CHANGE OF POLICY ON TESTING, HOSPITAL ADMISSIONSFacing repeated criticism, India has decided to change testing criteria forCOVID-19 to include all pneumonia cases, regardless of travel or contacthistory.In an advisory to hospitals on Friday, the government said: "No suspectedCOVID-19 patient should be turned away from any hospital and the admissionof any such patient should be notified to NCDC (National Centre for DiseaseControl) or IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) immediately.Similarly, all pneumonia patients must also be notified to NCDC or IDSP sothat they can be tested for COVID-19. Hospitals to ensure social distancingin their premises."Earlier, testing was limited to symptomatic patients with travel or contacthistory, and symptomatic health workers with contact history. As part ofsentinel surveillance, only random samples of pneumonia cases were beingtested.A senior Health Ministry official confirmed that "the testing protocol hasbeen changed today". While health officials have maintained that there is nocommunity transmission, they said the new testing protocol would provideconclusive evidence of whether or not it has happened.KAMAL NATH RESIGNS, ANOTHER CONGRESS GOVT FALLSWithin a space of just nine months, the Congress has lost power in two bigstates in the country- Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh- as a result of therebellion of its own legislators, raising questions on the factionalismwithin its state units and the inability of the national leadership toresolve such issues.On Friday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced that he wouldstep down from office at a press conference in Bhopal. The decision broughtthe curtains down on the 15-month government that Nath led after his party'svictory in November 2018.The resignation of the 22 Congress MLAs and their possible defection intothe BJP in the ensuing bypolls come in the backdrop of the departure ofJyotiraditya Scindia from the Congress. An influential leader in theGwalior-Chambal belt and instrumental in the victory of the Congress in theregion in 2018, Scindia crossed over into the BJP after he was reportedlysnubbed by Nath and Digvijaya Singh. Scindia has now wrecked vengeance onhis former party by orchestrating its fall from power. His loyalists whoresigned are all expected to join the BJP and contest the bypolls on thelotus symbol.The script that played out in Madhya Pradesh over the last two weeks waseerily familiar to the one that played in Karnataka last year.SEBI UNVEILS MEASURES TO TACKLE MARKET VOLATILITY, CURBS SHORT SELLINGThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday announcedmeasures to control volatility in stocks. Curbs on short selling, a steepincrease in margins, a 10-fold increase in penalties, and reducing theoutstanding positions available for derivatives trading are some key changesthe regulator announced.Sebi has said the short positions in the derivatives market cannot exceedthe value of the holdings of the underlying stocks or the collateralsprovided by them.Market players said the move was to discourage traders from aggressivelybuilding short positions.The market regulator and stock exchanges have been under pressure to rein inhuge fluctuations in stocks, which were causing heartburn to long-terminvestors.The changes will take effect on Monday for one month. Sebi might decide torelax some of the measures, depending on the market situation a month downthe line.Sebi has said the robustness of the risk management frameworks has helped inthe smooth functioning of the markets.In recent weeks, many global markets have taken measures such as prohibitingshort selling, while some have gone to the extent of shutting down themarkets.INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS======================OLYMPIC FLAME ARRIVES IN JAPAN AMID VIRUS CONCERNSA plane carrying the Olympic torch from Greece arrived on Friday on Japan'snorthwestern coast. The flame arrived at Japan Air Self-Defence Force'sMatsushima base and will tour the Tohoku region, in what the organizers calla "recovery flame" tour until the official kick-off ceremony in Fukushima onMarch 26.Organisers have repeatedly said the Games, set to start from July 24 tillAugust 9, will go ahead, but as the rapid spread of the virus brings thesports world to a virtual halt, fears are growing that the Olympics may bepostponed or cancelled.FDA URGES CAUTION AFTER TRUMP MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT ON MALARIA DRUGAn anti-malaria drug has been approved for use in treating coronavirussymptoms, President Donald Trump said Thursday-however, officialsimmediately cautioned that approval for widespread use was still a long wayoff.The drug Hydroxychloroquine, used on malaria and arthritis patients, will bemade available "almost immediately" to coronavirus patients with aprescription, Trump said during the administration's coronavirus task forcebriefing on Thursday.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has slashed red tape so they couldfast track the approval of the drug's new use, he added. It has had "veryencouraging early results" in tests on COVID-19, he said, adding that thecoronavirus pandemic was now a "medical war."Trump said people would be trying the drug "literally within a few days."Almost immediately, however, the FDA cautioned a more measured approach.THE REST========SINGER KANIKA KAPOOR TESTS POSITIVE, RAJE, SON DUSHYANT IN SELF-QUARANTINEFormer Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Friday confirmed that sheand her MP son Dushyant Singh are in self-quarantine after they attended adinner where singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive for coronavirus, wasalso present.The Bombay based 41-year-old singer was visiting her family in Lucknow andhad reached the city directly from London on March 10. According to localsand neighbours, the singer attended two-three parties hosted in differentparts of the city. She is also learnt to have visited a 5-star hotel duringher stay there.The singer's samples came back from KGMC in Lucknow and she was taken intoisolation where she will be given due treatment.Dushyant Singh was also part of a group of MPs from Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan who attended a breakfast meeting hosted by President Ram NathKovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan two days ago.Setting off a chain reaction with her announcement that Raje and her sonwould go into self-quarantine, more political leaders like TrinamoolCongress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien and Anupriya Patel also followed theirfootsteps as they had been in close proximity of Dushyant Singh.Kanika Kapoor has been booked for negligence.ASSAM TO PUT $2000 IN ACCOUNTS OF RESIDENTS STUCK ABROAD, STAMP THOSE COMINGINIn the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, Assam Health Minister Himanta BiswaSarma Friday announced a $2,000 monetary relief measure for those residentswho had travelled abroad from the state in the past 30 days and were now"stuck" with no way to come back home. This was among a slew of measuresannounced by the health minister.Similar to the 'stamping' exercise by Maharashtra to check the spread ofcoronavirus, Assam too will do the same to anyone who enters the state -either by rail or by air - from March 22 onward. "Anyone who enters Assam -either by rail or by air - will be stamped with the words 'Assam needssocial distancing, so I volunteer to be home quarantined upto 'date'," saidSarma. "The date will correspond to 14 days after the person entered Assam.RBI'S CONTINGENCY PLAN: KEEP IT GOING FROM A SECRET LOCATIONAs the country goes towards a self-imposed lockdown to fight the coronaviruscontagion, a crack team of 150 people, in hazmat suits, is keeping India'sfinancial system up and running since March 19 from an unknown location in acompletely quarantined environment.These 150 people, including 37 officials from critical departments of theRBI, such as debt management, reserve management and monetary operations,and third-party service providers, are now in charge of the businesscontinuity plan of the central bank, designed in a way that could helpcreate a benchmark for such exigencies in the future as well.The idea is to keep the RBI's IT infrastructure in top shape to run thepayments and settlement system uninterrupted 24x7, and run the full gamut ofRBI functions from the secured data centres, as nearly 14,000 RBI staffers,except the senior-most management, work from home.The IT infrastructure operated by the RBI is necessary not just for thebanking system to keep functioning, but also to ensure uninterruptedbusiness and retail payments, as well as the continuance of tax and otherpayments.According to the plan, the 150 personnel are divided into two teams - onethat is running the show, and the other is acting as a backup. A primarydata centre has been identified, while other centres are in standby, and thecentral bank has hired a hotel in the vicinity of the primary data centreexclusively to accommodate these people. The support staff of the hotel (69in all), comprising maintenance, security, kitchen, front desk, andadministration, has also been isolated within the hotel.ARMY ALSO ISSUES WORK ADVISORY FOR SOLDIERS AT HQAmid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Army issued a fresh advisory onFriday, saying 35 per cent officers and 50 per cent JCOs in its headquartershere will take turns in working from home for a week from March 23.The second group of officers and JCOs will proceed on home quarantine onMarch 30.Army Chief reviewed the force's preparation to contain COVID-19 with seniorfunctionaries at the Headquarters."Intermixing of groups has to be avoided. It shall be ensured that personnelare available on telephone and electronic means at all times for exigenciesof work," the Army said.It has also deferred postings of all personnel, while leave of personnelalready on leave have been extended till April 15 at the discretion ofcompetent authority.MANY AMONG INDIA INC RULE OUT CUT IN JOBS AND SALARIESSeveral conglomerates promised on Friday they would not cut salaries oftheir staff and were not considering layoffs in the wake of the coronaviruspandemic, which threatens to push the global economy into recession, leavingmillions out of work."I will cut my salary to zero before a single employee is laid off," RajivBajaj, managing director and chief executive officer of Bajaj Auto, said ina TV interview. The Aditya Birla group, the Vedanta group, and the Essargroup also promised not to cut any jobs or salaries of their staff.Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the group companies would ensurefull payment to temporary workers and daily wage earners working in itsoffices and sites in India for March and April. They would get remunerationeven if these workers were not able to work due to either quarantinemeasures, site closures, plant shutdowns, or other reasons, he said.The assurance from India Inc top leaders came after IndiGo, the country'slargest airline, announced hefty pay cuts for the senior management, whilethe Apollo Tyres promoters, Onkar Kanwar and Neeraj Kanwar, announced a 25per cent cut in their remuneration. GoAir has already sent 80 of its expatstaff home.A Mahindra spokesperson said a pay cut by promoters and CEOs will certainlybe considered, if the situation warrants.H M Bangur, managing director, Shree Cement, said that in the trying timeslike these, business could take a back seat and the safety and lives ofpeople were of utmost importance. "We have taken various steps for thesafety of employees. It is not right to talk about business, profit andloss, revenue in times like these. I am not saying that the focus onbusiness will not be there, but it will become important as the Covid-19threat recedes," he said.AIRLINES MAY GROUND 68% PLANES AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, SAYS GOVTIndian airlines will ground 68 per cent of aircraft over the next two monthsbecause of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), according to acalculation by the government. The firms currently have 633 aircraft and thegovernment said they would operate only 200 of these.This projection of the Ministry of Civil Aviation forms the basis of arelief package for the aviation sector, which has been the worst hit byCOVID-19. The government has planned a host of measures as part of therelief package, including tax breaks on jet fuel, waiver of air navigationcharges and parking charges at airports and soft loans at reduced interestrates to increase liquidity of airlines.SHEENA BORA MURDER: PETER MUKERJEA RELEASED FROM MUMBAI JAILSheena Bora murder case accused Peter Mukerjea on Friday walked out of theArthur Road prison here after spending over four years behind bars.The release came after the six-week stay on the Bombay High Court ordergranting the former media baron bail in the murder case ended on Thursdaywith the CBI not moving an appeal before the Supreme Court.That development had removed a major hurdle in the path of Mukerjeas releaseover four years after he was arrested in the case.INDICATORSSensex 29,916 (+1628), Nifty 8,745 (+482), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores)57,532Nasdaq 6,880 (-271) Dow 19,174 (-913), S&P 2,305 (-104)US$-Rs. 74.51 GBP-Rs. 87.11, Euro-Rs. 79.83, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.28, Can$-Rs.51.94, Aus$- Rs. 43.60GBP 0.85 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 110.53 /US$, Aus$ 1.70 /US$, Sing1.44 /US$, Bang Taka 83.18 /US$, Can$ 1.43 /US$, Mal Ring 4.39 /US$,Pak Re 158.27 /US$, Phil Peso 51.15 /US$, Russian Rouble 79.08 /US$, NZ$1.73 /US$, Thai Baht 32.54 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.09 /US$, Norway NOK11.32 /US$Bitcoin - USD 6,344Dollar Index 103.18 Brent Crude 26.96 BDI 630Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,498 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,060 /3,960, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 39,900THOUGHT FOR THE DAYThe years teach much which the days never knew. - Ralph Waldo EmersonOFF TRACKA fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic."Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in themiddle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and beginssplashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can'tswim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?"A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all his savings?"