UNDER PRESSURE FROM STATES, CENTRE CONSIDERING EXTENSION OF LOCKDOWN

The Centre indicated on Tuesday that it was in no hurry to lift the

nationwide lockdown on April 15, after several state governments came out in

favour of an extension. The Union government and states are expected to have

a coordinated view on the matter, according to officials.

Many state governments have told the Centre they would not be able to handle

more pressure on health facilities if "outsiders" transported Covid-19 into

new areas.

The government is assessing the situation and a decision would be based on

the number of cases and the level of infection spread by Friday.

In what looked like a sign for things to come, Indian Railway Catering and

Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the listed arm of the Indian Railways,

cancelled two Tejas trains and Kashi Mahakal Express till April 30. Even as

the operations of passenger trains were stopped from March 22, the national

transporter later allowed bookings for train tickets starting April 15.

In yet another signal that the government may look at an extension of the

lockdown, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu had said in a statement earlier in

the day, ''let's live with the hardship a little longer for a better

tomorrow''.

However, health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal during a press briefing

on Tuesday refused to give anything away on the lockdown issue. He only said

social distancing worked like a "social vaccine" in managing Covid-19.

"Whenever a decision is taken, it will be informed," he said.

A meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with leaders of opposition parties

is due today.

The Centre signalled that while it was sympathetic to the pain of factories,

information-technology installations, micro, small, and medium enterprises

(MSMEs), and other entities that wanted the lockdown to end, it was state

governments that were piling on the pressure to extend it.

INDIA ALLOWS EXPORT OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE TO US

Against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump warning of retaliation,

India has allowed the export of a drug considered vital for the treatment of

Covid.

The government on Tuesday said it would allow the US to import from India

previously contracted shipments of the drug.

Trump followed up his request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow

export of HCQ by warning India that the US may retaliate if it did not

export the drug despite his personal request, saying he would be surprised

in case of a negative outcome as New Delhi has good relations with

Washington.

India put on a brave front on its decision to reverse the export ban on HCQ

and paracetamol as well as a second decision taken on Monday to lift a

one-month ban on 13 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). It said the

decision to recommence exports of 13 APIs was based on a comfortable stock

position. HCQ and paracetamol were shifted from the restricted to the

licensed list (meaning case-by-case clearance) after balancing the domestic

stock position with India's obligation to supply it to nations badly

affected by the pandemic, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

Not just Trump but several world leaders in phone calls to Modi had

requested India for reconsideration, especially on releasing shipments

previously contracted by US companies.

The MEA also indicated that apart from fulfilling previous contract

obligations and meeting personal requests from world leaders, India will

accord top priority to sending paracetamol and HCQ to neighbouring countries

that are "dependent on Indian capabilities".

Ipca Laboratories and Zydus Cadila are ramping up production capacity to not

just meet an immediate demand from the US, EU and other countries for around

150 million tablets, but also to cater to an order for around 100 million

tablets from the Indian government in the wake of the COVID-19 emergency.

A spokesperson for Zydus Cadila said the company has, at the moment, ramped

up production of its hydroxychloroquine to 20-30 metric tonnes a month from

three tonnes previously to meet the higher requirement. It will scale up the

capacity further to about 40-50 metric tonnes per month "if need arises".

SONIA GANDHI WRITES TO PM, OFFERS 5 SUGGESTIONS

Supporting the government decision to cut salaries of MPs by 30 per cent,

Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday wrote a letter to Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

"Austerity measures which can be used to divert much-needed funds to the

fight against Covid-19 are the need of the hour. In this spirit, I am

writing to offer five concrete suggestions," she wrote.

"Impose a complete ban on media advertisements - television, print and

online - by the Government and Public Sectors Undertakings for two years and

issue only Covid-19 related advisories." Sonia said the Central Government

currently spends an average of Rs 1,250 crores per year on media

advertisements.

Second, she said, suspend the Rs 20,000 crore 'Central Vista' beautification

and construction project forthwith. "Such an outlay seems self-indulgent at

this time to say the least. There is no urgent requirement that cannot be

postponed until this crisis is contained.

Congress chief also said the PM should order a proportionate reduction of 30

per cent in the expenditure budget (other than salaries, pensions and

central sector schemes) for the Government of India as well. This would save

the government Rs 2.5 lakh crores per year approximately. "Money saved can

then be allocated towards establishing an economic safety net for migrant

workers, labourers, farmers, MSMEs and those in the unorganised sector,

Gandhi suggested.

She said all foreign visits, including that of the President, the Prime

Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, State Ministers and Bureaucrats

must be put on hold in a similar fashion with exceptions in case of special

emergency. This, she said, would bring money as Rs 393 crores were spent for

just the Prime Minister and Union Cabinet's trips in the last five years.

Lastly, she asked all the money of PM Cares' fund should be transferred to

the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund for transparency and efficient use.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 5,351 (+573) / 14,31,706 (+84,732)

Total Deaths 160 (+27) / 82,080 (+7,378)

Total Recovered 468 (+86) / 3,02,150 (+23,452)

Active Cases 4,723 (+460) / 10,47,476 (+53,902)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 47,894 (+645)

Top 5 impacted nations so far: (Country / Total No of cases / Deaths)

USA 4,00,412 / 12,854

Spain 1,41,942 / 14,045

Italy 1,35,586 / 17,127

France 1,09,069 / 10,328

Germany 1,07,663 / 2,016

Top 10 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

MAHARASHTRA 1018 / 64

TAMIL NADU 690 / 7

DELHI 576 / 9

TELANGANA 404 / 11

RAJASTHAN 343 / 2

KERALA 336 / 2

UTTAR PRADESH 332 / 3

ANDHRA PRADESH 314 / 3

MADHYA PRADESH 290 / 21

GUJARAT 175 / 14

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

TRUMP SLAMS W.H.O., SETS STAGE FOR UNSC MEET TOMORROW

After US President Donald Trump virtually blamed the WHO for playing the

Chinese side on the coronavirus pandemic, heat will now mount on Beijing at

an informal discussion on the virus outbreak in the UN Security Council on

Thursday.

"The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United

States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look.

Fortunately, I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China

early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation," Donald Trump

tweeted on Tuesday. It is not what prompted the outburst but as one Indian

analyst put it, Trump had hit the nail on its head.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected to the post

after China backed him in the May 2017 election as he defeated US-backed Dr

David Nabarro, who was the candidate of the UK. Despite the coronavirus

being detected in Wuhan in China as early as November 17, 2019, the WHO

categorised Covid 19 outbreak as a pandemic on 12 March 2020 when it had

crossed the borders and created havoc in Europe. By then, the virus had

already killed 1,000 people in the european region.

RUSSIA READY TO START TESTING CORONAVIRUS VACCINES ON HUMANS IN JUNE

The head of a top Russian research centre told President Vladimir Putin on

Tuesday that his lab was ready to start human trials of experimental

coronavirus vaccines in June.

Rinat Maksyutov, head of the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Centre,

said his facility proposed first-phase clinical trials of three vaccines

from June 29, on 180 volunteers.

Maksyutov was speaking during a video-link meeting between Putin and the

heads of top research centres. "Groups of volunteers have already been

formed," he told Putin, adding that a lot of people wanted to take part in

the trials.

CORONAVIRUS WARSHIP ROW: ACTING US NAVY SECRETARY RESIGNS

The acting secretary of the US Navy has resigned amid uproar over his

handling of a coronavirus outbreak on an aircraft carrier. Thomas Modly

fired the USS Theodore Roosevelt's captain after he pleaded for help in a

letter leaked to media.

Modly apologised on Monday after it emerged he had called Captain Brett

Crozier's actions "naive" and "stupid".

The secretary's exit comes a day after US President Donald Trump signalled

he might get involved in the dispute.

Defence secretary Mark Esper said Mr Modly had "resigned of his own accord".

THE REST

========

KERALA TASK FORCE SPELLS OUT PLAN

A task force of experts constituted by the Kerala government has recommended

district-wise, phase-by-phase relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown measures

post April 14, lasting till after middle of May, while keeping a close eye

on the number of new infections in the state.

The 17-member task force headed by former chief secretary K M Abraham, that

submitted the report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Monday evening, said

large-scale movement of people across international and state boundaries

should not be considered till the situation was "under control in every

state".

Calling for a withdrawal strategy "calibrated to ensure that the case load

is always kept below the (surge) capacity of the healthcare system'', the

panel laid out the phases in which relaxation could be done post the

lockdown.

with the district administration monitoring movement, and health and police

departments the borders.

CENTRE ANNOUNCES RS 50-LAKH INSURANCE COVER FOR MEDICAL WORKERS

The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said medical professionals losing lives

due to coronavirus or while treating such patients will be covered under the

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance scheme.

Under the scheme, 22.12 lakh public health care providers and community

health workers will get an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh.

"The insurance cover will also include private hospital staff, retired

staff, volunteers, contract workers, daily wagers and even outsourced staff

hired by the central and state governments and autonomous healthcare

institutions," the ministry said.

PUNJAB MINISTER EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO FRONTLINE WORKERS

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal reached the Civil Hospital in

Bhatinda Monday morning and expressed gratitude to medical and paramedical

staff who are engaged in fight against Covid. To appreciate their efforts

and services in these testing times, a guard of honour was given to them by

police personnel.

Manpreet said, "The guard of honour is meant for the bravest of the brave.

We have presented it to doctors, medical and paramedical staff for their

extraordinary bravery. I think everyone in the country will follow this

practice of arranging a special guard of honour to express their

appreciation and gratefulness. This is perhaps the first-ever guard of

honour in the country meant exclusively for medical and paramedical

professionals." The Finance Minister added that he was following the

directions of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and he stood in front of

all frontline workers and first responders on behalf of the state government

as well as the entire people of the state to thank them for their

extraordinary work.

He also complimented the police personnel for their inspiring work and

appealed to residents to support them. "If a policeman tells you to sit

inside your home, please do not feel offended. Please listen to them,"

Manpreet urged residents.

Addressing sanitation workers, Manpreet said they were battling it out so

that the nation could stay safe and to help them thwart the further spread

of the coronavirus. "You too have kids at home, but you have decided to work

for the betterment of the nation. I salute you," he said.

SC REFUSES TO PASS ORDER FOR PAYMENT OF WAGES TO MIGRANT WORKERS DURING

LOCKDOWN

Maintaining that policy decisions were prerogative of the Government, the

Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to pass orders for payment of wages to

migrant workers affected by the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19

pandemic.

"We don't want to supplant the wisdom of the Government with our wisdom," a

Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde told petitioners' counsel

Prashant Bhushan during a hearing conducted via video conferencing.

"There is a dispute on facts and the best course to be adopted...How can you

say that the Government has not done anything when you have not seen the

status report filed by it?" the Bench asked Bhushan.

"We can't take a better policy decision at this stage. We don't want to

interfere with government decisions for the next 10-15 days," it said.

Asking the petitioners to respond to the government's status report, the

Bench posted the matter for further hearing on April 13.

NINE IN TEN TRUCKS IN INDIA ARE NOW OFF ROADS

The world's biggest lockdown has brought transportation of goods in the

country close to a halt, even though the government has exempted the sector

from restrictions to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Daily movement of trucks has collapsed to less than 10 per cent of normal

levels, according to All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), an umbrella

body of goods-vehicle operators representing about 10 million truckers. Road

transport accounts for about 60 per cent of freight traffic in India.

"Though the government has allowed movement of both essential and

non-essential goods, the situation is very different at the ground level,"

said Naveen Kumar Gupta, secretary general of AIMTC, the largest grouping of

transporters in India. Almost daily clarifications by the government take

time to trickle down to officials enforcing the rules, making operations

difficult, according to the organisation's president, Kultaran Singh Atwal.

One of the major problems facing truckers is loading and unloading because

of a shortage of labor, according to AIMTC. And with the lockdown shutting

highway food establishments and workshops, truckers can't get the services

they need even if they are on the road.

WHATSAPP INTRODUCES NEW LIMIT ON MESSAGE FORWARDS TO FIGHT SPREAD OF

MISINFORMATION

WhatsApp is imposing additional restriction on how frequently a message can

be shared on its platform in its latest effort to curtail the spread of

misinformation.

The Facebook -owned instant messaging service said today that any message

that has been forwarded five or more times will now face a new limit that

will prevent a user from forwarding it to more than one chat (contact) at a

time.

A spokesperson told TechCrunch that WhatsApp will roll out this change to

users worldwide today.

Today's move builds on WhatsApp's effort from last year when it limited

users from forwarding a message to more than five users at once. The

service, used by more than 2 billion users, said the move allowed it to

reduce the volume of message forwards globally by 25%.

The end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp - which the company is fighting for in

several markets - prevents it from reading the content of a message, so it

relies on metadata of a message to gauge its spread.

WhatsApp has also been testing a feature on the beta version of its Android

app that gives users the ability to quickly comb through the web with the

text or video they have received for more context. A spokesperson said the

platform plans to roll out this feature in the near future.

AUSSIES SUCKED UP TO KOHLI & CO. DUE TO IPL CASH: MICHAEL CLARKE

Australian cricketers were so keen on protecting their lucrative IPL deals

that they felt "scared" of sledging India captain Virat Kohli and his

teammates during a particular period and instead "sucked up" to them, former

skipper Michael Clarke has said.

"Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of

the game, internationally or domestically with the IPL," Clarke told Big

Sports Breakfast.

"I feel that Australian cricket, and probably every other team over a little

period, went opposite and actually sucked up to India. They were too scared

to sledge Kohli or the other Indian players because they had to play with

them in April," the World Cup winning Australian skipper said.

Clarke believes that some of Australia's ruthless on-field character got

compromised due to the IPL money.

"Name a list of 10 players and they are bidding for these Australian players

to get into their IPL team," he said. "The players were like: 'I'm not going

to sledge Kohli, I want him to pick me for Bangalore so I can make my $1

million for my six weeks'."

"I feel like that's where Australia went through that little phase where our

cricket became a little bit softer or not as hard as we're accustomed to

seeing," Clarke said about the time after the ball-tampering scandal when

when captain Steve Smith and David Warner were banned.

INDICATORS

Sensex 30,067 (+2476), Nifty 8,792 (+708), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

52,438

Nasdaq 7,887 (-26) Dow 22,654 (-26), S&P 2,659 (-4)

US$-Rs. 75.48 GBP-Rs. 92.93, Euro-Rs. 82.02, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.54, Can$-Rs.

53.81, Aus$- Rs. 46.54

GBP 0.81 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 108.88 /US$, Aus$ 1.62 /US$, Sing

1.42 /US$, Bang Taka 83.28 /US$, Can$ 1.40 /US$, Mal Ring 4.33 /US$,

Pak Re 166.52 /US$, Phil Peso 50.52 /US$, Russian Rouble 75.56 /US$, NZ$

1.67 /US$, Thai Baht 32.71 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.89 /US$, Norway NOK

10.27 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 7,320

Dollar Index 100.14 Brent Crude 32.65 BDI 604

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,650 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,294 /

4,194, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 40,370

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old

falsehoods. - Robert Heinlein

OFF TRACK

The woman came up to the red light and stopped. Then the light turned green.

She couldn't get started. To the accompaniment of a deafening roar of horns

from the cars back of her, she tried everything she knew while the light

turned yellow, red, green and back again.

Finally a cop came up to her, and as sympathetically as he could he said:

"What's the matter, lady? You're waiting for your favourite colour?"