Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed media today on the economic package for the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Boost to MSMEs
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday unveiled the details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Tuesday night.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package will focus on land, labour, capital and enterprise. Five pillars of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ are – economy, infrastructure, system, demography and demand” reiterated Sitharaman.
In a major initiative, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 3 lakh crores Collateral-free Automatic Loans for Businesses, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). FM Sitharaman announced that collateral-free automatic loan to MSMEs will be given for a four-year tenure with 100% credit guarantee. The collateral-free loan is available till 31st October, said Finance Minister. The scheme will benefit 45 lakh units, allowing them to resume activity and safeguarding jobs, said Sitharaman.
On 12th May 2020, Prime Minister Modi in his address to nation gave a call for using made in India products and stressed on self-reliant economy. He urged people to consume more and more made in India products so as to achieve this goal.
The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to grant any relief to 1984 anti-Sikh genocide convict and Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. The former Congress leader is currently serving life imprisonment for his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide. The Supreme Court has said that it will consider the bail plea in July.
“We will consider your bail application in July, not now, sorry”, a three-judge bench headed by CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde said refusing to give immediate relief to Sajjan Kumar in the matter.
Quoting the AIIMS medical report, CJI Bobde said that Sajjan Kumar did not need any medical hospitalisation. “At the moment, we don’t want to decide on his bail application”, CJI added.
The Supreme court had, earlier, ordered AIIMS to conduct a medical examination in the former Congress leader after he had moved the apex court for an immediate bail plea citing that his medical condition had worsened. The bail application contended that the convict has been in jail from December 2018 and has lost 8-10 kilograms since then.
Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Sajjan Kumar, has raised the health issue in front of the three-judge bench to contend that his client’s bail plea remains pending.
The last bail plea of Sajjan Kumar was also rejected by SC
Sajjan Kumar’s last interim bail application was also rejected by the Supreme Court on February 14, 2020. The 3-Judge bench comprised of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant had highlighted that it would consider a medical report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) regarding Sajjan’s health condition. It reiterated that the plea for his bail would be heard during the summer vacations.
The former Congress leader was convicted in December 2018
Sajjan Kumar was one of the many Congress leaders involved in Anti-Sikh riots, post the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi in 1984. He was convicted and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018. Kumar was charged under Section 302 IPC (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), Section 153A IPC (communal hatred speech), etc. He was responsible for the murder of 5 Sikhs (Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh, and Kuldeep Singh in Delhi Cantonment area.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Pakistan with more than 33,000 active cases, Pakistan has decided to lift the ban it had imposed on importing Indian medicines and medicinal raw materials to prevent shortages, reports Economic Times.
According to the report, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government has decided to import much-needed key life-saving drugs and vitamins to the country from India.
The list of drugs imported from India includes those to prevent or treat tuberculosis, polio and tetanus. Moreover, a number of vitamins, including B1, B2, B6, B12, D3 and zinc sulphate monohydrate have also been imported.
Following the decision of the Modi government to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, the Pakistan government had decided to suspend all kinds of trade with India.
However, with the advent of the Chinese pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan had pleaded with the government to allow for a relaxation and sought clearance for goods already imported from India.
Pharma body in Pakistan demands import from India
Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry had demanded that the ban on Indian medicines and medicinal raw material should be lifted because the country might face a severe shortage of medicines, especially life-saving drugs. The pharmaceutical body had warned the Imran Khan government that any attempt to disrupt the global supply chains related to the country’s pharma industry will hamper the country’s ability to treat coronavirus cases.
Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association senior vice chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari had suggested that the Imran Khan government should not take any decision to ban the import of medicine, raw material from India or from any other country at a time when there is an increase in coronavirus patients in the country.
With the grave threat of Chinese pandemic impacting Pakistan, the Imran Khan-led government has now allowed the import of a number of vitamins, drugs and medicinal salts from India.
Pakistan had sought Hydroxychloroquine from India
As the scourge of the Wuhan coronavirus intensifies in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government had earlier sought India’s help in combating the pandemic. Reportedly, Pakistan has formally requested India for the drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), believed to be helpful in treating the coronavirus.
India is the largest producer of the anti-malarian anti-arthritis drug and had put a ban on its exports. However, after US President Donald Trump’s request for the drug and assurance of the manufacturers that India have sufficient stock cater to both domestic and export demand, India partially lifted the restrictions on its export and fulfilled several country’s requests for the HCQ tablets.
Saudia Arabia’s interior ministry has informed on Tuesday that the Islamic nation would impose a countrywide 24-hour curfew during the five-day Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday later this month to help contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. However, the city of Mecca, which is a holy spot for Muslims, will continue to remain under a full curfew prior to the 5 days holidays as well.
It is important to note here that Saudi Arabia had imposed curfew in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina on April 2, extending measures to combat the novel coronavirus.
The Ministry informed that according to the directives given by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the curfew would be imposed from May 23 to May 27, following the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. During the curfew, citizens have been directed to abide by social distancing and gatherings are banned for more than five people.
Until then, commercial and business undertakings will remain open as they now are and people can move freely between 9 am local time (0600 GMT) to 5 pm, except in Mecca which remains under a full curfew, the statement published by state news agency SPA said.
Eid al-Fitr for the year 2020 will be observed on sundown of Saturday, May 23rd ending at sundown on Sunday, May 24th.
Saudi Arabia had earlier imposed 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities but eased them for the start of Ramadan.
Saudi Arabia has so far recorded 42,925 cases of the COVID-19 respiratory disease and 264 deaths which is the highest in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC nations together have recorded more than 107,000 cases and 582 deaths.
While the entire world has been relentlessly mobilising the research on the Coronavirus pandemic, there is one wizard in our neighbouring country called Zaid Hamid who seems to have cracked open the specifics of the pathogen and the treatment of the pandemic in record-breaking time.
Pakistani conspiracy theorist Zaid Hamid, speaking to a Pakistani TV channel on a show ironically called ‘Badalta Pakistan’, has deduced that coronavirus is nothing but a common cold. The world is familiar with corona for the last 50 years. Every person on this earth has at one point in time, suffered from coronavirus. This has, in fact, been hyped because Bill Gates has conspired to make all future generations in the world America’s slave.
Bill Gates’ vaccines would take away Islam from Muslims: Zaid Hamid
He goes on to make the oblivious aware that Bill Gates has drafted a plan according to which the entire world will be under lockdown for almost a year until he does not come up with a vaccine for the diseases. The lockdown will only open when the vaccine is ready to be given to people. And the vaccine developed by Bill Gates will have such a drug in it, which will take away Islam from all the Muslims, claimed Hamid.
Hamid also claims that the virus is designed to make the Jews rule the world and target Islamic nations. When the anchor asks whether China too is involved in it, Hamid dodges the question, instead says that the American version of the virus is different than the Chinese version.
Bill Gates vaccines will have ‘nano trackers’ embedded in it: Zaid Hamid
The Pakistani wizard continues to say that the vaccine being developed by Bill Gates will have a ‘transparent nano tracker’ embedded in it, which will enter the body of the person who takes the vaccine.
Moving on, the Pakistani conspiracy theorist informs that Bill Gates has invested millions in those companies working on nano technology so that his vaccines have these small chips embedded in it.
He goes on to say that as soon as America put the entire world into lockdown, it started building 5G towers and sending hundreds of satellites to the sky.
Now, first Bill Gates would embed nanochip in the body of people worldwide through his vaccines and then America would conduct global surveillance through its 5G towers. No one would be able to work or travel without America’s permission, says the Pakistani genius.
Hamid further says that the vaccine and its ‘nano tracker’ will take the spirit of Islam away from Muslims. He claims that it is America, WHO and Bill Gates’ plan to install compulsory surveillance on everyone. He declared that Pakistan does not need a vaccine.
Pakistanis do not need vaccines
The anchor and Hamid both went on discussing that similar to the polio vaccines the coronavirus vaccines will be made compulsory too. Hamid claimed that the people who are strong in their faith refuse vaccines, even if it is made compulsory. He insisted that the coronavirus pandemic is a grand illusion by some powers to bring a new world order, where everyone will be a slave.
Maharashtra State government has officially requested the Central Government for the deployment of 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) to fight the raging coronavirus pandemic in the state.
The request from the Maharashtra state government comes after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked Prime Minister Modi during his video conference that the state be given central forces as the state’s police forces were under extreme strain battling the coronavirus.
State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has put out a tweet today informing about the state’s decision to seek centre’s help in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in the state.
“With several police personnel testing positive for #COVIDー19, long & challenging work hours are leaving Maharashtra police stretched. Ramzan Eid is also on May 25th. To help maintain law & order the state has requested 20 companies of CAPF to be deployed,” Deshmukh video along with the video message.
With several police personnel testing positive for #COVIDー19, long & challenging work hours are leaving Maharashtra police stretched. Ramzan Eid is also on May 25th. To help maintain law & order the state has requested 20 companies of CAPF to be deployed.#MaharashtraGovtCarespic.twitter.com/iJipnxeaQK
In a video message attached to his tweet, Deshmukh 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.
“The incessant fight against coronavirus has rendered our state police forces fatigued and exhausted. Besides, we also have Ramzan Eid(May 25) here. It is imperative for us to maintain law and order and for that to happen, cops need some rest. So have asked for 20 companies (2000 cops) of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF),” said Anil Deshmukh in a video message.
Maharashtra Police personnel affected by COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra is particularly grim, with as many as 1025 police personnel already tested positive for the contagion, said a Times Now report. As the infection makes inroads into the state’s police force, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was left with no options but to approach the central government and seek their assistance in getting additional police forces and alleviate the pressure on the state’s law enforcement personnel.
A couple of days back, in a series of tweets, Deshmukh released significant details about the extent of coronavirus outbreak in the state along with raising alarm over the occurrence of widespread infection among the state’s police forces. Deshmukh had posted that about 887 police officers were affected by COVID-19 and 7 of them had succumbed to the deadly contagion.
Days after Chennai police arrested the owner of a pure vegetarian Bakery for putting out cautionary information stating that it employed no Muslims to prepare food items, it appears the owners of the bakery has permanently shut their shop. This development comes days after the viral image garnered widespread social media outrage.
Jain Bakers and Confectionaries is ‘Permanently closed’
According to Google business, Jain Bakeries and Confectioneries, a bakery in the T Nagar, Chennai, which has been at the receiving end of the hate across the social media has been permanently closed. The owners of the bakery had put out an advertisement on WhatsApp pointing out that all their orders are “made by Jains” and no Muslim staff were engaged for the purpose, following which the owner was arrested by the Chennai police.
Interestingly, the option of displaying “permanently closed” on Google My Business can only be done by any person who has access to the particular account linked to the specific establishment. Usually, the promoter or the owner of the establishment will be the admin of the page and can have access to his Google My Business account, and he/she alone can control the information his/her account puts out on public domain.
With reference to the “permanently closed” being displayed on the Google Business card of Jain Bakeries and Confectionaries, it can only be enabled by owners of the bakers and not by any third-party indicating that the promoters themselves have decided to shut down the establishment out of the fear after they were hounded and abused for putting out cautionary information stating that it employed no Muslims to prepare food items amidst coronavirus scare.
Incidentally, most of the establishments, especially restaurants and other eateries, have also shut shops due to lockdown restrictions. However, most of the establishments which are closed due to lockdown, only display either ‘temporarily closed’ or ‘closed’ on their Google My Business platforms instead of ‘permanently closed’.
Just Dosa, a popular Dosa point in Bengaluru, has closed its operations due to coronavirus and only hopes to operate once the lockdown is lifted. The Google My Business shows that the establishment is ‘closed’ and not ‘permanently closed’.
Just Dosa Tiffiny’s in Bengaluru
OpIndia spoke to few entrepreneurs using Google to promote their business, who reiterated that the change in the status of operations by an enterprise can only be changed by the admin of the page and no single third party can alter it, thus confirming that the Google My Business page of the Jain Bakeries and Confectionaries was altered by the promoters itself following the threats and abuse by the social media users over their discretion to employ Muslims in their establishment.
One of the entrepreneurs, who chose to be anonymous, said that a large number of users spamming their content and mass reporting could also act as a possible chance of Google shutting their profile and not the establishment itself. However, Google My Business of Jain Bakeries and Confectionaries has limited engagement and social media users spamming their google reviews can also be ruled out.
OpIndia tried to reach out to the owner of the Jain Bakeries and Confectioneries, but could not get through as their number appeared out of service. We shall update the report once we hear back from them.
Police arrests Chennai baker
On Sunday, the Chennai police arrested an owner of a pure vegetarian Bakery after he had put out an advertisement stating that it employed no Muslims to prepare food items. The owner of Jain Bakeries and Confectioneries in Chennai’s T Nagar had put out a cautionary message on WhatsApp pointing out that all their orders are “made by Jains” and no Muslim staff were engaged for the purpose.
The incident comes close on heels of multiple incidents where Muslims have deliberately indulged in spitting on food. Many videos exposing Muslim vegetable and fruit-sellers spitting on their produce, presumably to spread coronavirus had gone viral recently.
Just a few days back, an equally appalling incident has come to light from a bakery in Maharashtra’s Amravati. The viral video is from a bakery in the Amravati district of Maharashtra where an individual, Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood (29), was seen slicing the loaves of bread and spitting on them.
Earlier in March, a video of a certain Sheru Miyan, licking the fruits which he displays in a cart for sale went viral on social media. In the video, the fruit vendor in Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, is seen arranging a variety of fruits on his cart, which he parks in the middle of a marketplace.
Halal is mainstream
It may be noted that nowadays many food products are label as Halal certified, which means not only that the products are manufactured according to Islamic practices, but many times it also means that only Muslims are employed in the entire production and packaging chain of such Halal certified products. For example, the guidelines for preparing Halal certified meat make it abundantly clear that only Muslim employees are allowed to participate in the entire process at every stage from slaughtering to packaging, and if any non-Muslim is involved in the process, the product becomes Haram, or not allowed as per Islam.
Amidst the Islamic holy month of Ramzan when pious Muslims across the world observe dawn-to-dusk fasting, the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, was rocked with two separate terror attacks, with one of them being carried out on a medical facility in the Shiite-populated area of the capital.
Terrorists who swore allegiance to the Islamic State stormed the maternity hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital Kabul and killed 16 people including 2 newborn babies, their mothers and several nurses. According to the reports, three armed terrorists entered the 100-bed facility, run by Medicins Sans Frontiers, before hours long fierce gun-fight ensued between the terrorists and the police. The terrorists were eventually neutralised by the police force.
ISIS claims responsibility for mass shooting of a maternity hospital and funeral in Kabul, Afghanistan ??
Babies among the 40 people killed. On #Ramadan no less.
The spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Tariq Aryan, condemned the despicable attack by ISIS terrorists that claimed lives of 16 civilians, including 2 infants, saying that the raid at a medical facility is a crime against humanity and international law.
In the second strike, at least 24 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide attack on a funeral procession in a district of eastern Nangarhar province. The ISIS claimed the responsibility for the attack during the last rites of a local police chief which was attended by lawmakers and provincial council members. Besides, 24 killed, about 60 people were wounded in the suicide bomb blast attack.
As per Mohammad Omar, a member of the provincial council, the target of the attack could have likely been Lala Khan, a former council member, who had close ties with US intelligence and was believed to have coordinated its military operations against Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliates. Khan and two of his brothers were killed in the attack, he added.
Islamic terrorists use Ramazan to call for terror attacks
The attack comes in the midst of Ramzan, a month of strict spiritual discipline to celebrate the first revelation of the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad. While the festival claims to mark the period for repentance, self-reflection and spiritual, it is often used by the Islamic terror organisations, especially ISIS, as an occasion to ramp up their nefarious activities.
In a bid to attract fresh blood to fight ‘Jihad’ waged by the ISIS, the month of Ramzan witnesses heightened activities by terrorists, usually by tickling the latent fundamentalist tendencies among the believers and indoctrinating them into carrying out attacks against what they perceive as “oppressors” and “infidels”. In 2016, ISIS spokesman had said, “Make Ramadan, with God’s permission, a month of pain for infidels everywhere.” A year later, in 2017, an audio message purportedly belonging to the Islamic State called for an increase in the terror activities during the month of Ramzan. The speaker in the audio precisely asks ISIS followers to “charge against the rejectionists and the apostates and fight them with the strength of one man.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today took to Twitter to inform that all the CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) canteens across India will sell only made in India products going forward as a move to make India self-sufficient.
इसी दिशा में आज गृह मंत्रालय ने यह निर्णय लिया है कि सभी केंद्रीय सशस्त्र पुलिस बलों (CAPF) की कैंटीनों पर अब सिर्फ स्वदेशी उत्पादों की ही बिक्री होगी। 01 जून 2020 से देशभर की सभी CAPF कैंटीनों पर यह लागू होगा। इससे लगभग 10 लाख CAPF कर्मियों के 50 लाख परिजन स्वदेशी उपयोग करेंगे।
He said that from 1st June 2020 onward, this rule will come into force. The CAPF canteens will not sell foreign made products henceforth. “This way, 50 lakh family members of over 10 lakh CAPF personnel will use made in India products,” he said. He further urged Indians to use more and more made in India products going forward. “If every Indian vows to use only made in India products, within five years Indian economy can become self-reliant,” he said.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
On 12th May 2020, Prime Minister Modi in his address to nation gave a call for using made in India products and stressed on self-reliant economy. He urged people to consume more and more made in India products so as to achieve this goal.
As India continues to fight against the grave coronavirus crisis, new data reveals that India has slowed down the spread of the pandemic. The latest data indicate that India has been effective at limiting the spread of the virus, however, the continuing deaths and slow recovery rate among the coronavirus patients could stretch country’s battle against the Chinese pandemic.
Professor Shamika Ravi, the senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council, has been analysing the pandemic trends in India and sharing the same with the public through social media. On Wednesday, she shared several graphical representations of statistical data depicting a welcome turn in the coronavirus growth rate in India.
According to Shamika Ravi, the confirmed active cases in the country are growing at a rate of 4.5%, resulting in the current doubling rate slowing down to 16 days. The doubling rate of infections indicates the number of days it takes for the cases to double in number. Thus, the longer it takes, the better it is.
The active cases in the country is 47,417, according to Johns Hopkins university data.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
Prof Ravi added that the total cases, which includes the confirmed active cases, recovered and deaths, are growing close to 5.7%, therefore, doubling every 12 days. The total number of total cases in the country is currently at 74,243, which includes 2,412 deaths.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
India’s recovery rate lags behind major countries
The graphs of total confirmed cases, however, when compared with other major countries do not look as good for India as active cases are rising with also increase in deaths. Most of the countries are observing a high recovery rate, but India’s recovery rate lags behind the rest of the countries. The graph clearly indicates that cases are still on the rise in India and we are close to reaching the peak.
On the other hand, the graphs of Italy, Germany, Turkey, Iran, South Korea, Spain and France indicate that they have already well past the peak of the pandemic and are now at a stage of recovery.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
India has the lowest death rate due to coronavirus
Most importantly, according to the economist Shamika Ravi, the coronavirus death rate per million in May has been lowest in the country with just 1.79 deaths per million people indicating that India has one of the lowest mortality rates due to the coronavirus epidemic.
First world countries such as Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom have suffered a high rate of deaths in their country, as to indicated by the below graph, where at least 400 people have died per million population in France and nearly 770 deaths per million people have occurred in Belgium.
Image Source: Prof Shamika Ravi
Amidst all the data, there is a silver lining to India is that the country continues to perform comparatively better than most countries and the situation does not at the moment look as gloomy as it did some days ago. With strict social distancing and effective management of the health infrastructure, India could soon jump out the coronavirus pandemic.
