LIGHT CANDLES AT 9 PM ON SUNDAY TO SHOW SOLIDARITY IN FIGHT AGAINST

COVID-19, SAYS PM MODI

Ending many hours of suspense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the

nation through a video message at 9 am on Friday, urging the public to

switch off the lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm on April 5 and light candles

instead.

Ever since the announcement Thursday evening about the PM's video message,

speculation has been building up on whether he was going to talk about

lifting the lockdown in phases or extending it.

He did neither.

''This Sunday on April 5 at 9 pm for 9 minutes switch off all your household

lights, step out of your door or balcony and light either a candle or a lamp

or even a torch of flashlight on your mobiles... and demonstrate great

energy and pledge that we will come out [from this situation] and travel

towards light.,"PM Modi said in a video message Friday morning.

In his the third address to the country during the last fortnight, PM Modi

said while there could be a feeling how one person can make a difference in

this big battle against the global health pandemic, he underscored it is the

collective strength of 130 crore people and it is time to reinforce the

vastness and magnitude of this resolve.

The Prime Minister underscored that while doing so, citizens should observe

the norm of social distancing and not violate the Lakshman Rekha by spilling

out onto streets or colonies. The reiteration was necessary since the last

appeal to come out to ring bells or clang utensils during the March 22

Janata Curfew resulted in crowding at many places, attracting adverse

observation on social media.

The March 22 thanksgiving event for frontline warriors against Covid19 , he

said, attracted attention of the world and many countries were now

replicating the exercise. "This rekindled awareness of great energy and now

it is time to take another great pledge and reach greater heights,'' he said

prefacing the announcement. In doing so, he said, the country will also send

a strong message to the poor and helpless people who are suffering most due

to the lockdown that they are not alone and there is light towards which

everyone is moving together.

In these times of difficulty and when people are experiencing darkness with

the collective strength of 130 crore Indian it is time to demonstrate

vastness, grandeur and spiritual experience though illumination. ''This is a

Ram Baan [Lord Rama's arrow to pierce through],'' in these times.

INDIA'S COVID-19 CASES CROSS 3K, LARGELY DRIVEN BY TABLIGHI JAMAAT ATTENDEES

The jump in infections to over 3,000 on Friday - is largely driven by the

diagnosis of hundreds of patients who attended the congregation of the

Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary group, in New Delhi's Nizamuddin last

month in a violation of several restrictions.

According to the Union health ministry, at least 647 people among the

thousands who gathered at the Jamaat's headquarters, Nizamuddin Markaz, have

tested positive in 14 states in the last two days. "If we see the rise in

cases in the last few days, it has primarily been due to an increase at a

particular level," joint secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said,

referring to the congregation.

He said because of the "lockdown and our efforts to promote social

distancing, cases were being reported but there was no sharp rise".

The Delhi government said 93 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the

national capital on Friday, taking the total count in the city-state to 386

- out of which 259, or 67%, were evacuated from Markaz. Delhi chief minister

Arvind Kejriwal said there was no need to panic as the situation was under

control and that community transmission of the virus was not taking place in

the national capital.

Since authorities traced a number of infections to the Tablighi gathering,

state governments have scrambled to locate and identify those who attended

the congregation, with at least 9,000 Jamaat workers and their contacts

counted and quarantined till Thursday evening.

In three days, the combined teams of police, health workers and civil

servants widened the net to cover a large number of mosques and have located

over 600 foreigners linked to the Jamaat in the national capital. And they

still have some more distance to cover. "By the time we finish, we expect to

find at least 200 more," a senior Delhi government official said.

Among the states, Maharashtra has the most number of coronavirus patients,

at 490 cases, and 26 deaths.

CENTRE CLIMBS DOWN ON J&K ORDER, RESERVES ALL JOBS FOR UT DOMICILES

Two days after introducing a new domicile clause redefining residence and

recruitment rules for Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre on Friday amended its

order to reserve all jobs in the Union Territory for only its domiciles.

The previous order included protections for level 4 jobs with a pay scale

not exceeding Rs 25,500.

The move had triggered a row with almost all shades of political opinion

questioning its intent and timing, and criticising the Centre for "heaping

insult on injury" upon the residents of the UT.

The earlier order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while providing limited

protections for level 4 jobs, had opened up all other government posts to

anyone from the rest of the country.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Altaf Bukhari met Union Home

Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in New

Delhi on Friday and told them that the "new order is not in the interest of

J&K residents".

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

(Indian data from covid19india / <covid19india%20/> and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ <https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/>

)

Total Cases 3,108 (+556) / 1,098,762 (+82,885)

Total Deaths 86 (+14) / 59,172 (+5,954)

Total Recovered 229 (+38) / 228,923 (+15,931)

Active Cases 2,793 (+504) / 810,667 (61,000)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 39,391 (+1,737)

Top 5 impacted nations so far:

(Country / Total No of cases / Deaths)

USA 277,467 / 7,402

Italy 119,827/ 14,681

Spain 1,19,199 / 11,198

Germany 91,159 / 1,275

China 81,639 / 3,326

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

UNGA ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON COVID-19, CALLS FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION

The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution, co-sponsored

by 188 nations including India, on COVID-19, calling for intensified

international cooperation to defeat the pandemic that is causing severe

disruption to societies and economies.

The resolution titled Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19)' was the first such document on the global pandemic to be

adopted by the world organisation.

The resolution said the 193-member General Assembly notes with great concern

the threat to human health, safety and well-being caused by the coronavirus

disease 2019 pandemic, which continues to spread globally.

The resolution called for intensified international cooperation to contain,

mitigate and defeat the pandemic, including by exchanging information,

scientific knowledge and best practices and by applying the relevant

guidelines recommended by the WHO.

World Bank Group President David Malpass on Friday said the health emergency

was expected to cause a "major global recession" that would likely hit the

poorest and most vulnerable countries the hardest, while the International

Monetary Fund described the situation as a "crisis like no other".

JAPAN SLAMS WHO: 'RENAME WHO AS CHINESE HEALTH ORGANIZATION'

Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has said the World Health

Organization (WHO) should be renamed as the "Chinese Health Organization" as

he accused the global body of toeing the China line on the coronavirus

pandemic.

Aso slammed WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for what he called his

"inadequate evaluation to address the coronavirus outbreak". He also

referenced to a petition on change.org calling for Ghebreyesus to resign

over his handling of the pandemic.

The petition has now received nearly 7 lakh signatures worldwide. It was

started by Osuka Yip and blames the WHO chief for underestimating Covid-19

and refusing to "declare China virus outbreak as a global health emergency"

in late January.

THE REST

========

BJP CHIEF TO PARTY LEADERS: DON'T GIVE CORONA A COMMUNAL TWIST

BJP President J P Nadda is learnt to have urged his party leaders to refrain

from giving any "communal colour" or create any "division or differences"

over the Covid-19 outbreak.

In a meeting with national office bearers Thursday evening, Nadda is said to

have told them that no party leader should make any provocative or divisive

remark but support the efforts of the Prime Minister as well as that of

state governments irrespective of which party is in power there, said a

source.

"There was already a direction that we have a great responsibility of

leading the nation. The virus and the disease have made everyone vulnerable

across the world, of all faiths, no one should issue any statements or

remarks that are provocative," said a senior leader who participated in the

meeting.

"This was reiterated when the Tablighi issue came up. There is a directive

that no one should make it a communal issue. Only leaders of the minority

community can comment on that if they wish to. We have to be united in our

fight against the virus," the leader added.

This is significant given that many supporters of the party, especially on

social media, cited the outbreak to fuel campaigns like "CoronaJihad," and

"Markaz Conspiracy."

On April 1, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted: "Delhi's dark underbelly

is exploding! Last 3 months have seen an Islamic insurrection of sorts,

first in the name of anti-CAA protests from Shaheen Bagh to Jamia, Jaffrabad

to Seelampur. And now the illegal gathering of the radical Tablighi Jamaat

at the markaz. It needs a fix!"

Tweeted Union Minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: "Talibani Crime

by Tablighi Jamaat. This is not a negligence. It's a serious criminal act.

When the entire country is fighting united against Corona, such a sin is

unpardonable."

CENTRE DEFINES GROCERY FOR STATES, EASES RULES FOR TRUCKS

The Union government on Friday asked states to take immediate measures to

ensure a free flow of essential items and keep the supply chain going. In a

letter to chief secretaries of all states, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla

clarified what constituted food and grocery and the exemptions during the

nationwide lockdown, while easing the norms for issuing curfew passes and

truck movement to help remove the supply chain hurdles. The objective was to

clear the ambiguities at the ground level, an official said.

"At the ground level, different interpretations are being made on the items

given exceptions, which hinder a smooth flow of supply chain of these

essential items,'' Bhalla wrote.

Referring to queries received by the government on what constitutes food and

grocery, he said, "since it is neither feasible nor desirable to mention

each item of food and grocery in the guidelines, the state/union territory

governments are advised to interpret these terms to mean all items of food

and grocery that are usually consumed by people on day to day basis.''

The government, has, however clarified that grocery would include hygiene

products such as hand wash, soaps, disinfectants, body wash, shampoo,

surface cleaners, detergents, tissue paper, toothpaste, oral care, sanitary

pads, diapers, chargers and battery cells, etc. In the last one week,

several companies have had to face the hurdle of making a distinction

between what's essential and what's not.

On the difficulty faced by businesses in getting curfew passes despite

production, warehousing and transport of essential goods being in the

"exception'' list , states/UTs have now been told to give out authorisation

letters to companies/organisations having nationwide supply chains. This is

expected to help these businesses get regional passes for easy movement of

critical staff and workers to maintain their national supply chain. "The

number of such authorisation should be kept to bare minimum,'' according to

the letter. Currently, companies including e-commerce firms have to follow

different rules for each state and even city, making it tough to do business

efficiently.

In the letter, Bhalla also reminded the state and the UT officials by

saying: "Though exceptions have been allowed for farming operations by

farmers and farm workers, procurement of agricultural productions, operation

of Mandis, movement of harvesting and sowing related machinery, etc,

however, as per information received, these exceptions have not percolated

down at the field level."

THOSE WHO MISBEHAVED AT HOSPITAL TO BE BOOKED UNDER NSA: YOGI

The Yogi Adityanath government on Friday announced that the members of the

Tablighi Jamaat, who reportedly misbehaved with the female nursing staff in

a Ghaziabad hospital, would be booked under the National Security Act (NSA).

Reacting to the incident, CM Yogi said: "They neither follow the law, nor

maintain order. They are enemies of humanity. What they have done to the

female health workers is a heinous crime for which NSA would be imposed

against them. I will not spare them."

The UP Govt has also directed that women health workers will no longer be

deployed to treat and provide security to Tablighi Jamaat people placed

under quarantine after the Ghaziabad incident of alleged misbehaviour.

The Chief Medical Officer of the MMG district hospital in Ghaziabad had

written a letter to the Ghaziabad police informing about the criminal

behaviour of some six Jamaatis.

According to the hospital authorities, the half a dozen members of the

Tablighi Jamaat of whom, one was COVID-19 positive, had been kept at the

isolation ward of the hospital.

MODI'S 9-MIN BLACKOUT CALL: POWER SECTOR ON ALERT TO ENSURE GRID STABILITY

Prime Minister's appeal to all citizens to turn off their lights for 9

minutes this Sunday has sent the power ministry into a huddle as this could

lead to a significant drop in electricity demand. However, the power

ministry said the event would not impact the national power grid much and

that planning would be done in advance.

"Power Minister R K Singh has discussed the issue with Power Grid

Corporation of India (PGCIL) and the grid operator Power System Operator

Corporation (POSOCO) in today's meeting. They are up to the task and are

confident of managing the grid stability for the event," said a ministry

spokesperson. Another official pointed out the extent of fluctuation

expected would be minimal. "But we have asked all state and regional load

dispatch centres to be prepared."

The mass switch-off event comes at a time when the country has witnessed an

unprecedented fall in power demand over the past two weeks of lockdown.

Following the announcement of a 21-day lockdown due to the corona pandemic,

power demand has fallen by close to 30 per cent during March.

The lockdown is till April 14. Anticipating drastic fall in demand and

generation capacity shut, power sector stakeholders have been on contingency

mode for the past fortnight. This includes power generators (gencos),

suppliers and grid operators. However, for the lights-off event on Sunday,

POSOCO will manage the stability of the power grid.

The load dispatch centres, across five locations, monitor, schedule and

forecast supply of power in their respective regions. Officials said out of

the current peak demand of around 120-125 GW, household lighting load was

close to 12-15 GW. Any fluctuation would be in the same range (12-15GW),

which is 10 per cent of the current peak load.

NO CONVERTING HOTELS, RESORTS INTO QUARANTINE CENTRES: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to

the government to convert hotels and guesthouses into isolation and

quarantine centres for migrant workers to save them from COVID-19.

"People are coming with millions of ideas... We can't hear everyone," said a

Bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao.

It turned down the plea after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said state

governments were accommodating them in unoccupied builder flats.

AIR INDIA STOPS BOOKINGS FOR DOMESTIC, INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TILL APRIL 30

National carrier Air India has stopped bookings for domestic and

international flights till April 30 as it awaits a decision from the

government on the lockdown that ends on April 14, according to a

spokesperson.

No-frills carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir said they are taking bookings

for domestic flights starting April 15. In the case of SpiceJet and GoAir,

they have started selling tickets for international flights from May 1.

An IndiGo spokesperson said bookings for international flights remain

suspended.

Full service carrier Vistara said it has started bookings for travel from

April 15.

Commercial flights on domestic and international routes have been suspended

till April 14 amid the nationwide lockdown to prevent spreading of

coronavirus infections.

ZOOM APOLOGISES FOR FLAW THAT COULD ALLOW HACKING

Video conferencing app Zoom has surged in popularity amid the ongoing

coronavirus lockdown. However, recently the app faced a lot of flak when two

researchers claimed to have found a loophole that can allow attackers

acquire Windows passwords.

The researchers said hackers can also silently access a user's Macbook and

tap into its webcam and microphone.

Zoom chief executive Eric S Yuan has apologised for the security issues and

promised to look into the concerns. He admitted that despite working around

the clock, the service had fallen short of security expectations, adding,

"for that, I am deeply sorry."

According to Yuan, Zoom now has a much broader set of users who are

utilising the product in a number of ways, presenting them with challenges

they did not anticipate.

INDICATORS

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39,647

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US$-Rs. 76.00 GBP-Rs. 93.49, Euro-Rs. 82.16, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.68, Can$-Rs.

53.65, Aus$- Rs. 45.74

GBP 0.81 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 108.29 /US$, Aus$ 1.66 /US$, Sing

1.43 /US$, Bang Taka 83.52 /US$, Can$ 1.41 /US$, Mal Ring 4.35 /US$,

Pak Re 165.96 /US$, Phil Peso 50.79 /US$, Russian Rouble 76.97 /US$, NZ$

1.70 /US$, Thai Baht 32.91 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.34 /US$, Norway NOK

10.48 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 6,810

Dollar Index 100.75 Brent Crude 34.11 BDI 616

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,618 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,244.50 /

4,144.50, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 40,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Everything secret degenerates; nothing is safe that does not bear discussion

and publicity. - Lord Acton

OFF TRACK

One fine day, a billionaire was walking his dog. Suddenly a man ran out from

the bushes in front of him and shot the poor dog three times. The

billionaire screamed at the killer, "Why did you do that?". The killer

answered, "Your wife gave me $50,000 and said to "Go kill that

son-of-a-bitch"".

The billionaire hugged the killer & said: "I don't know who your English

teacher was, but I am forever grateful to her."