19100.00 127.55NMDC 74.00 78.45 72.90 74.05 0.20SHREECEM 19905.05 20796.00 19350.00 20201.90 43.85INDIGO 952.00 1010.00 937.30 980.00 1.60PGHH 10086.00 10395.80 9777.00 10099.80 10.15COLPAL 1165.20 1195.90 1142.70 1155.05 -1.15PEL 881.35 938.00 850.00 876.75 -3.00MCDOWELL-N 527.15 541.30 518.60 522.30 -2.45ACC 1141.10 1162.35 1103.05 1126.60 -6.80MARICO 252.50 257.00 245.90 250.45 -2.05PNB 36.50 37.20 34.95 35.50 -0.30OFSS 2010.00 2059.15 1990.00 1990.00 -19.65SIEMENS 1153.00 1207.80 1125.05 1136.90 -11.35BIOCON 270.00 275.25 261.00 264.10 -4.10UBL 976.00 1012.95 945.05 959.50 -15.80HINDZINC 138.00 142.00 130.00 136.00 -2.25HDFCLIFE 475.00 486.00 460.00 465.80 -8.40ICICIGI 1075.00 1123.20 1045.20 1066.00 -21.80PFC 92.60 99.20 89.30 90.30 -2.00DLF 150.00 155.00 143.90 145.30 -3.70GICRE 131.60 135.45 122.55 128.00 -3.60PETRONET 208.00 211.50 198.75 201.35 -6.40BAJAJHLDNG 2752.00 2778.75 2649.70 2650.00 -90.95HDFCAMC 2555.00 2624.00 2410.00 2429.65 -87.70AMBUJACEM 180.50 181.75 170.10 172.10 -7.35CONCOR 357.00 367.90 338.00 338.00 -16.85NHPC 19.25 19.40 18.00 18.00 -1.15BOSCHLTD 11085.10 11390.15 10310.00 10400.00 -669.60SBILIFE 732.00 768.50 675.00 686.65 -44.90BANDHANBNK 283.20 292.55 252.20 256.50 -18.10L&TFH 72.00 73.70 66.00 66.30 -4.70ICICIPRULI 362.00 365.60 330.50 331.80 -27.85MOTHERSUMI 67.05 68.00 60.20 61.15 -5.60IDEA 6.00 6.20 4.70 4.90 -0.80

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European and Asian stockmarkets steadied on

Tuesday following Wall Street'ssharpest daily drop in morethan three decades, with ana-lysts forecasting more volatili-ty as governments and centralbanks scramble to try andcalm the panic.

The dollar bounced backfrom heavy losses against theeuro on Monday, while oilprices also recovered.

European stock marketssurged around five percent inearly deals Tuesday beforeeither limiting or erasing all thegains.

"As has been the case everytime the European marketshave tried to rebound, it is notgoing to be smooth sailing," noted ConnorCampbell, analyst at Spreadextrading group.

Wall Street indices col-lapsed Monday in their worstday since 1987, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq droppingabout 12 percent and the Dow

sinking nearly 13 percent.US futures rallied Tuesday.

In a move meant to helptame the massive volatility inthe markets caused by thecoronavirus outbreak, theFrench bourse regulator onTuesday banned short-sellingin 92 stocks for the day.

"Taking into account thesignificant losses in recent dayson the financial markets, theFinancial Markets Authority(AMF) has decided to take anurgent step," it said in a state-ment.

The ban order coversmostly bank and financialstocks.

Investors use short-sellingto bet the market will fall,putting tremendous downwardpressure on prices at a timewhen buying interest is virtu-ally non-existent.

While governments andcentral banks attempt to soothemarkets with massive stimuluspledges and interest rate cuts,more countries are going intolockdown to prevent the out-break's spread — bringing theworld economy juddering to ahalt.

There is a broad consensusthat the disease, which haswiped trillions off market val-uations, will cause a globalrecession, with the airlineindustry among the first in thefiring line, leading companyheads to plead for billions ofdollars in state help to preventthem going under.

The Italian governmentTuesday said it intends to re-nationalise the bankrupt for-mer national carrier Alitaliaunder an emergency econom-ic rescue.

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Dar Es Salaam: Tanzania andSomalia on Monday becamethe latest East Africa countriesto confirm their first cases ofcoronavirus, as neighbouringcountries shuttered bordersand schools as fears of conta-gion rose.

As the global pandemictakes root in Africa, Chinesebillionaire Jack Ma announcedhe was donating 20,000 testingkits, 100,000 masks and 1,000protective suits to each of thecontinent’s 54 countries.

“We take precautions andget prepared ahead of time, asAfrica can benefit from theexperience and lessons of othercountries that were earlier hithard by the virus,” he said in astatement on Twitter.

In a little over a week, 21new African countries havereported cases, bringing thetotal affected to 30.

In West Africa, Liberiaand Benin also recorded theirfirst cases Monday.

A 46-year-old Tanzanianwoman tested positive for theillness after returning from

Belgium on March 15, whereshe had been staying with a rel-ative sick with coronavirus.

Health Minister Ummy

Mwalimu said the woman,who was recovering in hos-pital in Arusha, was notdetected by temperature scan-ners but reported herself fortesting. AFP

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Tehran: Iran issued its mostdire warning yet on Tuesdayabout the outbreak of thenew coronavirus ravaging thecountry, suggesting “millions”could die in the IslamicRepublic if the public keepstravelling and ignoring healthguidance.

A state television jour-nalist who also is a medicaldoctor gave the warning onlyhours after hard-line Shiitefaithful the previous nightpushed their way into thecourtyards of two majorshrines that had just beenclosed over fears of the virus.

Meanwhile, Iran’ssupreme leader issued a reli-gious ruling prohibiting“unnecessary” travel in the

country.Roughly nine out of 10 of

the over 18,000 cases of thenew virus confirmed acrossthe Middle East come fromIran, where authorities deniedfor days the risk the out-break posed. Officials havenow implemented new checksfor people trying to leavemajor cities ahead of Nowruz,the Persian New Year, onFriday, but have hesitated toquarantine the areas.

That’s even as the deathtoll in Iran saw another 13 percent increase on Tuesday.Health Ministry spokesmanKianoush Jahanpour said thevirus had killed 135 morepeople to raise the total to 988amid over 16,000 cases. AP

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Washington: US Secretary of State MikePompeo warned China on Monday notto spread disinformation on the novelcoronavirus after an official in Beijingpromoted a conspiracy theory on USinvolvement. Pompeo raised “strongobjections” to Chinese efforts “to shiftblame for COVID-19 to the UnitedStates” in a phone call with Yang Jiechi,a top foreign policy official in Beijing, theState Department said. Pompeo “stressedthat this is not the time to spread disin-formation and outlandish rumors, butrather a time for all nations to cometogether to fight this common threat,” aState Department statement said. AFP

��/��0*��6��C��*��8�� Washington: As Americans prepared to confine them-

selves within their homes to stop the deadly spread ofcoronavirus, US President Donald Trump has warnedthat the crisis could stretch up to August.

As of Monday evening, at least 85 people havedied of coronavirus with the confirmed cases cross-ing 4,500 in the US.

The country has stepped up efforts to contain thevirus by placing travel restrictions, closing schools, restau-rants and bars and cancelling entertainment events acrossthe country. “It seems to me that if we do a really goodjob, we’ll not only hold the death down to a level thatis much lower than the other way had we not done agood job. But people are talking about July, August,something like that. So, it could be right in that periodof time where it, I say, washes through,” Trump toldreporters at a White House news conference. PTI

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Lahore: Pakistan reported itsfirst casualty due to the novelcoronavirus on Tuesday, healthministry officials said as thenumber of positive cases of theCOVID-19 infections rose to193 in the country.

The first fatality wasreported from Lahore.Meanwhile, Sindh has 155 pos-itive cases, followed by KhyberPakhtunkhwa with 15,Balochistan 10, Gilgit-Baltistan5, Islamabad 2 and Punjab 6,officials said. PTI

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Washington: Joe Biden haswon the Democratic primary inWashington state, US mediahave projected, in another boostfor the frontrunner who is hop-ing to build an insurmountablelead over rival Bernie Sanders.

After most of the voteswere counted on Monday night,NBC and the New York Timescalled the result — a narrow vic-tory for Biden, who is up againstSanders for the chance to chal-lenge President Donald Trumpin November.

They said that former vicepresident Biden had won 37.9percent of the vote, with the left-ist Sanders close behind with36.4 percent.

The result came as millionsof Americans were due to troopto polling stations in three morestates on Tuesday, with anxietyrunning high over the fast-spreading coronavirus that haskilled more than 80 people inthe US so far.

As Arizona, Florida, andIllinois prepare for the pri-maries, there was confusionover whether polling stationswill be safe during the pan-demic.

Voting has been postponedin Ohio, where officials orderedpolling stations closed, makingit the latest and largest state toupend the voting schedule dueto the outbreak.

Tuesday may be a make-or-break moment for Sanders,who will face mounting pressureto quit if he does not score amajor upset. AFP

7� ��%��,��-��/�� 7��,�(�� *��+� ��+��% Washington: A coalition of lib-eral groups is calling on JoeBiden and Bernie Sanders tochoose a woman of colour astheir running mate, as a way toboost turnout among the keygroups of voters Democratsneed to win the presidency.

In a letter sent to both can-didates, the last two viable con-tenders in the Democratic pri-mary, the groups note thatwomen and people of colourmake up the majority of the

party’s voters in the last two pres-idential elections. “At the inter-section of those communities …women of colour have a uniqueand critical role to play in gal-vanizing the entire progressivecoalition,” the letter reads.

Biden, a former vice presi-dent, pledged during Sunday’sDemocratic debate to pick awoman as his running mate ifthe wins the nomination.Sanders, a Vermont senator,said he would “in all likelihood”

choose a woman. Aimee Allison,founder of She The People, saidthe letter is “a warning to notrepeat the mistake that HillaryClinton’s campaign made in2016” by tapping a white maleas her running mate. “Thewarning is, if you have an all-white ticket, if you don’t put awoman of colour on the ticket,some of us will come out for you,but not in the numbers you needto win the battle ground states,”Allison said. AGENCY

Baghdad: Adnan Zurfi, Iraq’ssecond premier-designate thisyear, is respected for focussingon public services and securi-ty but faces resistance from fac-tions wary of his close ties withthe United States.

The 54-year-old lawmakeris the ex-governor of the ShiaMuslim shrine city of Najaf, hasadvanced degrees in religiousstudies and was a long-timemember of the Dawa Partywhich opposed ex-dictatorSaddam Hussein.

After a failed 1991 uprisingagainst Saddam, Zurfi fled toSaudi Arabia and then on to theUnited States, returning to Iraqafter the US-led invasion in2003.

He is an Iraqi-US dualnational and his wife, five sonsand two daughters still live inthe United States.

Under Iraqi law, he wouldhave to renounce his American

citizenship to take up the pre-miership, which is yet to beconfirmed by Parliament.

Zurfi was appointed Najafgovernor in 2004 by the USoccupation force, to take on theMehdi Army of Shiite clericMoqtada Sadr, which wasattacking American troops.

He later managed to repairhis relationship with Sadr, nowa kingmaker in Iraqi politics.

Zurfi has been able to builda public profile in Iraq as a TVtalk show regular, clean-shavenand with his silver-tinged hairslicked back.

Fellow MP SarkawtShamsaddin said Zurfi hadearned respect for taking theinitiative on social and eco-nomic projects and describedhim as “a moderate Shiite voicewho is supportive of ties withthe West”.

In order to win the pre-miership, he will have to over-

come the resistance of politicalfactions allied with Iran,Washington’s arch-rival, whichis an influential force in Iraqipolitics.

Zurfi’s nomination byPresident Barham Saleh cameon a day crisis-battered Iraqfaced new turmoil: a pre-dawnrocket attack on an Iraqi basehosting foreign troops, andlooming curfews to slow thecoronavirus pandemic.

The rocky security situa-tion and collapsing oil pricescome after months of anti-gov-ernment protests and will formthe main challenges for the newpremier-designate.

As a relatively young new-comer in Baghdad, there arehopes he could shake up poli-tics after months of paralysis.

“Zurfi is a new name andthat’s probably more an advan-tage than a disadvantage,” saidSajad Jiyad, an Iraqi analyst. AP

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Bangkok: Bombers attacked amajor Government office inThailand’s insurgency-plaguedfar south as hundreds of localofficials and Muslim clericsmet Tuesday to discuss fightingCOVID-19.

At least 20 people werehurt, none seriously.

The Southern BorderProvinces AdministrationCenter in the capital of Yalaprovince coordinates govern-ment policy in the region wherea Muslim separatist insurgencysince 2004 has led to the deathsof about 7,000 civilians, soldiers,government workers and rebels.

Thailand’s three southernmostprovinces of Pattani, Narathiwatand Yala are the only ones withMuslim majorities in predom-inantly Buddhist Thailand. YalaHospital reported 20 peoplewere hurt in the attack. Nonewas badly injured, said Col.Pramote Prom-in, a spokesmanfor the center. Surveillance videoshowed the bomber parking apickup truck in front of the cen-ter and then placing anotherexplosive device in the middleof the road before fleeing on awaiting motorcycle, said policeCol. Naravee Binwae-arong ofthe Yala police station. AP

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Beijing: The first of China’snew medium-sized carrierrocket Long March-7A suf-fered a failure, official mediareported on Tuesday.

The rocket blasted off at9:34 p.M. Beijing Time onMonday from the WenchangSpace Launch Centre on thecoast of China’s Hainanprovince, but a malfunctionoccurred later, state-runXinhua news agency reported.

Chinese space engineerswill investigate the cause of thefailure, it said. With plans toreach Mars and set up its ownspace station, China is devel-oping new generation mediumlaunch vehicles including theLong March-6A, Long March-7A and Long March-8. A testversion of the Long March-5B,which has the largest carryingcapacity to low-Earth orbit, hasbeen produced and will beused to launch the modules ofChina’s space station, accord-ing to CASC. PTI

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ATTENTION GST TAXPAYERS REGISTERED IN DELHI

File your GST returns ON TIME

The last dates for filling GSTR-3B are as under:

For the month of Annual Turnover Last date(without late fees)

February, 2020 up to Rs. 5 crores 24th March, 2020above Rs. 5 crores 20th March, 2020

File the returns and pay the tax on or before due date toavoid:l Imposition of interest and penalty.l Cancellation of GST registration.l initiation of recovery proceedings.l lodging of FIR against the defaulters as per act.

Don't wait for the last date.

Your tax will help in growth of your delhi

for any help taxpayers may Contact at Helpline No:23352310-14

Sd/-Commissioner, VAT/GST

Deptt. of Trade & TaxesGovt. of N.C.T. of Delhi

Vyapar Bhawan, I.P. Estate.DIP/Shabdarth/1466/19-20 New Delhi-110002

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,��%��The Triptych 2020 was a gala evening of

everything outstanding, stylish andfashionable; the graduating students ofSatyam Fashion Institute (SFI), Noida puttogether a dreamy sequence of 23 differentthemes celebrating life, women, and moreover 99 students graduating from FashionDesign, Textile Design, Lifestyle Accessoriesand Post Graduate Diploma in FashionDesign. The show was recently held SatyamFashion Institute; Sector 62 Noida waschoreographed by Rachna Sikka.

The glamorous event provided a plat-form to showcase the ravishing attiredesigned by the Graduating Batch fromscratch under the supervision of ShowOrganisers Dr Vandana Jaglan, Principal,

and Dr Neetu Malhotra, HOD SFI.The event was aptly organised and cel-

ebrated with the unabashed spirit of awoman on the auspicious occasion of theInternational Woman’s Day. Sneh Singh,Chairperson, and Pradeep Gupta, Secretary,Satyam Group of Institutions talked abouttheir experience with organising the evening.“Every individual and every year that goesby is an inspiration. The ideas, the presen-tation, the out of the box innovative stylesof representing something new, somethingold, something beautiful and sometimessomething not so beautiful keeps us goingyear after year. Being around such creativespirits motivates you to bring out the bestin yourself.”

The St George’s School, Alaknanda,New Delhi has implemented a

novel green initiative by installing adedicated roof-top solar panel systemto generate green and clean electric-ity for the school which will meet 100per cent of the school’s power needsthrough solar energy.

This environment-friendly sys-tem will power the entire infra-structure including classrooms, smartboards, laboratories, staffrooms,principal and management rooms,auditorium and all air conditionerswithin the school’s premises.

In other words, this solar panel

system will be catering to 100 percent of the school’s electricity require-ment thereby eliminating depen-dency on any external source of elec-tricity, and also championing thecause of using 100 per cent renew-able resource of electricity. In addi-tion to the above, this new roof-topsolar panel system will also power allthe flood lights installed in theschool’s playground.

Dr Sara George Muthoot, direc-tor, St George’s School said: “Withthis initiative, the school has entereda special league of select schools inIndia that run purely on renewable

and non-conventional sources ofenergy like solar power. We are gladand humbly proud of having accom-plished this eco-friendly project sat-isfactorily.”

Alexander George Muthoot,Vice-chairman, St George’s Schoolsaid: “The school is part of TheMuthoot Group’s Education Divisionwhich has always endeavoured toimplement eco-friendly measuresacross all its educational institutes.Making the school solar energyenabled was a project close to ourheart and we are glad to have accom-plished it.”

Afinal year student ofComputer Science

steam of the UniversitySchool of Informationand CommunicationTechnology, IP University,Hitesh Popali has toppedin the GATE 2020 examin computer sciencestream. He has scoredhighest ever score of 92 incomputer science.

Meanwhile, the uni-versity also organisedtwo-day stakeholder’sconsultation for SCOyoung scientist conclave atthe Dwarka campus of the

university. A welcome speech

was given by Prof SanjivMittal, Director,Academic Affairsand Prof NC Gupta,Dean, University Schoolof EnvironmentManagement of theUniversity.

The vice-chancellorof the university ProfMahesh Verma gracedthe occasion. Scientistscame from across thecountry participated inthe consultation pro-gramme for the purpose.

!+��"(��Manav Rachna

International Institute ofResearch and Studies invitesapplications for admissionsto its Master of BusinessAdministration programme.

Programmes offered:Master of BusinessAdministration — MRIIRS ,MBA in Innovation,Entrepreneurship and VentureDevelopment (IEV) — MRI-IRS, Banking and InsuranceManagement, AviationManagement, WasteManagement.

Eligibility: Graduation orpost graduation or candidatesmust have passed the finalexamination conducted by theinstitute of CharteredAccountants of India/Instituteof Cost &Works Accountantsof India/ Institute of CompanySecretaries of India/ any othercourse which is Governmentrecognised course with mini-mum 50 per cent marks.

How to apply: Log on tomanavrachna.edu.in.

��&��(&��!!��IMS-Design & Innovation

Academy invites applicationsfor admissions to its Bachelorsof Science: Jewellery Design,Bachelors of Fine Arts: FashionDesign, Bachelors of FineArts: Applied Arts andBachelors of Fine Arts: FashionInternational.

Eligibility: Candidateswho have passed or will appearfor the qualifying examinationsunder the higher secondaryfrom any recognised Board ofEducation such asAISSCE/IB/ICSE, or equiva-lents.

All eligible candidates willhave to undergo DesignEntrance Exam (DEE) at DIA,Campus Noida which com-prises of a written test and per-sonal interview.

Last date to apply: July,2020

How to apply: Log on towww.diaindia.co.in or theapplication form can beobtained for �1000 by cashfrom the academy or by post

enclosing aDemand Draft of �1050/- infavour of Design & InnovationAcademy.

+'�"�0!'�"��"(��The KIIT Group of

Colleges invites applicationsfor admissions to variouscourses in 2020-2021 session.The courses offered are BTech(CSE ECE, EEE, CivilEngineering & MechanicalEngineering), MTech (ECE &CSE), MBA, BBA and BCA.

Eligibility: Candidatesmust have appeared/passedClass XII examination forbachelors degree, andappeared/passed graduationfor masters degree pro-grammes.

Last date to apply: June30, 2020

How to apply: Log on towww.kiit.in or call on9811626767.

+��*�&�A�)��"�TKWs Institute of Banking

& Finance invites applicants foradmissions to its postgraduatediploma in Banking andFinance for PG Diploma inBanking & Finance.

Duration: One yearEligibility : Minimum

qualification is graduate in anystream with 50 per cent marks,students awaiting final yearresults may also apply.

This programme starts byproviding fundamental clarityand then advances to exposethe participants to all essentialsof banking & finance.

How to apply: Log on towww.tkwsibf.edu.in or theadmission forms can beobtained by filling the appli-cation by paying an amount of�1,000 through demand draftin favor of TKWs Delhi.

For any team to flourish, itrequires harmony, com-

panionship, one vision and agreat leader who could ensureall of these are available. A suc-cessful team is one whichefficiently splits tasks andeffectively manages time. Ifyour team has some of thesetraits, you are good to go butif you have them all, your teamis unbeatable and smart.

But what makes a team sogreat? What are those ele-ments which could enhancethe team performance? Howcould leaders be better at theirjob?

Here are three mostimportant team-building tipsthat a leader must know:

Build relationships, rela-tionships will build team:We are social animals — wedesire companionship andconstructive relationships justas much we need food andwater. In other words, the bet-ter our relationships, themore joyful and progressive-ly profitable our work life is.Great working connections

give us a few more advan-tages: our work becomes pro-gressively pleasant.Additionally, people tend toaccept changes that organi-sations need to actualise, andthis way they can becomeprogressive and innovative.

In addition, great rela-tionships at work give organ-isations an opportunity:rather than investing timeand energy in dealing withnegativity, we can, rather,center around concerns thatmatter the most. Clients, sup-pliers and key stakeholdersare overall fundamental to anorganisation’s well-being. Inthis way, it’s essential to cre-ate and keep great relationswith other colleagues.

How can you establish agood relationship with yourteam?

�When you form goodrelations with your partners,you structure an incrediblenetwork that encourages youto work and become moresuccessful. If you believe theindividuals you work with,

you can be transparent inyour messages and activities,and you know they are alwayswatching your back.

�The better and moreviably you speak with peoplearound you, the more extrav-agant your connections willbe.

�Give importance to col-leagues so they could feeltheir assessments are consid-ered and that they can alto-gether accomplish the hier-archical objectives.

� Invest in your col-leagues’ personal develop-ment. People often leave badenvironment more than for ahigher renumeration. It isessential for an individual’sgrowth to keep learning, staycreative, and recognise theirlatent talents.

�Devote sometime ofyour day for relationshipbuilding, even if it’s just 20minutes. Take out time torecall one thing each one ofyou is thankful for.

Be transparent: A trans-parent working environmentsupports fear-free environ-ment, one that urges every-one to be open about theiraccomplishments and short-comings and would overall beable to make a more secure,progressively positive atmos-phere.

Communicate down thehierarchy, loud and clear:Among different advantages,open communications con-structs kinship and trustbetween colleagues, ensuresstraightforwardness in theenvironment, empowersemployee management, sup-ports confidence, andencourages organisationaldevelopment.

Building a successfulteam is no cakewalk. Theprocess is about establishingtrust among each other andwith the right set of skills, aleader can convey, assist, andcreate a healthy workingatmosphere.��0�� *!�!��*

,��

The JEE MAINS 2020 is just a fewweeks away and the aspirantsare fighting tooth and nail to get

through the exams that they’ve beenpreparing for the last two years.Although, it’s natural for them to feela little more stressed during thisperiod, but if planned carefully, it canbe easily avoided.

While following a consistent anddisciplined approach is a key to crackIIT Main examinations; it is also cru-cial to pay attention to speed and theamount of time given to each ques-tion. Self-study is extremely helpfulbut at the same time group studies orcoaching is a great option to clear one’sdoubts and queries.

With a month to go, studentsshould examine and analyse theirweak areas and common mistakes andthoroughly practice those to get bet-ter marks in the JEE exams. It is advis-able to assign more time on topics andsubjects that an aspirant is not veryconfident about. This time should bespent wisely on memorising the for-mulas, method of calculations and thetime taken to solve a particular ques-tion in order to prepare themselves forthe exams.

The best way a student can get thefeel of the exam, prepare themselvesfor a three-hour paper and know theiractual strengths and weaknesses is bysolving a mock paper. Students mustgo through the last few years’ questionpapers and solve more and more ofthem to feel confident before they

appear for the main exams. Solvingmock papers not just helps in esti-mating the time spend on each ques-tion but also helps in selecting and pri-oritising the important questionsfirst.

Besides good and quality prepa-ration, it is necessary to relax and havea good sleep at night. During andbefore the examination, it is importantto have a rich and healthy diet andkeeping hydrated.

Here is a set of do’s and don’ts thatcan easily help the young aspirants tosail through the preparation periodand during the day of the mainexamination:-

�(��Assign 7-8 hours every day on a sub-ject� Do not proceed ahead withoutclearing your doubts; clear your doubtsregularly

� Solve as many questions as possiblewith a paper and pen� Check the syllabus from the JEEwebsite and make a note of all the rel-evant things�To check your speed and accuracy,give regular mock tests�Do a detailed test analysis after everytest

�(�;'��Never pile up your doubts; if you arestuck somewhere, seek help�Do not compare your studying pat-tern with your peers; everyone has aunique strategy to study�Do not spend too much time on asingle topic� Never give a test without a time limit�Avoid last-minute study, as thiswill just build tension in your mind.You must feel relaxed.

Here are some important topicsthat you must pay attention to:-

!�'��-�Complex Number� Conic Section� Circle� Calculus� Vector & 3 D� Probability� Trigonometric Equation� Properties of Triangles� Quadratic Equation� Sequence and Series� Permutations and combination

Chemistry� Chemical bonding� Electrochemistry� Coordination compound� Salt analysis� Ionic equilibrium�Thermodynamics & thermochem-istry� Aldehydes and ketones� Aromatic hydrocarbons� GOC isomerism� Liquid solutions� Alkyl halides and aryl halides

�� "�� Rotational Motion� Thermodynamics (ThermalPhysics)� SHM� Electrostatics� Optics� Modern Physics

Keep these small things in mindand you will surely get amazingresults. Take care of yourself and wish-ing you all the best!

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It is believed that BhraguRishu,a great saint, started writing

about all animals present on theearth, air, water and humanbeings. He wanted to write thecharacteristics of each living beingabout their life span, their eventsin their life, good or bad inadvance which will go up tothousands of years. But he realisedthat it was a difficult task there-fore, he dropped the idea of writ-ing about karma of every livingbeing and only focused on thekarma of human beings.

He wrote in detail about eachand every individual which exist-ed even prior to the birth and alsowrote about the fate and destinyof millions and billions of peopleyet to be born in coming cen-turies. This was an amazing workdone by him which is appreciat-ed even today. While writingabout the various people, heobserved that certain numbers aretypical and are linked to specificcharacters.

Every individual who is bornon this earth will have to bear thefruits of his karma, many timesthe mistakes are done and alsothere is an abuse of the gifts whichhave been provided by the nature.These errors are carried alongwith the person as an added bur-

den so as to realise and learn aparticular lesson that he failed tolearn in the previous life. The bur-den carried by the individuals isthe mis-deeds of the previous gen-eration and is known as karmicdebt numbers. The karmic debt isa significant difficulty in this lifeas payment for the misapplicationof energies in a past life.

These numbers are 19, 16, 14and 13. A person who is eitherborn on 19, 16, 14 or 13 of anymonth or whose destiny numberis 19, 16, 14 or 13 is supposed tohave karmic debt. Out of these

four karmic debt, the degree ofpunishment or effectiveness ishighest in the people with karmicdebt 19, the next are 16, 14 and 13in order of decreasing the effectsof karmic debt. It is mildest in caseof 13 and strongest in case of 19.

The karmic debt is concernedor effective after the age of 25&continues upto the age of 50. Itmeans during this period, a per-son will rise to the top, will dropabruptly to the ground and willstart again. It means in these 25years, he will have many ups anddown, peaks and bottoms. If aperson has psychic number oryear number 13 and the destinynumber 19, he will experiencesuch type of rise and fall through-out his life. He may experiencefailures, accidents, negativity anddown fall.

This theory says no personcan escape or get salvation untilhe has paid back for the sins,wrong things, frauds, exploitation,theft or for that matter any actdone which has damaged orcaused problems for anyone emo-tionally or financially. He has todefinitely settle the account of hismisdeed in one, two or morenumber of birth/rebirth.

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John McEnroe was No 1 tennis player from1980 to 1984 and one of the finest shot-

making players in tennis the world has everseen. But the world also remembers him asabusive, arrogant and entitled from hisbehavior on the court. Contrast him withanother tennis champion of recent times —Roger Federer. For Federer, losing or mak-ing mistakes is not a sign of weakness, but ablessing, because they help him hone whathe needs to work on to improve and be hisbest. Moral of the story: One might still suc-ceed in a vocation purely because of natur-al ability or talent, but this success is alwayspre-determined,and one should be carefulthat the pursuit of success at any cost doesnot leave behind a negative atmosphere in itswake.

Learning to lose or fail is one of the mostcritical attributes required for being successfulin any sphere of life. Carol Dweck, a famouspsychologist talks about the growth mindsetwhich allows us to learn from our failures andimprove our abilities in contrast to a fixedmindset, where we shirk failures, and thinkthat our abilities are carved in stone or can’tbe improved.

A fixed mindset, as it assumes a fixedability or aptitude, does not know how to dealwith or learn from failures and greatly lim-its the growth of an individual.

In one of the studies conducted by Dweckand her team, they found that children whodisplayed a 'growth mindset' displayed high-er levels of achievement in school (and out-side) in areas where success could be mea-sured, regardless of their initial aptitude.

They also found that children from poor-er households, who displayed a growthmindset, on an average performed as better,as children from high income householdswho had access to a far better quality of edu-cation.

In India, this insight holds huge promisein how we approach education (public or pri-vate) for hundreds of millions of children whocome from low income group householdsand may not have access to high quality edu-cation.

How does one learn to develop a growthmindset or an ability to learn from failures?

Our decade long experiments in usingsport in schools have shown us that sportcould be a powerful tool to teach critical life-skills including the ability to deal with fail-ures.

Sport can mimic life (on playgrounds)and if used appropriately in learning envi-

ronments such as schools can help shape rightexperiences and behaviors of children. Mostimportantly, the cost of failures extracted onplaygrounds is very small compared to costsof failures in real life - so children can betaught to fail often and learn from their mis-takes on the playgrounds.

While sport can be a great vehicle forteaching the growth mindset to children, itis not complete without informed adult(parental or teacher) guidance. Caring adultscan recognise the right opportunities to getthe child to focus squarely on the process orthe effort (the notion of practice or trainingin sport), and not on the outcomes (such aswinning or losing).

The adult could also make the childrealise the importance of deliberate practicewhere by applying herself to any task or voca-tion (and learning continually from mis-takes), she can increase her aptitude and abil-ities significantly in that task.

In the words of an ancient philosopher,to succeed is to have failed, and to fail is tohave succeeded. This philosopher certainlyknew how failures always predicate success,but success by itself means nothing besidesbeing a positive outcome of an event.

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The Faculty ofEngineering at theUniversity of Sheffield,

UK invites applications forscholarships of up to £3000to overseas students startingan undergraduate degree inSeptember 2020 in one of thefollowing Engineeringdepartments: Aerospace,Automatic Control &Systems, Bioengineering,Chemical Engineering, Civil& Structural Engineering,Electronic & ElectricalEngineering, MaterialsScience & Engineering,Mechanical Engineering,General Engineering.

The scholarship amountawarded is dependent on aca-demic achievement, qualifica-tions equivalent to A levels:A*AA - £1000, A*A*A -£2000 and A*A*A* - £3000.Visit here to confirm theequivalent of A*AA .

Eligibility: Make the uni-versity your first (firm)choice in the UCAS applica-tion process for 2020 entry,apply to study a full-timeundergraduate programme inthe relevant department, beclassed as an overseas studentfor tuition fee purposes. Thescholarship is awarded in theform of a cash bursary oncourse registration once eligi-bility is confirmed. The

scholarship amount is depen-dent on academic achieve-ment please email theUndergraduate AdmissionsTeam for your chosenDepartment. Visit for detailshttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/engineering/study/schol-arships.

The University of Westof England invites fundingfor international studentswho have achieved the equiv-alent of a British First in anundergraduate degree.

Eligibility: Hold anunconditional offer or a con-ditional offer where IELTS orequivalent English languageis the only condition. Be anew student to UWE Bristolwith no previous UK study.Applicants hold an uncondi-tional offer or a conditionaloffer where IELTS or equiva-lent English language is theonly condition. Be a new stu-dent to UWE Bristol with noprevious UK study. Be classedas overseas for fees purposes.Not be a sponsored studentor in receipt of another schol-arship/award. Provide officialtranscripts at the time ofapplication. Hold an uncon-ditional offer or a conditionaloffer where IELTS or equiva-lent English language is theonly condition.

How to apply: Submit aapplication:https://welcome.uwe.ac.uk/live/sits.urd/run/siw_lgn.

Application deadline:May 31, 2020.

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One of the common char-acteristics of successfulentrepreneurs is that

they launched their ventureswhile they were young.According to a survey done byErnst and Young with nearly 700entrepreneurs, more than half ofthem launched their companieswhile they were in their 20s.

The survey also found thatthey did not jump-start theirventures straight after finishinghigher education. They had togain experience before theycould launch their venture.However, nearly a third of thepeople who participated in thesurvey said that higher educa-tion provided them with thegrounding they needed for theirbusiness practice. Having anentrepreneurial component inhigher education will aid in thecreation of more entrepreneursand ventures, in turn creatingjob opportunities.

To become a successfulentrepreneur, a positive atti-tude and a support structure area must. This will foster positiveopportunism and greater accep-tance of failure. Universitiescan give students useful and sys-tematic knowledge on all aspectsof running a business, and equipthem with the necessary tools toprepare them for eventualities.

It goes without saying thatcampus life will give them plen-ty of opportunities to test theirbusiness ideas and get feedbackon their work. They also get toanalyse variables of trade in a

systematic way, formulate andtest hypotheses, and think aboutabstract concepts. If they canlearn to solve problems and takecreative decisions based on reli-able data, they will learn how torun a business that operates witha high degree of accountability.This will teach them how to suc-cessfully manage commercialconcerns in the long run.

College students are in animportant transitional phase intheir life. As they start to explorepersonal independence, theiridentities start to solidify. If theyreceive the right stimulation, itallows them to develop a high-er degree of self-control andwork on their vision.

Universities must includecourses and facilities that teachstudents critical thinking andrisk taking. This will help themform an identity as an entre-preneur. Observational andexperiential learning must begiven equal importance. In otherwords, the course must focus oboth theory and practice.

The universities must pro-vide facilitators who are capableof delivering content to students.

This includes academics andsuccessful entrepreneurs. Thedelivery methods must also bediverse to cater to the widestpossible cross-section of stu-dents as possible.

Internet media, incubationsupport, simulations, help devel-oping a business plan, internshipopportunities, case studies, one-on-one interactions, study vis-its, project work, mentoring, andcompetition among others willhelp support a successful imple-mentation of an entrepreneur-ship education curriculum.

Students need requisiteknowledge and skill set to con-duct their study with a focus onselection and recruitment. Thismust be accompanied with asupporting environment andmotivating incentives like grantsalong with a grading system thatallows them to conduct study inan effective way. Lecturers canaid them with progress reviews,using right teaching methodsand implementing a rewardsystem to acknowledge theirparticipation.

For entrepreneurship edu-cation in higher education to be

a success, graduates must pos-sess certain core competencies.They need to be able to identi-fy and evaluate business oppor-tunities, identify and solve prob-lems, make the right decisionsat the right time, network, com-municate effectively, and displayout of the box thinking.

If they can tick all the aboveboxes, then they have demon-strated that they have the corecompetencies needed to kick-start their own venture.Graduates must also be capableof developing a business planthat can sustain after launch.

Apropos sustainability, theventure must be able to provideemployment, make enoughprofits to fuel expansion, inno-vate consistently and effective-ly, develop a strong publicimage, and satisfy all stake-holders.

If such a structured frame-work can be executed success-fully, we will be able to integrateit with the existing curriculumand scale it up on a nationallevel.

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The ongoing Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) was onTuesday suspended after the

country’s Cricket Board revealedthat a foreign player showedsymptoms of the dreadedCOVID-19 with former captain-turned-commentator Ramiz Rajaclaiming that it was England’s AlexHales.

The PSL had entered theknockout stages and semifinalmatches were due to be played onTuesday and final on Wednesdayin Lahore. The PCB had alsoshortened the league by four daysconsidering the worsening coro-navirus situation but was forced tocall it off on Tuesday.

“...This new developmentcame after a player who leftPakistan told us that (he has)symptoms and this (decision tosuspend PSL) isn’t in light ofbeing panicked...We made ourdecision after thorough delibera-tion,” PCB CEO Wasim Khan said.

“But before this there was nosuspected case at all, which is whythe decision wasn’t made before,”he added.

Pakistan’s former Test captainRaja claimed that Hales might bethe player being suspected. As aprecautionary measure, all PSLplayers and broadcasters are nowbeing tested for the virus.

“What I know is that he is yetto have tests but we don’t knowwhether the symptoms he has is ofCorona or not. But we all nowneed to be very cautious and

obviously adopt a common senseapproach to deal with this prob-lem,” Raja said.

The 31-year-old Hales, a right-handed opener, has gone intoself-isolation after reaching

England.In the PSL semifinals, Multan

Sultans were to take on PeshawarZalmi at 2pm at the GaddafiStadium, followed by a clashbetween Karachi Kings andLahore Qalandars at the samevenue in the evening.

Most of the 34 foreign players,who took part in the PSL, beganheading home last week after thePCB said it would not stop anyonefrom withdrawing from the leaguedue to the Coronavirus fears.

Responding to a questionKhan said that the Karachi Kings

team had reservations about play-ing in the tournament and thedecision was then made afterconsulting all the franchises.

“We have done everything toensure health and safety of every-one because of the coronavirusand we consulted the govern-ment and health officials in alldecisions,” he said.

The PCB on Monday calledoff an upcoming ODI and Testagainst Bangladesh next month. Italso suspended its national one-day cup which was to begin fromMarch 25 in Karachi.

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Former pace great Waqar Younis said itdoesn’t make sense that the ICC World Test

Championship don’t feature any matchbetween arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

The World Test Championship featuresnine top-ranked Test teams, who will play sixbilateral Test series against mutually chosenopponents with the top two nations with mostpoints at the end of the league clashing in thefinal in England in June 2021.

“I know it is a difficult situation betweenPakistan and India even at government to gov-ernment level but I think the ICC needed toplay a more proactive role in this champi-onship,” Waqar said in an interview to theYouTube channel.

“The ICC should have intervened anddone something because to me having a testchampionship without Pakistan and India Testmatches makes no sense,” he said.

Since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, Indiahasn’t toured Pakistan. The two neighbourshave also not played a full Test bilateral seriessince 2007 due to strained political anddiplomatic relations.

Waqar lamented that due to the on and offstrained relations with India, he got to playonly four Tests against them in an internation-al career spanning 14-years, featuring 87 Testsand 262 ODIs.

“It’s always been like this that is why mak-ing my test debut against India is somethingI don’t forget,” he said.

Waqar also praised the wealth of pace tal-ent coming through in India.

“If you see India has really worked hardin this area and they are now producingbowlers regularly who bowl in the 140 plusrange.

“In the past it was not like this. But thingshave changed. (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed)Shami, Ishant (Sharma) they have takenIndia to the top. That is why India is doing sowell in Test and other formats now,” he said.

Waqar also pointed out that India had avery clear rotation policy for its pace bowlers.

“If you look at their Test side they havemore or less a settled combination of pacebowlers for this format but in the white ballformats they keep on changing and experi-menting which is good.”

Waqar said as Pakistan bowling coach healso wanted to experiment with the bowlersin limited over cricket, while having a settledgroup of bowlers for Test cricket who couldserve the country for the next 5 to 8 years.

“My policy is to keep on giving chancesand experimenting in ODIs and T20 cricket.Give those bowlers a chance who are in format a time. It is not that I ignore those who haveperformed consistently well in domesticcricket. Muhammad Abbas, Imran Khan areexamples,” he said.

The 48-year-old said cricket has changeda lot compared to when he played and fastbowlers lack aggression now.

“Nowadays cricket is different and as aresult I feel pace bowlers are more defensiveminded now to counter the changed rules,broader bats and easy pitches.

“In my days we always believed thataggression and attack was a must for fastbowlers and we got success.”

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Cricket Australia is planning to host the men’sT20 World Cup as per schedule in October

despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a col-lapse of sports events worldwide.

“We’re really hoping that all forms of sport canbe played again in a few weeks or a few months’time,” CA chief Kevin Roberts was quoted as say-ing by cricket.Com.Au.

“None of us are experts in this situation obvi-ously, so our hope is that we’re back in very muchnormal circumstancescome October andNovember when the men’sT20 World Cup is to beplayed.”

The men’s T20 WorldCup is slated to begin withthe pre-qualifiers fromOctober 18-23 followed bythe main 12-team competi-tion from October 24.

The final will be played onNovember 15 at the MCG andCA is planning for a full house.

“And at this stage we’replanning on November 15, tohave a full house at the MCG toinspire the world through men’scricket as the women’s cricketersdid here just last week,” Robertssaid.

Last week, Australia’s ODIseries against New Zealand wascalled off after the first match, aswas India’s ODI series againstSouth Africa. Both series were tobe held without spectators beforebeing scrapped.

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The Indian Premier League franchises areready to quarantine their foreign players for

a period of 14 days if the travel advisories issuedby the government calls for the same amid theongoing coronavirus outbreak. But first, theyare waiting for the authorities to clear theground for issuance of visa to them. As of now,the government has prohibited entry of peoplefrom specific countries and regions till March31.

The government on Monday issued an advi-sory expanding compulsory quarantine for aminimum period of 14 days for passengers com-ing from/transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman,and Kuwait. It further prohibited travel of pas-sengers from member countries of the EuropeanUnion, the European Free Trade Association,Turkey and United Kingdom to India with effectfrom March 18.

On Tuesday, the government further saidthat travel of passengers from Afghanistan,Philippines, Malaysia to India is prohibited withimmediate effect. These instructions are a tem-porary measure and shall be in force tillMarch 31 and will be reviewed subsequently.

Speaking to IANS, an official of one of thefranchises said that the teams were ready for ascenario wherein foreign players will need tobe quarantined for a 14-day period once per-mitted to fly into the country.

“Yes, the fresh advisory calls for 14-dayquarantine for travel from some countries andif the stance remains the same post March 31,that shouldn’t be an issue. If we get a clearance

from the government and visas are issued, thenquarantining the players shouldn’t be a big deal.In such a scenario, we can fly them into thecountry in the first week of April and follow theprocess of 14-day quarantine.

“But first, the foreign players need to begiven the visa and that is why we need to waittill March 31 to see what the governmentdecides going forward.”

An IPL official who was present in the con-ference call on Monday further said that whilethere was no decision made with regards to thefate of the tournament, it was decided that meet-ings will happen every week and also that for-eign players will need a 5-day break before theycan start playing matches.

“No decision was made and to be honest,the idea wasn’t to take a call. It was aimed moretowards understanding the general scenario andhow the coronavirus outbreak is impacting theworld. It was more about taking stock of the sit-uation. But, one thing that we did discuss wasthat foreign players will need a 5-day windowto acclimatise once they arrive in India.

“But before that, we need to understand ifand when the government will relax the trav-el advisory and foreign players will indeed beallowed to come in. Unless the governmentissues fresh advisory, it will be impossible togauge when the foreign players will come in andwhen we can start the tournament.

“At present, we need to keep our fingerscrossed and hope that the situation improvesand the health and sports departments give thenecessary go-ahead to organise the tournamentwith foreign players,” the official said.

*(/*�'�- The South Africancricket team on Tuesday flewback home with a stopover inKolkata after their ODI seriesagainst India was called off.

Not a single ball could bebowled in the series as the open-er was washed out in Dharamsalaand the series was called offahead of the second ODI inLucknow.

The touring players and sup-port staff reached Kolkata onMonday to catch their connect-ing flight for Dubai.

“They have left for Dubaisafely this morning. From there,they will leave for their respective

destinations. They were verypleased with CAB’s arrangementsand precautionary measures,”Cricket Association of Bengalpresident Avishek Dalmiya said.

The BCCI and Cricket SouthAfrica mutually agreed toreschedule the ODI series. PTI

� �� - Australia pacer KaneRichardson has said he andother Australian players arewaiting to hear from IndianPremier League (IPL) aboutthe next step after the cash-richtournament was postponeddue to coronavirus outbreak.

17 Australians hold IndianPremier League contracts,which was scheduled to starton March 29 but has been sus-pended till April 15.

“We’re just waiting to hear,”Kane told cricket.com.au wherehe detailed about the quaran-tine experience he had toundergo after complaining ofa sore throat before the firstODI of the Chappell Hadleeseries, which now stands can-celled.

“A lot of the blokes haveopinions — ‘it’s going to getcancelled’, this and that — butagain it can change in a day ora week, so I’ll just sit by thephone and get ready to play forthe 15th at the moment —that’s what I’m thinking.

“(The Australia squad)

were all sitting around chattingabout it. It’s happened out ofnowhere.

“A lot of us were going tobe away from now till the endof the IPL, so to now be sittingat home with absolutely no ideawhen the next game of crick-et is going to be for any of us,just shows how quickly this hasgrown.

“Even a week ago we wereflying back from South Africaand there was no thought ofcoronavirus at all in the air orwhen we got back to the air-port.

“It's hard to believe we’resitting here at home with every-thing being cancelled but whenyou watch the news and seewhat’s going on in the world, it’sdefinitely the right call.

“I think the main issue thata lot of boys had was travellingaway from home and if youhappen to catch it, you’re stuckin a hotel room for two weeks.That’s the sticking point I reck-on a lot of the guys wereuncomfortable with.” AFP

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England pace bowler JofraArcher said racism should

be “addressed properly” afterhe posted on his Instagramaccount racist messages he hadreceived.

The 24-year-old has beensubjected to racist abuse in thepast, notably during the secondTest defeat by New Zealand lastyear.

A spectator was subse-quently banned from interna-tional and domestic matches inNew Zealand for two years.

Archer — who in justseven Test matches since mak-ing his debut last year hastaken 30 wickets including

three five-wicket hauls — saidit beggared belief people couldpost such hateful things.

“I will never understandhow people feel so freely to saythese things to another humanbeing,” he said.

“I have given a lot ofthought about reacting to thisand I hope that no one else hasto deal with stuff like this on aregular basis, it isn’t everacceptable and should beaddressed properly in my opin-ion.”

Archer is presently recov-ering from a stress fracture ofhis right elbow but is seen as thefuture point man for Englandpace bowling with Stuart Broadset to turn 34 in June.

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Australian cricketers may have to foregotheir lucrative IPL contracts in the wake

of fast-spreading novel coronavirus, the localmedia reported on Tuesday.

Cricket Australia has not directed theplayers officially with its chief executiveKevin Roberts on Tuesday saying that play-ers were individually contracted to their IPLteams and can make up their own minds tocompete in the 2020 IPL or not.

“We can provide advice. We’re con-scious of the fact that Australian players areindividually contracted to the IPL and thetime will certainly come very soon where play-

ers are going to be really interestedand leaning on our perspective as theirleader... To advise them in that regard,”Roberts said.

“And then there will also bea perspective from the BCCI andtheir IPL division within thatand together with our playersand the BCCI, I am sure play-ers will reach the best possibledecisions in uncertain circum-stances.”

The Australian newspaperreported that Cricket Australiais reviewing whether it shouldpermit its players to participate

in the IPL or The Hundred series in the UK.There are 17 Australian players contractedwith different IPL franchisees.

The Australia report said that pacerPat Cummins, former skipper SteveSmith, opener David Warner and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell could beasked to give up their rich contracts.

Cummins had become the high-est paid overseas player in the history

of the IPL with a contract worth $3.2million with Kolkata Knight Riders.

Maxwell received a $2.2 million con-tract with Kings XI Punjab. CA hasdeclared NSW the champions afterscrapping the Sheffield Shield final.

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England batsman Alex Haleson Tuesday said he has gone

into self-isolation due to feverand persistent dry cough afterreturning midway from the now-postponed Pakistan Super League(PSL) but is yet to get himselftested for the dreaded COVID-19.

“Like many other overseasplayers, I reluctantly left thePakistan Super League earlybecause with COVID-19 reach-ing global pandemic status, I feltit was more important to be withmy family rather than face a peri-od of lockdown thousands ofmiles from home,” Hales said ina statement after the PCB’s com-

ment.“I returned to the UK in the

early hours of Saturday morningfeeling perfectly fit and healthyand with absolutely no symptomsof the virus,” he added.

Hales plays for Karachi Kingsin the PSL.

“However, I awoke early onSunday morning having devel-oped a fever and followed thegovernments advice of self-isola-tion, a process I am obviously stillfollowing having developed adry and persistent cough.

“At this stage, it has not beenpossible to be tested although Iam hopeful that might be the caselater today so I can get absoluteconfirmation of my currenthealth status,” he added.

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��/�- Indian cricket has celebrated the emergence of a potentfast bowling unit but it is high time that the establishment focus-es on producing quality Test spinners, especially off-break bowlers,feel former players.

Ravichandran Ashwin (365 wickets in 71 Tests) has been animpact bowler in home conditions but the current team man-agement hasn’t exactly put complete faith in Tamil Nadu tweak-er’s abilities in overseas conditions.

While former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels thatseasoned domestic performers like Akshay Wakhare (34 years)and Jalaj Saxena (33 years) should be given a break, another vet-eran Laxman Sivaramakrishnan is of the opinion that ayounger pool needs to be created as Ashwin still has “good threeyears of Test cricket left in him”.

“Ashwin is a very hard-working bowler and he has not takenhis place for granted. He still has three good years left and it’stime now that we find the next crop of young spinners whichis ready to take over when time comes,” Sivaramakrishnan said.

But Harbhajan has a different idea.“Jalaj Saxena and Akshay Wakhare have performed year after

year at the domestic level, at times on flat tracks. I have seenAkshay closely at the Mumbai Indians nets. Age for me is justa number. I don’t believe these two can’t be tried," the‘Turbanator’ said.

But why have we not produced any second line of off-spin-ners in these years?

“I haven’t seen a good off-spinner at the Ranji level. That’sbecause of bad captaincy at the Ranji Trophy level. If an off-spin-ner gets hit by a right-hander, captains take him off and that hitshis confidence. Harbhajan Singh became a great bowler becausethe captain was Sourav Ganguly, who gave him encouragement,”said Sivaramakrishnan, the hero of 1985 Benson & Hedges Cup.

Siva does have sympathy for Saxena though.“Jalaj’s is a classic case of his career completely coinciding

with Ashwin’s best years. But right now we can’t look at playerswho are 33 or 34 years. Because by the time another three yearsgo by, the fitness levels might be an issue.”

What about Karnataka’s Krishnappa Gowtham?“He is good but I don’t think good enough for Test crick-

et,” was Siva’s honest assessment.“We need a new set of good spinners (all types) at the India

A level, who should be ready in next three years. Rahul Chaharis very young but again, he is more of a white-ball bowler. ShahbazNadeem is 30 plus and Yuzvendra Chahal is in his late 20s,” headded with a note of caution.

Another former Test off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan believesthat Ashwin’s problem is not knowing at times what is his wick-et-taking delivery.

“Ashwin is a class bowler but with so much variations, heat times doesn’t know what is his wicket-taking delivery. AboutJalaj, I don’t think he is a specialist off-spinner. He is more of anall-rounder.”

Former wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta felt that various stateteams, on the junior cricket set-up, do not put emphasis on cre-ating a talent pool.

“We had a phase where we wanted only wrist spinners atthe highest level. So at the junior level (U-16 & U-19), boys start-ed feeling what’s the use of being an off-spinner. But I agree withHarbhajan that Wakhare or Jalaj could be tried in future.” PTI

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