LONG WALK HOME ENDS IN TRAGEDY: GOODS TRAIN MOWS DOWN 16 MIGRANTS

Sixteen migrant workers were mowed down by a goods train in Maharashtra's

Aurangabad district in the early hours of Friday. The workers, who were

walking to Bhusawal from Jalna to board a "Shramik Special" train to return

to Madhya Pradesh, were sleeping on the railway line when the mishap

occurred between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Nanded Division.

The group from MP had been waiting to return home, much like the thousands

of migrants during the lockdown. After convincing their contractor to allow

them to leave, the group packed some rotis and chutney for the journey ahead

and, around 7 pm on Thursday, set out from Jalna. Shivbhan said they had

covered about 40 km on a narrow interior road when, at a place called

Badnapur, they spotted railway tracks and they slept on tracks, confident no

trains would be running, started walking.

As the night progressed, around 3.30 am, the exhausted group decided to rest

for the night.

Railway officers said 14 of them seemed to have slept on the sleepers, even

resting their heads on the rail, while the remaining three slept close to

the tracks. The group, they said, must have been confident in the belief

that it was safe to do so because passenger train services had been

suspended as part of the lockdown.

The motormen tried to bring the train to a halt but failed to do so, an

official said. "The loco pilot noticed some persons along the tracks. He

honked and also tried to stop the train but failed to contain the speed

before hitting those lying on the tracks," Chief Public Relations Officer of

South Central Railway Ch Rakesh said.

RAHUL GANDHI ASKS PM TO DEVOLVE POWER, TAKE STATES INTO CONFIDENCE

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday exhorted Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to devolve power and make the states partners in efforts to combat the

COVID-19 pandemic, contending that "if we keep this fight in PMO, we will

lose".

Gandhi said there will be a "calamity" if the fight against the novel

coronavirus is centralised in the prime minister's office (PMO). Addressing

a press conference through video conference, he also asked the government to

adopt transparency in its actions to tackle the coronavirus and work

together with states and take them into confidence.

His remarks came after complaints by Congress-ruled states that they were

being pushed into fiscal distress in the absence of the Centre providing

them resources to fight the pandemic.

He also called for having a migrant policy in place as also a lockdown exit

strategy in consultation with states. He said the lockdown is not an "on/off

switch", but is a transition which requires cooperation of all-the Centre,

states, district magistrates and the people of India.

Noting that the country is facing an emergency situation, the Congress

leader said the idea of injecting immediately a sum of Rs 7,500 directly

into the hands of poor is critical.

BJP HITS BACK AT RAHUL GANDHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been regularly consulting all Chief

Ministers, the BJP said, launching a scathing attack against Congress leader

Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of speaking without complete full knowledge of

issues.

Asking Rahul Gandhi to act with "wisdom and practicality" and "fight the

biggest calamity in human history under the able guidance" of Narendra Modi,

Trivedi said the Prime Minister had been regularly consulting Chief

Ministers and experts in dealing with COVID-19. "The Congress leader, who is

about to complete a half a century now, should at least have some wisdom and

practicality."

The Modi government had always been receptive to suggestions from the

Opposition, provided they were constructive and based on facts, he said.

Accusing the Opposition of repeating old accusations "devoid of truth or

sense of cooperation", Trivedi said as far as helping the poor and the needy

was concerned, the Centre had given a package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore, which

was far bigger than the one which Rahul Gandhi discussed on Friday.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 59,691 (+3,344) / 40,13,896 (+97,558)

Total Deaths 1,985 (+96) / 2,76,235 (+5,524)

Total Recovered 17,887 (+1,111) / 13,85,412 (+42,358)

Active Cases 39,819 (+2,137) / 23,52,249 (+49,676)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 48,699 (-259)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India's Neighbours)

Country / Total Cases / Deaths / Total Deaths per 1M Pop.

USA 13,21,785 / 78,615 / 238

Spain 2,60,117 / 26,299 / 562

Italy 2,17,185 / 30,201 / 500

UK 2,11,364 / 31,241 / 460

Russia 1,87,859 / 1,723 / 12

France 1,76,079 / 26,230 / 402

Germany 1,70,588 / 7,510 / 90

Brazil 1,46,894 / 10,017 / 47

Turkey 1,35,569 / 3,689 / 44

Iran 1,04,691 / 6,541 / 78

India 59,695 / 1,985 / 1.5

Pakistan 27,474 / 618 / 2.9

Bangladesh 13,134 / 206 / 1.3

Sri Lanka 835 / 9 / 0.4

Top 17 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

State/UT Confirmed Deceased

Maharashtra 19,063 / 731

Gujarat 7,403 / 449

Delhi 6,318 / 68

Tamil Nadu 6,009 / 40

Rajasthan 3,579 / 103

Madhya Pradesh 3,341 / 200

Uttar Pradesh 3,214 / 66

Andhra Pradesh 1,887 / 41

Punjab 1,731 / 29

West Bengal 1,678 / 160

Telangana 1,132 / 29

Jammu and Kashmir 823 / 9

Karnataka 753 / 30

Haryana 647 / 8

Bihar 2579 / 5

Kerala 504 / 4

Odisha 270 / 2

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

US, CHINA TRADE OFFICIALS PRESS AHEAD WITH 'PHASE 1' DEAL

Top US and Chinese trade representatives played down deep differences over

the economic wreckage of the coronavirus pandemic and said they would press

ahead with implementing their "Phase 1" trade deal after an overnight phone

call.

US President Donald Trump, critical of China's early handling of the

coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, told Fox News

Channel on Friday that he was "very torn" about whether to end the trade

deal.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer discussed the deal with Chinese

Vice Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the phone

call. The US officials said in a joint statement that both sides agreed the

obligations would be met.

China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to improve the

atmosphere for implementation of the trade deal, which calls for Beijing to

boost its purchases of American farm and manufactured goods, energy and

services by $200 billion over two years compared to a 2017 baseline.

On the call, the two sides "agreed that in spite of the current global

health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations

under the agreement in a timely manner," Lighthizer and Mnuchin said in

their statement.

UK MINISTER WARNS NO BIG CHANGES TO CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN

The British government warned the public on Friday not to expect any major

changes to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown next week, as the official

daily death toll topped 31,000.

Britain has lost more people to Covid -19 than any other European country,

but there is growing pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ease

stay-at-home orders imposed in late March.

The devolved government in Wales on Friday unveiled plans to re-open garden

centres and libraries, but said the wider lockdown would remain for another

three weeks.

Johnson is due to announce his own plans for England in a televised address

on Sunday evening, but one of his top ministers made clear Friday there

would be no big changes.

"We have to be realistic that there isn't going to be any dramatic overnight

change," Environment Secretary George Eustice told the daily media briefing.

"We will be very, very cautious as we loosen the restrictions we have, as

the data that we're outlining on a daily basis shows we are not out of the

woods. There are still major challenges. We will be living with this virus

for some time to come and it's therefore important to avoid that second peak

that could overwhelm our National Health Service."

THE REST

========

"WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITH VIRUS"

At his daily briefing on Friday, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal

said "it is important that we learn to live with the virus and practise

behavioural changes".

"The doubling time has come down to 10 days, from 12 days on May 5..Of the

37,916 active cases, 3.2% need oxygen, 4.7% are in the ICU and 1.1% need

ventilators," Agarwal said.

Agarwal said it is possible that "with adherence to social distancing norms

and aggressive containment, India may never hit the peak." "When a fresh

list of districts in red, green and orange zones is drawn up, we will share

it with the states. But as we talk about relaxations and return of migrants,

it is important that we learn to live with the virus and practice

behavioural changes," he said.

While 216 districts have not reported any case till date, 42 districts have

not reported a fresh case in the last 28 days, 29 districts in the last 21

days, 36 districts in the last 14 days, and 46 districts in the last 7 days.

SC STAYS ODISHA HC ORDER ON MIGRANT WORKERS' RETURN

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an Odisha High Court order that said all

migrant workers returning to the state to first test negative for COVID19.

Acting on an urgent petition against the HC order, a Bench headed by Justice

Ashok Bhushan also issued notice to the government of Odisha after Solicitor

General Tushar Mehta sought immediate intervention of the top court.

Mehta said the order was passed by the HC without giving any hearing to the

Centre and without considering the Standard operating Procedure for the

purpose.

The court also issued notice to the Centre on a petition by a

Rajasthan-based company challenging Centre's notifications asking employers

to pay full wages to workers during COVID19 lockdown.

NEXT PHASE TO REPATRIATE INDIANS FROM MAY 15 TO COVER MORE COUNTRIES

The second phase of repatriating stranded Indians from abroad will begin

from May 15 and will be expanded to cover countries with a substantial

concentration of its citizens such as Russia, Germany, Netherlands, France,

Spain, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Thailand, said sources, here, on

Friday.

The first phase, named 'Operation Vande Bharat', was launched on May 7 and

will continue for a week to bring back around 15,000 passengers from 12

countries.

However, that still leaves the Government of India with the task of bringing

back over four times the number who will return in the first phase of the

repatriation.

As many as 67,833 people are said to have registered to return to India,

after having agreed with the terms and conditions of paying for their own

fare and the 14-day quarantine on landing. Of those who have registered,

about 25,000 are from Kerala.

The Government of India plans to use smaller airports such as Chandigarh,

Amritsar, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Kannur, Mangalore and Bodh Gaya for the

special flights so that passengers land as close as possible to their

hometowns.

COVID-19: RELIEF FOR NRIs, FOREIGN VISITORS AS TAX RESIDENCY RULES EASED

In a relief to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), the government on Friday allowed

keeping out the period of their forced stay in the country in determining

their tax residency status.

"Considering various representations from people who had to prolong their

stay in India due to the lockdown and suspension of international flights,

expressing concern that they will be required to file tax returns as Indian

residents, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today (on Friday) allowed

discounting of prolonged stay period in India for the purpose of determining

residency status," the CBDT said in a release.

While the relief has been provided in the case of 2019-20, a follow-up

circular will be issued for 2020-21 once international flights resume.

The circular said an individual who came to India on a visit before March

22, 2020, and had been unable to leave India on or before March 31, 2020,

his period of stay in India from March 22 to March 31 would not be taken

into account. Also, in cases where a person has been quarantined in India on

account of Covid-19 on or after March 1 and has departed on an evacuation

flight on or before March 31 or has been unable to leave India on or before

March 31, his period of stay from the beginning of his quarantine to his

date of departure would not be taken into account.

Shailesh Kumar, director, Nangia Andersen Consulting, said it was welcome.

"One may expect a similar circular for FY21."

From the wording, it seems unlikely that this circular will provide any

relief to seafarers.

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR STIMULUS, INDUSTRY WARNS CENTRE

Completely in the dark about the government's intentions, the industry has

pressed the panic button by pointing out that "time is running out for a

fiscal stimulus package to rescue the economy".

Seeking an immediate stimulus package of Rs 15 lakh crore, a senior industry

official warned the government that "delayed fiscal relief for enterprises

reeling under the lockdown will make it harder for them to recover".

The industry is of the view that the government needs to proactively step in

because the lockdown had lasted much longer than anticipated leading to a

much bigger impact on corporate balance-sheets.

BABRI DEMOLITION CASE: SC FIXES AUGUST 31 AS NEW DEADLINE FOR JUDGMENT

The Supreme Court on Friday asked a Lucknow Special CBI Court to complete

the trial against senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan

Singh, Uma Bharti and other in the Babri mosque demolition case by August 31

this year.

"Having taken the letter dated 6th May, 2020, into consideration, we extend

the period to complete evidence and deliver judgment till 31st August,

2020," a Bench of Justice RF Nariman and Justice Surya Kant said.

While giving liberty to Special Judge SK Yadav conduct the proceedings in

the manner he deemed fit, including the use of video-conferencing, the top

court asked him to ensure that the new deadline was not breached and the

verdict was delivered within the extended timeframe.

The top court passed the order after receiving a letter from Special Judge

Yadav, informing the top court that even the evidence was not yet completed.

The Supreme Court had on April 19, 2017, revived criminal conspiracy charges

against the senior BJP leaders and asked Special CBI Judge, Lucknow, to

conduct day-to-day hearing and complete the trial in two years. But it has

been extending the time given to the judge from time to time. It had also

extended the tenure of Special Judge Yadav who was to retire in September

2019. "We are cognizant of the fact that Shri Yadav is making all efforts in

order that the trial reach a just conclusion," the Bench noted.

SALIVA FROM HOME: A NEW US-APPROVED TEST FOR CORONAVIRUS

On Friday, Rutgers University announced that the United States Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) has given emergency approval to testing for SARS-CoV2

on saliva samples sent by people themselves, from home. The test has been

developed by Rutgers University's RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab, in

collaboration with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs.

The standard test for SARS-CoV2 infection is done on throat or nasal swabs

(RT-PCR). These look for the presence of the virus in the swabs.

On Thursday, the FDA amended the emergency use authorisation for the first

SARS-CoV2 test that will allow people to collect their own saliva at home

and send to a lab for results, Rutgers University announced in a statement.

Collection of nose and throat swabs at a healthcare facility, or testing

location, requires physical interaction with a healthcare professional. The

new at-home saliva self-collection assay allows for broader screening,

Rutgers said.

Collecting a saliva sample at home mitigates the risk of exposure needed to

travel to a facility or drive through and is less invasive and more

comfortable and reliable than sticking a swab up your nose or down your

throat. The approval also means that healthcare professionals need no longer

be put at risk for infection by performing swab collections.

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON ISSUES APOLOGY TO SEBI FOR GLOBAL CHIEF'S REMARKS

Franklin Templeton on Friday issued an apology to the SEBI for remarks made

by its global chief that regulatory tightening caused the winding up of its

schemes.

During an analysts call on Wednesday, Johnson had said: "Unfortunately, Sebi

came out with new guidelines stating any investment in unlisted instruments

of funds can't have more than 10 per cent in a fund, and you can't trade

them. So that orphaned about a third of our fund there."

The fund house said it regretted the misunderstanding caused by the remarks.

"In response to a question regarding the winding up of six schemes offered

in India, Johnson provided a general background concerning Franklin

Templeton's experience in India as it existed before Covid-19. Reference to

the regulations around unlisted securities was intended to be a part of

these background statements to provide a context to an audience unfamiliar

with Indian markets," the fund house said in a statement.

Franklin further said the primary reason behind the wind-up was "severe

market dislocation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the related lockdown

that led to severe market illiquidity, particularly for papers rated below

AAA, combined with heightened redemptions during this period."

Stung by the comments, Sebi on Thursday issued a press release defending the

new rules it had introduced in October. It also advised Franklin to return

investors' money stuck in the six schemes, and implied that the fund house

had not followed good investment practices. "It was observed that unlisted

debt securities, particularly bespoke securities in which only a single

investor invested, suffered from both forms of opaqueness - opaqueness of

structure and true nature of risk on the one hand, and lack of ongoing

disclosure in respect of financials of the issuer on the other," Sebi said

in a statement.

INDICATORS

Sensex 31,642 (+199), Nifty 9,251 (+52), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

47,366

Nasdaq 9,121 (+142) Dow 24,331 (+455), S&P 2,930 (+49)

US$-Rs. 74.86 GBP-Rs. 92.79, Euro-Rs. 81.14, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.37, Can$-Rs.

53.70, Aus$- Rs. 48.85

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.47 /US$, Aus$ 1.53 /US$, Sing

1.41 /US$, Bang Taka 83.13 /US$, Can$ 1.39 /US$, Mal Ring 4.32 /US$,

Pak Re 159.13 /US$, Phil Peso 50.43 /US$, Russian Rouble 73.58 /US$, NZ$

1.63 /US$, Thai Baht 32.19 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.52 /US$, Norway NOK

10.20 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 7,093

Dollar Index 99.77 Brent Crude 30.97 BDI 514

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,702 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,575 /

4,475, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 42,060

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

He that cannot endure the bad will not live to see the good. - Jewish

Proverb

OFF TRACK

In New York, a grade three teacher wrote on the blackboard, "I ain't had no

fun all summer."

"Now Johnny," she said. "What shall I do to correct this?"

"Get a boy friend." Johnny replied.