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The Indian Express Dated: June 08, 2020 By: Ashok Gulati Let us start with some good news on the economic front. During the first year (2019-20) of the second term of the  Narendra Modi  government, gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and allied sectors registered a growth of 4 per cent. This is commendable, especially when juxtaposed with the growth of overall GVA of the economy at 3.9 per cent, and overall GDP (including net taxes) at 4.2 per cent. And even in 2020-21, when the impact of  COVID-19  will be on full display, and when the GDP may register a negative growth of as high as -5 per cent, agriculture may still surprise with a positive growth of 2.5 per cent, as per CRISIL’s recent forecast. Agriculture matters not just for food security, but also for the good of the masses, since almost 44 per cent of the country’s labour force is engaged in agriculture. So, “sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas” will not be possible unless agriculture performs in a susta

Daily Hunt Dated: June 06, 2019 The COVID-19 pandemic may be over in India around mid-September, claim two public health experts from the health ministry who used a mathematical model-based analysis to draw this projection. The analysis shows that when the number of infected becomes equal to those removed from circulation by recovery and death, the coefficient will reach the 100 per cent threshold and the epidemic will be "extinguished". The analysis, published in the online journal Epidemiology International, has been done by Dr Anil Kumar, Deputy director General (Public Health) in the DGHS, and Rupali Roy, Deputy Assistant Director (Leprosy) DGHS in the health ministry. They used the Bailey's mathematical model to draw the projection. This stochastic mathematical mode takes into consideration the distribution of the total size of an epidemic, involving both infection and removal. The model employed was of the 'continuous infection' type, acco

The Indian Express Dated: June 11, 2020 By: Shubhajit Roy A day after it emerged that  Indian and Chinese troops have begun moving back  from standoff positions at different points in the Galwan and Hot Spring areas of Ladakh, Beijing said on Wednesday that the two sides have started implementing the “positive consensus” reached by senior commanders of the two countries on June 6 and are taking steps to “ease” the situation along the  Line of Actual Control  (LAC). This is the first official response from the Chinese government, while the Indian side has not issued any statement so far. Meanwhile, the two sides held Major General-level talks, which lasted over four hours, on Wednesday. Sources said the Indian side pressed for restoration of status quo ante, reiterating that troops should move back to the positions held in April-end, before the standoff began. The Indian side also sought reduction in the number of Chinese troops in the region. In Beijing, asked about

The Hindu Dated: June 10, 2020 By: Jacob Koshy About three in 10 believed that  coronavirus   (COVID-19 ) was manufactured in a laboratory but most, or 42%, believed it evolved naturally, say the early results of a sociological survey to gauge public perception of the  COVID-19  pandemic in India. U.S. President Donald Trump has  said he believed that the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology  and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has stated that SARS-CoV-2 was “man-made and not natural.” However, the expert scientific consensus based on analysing the gene sequences of the virus is that it has evolved naturally. About 54% said the  lockdown  “helped overcome” the pandemic and 30% said the lockdown “created problems” including — a fifth of them saying — that they’d lost jobs and earnings and 3% saying that they faced “hunger and starvation.” At 2,80,000 cases on Wednesday, India continues to be on a rising-case trajectory even as the  government has announced signif

Reuters Dated: June 10, 2020 By: Sarah N. Lynch, Mica Rosenberg, Brad Heath The U.S. Justice Department moved swiftly to bring federal charges against 53 individuals accused of violence during nationwide protests that swept across the United States calling for an end to police brutality. Attorney General William Barr promised a crackdown on members of the anti-fascist movement known as antifa and other “extremists” he blamed for helping to drive the violence. But a Reuters examination of federal court records related to the charges, social media posts by some of the suspects and interviews with defense lawyers and prosecutors found mostly disorganized acts of violence by people who have few obvious connections to antifa or other left-wing groups. Reuters reviewed only federal cases, both because of the allegations by the Justice Department about the involvement of antifa and similar groups, and since federal charges generally carry harsher penalties. In some of the charg

Business Line Dated: June 10, 2020 The government on Wednesday decided to continue the export curbs only on specific diagnostic kits, reagents and instruments such as swabs sterile synthetic fibre, silicon columns and magnetic stand, amid the coronavirus outbreak. Reference:  https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/export-curbs-only-on-specific-diagnostic-kits-instruments-dgft/article31796960.ece

Business Line Dated: June 10, 2020 By: TV Jayan The Covid-19 pandemic could lead to a global food emergency unless immediate action is not taken as millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition even before the virus hit, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres. Reference:  https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/covid-pandemic-is-pushing-world-to-brink-of-global-food-emergency-un-secretary-general/article31793677.ece

Business Line Dated: June 10, 2020 Expressing confidence in India’s ability to recoup from the current economic uncertainty, Fitch Ratings expects the economy to clock near double-digit growth next fiscal year. It has projected GDP growth of 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 after a contraction of 5 per cent this fiscal year. Reference:  https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/macro-economy/fitch-sees-the-economy-growing-95-next-fiscal/article31797556.ece

The Guardina Dated: June 09, 2002 By: Kari Paul Amazon on Monday became the latest tech company to face criticism for sharing public-facing statements supporting police reform and the Black Lives Matter movement while continuing internal policies and business practices that perpetuate the status quo. Amazon on Twitter has called for an end to “the inequitable and brutal treatment of black people” in the US and has put a “Black lives matter” banner at the top of its home page. Its chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos, on Sunday  post ed on Instagram  an email from a customer criticizing the BLM banner on Amazon’s home page, and said the emailer is the kind of customer he’s “happy to lose”. But activists argue those statements mean little if the company continues its commercial partnerships with police forces across the US and stands by its past treatment of non-white employee organizers “It is opportunistic of Amazon to use this moment to make empty and hypocritical stat

HindustanTimes Dated: June 10, 2020 By: Brahma Chellaney India extended the hand of friendship to China but was repaid with stealth aggression in Ladakh. The Chinese incursions into strategic areas presented India with a Kargil-like challenge. The aggression is not just a wake-up call for India; it could prove to be the deciding factor in fundamentally altering the country’s approach to China. Shrewdly timing a surprise assault has been central to China’s repeated use of force, as several studies underscore. In 1962, China invaded India just as the Cuban missile crisis was bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear armageddon. And in April-May, as a distracted India was wrestling with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that originated in Wuhan, China encroached on Ladakh’s Galwan Valley and Hot Springs (both previously undisputed areas) and simultaneously occupied Lake Pangong’s disputed long stretch between Fingers 4 and 8. Military strategist Sun Tzu’s advice to “plan fo