TRUMP'S TRIP DEMONSTRATES VALUE US PLACES ON TIES WITH INDIA: POMPEOPresident Donald Trump's just-concluded India trip demonstrated the valuethe United States placed on its ties with New Delhi, Secretary of State MikePompeo said.Trump's "first official trip to India this week demonstrates the value theUS places on the US-India partnership", Pompeo said in a tweet on Thursday,a day after the President returned from his historic two-day visit to Indiawith stops in Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi."Democratic traditions unite us, shared interests bond us, and under thePresident's leadership our partnership has and will only grow stronger,"Pompeo said as he re-tweeted the White House post with remarks by Trump."As we deepen our partnership with India, we remember that our two countrieshave always been united by shared traditions of democracy and constitutionsthat protect freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law," Trump said inthe White House post that also had four pictures of his meetings with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.GDP GROWTH SLIDES TO NEARLY 7-YEAR LOW OF 4.7%Dragged down by a contraction in manufacturing, India's GDP growth slippedto a nearly seven-year low of 4.7 per cent in the third quarter(October-December) 2019, data released by National Statistical Office (NSO)Friday showed.GDP growth, in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19, was recorded at 5.6 percent.The GDP growth for the December quarter is the lowest since January-March of2012-13, when it stood at 4.3 per cent.As per the NSO, the gross value added (GVA) growth in the manufacturingsector contracted by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of this fiscal from5.2 per cent expansion a year ago. However, the farm sector GVA growth wasup at 3.5 per cent, compared to 2 per cent growth in the correspondingperiod of the previous fiscal.Construction sector GVA growth also slowed to 0.3 per cent from 6.6 per centexpansion earlier. Mining sector growth came in at 3.2 per cent, as againsta contraction of 4.4 per cent a year ago. Electricity, gas, water supply andother utility services segment contracted by 0.7 per cent, from 9.5 per centgrowth a year ago.Similarly, trade, hotel, transport, communication and services related tobroadcasting growth declined to 5.9 per cent in the third quarter from 7.8per cent a year ago.Financial, real estate and professional services growth was up at 7.3 percent in Q3 FY2019-20 from 6.5 per cent. Public administration, defence andother services reported improvement with 9.7 per cent rise during thequarter under review, from 8.1 per cent a year earlier.Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty said the decline in economicgrowth has bottomed out.A HEARTWARMING TALE IN A GRIEVING CITY TORN APART BY THE RIOTS.On 24 February, as the worst communal violence since the 1984 Sikh riotsswept Delhi, Mohinder Singh and and his son Inderjit Singh used a Bulletmotorcycle and scooty to transport somewhere between 60 to 80 of theirMuslim neighbours to a safe location.The father and son duo say they had sensed the situation was spiralling outof control in the Hindu-dominated neighbourhood of Gokalpuri in northeastDelhi, and started moving their terrified neighbors in batches to thenearest Muslim locality of Kardampur, one kilometer away.Mohinder Singh, 53, said that his son was on the Bullet motorcycle and hewas on the scooty, and they made around 20 trips each from Gokalpuri toKardampur in one hour. When it was women and children, they took three tofour of them at a time. When it was men and boys, they took two or three ata time. For some of the boys, they tied Sikh turbans to conceal they wereMuslim."I did not see Hindu or Muslim," said Singh, who runs an electronics store."I just saw people. I saw little children. I felt like they were my childrenand that nothing should happen to them. We did this because we all shouldact humanely and help those in need. What more can I say?" he said.BLACK FRIDAY FOR MARKETS: SENSEX FALLS 1,448 POINTS, NIFTY DROPS 432 POINTSThe global rout triggered by the spread of coronavirus hit the Indianmarkets hard on Friday, with the benchmark indices suffering their worstsingle-day decline in five years. Taking a cue from the near 5 per cent fallin the Dow Jones index of the US, the domestic markets opened gap down andwitnessed selling pressure throughout the day.The Sensex dropped 1,448 points, or 3.6 per cent, to end at 38,297 - thelowest close since October 14, 2019 - while the Nifty plunged 432 points, or3.7 per cent, to close at 11,202, breaching key support levels.The rupee fell nearly 0.9 per cent to end at 72.17 against the US dollar -the lowest level for the domestic currency in seven months.All the sectoral indices of the BSE and all Sensex components, with theexception of one, ended with losses on Friday. The Sensex ended the weekwith a 7 per cent loss, its worst weekly setback since December 2009, withabout Rs 12 trillion of investor wealth being destroyed.As of Friday, more than 83,000 people, in at least 53 countries, have beeninfected by the dreaded virus. In the past few days, more cases have beenreported outside China. The unabated spread of coronavirus has forced Japanto close its schools for a month. Iran, where top officials contractedcoronavirus, cancelled Friday prayers in many cities, and Saudi Arabiabarred pilgrims from its holiest sites.Brent crude fell 12 per cent over the past week and ended the week at $50.8per barrel.AYUSHMANN KHURRANA, HANSAL MEHTA ALL PRAISE FOR ANUBHAV SINHA'Ayushmann Khurrana has called Anubhav Sinha's Thappad (starring TaapseePannu) the 'most important film of our generation'.Thappad revolves around Taapsee's character Amrita who chooses to walk outof her marriage after being slapped by her husband at a party. It is AnubhavSinha and Taapsee's second collaboration after 2018 film, Mulk.Recently,filmmaker Hansal Mehta wrote a long piece on Thappad on hiswebsite. He called it even better than Anubhav Sinha's last two films --Mulk and Article 15 and wrote, "Thappad is an even more difficultconversation to have and hence an even more difficult film to make. It isafter all about our private lives. It explores our attitudes, bares ourmindsets and strips us of all those artifices we have about gender andpatriarchy in our day to day lives."He ended his piece with an apology to all the women in his life. He wrote,"To all the women in my life. To my wife, my mother, my sister, mydaughters, my ex-wife, my girlfriends and all those that have been subjectedto my societal conditioning. I know it is late. But better late than never.Sorry. Sorry if I have let my sense of entitlement stifle your growth. Sorryif I have let my patriarchal conditioning render me insensitive to yourneeds. Sorry if I've been an a*****e. I will try to change."CHRISTCHURCH TEST GETS UNDERWAY, INDIA 194/5 at TEAOut of sorts in Wellington, Prithvi Shaw had just one net session betweenthe two Tests but made an impressive change in his technique to give Indiathe positive start.Asked to bat first again, India negotiated the rain-delayed first sessionwith 85 for the loss of just two wickets, with Shaw putting the New Zealandbowlers under pressure with a 64-ball 54.At Tea, India are at 194/5 - Shaw/54, Mayank Agarwal/7, Kohli/3, Rahane/7,Vihari/55.Cheteshwar Pujara was not out on 53INDICATORSSensex 38,297 (-1448), Nifty 11,219 (-414), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores)57,254Nasdaq 8,567 (+1) Dow 25,409 (-357), S&P 2,954 (-26)US$-Rs. 72.18 GBP-Rs. 92.73, Euro-Rs. 79.42, UAE Dhm-Rs.19.64, Can$-Rs.53.74, Aus$- Rs. 47.05GBP 0.77 /US$, Euro 0.90 /US$, Jap.Yen 108.59 /US$, Aus$ 1.53 /US$, Sing1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 83.14 /US$, Can$ 1.34 /US$, Mal Ring 4.21 /US$,Pak Re 153.65 /US$, Phil Peso 50.99 /US$, Russian Rouble 66.90 /US$, NZ$1.60 /US$, Thai Baht 31.53 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 24.26 /US$, Norway NOK 9.43/US$Bitcoin - USD 8,693Dollar Index 98.06 Brent Crude 50.52 BDI 535Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,644 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,251 /4,151, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 49,800THOUGHT FOR THE DAYWhen I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. - Lao TzuOFF TRACKA man goes to the doctor with a swollen foot. After a careful examination,the doctor gives the man a pill big enough to choke a horse."I'll be right back with some water," the doctor tells him.The doctor has been gone a while and the man loses patience. He hobbles outto the drinking fountain, forces the pill down his throat and gobbles downwater until the pill clears his throat. He hobbles back into the examiningroom.The doctor comes back with a bucket of warm water. "Ok, after the tabletdissolves, soak that leg for at least 30 minutes."