GAS LEAK AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN ANDHRA PRADESH, 11 DEAD, 1,000 AFFECTED

Toxic gas leak in a multinational chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh has

resulted in the death of 11 people and impacted about 1,000, many collapsing

to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours. Hundreds of people

with difficulty in breathing and burning sensation in eyes have been

admitted to hospitals in Vishakhapatnam.

Technical glitch in refrigeration unit caused gas leak mishap in Andhra

Pradesh, Visakhapatnam District Collector said. A criminal case has been

registered against management of chemical plant where gas leak occurred,

police said.

Hours after the styrene gas leak around 2.30 am on Thursday, from the

multinational L G Polymers Plant at R R Venkatapuram village, scores of

people could be seen lying unconscious on sidewalks, near ditches and on the

road, raising fears of a major industrial disaster.

As rescue officers and police personnel rushed to take people to hospital

and revive them, many people could be seen gasping for breath as they

staggered their way to safety, dazed and disoriented. Some tried to walk but

fell to the ground in a faint.

Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying

on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the

styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that

played out, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

The death toll from the accident could go up with at least 20 people on

ventilator support. Besides, 246 people with health complications are

undergoing treatment at Visakhapatnam's King George Hospital, police said.

About 800 people in ground zero, R R Venkatapuram village in Gopalapatnam,

were evacuated and most needed only first aid.

Taking stock of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had

spoken to officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National

Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). "I pray for everyone's safety and

well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said in a tweet.

NDRF Director General S N Pradhan said leakage from the factory had been

reduced to minimal but NDRF personnel would be at the spot till it is

totally plugged.

The gas leak took place as the plastic factory that was closed during the

lockdown was being prepared for resumption of operations, he said.

The plant makes polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, a versatile plastic

used to make a wide variety of consumer products like toys and appliances

and has been in operation since 1961. It is operated by South Korea's LG

Chem and renamed as LG Polymers India in 1997 (earlier name was Hindustan

Polymers).

CONG DISMISSES SPECULATION ABOUT SOME OF ITS LEADERS LOOKING TO JOIN BJP

The Congress, on Thursday, dismissed speculation that some of its leaders

were in touch with the BJP and would join the saffron outfit soon.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, while rejecting such reports,

said they were aimed at spreading canards to tarnish reputations. "These

sources of information aimed at spreading canards to tarnish reputations. We

reject them with the contempt they deserve," he said on Twitter.

He was responding to a report about a senior Congress leader and a noted

lawyer, besides some young leaders switching sides.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi put out a message on his Twitter

handle that read: "For all those who GOSSIP about me: Thanks for making me

the centre of your world (sic)." "Gossip is the Devil's Radio, so don't be

his DJ (sic)," another message put out by him read.

CORONAVIRUS: DOUBLING RATE NOW AT 10.2 DAYS

India's doubling rate for Covid-19 cases worsened to 10.2 days over the last

seven days with cases increasing rapidly in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat

and Delhi though there is better news on the improving recovery rate and the

fatality rate at the national level at 3.3%, health ministry data show.

This is a change from Tuesday when the health ministry had reported a

doubling time of 12 days, the same day which saw the highest jump in cases

and deaths.

The fall in doubling time comes after several weeks of steady improvement.

The deterioration of the doubling rate is attributed, at least in part, to

reporting gaps in certain states, such as West Bengal, which are now being

corrected.

"Compared to the rest of the world, India's fatality rate is lowest," health

minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday, pointing to efforts to ensure

timely reporting and efficient clinical management in combating Covid-19.

The data also shows the disease in India to be of less in severity with just

1.1% of all Covid-19 patients on ventilators, 3.3% on medical oxygen and

4.8% in ICU beds.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences Director Dr Randeep Guleria on

Thursday said India may witness the peak of COVID-19 cases in June or July.

Dr Guleria added, earlier it was analysed that the peak will be in May but

due to extended lockdown the peak has also been extended. "It is a dynamic

process that depends upon various factors. It is a long-lasting battle.

Cases will come even after the peak is passed. People's lifestyle in terms

of travelling and socialising will change," he said.

IMD FORECAST STARTS LISTING POK TOO

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has started including

Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, which are parts of

Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK), under the Jammu and Kashmir meteorological

sub-division since May 5, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the Regional

Meteorological Department that gives forecast for the northwest

meteorological division of the IMD.

The development assumes significance as New Delhi has been of a position

that the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir belongs to India.

The inclusion of Muzaffarabad and Gilgit-Baltistan in the forecast comes

amid Pakistan's Supreme Court allowing elections in Gilgit-Baltistan this

week. India had strongly reacted to the development.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 56,347 (+3,344) / 39,16,338 (+93,478)

Total Deaths 1,889 (+104) / 2,70,711 (+5,635)

Total Recovered 16,776 (+1,445) / 13,43,054 (+40,164)

Active Cases 37,682 (+1,795) / 23,02,573 (+47,679)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 48,958 (+747)

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

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

USA 12,92,623 / 76,928 / 232

Spain 2,56,855 / 26,070 / 558

Italy 2,15,858 / 29,958 / 495

UK 2,06,715 / 30,615 / 451

Russia 1,77,160 / 1,625 / 11

France 1,74,791 / 25,987 / 398

Germany 1,69,430 / 7,392 / 88

Brazil 1,35,773 / 9,190 / 43

Turkey 1,33,721 / 3,641 / 43

Iran 1,03,135 / 6,486 / 77

India 56,351 / 1,889 / 1.4

Pakistan 24,644 / 585 / 2.8

Bangladesh 12,425 / 199 / 1.2

Sri Lanka 824 / 9 / 0.4

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

Deaths)

State/UT Confirmed Deceased

Maharashtra 17,974 / 694

Gujarat 7,013 / 425

Delhi 5,980 / 66

Tamil Nadu 5,409 / 37

Rajasthan 3,427 / 99

Madhya Pradesh 3,252 / 193

Uttar Pradesh 3,071 / 62

Andhra Pradesh 1,833 / 38

Punjab 1,644 / 28

West Bengal 1,548 / 151

Telangana 1,122 / 29

Jammu and Kashmir 793 / 9

Karnataka 705 / 30

Haryana 625 / 7

Bihar 550 / 5

Kerala 503 / 4

Odisha 219 / 2

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: US TELLS CHINA TO SHARE DETAILS OF PATIENT ZERO

Seeking an answer from China about the origins of the deadly coronavirus,

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the US needs to know

the details of patient zero.

Slamming China for a disinformation campaign, Pompeo in an interview to Jack

Heath of The Jack Heath Radio Show also accused the WHO of failing in its

mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about

the risk that was emanating from China.

"We know that this originated in Wuhan, China. That was challenged by the

Chinese at the front end. This administration was very clear we weren't

going to accept that disinformation, pushed back. I think the whole world

knows that this began and originated there in Wuhan," he said.

"Where exactly it came from, it matters. We want to know the answers to

that. There's evidence that it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the

lab, but that could be wrong. We need to get the answer to that. It matters

because we need to know where patient zero came from," he said. The US needs

it for all of the epidemiological work that needs to be done to protect

Americans today and tomorrow, he asserted.

TRUMP VETOES IRAN RESOLUTION

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed what he called a "very

insulting" congressional resolution seeking to limit his war powers in Iran.

In a statement, Mr. Trump said he had used his veto because the resolution -

a rare bipartisan rebuke to the President approved in March - was based on

"misunderstandings of facts and law."

The measure stemmed from fears among both Mr. Trump's Republicans and

Democrats that the White House was stumbling into war with the Islamic

republic.

In the statement, Mr. Trump said the Congress misinterpreted his

constitutional authority as being limited to "defence of the U.S. and its

forces against imminent attack."

"That is incorrect," he said.

"We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution

recognises that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries'

next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That's what I

did!"

The resolution said the U.S. President cannot commit his military to

hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military without

explicit authorisation from the Congress.

Trump also described the allegations from the opposition Democratic party

that Russians interfered in the 2016 presidential elections to help him win

the polls as the "Russia hoax". Investigations, however, have not been able

to prove the allegations.

"The Russia hoax made it very hard for Russia and the United States to deal

with each other," the president told reporters in the Oval Office of the

White House.

On Thursday, Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over

the phone.

"They are a very important nation. We are the most powerful nation, they are

a very powerful nation. Why would we not be dealing with each other?" he

asked.

THE REST

========

PREGNANT WOMEN, ELDERLY ON BOARD AS INDIA BEGINS FIRST PHASE OF EVACUATION

India's first phase of evacuating its stranded citizens got off on Thursday

with two flights from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The maiden flight from Abu Dhabi

was delayed due to safety procedures which temporarily inconvenienced the

passengers who had come to the airport several hours before the scheduled

departure.

These flights are carrying back cases of extreme distress and on

humanitarian grounds. The flight from Dubai, for instance, includes a group

of 18 pregnant women, a dozen elderly and five infants who have been

stranded at the airport for 50 days. Both the flights were headed for

Kerala.

Indian diplomats said there were no Covid cases among the nearly 300

passengers in the first two flights. However, all of them will be

quarantined on arrival at their own cost.

Apart from the pregnant and the elderly, others who made it to the flights

were medical and loss of job cases.

The Indian missions have also wait-listed passengers on all the flights to

replace passengers who may fail in the medical screening.

India is sending 64 flights and two ships in the first phase of Vande Bharat

Mission. One naval ship has already docked at Male and the other is due to

bring back Indians from the Maldives who will have to pay their fare, the

first time that the Indian armed forces will be charging for humanitarian

services.

BMC BOOKS 3,343 HOTEL ROOMS TO QUARANTINE OVERSEAS INDIANS

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said it had reserved 3,343 rooms

across 88 hotels in Mumbai to quarantine the Indian nationals, stranded in

other countries, once they were evacuated.

The Indian nationals from Britain, the United States, Bangladesh, the

Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia were expected to be flown back to

Mumbai, the civic body said.

It had reserved rooms in two, three, four and five-star hotels, along with

apartment hotels and OYO hotels, it said.

"On landing in Mumbai, the Indians returning will be quarantined in hotels,

and they will be admitted in hospitals, if found infected with COVID-19 on

completion of the quarantine period," said Vijay Khanake, BMC spokesperson.

171 SHRAMIK SPECIAL TRAINS OPERATED SO FAR, OVER1.70 LAKH MIGRANTS FERRIED

The Indian Railways, on Thursday, said it had operated a total of 171

Shramik Special trains since May 1, and ferried home over 1.70 lakh migrants

stranded in various parts of the country due to the COVID-induced lockdown.

While 22 such trains had already departed on Thursday, 26 more trains were

scheduled to run by Thursday night, including the first train to originate

from New Delhi carrying 1,200 migrant workers to Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Every special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats. But

the national transporter is allowing only 54 people in a coach to maintain

social-distancing norms by not allotting the middle berth to any passenger.

Since the beginning of the services, Gujarat remained one of the top

originating stations, followed by Kerala.

Among the receiving states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh remained the top states.

LOCKDOWN 3.0: BMC ALLOWS REOPENING OF SINGLE ELECTRONICS, HARDWARE SHOPS

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has amended its previous order

and allowed reopening of standalone electronics and hardware shops in the

city during the lockdown, saying there is an urgent need to keep such shops

open to some extent.

"It has been observed that many essential and life- saving medical

equipment, IT systems related to health systems and machines, vehicles are

in a state of disrepair due to closing down of electronics and hardware

shops. Hence, there was an urgent need to keep such shops open to some

extent," said the BMC's amended order.

UP EXEMPTS BIZ FROM ALL BUT 3 LABOUR LAWS FOR 3 YEARS

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an Ordinance exempting businesses

from the purview of almost all the labour laws for the next three years, to

give a fillip to investment in the state, affected by Covid-19.

A press statement dated May 6, issued by the state government, said the

government had cleared the "Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain

Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020" to exempt all establishments, factories, and

businesses from the purview of all but four labour laws, for three years.

Only the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996; Workmen

Compensation Act, 1923; Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; and

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (the right to receive timely

wages), will apply in the state, according to the statement.

Other labour laws will become defunct. They include laws related to settling

industrial disputes, occupational safety, health and working conditions of

workers, and those related to trade unions, contract workers, and migrant

labourers.

INDIA LOOKS TO LURE MORE THAN 1,000 US FIRMS OUT OF CHINA

India is seeking to attract US businesses, including medical devices giant

Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China as US steps up efforts to blame

Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic.

The government in April is said to have reached out to more than 1,000

companies in the US and through overseas missions to offer incentives for

manufacturers seeking to move out of China.

US President Donald Trump's move to blame China for its handling of the

Covid-19 outbreak is expected to worsen global trade ties as companies and

governments move resources out of the world's second-largest economy to

diversify supply chains. Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion to help shift

factories from its neighbour, while European Union members plan to cut

dependence on Chinese suppliers.

The need to create employment is urgent after the pandemic left 122 million

people jobless.

It could also present India with a chance to finally push through

long-stalled reforms on land, labour and taxes that have hindered investment

for years.

POLICY ON VEHICLE SCRAPPING SOON, SAYS GADKARI

The vehicle scrappage policy is likely to be finalised soon to boost the

automobile sector, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin

Gadkari said on Thursday. "The scrapping policy will be finalised soon. It

is going to boost the industry. It is going to reduce the production cost.

Yesterday also, I had a discussion with the Secretary and we will make it as

early as possible," Gadkari said in a video-conference with the members of

SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Institute over impact of

COVID-19 on the automobile sector.

The vehicle scrappage policy is awaiting the final clearance from the Union

Cabinet, which will focus on eliminating the fleet of old polluting

commercial vehicles plying on the country's roads.

Gadkari had earlier said once the policy was approved, India could emerge as

a hub for automobile manufacturing as key raw material available from

scrapping like steel, aluminium and plastic are bound to be recycled,

bringing down automobile prices by "20-30 per cent".

The government on July 26, 2019 had proposed amendments to the motor vehicle

norms to allow scrapping of vehicles older than 15 years in a bid to spur

adoption of electrical vehicles. In a draft notification, the government

proposed renewal of fitness certificates for vehicles older than 15 years

every six months instead of the current time-frame of one year.

Gadkari also said his ministry had fixed a target to build highways worth Rs

15 lakh crore in the next two years.

INDICATORS

Sensex 31,443 (-242), Nifty 9,199 (-72), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

75,030

Nasdaq 8,980 (+125) Dow 23,876 (+211), S&P 2,881 (+33)

US$-Rs. 75.16 GBP-Rs. 92.79, Euro-Rs. 81.21, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.46, Can$-Rs.

53.46, Aus$- Rs. 48.53

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.34 /US$, Aus$ 1.54 /US$, Sing

1.41 /US$, Bang Taka 83.22 /US$, Can$ 1.40 /US$, Mal Ring 4.32 /US$,

Pak Re 159.21 /US$, Phil Peso 50.49 /US$, Russian Rouble 74.03 /US$, NZ$

1.65 /US$, Thai Baht 32.36 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.59 /US$, Norway NOK

10.25 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 7,093

Dollar Index 99.65 Brent Crude 29.76 BDI 534

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,718 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,570 /

4,470, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 42,010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. - John F. Kennedy

OFF TRACK

When the wise company president learned that his employees were tanking up

on no-trace vodka martinis during their lunch hours, he issued the following

memo:

To all employees; If you must drink during your lunch hour, please drink

whiskey. It is better for our customers to know you're drunk than to think

you're stupid.