CENTRE STEPS IN: SENDS TEAMS TO MONITOR DISTRICTS, WITH MANDATE TO ISSUE

ORDERS

A day after it directed Kerala to rectify its lockdown relaxations saying

some of the concessions diluted national guidelines, the Centre singled out

more states, putting under strain the common exit strategy that the Prime

Minister had urged states to help frame in the country's efforts against

COVID-19.

On Monday, the Centre informed West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan - all

ruled by the Opposition - and Madhya Pradesh that lockdown measures were

being routinely flouted in their districts, and it was sending six

newly-constituted Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) for on-the-spot

assessment of the situation there.

The IMCTs, which will submit a report to the Centre, have been authorised to

issue necessary directions to state authorities for redressal. Headed by

Additional Secretary-rank officers from the Centre, the IMCTs will start the

inspection visits within three days of the order.

TMC-ruled West Bengal's initial response was frosty, questioning the

deployment of the IMCTs and suggesting that it "might not be consistent with

the spirit of federalism".

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, taking to Twitter, said: "We welcome all

constructive support & suggestions, especially from the Central Govt in

negating the #Covid19 crisis. However, the basis on which Centre is

proposing to deploy IMCTs in select districts across India including few in

WB under Disaster Mgmt Act 2005 is unclear. I urge both Honb'le Prime

Minister @NarendraModi Ji & Home Minister @AmitShah Ji to share the

criterion used for this. Until then I am afraid, we would not be able to

move ahead on this as without valid reasons this might not be consistent

with the spirit of federalism."

Ever since the Prime Minister's call for a Janata Curfew on March 22, states

have been following the Centre's line on battling the outbreak. There has

hardly been any public criticism of the Centre's decisions - there were

suggestions though that states were taken by surprise when the first

national lockdown was announced on March 24. All political parties have

broadly agreed with the contours of the Centre's plan to fight the pandemic.

On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in identical letters to West

Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, identified districts

which are problem areas. The justification for constitution of IMCTs is

based largely on general observations such as "incidents of violence on

frontline healthcare professionals; complete violation of social distancing

norms outside banks, PDS shops etc, and in market places; movement of

private and commercial vehicles with passengers in urban areas, and so on".

On Mamata Banerjee's tweets, Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary in

MHA, said: "The purpose of constitution of the teams is to provide support

and assistance to the states in their endeavour to fight COVID-19. The teams

have been very carefully constituted so that support can be provided from

health administrative and disaster management aspects. I am sure the states

will benefit from it. The order mentions SC (Supreme Court) directions but

the orders have been issued under Section 35 of the Disaster Management

Act."

While it said that about 80 per cent of novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

patients are asymptomatic, the ICMR maintained on Monday that there is no

need to change the testing protocol.

According to the government's strategy for RT-PCR tests, only symptomatic

people with travel or contact history, healthcare workers who develop

symptoms while caring for COVID-19 patients, all hospitalised patients with

Severe Acute Respiratory Illness, asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts

of a confirmed case, and all patients with symptomatic influenza-like

illness are tested.

The average doubling time of number of those found positively infected has

increased to 7.5 days, from 3.4 days a week before the lockdown.

CHINA SAYS NEW FDI NORMS VIOLATE WTO; OFFICIALS SAY OTHERS PUT FIREWALLS TOO

Two days after the government tweaked its FDI policy to make its approval

mandatory for firms in neighbouring countries to invest in Indian companies,

China claimed Monday that this violates the WTO's "principle of

non-discrimination". And hoped that India will "revise" its decision.

The government's move is seen as aimed at checking "opportunistic takeovers"

of Indian firms hit by the ongoing Covid outbreak and lockdown.

"The impact of the policy on Chinese investors is clear. Chinese investment

has driven the development of India's industries, such as mobile phone,

household electrical appliances, infrastructure and automobile, creating a

large number of jobs in India. Chinese enterprises actively made donations

to help India fight COVID-19 epidemic," said spokesperson for the Chinese

Embassy in India Ji Rong

According to the amendments to India's consolidated FDI Policy, 2017, while

non-resident entities can continue to invest in India, except in prohibited

sectors or activities, firms in neighbouring countries will have to seek

approval.

Over the last two months, countries like Germany, Australia and Spain have

also tightened their foreign investment policies to prevent hostile

takeovers by overseas investors.

But, unlike in other cases, the new norms do not apply to all countries but

just those which share borders with India.

INDIAN ENVOY'S TWEET AMID BACKLASH OVER "ISLAMOPHOBIC" POSTS IN INDIA

India and UAE share the values of non-discrimination on any grounds, the

Indian ambassador to the country Pavan Kapoor tweeted on Monday amid growing

resentment in the Arab world over reports of Muslims being targeted in India

over the coronavirus pandemic.

His tweets come after a backlash in Arab countries, including UAE and

Kuwait, over instances of Muslims being targeted in India amid the COVID-19

crisis.

Several Twitter users in Arab nations, including a member of UAE's royal

family have expressed their dismay at the vilification of Muslims in India

since Tablighi Jamaat emerged as the biggest cluster of coronavirus cases in

the country.

An old tweet misogynist tweet by Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, which

dates back to 2015, was highlighted by several prominent Arab nationals who

considered it evidence of targeting the Muslim community.

To calm nerves, the Indian ambassador to the UAE, Pavan Kapoor, tweeted on

Monday, "India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds.

Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian

nationals in the UAE should always remember this."

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 18,539 (+1,235) / 24,81,287 (+73,948)

Total Deaths 592 (+33)/ 1,70,436 (+5,367)

Total Recovered 3,273 (+419) / 6,46,854 (+29,831)

Active Cases 14,674 (+783) / 16,63,997 (+38,750)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 56,766 (+2,548)

Top 6 impacted nations so far: (Country / Total No of cases / Deaths)

USA 7,92,759 / 42,514

Spain 2,00,210 / 20,852

Italy 1,81,228 / 24,114

France 1,55,383 / 20,265

Germany 1,47,065 / 4,862

UK 1,24,743 / 16,509

Top 15 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

Maharashtra 4,666 / 232

Delhi 2,081 / 47

Gujarat 1,939 / 71

Rajasthan 1,576 / 25

Tamil Nadu 1,520 / 17

Madhya Pradesh 1,485 / 76

Uttar Pradesh 1,184 / 18

Telangana 872 / 23

Andhra Pradesh 722 / 20

Karnataka 408 / 16

Kerala 407 / 2

Jammu and Kashmir 368 / 5

West Bengal 339 / 12

Haryana 251 / 3

Punjab 245 / 16

Bihar 113 / 2

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

OIL FUTURES CRASH INTO NEGATIVE TERRITORY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY

US crude oil futures collapsed below ZERO on Monday for the first time in

history, amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut, ending the day at a

stunning minus $37.63 a barrel as desperate traders paid to get rid of oil.

The May US WTI contract fell $55.90, or 306 per cent. Brent was down $2.51,

or 9 per cent, to settle at $25.57 a barrel. Brent crude has more storage is

available worldwide.

As billions of people around the globe stay home to slow the spread of the

novel coronavirus, physical demand for crude has dried up, creating a global

supply glut.

Traders fled from the expiring May US oil futures contract in a frenzy on

Monday with no place to put the crude, but the June WTI contract settled at

a much higher level of $20.43 a barrel.

Refiners are processing much less crude than normal, so hundreds of millions

of barrels have gushed into storage facilities worldwide. Traders have hired

vessels just to anchor them and fill them with the excess oil. A record 160

million barrels is sitting in tankers around the world.

The spread between May and June at one point widened to $60.76, the widest

in history for the two nearest monthly contracts. Investors bailed out of

the May contract ahead of expiry later on Monday because of lack of demand

for the actual oil.

EUROPE BEGINS EASING LOCKDOWN STEPS

Germany and other parts of Europe took tentative steps to ease lockdown

measures on Monday but officials warned the battle against the COVID-19

pandemic was far from over.

Some shops reopened in Germany and Denmark and parents dropped their

children off at nurseries in Norway as tight restrictions in place for weeks

were lifted in parts of the continent. But Chancellor Angela Merkel urged

Germans to stay disciplined, warning: "We stand at the beginning of the

pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods." After being

hit hard by the virus that emerged in China late last year, Europe has seen

encouraging signs in recent days, with death rates dropping in Italy, Spain,

France and Britain.

Governments around the world are mulling how and when to ease lockdowns that

have kept more than half of humanity confined to their homes.

The WWHO chief warned Monday that "the worst is yet ahead of us". "Trust

us. The worst is yet ahead of us," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus told reporters from WHO headquarters in Geneva. "Let's prevent

this tragedy. It's a virus that many people still don't understand."

In one of his starkest comparisons yet, the UN health agency chief also

alluded to the so-called Spanish flu more than a century ago, saying the

coronavirus has a "very dangerous combination ... like the 1918 flu that

killed up to 100 million people."

THE REST

========

110 ARRESTED OVER LATEST DEADLY LYNCH MOB ATTACK IN PALGHAR

Police have arrested 110 people and suspended two police officers in

connection with a brutal lynching attack that left three people dead last

week in a case apparently fueled by a rumor. The incident happened Thursday

in Palghar district of Maharashtra, but the police took action only after

videos of the lynching went viral on Sunday.

The victims include two sadhus and their driver. They were driving from

Mumbai to a funeral in Surat when a group of men in a village stopped their

car, accused them of being child abductors, and attacked them with sticks

and axes.

The villagers had formed vigilante groups after rumors circulated that organ

harvesting gangs and kidnappers were operating in the area at night.

Videos posted on social media show one of the godmen bleeding from his head

as he steps out of a building, being led by a police officer. As the mob

begins to attack the man with sticks, the police officer appears to make

little effort to save him. The attackers can then be seen dragging the man

away, beating him as he falls to the ground.

The police have said some of their officers were injured while trying to

rescue the victims.

The incident happened despite a nationwide lockdown in India since March 25

to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

AFTER CENTRE WARNS, KERALA LIMITS RELAXATIONS

Kerala Monday rolled back some of the key lockdown relaxations it had

decided to allow from April 20 in a phased manner, including the partial

opening of restaurants, non-AC barber shops and bookshops, a day after it

was warned by the Centre that they were in violation of the guidelines

issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In a letter, dated April 19 and sent to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan's office, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote: "I would urge you

to rectify the guidelines. in line with the consolidated revised guidelines

dated 15th April & 16th April 2020 without any dilution and to ensure strict

compliance of lockdown measures."

On Monday, as confusion prevailed across Kerala with people turning out in

streets and markets in large numbers, the state government discussed the MHA

letter at a high-level review meeting and decided to adhere to the Centre's

guidelines. By afternoon, the police forced shops selling non-essential

items to down shutters and clamped down on movement of vehicles.

YOGI TO GIVE FATHER'S FUNERAL A MISS

CM Yogi Adityanath's father Anand Singh Bisht passed away in Delhi's AIIMS

on Monday morning. He was 89. Bisht, a retired forest ranger, had been

admitted to hospital on March 14 for liver and kidney complications.

Yogi, who received the message about his father's demise when he was holding

a crucial meeting on Covid-19, completed it and announced later that he

won't be attending his father's funeral on Tuesday, citing the lockdown

rules and 'his commitment to 23 crore people of Uttar Pradesh facing

Covid-19 menace'. "I will visit after the lockdown is lifted," Yogi said.

Last rites will take place in the CM's native village of Panchur in Pauri

Garhwal in Uttarakhand.

TABLIGHI PREACHER URGES FOLLOWERS TO PRAY AT HOME DURING RAMZAN

Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, on Monday, urged the

followers of the organisation to pray at home in the holy month of Ramzan.

Kandhalvi, who has been booked by the Delhi Police for holding a religious

congregation here during the lockdown, said: "I request all, both in India

and abroad, to strictly follow the guidelines and instructions of the local

or national governments and till the time restrictions are in place and

please observe prayers at home. And even in this, we should not invite

people from outside," he was quoted as saying.

PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN MUMBAI ASKED TO REOPEN OPDs

After reports that a large number of patients, both with coronavirus

symptoms and other illnesses, are being made to run from one hospital to

another for admission, a task force created for critical care management of

COVID-19 patients has suggested that private hospitals open their

out-patient departments (OPDs) to treat all sorts of patients. Private

hospitals have, however, resisted the suggestion stating that they do not

have enough staff and fear the risk of shutdown if a coronavirus infected

patient is admitted.

In the last month, several private hospitals had to be declared containment

zones after staffers were infected by the virus from unsuspecting patients.

Jaslok, Shushruta, Breach Candy, Wockhardt, Bhatia, Hinduja Khar and Sai

(Chembur) hospitals had to be sealed and staff had to be quarantined.

Last week, the BMC ordered dialysis centres to screen patients suffering

from kidney failure for symptoms of COVID-19 before admission. As many

bearers of the virus show no symptoms, the dialysis centres asked all those

knocking on its doors to get tests done. Patients scrambled to get

themselves tested, only to be told that COVID-19 testing is not for

asymptomatic people, despite the BMC exempting those who need dialysis and

chemotherapy. And without the test, no hospital will admit them for

dialysis.

INDUSTRIES OPEN ON TEPID NOTE AS STATES CONTINUE WITH CURBS

On Monday, the first day of the easing of Covid-19 lockdown norms, factories

in most states did not resume work, with some deciding to continue with a

hard lockdown until its designated deadline of May 3 and companies claiming

that the requirements for reopening were far too stringent.

President of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU),

Upkar Ahuja, said there was no benefit of opening a certain sector till the

complete supply chain is permitted to operate.

Telangana on Sunday night announced that no relaxations would be given to

industry and a complete lockdown will continue till May 7.

On Monday, Tamil Nadu announced that the complete lockdown would continue

till May 3.

DELHI: 16 COLLEAGUES OF PIZZA DELIVERY MAN NEGATIVE

Days after a pizza delivery employee in South Delhi tested positive for

COVID-19, 16 of his co-workers, who he came in contact with, have tested

negative.

The administration categorised contacts as high risk and low risk. While

those he worked with were categorised as high risk, those who he delivered

food to were categorised as low risk. Only high-risk contacts have been

tested so far.

According to South Delhi District Magistrate B M Mishra, these categories

have been created by doctors. "Those who he delivered food to have not been

tested so far and will have to remain under home quarantine for 14 days," he

said. According to officials, the others will be tested if they display

symptoms of the disease.

MALLYA LOSES EXTRADITION APPEAL IN LONDON HC

Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has lost his appeal against

extradition in the London high court and could be extradited to India within

a couple of months.

Mallya could appeal the high court decision on a legal point in the Supreme

Court. He has 14 days to do that.

Handing down their judgment remotely on Monday, Lord Justice Irwin and

Justice Elizabeth Laing, said, "In our judgment, the senior district judge

was entitled to find that there was a prima facie case of fraud by false

representation and of conspiracy to defraud. Thus there is also a prima

facie case of money laundering."

INDICATORS

Sensex 31,648 (+59), Nifty 9,262 (-5), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores) 48,221

Nasdaq 8,561 (-89) Dow 23,650 (-592), S&P 2,823 (-51)

US$-Rs. 75.90 GBP-Rs. 94.55, Euro-Rs. 82.46, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.66, Can$-Rs.

53.87, Aus$- Rs. 48.24

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 107.74 /US$, Aus$ 1.57 /US$, Sing

1.42 /US$, Bang Taka 83.17 /US$, Can$ 1.40 /US$, Mal Ring 4.37 /US$,

Pak Re 163.50 /US$, Phil Peso 50.75 /US$, Russian Rouble 74.62 /US$, NZ$

1.65 /US$, Thai Baht 32.44 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.78 /US$, Norway NOK

10.39 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 7,093

Dollar Index 100.29 Brent Crude 25.39 BDI 751

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,689 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,312 /

4,212, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 41,170

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

New ideas pass through three periods: It can't be done. It probably can be

done, but it's not worth doing. I knew it was a good idea all along ! -

Arthur C. Clarke

OFF TRACK

A baby boy was just born. He looked quite normal, except that he was

laughing. All the doctors and nurses were examining the little guy in front

of his worried parents. He just kept on laughing, his tiny fists all closed

and tears rolling from his eyes.

One at a time, a pediatrician unfolded his tiny fingers to check if his hand

was all right, and guess what he found?

The birth control pill.