MARKETS LOG BIGGEST YEARLY LOSS IN FY20 SINCE 2009

The domestic markets have logged their biggest yearly loss since 2008-09 -

when they had declined 36 per cent on account of the global financial crisis

- with the Nifty dropping 26 per cent in FY20. The mid- and small-cap

indices, focused on the broader market, declined as much as 45 per cent.

The rupee weakened over 8 per cent against the US dollar during the year,

amid Rs 55,000-crore sell-off in March.

Unlike 2008-09, when the losses were spread across many months, the bulk of

the market fall in FY20 took place in March because of the spread of the

coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent halt in economic activity.

A slump in demand saw Brent crude prices drop 66 per cent to an 18-year low

to below $22 a barrel during the year. Indian equities underperformed major

markets like the US, China, South Korea, and Japan.

CORONAVIRUS: ACROSS NATION, RACE TO TRACE CONTACTS OF TABLIGH MEETING

As many as 20 states and Union Territories are scrambling to identify,

quarantine and test all those who attended a gathering of almost 4,000

people at Markaz Nizamuddin, the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat in New

Delhi, in the middle of March.

Cases are showing up in different states, with Tamil Nadu announcing that 50

of the 57 COVID-19 positive cases Tuesday were of those who participated in

the congregation. A day earlier, Telangana said five who died and tested

positive for COVID-19 were present at the event.

The movement of people, including that of foreign nationals from Indonesia,

Thailand, Malaysia and other countries, from Delhi to other states after the

gathering, has presented a complex contact tracing task before the health

and law enforcement authorities.

Delhi evacuated 1,548 people over the last three days, and with 18 from the

area testing positive, the area was put under a strict lockdown.

Here's the complete timeline of how the congregation defied government

lockdown orders for the religious gathering.

March 13: Around 4000 people gather at the Nizamuddin Markaz as part of a

religious event.

March 16: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announces a ban on religious,

social, political gatherings of more than 50 people in Delhi till March 31.

March 20: 10 Indonesian nationals who were a part of the gathering in Delhi

test positive in Telangana.

March 22: PM Narendra Modi's Janta Curfew is observed across India and all

public gatherings are barred for one day.

March 23: Around 1500 people leave the Markaz.

March 24: PM Modi announces a countrywide lockdown for 21 days. All public

gatherings, all non-essential movements outside residences banned. Only

essential services allowed to function. Nizamuddin Police asks people who

are left at the Markaz to leave the area.

March 25: Around 1,000 people defy lockdown orders and remain at the Markaz.

A medical team visits the area and suspected cases are isolated in a hall

within the building. Jamaat officials seek SDM's permission to vacate.

March 26: An Indian preacher who was part of the gathering tests positive

for coronavirus and dies in Srinagar. Meanwhile, SDM visits the Markaz and

calls the Jamaat officials for a meeting with the District Magistrate.

According to Delhi Police, two notices were sent to the mosque committee,

one on March 23 and the other on March 28, but they failed to act.

Markaz Nizamuddin has said it has not violated any provision of the law and

had requested the authorities several times for people stranded at the

premises.

The Markaz is the international headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat where

hundreds of people are always present and depart to different parts of the

country for missionary work.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that his government had written to the L-G,

requesting an FIR be registered against the organisers. He also said action

will be taken against any officer who is found to have not followed orders

on limiting gatherings and the lockdown seriously.

CORONAVIRUS INFECTION PROBABILITY IS LOW IN INDIA: ICMR

Even as a Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the Capital has emerged as a

common link between many COVID-19 positive cases, the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday that the "probability" of infection

in India was still "very low" as compared to the US, now the global hotspot

of the outbreak.

Dr R R Gangakhedkar, head of the department of epidemiology and infectious

diseases, ICMR, said there were many differences between the outbreaks in

India and the US.

Responding to a question on whether India should change the guidelines on

use of face masks, he said: "You need to understand, where risk of exposure

is more, you need masks. You wear a mask so that you do not touch your face

or nose. There is a hell-and-heaven difference in the outbreak here and in

America. My probability of infection is very low, that is why we are saying

only a person who has symptoms should wear masks. If you make a habit of not

touching your face, there is no need to fear. This depends on the risk of

exposure."

At 1,87,347 cases and 3,860 deaths, the US is now the worst hit country,

overtaking both China (82,241 cases) and Italy (1,01,739 cases). This comes

amid reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in

the US, which had so far said only people who are sick should wear masks, is

considering changing the guidance.

In India, officials have said the rate of increase in cases slowed down

after the nationwide lockdown began from March 24 midnight.

"We request people that not everyone needs to wear masks. There are clear

guidelines on when a mask should be worn. If you are not feeling well and

want to go to a hospital, you should definitely wear a mask. Our primary

focus is on social distancing. There are reports of homemade masks, we are

examining the matter," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry,

emphasising that masks are a "scarce" commodity.

Till last week, hospitals across the country had a total stock of 11.95 lakh

N95 masks. An additional 5 lakh masks were distributed in the last two days,

and another 1.40 lakh on Tuesday. Another 10 lakh masks will be part of the

PPE kits being sourced from Singapore.

MIGRANTS CRISIS PINNED ON FAKE NEWS

Accepting the Centre's submission that mass movement of migrant workers

during the lockdown was the result of "panic created by fake news" the

Supreme Court Tuesday directed the media to "refer to and publish the

official version" of the developments.

Underlining that "we do not intend to interfere with the free discussion

about the pandemic", the bench of Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and L

Nageswara Rao said "we expect the media (print, electronic or social) to

maintain a strong sense of responsibility and ensure that unverified news

capable of causing panic is not disseminated".

"The migration of large number of labourers working in the cities was

triggered by panic created by fake news that the lockdown would continue for

more than three months. Such panic-driven migration has caused untold

suffering to those who believed and acted on such news. In fact, some have

lost their lives in the process. It is therefore not possible for us to

overlook this menace of fake news either by electronic, print or social

media," the bench said.

It asked the Centre to make active within 24 hours "a daily bulletin.

through all media avenues including social media and forums to clear the

doubts of people as submitted by the Solicitor General of India".

The Supreme Court said Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005

provides for punishment to a person who makes or circulates a false alarm or

warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic and

that such person shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one

year or with fine.

The bench also quoted WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

saying "we are not just fighting an epidemic; we are fighting an infodemic.

Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as

dangerous".

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE) at 0930 IST

(Indian data from https://www.covid19india.org/ and World Data from

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 1657 (+310) / 858,892 (+56,581)

Total Deaths 50 (+6) / 42,158 (+3,839)

Total Recovered 150 (+12) / 178,100 (+13,841)

Active Cases 1457 (+292) / 638,634 (+45,776)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 32,898 (+1,648)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

DONALD TRUMP WARNS US HEADED FOR 'VERY, VERY PAINFUL TWO WEEKS'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned of a "very painful" two weeks as

the United States wrestles with a coronavirus surge that the White House

warns could kill as many as 240,000 Americans. "I want every American to be

prepared for the hard days that lie ahead," he said.

Top health experts said that the decision to maintain strict social

distancing was the only way to stop the easily transmitted virus, even if

this has caused massive disruption to the economy with three quarters of

Americans under some form of lockdown.

"There's no magic vaccine or therapy. It's just behaviors, each of our

behaviors translating into something that changes the course of this viral

pandemic over the next 30 days," Deborah Birx, coronavirus response

coordinator at the White House, said. Birx displayed a chart at the press

conference charting a range of 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the United

States, when current efforts at mitigation are taken into account.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world faces the

most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic

threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession "that

probably has no parallel in the recent past."

There is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic

impact will contribute to "enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and

enhanced conflict," the U.N. chief said at the launch of a report on the

socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19-on Tuesday.

AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, G-20 TRADE CHIEFS PLEDGE TO KEEP GLOBAL SUPPLY

CHAINS OPEN

Trade chiefs of Group of 20 nations have promised to "guard against

profiteering and unjustified price increases" as they attempt delicate

balancing between catering to national interests and keeping open the global

supply lines of medical equipment and medicines.

The need for such balancing was reflected in a short-lived controversy in

India over the export of medical protective equipment to Serbia. Netizens

questioned the need to sell 35 lakhs pairs of sterile latex surgical gloves

to Serbia when doctors in India were making video-posts addressed to the

prime minister to highlight the shortage of personal protective equipment to

frontline health workers.

Russia has come under fire for the opposite reason - for limiting shipments

of its grain abroad.

The sentiment at the virtual meeting of commerce ministers was to work

together to deliver a non-discriminatory and stable trade and investment

environment and to keep the markets open.

USS AIRCRAFT CARRIER CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF SAILORS OVER CORONAVIRUS

OUTBREAK

The captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sent an urgent

memo to the Navy on Monday asking for help in addressing the spread of the

coronavirus among his ship's crew. Captain Brett Crozier wrote that

"[d]ecisive action is required now" to comply with Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and "prevent tragic outcomes."

Crozier suggested most of the 4,000 crew members should be removed from the

ship and put into 14-day individual quarantines, in keeping with the CDC's

recommended guidelines for preventing infection. Ten percent would stay

onboard to sanitize the carrier and run the reactor, which he called a

"necessary risk." In peacetime, he argued it was the right thing to do. "We

are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," he wrote. "If we do not act

now, we are failing to take care of our most trusted asset - our Sailors."

THE REST

========

IMRAN KHAN SAYS PM MODI APOLOGIZED FOR LOCKDOWN, PAK MEDIA CORRECTS HIM

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his recent address to his nation,

audaciously berated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for imposing a 21-day

pan-India lockdown in order to stem the growth the virus. He said PM Modi

"apologised for announcing lockdown without any preparations."

The Pakistan PMO also put this out on Twitter. "We can see the consequences

of India's hasty decision of imposing a complete lockdown. Their government

had to apologise for their unplanned decision .We must learn and fight this

pandemic with wisdom and not in haste," Pakistan PMO wrote the

micro-blogging site.

Many in Pakistan media retorted that PM Modi did apologise in his monthly

radio address - 'Mann Ki Baat' - but for the inconvenience and hardships it

has caused to people. In fact, PM Modi had said a lockdown was inevitable in

the face of the rapid increase of the number of coronavirus cases.

MASSIIVE EXERCISE TO TRACE CONTACTS OF DELHI CLUSTER

In a massive attempt at contact tracing, the Railways is helping states

track down movements of those who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat

congregation in Delhi in the middle of March and later tested positive for

COVID-19.

Armed with a list of those at the congregation who tested positive for

coronavirus, authorities are looking at passenger lists of at least three

trains that set off from Hazrat Nizamuddin station in Delhi between March 14

and 19 - the Duronto Express to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, the Grand Trunk

Express to Chennai, and the Tamil Nadu Express to Chennai.

Andhra Pradesh has identified 711 persons who were at the gathering - 87 of

these are yet to be traced. From Telangana, at least 400 persons

participated in the meeting.

In Tamil Nadu, officials said 1,031 people attended the congregation, but

are yet to trace 300.

Karnataka police claimed that as many as 300 people linked to the Jamaat

from the state participated in the event and efforts were on to put everyone

in quarantine.

In Kerala, officials said about 59 persons had attended the programme in

Delhi, and the process of identification was still on.

Uttar Pradesh government said 157 persons from 19 districts attended the

congregation, six of whom have tested positive for Coronavirus. On Tuesday,

a police team checked the residence of all 157 persons to find that just

nine had returned so far.

While both Assam and Uttarakhand said they had records of the persons who

attended the programme in Delhi, they were relieved that most or all of them

continued to remain in Delhi.

In West Bengal, the home and the health departments were still tracking such

people. As many as 73 persons from the state are said to have attended the

event.

While Jharkhand is still trying to ascertain the number of persons who went

from the state to Delhi for the congregation, Bihar Additional Chief

Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani said the state did not have any data so far.

In Maharashtra too, state Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said, the

state did not have a precise number of people who went to the Delhi Markaz

in March.

The J-K administration prepared a list of 800 persons, which included those

who were in contact with persons present in the gatherings.

HIV DRUGS JUNKED: MALARIA DRUG, ANTIBIOTIC COMBO NOW ON TREATMENT LIST

Anti-HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir are no longer India's drugs of choice

against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Instead, a combination of

hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), used for treatment of auto-immune disorders, and

the antibitoic azithromycin has now been recommended for use in severe

patients in new clinical management guidelines issued late on Tuesday night.

The earlier guidelines, dated March 17, which included use of

Ritonavir-Lopinavir in high risk patients, now stand repealed.

Azithromycin is a commonly used antibiotic, while HCQ is used in treatment

of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is also used in

treating malaria. The azithromycin-hydroxychloroquine combination is part of

an upcoming multi-country trial anchored by the WHO to examine the efficacy

of various drug combinations against COVID-19.

PPF, SENIOR CITIZENS SAVINGS SEE DEEP CUT IN INTEREST RATES

In a move that signals the transmission of lower rates that will end up

pinching small savers especially amid the looming economic distress, the

government has decided to cut small savings interest rates sharply by 70-140

basis points for the April-June quarter.

The interest rate for Senior Citizens Savings Scheme has been slashed to 7.4

per cent from 8.6 per cent, while that for National Savings Certificate has

been cut to 6.8 per cent from 7.9 per cent. Public Provident Fund will now

fetch 7.1 per cent interest as against 7.9 per cent earlier. Kisan Vikas

Patra will fetch 6.9 per cent interest (maturity in 124 months) from 7.6 per

cent (maturity in 113 months) earlier. Interest rate for Sukanya Samriddhi

Scheme has been reduced to 7.6 per cent from 8.4 per cent.

This is the first sharp cut in small savings rates after a 10 basis points

cut in July-September last year. On the other hand, the RBI has cut repo

rate by 210 basis points over the last one year to 4.4 per cent, the lowest

in at least 20 years.

CENTRE EXTENDS VALIDITY OF EXPIRED DRIVING LICENCES, OTHER DOCUMENTS

With people facing issues over expiry of motor driving licences or vehicle

licences in the wake of the lockdown, the Centre on Tuesday extended its

validity till June 30.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the validity of

documents like driving licences, permits and registration that expired since

February 1.

In an advisory to all states and Union Territories, the Ministry has asked

them to treat such documents as valid till June 30.

INDICATORS

Sensex 29,468 (+1028), Nifty 8,597 (+317), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

39,637

Nasdaq 7,700 (-74) Dow 21,917 (-410), S&P 2,585 (-42)

US$-Rs. 74.74 GBP-Rs. 92.47, Euro-Rs. 82.21, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.34, Can$-Rs.

52.73, Aus$- Rs. 45.89

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.90 /US$, Jap.Yen 108.10 /US$, Aus$ 1.62 /US$, Sing

1.42 /US$, Bang Taka 83.62 /US$, Can$ 1.41 /US$, Mal Ring 4.31 /US$,

Pak Re 165.67 /US$, Phil Peso 50.83 /US$, Russian Rouble 78.69 /US$, NZ$

1.67 /US$, Thai Baht 32.67 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.74 /US$, Norway NOK

10.46 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 6,455

Dollar Index 99.11 Brent Crude 22.74 BDI 548

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,584 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,174 /

4,074, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 40,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your

eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just

before you. - RL Stevenson

OFF TRACK

I was at the airport recently to pick up my mother-in-law. She's getting a

little up there. She's at the age where she doesn't remember things too

well. So when I saw her I handed her a return ticket and said, "Thanks for

coming. Have a nice flight!"