CIVIL SNIPPETS

Recovery rate rises to 25%, says govt. #GS3 #SnT

India reported 1,823 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to
33,610 on Thursday with 8,373 recoveries. An additional 71 deaths have now taken the total n umber of
fatalities to 1,074.

The deaths since Wednesday include 32 from Maharashtra, 16 from Gujarat, 11 from Madhya Pradesh
and three from Uttar Pradesh, the Union Health Ministry said.

According to Ministry data, the highest numbers of confirmed cases i n the country are from
Maharashtra at 9,915, followed by Gujarat at 4,082, Delhi at 3,439, Madhya Pradesh at 2,660, Rajasthan
at 2,438, Uttar Pradesh at 2,203 and Tamil Nadu at 2,162. The number has gone up to 1,403 in Andhra
Pradesh and 1,012 in Telangana.

The country is currently recording a total recovery rate of 25.19% up from 13% about two weeks ago,
the Ministry said.

Co-morbidities in 78%

Giving details on the percentage of deaths in various age groups, the Ministry said India has a case
fatality rate of 3.2% currently which is 65% male and 35% female. The death rate is less than 14% in
persons under 45, 34.8% in the 45-60 age group. Co-morbidities were found in 78% of COVID-19
fatalities, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Luv Agarwal said at the daily press briefing.

He added that case fatality for those over 60 years is 51.2% which includes 42% for those between 60-75
years. For those above 75 years the rate is 9.2%. The Ministry added that analysis of doubling rate across
the country has revealed that the national average is 11 days presently as compared to 3.4 days before
lockdown.

States/UTs having doubling rate between 11 and 20 days include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Odisha,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Those having doubling rate betwee n 20 days to 40 days are
Karnataka, Ladakh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Assam, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh have a doubling rate of more than 40 days, as
per data released by the Health Ministry. Data from State Health Departments reported a nationwide
death toll of 1,150 with 34,789 overall and 24,647 active cases.

The Ministry said no health facility should prescribe additional COVID-19 testing for non-COVID patients,
causing unwanted delay in treatment for critical patients, and that testing should be as per the protocol
issued by the Health Ministry.

“States are advised to ensure that all health facilities, especially in the private sector, remain functional
and provide critical services so that such patients who need these critical services do not face any
difficulty. States are also informed that it is noticed that many hospitals in the private sector are hesitant
to provide critical services like dialysis, blood transfusion, chemotherapy and institutional deliveries to
their regular patients, which is not acceptable,” said Mr. Agarwal.

Post-lockdown steps

Replying to a question on the Ministry’s recommendation to end the lockdown, Mr. Agarwal said: “We
have to ensure that physical distancing becomes a norm so that the chain of transmission is broken;
equally important are containment measures for the disease.”

The Ministry reiterated that as of now there is no confirmed treatment protocol for COVID-19 and that
Remdesivir is one protocol which is being examined.

“There is no conclusive study to prove its effectiveness and we are waiting for larger evidence to take
meaningful action. We have, however, issued a detailed advisory on the use of hydroxychloroquine as
prophylaxis 19 and availability of HCQ is being ensured,” Mr. Agarwal sai d.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/recovery-rate-rises-to-25-says-govt/article31477596.ece

March core sector output slumps 6.5% #GS3 #Economy

Output at India’s core sector contracted by 6.5% in March, Commerce Ministry data show, reflecting
the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.
The index of eight core sector industries, which form 40% of the weight of items included in the
broader Index of Industrial Production (IIP), reflected a contraction in key parts of the economy in
March, according to the data released on Thursday.

Analysts warned that the core sector data signalled a much sharper contraction i n the wider IIP,
especially in April, as several core sector industries were actually exempted from the lockdown.

Steel declines 13%

Leading the contraction at the core industries were a 13% decline in steel output, and a 7% fall in
electricity generation. The two sectors account for almost 40% of the index. Cement production
crashed 25%, while natural gas production slid 15%, the data showed. Fertiliser production also fell
12%, while crude oil production slipped 5.5%.

Coal was the only core sector which saw some growth, with output up 4%. The largest component of the
index — refinery production — also dipped by only 0.5%.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/march-core-sector-output-slumps-65/article31477598.ece

Parliament project gets panel nod #GS2 #Governance

The government’s plan to construct a new Parliament building was approved by the Central Vista
Committee at a meeting on April 23 with the suggestion that the design be “in sync” with the existing
Parliament House, according to the minutes of the meeting sent to its members on Thursday.

The committee, which is chaired by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) Additional Director-
General (Works) Anant Kumar, met through videoconferencing. None of the non-government members
from the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) and the Institute of Town Planners was in attendance.

“It is placed for record here with that some members, through email, expre ssed their inability to join the
meeting on grounds of travel restrictions in view of COVID-19 and owing to lack of technical capacity at
their end to join online web-based conference facility,” the minutes stated.

These members had requested for the meeting to be postponed, “however, keeping in view the
importance of the project in nation’s interest and time scale for its implementation the meeting was
held as per issued meeting notice”, the minutes said.

The “proposed new Parliament building at Plot No.118, New Delhi” was the only item on the agenda.
The item was submitted by Ashwani Mittal, CPWD Executive Engineer for the project, for the
committee’s consideration. Mr. Mittal then invited the architect of the project, Bimal Patel of the
Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management, to present the proposal through
videoconferencing.
After Mr. Patel presented the proposal, the panel gave its observation of “no objection, with suggestions
that the features of the proposed Parliament building should be in sync with the existing Parliament
building.”

Balbir Verma, a representative of the IIA on the committee, said the meeting took place despite “all non-
government experts from the IIA and the Institute of Town Planners asking for a postponement and
having the meeting after the conditions of movement are eased.”

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/parliament-project-gets-panel-nod/article31477739.ece

Spend Rs. 65,000 crore for the poor: Rajan #GS3 #Economy
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, in an online conversation with former Congress president Rahul
Gandhi, the video of which was released by the party on Thursday, said India needed to open its
economy in a “measured and clever way and cannot wait until it has zero COVID-19 cases”.

The renowned economist, who teaches at the University of Chicago, said India could shape the global
dialogue in a post-COVID world but also cautioned not to have “a divided house” in challenging times.

Mr. Rajan, who took part in the first of a series of dialogues planned by the Congress on the challenge
posed by the pandemic, estimated that India needed to spend about Rs. 65,000 crore to take care of
the vulnerable sections such as migrant workers.

“Our GDP is Rs. 200 lakh crore, and out of that Rs. 65,000 crore is not a huge amount. So, we can do it.
If this is for the poor and to save their lives and livelihood, we must do it,” Mr. Rajan said.

Mr. Rajan said the economy needs to be opened up in a sequential way in working out a balance in
fighting the virus and facing the consequences of the economy.

“Our capacities and resources are limited. Our fiscal resources are more limited than the West. What we
need to do is to decide, how do we keep this economy together. When we reopen, is it sort of able to
walk off the sick bed and not be dead at that point? Most immediately, keep people well and alive. Food
is extremely important,” he said, adding that he and other economists like Amartya Sen and Abhijeet
Bannerjee have talked about temporary ration cards.

“It is all too easy to have a lockdown forever, but obviously that is unsustainable for the economy.”

‘Levarage DBT’

The economist said India should now leverage its direct benefit transfer (DBT) network to protect
livelihoods, keep people alive and “keep them from going onto the street protesting or going out looking
for work during lockdown”.

The former RBI Governor said India could mould the international dialogue for a more multi-polar global
order. “What I think we can say is there will have to be a rethinking of everything in the global economy
once we are out of this. If there is opportunity for India, it is in shaping that dialogue...In this situation,
India can find opportunities for its industries, for its supply chains….”

Reversing roles, Mr. Rajan asked the Congress leader to share his views on how India is handling the
pandemic challenge compared to the U.S. Mr. Gandhi said the two countries are different both in t erms
of scale and resources.

“The idea of governance in India is always about trying to control and I think that is one of the
challenges that we are facing now. The disease cannot be controlled, it has got to be managed, as you
said,” Mr. Gandhi said.

‘No divided house’

The Congress leader also said there is an infrastructure, but if there is division and hatred, that
disconnects people.

Agreeing with him, Mr. Rajan said, “Having everyone believe that they are a part of this system, an equal
part of the system, is essential. We cannot afford to be a house divided especially in these times when
our challenges are so big.”

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/spend-rs-65000-crore-for-the-poor-
rajan/article31477527.ece

SC directs RBI to implement moratorium #GS3 #Economy

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that the central bank’s
March 27 circular directing banks and financial institutions to provide borrowers a three-month
moratorium on loan repayments is implemented in “letter and spirit” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana said the central banker should ensure that its freeze on loan
repayments between March 1 and May 31 was not diluted and benefited the borrowers. The court told
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that it appeared that the borrowers had not actually benefited from the
RBI’s gesture.

However, the Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai, which took up four PIL
petitions on the implementation of the circular, said it was not intervening any further as none of the
petitioners was actually an aggrieved party.

On March 27, RBI gave liberty to banks and financial institutions to allow moratorium in respect of
loans outstanding as on March 1. It said the repayment schedule for these loans as well as the
residual tenor would be shifted across the board by three months after the moratorium period.

Sources in RBI said the court order was a rap on the knuckles of the banks that were not extending the
benefit to many customers.
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/sc-directs-rbi-to-implement-
moratorium/article31477536.ece

GI tag to Manipur black rice, Gorakhpur terracotta #GS3 #Economy

Chak-Hao, which is a black rice variety of Manipur, and Gorakhpur terracotta have bagged the
Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag.

Chinnaraja G. Naidu, Deputy Registrar, Geographical Indications, confirmed that the GI tag had been
given for the two products on Thursday.

The application for Chak-Hao was filed by the Consortium of Producers of Chak-Hao (Black Rice),
Manipur and was facilitated by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Manipur and the North
Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC).

In the case of Gorakhpur terracotta, the application was filed by Laxmi Terracotta Murtikala Kendra in
Uttar Pradesh.

Chak-Hao, a scented glutinous rice which has been in cultivation in Manipur over centuries, is
characterised by its special aroma. It is normally eaten during community feasts and is served as Chak-
Hao kheer.

Chak-Hao has also been used by traditional medical practitioners as part of traditional medicine.
According to the GI application filed, this rice takes the longest cooking time of 40-45 minutes due to
the presence of a fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content.

At present, the traditional system of Chak-Hao cultivation is practised in some pockets of Manipur.
Direct sowing of pre-soaked seeds and also transplantation of rice seedlings raised in nurseries in
puddled fields are widely practised in the State’s wetlands.

The terracotta work of Gorakhpur is a centuries-old traditional art form, where the potters make
various animal figures like, horses, elephants, camel, goat and ox with hand-applied ornamentation.

Some of the major products of craftsmanship include the Hauda elephants, Mahawatdar horse, deer,
camel, five-faced Ganesha, singled-faced Ganesha, elephant table, chandeliers and hanging bells.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gi-tag-to-manipur-black-rice-gorakhpur-
terracotta/article31477531.ece

Approach ICMR, SC tells NGO #GS3 #SnT

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked an NGO to approach the Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) with its reservations about seriously ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care units being subjected
to “controversial, unproven, non-specific and potentially toxic off-label” use of anti-malarial drug
Hydroxychloroquine and broad-spectrum antibiotic Azithromycin.
A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana stopped short of intervening on a writ petition filed by NGO People
for Better Treatment, saying the court is not an expert. It asked Dr. Kunal Saha, pre sident of the NGO, to
submit his research to the ICMR.

People for Better Treatment had drawn the court’s attention to an extraordinary bulletin issued jointly
on April 8 by the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the
Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) with warnings on the use of the two drugs on COVID-19 patients with
existing cardiac conditions.

The bulletin said the use of these drugs on patients with cardiac conditions would possibly trigger
abnormal heartbeat, heart failure and death. It advised specific therapeutic measures in such cases.
“Most of the drugs presently being used to treat COVID-19 patients are based primarily on anecdotal
evidence and not on direct scientific data because very little actual research has been published on this
new strain of coronaviruse, which was isolated for the first time only a few months ago.

COVID-19 patients receive primarily symptomatic therapy because no specific drug against the new
SARS-CoV-2 virus has been invented till now... Needless to say that when treating the vulnerable
patients with an unproven drug for its off-label use, doctors should be extra vigilant about its potential
harmful adverse effects on COVID-19 patients,” the petition said.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/approach-icmr-sc-tells-ngo/article31477560.ece

Oman job cuts not Indian-specific: Centre #GS2 #IR

Expat Indian citizens have played a significant role in creating prosperous economies in the Gulf region,
the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

The statement came amid reports of continued job cuts in several Gulf countries, including Oman, which
has instructed government-owned companies to replace expat workers “as quickly as possible” with
Omanis.

“The Gulf countries greatly value their relation with India. They also value the role of the Indian diaspora
in the development of the region. The policy of Oman is not specific to India and it does not target
Indians,” Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told presspersons.

Oman’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday issued a new set of guidelines ordering state -owned companies
to “expedite replacement of expatriates with Omanis”. According to some estimates, around a third of
Oman’s 4.6 million residents are expatriates who work in state-owned and private sectors.

There are at least 8,00,000 Indian workers in the kingdom and a part of them are likely to be impacted
by the order. Though the order is limited to the state-owned companies, it is understood that the
private sector will be under pressure to follow the state sector’s example.
The Omani order, when carried out, is expected to force significant part of the expat Indians to re turn
home. In view of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Gulf states and the accompanying regional economic
downturn, India is already preparing to evacuate a large number of citizens from the Gulf.

Mr. Srivastava said, “The issue of evacuation is receiving attention of the government,” though he
refused to spell out the plans saying, it is “remature” to discuss the details of the evacuation.

Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik had assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the salaries and well -
being of the Indian community would be protected.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/oman-job-cuts-not-indian-specific-
centre/article31477557.ece

Experts call for proper disposal of PPE #GS3 #SnT

With India needing an estimated 25 lakh units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) every day, experts
and scientists have highlighted the need for their proper disposal, treatment and recycling to safeguard
the environment. These PPEs have given a new lease of life to plastic, which was facing severe scrutiny
across the world on environmental grounds.

Even India had banned single-use plastic to protect the environment, and today except a few, no one
seems to be complaining.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, plastic items such as PPE suits, masks, gloves, sanitiser, handwash and
water bottles, and shoes and head cover have been the only protective shield for the front-line
workers.

Participating in a discussion, K.K Aggarwal, former president, Indian Medical Association, and president,
Confederation of Medical Associations of Asia and Oceania, said currently medical workers needed
protective gear which were made from an impermeable and non-porous material such as plastic to
avoid COVID-19 infection.

Hence masks, gloves, protective shield for eyes and face, head and shoe cover, and apron made from
plastics were used since impermeable material stopped virus-containing droplets from touching the
skin.

“Also the virus stays on the outer surface of the protective gear. It is also essential that healthcare
workers change their personal protective equipment every 8 hours, and regularly decontaminate the
hospital,” Dr. Aggarwal said.

“Currently, 40 lakh health workers are fighting against COVID-19 . We need 20 to 25 lakh protective
equipment every day to protect the workers from the infection,” he said.

Ashok K Agarwal, President, Indian Association for Hospital Waste Management and former Dean,
IIHMR, New Delhi, said the improper handling and disposal of medical waste could put healthcare
workers at a higher risk of infection. “All biomedical waste needs to be disposed of in colour coded
categories — yellow, red, white and blue — as per the guidelines stipulated in the Biomedical Waste
Management Rules 2016 and by the Central Pollution Control Board,” he said.

“These guidelines must be followed studiously to contain coronavirus infection. The government should
ensure the availability of plastic garbage/disposal bags in hospitals, quarantined places and general
households, so the waste can be collected and treated (medical waste) or recycled (general waste),” he
added.

According to Vijay Habbu, Adjunct Professor, Institute of Chemical Technology, the protective
equipment such as masks, gloves, PPEs and plastic bags/bottles used while delivering essentials such as
grains, oil, water must not be carelessly thrown away.

“They must be properly disposed of so they can be treated/recycled. The earth is healing itself; it is an
ideal time to cut down on non-ecofriendly human practices such as littering and utilise this time to
strengthen the plastic waste management ecosystem in India,” he said.

Dr. Habbu said that scientifically all types of plastic products/equipment were recyclable and every
Indian citizen must know this fact.

“The responsibility to ensure proper disposal of waste and source segregation is on every Indian citizen,
it will prevent the highly hazardous practice of waste dumping in landfills/waste bodies and h elp in
keeping our earth clean and green,” he said.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/experts-call-for-proper-disposal-of-
ppe/article31477572.ece

Activists seek testing of Ganga water for COVID-19 treatment #GS3

#Environment
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), an arm of the Jal Shakti Ministry that deals with the
Ganga clean-up plan, has forwarded to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) a proposal to
undertake clinical trials and examine if Ganga water can be used to treat COVID-19 patients.

The proposal was made by a collective of activists involved in the clean-up of the river as well as in the
litany of litigation surrounding it.

The thrust of the proposal is that research for over a century — and most recently an investigation by
the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, Nagpur — had found that the
upper stretches of the Ganga had several species of bacteriophages. Phages, as they are also called, are
viruses that specifically target bacteria and are also extremely strain-specific.

While there is research to suggest that these phages may have anti -microbial properties and could
potentially destroy bacteria such as Mycobacterium streptococcus and Pseudomonas Yersinia , it is
unclear how phages — being viruses themselves — could have anti-viral properties.
COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. “There’s no evidence that viruses can, even in
principle, be used to destroy other viruses. Phage therapy has its uses in experimental medicine and has
been used to treat infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Sunit Singh, virologist, Benares Hindu
University, told The Hindu .

‘Experimental medicine’

The proponents of the proposal — Anil Gautam, A.K. Gupta, Bharat Jhunjunwala and Narendra
Mehrotra — said the Ganga “could have” anti-viral properties, but the scale of the pandemic and the
need for new drugs and treatment mean that there could be “immense benefit” from undertaking such
studies on the lines of “experimental medicine.”

Before being forwarded to the ICMR, the letter reveals, the NMCG discussed the feasibility of the
proposal with NEERI, on April 24. NEERI, which is a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
organisation, has an ongoing study examining whether the phages in the Ganga water are responsible
for destroying pathogens and delaying putrefaction.

“The considered opinion of CSIR-NEERI is that overall, clinical trial on water alone may not yield very
useful results, though this would need the considered opinion of agencies such as ICMR,” notes the
NMCG letter, signed by D.P. Mathuria, Executive Director, NMCG, and addressed to the Director
General, ICMR. “...It is true Ganga water has special properties which is prominent in upper stretches.
Since no virus related studies have been yet carried out, one could attempt a pilot in the Upper Regions
of Ganga.”

Most studies have been done in the context of years-long movement that sees Ganga water as
“unique,” particularly the water in the upper stretches of Rudraprayag and before Tehri.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/activists-seek-testing-of-ganga-water-for-covid-
19-treatment/article31477570.ece

Coronavirus is pulling millions back into poverty #GS3 #Economy

Like thousands of women across South Asia, Shahida Khatun dropped out of school to work in the
garment factories that were springing up in Bangladesh’s cities, hoping to pull her family out of poverty.

At 12 years old, she clocked in for long shifts in an overcrowded factory. But the $30 she made each
month ensured that for the first time, her family had regular meals and could buy previously unheard -of
luxuries like chicken and milk.

A decade later, Ms. Khatun more than tripled her wage.

But when Ms. Khatun and her husband were laid off i n March as Bangladesh, like much of the world,
went under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, she dropped back to dark places she hoped
she had left behind.
“The garment factory helped me and my family to get out of poverty. But the coronavirus h as pushed
me back in,” Ms. Khatun, now 22, said in a recent interview.

The gains the world was making in fighting poverty are now at grave risk.

The World Bank says that for the first time since 1998, global poverty rates will rise. By the end of the
year, 8% of the world’s population — half a billion people — could be pushed into destitution, largely
because of the wave of unemployment brought by virus lockdowns.

While everyone will suffer, the developing world will be hardest hit. The World Bank estimates that sub-
Saharan Africa will see its first recession in 25 years, with nearly half of all jobs lost across the continent.
South Asia will likely experience its worst economic performance in 40 years.

Informal sector

Most at risk are people working in the informal sector, which employs 2 billion people who have no
access to benefits like unemployment assistance or health care. In Bangladesh, 1 million garment
workers like Ms. Khatun — 7% of the country’s workforce — lost their jobs because of the lockdown.

The financial shock waves could linger even after the virus is gone, experts warn. Countries like
Bangladesh, which spent heavily on programmes to improve education and provide health care, which
help lift families out of destitution, may now be too cash-strapped to fund them.

“These stories, of women entering the workplace and bringing their families out of poverty, of
programmes lifting the trajectories of families, those stories will be easy to destroy,” said Abhijit
Banerjee, a winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize for economics.

“There will be groups of people who climbed up the ladder and will now fall back,” he added. “There
were so many fragile existences, families barely stitching together an existence. They will fall into
poverty, and they may not come out of it.”

The gains now at risk are a stark reminder of global inequality and how much more there is to be done.
In 1990, 36% of the world’s population, or 1.9 billion people, lived on less than $1.90 a day. By 2016,
that number had dropped to 734 million people, or 10% of the world’s population, largely because of
progress in South Asia and China.

Some of the biggest gains were made in India, where 210 million people were lifted out of poverty from
2006 to 2016, according to the UN. Since 2000, Bangladesh lifted 33 million people — 10% of its
population — out of poverty.

Famines that once plagued South Asia are now vanishingly rare, the population less susceptible to
disease and starvation. But that progress may be reversed, experts worry, and funding for anti-poverty
programmes may be cut as governments struggle with stagnant growth rates or economic contractions
as the world heads for a recession.
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/coronavirus-is-pulling-millions-back-into-
poverty/article31477517.ece

Second stimulus: Govt plans targeting based on need, MSMEs to begin with
#GS3 #Economy
AS the Covid pandemic and the prolonged lockdown batter all sectors of the economy, the government,
sources said, is working on a rescue package that, for now, may address the needs of the micro, small
and medium enterprise (MSME) segment rather than the larger corporate sector.

More than six meetings have been held at the Prime Minister’s Office — including Thursday’s with
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal — to discuss
the scope and quantum of the second fiscal package.

But what has held back an announcement is the open-endedness of the stimulus being pushed by
sections within the government.

“The Prime Minister has been asking ‘searching’ questions. What probably weighs in his mind is the
aftermath of the massive stimulus the government imparted following the 2008 global financial crisis.
Few large industrial groups made the most of the monetary and fiscal stimulus, built huge and
unsustainable balance sheets, left banks with large NPAs, and this also led to high inflation,” said a
source who did not wish to be named.

The political leadership is keen to avoid this.

While individual ministries and departments are making a strong case for a large -scale fiscal package,
there are indications from other quarters for a need to pause, calibrate the impact and then announce
any intervention. The Prime Minister is worried about the lack of a “sunset clause” in stimulus
provisions.

Compared to many developed economies, many analysts argue that India has done much less o n the
fiscal side while the RBI has been proactive in monetary easing.

“He would rather have it more focused. MSMEs, health care, financial sector, and the poor and
vulnerable – these will remain the target segments,” another official said.

Sources involved in discussing the second fiscal package said that a consensus seems to be emerging
that within industry, MSMEs have not gained much and continue to feel the pain despite measures
announced by the Finance Ministry in its first package and steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India so
far.

MSMEs worst hit

MSMEs are among the worst affected by the downturn. Since they don’t have large buffers that blue -
chip companies have, the government is planning a relief package for smaller firms to improve their
access to funding and their liquidity position.

Sources said MSMEs may be supported through a fund that carries a government guarantee. “The
government could also provide a direct guarantee against fresh loans to units in the sector so that they
can raise funds from banks to stay solvent,” said a source, not wishing to be named.

Officials indicated there is a clear realisation that there exists limited fiscal space for a big package of the
order of the one extended in 2009.

MSME minister Nitin Gadkari had, on April 24, indicated the possibility of setting up a Rs 1 lakh crore
revolving fund for MSMEs. It is learnt that directions have been given to the PSUs to settle bills raised by
MSMEs to ensure the latter’s working capital requirements are met.

The government’s plan is to ensure higher working capital limits, clearance of any pending dues and
credit guarantee against loan losses to MSMEs so that banks lend to them.

While a credit guarantee fund for MSMEs is already run by SIDBI, the new proposal is the government
providing a direct guarantee against fresh loans to a certain extent.

This could also be done through a government-backed special purpose vehicle which is expected to
nudge banks to boost lending to MSMEs and lower-rated companies, for which funding has been choked
because of risk-averse banks.

Officials indicated there is a clear realisation that there exists limited fiscal space for a big package of
the order of the one extended in 2009.

For the corporate sector as a whole, a package, if any, will likely be discussed well after the lockdown is
lifted and issues specific to individual sectors such as automobiles or aviation get flagged.

There is a view that large corporates got benefits from the corporate tax cut last September when rates
for domestic companies were reduced to 22 per cent from earlier rate of 30 per cent.

Moreover, the upcoming salary payment position of companies in early May, when April salaries would
be disbursed, is also being tracked closely to gauge signs of distress.

As part of the stimulus, the government has also finalised plans to set up a credit enhancement
company to support lower-rated infra projects – a proposal that has been in the works some time.

The proposed company, for which inter-ministerial discussions have been completed, will provide partial
guarantee against loan losses to lenders, enabling the borrower to enhance its credit ratings for infra
projects. “This company will de-risk the banking sector, enable more funding for new projects of nearly
Rs 3 lakh crore from banks and the corporate bond market,” the official said.
While the government has so far tried to remain within the additional 0.5 percentage point space
provided under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) laws, there is a realisation
within government that more needs to done.

A relaxation of the fiscal deficit target by 1.5 per cent of GDP could generate around Rs 3.5 l akh crore
that can be used to provide an economic stimulus, according to a recent CRISIL research report.

Compared to many developed economies, many analysts argue that India has done much less on the
fiscal side while the RBI has been proactive in monetary easing.

India’s fiscal package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore, comprising direct income transfer and other measures, is only
0.7 per cent of GDP, compared with 2.5 per cent in China, 8.9 per cent in the US, 7.9 per cent in South
Korea and 6.6 per cent in Brazil, the report said.

The Finance Ministry has so far not responded to queries seeking comments for the story.

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/covid-19-lockdown-economy-msme-6388093/

We need global access agreements before a vaccine is developed’ #GS3 #SnT

How far has science travelled in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine, and what role will Gavi — The
Vaccine Alliance play?

Developing vaccines is a time-consuming and resource intensive process. It typically takes up to 10-15
years from the discovery of a novel way to produce a vaccine to respond to an unmet medical need and
the licensure of a vaccine for commercial use. Given the unprecedented levels of data sharing and global
collaboration, with a full-scale push, we could potentially have a coronavirus vaccine — at least an
investigational one for potential use in outbreaks — within 18 months to two years. That would be an
incredible achievement compared to any previous vaccine development, and would require luck in
terms of the approaches currently in the pipeline.

Gavi is positioned to play a key role in each phase of the development and delivery of a SARS -CoV2
vaccine. Drawing upon our experience enabling access to critical vaccines — including the Ebola vaccine
— we are working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic
Preparedness Innovations, the industry and other partners in the R&D community to create optimal
conditions for the identification of priority candidate vaccines, with a focus on potential to scale and
equitable access.

Gavi’s innovative financing mechanisms are also being made available. Gavi’s ‘Vaccine Bonds’, through
the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), will be open to additional donor
commitments that can be spread over the long term but, thanks to IFFIm’s unique frontloading features,
make significant funding available to accelerate vaccine candidates. Gavi will also enable its private
sector Matching Fund to be rapidly deployed for quick assistance from private sector partners to scale
up funding and proven technologies to fight coronavirus…

The 300,000 Ebola vaccine doses [access to which was facilitated by Gavi] were investigational doses
made available through an Advanced Purchase Commitment after the vaccine was determined to be
efficacious, but before the product was fully licensed… Such an effort might also be made in the case of
coronavirus vaccines to help control outbreaks or protect health workers.

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Does the challenge of fighting COVID-19 end with the discovery of a vaccine?

With more than 100 candidate vaccines already in development, the response from the scientific
community and industry has been unprecedented. But of course, vaccine development on its own isn’t
enough. There is currently no global system to oversee the all ocation of vaccine supply and many
countries who have the capacity to manufacture at the required scale will also face pressure to make
that supply available first to their own population. We need global access agreements before a vaccine
is developed.

For me, there are two axes. The public health need — if there are out of control outbreaks anywhere in
the world, it threatens not only those countries but the rest of the world… Two, there will need to be
some type of agreement on priority use — health workers probably most important, followed by high
risk such as elderly, those with chronic conditions and finally, the general population.

What has been Gavi’s experience in evolving access to vaccines?

Gavi’s role will be to shape markets from development to manufacturing to distribution, so that there is
equitable access at scale to them. Gavi is working with partners under the leadership of WHO to help
select and accelerate candidate vaccines and ensure they are managed as global public goods.

This work will build upon Gavi’s successful experience of shaping vaccine markets. This includes
expanding the number of vaccine suppliers; the Advance Market Commitment for pneumococcal
vaccine — which has saved 700,000 children’s lives by pre-committing incentive payments for vaccine
manufacturers who have developed appropriate vaccines for developing countries; the accelerated
licensing and rollout of the first Ebola vaccine in the past four years through an Adv ance Purchase
Commitment; and managing stockpiles against outbreaks. Indian manufacturers have an important role
to play in COVID-19 vaccine supply as they do in supply of high-quality vaccines globally.

Do you anticipate the COVID-19 fight disrupting routine immunisation programmes and vaccination
drives?

The COVID-19 outbreak is a reminder that infectious diseases know no borders, and that the world must
be prepared for the evolutionary inevitability of the emergence of novel pathogens. In countries with
weaker health systems, such outbreaks can have even more devastatingaimpact — both within and
beyond national borders. The importance of preparedness and early detection, meaning investing in
strong primary healthcare and immunisation systems as the first line of defence against threats to global
health security, cannot be overstated.

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We are already seeing the impact the pandemic is having. Major Gavi-supported vaccination campaigns
against polio, measles, cholera, HPV, yellow fever and meningitis have been postponed in low -income
countries. These would have immunised more than 13.5 million people. The number of people missing
out on vaccines is likely to rise substantially as we expect a significant proportion of planned vaccine
campaigns to be postponed in the coming months, with routine immunisation programmes also severely
impacted as key staff are redeployed.

How can countries mitigate such risks?

For now, the focus of governments needs to be on continuing routine immunisation as well as robust
public health measures for COVID-19 and this is what they are doing. Without routine immunisation, we
will face potential outbreaks of regular vaccine-preventable diseases, which will overwhelm the health
system on top of the COVID-19 challenge.

We also must remember that strong routine immunisation ensures people are protected against the
spread of infectious disease and, by connecting them to health services, enables early detection of novel
threats. It also means the existence of supply chains, trained health workers, data systems and, crucially,
disease surveillance and in some cases basic laboratory testing…

Beyond routine immunisation, we have also recognised procuring stockpiles as an important aspect of
global epidemic preparedness. Gavi funds emergency vaccine stockpiles for cholera, yellow fever,
meningococcal disease and Ebola to ensure that when an outbreak does occur, we are prepared to
quickly deploy vaccines to protect affected communities and limit the spread.

These emergency stockpiles are a last-resort insurance policy that guarantee vaccines will always be
available for rapid delivery when needed, benefiting not just directly affected nations, but the entire
global community.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/an-expert-explains-we-need-global-access-agreements-
before-a-coronavirus-vaccine-is-developed-6387936/
Cocktail of germs on mobiles, likely coronavirus too: paper #GS3 #SnT
A new study has warned that mobile phones could be acting as “Trojan horses” for coronavirus. It found
that phones host a cocktail of live germs.

The research was a review of 56 previous studies from 24 countries. While all those studies predate the
current pandemic, the authors said SARS-CoV2 is probably present on mobiles and other touch-screen
devices of coronavirus sufferers.

The review, scheduled for publication in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, found that 68% of the
phones sampled in these studies were contaminated. Golden staph and E. coli microbes were among
the most common bugs on phones.

“Our recommendation is that phones should be decontaminated daily and regularly with either 70%
isopropyl or by sanitising with (ultraviolet) devices like PhoneSoap,” said the study, led by biomedical
scientist Lotti Tajouri of Bond University, Australia.

In a statement, Dr Tajouri described mobile devices as “five-star hotels with premium heated spas, free
buffet for microbes to thrive on”. “They have temperature control, we keep them in our pockets, we are
addicted to them. We talk into them and deposit droplets that can be full of viruses, bacteria – you
name it. We eat with them, so we give nutrients to micro-organisms..”

He said people travelled with their phones “and no border officers check them”. “That’s why mobile
phones are Trojan horses. We don’t know that we are carrying the enemy.”

Dr Tajouri said even the average phone user handled their mobiles an average of three hours a day.
“You can wash your hands as many times as you like – and you should – but if you then touch a
contaminated phone you are contaminating yourself all over again. Think of your phone as your third
hand.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/cocktail-of-germs-on-mobiles-likely-coronavirus-too-paper-
6387945/

What coronavirus ‘copy machine’ looks like #GS3 #SnT

Once the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 invades a human cell, the crucial next stage is replication, when
it creates copies after copies of itself. For this, the virus uses its “copy machine”, which is an enzyme
with this function. Trials with various drugs are targeting various stages of virus activity, and some of
them, notably remdesivir, seek to inhibit specifically the enzyme that multiplies the genetic material of
the virus.

Now, researchers have reported that they have determined the 3D structure of this “copy machine”.
This makes it possible to investigate how drugs such as remdesivir work, they note.

How it works
The first stage of infection is the virus entering the human cell. On the surface of the virus is a spike -
shaped protein, the so-called “corona”, which binds itself to a human cell enzyme, ACE2. The virus then
acidifies compartments on the cell surface, enters, and then begins to replicate using the body’s own
mechanism.

SARS-CoV2 is made of a single strand of RNA, which is what is copied and recopied. Enzymes that enable
the creation of RNA (or DNA) are called polymerases; in the case of SARS-CoV2, the polymerase is called
RdRp, also named nsp12. It is the polymerase whose structure researchers have now described.

What is new

The 3D structure has been determined by researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, led by
director Patrick Cramer, the institute said in a statement.

They reconstituted the polymerase from three purified proteins. Once it was functional in the test tube,
they examined the samples under an electron microscope, magnified more than 100,000 times. “One
sample looked different, somehow strange. Our first thought was to discard it. Fortunately, we did not:
This sample, over all, provided us with the high-quality data we needed,” researcher Dimitry Tegunov
said in the statement.

The team reported that in overall architecture, the SARS-CoV2 “copy machine” is similar to that of SARS-
CoV, the coronavirus responsible for SARS. However, they also noted distinguishing features. One of
these is an additional element in the SARS-CoV2 polymerase, with which it binds the RNA until it has
copied the genetic material.

“We were surprised to find that the structure of the coronavirus polymerase is special — it differs from
other structures that we have been investigating so far,” researcher Hauke Hillen said.

Why it matters

The researchers repeatedly referred to remdesivir, which work by blocking the polymerase. Their
description of the 3D structure comes amid mixed signals from studies on remdesivir. While some trials
have found the results encouraging, a study published in The Lancet this week has reported that the
clinical benefits from administering remdesivir were not found to be statistically significant.

Knowledge of the architecture of the polymerase on an atomic scale is important, nevertheless, as it

opens up new avenues to understand and combat the virus. The team plans to investigate how antiviral
substances block the proliferation of coronaviruses.

“With the structure at hand it might be possible to optimize existing substances such as remdesivir and
to improve their effect. But we also want to search for new substances that are abl e to stop the virus
polymerase,” said Cramer, the Max Planck director.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-coronavirus-copy-machine-looks-like-6387924/
Can Covid-19 hit sense of smell? #GS3 #SnT
Earlier this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) introduced “a new loss of
taste or smell” in a list of COVID-19 symptoms. While loss of smell is a known symptom of several
diseases, it is less common than hearing loss or vision loss, and patients become conscious of it later
than they would notice a fever or body ache.

What has the CDC said?

“People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported — ranging from mild symptoms to
severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these
symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19 — Cough and Shortness of breath or
difficulty breathing,” the CDC says.

In addition, it lists symptoms that include fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain,
headache, sore throat, and a new loss of taste or smell. If a patients has two or more of these
symptoms, the CDC says there is a chance that the person has COVID-2019 infection.

Why is the inclusion of loss of smell important?

Rhinology, ENT and otolaryngology experts have been pushing for inclusion of loss of smell — known as
anosmia — in the list of symptoms for some time now. These include the American Academy of
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology.

Chills are associated with many other infections, such as malaria, and muscle pain and body ache are
typically associated with common flu. For these reasons, health experts have repeatedly noted that it is
impossible to symptomatically differentiate between COVID-19 and the common flu.

Anosmia, however, is a less common symptom. Johns Hopkins University too lists unexplained loss of
taste or smell, alongside cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrohoea,
headache and also fatigue among the symptoms.

Most of the other symptoms are common among the lists developed by various international health
organisations. According to the World Health Organization: “The most common symptoms of COVID-19
are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, sore
throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually.”

The WHO list of symptoms has been adopted by the Health Ministry in India.

Why do people lose their sense of smell?

It can happen during a severe cold, when we say the nose is “blocked”. Only, this is hyposmia, a reduced
sense of smell rather than a complete loss of it. According to Mayo Clinic: “A stuffy nose from a cold is a
common cause for a partial, temporary loss of smell. A blockage in the nasal passages caused by a polyp
or a nasal fracture also is a common cause. Normal aging can cause a loss of smell too, particularly after
age 60.”

It is usually also associated with reduced appetite because our sense of smell is part of our sense of
taste. That is why during a cold, we seem to lack taste in our food. In a 2017 review in the Journal
Chemical Senses, researchers from Wageningen University in Netherlands wrote: “Anosmia and
hyposmia, the inability or decreased ability to smell, is estimated to afflict 3-20% of the population. Risk
of olfactory dysfunction increases with old age and may also result from chronic sinonasal diseases,
severe head trauma, and upper respiratory infections, or neurodegenerative diseases.”

Other diseases with anosmia among its symptoms include Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and
multiple sclerosis. In such cases, it is permanent.

Is this the first time COVID-19 has been linked to a loss of sense of smell new?

No. There have been very early reports from various countries about some patients complaining of a
loss of smell. According to ENT UK, a professional membership body, “There i s already good evidence
from South Korea, China and Italy that significant numbers of patients with proven COVID-19 infection
have developed anosmia/hyposmia. In Germany it is reported that more than 2 in 3 confirmed cases
have anosmia. In South Korea, where testing has been more widespread, 30% of patients testing
positive have had anosmia as their major presenting symptom in otherwise mild cases.”

In a communication with Public Health England on COVID-related anosmia, ENT UK also flagged the fact
that many people report only anosmia without any of the more usual symptoms like fever etc. “Iran has
reported a sudden increase in cases of isolated anosmia, and many colleagues from the US, France and
Northern Italy have the same experience.

I have personally seen four patients this week, all under 40, and otherwise asymptomatic except for the
recent onset of anosmia – I usually see roughly no more than one a month. I think these patients may be
some of the hitherto hidden carriers that have facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately,
these patients do not meet current criteria for testing or self- isolation,” wrote Prof Claire Hopkins,
president of the British Rhinological Society, and Prof Nirmal Kumar, president of ENT UK.

In an article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers from the US Medical Corps wrote: “Our
multinational group, including one otolaryngologist currently infected with COVID-19 and experiencing
anosmia and dysgeusia (altered sense of taste), suggest that physicians evaluating patients with acute-
onset loss of smell or taste, particularly in the context of a patent nasal airway (ie, non -conductive loss),
should have a high index of suspicion for concomitant SARS-CoV-2 infection.”

Have patients in India reported loss of sense of smell?

Some have. In a now viral clip, a doctor in Lutyen’s Delhi, who was quarantined after testing positive,
talks about how he decided to get himself and his wife tested after he noticed, following a few days of
cough and body ache, that he could not “smell perfume or agarbattis”.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/can-covid-hit-sense-of-smell-6387933/