TMC Accuses BJP Of ''Leaking Exaggerated Numbers'' Of Air Strike

Mangaluru, May 4: No major crowds were seen in the coastal city of Mangaluru today except in front of the liquor shops after the district administration relaxed the lockdown norms for 12 hours a day (between 7am and 7pm).

There was no mad rush of vehicles either on city roads when the relaxed lockdown began. There were fewer people to buy essentials in front of grocery and vegetable shops as they had time till late evening.

There was no let down in the number of police pickets as well as curbs on vehicular movement across the city either. 

The government has allowed sale of liquor in CL2 (standalone wine shops) and CL 11 (MSIL outlets) to mop up revenues when Lockdown-3 commenced from Monday. Compared the other parts of Karnataka, the size of queues in front of liquor shops in Mangaluru were smaller. 

Like other parts of the country, the lockdown was imposed in the coastal district on March 24 to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Prior to that, a curfew was imposed in the district from March 22 midnight. The lockdown did not apply to essential services such as sale of food, groceries, milk, vegetables, fruits, and meat and fish. Gradually the district administration had to intensify the lockdown and allow those shops to remain open only between 7 a.m. and 12 noon. 

With the lockdown relaxation extending till 7 p.m., Mangaluru today witnessed people and private vehicles moving freely in the afternoon for the first time in more than a month. However, only those who had to go for work and do other essential activities were seen on roads. After 7 p.m. movements of all kinds of vehicles will be prohibited. 

The relaxation was to facilitate economic activities that had come to a standstill during the first two phases of lockdown. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Dr P S Harsha, meanwhile, warned the people against misusing lockdown relaxation and venturing out without any genuine reason.

New Delhi, May 17: Following the COVID-19-induced economic disruptions, up to 135 million jobs could be lost and 120 million people might be pushed back into poverty in India, all of which will have a hit on consumer income, spending and savings, says a report.

According to a new report by international management consulting firm Arthur D Little, the worst of COVID-19's impact will be felt by India's most vulnerable in terms of job loss, poverty increase and reduced per-capita income, which in turn will result in a steep decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"Given the continued rise of COVID-19 cases, we believe that a W-shaped recovery is the most likely scenario for India. This implies a GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY 2020-21 and GDP growth of 0.8 per cent in FY 2021-22," the report said.

India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 90,000 and the nationwide death toll has touched nearly 2,800 so far.

The report titled "India: Surmounting the economic challenges posed by COVID-19: A 10-point programme to revive and power India's post-COVID economy" said the 'collateral damage' of the forecasted GDP slowdown, will be felt most acutely in employment, poverty alleviation, per-capita income and overall nominal GDP.

"Unemployment may rise to 35 per cent from 7.6 per cent resulting in 136 million jobs lost and a total of 174 million unemployed. Poverty alleviation will receive a set-back, significantly changing the fortunes of many, putting 120 million people into poverty and 40 million into abject poverty," the report said.

"India is headed towards a W-shaped economic recovery with a potential GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY21. An opportunity loss of USD 1 trillion is staring India in its face," said Barnik Chitran Maitra, lead author of the report and Managing Partner & CEO of Arthur D Little, India and South Asia.

Maitra further said "for its USD 5 trillion vision, a radical economic approach is needed, centred on an immediate stimulus and structural reforms. The Prime Minister's visionary 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' is a good start to this new approach."

The report lauded the steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India, but said a far more assertive approach may be required given the magnitude of the adverse economic output.

The report suggested a 10-point programme to accelerate the recovery which include strengthening the 'safety net' significantly for the most vulnerable, enable survival of small and medium businesses, restarting the rural economy and providing targeted assistance to at-risk sectors.

It further said the government should launch "Make in India 2.0" to capture global opportunities, build 'Modern India', accelerate Digital India and Innovation, strengthen global investment corridors with the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the UK, debottleneck land and labour and transform banking and financial markets in a bid to secure a sustainable economic future for 1.3 billion Indians. 

Thiruvananthapuram, April 5: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Sunday said that the state's preparations for containment of COVID-19 were satisfactory and added that PCR tests were going on in nine laboratories, in which upwards of eight thousand samples have been tested so far.

"Our strategy for the containment of COVID-19 is satisfactory. We are yielding good results from our strategy for tracing, isolation, testing & treatment. PCR test is going on in 9 laboratories. We have tested more than 8000 samples so far," Shailaja told ANI here.

She further said that the state government wanted to implement Rapid test in Kerala and added that they had ample PPEs and N95 masks.

"We want to implement Rapid Test in Kerala. Yesterday, we got 2000 kits; Right now, we have sufficient PPEs and N95 masks. If the number of COVID19 cases increases in the coming weeks then we will need more equipment," Shailaja said.

Keeping up with the need of the hour, the new administrative block of Kasaragod Medical College will soon be converted into a COVID-19 hospital for providing better treatment facilities to the coronavirus patients.

A team constituting 26 doctors and medical staff of the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram will join the efforts of converting the new administrative block into a COVID-19 Hospital in Kasaragod on Sunday.

The total number of COVID-19 positive cases rose to 3,374 in India on Sunday, as per the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.