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I ndian Express dated: May 04, 2020 Amartya Sen once wrote in the Economic and Political Weekly that Alfred Tennyson’s poem “The Charge Of The Light Brigade”, which glorified charging ahead in nobility, “Theirs not to reason why/ Theirs but to do and die”, was inappropriate inspiration for policy because “Good reform is the charge of the heavy brigade. The reason why is central to the task”. A central bank like the RBI must replace intellectual certainty with continuous debate about Why because their job involves complex trade-offs — next quarter vs quarter century, growth vs stability, and mandates vs expectations. A global anthropological shock like COVID makes these trade-offs — they are not conflicts — even harder. The RBI must remember three things — acting prudently to balance the next quarter and quarter century, acting flexibly to blunt this economic cataclysm, and acting within their mandate to ensure institutional legitimacy and immunity. First, acting prudently. If e...

Indian Express Dated; May 04, 2020 The 130 districts in the red zone form 17 per cent of the total districts in the country, but account for about 33 per cent of the population (2011 Census). The 284 districts in the orange zone — 39 per cent of the total districts — account for about 43 per cent of the population. And the 319 districts in the green zone form 44 per cent of the total districts, but account for only about a quarter of the population. While 17 per cent of the population in the red zone are in Maharashtra, 16 per cent are in Uttar Pradesh and 12 per cent in West Bengal. According to the revised guidelines, green zones are those which have not reported any fresh case in the last 21 days, down from the 28 days earlier. Red zones are defined “by taking into account the total number of active  COVID-19  cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases, extent of testing and surveillance feedback.” The new classification means that some districts which have not r...

Indian Express Dated: May 02, 2020 In its guidelines for the extended lockdown issued Friday, the Centre has allowed private companies to operate with up to 33% staff on their premises across all three zones, including in red zones outside containment areas, and permitted cab aggregators and taxis in orange and green zones. On paper, these moves are expected to trigger partial resumption of operations in the services sector. But, on the ground, a number of companies, especially those operating in red zone districts, are not so sure. These firms point to insufficient availability of commuting options and the risk of spread of the disease among employees as reasons for economic activity continuing to stay on hold. The guidelines also prohibit movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 7 pm and 7 am. While allowing a section of the staff to work from offices could be a big relief for the services sector, top executives of leading firms in red zones said t...

The Hindu Dated: May 01, 2020 Direct tax collection recorded a healthy growth in April despite the  nationwide lockdown  and grew by 36.6%. Data accessed by  The Hindu  showed that the net direct tax collection for April 2020 was ₹34,780.4 crore as compared to ₹25,466 crore recorded in April 2019, a jump of 36.6%. Income tax collection in April was ₹19,762.1 crore while corporate tax collection was ₹14,608.1 crore. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had convened a video-conference on Friday with tax commissioners to review the collection position during the lockdown period. The collection figures of different zones were discussed during the meeting. The department noted the effort of the officers in ensuring healthy growth of tax collection in these testing times. Among the zones, Mumbai reported a massive 500% growth in net tax collections, followed by Bengaluru that reported 160% growth. Delhi, at number three, reported a 34% growth in April. R...

Reuters Dated: May 02, 2020 GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Countries must lift lockdowns gradually, while still being “on the look-out” for COVID-19 and ready to restore restrictions if the virus jumps back, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. Vulnerable people in institutions, including those in long-term care facilities, prisons and migrant dormitories, must be protected, its top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan said. Even if the virus is coming under control, communities must know to still follow physical distancing and hygiene measures, and testing of suspect cases must continue, he said. “It’s really important that as countries ease those measures that they are constantly on the look out for a jump in infections and in particular are dealing with transmission in special settings,” Ryan told a news conference. The virus has spread in facilities for the elderly in Europe and North America, while in Singapore it has infected migrant workers in dormitories, he...

Scroll.in Dated: May 04, 2020 On March 30, more than 92,000 non-profit organisations across India received  a letter from the central government’s planning organisation, Niti Aayog , signed by its chief, Amitabh Kant, asking them to join the government’s efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. The letter outlined ten areas in which NGOs could supplement the efforts of district and state administrations, including setting up community kitchens, providing shelter to the homeless, distributing safety gear and creating awareness about coronavirus. The following week, thousands of NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act – the law enabling them to receive foreign funds – received two more letters, on April 1 and April 7. These were from the Union  Ministry of Home Affairs , once again soliciting the organisations’ help with coronavirus-related work. The second letter asked NGOs to upload information about their Covid-19 response work in a specific form...

Financial Express Dated: April 30 2020 T he European economy shrank by a record 3.8 per cent in the first quarter as business activity from hotels and restaurants to construction and manufacturing was frozen by shutdowns aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The drop in the 19-country eurozone was the biggest since statistics began in 1995 and sharper than the plunge in the midst of the global financial crisis in the first quarter of 2009 after the bankruptcy of US investment bank Lehman Brothers. The drop compares to a 4.8 per cent contraction in the US during the first quarter as the shock from the outbreak hits economies around the world. Unemployment rose only slightly, however, even amid the massive shutdowns that idled everything from florists to factories. The February jobless figure rose to 7.4 per cent in March from 7.3 per cent in February, statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday. Millions of workers are being supported by temporary short-hours progra...

Financial Express Dated: April 30, 2020 The Centre on Wednesday gave clear indications that the ongoing nationwide lockdown will be extended beyond May 3 but with "considerable relaxations" to people and services in "many districts".  India has been under lockdown since March 25 to combat the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 33,600 people in the country. Advocating strict containment measures in ‘red zones’, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday said the economy should kickstart with full supply chains to protect livelihood of people. The Centre on Wednesday gave clear indications that the ongoing nationwide lockdown will be extended beyond May 3 but with “considerable relaxations” to people and services in “many districts”. “Possible Road Ahead: Hyper-localisation in Red areas with ruthless containment; 2.Physical distancing & Masks =New Fashion; 3.Virus can bounce back; 4. Look after 60+with Co-morbidity; 5.Vaccine still far a...