A First Information Report (FIR) was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 377 and 505-2 against a man named Samar Khan aka Kalu for raping a cow and hurting religious sentiments at Chachoda Police Station in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. A video of the alleged incident has gone viral on social media.
@Arnab5222 कालू खांन पुत्र फकरूद्दीन खां निवासी चाचौड़ा जिला गुना मध्य प्रदेश गाय के साथ वलात्कार करते हुये पाया गया है रात 1 वजे जिसकी सूचना थाना चाचौड़ा में नागरिकों द्वारा दी गई है pic.twitter.com/MdEnduDxBm
— Santosh Singh yadav (@Santosh54927607) May 17, 2020
FIR – Page 1
As per the FIR, the alleged incident happened at 1 AM on 17 May 2020.
On Sunday at 1 am in the night, the accused performed an ‘unnatural act’ with a cow at the Chowk of Ramjanaki temple in Mali Mohalla. A video of the incident was recorded by one Rajesh Mali that later went viral on social media.
The complaint was filed by one Mukesh Sharma, a member of the Bajrang Dal. He stated that the action of the perpetrator had hurt his religious sentiments. Besides demanding strict action again Khan, the complainant also informed the police about two eyewitnesses.
Cow raped in Mangalore
This is not the first time that a man had displayed bestiality. Last year, a calf was reportedly raped by one Mohammad Ansari, in Kunjathbail of Mangalore. As per reports, the local villagers and activists caught hold of Ansari while raping a calf in a field. The villagers said that Ansari had tied the limbs of the calf with a rope and then raped the calf. A video has gone viral on social media, where the rape accused has been caught by the activists.
Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference on Sunday to announce the fifth and last tranche of the economic package designed to lift the country out of the economic crisis unleashed by the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. During the course of the press conference, the Union Finance Minister made a series of significant announcements related to ease of doing business, health and education.
Apart from the announcements on policy, there was also a flashpoint during the Q&A session when Nirmala Sitharaman lost her temper and things became heated. The flare up occurred when a journalist asked the Finance Minister on the migrants crisis that has erupted across the country in the wake of the lockdown. It has been observed that even after the allocation of Shramik Trains to carry migrants back to their native places, a significant section of them are still preferring to walk home instead.
The journalist mentioned that the Congress party had said that if the central government could not help the migrants reach their homes, then they should be permitted to operate buses which will be used for the purpose. Nirmala Sitharaman became incensed with the conduct of the Congress party. She said that the central government has been providing as much help as is possible. Initially, the migrants were asked to stay where they were and states were directed to arrange their basic necessities and at a later time, Shramik Trains were allocated she said.
Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Railway has said that 1,500 trains are ready to help transport migrants and requisite trains could be arranged within 3 hours after the place is mentioned. She said that even food is being arranged for the migrants. She said that it was a matter of immense sadness that migrants are still on the streets walking home.
The Finance Minister then proceed to attack the Congress party. She said, “Where they have their own state governments, let them ask for more trains, so that more migrants can be seated and sent home. Instead, when they (migrants) are walking home, they waste their time, sit beside them and chat with them. It would have been better if they had carried their luggage and children and walked beside them. I say this with great sadness. Why can’t they ask their state governments to ask for more trains?”
Nirmala Sitharaman said that what happened with the migrants yesterday, with the Congress party sitting and chatting beside the distressed migrants, was ‘drama’. She said, “Was it the time for it? Are they not ‘Dramebaaz’? I request the opposition parties with folded hands to work together to help the migrants.” “Let us speak responsibly, let nus deal with our migrants more responsibly,” she said addressing Congress ‘interim president’ for an indefinite period Sonia Gandhi.
The Migrant Crisis during Coronavirus lockdown
Even after trains have been arranged for the transport of migrants, many are choosing to walk home due to various reasons. Numerous accidents have also occurred where migrants have lost their lives. Despite such tragedies, remarkable insensitivity has been observed not just from politicians but also the media fraternity.
NDTV on Friday posted a video on its Twitter account where the reporter could be heard asking a ‘migrant worker’ crossing the river Yamuna to enter Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh from Haryana’s Kalanaur to ‘walk again’, perhaps for a better footage. The insensitivity of the reporter did not miss the eye of netizens and NDTV received a lot of criticism for its conduct.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked the central government to reconsider its agriculture reforms package as it didn’t offer any handouts to farmers. Two Nobel prize winning expat economists have also argued the same. Well we only need to reconsider such binary thinking in times of COVID-19.
It is being argued that farmers need immediate cash to survive the crisis instead of big structural reforms. The issues plaguing the farm sector and the COVID crisis are both long term problems. Unfortunately, there is no short-term fix for a long-term festering problem. Sometimes blindly throwing only money at a problem can actually make it worse.
Freedom of Access
The Indian farmer of today need freedom of access more than handouts. The central government did announce direct benefit transfers to poor families and migrant labourers which would also cover small farmers. The finance minister announced that a one-time transfer of Rs 2,000 has already reached 8.19 crore farmers amounting to total Rs 16,394 crore. Of course, that alone is not enough.
Farmers need freedom for crop diversification, freedom to access markets, better cold storage, warehouse and logistics, transportation infrastructure and avenues for diversification into fishery, horticulture, organic and herbal farming.
Farmers can’t sell their produce freely as the buyer of produce needs a license to buy. Why can’t we give farmers the basic fundamental right to sell to whosever they want as is enshrined in our constitution? Do we still want our farmers to fight this once in a century crisis shackled as slaves?
Abolishing License Raj
Once industries and consumers are allowed to buy directly, farmers will get better value and they can invest in equipment and infrastructure. Abolition of license permit has a huge wealth multiplier effect. For example, the abolition of license permits and demutualisation has led to an almost 500 times growth in the equity markets over the past 30 years.
MSP and FCI are ineffective
The minimum support prices (MSP) are only provided in cereals where the demand has been waning over the past decade due to change in food habits. Also, MSP prevents farmers to get market driven prices as well as allow them to diversify into crops which are in demand.
The government can put the funds earmarked for MSP to incentivise farmers to purchase crop or for transportation. This will also enable the government to get out of the ineffective Food Corporation of India system of storage and grain distribution.
For example, wheat is sold in retail market at around INR 40-60 per kilo while the farmer sells at INR 16-24 per kilo. Millers buy the wheat from farmers at INR 18-25 per kilo while they sell wheat flour and wheat bran separately to earn a profit between 60 to 100%. The government buys wheat at MSP (which was INR 18.4 for the current rabi season) and its final cost of acquisition is INR 30 factoring in INR 12 of transportation and storage losses. However, many a times government is unable to sell the produce at more than INR 30 per kilo as the quality of grains are mixed and they are not graded.
Farmers can rebuild supply chains quickly
During the unprecedented disruption due to Covid, some farmers were allowed unfettered access to sell directly to consumers be it housing societies or local mandis.
For example, farmers in Madhya Pradesh started selling organic wheat directly to housing societies at INR55/kg. It’s a win-win situation as customer gets organic wheat at retail prices and farmers get a premium for their produce. Residential societies, cooperatives, or business can do long-term agreements with farmers for their requirements of cereals, pulses, oil, vegetables, etc. also a push to organic farming will help secure our health and immunity in a post corona world.
In Kolkata, pointed gourd (parval) is selling at 20 rupees per kilo compared to its long-term average price of 80 rupees per kilo as farmers don’t have to pay middlemen and police commissions.
Atma Nirbhar Krishi
We need to focus on making our farmers self-reliant. The goal is to make Krishi `Atma Nirbhar’ so that they do not need any more doles. We are stepping into a new world in the after math of the coronavirus crisis. The crisis is long drawn and it will affect our lifestyle, eating habits, disposable income, consumption patterns, food security and farmers’ income. The only way we can buffer our farmers from this crisis is to make them self-reliant and be vocal about local.
For the past 50 years, politicians have not addressed the farm sector problems amid fears of losing their vote bank. The finance minister’s intent of allowing farmers freedom to sell their produce to anyone and relaxation of stock limits is noble and will liberalise the sector if implemented fully.
To sum it up, neither does the government have fiscal space to keep giving the handouts to all farmers for years, nor does the long festering problems plaguing Indian agriculture can be addressed through handouts alone. Atma Nirbhar Krishi needs our respect, not doles.
Cartelisation
However, we also need to be vigilant and implement a strong regulatory framework from the beginning. Even a market driven system breeds monopoly and cartelisation over a period of time as we have seen even in the exchange traded equity markets.
Big corporations can cartelize and swallow the small farmers and cooperatives. They can afford to put billions in supply chains, logistics, cold storage which smaller ones cannot. If we have ‘Amazonisation’ of farming, then it can even depress farmgate prices.
Contract farming will bring in more money and technology to the farm sector once it is passed by the respective states. The farmers also need access to institutional finance for stocking, marketing, transporting or exporting.
On Friday, Karnataka High Court had dismissed a petition filed by businessman and Wipro founder Azim Premji seeking relief from summoning proceedings initiated at a Bangalore court in a financial fraud case. A Bangalore court had issued summons to Azim Premji, his wife, and others in a case filed under several sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, and Premji had moved the High Court seeking to quash the summons, but the High Court refused his plea.
The Case against Azim Premji & Others
An organisation named India Awake for Transparency had filed three complaints against Azim Premji and others, namely, Yaseem Premji and Pagalthivarthi Srinivasan accusing them of siphoning off ₹13,602 crores from three companies in the form of gifts between 2010 and 2012. The accused had then allegedly transferred the amount to a private trust run by them. Reportedly, the companies had assets worth ₹51,549.47 crores where they served as Directors.
As per the allegation, after transferring the ₹13,602 to themselves as gifts, the three companies were merged into a 4th loss-making company, Hasham Investment and Trading Company Private Limited. This gave the accused control over the remaining assets of the company worth ₹31,342 crore. A complaint was also filed against Venkateshwara Rao, who served as a consultant chartered accountant.
Summons were thus issued by a Bangalore civil court asking the accused to stand trial under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 34, 120B (criminal conspiracy), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 409 (criminal breach of trust).
Arguments made by the Accused
While filing the plea in the Karnataka High Court, the accused argued that the allegations levelled against them do not constitute a criminal offence. Besides, they said that the amalgamation of the companies was done following due procedures and was even accepted by the Karnataka High Court.
The counsel appearing for the accused stated that the complainant had earlier challenged the amalgamation in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru and NCLAT in Delhi. Reportedly, the petition was dismissed at both places with ₹2 lacs imposed against the complaint NCLAT, Delhi.
Observations made by Karnataka High Court
The Bench of Justice John Michael Cunha at the Karnataka High Court observed that three financially sound companies were merged into a loss-making company, Hasham during the amalgamation process. And this happened despite Hasham not “paying any consideration” to buy the assets of the three companies.
The Court observed that through the amalgamation, the accused became the owners of the assets of the three companies and as such, it was a criminal breach of trust (IPC Section 409). The Court noted that the accused were neither the shareholders or the owners of these companies at the time lf amalgamation, they were only directors of the companies.
The Court pointed, “Under the said circumstances, when the corporate vehicle is set up for the purpose of acquiring the control or ownership over the assets of the incorporated Companies to which accused Nos.1 to 3 were not legally entitled, it is necessary to find out the persons and the purpose behind setting up such a corporate vehicle on the guise of amalgamation.” The court also held that the Special Judge of the Bangalore Civil Court was thus justified in issuing summon proceedings to the accused.
The Court also stated, “The alleged transaction is not a simple or innocuous amalgamation as sought to be made out by the petitioners; rather the whole exercise as reflected in the voluminous documents produced before the Special Court indicate that the entire transaction was contrived to get hold of the valuable assets of the Transferor Companies camouflaged as amalgamation.” As such, the Court refused to grant relief to Azim Premji and other accused.
Hasham Investment and Trading Company Private Limited operates in the Finance sector. The Three companies that were merged into were Napean Trading & Investment Company Pvt Ltd (NTICPL), Vidya Investment & Trading Company Pvt Ltd (VITCPL) and Regal Investments & Trading Company Pvt Ltd (RITCPL), all of whom were registered as Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC).
Over 300 Rohingya Muslims have illegally settled in Madanpur Khadar area of Delhi and are expanding their base, a report by Dainik Bhaskar suggests. The report suggests that they are living illegally right across the cremation ground in Madanpur Khadar area of the national capital. Moreover, they have settled on the land of irrigation department of the Uttar Pradesh government which is about 5.2 acre land. The Khasra number 612 land is worth crores of Rupees which has now been taken over by illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis.
As per the report, they are also getting all government benefits as well. Amid the lockdown the Delhi Government and Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan have been providing huge amount of ration to them. Madanpur Khadar falls under Okhla constituency in New Delhi. As per the report, the illegal settlement of Rohingya Muslims here also have stolen electricity through illegal means and also have a boring water.
Meanwhile, other migrant workers who are living nearby are deprived of the ration. OpIndia had recently reported how the poor in Okhla had alleged religious discrimination in ration distribution in Amanatullah Khan’s constituency. The locals had alleged that they were not provided ration because they were Hindus and ‘did not vote for AAP’.
Dainik Bhaskar report further states that the local residents allege that the Kalindi Kunj Police station officers know about the illegal Rohingyas are selling marijuana, smack and other illegal substances but are not taking any action against them. Many RWAs have requested the Delhi Police to remove the illegal settlement but all pleas have fallen on deaf ears, the report states.
Carefully took over UP govt irrigation dept land: Local residents
The local residents allege that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan very carefully and systematically settled the illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis on the government land. As per the Dainik Bhaskar report, prior to settling on UP government land, these illegal Rohingya Muslims were living on an empty plot owned by a Muslim politician in Kanchan Kunj. On 17th April 2018, these jhuggis were allegedly set on fire under a conspiracy. Then the Delhi government got them settled on the land owned by UP government. Around this camp, illegal Bangladeshis were also settled.
These Rohingyas are staying in this area since long now. The report further states that the locals allege that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and Delhi government completely backs and supports the illegal Rohingyas settled there. Locals allege that about 300 Rohingyas live in this camp who have illegal power and water connections.
Sarita Vihar ACP washes his hands off the matter
Sarita Vihar ACP Dhal Singh, while speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, reportedly said that if the Rohingyas are illegally staying here then how does it matter. The report cites Kalindi Kunj SHO Sanjay Sinha as saying that while he is aware of the illegal settlement of Rohingyas, he could not do much as it is out of his jurisdiction.
As per the report, former MP Maheish Giri’s PS said that while Giri had written to Delhi Police regarding the issue by AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan had opposed it. He added that under the supervision of Khan, the illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are being settled here. Moreover, Khan also got the Aadhaar cards and voter cards made for them, the report alleges.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the fifth and the last tranche of Modi government’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” package worth Rs 20 lakh crores to restart the economy following the coronavirus lockdown.
Fifth tranche of announcements under “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” economic package
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman began her Sunday address by quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech to the nation. She said, “In order to prove the resolve of the self-reliant India, land, labour, liquidity and laws, all have been emphasised in this package”. She added, “We have announced several reforms in this regard and shall continue with the same today.”
“As a nation, we stand at a very crucial juncture. Such a big disaster is a signal for India, it has brought a message and opportunity,” Finance Minister said quoting Prime Minister Modi. We need now to build an ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, said FM Sitharaman.
In the last four days of announcements, we have had several reforms addressing the land, labour, liquidity and laws and today’s announcements will be continuing that series, the FM Sitharaman added.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Soon after lockdown, we came with PM Garib Kalyan Package, we provided food grains to those who needed it, we did not want to scout for money to search for grains. Pulses too were given 3 months in advance. I appreciate the concerted efforts of FCI, NAFED and states, giving pulses and grains in huge quantities, despite logistical challenges.”
Finance Minister said that the last tranche will focus on 7 sectors- MGNREGS, Health (rural and urban) and Education related, businesses and coronavirus, decriminalisation of Companies Act, Ease of Doing Business, Public Sector Enterprises- related steps and state governments and related resources.
Health
The Finance Minister said that the Modi government would like to show what they have done in the past two months in light of the coronavirus crisis. The FM added that various health-related steps that have been taken by the government. She added that Rs 15,000 crore was released by the PM and an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs per person for health professionals was announced.
The government made sure telemedicine comes into play, capacity building exercises have been taken up, for protection of health care workers, amendment of Epidemic Diseases Act was required which was undertaken, she added.
The coronavirus enabled India to prove to the world that we can ramp up our production of protective equipment from 0 producers, we today have more than 300 domestic PPE manufacturers, said Finance Minister. We have given more than 11 crore HCQ tablets, the FM added.
Image Source: PIB
The Modi government also said that several health reforms and initiatives put in place. The Public expenditure on health will be increased, announced Finance Minister.
The investments at grassroots for health and wellness centres both at rural and urban levels will be ramped up and all districts will have infectious disease hospital blocks. The Public health labs to be set up at block levels said FM Sitharaman.
Ease of Doing Business
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, during coronavirus, compliance burden was a matter of concern and timely action was taken to reduce the same under various provisions of the Companies Act.
The FM added, Board meetings were allowed to be online, rights issues can be done digitally, major reform in corporate governance.
Image Source: PIB
The Finance Minister added that debts related to coronavirus shall be excluded from defaults under IBC and no fresh insolvency proceeding will be initiated up to 1 year. “At the moment MCA has extended this by 6 months, we intend to extend this by another 6 months,” FM added.
“For MSMEs, a special insolvency framework will be notified under section 240-A of IBC. The minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings raised to Rs 1 crore from the earlier Rs 1 lakh, which largely insulates MSMEs,” she added.
Minister Sitharmanan said that further key reforms for Ease of Doing Business are in the pipeline including a direct listing of securities by Indian public companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions. Private companies that list non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed companies, the government clarified.
Image Source: PIB
Decriminalisation of Companies Act
The Modi government has also announced decriminalising of Companies Act violations involving minor technical and procedural defaults. The FM announced that a majority of compoundable offences sections to be shifted to internal adjudication mechanism (IAM) and powers of RD for compounding enhanced (58 sections to be dealt with under IAM as compared to 18 earlier).
The amendments will de-clog the criminal courts and NCLT as seven compoundable offences altogether dropped and five to be dealt with under alternative framework, the centre said.
Image Source: PIB
Education
Finance Minister said that online education has been taken up in a big way. She added that ‘Swayam Prabha’ DTH channels to support and reach those who do not have access to the internet.
On the steps taken for the education sector, the finance minister said, “The direct telecast mode use by schools will now get 12 more channels. This will also help in rural areas. Provision has been made for the live telecast of teachings. We have also tied up with private operators such as Tata Sky and DTH to air educational content.”
“200 new textbooks have been added to e-Pathshala, states, provision has been made for the telecast of live interactive sessions for teachers and students, states are coordinating to share educational air-time,” added Finance Minister.
Image Source: PIB
The Finance Minister announced that PM e-VIDYA programme for multi-mode access to digital or online education to be launched immediately.
She added that one each TV channel will be earmarked for class 1-12 students and extensive use of radio, community radio and podcasts, special e-content for visually and hearing-impaired children.
Top 100 universities permitted to start online courses by May 30, 2020, the FM added. An initiative to extend psycho-social support to students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional well-being to be launched immediately, known as ‘Manodarpan’.
Image Source: PIB
MGNREGS
The Finance Minister said to that budget estimate for MGNREGS was Rs 61,000 crore. To provide a fillip to employment, the government will now allocate an additional Rs 40,000 crore under the scheme.
The additional funds to MGNREGA will generate 300 crore more person days of work and will address need for work for returning migrants.
Image Source: PIB
Public Sector Enterprise policy for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’
The Finance Minister said that the Modi government would like to announce a public sector enterprise policy. The FM added that there is a need for a coherent policy wherein the private sector will be allowed to participate in all sectors while public sector enterprises will continue to play an important role.
The Government of India will announce a new policy which will broadly categorise strategic sectors and others and the list of strategic sectors requiring the presence of PSEs in public interest will be notified.
In such strategic sectors, at least one PSE will be there but the private sector will also be allowed and in other sectors, PSEs will be privatised, Minister Sitharaman announced. To minimise wasteful administrative costs, the number of enterprises in strategic sectors will ordinarily be only one to four, others will be privatised/merged/brought under holding companies, she added.
Image Source: PIB
FM Nirmala Sitharman said that the union government recognises that like the Centre, states also facing a sharp decline in revenues. Despite this, we have extended generous support to states in this hour of need and have devolved Rs 46,038 crore in April as taxes, as per the Budgetary estimates, the FM added.
The revenue deficit grants of Rs 12,390 crore was given to states in time in April despite the centre’s stressed resources. The funds under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) of Rs 11,092 crore were released in advance in the first week of April, said FM Sitharaman. The Health Ministry released over Rs 4,113 crore for direct anti-coronavirus activities.
At the centre’s request, the RBI has also increased the Ways and Means advance limit of states by 60 per cent. The number of days states can be in continuous overdraft position was increased from the earlier 14 days to 21 days now. The number of days states can be in overdraft in a quarter increased from 32 to 50 days, said Finance Minister.
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The states net borrowing ceiling for 2020-21 is Rs 6.41 lakh crore based on 3% of GSDP, and 75% thereof was authorised to them in March 2020 itself and timing is left to the states, clarified FM.
The states have so far borrowed only 14% of the limit authorised and 86% of the authorised borrowing remains unutilised. In view of the unprecedented situation, the centre has decided to accede to the request of states and increase the borrowing limits of states from 3% to 5% for 2020-21 only. This will give states extra resources of Rs 4.28 lakh crore.
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The Finance Minister also said that the part of the borrowing by states will be linked to specific reforms. From 3-3.5%, the 0.5% will be an unconditional increase and the next 1% to be released in 4 tranches of 0.25%, with each tranche linked to clearly specified, measurable and feasible reform actions.
Further 0.5% will be given if milestones are achieved in at least three out of the four reform areas, the Finance Minister stated.
Reforms linkage will be in four areas – universalisation of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’, Ease of Doing Business, Power Distribution and Urban Local Bodies.
Image Source: PIB
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ – A mission for self-reliance
In his fifth address to the nation over the Coronavirus pandemic, on Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an economic package under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ amounting Rs 20 lakh crore to revamp the economy which is facing a serious crisis due to the Chinese epidemic. The economic package includes the recent announcements made by the government and the Reserve Bank of India on supporting key sectors of the country.
In his speech, PM Modi said the economic package would be around the 10 per cent of the GDP.
“I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’. The announcements made by the government on coronavirus, decisions of RBI and today’s package totals to Rs 20 lakh crore. This is 10 per cent of India’s GDP,” PM Narendra Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said the package would help every section of society, including workers, farmers, the middle class, industrial units and the MSME sector.
The stimulus will play an important role in the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-reliant India Campaign), PM Modi said.
“India’s self-reliance will be based on five pillars — economy, infrastructure, technology-driven system, vibrant demography and demand. When India speaks of self-reliance, it does not advocate for a self-centred system. In India’s self-reliance there is a concern for the whole world’s happiness, cooperation and peace,” PM Modi said in his address.
In her first address, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced comprehensive relief measures on Wednesday to support various sectors including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Discoms, NBFCs, Micro Insurance Institutions, etc.
In the first tranche, the Modi government had announced 16 included six measures for MSMEs, EPF, NBFCs and MFIs, discoms, contractors, real estate sector and had also put out some tax measures.
Later, on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had declared the second tranche of the “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” package that included relief measures to migrant workers, street vendors, housing, employment generation for tribals and small farmers.
Similarly, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MoS Finance Anurag Thakur put out in the public regarding various relief measures in the third trance on Friday in which support measures were announced to on Agriculture and Allied Activities – fisheries, animal husbandry, dairy, etc. Some reforms pertaining to governance and administrative reforms were also announced.
On Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the fifth tranche of the economic package which focussed on coal, minerals, defence production, airspace managements/airports/MRO, power distribution companies in UTs, the space sector and atomic energy.
On Saturday, a senior bureaucrat in Gujarat reportedly informed that about 700 ‘superspreaders’ had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Ahmedabad, while conducting a screening of fruit and vegetable vendors and shopkeepers. Due to their potential of spreading the deadly pandemic to a large number of people, they have been referred to as ‘super spreaders.’
The Massive Screening
The screening of 35,000 people was conducted after the city administration shut down all shops, except dairy stores and pharmacies, on May 7. The shops selling essential items were issued health screening cards which became operational from May 15.
Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said, “This was a special drive that was undertaken in Ahmedabad to ensure containment of the spread of infection. To see that data remains transparent and accurate, this was declared today (after completion of the drive).”
According to Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Gupta, around 12,500 people were tested for the Coronavirus infection and 700 were diagnosed with the deadly virus and therefore isolated. He had appealed to people to buy items from vendors with valid health cards. Police Commissioner (Ahmedabad) Ashish Bhatia has also requested ‘minority communities’ to cooperate with law enforcement.
As of April 17, Gujarat has reported 10,988 live cases of the Chinese virus and 625 deaths. The city of Ahmedabad accounts for more than 8000 such cases. About 973 people had tested positive for the Coronavirus infection on Saturday.
Lockdown in Ahmedabad
Earlier, all shops except those providing milk and medicines were ordered to shut down in Ahmedabad in the wake of the rising cases of Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. The shops remained closed from 12 am on the 7th of May to 6 am on the 15th. The order was issued by the Commissioner of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. The order stated that the extreme measures are being undertaken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Shops selling fruit, vegetables, and groceries were also directed to be shut down.
As India continues to fight the Chinese pandemic grave coronavirus crisis, new data reveals that India has shown some signs of improvement with regards to limiting the growth of coronavirus cases in the country as there is a decline in the rate of growth of new cases. The expert suggests that India is now in the early stages of recovery and can begin to flatten the coronavirus curve in the near future.
According to the average data analysed for states with regards to the confirmed coronavirus cases, there is an improvement in the ‘doubling rate’. According to the data shared by Professor Shamika Ravi, a senior fellow at Brookings Institute, India Centre, and a former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, the coronavirus cases in India has managed to slow its doubling rate even further to 23 days from the previous 19 days as the total cases cross the 90,000-mark in the country.
According to Prof Shamika, the total number of coronavirus cases reached 90,927 and the active cases of the virus are growing at 3.1% per cent, with the doubling rate at 23 days. In the previous data, Prof Ravi had released, she had suggested that the coronavirus cases was growing at a 3.6 per cent, with the doubling rate at 19 days. The doubling rate on April 30 was 11 days.
The new data suggests that India is seeing an improvement in the overall situation with regards to coronavirus crisis in the country.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
Recovery rate is good in most of the states
According to Prof Shamika Ravi, in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha the infection prevalence is rising and in states like Kerala, the coronavirus cases have started to rise after reaching an all-time low of the number of new infections in the state, which is a sign of worry.
The states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka are showing signs of recovery. West Bengal, Gujarat has seen a higher number of deaths as per the data provided by Shamika Ravi. Prof Shamika Ravi stated that India was in its early stage of flattening the coronavirus curve.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
The states like Kerala, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh have seen a rise in the number of cases compared to last one week. All these states have seen more cases reported this week in relative to one week before, according to the data provided by Prof Shamika Ravi.
Similarly, states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Haryana has seen less number of cases in this week compared to last week.
Image Source: Shamika Ravi
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu major contributors to the fresh cases
According to the data published by Prof Shamika Ravi, the states which are contributing to the rising cases in the country are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi in increasing order of cases. Prof Shamika Ravi suggested that the only way to reduce new cases is aggressive and contact tracing.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has climbed to 90,927, including 53,553 active cases. While 2,872 deaths have been reported overall, around 34,224 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have the highest number of cases in the country with 30,706 and 10,585 cases respectively.
In a ghastly incident on Saturday, the Visakhapatnam police brutally assaulted a doctor, tied his hands and dragged him on the road for allegedly creating nuisance in public and abusing the YSR Congress-led state government in an intoxicated condition.
According to the reports, the videos of a police constable kicking and flooring a bare-chested Dr K Sudhakar had gone viral on social media, drawing ire, not just from the opposition parties but also civil society.
A series of videos showed that the suspended doctor was walking in the middle of the road shirtless. The cops tied his hands up, even as another constable hit him with a stick. The doctor was seen lying down on the road, with his hands tied. Later, the police put him in an auto and took him to the police station.
Andhra doctor tied-up, thrashed by Vizag cops. Cops claim doc psychologically disturbed & drunk. Same doc was suspended by Jagan govt two months ago, when he spoke up against lack of N-95 masks in govt hospital in Narsipatnam. Vizag top cop suspends constable for thrashing doc. pic.twitter.com/aE9vhp38hx
The doctor was earlier suspended for requesting PPE kits
Reportedly, Sudhakar, an anesthesiologist at Narsipatnam government hospital was suspended by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government last month on disciplinary grounds after the doctor had demanded protective gears to treat coronavirus patients. The doctor had alleged that the government was not providing an adequate number of PPE kits and N-95 masks to the doctors.
“We are asked to use the same mask for 15 days before asking for a fresh mask. How can we treat patients risking our lives?” he asked.
A month after his suspension, the police brutality against the doctor has been reported after a police constable was seen attacking Dr Sudhakar in a public road. The doctor’s hand were tied behind his back by the policeman and beat him up before bundling him into an auto-rickshaw.
The opposition parties, especially Telugu Desam Party condemned the attack against the doctor incident, alleging that the incident reflecting the poor state of law and order situation in the state.
TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh, took to Twitter to attack the YSR Congress-led government in the state. He tweeted, “Dr Sudhakar, who had only asked for a mask, was unfairly suspended. The Dalit doctor has now been tied up and beaten up with a lathi by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. We condemn this incident.”
.@ysjagan గారిది క్రూరమైన మనస్తత్వం.మాస్క్ ఇవ్వమని వేడుకున్న డాక్టర్ సుధాకర్ ని నియంతలా సస్పెండ్ చేసారు.ఒక దళిత డాక్టర్ ని తాళ్లతో కట్టి,లాఠీలతో కొట్టించడం జగన్ ఉన్మాదానికి పరాకాష్ట.వైకాపా ప్రభుత్వ దుర్మార్గ చర్యను తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నాను. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/4n5nxAtz81
— Lokesh Nara #StayHomeSaveLives (@naralokesh) May 16, 2020
Allegation that doctor was in an inebriated condition
According to the New Indian Express report, Dr Sudhakar was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and then caused public nuisance near the Paalem Port Hospital Junction. As per the report, the heavily drunk doctor had arrived in his car near the junction and had allegedly tried to remove the barricades on the main road.
The doctor had tried to stage a sudden protest on the national highway, stating no particular reason. The doctor, who was in his car, reportedly had hit a biker. The police claimed that Dr Sudhakar tore off his shirt, attacked and damaged a constable’s phone.
However, Dr Sudhakar has denied that he was drunk, according to the News Minute report.
Cop suspended
Visakhapatnam police commissioner RK Meena said that the constable who behaved rudely with the doctor was placed under suspension, pending an inquiry.
The police commissioner said that the police control room had received a call informing that a person was creating nuisance on the highway at Akkayyapalem area. The police rushed to the spot and ascertained that the person was Dr Sudhakar of Narsipatnam government hospital, presently under suspension.
“Sudhakar was in a drunken state and he behaved rudely with the police. He snatched the mobile phone from a constable and threw it away,” the commissioner said. “The doctor is apparently suffering from some psychological problems,” the police commissioner said.
The doctor was later taken to the police station and from there to KGH for alcohol test. A case under section 353 of IPC was filed against the doctor.
As coronavirus cases touches 30,000 – mark in Maharashtra, the Union Home Ministry on Saturday ordered to deploy nine companies in Maharashtra to ensure state police get respite from coronavirus-related duties ahead of Ramzan.
According to the reports, the Home Ministry has ordered the withdrawal of 10 companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) from Jammu and Kashmir and sent nine such units to the worst-hit state. The 10 units comprising over 1,000 personnel are being withdrawn from the Jammu region of the Union Territory
Reportedly, the Home Ministry has released nine companies – four from the Rapid Action Force, two from the Central Reserve Police Force and three from the Central Industrial Security Force for deployment in Maharashtra.
The five companies for Maharashtra are drawn from the 10 units, which are being withdrawn from Jammu, the rest four companies will be released from the Mumbai-based unit of the RAF, CRPF’s specialised counter-riots unit.
To be deployed in worst-hit Mumbai, Pune
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Saturday said that the CAPF companies will be deployed in worst-hit areas of Mumbai, Pune, Malegaon, Amravati to give some respite for the state police from coronavirus-related duties.
“Some of their companies have come to Maharashtra. Their personnel have been deployed in Mumbai, Pune, Malegaon, Amravati and other places to ensure Maharashtra police gets rest,” Deshmukh said.
Maharashtra had requested 20 companies ahead of Ramzan
Earlier, Maharashtra state government had officially requested the Central Government for the deployment of 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) to ease pressure on Maharashtra state police personnel.
The request from the Maharashtra state government had come after some police personnel had tested positive for the coronavirus while performing the duty. The coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra is particularly grim, with as many as 1025 police personnel already tested positive for the contagion.
In a video message, Maharashtra Home Minister Deshmukh had said that the rampant infection and fatigue among the overstretched Maharashtra police forces has caused the state government to put in a request with the central government for the requirement of about 20 companies of central forces to ensure law and order is maintained in the state.
Maharashtra is the worst-hit state by the coronavirus epidemic in the country with nearly 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state and more than 1,000 deaths so far.
