The Indian Air Force has readied 25 aircraft and 31 choppers for relief operations in areas affected by Cyclone Amphan, the IAF said on Friday.

'The aircraft/helicopters were modified with required equipment for undertaking relief operations and are on standby with crew for a quick deployment at various IAF bases,' it said in a statement.

Amphan, the strongest storm to hit India's eastern region since Cyclone Sidr killed nearly 3,500 people in 2007, made a landfall on Wednesday evening in the Sunderbans in West Bengal.

It has caused widespread damage to infrastructure in Odisha and Bengal.

'The Indian Air Force continues to be in a high state of preparedness for undertaking relief operations in the eastern parts of the country. A total of 56 Heavy and Medium Lift assets consisting of 25 fixed-wing aircraft and 31 helicopters were earmarked by the IAF,' the IAF added.

Seven districts of West Bengal badly hit by the cyclone are South 24 Paraganas, North 24 Paraganas, East Medinipur, West Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata, with damage also reported in the district of Birbhum.  -- PTI

Two more employees of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, including a security official, have been found positive for COVID-19, sources said on Friday.

With this, three Secretariat employees have tested positive.

The first employee to test positive for the virus was a housekeeper, who had been at home since the Budget Session was adjourned on March 23, the sources said.

The other two were found positive after Parliament resumed on May 3, when Lockdown 2.0 concluded.

One of them was a security official and the other worked in the editorial and translation (E&T) services at the Parliament Annexe building, they said.

The E&T official attended office after May 3, they added.

However, the Lok Sabha Secretariat authorities had sanitised the entire premises before resuming operations and continued to take all precautions thereafter.

Employees are now allowed to enter Parliament only after proper screening.

All vehicles are also sanitised before entering the complex.

Sources suggested that there have been a few symptomatic cases of the coronavirus among employees working in different secretariats and branches at Parliament and its adjoining buildings.

Government buildings in the vicinity of the Parliament complex such as Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan and NITI Aayog, which have offices of several ministries and ministers, were sealed for a day or two following the detection of COVID-19 cases there.  -- PTI

Leaders of 22 opposition parties on Friday accused the Centre of 'unabashedly' usurping powers of states and demanded restoration of Parliament functioning and oversight with immediate effect.

A video of people looting mangoes worth Rs 20-30,000 in Shahdara's Jagatpuri area amid the COVID19-induced lockdown has surfaced on social media.

In the video, passers-by can be seen pushing each other to pick up mangoes from unattended crates.

Some of them filled their helmets and bags with mangoes, while others ran away with six to seven mangoes in their hands.

The incident took place after a heated argument broke out between a fruit seller and some rickshaw pullers on Thursday morning.

Chhotu, the fruit seller, said he was standing under a tree when a group of rickshaw pullers asked him to leave.

"I left the spot but couldn't pick up all the baskets on the road," he said.

A few minutes later, he saw people running away with the mangoes.

"We have been selling fruits for the past many years. Due to the lockdown, the situation is already difficult for us. Now we have lost the stock of Rs 20-30,000," Chhotu's younger brother Arif Khan said.

The 43-year-old fruit seller lodged a complaint with the police, following which a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.

Police said two suspects have been identified and further investigation is underway.  -- PTI

The tickets for the 15 pairs of special trains running on Rajdhani routes will now be available 30 days in advance and can be bought at reservation counters at railway stations.

Earlier, the tickets could be booked only on the IRCTC website.

The tickets can also be booked at computerised PRS counters, including Post Offices and Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendras, as well as online through authorised agents of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Common Service Centres.

"The Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of these trains will be increased from 7 days to 30 days," the Railways said.

The 15 pairs of special trains are fully air-conditioned and their services began on May 12.  -- PTI

A COVID-19 patient had to walk for  about 7 km to reach a civic-run hospital at Dombivli in Thane district from his home after he was told by the staff that there was no ambulance available to transport him, a senior official said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday and a purported video of the man walking to the hospital went viral on social media, the official said.

Commissioner of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), Dr Vijay Suryavanshi, said that he has taken cognisance of the incident and ordered an inquiry into it.

In a video message, Suryavanshi said, "The person works at a leading hospital in Mumbai. He had got himself tested for COVID-19. After he came to know that he was coronavirus positive, he called up the Shashtri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli for an ambulance yesterday. However, the hospital staff told him that ambulance was not available."

"Thereafter, the patient decided to walk to the hospital from his home to get himself admitted," he added.

The commissioner said that 33 ambulances have been pressed into service by the civic body at present.

"I have ordered the officials to inquire into what actually happened in this case and appropriate action would be taken. The patient should not have walked to the hospital. He should have waited for the ambulance. He is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital," he said.

"Prior to this, there was never a complaint of non-availability of ambulance and all our staffers are always alert in dealing with coronavirus cases," Suryavanshi said.   -- PTI

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 2,940 COVID-19 cases, the highest daily spike, taking the state tally to 44,582, a health official said.

With 63 deaths due to the pandemic reported during the day, the death toll in the state rose to 1,517, the official said.

This was the sixth consecutive day when the state reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases, he said.

Maharashtra COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 44,582, new cases 2,940, deaths 1,517, discharged patients 12,583, active cases 30,474, people tested so far 3,32,777.   -- PTI

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over reports that bodies of victims in the recent Auraiya road accident and those injured were being carried in the same vehicle by authorities, officials said on Friday.

The NHRC in a statement said it has observed that it is indeed 'unethical and inhuman on the part of authorities' to put the dead bodies in the same vehicle in which the injured migrant labourers were asked to travel.

'Reportedly, 26 migrant labourers lost their lives and more than 30 suffered injuries in a fatal accident when two trucks, one coming from Punjab and the other from Rajasthan, collided on a highway in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh,' it said.

Later, as photographs of 'the dead and the injured in the same truck went viral on social media, authorities sensing outrage, transferred the dead bodies in ambulances' at Allahabad, the NHRC said.

The injured persons suffered not only physical injuries but were also under tremendous trauma from the accident.

In that painful condition, they were forced to sit in the same vehicle where the bodies of those killed in the accident were kept, the statement said.

The public servants 'failed to deal with the situation sensibly and acted in a cruel manner violating the right to dignity of the poor labourers', it observed.

The NHRC said, the notice has been issued to the state's chief secretary and he has been asked to submit a detailed report within four weeks.

The report is expected to be comprehensive, giving details of the action taken against the delinquent officers and relief or rehabilitation provided to the victim migrant labourers and their families by the state authorities, it added.

The commission would also like to know about the health status of the injured migrant labourers and status of their medical treatment, it said.  -- PTI

However, the order made it clear that under no condition will over the counter sales be permitted. 

The shops may utilise ecommerce platforms to deliver alcohol to customers, Chahal's order said, provided the guidelines issued by the Maharashtra government and the state excise department are followed scrupulously.

India may witness COVID-19 cases peaking between June 21 and 28 with maximum daily positive cases to be around 7,000-7,500 in this period, a study by a team of researchers said.

The study has predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases reported daily will show a rising graph till the end of June.

"A clear downward trend in the confirmed cases is likely to be observed each day from the second week of July," Nandadulal Bairagi, a senior professor of Jadavpur University who was involved in the project told PTI.

With measures in place and increased testing, a gradual flattening of the trajectory is expected within October, the researcher said.

The study was conducted by Bairagi, Professor and Coordinator Centre for Mathematical Biology and Ecology (CMBE), Jadavpur University, and five other researchers.

The study, based on a mathematical model approved by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of the Government of India, used deep machine learning algorithms along with a mathematical model for analysing and forecasting the COVID-19 pandemic in India with data being taken from the https://www.covid19india.org/state website.

"We divided the population of a designated geographical area into seven compartments based on the epidemiological class of Covid-19 and WHO prescribed minimum requirements of infection prevention and control (IPC) strategy to reduce transmission," he said.

Bairagi said, the total number of infected persons since the outbreak of coronavirus in the country 'will touch the five lakh figure in first week of October and it will then start showing a perceptible declining trend'.

One of the factors for this high number could be a large number of asymptomatic persons roaming around with each having the potential to transmit the infection to two-three more persons/

"Just think of it. The contamination was contained after 76 days of lockdown in Wuhan, the origin point of the coronavirus pandemic. But we in India are witnessing a spike in active cases despite the lockdown nearing two months in few days time," he said.

In the absence of any specific drug and vaccine, India must continue its nationwide lockdown to prevent person-to-person transmission of coronavirus while looking for ways to start economic activities, the senior researcher said.

"Public transport must be avoided due to difficulties in contact tracing, random testing has to be increased and time for diagnosis has to be reduced for early detection...."

"We have recommended to the government that lockdown may be partially withdrawn in green and orange zones after the last week of June, but it must be continued in red-zone regions of the states concerned.

"Strict surveillance must be continued after partial withdrawal of lockdown to avoid the second wave of COVID-19," he said.

Asked about their observation on difficulty in contact tracing in case of contamination in public transport, he explained, "In a hospital or similar place where the persons who have contacted the infection can be traced, you can trace the origin and quarantine every body else who came in touch with the primary contact."

But in a bus or train, there can be many asymptomatic persons who will spread the infection and then get down at their stoppages, he said.

Apart from Bairagi, CMBE researcher Abhijit Majumder, Dr. Debadatta Adak of MBB University, Agartala, Dr. Tapas Kumar Bala of Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kusumdevi Sundarlal Dugar Jain Dental College and Hospital, Dr Abhijit Paul and Dr Samrat Chatterjee of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad were involved in the research.

The interim report of the research has already been sent to the SERB, he said.  -- PTI

In the highest single day spike in COVID-19 cases in Kerala so far, 42 people, including 21 returnees from Maharashtra, have tested positive for the virus on Friday, taking the infection tally to 732 while over 80,000 are under observation, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Besides the 21 people who had returned to the state from Maharashtra testing positive, the other cases include one each from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and 17 from abroad and two from the state, Vijayan told reporters in Thiruvanthapuram.

Two people were cured and discharged from hospitals today. A 73-year-old woman from Chavakkad in Thrissur, who had come from Maharashtra, died due to the infection on Thursday, taking the COVID-19 death toll to four in the state.

Among the fresh cases, Kannur reported 12, Kasaragod seven, Kozhikode and Palakkad five each, Thrissur and Malapuramfour each, Kottayam two, Kollam, Pathnamthitta and Wayanad one case each.

In Kannur, one person had been infected through contact and in Kozhikode a health worker tested positive for the virus.

With this, the COVID-19 tally in the state has climbed to 732, while 216 are presently under treatment, Vijayan said.

Over 84,000 people are under observation, a majority at homes and institutions, while 609 are in various hospitals, including 162 admitted on Friday. So far 51,000 samples have been sent for testing, of which 49,535 have returned negative, he added.  -- PTI

The government has only taken a pause and more measures will be announced in the days to come to help sectors hit by the coronavirus outbreak and also to make India Atmanirbhar Bharat', Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the government has taken several steps to mitigate the hardships of the people due to lockdown and support growth, Thakur told PTI in an interview.

Only this Sunday, he said, the government on the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a comprehensive economic package of Rs 20.97 lakh crore to support the economy hit hard by COVID-19.

"We came first with the ease of compliance. The second was for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package (Rs 1.70 lakh crore) and the third was this stimulus package of Rs 20.97 lakh crore. This can't be the end," he said while sharing details of a series of announcements.

"The announcements have taken a pause and the action will continue," the minister said when asked whether the government was expected to come out with more measures to deal with the current economic crisis following the coronavirus outbreak.

Emphasising that the Modi government is sensitive to the needs of people and businesses, he said, the ministry is taking the inputs from various sectors.

"Tourism is a very very important sector for us. Hospitality is an important sector for us. Civil Aviation is an important sector for us. In a country like India where they contribute to the GDP, not only GDP but millions of jobs have been provided through these sectors. We are very open about these sectors, and others if any have been left out.

"But let me say here also many will also fall into other categories which have been benefited. Some will benefit from the series of announcements made for the MSME sector. Small hotels which fall into this category can take advantage of the announcement made in the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package," he said.

Stressing that economic reform is a continuous process, the minister said, "I'll say the year 2020 will be known as the year of reforms.

In bold reforms aimed at boosting the sagging economy, the government last week announced several reforms including a slew of measures for the agriculture sector, defence manufacturing, civil aviation and mining sector.

"The long-pending demand for the change of definition of MSME, taking farmers out of the clutches of the Essential Commodities Act and the APMC Act have been seen as historic steps. Opening up of the coal mining and mineral sector at the same time has been a very positive step towards self-reliance," he said.

"Apart from that opening up of the space sector is not a small reform. Permitting foreign investors to own up to a 74 per cent stake in defence manufacturing ventures under the automatic route, from the current 49 per cent limit is another big bold move," he said.

Also, the list of weapons that cannot be imported will be expanded to give Make in India a boost and cut down the import bill and improve export potential.

Rebutting the criticism that the government has not done enough to push demand, the minister said that the central government has transferred funds directly to the needy, whether it was fund transfer to 20.5 crore Jan Dhan account holders or 2.2 crore national security assistance programme beneficiaries, or 9 crore farmers.

Besides, he said, the Modi government has undertaken several other measures which will directly benefit the needy people. These include distribution of free ration to about 80 crore people, gas cylinders under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana etc.

The government, the minister said, has announced a series of measures to help the MSME sector which employs the highest number of people (about 12 crores) after agriculture.

Among other things, the government has made a provision of Rs 3 lakh crore of collateral-free loan for the MSME sector.

"I think this is going to give a boost to the MSME sector," the minister said, adding it will help in protecting jobs and there would be no more layoffs.

At the same time, the minister said, the money in the hands of people will go a long way in boosting aggregate demand in the economy.  -- Kumar Dipankar/PTI

With the spike in Coronavirus cases weighing heavily upon it, the Tamil Nadu government is not in favour of restarting domestic air services connecting cities in the state till this month-end and might take up the matter with the Centre, an official said on Friday.

As the union civil aviation ministry gears up to resume the services from Monday, Tamil Nadu wants the plans deferred for now.

Officials in the State Secretariat said that the stand taken by Chief Minister K Palaniswami against resumption of regular air services till May 31 remains.

"The government may take up the issue with the Centre," an official told PTI.

The immediate concern of the government is to screen all the passengers arriving to the state and keep track of the infected, if any.

The sheer volume of passengers at the airports would make the health machinery concentrate more on the inbound visitors, officials said.

Since the last ten days, the state health department detected 66 positive cases among returnees from abroad by flights and other states by trains.

They were all quarantined. As per the government guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and management, all entering the state should be scanned for the virus and if found to have symptoms, would be taken to government facilities for treatment.

Those who don't show symptoms would be home quarantined.

During his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing on May 11, Palaniswami had pitched against restarting air and rail services in Tamil Nadu till May end.

He had cited the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state to back his demand that both rail and air services should not be resumed till May 31, 2020.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 13,967 cases of COVID 19, one of the highest in the country.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had on Wednesday said domestic passenger flight services will resume from May 25 in a calibrated manner.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in the country since March 25, when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, an official at the airport here said the schedule of passenger flights that will arrive in Chennai after resumption of domestic air services was yet to be received.

Officials are gearing up for operations at the airport here which has only handled cargo services since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, he said.   -- PTI

Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, ICMR, says so far 27,55,714 COVID-19 tests have been done till 1 pm today. 18,287 tests were done in private labs. "Today has been the 4th day when more than 1 lakh tests have been done in one day," Gangakhedkar, said. 

Briefing by VK Paul, Chairman of Empowered Group 1 on Covid-19: "On behalf of the Govt of India, we appreciate the nation in achieving the milestone of providing 1 crore treatments under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. This is a huge achievement.

"The growth rate of COVID-19 cases has witnessed a steady fall from April 3, 2020 when lockdown was able to put a brake on the speed of growth. The number of cases today would have been much higher, had lockdown not been implemented.

"Like the number of cases, growth rate of number of COVID-19 deaths too has fallen significantly due to lockdown, marking a notable difference between pre-lockdown and post-lockdown situations.

"Current active COVID-19 cases (as of May 21) are concentrated in a few states and cities/districts; around 80 per cent in five states, over 60 per cent in five cities, over 90 per cent in 10 states and over 70 per cent in 10 cities. 

"Manufacture of diagnostic kits has begun. Our indigenous capacity will be able to manufacture 5 lakh kits daily in the next 6-8 weeks.

"ICMR has prepared viral culture, at least five companies and six scientists are working at national laboratories to develop a vaccine. 

The leaders of the 22 parties, who met through video-conferencing, passed a resolution in this regard and said relief and rehabilitation should be the topmost priority at this juncture. 

"We, the opposition parties extend our sympathy and support to the governments and people of West Bengal and Odisha in meeting the impact of the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan," the resolution said. It said a natural calamity like Cyclone Amphan has come as a double blow amid the coronavirus pandemic, breaking the spirits of people. 

"Opposition Parties therefore urge the central government to immediately declare this as a national calamity and substantially help the states in facing the impact of this disaster," the resolution said. The meeting of opposition parties called by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was attended by the leaders of the TMC, NCP, DMK and Left parties, among others. PTI

He is presently lodged in Tihar jail. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the NIA, opposed the plea saying the grounds in the interim bail were rejected by the Supreme Court when Navlakh had sought extension of his protection from arrest on grounds of ongoing pandemic. 

Navlakha, 67, said he is lodged in Tihar jail during a period where the entire nation is gripped with the threat of contracting the highly contagious and deadly COVID-19 virus.  The plea said given his advanced age, he is vulnerable to catching any infections/virus, especially in a crowded environment like prison. -- PTI

The PIA Airbus A320 had 98 people on board including 91 passengers and seven flight crew, the report quoted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources as saying. The fate of the people was not immediately known. -- PTI

"At this hour of crisis, we feel that we must work together. There are so many areas where they can help us, state govt also exists in this country and central govt also exists. If there is a crisis everybody must work together," West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee when asked if she is satisfied with PM's visit today.

"He (PM) announced Rs 1000 Crore for the emergency fund but he didn't clarify whether it'll be advance or a package. He said he'll decide later on but he said it may be advance also. 

"I said whatever you will give you decide, we'll give you details," Banerjee said. 

"We've to help people so we've started relief work. I told PM that we'll get Rs 53,000 crore from central govt regarding food subsidy, social schemes and central schemes wherever our money is there. So I said you try to give some money to us so that we can work in this crisis."

Painful images showed bulldozers rampaging ruthlessly over houses and debris with men, children and women crying for mercy.

The incident came days after the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan tore into the government for its failure to protect the rights of minorities.

Recently, in a similar incident, houses and a graveyard belonging to the Christian community in Khanewal district of Punjab province were destroyed by a politician belonging to Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Pakistan is a well-established perpetrator of such human rights violations. Various governments of Pakistan, on several occasions, have promised to safeguard the interest of minority communities in the nation. However, rampant attacks on minorities narrate a different story.

Islamabad has been discriminating against its religious minorities, which manifested in various forms of targeted violence, mass murders, extrajudicial killings, abduction, rapes, forced conversion to Islam, etc, making Pakistani Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyyas, and Shias one of the most persecuted minorities in the region. -- ANI

A kit of ration -- rice, dal, mustard oil, potato, onion -- costs Rs 305. 

Mr Sengupta needs your help as donations dry up. 

After conducting an aerial survey of some of the affected areas and attending a review meeting along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Basirhat, she said that there is a need to work together at this hour of crisis.

It also wreaked havoc in Odisha, damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts 

In a tweet, Kejriwal said, "Dear @MamataOfficial didi, on behalf of the people of Delhi, I extend our full support and solidarity with you and the people of West Bengal in the wake of the destruction caused by #CycloneAmphan. Kindly let us know if we could help in any manner in this hour of crisis". In another tweet, Kejriwal also expressed solidarity with Odisha and offered help to the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik. -- PTI

It is a fact that two people, a 4-year-old child and a 67-year-old woman, died on May 19 but their deaths were not because of the cyclone, the official said. 

Bhadrak District Collector Gyanranjan Das and Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma said they have personally visited the houses of the two people who died. "Yes, I have visited the house of the child in Tihidi block of Bhadrak. But, I found that the four walls of the house were intact and did not collapse. Though it was alleged that the child died due to cyclone, I am not convinced keeping in view the circumstantial evidence," Das told PTI. Verma said there was no scope of house collapse as the deceased woman lived in a pucca house. The woman died in her house due to natural causes related to old age, he said. 

However, both the district collectors said they are awaiting the postmortem reports. The state government, while preparing the strategy for tackling the calamity, had set a zero casualty target. This is the first time that there has been no cyclone related death in the state, officials said. -- PTI

The airlines will operate a total of 8,428 flights each week for the next three months from May 25 to August 25 as the Central government has announced the resumption of domestic flights.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that a minimum and maximum fare for three months has been set for the domestic flight services, which resume from May 25.

In the case of Delhi, Mumbai the minimum fare would be Rs 3,500 for a journey between 90-120 minutes. The maximum fare would be Rs 10,000.

"This is operative for three months -- till one minute to midnight on August 24," said Puri at a press conference. Puri said that guidelines have been issued for the passengers and airports, which are to be followed during flight operations.

He also said that self-declaration or Aarogya Setu App status on a compatible device would be obtained to ensure that a person does not have COVID-19 symptoms. -- ANI

All commercial passenger flights were suspended with effect from March 25, when the country came under a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.   

"We welcome the government's announcement to reopen domestic commercial passenger flights in a calibrated manner commencing May 25, 2020. We believe that the government's detailed guidelines/SOPs will serve well to address essential Health and Safety  protocols," Thomas Cook (India) Chairman and MD Madhavan Menon said in a statement. 

The resumption of domestic flights is an important step to drive the country's tourism- a key pivot for economic revival, he added.  

"What is encouraging is that our business travel teams have already received bookings and are getting a steady flow of enquiries for work related travel from our corporates, seeking to travel over the next few weeks," Menon said. -- PTI

An official of the National Disaster Response Force has been found positive for the novel coronavirus, the first case such being detected in the federal contingency force, officials said on Friday.

 

They said the sub-inspector rank official was on leave and had gone to a doctor for some other treatment after which his COVID-19 test was done.

The NDRF official has been admitted to an isolation ward in the Central Armed Police Forces' Referral hospital in Greater Noida on Thursday.

The official is posted in the headquarters of the force here and was on deputation from the Sashastra Seema Bal, they said.

The NDRF, raised in 2006, is a 12-battalion strong force of the central government for disaster response and its over 40 teams are currently deployed in Odisha and West Bengal for relief and rescue works in the wake of cyclone 'Amphan'.

The CAPFs -- CRPF, ITBP, BSF, CISF and SSB -- have over 400 active cases of COVID-19 among them at present and they have also reported seven deaths.

A personnel of the elite counter-terrorist force, NSG, has also been infected with the disease early this month.

 

The death toll from cyclone Amphan in West Bengal rose to 77 on Friday, as disaster management and civil authorities scrambled to restore normal life and Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew down to the state capital and conducted an aerial survey with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

Five more bodies were recovered from different parts of West Bengal since Thursday night, raising the death toll in the state to 77, officials said. Modi and Banerjee will also undertake an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged areas. 

At the review meeting with the prime minister, Banerjee will likely seek an economic package for the state and reaffirm her demand that the cyclone be declared a national disaster. 

"I turned back -- the mission aborted as soon as it had begun. I raced up the stairs, slipped into my forgotten Nike trainers with considerable effort and help from my wife and set out again, sharp at 4pm.

"Houston, we have a problem again. A neighbour has taken out his car from the flooded garage and parked it exactly where there was a dry stretch, which would have seen me through without drenching my trainers and socks."

R Rajagopal on lessons learnt on a trek to office amid a Amphan-devastated Kolkata. Do read

Shares of Axis Bank plunged 6.78 per cent, ICICI Bank dropped 6.12 per cent, RBL Bank 5.71 per cent, IndusInd Bank 4.59 per cent, Federal Bank 4.32 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 2.85 per cent, HDFC Bank 2.71 per cent and SBI 1.57 per cent on the BSE. The BSE BANKEX was trading lower by 2.64 per cent. 

Among non-banking financial companies, Ujjivan Financial Services tumbled 8.25 per cent, Shriram Transport Finance Company tanked 8 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services 6.20 per cent and Bajaj Finance 5.66 per cent. 

The RBI has announced further extension in moratorium period to end-borrowers from May 31 till August 31. We read this as major negative for all NBFCs (including the ones with strong liability franchises) as this would further delay the overall collection and recovery procedure, and stretch the total liquidity cycle for all. 

In addition, this would further damage financial discipline, especially for small-ticket borrowers and MFIs (microfinance institutions)," Emkay Global Financial Services said in a note. -- PTI

ACE2 nasal gene expression could potentially be used as a biomarker to evaluate Covid-19 susceptibility, said the researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the US. 

The study, published in the journal JAMA, analysed 305 patients aged four to 60 years at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York. The researchers found that ACE2 gene expression in nasal epithelium was lowest in younger children and increased with age. 

These findings could help explain why children appear to be less susceptible to Covid-19 infection, they said. The researchers said the results may point to a potential biomarker of Covid-19 susceptibility. 

Prospective studies are needed to assess the degree to which ACE2 expression can be used as a biomarker for COVID-19 susceptibility, they said. 

"Why children get COVID-19 less than adults has been a puzzle. Researchers have hypothesised that lower expression of ACE2, which the SARS-Cov-2 virus uses to enter our bodies, might explain why children are less likely to get COVID-19," said Supinda Bunyavanich of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. 

"Our study shows that ACE2 expression in the nasal epithelium is lowest in younger children and increases with age into adulthood,' Bunyavanich. The results may help explain why children account for less than two per cent of identified cases of Covid-19, the researchers added. -- PTI

Maharashtra Police, in its COVID-19 related action report, informed that as many as 86 police personnel were injured while on duty during COVID-19 related activities, and 823 accused have been arrested in cases of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period. As many as 41 healthcare officials have been attacked so far in the state.

So far, a total of 22,543 people have been arrested for violating lockdown guidelines, 69,046 vehicles seized and Rs 5,19,63,497 fine recovered from offenders.

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state due to COVID-19. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the state has reported 41,642 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, which include 11,726 cured or discharged and 1,454 deaths. -- ANI

State BJP President L Murugan said, "Duraisamy is from Namakkal and a senior politician. He was Deputy Speaker in Tamil Nadu Assembly. We welcome him wholeheartedly." -- ANI

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's move to cut repo rate and reducing the reverse repo rate saying that it will boost demand amid COVID-19 by extending affordable credit to MSMEs and other businesses.

Earlier today, the RBI slashed the repo rate by 40 basis points to 4 per cent and extended the loan repayment moratorium for another three months up to August 31. The reverse repo rate stands at 3.35 per cent. 

"Welcome @RBI's move to cut Repo Rate by 40 basis points from 4.4 % to 4% and reducing Reverse Repo Rate to 3.35%. This will boost demand amid COVID-19 by extending affordable credit to MSMEs & other businesses, helping realise PM @NarendraModi ji's vision of #AatmaNirbharBharat," Goyal tweeted on Friday.

The impact of coronavirus crisis might have seemed like a distant threat during the first week of March to most of the Americans. However, the study noted that things and the numbers would have been different if the control measures were taken on March 8, The Washington Post reported.

The US is the worst-hit country due to coronavirus. According to John Hopkins University data, there are 1,577,287 confirmed cases and 94,702 deaths.

For the research, the scientists compared two hypothetical scenarios in which social distancing measures are reimplemented two to three weeks after being relaxed nationally starting from May 4.

When taken the case of a two-week delay, the researchers estimated a daily peak of 35,288 new cases and 3,392 new deaths by July 1. Meanwhile in the case of a three-week delay, they estimate a daily peak of 42,560 new cases and 4,166 new deaths by July 1.

"Efforts raising public awareness of the ongoing high transmissibility and explosive growth potential of COVID-19 are still needed at this critical time," said lead researcher Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D., professor of environmental health sciences at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

"Our results also indicate that without sufficient broader testing and contact tracing capacity, the long lag between infection acquisition and case confirmation will mask the rebound and exponential growth of COVID-19 until it is well underway," Shaman added.

The study came to a conclusion that after a retrospective analysis, 703,975 confirmed cases (62 per cent) and 35,927 deaths (55 per cent) of reported deaths nationwide up to May 3 would have been avoided if observed control measures had been adopted one week earlier -- on March 8 instead of March 15.

The researchers examined transmissions in metropolitan areas with dense populations and abundant observations -- New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami and others.

Rejecting the study's findings, White House spokesperson Judd Deere, in a statement to The Post, said that federal officials made the best decisions possible with the information available at the time."What would have saved lives is if China had been transparent and the World Health Organisation had fulfilled its mission," Deere said.

"What did save American lives is the bold leadership of President Trump," Deere added. -- PTI

Banerjee said it will take time to restore normalcy, with cyclone Amphan having ravaged at least seven to eight districts in Bengal. "This is a more than a national disaster. I have not seen such devastation in my life," Banerjee told reporters at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, where she had gone to receive Modi. "

It will take some time to restore normalcy... It's a catastrophic disaster. Our officials and ministers are all working. Police are also working tirelessly. We are fighting three challenges there is lockdown going on, then there is COVID-19, and now this disaster. The villages have been entirely devastated," she said. The CM said that she will hold a meeting with Modi following the aerial survey. She also said that a map of the areas which will be surveyed has been prepared. -- PTI

During a telephonic conversation, Patnaik enquired about the intensity of the damage caused due to the extremely severe cyclonic storm and conveyed Odisha's absolute solidarity with the people of West Bengal at this hour of crisis, a statement released by the Odisha Chief Minister's Office said Patnaik also assured all possible support to West Bengal in terms of men and materials to overcome this critical situation, it said. 

The chief minister's telephonic discussion with Banerjee came a day after he assured to provide all possible assistance to West Bengal, which has been ravaged by cyclone Amphan that made landfall in the Sunderbans on Wednesday. 

As the extremely severe cyclonic storm rolled past the Odisha coast and hit West Bengal, Patnaik expressed deep grief at the loss of lives and massive damage to property caused by the calamity in the neighbouring state. Patnaik had on Thursday directed the chief secretary to remain in touch with his West Bengal counterpart and ensure all possible assistance to the neighbouring state. -- PTI

According to official sources, Banerjee will be first holding a short meeting with the prime minister, during which she would brief him about the ground situation. 

"Later they would leave on a chopper for the aerial survey," an official said. The two leaders are also scheduled to hold review meeting on the post-cyclone situation. 

"He will conduct aerial survey and take part in review meetings, where aspects of relief and rehabilitation will be discussed," the PMO said in a tweet on Thursday night. 

According to TMC sources, the chief minister is likely to demand a financial package for the state. Banerjee has already demanded that the cyclone be declared as a national disaster. The cyclone has left 77 people dead in the state. -- PTI

The Maharashtra government has come out with three slabs on per day charges on treatment of

COVID-19 patients in private and charitable hospitals and also decided to regulate rates for 80 per cent of the operational bed capacity in these medical facilities.

Non-government health care providers in Maharashtra have been asked to accommodate maximum number of patients with 80 per cent of the operational bed capacity to be regulated by rates sanctioned by the government.

Fresh guidelines issued by the state government on Thursday said the fee regulation decision applies to both isolation and non-isolation beds in private and charitable hospitals.

This means 80 per cent of beds in isolation and non-isolation wards available with any healthcare provider will be regulated by the state government/municipal commissioner/district collector.

Healthcare providers may charge their own rates to the remaining 20 per cent beds, according to a government notification.

There will be no difference in quality of treatment in 80 per cent and 20 per cent categories, it said.

For COVID-19 patients, there will be three rate slabs on per day basis - Rs 4,000, Rs 7,500 and Rs 9,000 - based on the category of wards they have been admitted in, said the notification.

The guidelines will be in force till August 31. 

The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a single swarm covering one square kilometre can contain up to 80 million locusts. 

The Food and Agriculture Organisation Senior Locust Forecasting Officer Keith Cressman said: "Everybody knows we're facing one of the worst desert locust situations that we've probably had in a number of decades'. 

"It's obviously being focused at the moment on East Africa, where it's extremely vulnerable in terms of livelihoods and food security but now in the next month or so it will expand to other areas and will move (towards)'West Africa. 

"And it will move across the Indian Ocean to India and Pakistan,' Cressman said during a virtual briefing on Thursday on the FAO Desert Locust Appeal amid the new threat to Southwest Asia and Africa's Sahel region. Currently, the locust invasion is most serious in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, southern Iran and in parts of Pakistan and starting in June, it will move from Kenya to throughout Ethiopia, as well as to Sudan and perhaps West Africa. 

"The infestations in southern Iran, and in southwest Pakistan, they will move to India and Pakistan on the border areas. And those infestations in India and Pakistan could be supplemented by other swarms coming from East Africa, Northern Somalia," he said. 

On what the UN is doing to help these countries as they face the locust invasion, Cressman said the FAO is working with the nations to upscale and intensify their monitoring and control operations. He said the agency has fielded expertise that the countries may not have themselves as well as logisticians and brought in aircraft to help them with the aerial control operations, which is what is really needed in order to bring the locust numbers down. The FAO has also made an appeal to the international community for about USD 153 million to fund these increased operations. -- PTI

In March, the central bank had allowed a three-month moratorium on payment of all term loans due between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020. 

Accordingly, the repayment schedule and all subsequent due dates, as also the tenor for such loans, were shifted across the board by three months. As a result of this moratorium, individuals' EMI repayments of loans taken were not deducted from their bank accounts, providing much-needed liquidity. The EMI payments will restart only once the moratorium time period expires on August 31. -- PTI

Headline inflation may remain firm in the first half of the year and may ease in second half. Inflation may fall below 4 per cent in the third or fourth quarter of the current fiscal, according to the Governor. Further, Das said government revenues have been impacted severely due to the slowdown in economic activity amid the pandemic. -- PTI

"From today booking/cancellation of reserved tickets shall also be available at Post Offices, Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra licensees and through authorised agents of IRCTC along with Passenger Reservation System counters of reservation centres and Common Service Centers," said the Indian Railways.

In Delhi, people gathered outside the Rail Reservation Centre of New Delhi Railway Station as reservation counters and Common Service Centers to book train tickets.

The Ministry of Railways on Thursday had said that the Indian Railways will be opening its reservation counters for booking of reserved tickets in a phased manner from May 22.

The statement also read that the Shramik Special trains will continue to be handled by state governments as per the existing protocols.

Opening of all these booking facilities once again will mark an important step in the graded restoration of passenger railway services and making the task of ticket booking easy for all prospective travellers from all parts of India in reserved trains.

The Ministry also said that the zonal railways will have to adhere to social distancing guidelines and observe the hygiene protocols in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. -- ANI

Palaniswami had earlier announced converting the late AIADMK supremo's 'Veda Nilayam' residence at the posh Poes Garden area into a memorial. The release recalled that action has been initiated to acquire the land and building and that a preliminary notification was published in June 2019, and thereafter a declaration on May 6. 

The government first gave its administrative sanction in October 2017. "The building of Veda Nilayam, including the movable items such as furniture, books, jewels, etc. are in a state of disuse for more than three years. So the government decided to transfer all the immovable and movable properties to the government for its upkeep until the acquisition process is complete," it said. -- PTI

Update on RBI guv's presser: RBI to roll over Rs 15,000-cr refinance facility for SIDBI for 90 days.

-- Combination of fiscal, monetary and administrative actions will create conditions for revival of economy in 2nd half of FY21. 

RBI Governor Saktikanta Das addresses a press conference. Here's the gist. 

-- RBI advances monetary policy committee meeting; cuts policy repo rate by 40 basis points.

-- Pvt consumption has seen biggest blow due to COVID-19 outbreak, investment demand has halted.

-- The biggest blow came from private consumption slump with consumer durables production falling 33 percent in March 2020. Volume of world trade can shrink by 13-32% this year. 

-- Headline inflation may remain firm in the first half, but will ease out in the second half.

"The widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal & Odisha is disturbing," Gandhi said in a tweet. "My condolences to the families of those who have perished & I pray the injured make a speedy recovery. I offer my support to the brave people of these two states in this time of crisis," the former Congress president said. -- PTI

According to the article in The Economist, "Lockdowns can only ever be temporary. That is because it is becoming clear how costly they are, especially in poor countries. Part of the price is economic."

A combination of Covid-19 and lockdowns could put up to 420 million people into absolute poverty, which is defined as having to live on less than USD 1.90 a day. This would increase the total by two-thirds and set back the progress against poverty by a decade, the report said.

The newspaper also explains the far-reaching consequences of having longer lockdowns that not only brings the economies to a grinding halt but also cost lives if people do not have access to essential services. -- ANI

Rajkot-based firm Jyoti CNC developed Dhaman-1 brand of ventilators and donated 866 of them to the government in April at a time when there was an acute shortage of these machines following coronavirus outbreak, Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi, told reporters on Wednesday. But the state unit of the Congress alleged that owner of Jyoti CNC, Parakramsinh Jadeja, is Rupani's friend.

"Dhaman-1 is not a ventilator at all. It's just a mechanized ambu-bag to supply oxygen to the body. We are not against any company. But we firmly believe that these so- called ventilators were procured just to promote a company owned by the CM's friend," said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi. 

He asked the state government to disclose how many patients were put on Dhaman-1 support and how many of them died. The controversy erupted when the Ahemedabad civil hospital, in a letter to the government, sought more advanced ventilators claiming that Dhaman-1 were not up to the mark. 

The ruling BJP refuted the allegations saying even HAL Life Care, a central PSU, has placed an order to procure 5,000 Dhaman-1. -- PTI

Rajkot-based firm Jyoti CNC developed Dhaman-1 brand of ventilators and donated 866 of them to the government in April at a time when there was an acute shortage of these machines following coronavirus outbreak, Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi, told reporters on Wednesday. But the state unit of the Congress alleged that owner of Jyoti CNC, Parakramsinh Jadeja, is Rupani's friend.

"Dhaman-1 is not a ventilator at all. It's just a mechanized ambu-bag to supply oxygen to the body. We are not against any company. But we firmly believe that these so- called ventilators were procured just to promote a company owned by the CM's friend," said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi. 

He asked the state government to disclose how many patients were put on Dhaman-1 support and how many of them died. The controversy erupted when the Ahemedabad civil hospital, in a letter to the government, sought more advanced ventilators claiming that Dhaman-1 were not up to the mark. 

The ruling BJP refuted the allegations saying even HAL Life Care, a central PSU, has placed an order to procure 5,000 Dhaman-1. -- PTI

"This transaction values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. This is KKR's largest investment in Asia and will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis," the company said in a statement. The deal follows Facebook picking up a 9.99 per cent stake in the firm, housing India's youngest but largest telecom company, on April 22 for Rs 43,574 crore. Within days of that deal, Silver Lake - the world's largest tech investor - bought a 1.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore. 

On May 8, US-based Vista Equity Partners bought 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore. On May 17 global equity firm General Atlantic picked up 1.34 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore. 

"Over the last month, leading technology investors, such as, Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and KKR have announced aggregate investments of Rs 78,562 crore into Jio Platforms," it said. 

Diverse marquee investors are becoming long-term shareholders of Jio Platforms Ltd because of a unique set of technologies and platforms under one entity. There are no similar opportunities available anywhere else globally. -- PTI

The Maharashtra government has brought 80 per cent of beds in all private hospitals across the state under its purview till August 31 this year. 

Brought into force by an order passed under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the government will now regulate the usage of private hospital bed capacity and has also capped the prices of treatments that can be billed to patients.

Hospitals are allowed to charge their own rates in the remaining 20 percent beds. With 41,642 Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra accounts for a third of all cases in India.

The decision comes days after Mumbai-based Nanavati Hospital faced severe criticism after it billed Rs 16 lakh for a 15-day treatment of a Covid-19 patient. The patient later died. The hospital was also accused of charging patients Rs 8,000-9,800 for a PPE unit, almost 10 times the procurement price.

US President Donald Trump announced that flags will be lowered to half-staff over the next three days to honor coronavirus victims.

I will be lowering the flags on all Federal Buildings and National Monuments to half-staff over the next three days in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus, the US President tweeted verbatim on his way back from Michigan today.

In a subsequent tweet, Trump wrote that on Monday, The flags will be at half-staff in honor of the men and women in our Military who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Nation.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das will address the media at 10:00 am. The press breiefing will take place days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic relief package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help the economy recover from the shocks linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

The FM, while giving finer details of the economic package, had indicated that the big sums that the centre has dropped into reviving businesses would eventually trickle down.

"It was important to give stimulus for businesses to start off. In PM Garib Kalyan scheme, introduced after the lockdown, we gave some cash transfer. (But) with that done, we weren't closing the option," Sitharaman said.

"For cash transfer, we thought it was far more effective because the way in which we've planned it, we thought there'll be greater multiplier effect and therefore it should be through banks, businesses, through money given for working capital," she said.

But economists say that much of this has already been budgeted for by the government and very little includes new spending. "Only about 10 per cent of this stimulus can be traced as direct additional budgetary cost to the central exchequer," said DK Srivastava, chief policy adviser at EY India, was quoted as saying Bloomberg. "Nearly 5 per cent of the stimulus relates to already budgeted expenditures.".

Cyclone Amphan, which battered Bengal practically all day on Wednesday, has killed 76 people, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday. 

The storm -- worst in 283 years-- swept through Kolkata on Wednesday, destroying thousands of homes, uprooting trees and electric poles. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would visit Bengal and Odisha for an aerial survey today. 

Banerjee -- who said the damage caused by Amphan is to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore -- has drawn up a survey schedule ad blueprint for relief.

The PM said the entire nation stands with Bengal and "no stone will be left unturned" to help those affected. "In this challenging hour, the entire nation stands in solidarity with West Bengal. Praying for the well-being of the people of the state. Efforts are on to ensure normalcy," the PM tweeted.

The Delhi police has decided to reduce the amount given to its personnel who get infected with the coronavirus while on duty from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10,000 after the number of infections increased rapidly in the force, officials said on Thursday.

They said over 250 police personnel have been infected with the virus.

In April, when 25-30 policemen were infected, the Delhi police had decided to give Rs 1 lakh from the Delhi Police Welfare Society to the personnel, according to officials.

"A meeting was held recently and it was decided that the sanction amount should be reduced.

"A lot of policemen are getting infected with the virus and the amount has to be distributed equally in such cases.

"So a decision was taken to reduce the amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10,000," a senior police officer said.

Most policemen are treated at government hospitals and the department helps them with medicines and treatment, he said.

Meanwhile, the amount given to the family of a police official who dies of COVID-19 has been increased from Rs 7 lakhs to Rs 10 lakh, he added.

The move came after a Delhi police constable, posted in Bharat Nagar police station of Northwest district, died due of COVID-19.   -- PTI