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Indian Express Dated; April 20, 2020 By: Express News Service Suggesting that the post-coronavirus world will demand new business models, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday envisioned that Adaptability, Efficiency, Inclusivity, Opportunity, and Universalism would be vowels of the new grammar of business and work culture. Amid the global disruption caused by COVID-19, Modi said that “today, the world is in pursuit of new business models” and that India could play a leading role in what is to come next, and can also become the nerve centre of global supply chains. “India, a youthful nation known for its innovative zeal can take the lead in providing a new work culture,” he said. “India, with the right blend of the physical and the virtual, can emerge as the global nerve centre of complex modern multinational supply chains in the post COVID-19 world. Let us rise to that occasion and seize this opportunity,” he said. Reaching out to professionals through a post...

Indian Express Dated: April 20, 2020 By: Udit Misra The Indian economy’s slowdown during 2018 and 2019 is becoming much worse in 2020 with the spread of COVID-19 and the stalling of almost all economic activity. Like most other central banks in the world, the Reserve Bank of India, too, has tried to cut interest rates to boost the economy. However, unlike in the past, when the RBI used its repo rate as the main instrument to tweak the interest rates, today, it is the reverse repo rate that is effectively setting the benchmark. What are repo and reverse repo rates? The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the banking system (or banks) for short durations. The reverse repo rate is the rate at which banks can park their money with the RBI. With both kinds of repo, which is short for repurchase agreement, transactions happen via bonds — one party sells bonds to the other with the promise to buy them back (or repurchase them) at ...

Indian Express Dated: April 20, 2020 By: Ashish Aryan The month of March, in which the national lockdown began, saw a sharp rise in digital financial transactions countrywide, according to data accessed by The Indian Express. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the total value of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions — the biggest online payment method offered by RBI — rose 34 per cent across banks to Rs 120.47 lakh crore in March 2020, as compared to Rs 89.90 lakh crore in February 2020. The usage of cash and other cash-based services, however, dipped during the period, the data showed. Cash withdrawals from ATMs as well as usage of various cards (debit, credit) have also gone down significantly, banking industry sources said. The spike in digital financial transactions during March 2020 became more evident during the third and fourth week when most multinational corporations and smaller companies started giving its employees the opti...

Sunday Guardian Live Dated: April 18, 2020 Shantanu Guha Ray Serious differences have emerged in Kolkata and parts of West Bengal over the way the state government is reportedly suppressing facts relating to people affected by the deadly coronavirus. The crisis has snowballed into a huge controversy between the Bengal government—ruled by the Trinamool Congress—and doctors who are now taking to social media platforms to highlight what they claim is the handiwork of the state censors who have clamped down on doctors and asked them not to declare deaths from coronavirus unless certified by a state government-nominated panel.   The move of the state government, expectedly, has come under fire from officials of the Kolkata-wing of the Indian Council of Medical Research, who have blamed the TMC-led government for slowing down the mandatory tests related to the deadly virus. Worse, the state government did not respond even after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the...

Firstpost Dated: April 19, 2020 By: Asian News International The first shipment of medical equipment, carrying 5.5 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine - an anti-malarial drug identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 - is currently on its way to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from India and will reach its destination soon. "Under guidance of UAE leadership, @UAEembassyIndia succeeded in obtaining the approval of the Indian government to export adequate quantities of #Hydroxychloroquine to UAE," the Emirates' Mission in New Delhi said on its Twitter page. "The first shipment of medicine, currently on its way to the #UAE, includes 5.5 million pills for treatment of patients with #Covid_19. We highly appreciate the cooperation of the Indian government in facilitating the procedures for obtaining the necessary approvals," it said further. India, the major producer of...

The Print Dated: April 18, 2020 By: Remya Nair In a major move aimed at protecting Indian interests from China, the government has notified new rules that will require all Chinese firms to seek prior government approval before making investments into India. The Indian government move comes even as many other countries like Italy, Spain have also moved to protect their companies weakened by Covid-19 from   hostile takeovers   and acquisitions. China has been rapidly expanding its economic footprint in South Asia through its one belt one road initiative making huge investments in countries including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a widespread economic impact with many firms struggling to stay afloat with the near halt in economic activity. At this time, many firms struggling financially may be vulnerable to takeovers or acquisitions. The move is aimed at curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to t...

Dawn Dated: April 20, 2020 By: Newspaper Staff Reporter In a statement, the British High Commission said the announcement would ensure £2.67 million for vital health support to help Pakistan give medical assistance to the seriously ill, build stronger systems to detect and test Covid-19 as well as support communities to have right information to protect themselves and others. The commission also said it also provides £1 million for the rapid response aimed at controlling locusts in the affected areas of Pakistan which are causing a devastating impact on crops and livelihoods. “The wider package of support which the UK will roll out over the coming weeks will repurpose the Department for International Development’s programme of assistance to ensure it helps those at risk and the most vulnerable, during the coronavirus response.” The £2.67m funds announced by the UK on Saturday will help people in 27 districts across Pakistan. It comes alongside Prime Minister Imran Kha...

Hindustan Times Dated: April 19, 2020 By: Yashwant Raj President Donald Trump on Saturday said China should face “consequences” if it was found to have been “knowingly responsible” for the novel coronavirus outbreak. “It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t, and the whole world is suffering because of it,” Trump said at the daily briefing by the White House task force on coronavirus. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake,” he added. “But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences.” The American president offered no evidence, but conservative media and his allies have for some time now contended, again with no proof, that the virus escaped a virology lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak that last week revised its death toll by adding 50% previously unreported fatalities. There have been news reports of this lab receiving US funding and US diplomats expressing serious concern...

Hindustan Times Dated: April 19, 2020 By: Sanchita Sharma Fewer cases in India are attributable to early and aggressive action to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, World Health Organisation, South East Asia Region, of which India is a part. High engagement with people; finding, isolating, testing and treating cases and tracing every contact; readying hospitals; and protecting and training health workers are needed to combat Covid-19, she says. In addition, adequate staffing, clinical rotation and psycho-social support to healthcare workers is a must to prevent burnout. She speaks to Hindustan Time on Covid-19 lockdown and India’ efforts in slowing the spread of Covid-19. Here is the full interview: Q: How should lockdowns be lifted? Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh:  Lockdowns must be lifted slowly, when six criteria are fulfilled -- transmission is controlled; health system capacities are in place to...