Gasping villagers rush out at dawn

08/05/2020

“There was thick fog on the road. Some people fell unconscious on the road while running. We were frightened and locked ourselves in the house. Many police personnel also fell sick,” said Mani Kumar, a mechanical engineer from the area.

People came running till the Simhachalam-Pendurthi road. Locals in the surrounding areas of Pendurthi, Gopalapatnam provided them with water.

“We had breathing problems and were unable to see the road properly due to fog. I heard few fell in the drains while running,” said Ramana, another resident of RR Venkatapuram.

Man falls off terrace

A man went up to the terrace of his house to see what exactly happened. But, he fell off the terrace and sustained severe injuries. He was shifted to a hospital.

Around 20 animals including cattle and stray dogs reportedly died.

Many villagers also went to the LG Polymers plant site and staged a protest demanding stringent action against the authorities.

India registers 3,561 new cases, 89 deaths in a day

08/05/2020

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said that in comparison to other countries, India was in a better condition as the fatality rate was 3.3% and recovery rate was 28.83%.

Testing increased

“Currently there are 4.8% patients in ICU, 1.1% on ventilators and 3.3% on oxygen support of the active cases. The testing capacity has increased in the country and it is now standing at 95,000 tests per day with 327 government laboratories and 118 private laboratories. Cumulatively 13,57,442 tests have been done so far for COVID-19,” he said.

The Minister said that currently there were 180 districts with no new cases in the past week, 180 districts with no new cases in 7-13 days, 164 districts which had not had any new case in 14-20 days and 136 districts with no new cases since the last 21-28 days.

“There are 13 States/Union Territories — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir UT, Kerala, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Odisha — which have not reported any case in the last 24 hours. While Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep have not reported a single case till date,” Dr. Vardhan said.

Dr. Vardhan on Thursday launched the ‘Sanjivani’ App and two AYUSH-based studies related to COVID-19. The Minister said COVID-19 management had provided a potent platform for alliance between the Health Ministry, the AYUSH Ministry and other scientific bodies.

‘India taking all possible steps’

Country is also fulfilling global obligations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, says PM

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India was taking all possible steps to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as responding to calls for help from other countries.

“Today, India is making every effort to save the life of every Indian and is also fulfilling its global obligations equally seriously,” he said.

Mr. Modi was delivering the keynote address during a virtual Buddha Purnima celebration organised by the Culture Ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation.

He said the teachings of Buddha were more relevant today as the world went through an upheaval.

“The message and resolve to remove the difficulty of every life have always shown direction to India’s civilisation and culture. Lord Buddha has further enriched this culture of India...Buddha is synonymous with service and dedication...And look at the good fortune of all of us, at this time we are seeing many people around us who serve others, treat a patient, feed a poor person, clean a hospital, maintain law and order on a road... they are all working round the clock. In India, outside India, every such person deserves a salute, a tribute.”

Buddha’s teachings were “even more relevant” today when there was “turmoil in the world”, he noted and and cited those related to mercy, compassion and acceptance.

“... Beyond the profit and loss, able and unable, for us, this hour of crisis is to help others as much as possible to forward the hand of help,” he said.

‘Rich State’ Telangana reels under double whammy

Twin blows of slowdown and lockdown reduce the government’s income in April to a meagre trickle

08/05/2020, M.L. MELLY MAITREYI,HYDERABAD

Telangana, often touted as a ‘rich state’ by its Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao, finds itself reeling under the twin blows of the economic slowdown that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. While slower economic growth left its finances substantially dependent on GST compensation, the State’s own revenues have now hit rock bottom due to the latest public health crisis and the drastic measures taken to mitigate it.

Mr. Rao, who has extended the lockdown in the State till May 29 despite a trying financial situation that has resulted in the State receiving barely 5% of its own revenue in April, has given indications that his patience is wearing thin with the Centre not responding to his various suggestions to infuse funds into economy.

The lockdown was announced a few weeks after the State presented its Budget outlay of ₹1.82 lakh crore for 2020-21, with an increase of 28.7% over the revised estimate of 2019-20. At the time, the outlay was perceived as being ambitious given the country’s economic slowdown and the fact that the GSDP growth rate at current prices for 2019-20 was revised down to 12.1%, from 14% in 2018-19. But no one could have foreseen the havoc wrought on the State’s revenue and growth estimates by the pandemic. The budget had earlier estimated the State’s fiscal deficit for 2020-21 at ₹33,000 crore.

The State, which used to be proud of its robust revenue growth rate, became eligible for GST compensation in 2019-20 as its own revenue growth fell sharply to 7%, from the 16.1% expansion recorded in 2018-19. The recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission cut the State’s share in Central tax devolution to 2.1% from 2.4%. And delays and shortfalls in the release of the State’s share of IGST and GST compensation added to its woes.

The overall income for Telangana, including Central funds and loans, is about ₹15,000 crore a month with the State’s own tax revenue amounting to ₹10,800 crore to ₹11,000 crore. But Telangana’s income from all sources was only ₹1,600 crore in April, with the State’s own tax revenue slumping by 95% to ₹500 crore, Mr. Rao had said recently.

Making a case for liberal sanction of funds to the States at a time when they were reeling under the impact of slowdown, compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, and yet spending from their meagre resources on relief and welfare of the poor and migrant workers, Mr. Rao’s argument is that the broad fiscal policy rests with the Centre. “Either Centre should sanction more funds to the States or transfer power to the States to make their own decisions,” he said.

Mr. Rao has also repeatedly — once in a videoconference on the ongoing crisis with the Prime Minister and also in a written representation — urged the Centre to accord sanction for what he termed ‘Helicopter money’ (a direct infusion of money to the public by the RBI or the Central government) and increase the FRBM limit from 3% to 5%.

The FRBM limit increase would enable the State to raise more loans from the market — ₹50,000 crore as against ₹30,000 crore for the year 2020-21. Another appeal is for a moratorium on loan and interest repayments for six months to let the State get a breather from its financial stress.

Mr. Rao pointed out that even for running special trains to take migrant workers to their home States, the Railways were collecting the fare from the States. “ I feel sorry for the Centre’s indifference towards the States’ problems. We will wait for some more time and have our own plan of action,” a visibly disappointed Mr. Rao said during a recent conference with the media.

Revenue from sales tax and VAT on petroleum products, State excise duty on liquor and stamp duty and registration fee are the main revenue sources for the State (amounting to ₹52,400 crore) while SGST is expected to generate ₹27,600 crore. The SOTR was estimated at more than ₹85,000 crore for 2020-21.

But in April, there was zero revenue from excise and liquor (against ₹1,400 crore), stamps and registration (target of ₹880 crore) and motor vehicle tax (estimated ₹400 cr.) while the VAT on petroleum products was only about ₹50 crore as against normal revenue of ₹1,500 crore. The State GST was also only about ₹350 crore to ₹400 crore against ₹3,000 crore.

The State borrowed ₹4,000 crore from the market in April, as against the ₹2,500 crore it would normally borrow in a month.

Against the income of ₹1,600 crore, the government had to spend close to ₹10,000 crore in April including ₹1,800 crore towards salaries and pensions at 50% and 75% deferment, ₹2,400 crore towards debt servicing, ₹870 crore towards Aasara pensions, ₹830 crore towards power subsidies, ₹2,400 crore towards COVID-19 relief assistance of ₹1,500 to every white ration card holder and 12 kg of rice and releases to the health department. The State also stood guarantor for a loan of ₹25,000 crore availed by the Civil Supplies Corporation to procure paddy, fine rice for the current rabi season.

The cut in the State’s share in Central devolution saw the State receiving only ₹982 crore in April, as against ₹1,200 crore. “We pulled through with some savings apart from borrowings and what trickled in from Centre under Centrally Sponsored Schemes and about ₹200 crore of donations to the CMRF” officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Telangana’s government spends close to ₹40,000 crore on welfare schemes and its budgeted capital expenditure of ₹44,000 crore includes ₹22,000 crore of capital outlay for the creation of assets. Its debt servicing expenditure for the year was put at ₹21,131 crore.

Tasmac rakes in ₹170 cr.

08/05/2020, SANGEETHA KANDAVEL, CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation on Thursday sold liquor worth ₹170 crore. The revenue came from just 3,700 shops. The cash cow of the State government sells liquor worth ₹85 crore to ₹90 crore a day, on average.

Those tracking the liquor industry said that if Chennai shops too had opened, the sales would have crossed the ₹200-crore mark.

Tasmac salesmen in Madurai, Tiruvallur and Coimbatore region said that they saw a 15-20% increase in sale, compared to other days.

Convalescent plasma therapy trials soon

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, CHENNAI

The Madras Medical College and Madurai Medical College will soon start trials for convalescent plasma therapy for the treatment of specific coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar confirmed that Madras Medical College/Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) has got the nod for taking up the trial.

Officials said RGGGH has got approval for both the multi-centre trial under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and also for institutional trial with separate approval from the Drug Control General of India and Clinical Trial Registry of India.

The ICMR has initiated a multi-center clinical trial. Both RGGGH and Madurai Medical College are part of this trial. Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said both RGGGH and Madurai Medical College would start the trials shortly.

STCs to promote e-payment for bus tickets

Vehicles to have only 50% passenger capacity; physical distancing to be followed

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

When bus services resume after the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted, State Transport Corporations (STCs) will encourage digital payments for tickets and operate at 50% seating capacity in Tamil Nadu.

In a circular to heads of STCs, Transport Department Principal Secretary Dharmendra Pratap Yadav asked officials to explore issuing of day passes, similar to the monthly passes, to avoid exchange of currency.

Besides, they should promote the use of QR code-based payments, mobile wallet payments and other e-payments, he said.

As part of Standard Operating Procedures to be followed by the eight STCs, including the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, he said only 50% of the passenger capacity would be allowed on buses.

There will be a separate entry for passengers to board (rear door) and alight (in the front).

Markings should also be made for passengers to sit and stand, enforcing physical distancing and the buses should be mandatorily disinfected after every trip.

‘Avoid crowding’

Senior officials of the eight STCs have been directed to ensure adequate frequency of bus services on high demand routes to avoid crowding. No buses with air-conditioning should be operated.

Bus conductors should also be ‘crowd managers’, ensuring that passengers wear masks.

Commuters must maintain a minimum of six-feet distance between each other at bus stops.

Bus drivers must wear masks and gloves. They will be separated from the passengers by a transparent screen covering the driving area.