While we get to watch new films all the time, the lockdown could be a golden chance to catch up with a few classics across genres. Digital platforms are overflowing with them, and you would literally be spoilt for choice selecting some really enjoyable stuff that has come out of Bollywood over the decades. Twenty-one days, it would seem, is too short a time to catch up with what really defines vintage Bollywood and is available in the OTT libraries.
Here is a list of old films that you might want to revisit, that will let you relax and bust the stress of lockdown. Of course, this is not a definitive list.
Chupke Chupke (1975) Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the comedy film is about a man pretending to be a driver and fooling his wife's brother-in-law as an attempt to prove that the brother-in-law is not as smart as he claims to be. The film stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Om Prakash. It is available on Netflix.
Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) The comedy-drama, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is about a goon who sets out to fulfill his father's dream of becoming a doctor. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Gracy Singh, Arshad Warsi, late Sunil Dutt and Boman Irani. It is available on Netflix.
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) The Manmohan Desai multistarrer is widely considered one of the best examples of Bollywood masala entertainment ever. It was Amitabh Bachchan's first major foray into a brand of comedy for the mass. Big B tickled the funny bone with his role of Anthony Gonsalves. The film had a lasting impact on pop culture, with Laxmikant-Pyarelal's distinct score, the dramatic one-liners, colourful characters and a peculiar mix of slapstick and melodrama. It is available on Netflix.
Amar Akbar Anthony (1973) The iconic film, starring Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Pran, and Prem Nath, is considered a classic in Indian cinema. It is about Raja, an 18-year-old son of a rich Hindu businessman, who falls in love with 16-year-old Bobby, a Catholic belonging to a very different stature. It is available on Netflix.
Gol Maal (1979) The Hrishikesh Mukherji gem is one of the greatest mainstream comedies that Bollywood has ever made. Featuring Utpal Dutt in what has to be his defining comic role, the film stars Amol Palekar and Bindiya Goswami, in a merry story of confusion, triggered off by a man who, under circumstances, has to pretend that he has a wayward and ill-mannered twin brother. The film is available on Netflix. The idea inspired Rohit Shetty's 2012 hit "Bol Bachchan".
With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially announcing that July 23 to August 8 next year will be the new dates for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Hockey India along with both Indian men and women's team coaches and support staff are already reviewing the opportunities to prepare for the Olympic Games.
The IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee had jointly announced the postponement of the Olympic Games last week owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We were already in the process of looking at possible opportunities in the lead up to the new dates for the Olympic Games next year as it provides more clarity to our approach.
"Since we have already qualified, the planning becomes easier. We will be working closely with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Ministry, Youth Affairs & Sports and Sports Authority of India in this next 15 months to ensure both our teams have the best resources to achieve success at the Olympic Games.
"At this moment it is not clear which competitions will be available for us to play given the various national Government advisories on the Covid-19 situation, however, both our teams are in a secured environment in Bengaluru and since the coaches and support staff are also there, our athletes can get back to high-intensity training as soon as we have a go ahead," stated Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad, President Hockey India.
Meanwhile Indian men's team chief coach Graham Reid who had expressed that the postponement provides more time to put more things into the team's repertoire said, "It's great to get some clarity about the new starting date for the Tokyo Olympic Games. This allows us to begin the planning process to be ready for July next year.
"In the meantime, we are looking forward to getting through this current tough period and hope to be back out on the training field as soon as possible."
Sjoerd Marijne, chief coach of the Indian women's team too said that the team is eager and ready to hit the reset button.
"It's good we have certainty when the Olympics will be held and we can work towards that. We are all in the same campus and available for each other in these hard times, a new date for the Olympics is good news for all of us. But for now, we are living by the day, staying strong mentally and physically and wait eagerly to get back to our normal routine. We are prepared to hit the reset button," stated Marijne.
A day after the Telangana government announced the death of 6 coronavirus patients from the state - all linked to Nizamuddin visit in Delhi, 17 new positive cases were registered on Tuesday. Thirteen of the new cases have been traced back to the religious congregation at the Markaz Tablighi Jamaat.
With the additional 17 new cases in a single day, the total number of confirmed coronavirus patients in Andhra Pradesh has jumped to 40, spread across nine out of the thirteen districts in the state. Prakasham and Guntur districts have registered the largest number of 11 and 9 coronavirus cases respectively.
It may be noted that most of many of those who attended the Markaz religious congregation in Nizamuddin have either tested positive or are being tracked and kept in quarantine in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Authorities of both the states are continuing their efforts to trace those who had attended the Markaz meeting in hundreds, in a bid to put them in quarantine facilities.
According to the AP government's medical bulletin, the five of the 17 people tested positive for coronavirus infection are found to have visited Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia while some of them have also attended the Delhi meeting. The infected vary between the range of 10 to 65 years of age. Overall, 30,000 persons are under the government surveillance for potential infection of coronavirus.
Though Telangana has relatively lower number of people under surveillance for potential infection, the number of confirmed cases stand as high as 72 apart from 6 deaths, mostly concentrated in the city of Hyderabad.
Last week Telangana government said the number of people under quarantine have declined to 13,000 from a level of over 20,000 persons as people were allowed to go home after completing the mandatory 14 day period in the quarantine facilities created by state medical and health department.
Despite the grim business outlook owing to the global spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), Indian information technology (IT) services firms are unlikely to resort to any major staff retrenchment, given the sensitivity of the issue.
Though this approach is in line with big US firms such as Salesforce and Morgan Stanley, whose chief executive officers have taken the public stand of not laying off employees, Indian IT firms, however, are not expected to take such a pledge publicly. This is primarily because unlike many US firms, Indian IT firms never had any layoff policy owing to its political sensitivities though employee retrenchment due to “under performance” is common.
Globally, the chief executive officers of prominent companies such as Salesforce, Visa, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, and FedEx have taken the pledge not to pursue any significant layoffs in 2020.
Even Cognizant, which has Indian roots with 65 per cent of its employees in India, has announced paying an additional 25 per cent of the basic pay to most of its staffers in India.
“Indian IT services firms are not likely to take any public stand on layoffs like many US firms. But firing staffers owing to business disruption and consequent demand slowdown is not likely to happen in big way,” said a source familiar with the thought process. “Increments, bonuses, and variable payouts are going to be on hold for the middle and senior managements.”
Many large corporations, including Bajaj Auto, the Vedanta group, and the Essar group have stated not to reduce their headcount.
As far as Indian IT services firms are concerned, 55-60 per cent of their operating expenses comprise wages. So, any decision not to reduce the staff base can adversely impact their cost structure.
The 40 per cent correction in benchmark indices from their January 2020 peak has prompted promoters of companies to buy/raise their stake in group companies. According disclosures made by the companies to stock exchange, promoters of 277 firms large as well as mid-and small-sized companies bought 267 million equity shares worth of Rs 3,745 crore in the month March alone via open market purchase.
Indian markets have seen an unprecedented correction over the last two months with the Nifty50 and S&P BSE Sensex corrected 40 per cent and 39 per cent from their respective all-time highs touched on January 20, 2020. The benchmark indices slipped 23 per cent thus far in the current month. Last week, the indices hit their lowest level since May 2016.
Analysts say the promoters are using this opportunity to buyback is a typical feature of a bear market that serves two basic purposes - one is to buy shares at an attractive price and the second is to instill confidence in the minds of shareholders that the promoters are still backing the company even in turbulent times. That apart, some promoters also believe cash could be put to better use through buybacks rather than being locked up in a fixed deposit or remain idle.
“The trigger for hiking stake has been the price crash. If the return on capital employed (ROCE) is in double digits and the company is fundamentally sound, it justifies the long-term objectives of the company also. If a promoter is sitting on cash, it is always beneficial to invest where there can be a healthy ROCE going ahead. Buyback is better in such bear markets as the money invested can get better return than a bank deposit or any other investment,” explains G Chokkalingam, founder and managing director at Equinomics Research.
Among the lot, the highest quantum of promoter buying was seen in Tata Group companies that includes Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel, Indian Hotels, Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Consumer; Bajaj Group firms Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Holdings and Bajaj Auto; and Godrej Group companies - Godrej Industries and Godrej Agrovet.
Tata Sons has bought total equity shares worth of Rs 1,011 crore of six group companies during the month. The stock price of Tata Steel, Indian Hotels Company and Tata Power Company slipped between 38 per cent and 46 per cent in CY20. On the other hand, Mphasis’ promoter, Marble II, acquired 7.5 million shares representing 4 per cent of total equity worth of Rs 525 from the open market. The stock of the information technology (IT) services firm hit 52-week low of Rs 612 on March 23, and has corrected 33 per cent in CY20.
A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, too, says that the promoters are utilizing this opportunity to instill confidence in the retail investors via the buyback route. “Valuations are attractive for promoters to buy aggressively in case they have surplus cash in their balance-sheet,” he says.
The promoters of HCL Technologies, JSW Steel, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Mphasis, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, GMR Infra and Indiabulls Housing Finance, too, increased their stake in their companies. Many stocks have seen significant and meaningful corrections thus far in the calendar year 2020 (CY20) with prices of several of them crashing more than 50 per cent their respective 52-week high.
After the relief package by the government for the poor and the marginalized sections of society and a series of liquidity enhancing measure by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced over the past few weeks, the central bank slashed rates by a 75 basis points (bps) – the most aggressive cut in the last 10 years. That apart, the RBI put a moratorium on all equated monthly installments (EMIs) on loans to ease the borrower’s pain.
On their part, the Indian markets which expected the authorities to roll out measures to stem the fall and stabilise sentiment after the over 35 per cent fall from the peak levels seen earlier this year triggered by the sudden and rampant spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic across the globe, witnessed profit booking. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 1,310 points from the day’s high to close marginally negative on Friday post the RBI’s measures.
With these expected stimulus measures out of the way, will the markets continue on their journey south? What are the cues they will keep a tab on?
Over the next few weeks, analysts expect the markets to remain volatile and now track developments related to Covid-19 across the globe and how fast & successfully the governments are able to combat the pandemic. Back home, the 21 day lockdown imposed by the government and the possibility of an extension in the same will sway investor sentiment, they say.
As regards policies, most expect this to be an ongoing process – at least till the time the economy is up and running. They, however, caution that the government could run out of dry powder soon in its fight against Covid-19 given the fiscal situation and the fact that the Indian economy was already slowing down ahead of this pandemic.
“We expect coordinated fiscal and monetary easing to continue. We believe the next tranche of fiscal measures will address cash-flow challenges faced by SMEs and other hard-hit industries. Amid weak growth, we believe the government may temporarily suspend the FRBM legislation and the central government’s fiscal deficit is likely to rise to around 5 per cent of GDP in FY21 versus 3.5 per cent budgeted,” wrote Sonal Varma, managing director and chief India economist at Nomura in a co-authored report with Aurodeep Nandi.
They now expect a further 75 bps cut in repo rate in the second and the third quarter of 2020 (Q2-Q3/2020). On unconventional policies, they see more aggressive open market operations, further liquidity injections via targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs), including expanding its scope to target banks loans.
Those at BofA Securities, too, share a similar view and expect the RBI to remain aggressive as regards its policies. They expect the central bank to cut rates by 25bp each in June and October and peg the inflation rate at 2.5 per cent in the second half of financial year 2020-21 (H2FY21).
“We now see its 2020 rate cuts totaling 125bp up from 100bp. This, in turn, will take the RBI reverse repo rate to 3.5 per cent, close to 2009's 3.25 per cent low. We have cut down our FY21 growth forecast to 4 per cent,” wrote Indranil Sen Gupta, India economist at BofA Securities, in a co-authored report with Aastha Gudwani.
Expectations of an economic relief package in the wake of Covid-19 were really high. And these sky-high expectations were perhaps largely responsible for the disappointment that greeted the announcement of the Rs 1.7-trillion economic relief package by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
In itself, the announcement is welcome and a much-needed first step that should help ameliorate the economic hardships being faced by millions of poor Indians after the country was locked down from Wednesday to prevent the spread of the flu. But there is no denying that more needs to be done and a few more rounds of such assistance would be necessary in the coming weeks as the impact of the lockdown and the disease on the economy becomes more evident.
Make no mistake about what gave rise to those high expectations. It was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who raised hopes when he addressed the nation last week, on Thursday, March 19, and announced that a task force, headed by Sitharaman, would draw up measures to combat the economic effects of the pandemic. Soon thereafter, everyone began calculating what the scope and size of the economic package would be like.
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Four days went by without any further announcement on the package.
On Tuesday, March 23, Sitharaman held a news conference to announce a few relaxations in the norms for compliance of a set of economic laws, but on the economic package her only comment was that it was being readied and would be announced sooner than later. Modi addressed the nation the same evening, but there was no mention of the economic relief package, barring a provision of Rs 15,000 crore for strengthening healthcare measures. But on the same day, a country-wide lockdown was announced. The economic consequences of the lockdown were known to all when that decision was rightly taken. Why the economic package was not announced simultaneously along with the lockdown reflects poorly on the way the crisis has been handled.
Meanwhile, former finance minister P Chidambaram began talking about the need for providing at least Rs 5 trillion by way of an economic relief package to combat the effects of Covid-19. This would have been a little over 2 per cent of India’s total gross domestic product (GDP).
Meanwhile, the United States announced a financial assistance package of $2 trillion, which was as large as 10 per cent of its GDP. Quick comparisons were being made about what the Indian government’s amount would look like if something similar were to be done by New Delhi. A little over Rs 20 trillion? But then the US is in a far deeper mess than India is at present and a comparison with that country may not be apt. But the total package that was announced on Thursday is less than 1 per cent of India’s GDP. This was nowhere near the US amount or the figure that Chidambaram had been talking about a few days earlier. Expectations of an economic relief package in the wake of Covid-19 were really high. And these sky-high expectations were perhaps largely responsible for the disappointment that greeted the announcement of the Rs 1.7-trillion economic relief package by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
In itself, the announcement is welcome and a much-needed first step that should help ameliorate the economic hardships being faced by millions of poor Indians after the country was locked down from Wednesday to prevent the spread of the flu. But there is no denying that more needs to be done and a few more rounds of such assistance would be necessary in the coming weeks as the impact of the lockdown and the disease on the economy becomes more evident.
Make no mistake about what gave rise to those high expectations. It was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who raised hopes when he addressed the nation last week, on Thursday, March 19, and announced that a task force, headed by Sitharaman, would draw up measures to combat the economic effects of the pandemic. Soon thereafter, everyone began calculating what the scope and size of the economic package would be like
Four days went by without any further announcement on the package.
On Tuesday, March 23, Sitharaman held a news conference to announce a few relaxations in the norms for compliance of a set of economic laws, but on the economic package her only comment was that it was being readied and would be announced sooner than later. Modi addressed the nation the same evening, but there was no mention of the economic relief package, barring a provision of Rs 15,000 crore for strengthening healthcare measures. But on the same day, a country-wide lockdown was announced. The economic consequences of the lockdown were known to all when that decision was rightly taken. Why the economic package was not announced simultaneously along with the lockdown reflects poorly on the way the crisis has been handled.
Meanwhile, former finance minister P Chidambaram began talking about the need for providing at least Rs 5 trillion by way of an economic relief package to combat the effects of Covid-19. This would have been a little over 2 per cent of India’s total gross domestic product (GDP).
Meanwhile, the United States announced a financial assistance package of $2 trillion, which was as large as 10 per cent of its GDP. Quick comparisons were being made about what the Indian government’s amount would look like if something similar were to be done by New Delhi. A little over Rs 20 trillion? But then the US is in a far deeper mess than India is at present and a comparison with that country may not be apt. But the total package that was announced on Thursday is less than 1 per cent of India’s GDP. This was nowhere near the US amount or the figure that Chidambaram had been talking about a few days earlier.
A rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was much expected this time and the Governor did not disappoint. The aggressive cut of 75 basis points (bps) in the repo rate is commendable, as it provides the balm required to revive the economy. This is evidently meant to counter the negative impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Governor Shaktikanta Das was very prudent in not giving a forecast for growth or inflation because, as he rightly stated, with things changing so fast, it is not certain how long the threat will last and how its spread and depth will impact the economy. Therefore, the policy is directed towards the immediate problem of mitigating the damage caused by the virus.
The RBI has decided to use a novel way to influence interest rates. The repo rate has come down to 4.4 per cent, while the reverse repo rate is now 4 per cent with a difference of 40 bps. The idea is to ensure that banks do not deposit surpluses in the reverse repo auctions, which is averaging Rs 3 trillion on a daily basis. Now, they will be forced to invest their surpluses in credit rather than giving it to the RBI. This is probably the first time that the central bank has changed this corridor size to 65 bps from 40 bps. It will be interesting to see how banks respond, as they would need to be more responsive to the need of the hour and change their mindset to ensure they lend more to companies.
The move to expand liquidity in the system is again very noteworthy. The twist this time is that the long-term refinance option (LTRO) of Rs 1-trillion will have to be invested in corporate bonds, commercial papers (CPs) or debentures, which in a way will be beneficial for the markets and is, hence, novel. While the LTRO was so far targeted at providing funds for direct lending, this time it is more for direct subscription of paper, which also means it cannot be hoarded or invested in government paper. Second, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) cut provides another 1 per cent of NDTL to banks for lending purposes with a lower minimum daily balance to be maintained.
The MSF increase of 1 per cent, along with the above two measures, would infuse another Rs 3.74 trillion into the system – that is a big jump in liquidity. Combine this with the open-market operations (OMO) and LTRO of the past, and the monetary stimulus provided is 3.2 per cent of GDP, which is quite substantial from the point of view of the RBI, which has supplemented the efforts of the government in alleviating the pain caused by Covid-19.
The regulatory measures are also important because this is something that the market players were looking forward to. The three-month moratorium on all term loans is quite the need of the hour, which will make it easier for companies as the cut in supply chains and the lockdown have meant a severe blow to most companies in terms of their ability to service debt. For banks, a deferment of maintenance of the last tranche of the capital conservation buffer would provide relief as they also readjust their balance sheets to meet regulatory compliances.
On the whole, the announcements are very good and the RBI has done this well in time so that from the monetary end all impediments are addressed to a large extent. The assurance that Indian banks are very safe is timely, as there had been some scepticism building up early this month.
Rewind to the decade of the 90s. The was the era in which India was ushering in economic liberalisation and a catchphrase called globalisation began capturing political imagination the world over. National boundaries became blurred, economic integration and cross-border migration gathered momentum, as world leaders bought the globalisation story even before it began to play out.
Fast-forward to the present day. Suddenly, globalisation is no longer seen as the panacaea it was 25-30 years ago and migration, earlier regarded as a desirable social process that supported the cause of a global community, is now viewed with trepidation and fear. What caused this 180-degree turn in mindset?
Before we answer that question, let's take a quick look at some numbers. By one estimate, some 17 million Indians were living outside the country in 2017 and around 391,000 went abroad as unskilled migrants. According to the 2001 census, 259 million people migrated from one state to another and from village to village.
Every day, the country welcomes migrants into its fold while simultaneously seeing a stream of ethnic Indians moving overseas for work or to become global citizens. It is a typical cycle, albeit not necessarily a vicious one from the emigrant's point of view -- on the one hand, the desire to improve one's economic lot provides the stimulus to emigrate and on the other, financial ability to emigrate provides mobility to the mover. Cross-border movement of population promotes multi-culturalism, boosts economic growth and has been known to improve work ethic as well.
But there is the flip side to migration. For starters, it has the potential to radically change the demographics and culture of a nation, especially when the influx of foreigners is complemented by an outflow of the ethnic population. The other aspect, which has come into focus recently due to the spread of the coronavirus, is the potential of the accepting nation to import diseases from the incoming foreigner or returning Indian. Everybody's uncle will tell you that the Coronavirus spread from Chinese migrants to the populations in their host countries, and that disease made inroads into India due to the influx of Indians returning home from abroad and foreigners visiting the country. There is little argument against the theory that entrepreneurs, businessman, employed public, and entertainers who travel to various parts of the world have contributed a lot in dissemination of this malady in India. This is especially true in the case of semi-skilled, unskilled Indian migrants returning from the Middle East.
An international group of nearly 400 volunteers with expertise in cybersecurity formed on Wednesday to fight hacking related to the novel coronavirus. Called the Covid-19 CTI League, for cyber threat intelligence, the group spans more than 40 countries and includes professionals in senior positions at such major companies as Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc .
One of four initial managers of the effort, Marc Rogers, said the top priority would be working to combat hacks against medical facilities and other frontline responders to the pandemic. It is already working on hacks of health organizations. Also key is the defense of communication networks and services that have become essential as more people work from home, said Rogers, head of security at the long-running hacking conference Def Con and a vice president at security company Okta Inc.
The group is also using its web of contacts in internet infrastructure providers to squash garden-variety phishing attacks and another financial crime that is using the fear of Covid-19 or the desire for information on it to trick regular internet users. "I've never seen this volume of phishing," Rogers said. "I am literally seeing phishing messages in every language known to man."
Phishing messages try to induce recipients to enter passwords or other sensitive information on websites controlled by the attackers, who then use the data to take control of bank, email or other accounts.
Rogers said the group had already dismantled one campaign that used a software vulnerability to spread malicious software. He declined to provide details, and said that in general the group would be reluctant to reveal what it was fighting. Rogers said law enforcement had been surprisingly welcoming of the collaboration, recognizing the vastness of the threat. Rogers is a UK citizen based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two other group coordinators are American, and one is Israeli. "I have never seen this level of cooperation," Rogers said. "I hope it continues afterwards, because it's a beautiful thing to see."
Public sector lender Union Bank of India on Thursday said it has set up an emergency funding window for its MSME and corporate customers impacted by coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The bank is offering a maximum 10 per cent of the existing working capital limit to accounts that are standard as on February 1, 2020, a statement said.
The repayment period of these loans will be 36 months, including maximum moratorium of 12 months. The window is open till September 30, 2020.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Banks offer fresh lines of credit to SME firms amid lockdown "This credit facility is available at NIL margin with competitive rate of interest - 8 per cent fixed rate of interest, which is one-year MCLR as on date," the bank said.
ALSO READ: Centre tells states to ensure smooth movement of bank, ATM staff All MSME/agriculture borrowers are eligible for a loan up to Rs 10 crore and others up to Rs 50 crore.
Public sector banks, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank, have already rolled out similar lines of credit for their customers to meet any liquidity mismatches.
The 21-day shutdown announced by the Narendra Modi – led government due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has put nearly 75 per cent of the Indian economy under lock and key, which is likely to strain the government’s finances and see the fiscal deficit for financial year 2020-21 (FY21) rise by one per cent from the 3.5 per cent target set in the Union Budget presented in February, says the latest report from Nomura.
“Our initial estimates suggest that around 75 per cent of the economy will be shutdown, resulting in a direct output loss of nearly 4.5 per cent. We expect the central government to soon announce a stimulus package of around 0.7-1.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Along with the growth hit and poor tax collections, we expect the fiscal deficit for FY21 to balloon by over 1 per cent of GDP,” wrote Sonal Varma, managing director and chief India economist at Nomura in a co-authored report with Aurodeep Nandi.
A sensitivity analysis of the adverse impact of lockdown by Motilal Oswal Research suggests that a single day of complete lockdown could shave off 14-19bp/55-75bp from annual/quarterly growth. “With 14 days of complete lockdown in April (assuming things normalize from mid-May'20), GDP could decline 12.2 per cent YoY in 1QFY21, first ever de-growth since the quarterly data became available since late 1990s. With two consecutive quarters of GDP decline, India could see its first recession since 1990s,” said Gautam Duggad, head of institutional research at Motilal Oswal.
Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings, however, says it may still be a bit too early to say this. “Typically, there is joblessness, drop in production and demand ahead of a recessionary phase. These three ingredients are already there given the 21-day lockdown. Though the lockdown will result in sharp GDP contraction, it is a bit too early to say India is heading into a recessionary phase,” Sabnavis says.
The sectors exempt from this 21-day lockdown – food and pharmaceutical industries, storage, telecom, electricity, banking and capital markets, etc comprise roughly 25 per cent of the economy as per Nomura's estimates, with the activity in the rest of the sectors coming to a grinding halt – at least for the next three weeks.
Recession-1 “On average, every month of lockdown results in output loss of around 8.5 per cent of the annual total. Hence, if 75 per cent of the economy is locked down for a month, then the output loss will around 6.5 per cent. A three week lockdown – as is the case currently – should result in an output loss of close to 4.5 per cent,” Nomura says.
Even when the lockdown period ends, it will take time for the economy to be fully up and running. The public fear factor, analysts feel, will still result in below-normal activity for a few more months. That apart, there will be lingering effects in private consumption and corporate investment demand, all of which will impact the financial sector, especially banks.
“Clearly, for the first time in living memory, many industries/SMEs will be running on zero revenues for close to a month. Even the ‘opening up’ after the lockdown is likely to be measured (lest a ‘second wave’ hits back). This means that there will be a permanent impact of this 21-day shutdown even into the longer-term numbers,” says Sunil Tirumalai, head of research at Emkay Global.
Barclays pegs the 21-day shutdown cost at around $120 billion, or 4 per cent of GDP. “We are shaving down our calendar year 2020 (CY20) GDP forecast from 4.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent and FY20-21 forecast to 3.5 per cent (from 5.2 per cent earlier),” their analysts wrote in a recent report.
Parliament passed 12 bills during the curtailed budget session with Lok Sabha passing 15 bills and Rajya Sabha 13. During the session, 19 bills were introduced in the two Houses (18 in Lok Sabha and 1 in Rajya Sabha).
The two Houses were adjourned sine die on Monday after completion of the budgetary process including passage of the Finance Bill. The second part of the session was curtailed in view of the threat of the spread of coronavirus.
The budget session began on January 31 and the first part of the session ended on February 11 while the second part of the session commenced on March 2. The recess was used by department-related standing committees to examine the demands for grants.
Here are the details of the Bills passed by either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or both.
The Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2020: Initiated by the finance ministry to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2019-20. Details here
The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.2) Bill: Initiated by the finance ministry to Issue of Rs 55317,81,00,000 from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for financial year 2019-20. Details here
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The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.4) Bill: Initiated by the finance ministry to Issue of Rs. 123127,98,40,000 from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for financial year 2020-21. Details here
The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2020: Initiated by the finance ministry to Issue of Rs. 208,70,40,000 from and out of the Consolidated Fund of State of Jammu and Kashmir for financial year 2019-20. Details here
The Appropriation Bill, 2020: To authorise the government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its working.
Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill: Initiated by Human Resource and Development Ministry to declare five IIITs as institutes of national importance. Details here
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020: The amended bill has provision to increase the upper limit of legal abortions to 24 weeks for special categories of women. Details here
The Minerals Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020: This bill will enable the companies to participate in the coal auction even if they don't have prior experience in the field.
The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020: To provide for the establishment of an Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda and to declare it as an Institution of national importance for the promotion of quality and excellence in education, research and training in Ayurveda. Details here
Video streaming major Netflix on Tuesday said it will reduce traffic on telecommunications networks by 25 per cent while maintaining the quality of service for users in India, as part of its efforts to help mitigate network congestion amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Companies like Amazon Prime Video are also temporarily lowering bit rates - a measure of how much data is being transferred - to ease pressure on telecom network infrastructure.
Consumption of digital content has gone up manifold as people are forced to stay indoors as almost the entire country is under lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19.
"Given the crisis, we've developed a way to reduce Netflix's traffic on telecommunications networks by 25 per cent while also maintaining the quality of our service. So consumers should continue to get the quality that comes with their plan - whether it's Ultra-High, High or Standard Definition," Netflix VP Content Delivery Ken Florance said in an emailed statement.
He added this will provide significant relief to congested networks, and the measure will be deployed in India for the next 30 days.
The company, which has over 167 million users globally, has already undertaken similar measures in Europe. It doesn't provide country-specific subscriber numbers. Netflix typically has many different streams for a single title within each resolution. This action would result in removal of the highest bandwidth streams, and so, subscribers will continue to have access to the service they have paid for (Ultra-High Definition, High Definition or Standard Definition) depending on the device they use.
In India, Netflix has a significant number of subscribers on the Mobile Plan which is Standard Definition.
Netflix's rival, Amazon Prime Video on Monday had said it has begun efforts to reduce streaming bitrates in India. Bitrate usually determines the size and quality of video and audio files. Higher bitrate indicates better quality.
The Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) had written to the government urging issuance of instructions to streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and others to initiate measures that will ease pressure on network infrastructure, which is needed for "critical" functions at this juncture.
"We support the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to COVID-19…In India, we've already begun the effort to reduce streaming bitrates whilst maintaining a quality streaming experience for our customers," an Amazon Prime Video spokesperson had said.
A Hotstar spokesperson had said said the company's video streaming is based on adaptive bitrate streaming, which ensures that it is "lean" in internet consumption. However, the company said it is "prepared to reduce the bitrate for our HD streams, should the need arise".
With the coronavirus increasing its spread across Africa, the continent received a much-needed care package from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
A cargo flight containing more than 6 million medical items arrived Sunday in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. The supplies from Ma, the founder of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, will be distributed to African countries in need of supplies to battle the spreading Covid-19 pandemic.
An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from Guangzhou, China arrived with 5.4 million face masks, 1.08 million testing kits, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective face shields, according to Ethiopian officials and the Jack Ma Foundation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week pledged to distribute the supplies to other countries in Africa. Ma has sent similar shipments of medical supplies to countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. The virus has been relatively slow to reach Africa but has now spread to at least 43 of the continent's 54 countries, with more than 1,100 cases confirmed. In response many African countries are imposing restrictions.
Mozambique confirmed its first case Sunday and cancelled all visas to the country, closed schools and banned gatherings of more than 50 people.
Kenya announced new restrictions Sunday, after it confirmed eight new cases, bringing its total to 15. It closed all bars and restaurants as of midnight Sunday and halted all services at churches and mosques, saying that houses of worship had not implemented safe social distancing. Kenya also suspended all international passenger flights effective Wednesday and closed the border posts to neighboring Uganda, except for the transport of cargo.
In Burkina Faso, the U.S. ambassador, Andrew Young, announced on his personal Twitter account Sunday that he has tested positive for the virus, He is in quarantine and local sources say he has not gone to a hospital.
Burkina Faso has 75 cases and four deaths as of Sunday, one of the highest number of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
Young is the first U.S. ambassador to say that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and the second ambassador in Burkina Faso to contract the virus, according to diplomats. Earlier this week Italian ambassador, Andrea Romussi, told AP he was positive, but was feeling fine. Burkina Faso's government has also been badly impacted by the virus with at least four Cabinet ministers confirmed as positive.
Fuel prices across major cities remained unchanged for seventh straight day amid lockdown across several in the country. Crude oil rates have fallen to about $25 a barrel. Petrol on Monday will now cost Rs 69.59 per litre and diesel at Rs 62.29 per litre in Delhi. The fuel prices across the country seem to be stable since past one week due to the coronavirus outbreak and the slowdown of oil prices globally.
In Mumbai, petrol is being sold at Rs 75.30 per litre and diesel at Rs 65.21 per litre. In Chennai, a litre of petrol to cost Rs 72.28 per litre, and diesel is priced at Rs 65.71 per litre.
In Bengaluru, petrol per litre is at Rs 71.97 and diesel at Rs 64.41. In Hyderabad, petrol pumps are charging Rs 73.97 for petrol and Rs 67.82 for diesel. In Gurgaon, people will have to pay Rs 70.21 for petrol and Rs 62.08 for diesel. The petrol price in Hyderabad will be sold at Rs 73.97 per litre followed by diesel price, which remained stable at Rs 67.82.
In the international market, the oil prices fell on Monday as governments across the world escalated lockdowns to curb the spread of the global coronavirus outbreak that has slashed the demand outlook for oil and threatened a global economic contraction.
Brent crude futures fell $1.09, or 4 per cent, to $25.89 a barrel by 0209 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures was down 15 cents, or 0.7 per cent, at $22.48 a barrel. Oil prices have fallen for four straight weeks and have given up about 60 per cent since the start of the year.
The Technology Development Board (TDB), a body under the Department of Science & Technology, has invited proposal from Indian companies to address protection and home-based respiratory intervention for Covid-19 patients, DST Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said on Sunday.
The proposal may include technologically innovative solutions like low-cost masks, cost-effective scanning devices, technologies for sanitisation of large areas as well as for contactless entry, rapid diagnostic kits and oxygenators, and ventilators.
Sharma said the DST is looking at low-cost masks which can capture virus from the air and absorb respiratory droplets, cost-effective thermal scanning, large area sanitisation and sterilisation (including electrostatic spray and Ultra Violet treatment for various available surfaces like glass, ceramic, wood, textile).
He said the DST is also looking at bioinformatics and surveillance, rapid and accurate diagnosis kit (paper-based and other point of care devices), Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (IOT) solution for contact-less entry, low cost and portable oxygenators and ventilators (low-cost and portable).
"The TDB Board provides financial assistance by means of soft loans (up to 50 per cent of project cost at 5 per cent simple interest per annum, equity participation (up to a maximum of 25 per cent of the project cost) or grant in exceptional cases, for encouraging the commercial application of indigenously developed technology and for adapting imported technology to wider domestic application," a statement said.
The proposals have to be submitted on or before March 27. On the other hand, several start-ups are also coming up with technology-driven solutions to identify cases and help the government track the movement of those who have been tested positive.
For example, Bengaluru-based Healthtech start-up Mfine has rolled out a coronavirus assessment feature which enables virtual medical consultation to assess patients who have flu-like symptoms. Healthcare company Portea has developed a chatbot called Cobot-19 which will disseminate information related to coronavirus.
Bajaj Allianz too has rolled out an app with the Social Trackback feature, which is designed to help individuals maintain a real-time database of the people they have interacted in-person. The company claims this will help authorities track the details in case a user has been tested positive for the novel virus.
Currrent Affairs
Biocon on Friday said it has gotten the foundation review report (EIR) from US wellbeing controller for the post-endorsement and great assembling practice (GMP) investigation of its little particles fabricating office in Bengaluru.
"The EIR has been shut with a willful activity demonstrated (VAI) arrangement for the perceptions, the organization representative said in a recording to BSE.
"Biocon has gotten the EIR from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the post-endorsement and GMP assessment of its little atoms dynamic pharmaceutical fixing (API) fabricating office at twentieth KM, Biocon Campus, Bengaluru, directed between Feb 20 and Feb 26, 2020," according to the recording.
At the finish of the review a month ago, the organization had given a Form 483, with two perceptions, which were procedural in nature and are being tended to by the organization, the documenting said.
"We stay focused on worldwide guidelines of value and consistence," organization representative included.
The portions of Biocon were exchanging at Rs 257.00 each on the BSE, up 1.76 from the past close.
Currrent Affairs
Sickly private loan specialist YES Bank will hit the market with authentication of stores (CDs), a currency advertise instrument, to raise up to Rs 20,000 crore from institutional players, for the most part banks.
This is the principal huge scope (present moment) raising money exertion by the bank subsequent to being rescued under a remaking plan.
Rating office CRISIL has allocated 'A2' rating to the Rs 20,000 - crore CDs program of YES Bank.
The instruments conveying this rating are considered to have solid level of wellbeing in regards to opportune installment of money related commitments. Such instruments convey low credit chance, CRISIL said in an announcement.
The rating factors in the desire for proceeded with uncommon foundational support from key partners, alongside sizeable responsibility for Bank of India (SBI).
Truly Bank saw a consistent surge of stores in the previous scarcely any quarters given the difficulties looked by it and the antagonistic news reports concerning the bank.
Between December 31, 2019, and March 5, 2020, the store base contracted by around Rs 28,000 crore. Since March 31, 2018, the store base has declined by over Rs 63,000 crore. All things considered, the bank included contributors even in late quarters….Read More
Currrent Affairs
The administration on Thursday said 76,359 employments have been made in the telecom area since 2018-19. While answering to an inquiry in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Telecom Sanjay Dhotre said of the all out occupations made in the segment, 28,424 were immediate employments, while 47,935 were aberrant.
An absolute 40,445 employments were made in 2018-19 and 35,914 occupations in 2019-20.
Dhotre said work information was given by significant telecom specialist co-ops to the degree kept up by them. The priest said the legislature under National Digital Communications Policy-2018 imagines making 40 lakh extra occupations in the computerized interchanges segment by 2022….Read More
Currrent Affairs
The Union government is intending to give joblessness advantages to an area of sorted out laborers who may lose their positions due to the coronavirus pandemic. This will be along the lines of measures taken by certain nations, for example, the United States to battle the effect of the pandemic, otherwise called COVID-19, on the working populace.
The administration's 'Atal Beema Vyakti Kalyan Yojana', which gives joblessness protection to laborers who have bought in to the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) conspire, will cover such specialists during the pandemic. The ESI is a self-financing medical coverage plot for formal division laborers in India oversaw by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
Under the plan, which has been operational since July 2018, laborers who become jobless get remuneration as money as long as a quarter of a year of joblessness. Be that as it may, this can be profited just once in a blue moon.
"The work and business service is hoping to broaden the plan and permit laborers to benefit of joblessness protection on the off chance that they are affected by coronavirus," a senior government official said.
Laborers get money to the tune of 25 percent of the normal compensation that they were getting over the most recent two years of their activity under this plan. In any case, a significant condition for laborers to get the joblessness advantage is that they ought to have been a supporter of the ESIC for at any rate two years….Read More
International News
Gold costs rose on Thursday after a precarious fall in the past meeting, as the European Central Bank's measures to moderate the monetary impacts of the coronavirus pandemic lifted speculator assumption.
Basics
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,491.40 per ounce by 0040 GMT, having risen 1% prior in the meeting.
* The metal fell about 3% on Wednesday alongside different valuable metals, as financial specialists sold across advantages for crowd money.
* U.S. gold fates rose 1.2% to $1,495.80 per ounce.
* Asian financial exchanges battled to balance out, as the most recent guarantee of boost from the European Central Bank propped up notion while the world battles to contain the infection pandemic. U.S. stock fates turned positive.
* The euro rose against the dollar and the pound after the ECB's advantage buy program declaration because of the coronavirus flare-up.
* The European Central Bank propelled a 750 billion euro ($818 billion) crisis bond buy program on Wednesday to push down getting costs in an alliance battling with the financial aftermath of coronavirus.
* Japan's yearly center shopper swelling facilitated in February as vitality costs fell and the flare-up blurred the standpoint as buyers develop increasingly wary about spending, adding to fears the economy could be sliding into downturn….Read More
International News
Casio has become a fierceness among youths and experience searchers the same as it offers some perfect frill for outdoorsy individuals. While G-stun needs no presentation, we went over Casio's Pro Trek WSD-F20 smartwatch, which takes the savvy wearable game a step higher, and utilized it for a couple of days. This is what we watched:
Structure and show
A tough look has gotten synonymous with Casio (Considering G-stun watches); the Pro Trek is no exemption. This smartwatch is substantial on the wrist, as the dial has layers of assurance to cause the watch to withstand outrageous conditions. The packaging gives it a metallic look, and the bezels are thick.
The lashes are thick yet supplement the general look. We, nonetheless, felt that the clasp could have been of a superior quality.
Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20Its 1.32-inch touchscreen show is among the best we have seen up until now. The brilliance can be acclimated to spare battery. In the event that you use it on a splendid day, you may need to build the splendor to the most extreme. The touch reaction is snappy; you can without much of a stretch explore through the menu in any event, during an action.
The Pro Trek has a double layer touchscreen show, which implies, you can utilize it as a fundamental watch if its battery depletes out.
Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20There are three fastens on the privilege and they can undoubtedly be situated because of their size…Read More
International News
Uttarakhand government on Wednesday abrogated reservation in advancement in the state government occupations. The Trivendra Rawat-government took the significant choice on fruition of three years of its residency.
Following the express government's structure, the representatives from the General-OBC classes finished their strike. The state government likewise gave orders in regards to departmental advancement board of trustees (DPC).
The administration workers from General-OBC classification in the state had been arranging a dissent, requesting the usage of the Supreme Court's choice on the issue.
The strike seriously influenced the work in government workplaces. The state Chief Secretary had on Tuesday called the striking workers for talks. During the gathering, the Chief Secretary consented to lift the prohibition on advancements.
Boss Minister's Secretary Radhika Jha interfaced with the representatives. She guaranteed that the request to evacuate the boycott in advancements would be given with quick impact.
Plus, leaves will be conceded to the striking representatives for the time of the strike. The express government's structure said that according to the Supreme Court's choice, the legislature has abrogated the advancement boycott dated September 11, 2019. Furthermore, the state government request dated September 5, 2012 restricting reservation in advancements has additionally become effective. Further move will be made according to the request…Read More
Companies News
Agnikul, a startup spearheading 3D printed single-piece rocket motors and building an orbital-class dispatch vehicle that can take little satellites to space, has brought Rs 23.4 crore up in a pre-arrangement A round drove by pi Ventures. Different speculators which partook in the round included Hari Kumar (LionRock Capital), Artha Ventures, LetsVenture, Globevestor, CIIE and existing financial specialist Speciale Invest. Agnikul plans to utilize these assets for ground testing, creation and group extension.
Agnikul, working out of National Center for Combustion Research at IIT Chennai, is building up a satellite dispatch vehicle for payload limit of up to 100 kgs. The vehicle is configurable and can bolster a payload scope of 30-100 kgs without affecting the financial matters. Since the motor is completely 3D printed, the assembling intricacy related with conventional rocket motors is moved to the plan for their situation, making it a simpler and less expensive manufacture process that will have the option to convey dispatch vehicles inside half a month, essentially on request. Agnikul said it is the main organization on the planet to structure a rocket motor which can be imprinted in a solitary piece utilizing 3D printing innovation.
"We began Agnikul with the fantasy about bringing space inside everybody's compass. We are doing this by building deft, dependable and measured rockets that can place little satellites in space on-request," said Srinath Ravichandran, Co-organizer and CEO, Agnikul. "This round of speculation from pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and others is an important speed lift to our excursion and will legitimately assist us with getting a lot nearer to circle," he said…Read More
International News
Amazon.com Inc will just get imperative supplies at its US and UK and other European stockrooms until April 5, its most recent move to let loose stock space for clinical and family unit merchandise popular because of the coronavirus flare-up.
The change doesn't imply that Amazon will quit selling insignificant things like telephone cases and toys for the present, just that items might be bound to come up short on stock in the following scarcely any weeks or dealers need to deliver the items legitimately to buyers themselves.
In a note sent to venders on Tuesday, Amazon said it is seeing expanding web based shopping request from purchasers. As its family unit staples and clinical supplies are coming up short on stock, it will organize certain classes so as to "rapidly get, restock, and transport these items to clients."
Amazon characterized a few classifications as basic items that can keep shipping, including infant items; wellbeing and family unit things; excellence and individual consideration; basic food item; modern and logical; and pet supplies. Books are incorporated also.
"We comprehend this is a change for our selling accomplices and value their understanding as we incidentally organize these items for clients," Amazon said in an announcement.
The organization said the new convention applies to both first-party merchants and outsider dealers. That proposes that the organization isn't securing its own items.…Read More
International News
Amazon.com Inc will just get imperative supplies at its US and UK and other European stockrooms until April 5, its most recent move to let loose stock space for clinical and family unit merchandise popular because of the coronavirus flare-up.
The change doesn't imply that Amazon will quit selling insignificant things like telephone cases and toys for the present, just that items might be bound to come up short on stock in the following scarcely any weeks or dealers need to deliver the items legitimately to buyers themselves.
In a note sent to venders on Tuesday, Amazon said it is seeing expanding web based shopping request from purchasers. As its family unit staples and clinical supplies are coming up short on stock, it will organize certain classes so as to "rapidly get, restock, and transport these items to clients."
Amazon characterized a few classifications as basic items that can keep shipping, including infant items; wellbeing and family unit things; excellence and individual consideration; basic food item; modern and logical; and pet supplies. Books are incorporated also.
"We comprehend this is a change for our selling accomplices and value their understanding as we incidentally organize these items for clients," Amazon said in an announcement.
The organization said the new convention applies to both first-party merchants and outsider dealers. That proposes that the organization isn't securing its own items.…Read More
Current Affairs
Oppo has kept on enchanting selfie darlings with its cell phones, particularly those in its Reno arrangement. Its new contribution, the Reno 3 Pro, flaunts a 44-megapixel double punchhole camera and a huge number of highlights to draw in Instagrammers and TikTokers.
Be that as it may, when a substantial camera set-up isn't sufficient for a cell phone to move beyond the opposition, can Oppo Reno 3 Pro demonstrate an inconsistency? Allow's find to out:
Plan and show
Oppo's Reno line-up is known for its plan and execution, and the nonattendance of a shark-blade camera in the Oppo Reno 3 Pro amazed us, however punchhole camera on the front gives it great looks. In any case, it might divert a few while spilling a web-arrangement or playing a game.
Oppo Reno 3 ProA successor to the Reno 2, the Reno 3 Pro has outstanding updates as far as equipment and programming. It is smooth and lightweight, in spite of highlighting a 4,025 mAh battery, so it is entirely agreeable for regular use. This could be a help for the individuals who despise massive telephones.
The Reno 3 Pro looks exquisite all around, and the tinted back board keeps up the slight line among style and overcompensate. The back board is made of polycarbonate material instead of glass which decreases its weight and offers a superior hold. Oppo Reno 3 ProThe telephone accompanies a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED fullHD+ show of a 1080 x 2340 goals, with thin bezels around it. The 60Hz revive rate may frustrate a few, particularly the individuals who have encountered screen boards with upgraded invigorate rates, which are instinctive and feel substantially more responsive in everyday utilization....Read More
Current Affairs
Spanish football trainer Francisco Garcia has died matured 21 in the wake of contracting coronavirus.
Garcia was filling in as the administrator of Atletico Portada Alta's childhood group since 2016. He has become the most youthful casualty of the sickness in the locale, goal.com announced. Atletico Portada Alta discharged an official articulation on Instagram about the dying of Garcia.
"We need to communicate our most profound sympathies to the family, companions and dear companions of our mentor Francisco Garcia who has left us, sadly, today," the announcement said.
"Presently what do we manage without you, Francis? You were consistently there with us at Portada or any place you were required, assisting. How might we continue covering each one of those kilometers in the alliance? We don't have the foggiest idea how, however we will most likely do it for you. We won't overlook you, find happiness in the hereafter, wonder. Until always," it included.
He spent away on Sunday in the wake of testing positive for COVID-19 a week ago, having been sent to the Regional Hospital of Malaga for treatment. At the point when the chief showed up at the office, it was additionally discovered that he was likewise experiencing leukemia.
Spanish football's significant alliances have been closed down uncertainly to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Something very similar has been followed in UK, France, and Italy. All significant football rivalries like La Liga, Premier League, Champions League, and Serie A have been suspended due to the coronavirus episode....Read More
Current Affairs
The worldwide avionics affiliation has cautioned that movement limitations and flight scratch-offs forced due to the COVID-19 pandemic had "seriously restricted" freight limit expected to send prescriptions. The International Air Transport Association encouraged governments on Monday to keep air load streaming to prop up supply chains and transport clinical necessities during the dangerous new coronavirus episode.
"The emotional travel limitations and breakdown of traveler request have seriously restricted payload limit," said Geneva-based IATA. It included that other than conveying prescriptions and clinical gear, air payload was instrumental in moving nourishment and items purchased online that help isolate and social separating strategies.
"More than 185,000 traveler flights have been dropped since the finish of January because of government travel limitations," said IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac.
"With this, fundamental load limit has vanished when it is most direly required in the battle against COVID-19." While vessel airplane have been prepared to make up the deficiency, governments "must take pressing measures to guarantee that essential stockpile lines stay open, proficient and successful", he said.
IATA approached governments to reject air payload from movement limitations, excluded freight group who don't cooperate with the general population from isolate prerequisites and expel stopping charges and space limitations to let loose air load activities.
"As we battle a worldwide wellbeing war against COVID-19, governments must make earnest move to encourage air payload. Keeping payload streaming will spare lives," Juniac said....Read More
Current Affairs
Chinese cell phone producer iQoo has appeared in the profoundly serious India showcase with a 5G cell phone outfitted towards gamers and execution hungry clients.
It has all the earmarks of being equipped for taking on any adversary with its highlights and very good quality details. And all appears to be acceptable on paper. Be that as it may, the inquiry is whether the '5G telephone' tag is only a promoting trick, or there is a whole other world to it. We utilized the gadget for a couple of days and attempted to discover the appropriate response. This is what we watched:
Plan and show iQoo 3 5G cell phone
iQoo has kept the plan language straightforward. Presently that is an abnormality, since this is a gaming cell phone. What's extremely snappy, notwithstanding, is the back camera module, a look at which is sufficient to give you a 'superior telephone' feel.
The iQoo 3 5G has a straightforward glass back secured with Gorilla Glass 6 which leaves a few fingerprints to a great extent. The telephone is too dangerous which implies gamers would need to locate a decent spread for grasp. At 214 g, the telephone is substantial, yet that was normal, considering it has a major battery. The edges are bended, so it is anything but difficult to hold. iQoo 3 5G cell phone
The telephone has a Type-C port and an amplifier grille at the base, the force and volume fastens on the right, a 3.5mm earphone jack on top, and a committed AI button on the left...Read More
Current Affairs
Portions of SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Cards) recorded at Rs 661, 12.45 percent beneath its issue cost of Rs 755 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday. On the BSE, it opened at Rs 658, 13 percent lower against issue cost.
Be that as it may, at 10:09 am, the stock was exchanging at Rs 751, in the wake of hitting a high of Rs 754 on the BSE. A consolidated around 26 million offers have changed hands on the counter on both the trades up until now.
The stock saw a frail introduction because of winning economic situation as the vulnerability with respect with the impact of the coronavirus plague kept on holding financial specialist notion in line. The benchmark files Nifty50 and S&P BSE Sensex have declined 16.6 percent since the SBI Card starting open offer (IPO) opened for membership on March 2, 2020. The records have failed almost 21 percent, since the charge card arm of the State Bank of India (SBI) documented Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its IPO with Sebi on February 26.
Practically all financiers were certain on the underlying open offer (IPO) and some had anticipated up to 60 percent upside from the IPO value scope of Rs 750-755, given its prevailing situation in the Mastercard showcase and solid parentage, SBI Cards is very much set to profit by the rising pattern of advanced installments and internet business.
SBI Card's IPO had figured out how to pull in offers worth Rs 2 trillion, disregarding testing economic situations. The 100-million offer contribution created near 2.7 billion offers (multiple times). The certified institutional purchasers (QIBs) segment of the IPO was bought in multiple times, trailed by high networth individual (HNI) (multiple times) and investors (25.4 occasions). The representative fragment enrolled 4.7 occasions membership, while the retail partition being bought in 2.5 occasions...Read More
Current Affairs
With grocery stores deprived of nourishment and numerous different fundamentals, shopper item organizations stopped industrial facility runs of specialty things, for example, scented fade so as to accelerate creation of progressively essential product that is sought after.
Retailers have cautioned that accumulating tissue, cleaning supplies and nourishment staples was filling deficiencies and feeding dread. Amazon.com, the greatest online retailer, said it sold out of numerous family unit staples after requests spiked. As the quick spreading coronavirus keeps on disturbing buyers across Europe and the United States, Trump held a call on Sunday with 30 administrators from supermarkets including Amazon.com's Whole Foods, Target Corp, Costco Wholesale Corp and Walmart Inc. Trump Administration official Larry Kudlow guaranteed TV news watchers that US supply lines were "working really well."
"The basic food item production network won't shut down," said Doug Baker, who drives emergency the board for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the exchange bunch speaking to nourishment retailers and wholesalers.
That doesn't imply that each item and Doritos chip flavor will be on store racks. As production lines move to nonstop tasks, they are concentrating on the most elevated need things to address the remarkable flood sought after, said Baker.
For instance, as opposed to wrenching out blanch in a few unique sizes and aromas, they will restrain creation to the most mainstream. Slow-selling kinds of specific nourishments may likewise be ended. That spares times since machines must be changed to create an alternate item. "Makers have likewise begun apportioning products so they can guarantee equivalent circulation the nation over," Baker said....Read More
Current Affairs
Australia's pacer Kane Richardson has been isolated subsequent to announcing an irritated throat and will miss the first ODI against New Zealand.
The pacer educated the group's clinical staff Thursday night of the grievance and has been tried for COVID-19, with the outcomes as yet pending. With Kane missing the first ODI, pacer Sean Abbott has joined the crew as spread.
"Our clinical staff are treating this a run of the mill throat disease however we are following Australian Government conventions that expect us to keep Kane away from different individuals from the crew and play out the proper tests given he has come back from universal travel over the most recent 14 days," cricket.com.au cited a Cricket Australia representative as saying.
"When we get the consequences of the tests and Kane recuperates in the following barely any days we expect he will re-join the group. We won't offer further remark until something transforms," he included.
Prior in the day, Cricket Australia had reported that the ODI arrangement among Australia and New Zealand will be played away from public scrutiny due to the coronavirus flare-up.
The first ODI will be played later today.
The coronavirus sickness was first recognized in Wuhan in China's Hubei region, in late December, and has since spread around the world.
In excess of 127,000 individuals have been tainted with COVID-19, with more than 4,700 having passed on and 68,000 recuperated. Around 600 individuals have tried positive for COVID-19 in the United Kingdom with eight fatalities, as per the Department of Health and Social Care.....Read More
