Terror threat: J&K govt asks tourists to vacate Valley

May 18: Goldman Sachs expects India will experience its deepest recession ever after a poor run of data underscored the damaging economic impact of lockdowns in the world’s second-most populous nation.

Gross domestic product will contract by an annualized 45% in the second quarter from the prior three months, compared with Goldman’s previous forecast of a 20% slump. A stronger rebound of 20% is now seen for the third quarter, while projections for the fourth quarter and first of next year are unchanged at 14% and 6.5%.

Those estimates imply that real GDP will fall by 5% in the 2021 fiscal year, which would be deeper than any other recession India has ever experienced, Goldman economists Prachi Mishra and Andrew Tilton wrote in a note dated May 17.

India’s government has extended its nationwide lockdown until May 31, while further easing restrictions in certain sectors to boost economic activity, as coronavirus cases escalate across the country. The announcement followed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth briefing in as many days, in which she outlined details of the country’s $265 billion virus rescue package, which is equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP.

 “There have been a series of structural reform announcements across several sectors over the past few days,” the Goldman economists wrote. “These reforms are more medium-term in nature, and we, therefore, do not expect these to have an immediate impact on reviving growth. We will continue to monitor their implementation to gauge their effect on the medium-term outlook.”

Infections are surging across the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people, with more than 91,300 infections, including 2,897 deaths as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Mumbai, Jun 3: With an expected increase in wind conditions up to 120 kilometres, cyclone Nisarga is likely to make landfall on the north coast of Maharashtra later today, as per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.

"Wind conditions will further increase up to 100-110 gusting to 120 kmph as conditions are favourable for intensification. The higher sea surface temperature and low vertical wind shear favoured the intensification of severe cyclonic circulation," said IMD in a series of tweets.

Explaining the nature of wind speed, IMD further tweeted, "Eye diameter is about 65 km as observed through Radar. thus the diameter has decreased during past 01 hours indicating intensification of the system. hence wind speed has increased from 85-95 kmph to 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph."

Several National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed across Maharashtra to ensure preparedness for the impending cyclone. A total of eight teams have been deployed in Mumbai, five teams in Raigad, two teams in Palghar, Thane, and Ratnagiri and one team in Sindhudurg, said NDRF.

Besides, five NDRF teams were airlifted by IL-76 from Vijaywada for Mumbai on June 2, as per the Indian Air Force (IAF)

"Around 60 per cent of people, from the coastal areas around this area, have gone to their relatives' places. The remaining ones have been sent to the evacuation centre. We have also taken into account the COVID-19 guidelines and ensured social distancing," NDRF officer Shiv Parada Rao, deployed with his team in the Dahanu area, spoke to ANI.

"From the information we have received cyclone Nisarga is likely to hit here by tonight. The exact time is not confirmed yet. We are taking all preparedness measures to tackle the situation," he added.

NDRF teams also conducted evacuation in Alibaug during the early hours on Wednesday morning, as per NDRF Director General SN Pradhan.

As per the 5 am bulletin released by IMD, cyclone Nisarga was heading towards north Maharashtra coast at a speed of 11 kmph. It was about 200 km South -SouthWest of Alibag and about 250 km south-southwest of Mumbai at 2.30 AM today, stated the bulletin.

Pune, Jan 21: The Pune session court on Tuesday rejected the bail application of accused Vikram Bhave in the Dabholkar murder case.
Last year, Pune Sessions Court had granted an extension of 90 days to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a charge-sheet against Bhave.

On August 17, 2019, the court had rejected Bhave's bail plea.

During the course of hearing, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Prakash Suryavanshi, appearing for the CBI, had in June last year contended that Bhave helped the assailants to escape.

The CBI had arrested Bhave and another accused Sanjeev Punalekar from Mumbai on May 25, 2019 in connection with the matter.

Founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), Dabholkar was shot dead by bike-borne assailants while returning home from a morning walk on August 20, 2013.