First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020

USA 1,495,492 89,130 +623
SPAIN 276,505 27,563 +104
RUSSIA 272,043 2,537 +119
UK 240,161 34,466 +468
ITALY 224,760 31,763 +153
BRAZIL 222,877 15,046 +229
FRANCE 179,506 27,633 +104
GERMANY 175,843 8,002 +1
TURKEY 148,067 4,096 +41
IRAN 118,392 6,937 +35
CANADA 75,770 5,677 +115
COUNTRY TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
GLOBAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS
WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO
LAST UPDATED: MAY 16, 2020, 11:00 PM
SAMPLE RECEIVED
SAMPLE NEGATIVE
3,084
UNDER EXAMINATION
2,21,439
2,13,395
IN RAJASTHAN
DISTRICT TOTAL NEW TOTAL
CASES CASES DEATH
AJMER 254 +7 5
ALWAR 33 — 2
BANSWARA 68 — 1
BARAN 4 — —
BARMER 18 +1 —
BHARATPUR 123 +1 2
BHILWARA 50 +7 2
BIKANER 42 +1 2
CHITTORGARH 152 +1 2
CHURU 33 — 1
DAUSA 32 — —
DHOLPUR 24 — —
DUNGARPUR 42 +27 —
HANUMANGARH 14 — —
JAIPUR 1516 +131 64
JAISALMER 47 — —
JALORE 69 — 1
JHALAWAR 48 — —
JHUNJHUNU 54 +1 —
JODHPUR 993 +7 17
KARAULI 9 — 2
KOTA 319 +1 10
NAGAUR 161 +3 3
PALI 114 +1 3
PRATAPGARH 4 — 1
RAJSAMAND 33 — —
SWAI MADHOPUR 16 — 1
SIKAR 27 +1 2
SIROHI 32 +10 —
TONK 147 +3 1
UDAIPUR 363 +9 —
OTHER DIST. 7 +1 4
TOTAL 4848 +213 126
OTHER (Italy) 2 — —
EVACUEES 61 — —
BSF 49 — —
GRAND TOTAL 4960 +213 126
CORONA
ALERT
JAIPUR l SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 340
25°C - 39°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
COVID-19
UPDATE
RAJASTHAN
126
DEATHS
4,960
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
90,398
CONFIRMED CASES
2,862
DEATHS
WORLD
3,10,816
DEATHS
46,83,467
CONFIRMED CASES
CM announces online employment exchange for labourers
Kartikey Dev Singh
Jaipur: At a time
when lakhs of labour-
ers have lost employ-
ment and are facing
an uncertain future,
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot has taken the
first step to provide
work to the labourers
by announcing an on-
line employment ex-
change for labourers.
The exchange, as the
name suggests will
function like employ-
ment exchange, and
help them find jobs
amid the ongoing
lockdown. However,
that is just one side of
the story. The ex-
change will also prove
to be beneficial for
industries that are re-
starting and are in
dire need of manpow-
er, thus an overall
win-win situation for
workers and factory
owners etc.
“Online mapping of
workers coming and go-
ing in the state and con-
struction workers
should be done,” Gehlot
instructed officials
while holding a review
of the labor department
at CMR on Saturday. “It
is our responsibility to
support the workers in
this time of crisis. The
stategovernmentiswor-
ried about this. On the
other hand it is neces-
sary to ensure the avail-
ability of workers to
bringindustriesbackon
track and the Labor de-
partment has a big role
in this. The department
should make all efforts
for this so that these la-
bourers can Turn on P6
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during a video conference on Saturday where DB Gupta, Niranjan Arya
and Amit Dhaka were also present.
 NEED TO CHANGE AND REFORM
LABOUR LAWS : GEHLOT
 ALSO APPROVED FORMATION
OF ‘PRAVASI RAJASTHANI
WORKERS WELFARE FUND’
‘Don’t fear Corona,
prepare to live with it’
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: Holding a four
hour long meeting on
Saturday, CM Gehlot
said that instead of fear-
ing Corona, people
should reach hospital,
get themselves tested
and take medication if
needed. “do not try to
hide any health issue,
including Corona since
this will make the infec-
tionmoreserious.There
are ample facilities to
counter Corona,” he
said. Gehlot also direct-
ed officials to ensure
that the services should
be micro managed so
that ‘ no one looses their
life due to lack of health
services’. “we need to be
vigil and cautious spe-
cially regarding the mi-
grants returning to Ra-
jasthan. They need to be
screened properly and
quarantine if needed.
Sampling in rural area
should also be in-
creased,” he said.
Ciring the example
of four year old child
from Dungarpur who
lost life to Corona, Ge-
hlot said, Turn on P6
COAL SECTOR
For the coal sector, she announced allowing the private sec-
tor in commercial mining as well as auction of even partially
explored coal blocks. Also, turning coal into liquid or gaseous
fuel will be incentivised while rights to exploit of gas lying
below coal bed (CBM) in blocks owned by state-owned Coal
India Ltd (CIL) will be auctioned. An investment of Rs 50,000
crore is envisaged in coal evacuation infrastructure to help
meet CIL’s target of 1 billion tonnes of production by 2023-24.
MINING SECTOR
FM announced structural
reforms in mining of miner-
als through introduction
of a seamless composite
exploration-cum-mining-cum-
production regime where
500 mining blocks would be
auctioned. A joint auction
of bauxite and coal min-
eral blocks would be done to
enhance aluminium industry’s
competitiveness by reducing
power generation cost.
DEFENCE SECTOR
To boost Make in India in
defence production, FM
said FDI limit in defence
manufacturing will be hiked
to 74 per cent from 49 per
cent while some weapons
and platforms will be banned
for imports. Items banned
for imports can only be
purchased from within the
country, she said present-
ing the fourth tranche of the
economic stimulus package.
SPACE SECTOR OPENS FOR PVT PLAYERS
Private sector gets a role in India’s space programme, including
in satellites, launches and space-based services. For boosting
private participation in space activities, government will provide
level playing field for private companies in satellites, launches
and space-based services. Will also provide predictable policy
and regulatory environment to private players, she said while an-
nouncing the fourth tranche of the economic stimulus package.
Private sector will be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other
relevant assets to improve their capacities. Future projects for
planetary exploration and outer space travel would be open for
private sector, she said, adding liberal geo-spatial data policy will
provide remote sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs. Turn on P6
Vaishali
New Delhi: The
one line message
of his four
media session
is though he
has had a great
global exposure,
MoS Finance
Anurag Thakur
still comes
across as a shy
person who does
not like much
media attention.
Although certain
section of the
public and media
itself thinks
Thakur is one
of the most
handsome men
out there, yet
the four time
MP chooses to
remain subdued!
HANDSOME
AND SHY
THAKUR!
LETTING IT GO!Mother Nature has an incredible influence on our lives and
thanks to the changing nature of life, each and every day
presents us with new mysteries! This bed of breathtakingly
beautiful red and orange foliage offers us a chance to reconnect
with ourselves as we preserve our safe havens during the
lockdown in place due to deadly Coronavirus pandemic!
ZAMEENSEFALAKTAK!IN THE 4TH TRANCHE OF ECONOMIC PACKAGE, GOVERNMENT BROUGHT MASSIVE CHANGES IN
EIGHT SECTORS INCLUDING COAL, MINERALS, DEFENCE PRODUCTION, AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT,
AIRPORTS, MRO, POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES IN UTS AND SPACE SECTOR
24 labourers
killed as 2 trucks
collide in UP
Auraiya: As many as 24 la-
bourers were killed and sev-
eral injured after the truck
they were traveling in, collided
with another truck in Auraiya
on Saturday morning.
According to the official, the
incident occurred at around
3.30 am. All the labourers were
mostly from Bihar, Jharkhand
and West Bengal. 24 people
were brought dead, 22 have
been admitted and 15 who
were critically injured have
been referred to Saifai PGI.
They were going to Bihar and
Jharkhand from Rajasthan.
UP & West Bengal govern-
ments announced compensa-
tion for the family of the de-
ceased and those injured. PM
Modi expressed grief over the
deaths. —ANI
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Unveiling
the fourth tranche of
the Covid economic
measures as part of
the ‘Atmanirbhar
Bharat Abhiyan (Self-
reliant India Mis-
sion’), Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman’sannounce-
ment on Saturday fo-
cussed primarily on
eight sectors—coal,
minerals, defence pro-
duction, airspace
management, air-
ports, MRO, power
distribution compa-
nies in UTs, space &
atomic energy.
MoS Finance Anurag
Thakur said, “Today’s
announcements have
unleashed a new fron-
tier of business and do-
mestic innovation with
private partnerships.
There will be a tectonic
shift in how India im-
ports and does business.
These sectors employ
millions and will have a
great significance in en-
hancing the economic
outlook of the country
in this decade. It is given
to visionary approach
of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi led Govern-
ment, Reform – Perform
– Transform have been
kept in mind while de-
vising the economic
stimulus package.”
Union MoS for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur addresses a press
conference as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman looks on.
LOCKDOWN 4.0
FROM MAY 18
New Delhi: India will enter into
the fourth phase of lockdown
from May 18 but with a different
set of rules and guidelines as
announced by PM Modi on May
11. 90% lockdown may phase-
out and only 30 districts in the
entire country, including Jaipur,
Jodhpur and Udaipur may be
under restricted lockdown. Coun-
try’s Covid-19 caseload areas are
expected to have stricter curbs as
compared to other parts.

NEWSJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
GOOD NEWS FROM JHALANA SAFARI
Female panther Jalebi was seen in camera trap with one of her cubs at Jhalana Leopard Safari on Saturday. 5 females gave birth
to cubs this year in four months. Flora and LK gave 3-3 cubs, Sharmili gave 2, Mrs Khan too gave birth to 1 cub. Monitoring has
also been increased in the Safari area.
MONEY WISE: RTDC TO START
15 LIQUOR SHOPS FROM MAY 18
Khachariyawas distributes PPE
kits to SMS docs on birthday
JDA resumes construction at
Sodala elevated road project
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Transport Min-
ister Pratap Singh
Khachariyawas cele-
brated his birthday af-
ter visiting the Bai-
kunthnath temple & of-
fering fodder to cows.
Khachariyawas asked
his workers to continue
Janta kitchen and dis-
tribution of ration kits.
He himself distributed
sanitizers, masks, and
atta kits.
Later, he reached SMS
medical college and met
Principal Dr Sudhir
Bhandari and SMS Hos-
pital Superintendent Dr
Rajesh Sharma to thank
them and other doctors
for their excellent work
during the corona crisis.
HE also handed over 500
PPE kits.
He said that doctors,
staff and workers have
been working as angels
and everyone should re-
spect them. He assured
the doctors that govt
would not let anything
come in way of medical
services.
Khachariyawas also
reached Sindhi Camp
bus stand to felicitate
roadways bus drivers,
conductors & other
staff for their services.
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
Tourism Development
Corporation (RTDC)
has received a lifeline.
It has got permission to
operate 15 liquor shops
by the excise depart-
ment. This is good news
for the RTDC, which
has been unable to pay
salaries to its employ-
ees as it has been facing
huge financial losses.
The RTDC will now
start these shops in ho-
tel Swagtam and Gan-
gaur in Jaipur and oth-
er districts from May
18. Two shops each have
been sanctioned in
Jaipur and Chittor-
garh. The RTDC had to
pay Rs 2.88 cr as a li-
cense fee for these shops
but considering poor
economic condition of
it, the excise dept has
allowed to pay the mon-
ey in four instalments
of Rs 72 lakh each.
The RTDC has even
appointed in-charge of
these shops. In some
shops, staff of Palace
on Wheels has been ap-
pointed. The executive
director of RTDC Sub-
hash Maharia said that
the RTDC had given a
proposal for 32 shops
but permission has
been received for only
15 shops since structure
for operating liquor
shop were available in
these places.
The excise depart-
ment has asked the
RTDC to first prepare
the structure for liquor
shops in the remaining
17 places after which it
will be allowed to oper-
ate shops from these
places as well.
If the RTDC enters
liquor trade, there is
the expectation of rein-
ing in exorbitant rates
of alcohol. The RTDC
was running beer busi-
ness till the then BJP
government withdrew
permission in 2003. It is
expected that the RTDC
will be able to recover
its losses because of the
lockdown from the liq-
uor business.
In the new excise pol-
icy, RTDC, RSBCL, and
Ganganagar Sugar Mill
had been authorized to
run liquor shops but
only RTDC moved the
proposal the other two
showed no interest.
According to sources,
if RSBCL and Gangana-
gar Sugar Mill had also
agreed for opening liq-
uor shops, it would have
created legal issues for
the government as total
shops would have
crossed the limit of 1000
as per the state govern-
ment’s affidavit to the
High Court.
Hotel Gangaur in Jaipur. —FILE PHOTO
WHERE TO GET?
Labour secy Neeraj
K Pawan to arrange
workers for factories
Jaipur Metro plans to
resume services soon
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Preparations
have been made to re-
start Jaipur Metro. If
the govt gives permis-
sion, then the cash pay-
ment will not be accept-
ed, rather, it will be pos-
sible to travel in metro
only through smart
card. Jaipur Metro Rail
Administration has
prepared guidelines for
Metro operations, un-
der which there will be
a ban on standing on
the Metro while travel-
ling. After the third
phase of the lockdown,
the state govt may allow
public transport to start
conditionally. In view
of this, after JCTSL,
now Jaipur Metro has
also prepared a guide-
line regarding starting
the service.
Jaipur Metro manag-
ing director Samit Shar-
ma said that masks,
gloves and sanitizers
will be provided to the
Metro employees. Metro
trains and stations will
be sanitized daily.First India Bureau
Jaipur: Even after
the state govt re-
laxed lockdown, fac-
tories have been fac-
ing a shortage of
workers. Labour de-
partment has decid-
ed to help them out
by arranging labour
for industries.
Labour secretary
Neeraj K Pawan has
taken up this chal-
lenge and working
with senior officials
of the department to
make it possible. He
said that the labour
department has
asked industrial
units to give details
of what type of la-
bour they seek.
The labour secre-
tary said that 12.50
lakh trained work-
ers are registered
with the dept who
can be sent for the
work when needed.
Pawan has suc-
cessfully faced such
a challenge in the
past. The state gov-
ernment and labour
department have
been putting in all
efforts to stop the
migration of work-
ers and making nec-
essary arrange-
ments. The depart-
ment has also been
trying to provide la-
bourers from facto-
ries to shopkeepers
to bring back the
economy on track.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The Jaipur De-
velopment Authority
(JDA) has begun work
on Sodala elevated
road following instruc-
tions of UDH minister
Shanti Dhariwal.
The work began as
per the state govt advi-
sory on Saturday. The
JDA restarted segment
launching, pier cap
work in railway
stretch, and from ap-
proach to reinforce
earth wall.
JDA Commissioner T
Ravikant informed that
the JDA has been con-
structing an elevated
road from Ambedkar
circle to Sodala at the
cost of Rs 250 cr. He said
that the UDH minister
wanted this project to
be completed soon.
Neeraj K Pawan
Pratap Singh Khachariyawas feeding green grass to a cow on Saturday.
Sachin Pilot
Birthday greetings and
best wishes to Transport
Minister @PSKhachari-
yawas.
I wish to god for your
good health and long life.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Former
state president of
NSUI and young
Congress leader
Deepak Dandori-
ya has registered
an FIR against the
BJP national
spokesperson Dr
Sambit Patra for
using the deroga-
tory language for
former PMs Late
Jawahar Lal
Nehru and Rajeev
Gandhi.
He said such
language has no
place in democra-
cy and can only be
used by a person
of a low calibre
which BJP and its
leaders regularly
do. He said such
remarks will be se-
verely opposed.
Cong leader
Deepak files
plaint against
Sambit Patra
Rlys profit goes off track amid corona crisis
Kashiram Chaudhary
Jaipur: The Coronavi-
rus pandemic has
caused major economic
damage to the railways.
For the last 50 days, the
operation of trains
across the country is
completely closed. Due
to this, the Railways are
suffering big losses.
The operating ratio of
the railways has been
341 these days. That is,
Railways have to spend
341 rupees to earn 100
rupees.
About 375 passenger
trains operate on the
North-Western Railway.
But, not a single passen-
ger train operated in
April.
Now from May 12,
some special trains
have started operating.
At the same time, the
operation of goods and
freight trains has also
reduced significantly.
This has caused finan-
cial loss to the railway
administration. Actu-
ally, profits or losses in
railways are calculated
on the basis of operat-
ing ratio. From this ra-
tio, it is found that in
proportion to the ex-
penditure incurred by
the railway in running
the train from one sta-
tion to another station,
Spread over 90 percent
of Rajasthan, the
North-Western Railway
has had to struggle a lot
for income this time.
Railways had to spend
112 rupees to earn 100
rupees in the year 2019-
20. So at the same time,
Coronavirus has com-
pletely spoiled this rail-
way mathematics. Ac-
cording to a railway re-
port, Railways have to
spend Rs 341 to earn Rs
100 this time.
Between March 22 &
May 17, 106 trains pass-
ing through Jaipur have
booked tickets worth
nearly Rs 5 cr from
Jaipur online & offline.
But due to the cancella-
tion of trains, about 70
percent of these tickets
have been cancelled by
passengers.
JDA officials and workers at the construction site in Sodala on Saturday. Deepak Dandoriya

RAJASTHANJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
 Kota: Curfew
continues in Railway
Colony, Borkheda,
Gumanpura,
Kishorpura, Mahaveer
Nagar, Jawahar Nagar,
Dadabadi, Udyog
Nagar, Vigyan Nagar,
Parkota’s Tomb,
Rampura Kotwali, Kat-
hunipol. At present,
the curfew has been
imposed in more than
one and a half dozen
places in 13 police
stations. Kota has so
far 319 cumulative
positive patients.
 Jaipur: An ac-
cident occurred at
Malviya Nagar Bridge
on Saturday. Two bike
riders were going
from Jawahar Circle
towards OTS intersec-
tion. After climbing
hundred meters on
the culvert, the bike
went out of control
and collided with the
divider. The bike driver
was injured, and his
partner died on the
spot in the accident.
Witnesses said the
road was empty at the
time of the accident
and both the youths
were not wearing
helmets, which is
becoming an issue
during lockdown.
 Jaipur: On Sat-
urday, curfew was
imposed in three
police station areas of
the Commissionerate.
DCP Yogesh Dadhich
said that curfew has
been imposed in
Kaveri path in Man-
sarovar police station
area and Jamuna dairy
area in Sodala police
station area. Similarly,
North District SP Rajiv
Pachar has imposed a
curfew in Bandha Bas-
ti near Rana Colony,
Indra Varma Colony
and Munarwa Masjid
in Shastri Nagar police
station area.
 Jaipur: A total of
Rs 3 crore 91 lakh
worth of country
liquor was sold on
Friday. On the first
day of opening of the
shop, the figure was
6 and a half crores.
Domestic liquor sales
also decreased due
to the exodus of the
working class.
 Jodhpur: Barmer
resident Nenu Kanwar,
gave her blessings
and prayers to Preeti
Chandra, DCP, Jodh-
pur for being present
and taking care of her
while she, due to lack
of facilities because of
lockdown was forced
to deliver her baby
at the Aakhlia Cross-
roads. Later the Moth-
er-child were taken to
hospital accompanied
by Chandra.
BRIEF
in
HIKE CONTINUES: 1 DEATH, 213
NEW POSITIVE CASES IN STATEFirst India Bureau
Jaipur: The speedy
surge in the corona pos-
itives in the state contin-
ued for fourth consecu-
tive day with 213 more
positive cases with
Jaipur alone contribut-
ing 131 cases out of
which district jail diag-
nosed 119 new cases.
The state so far has
126 deaths from corona
with one death on Sat-
urday in Jaipur. After
Jaipur, Dungarpur had
27 fresh positives, Siro-
hi 10, Udaipur 9, Ajmer,
Bhilwara & Jodhpur
had 7 cases each, Na-
gaur & Tonk 3 cases
each and one case each
from narmer, Bharat-
pur, Bikaner, Chittor-
garh, Jhunjhunu, Kota,
Pali,& Sikar. One coro-
na positive from other
state also surfaced. The
state total for corona
positives stands at 4960.
State has test-
ed 221439 samples so far
outof which213395have
reported negative while
reports for 3084 sam-
ples is awaited.
Jaipur leads the most
positive cases tally
with 1516 cases followed
byJodhpur993,Udaipur
363, Kota 319, Ajmer 254,
Nagaur 161, Chittor-
garh 152,Tonk 147,
Bharatpur 123, Pali 114,
Jalore 69, Banswara 68,
Jhunjhunu54,Bhilwara
50, Jhalawar 48, Jais-
almer 47, Bikaner &
Dungarpur 42 each, Al-
war, Churu & Rajsa-
mand 33 each, Dausa &
Sirohi 32 each, Sikar 27,
Dholpur 24, Barmer 18,
Sawai Madhopur 16,
Hanumangarh 14, Ka-
rauli 9 and Pratapgarh
& Baran 4 each.
Apart from this 49
BSF jawans, 2 Italians,
7 from other states, 61
Indians evacuated
from Iran. 31 districts
are officially corona
infected as of now.
Good news is that so
far 2944 cases have
turned negative from
positive. 2572 have
been discharged from
the hospital after treat-
ment while rest will
also be discharged af-
ter their mandatory
quarantine period.
The state now has to-
tal 1890 active cases as
of now.
ASP Sunita Meena with Nirbhaya squad in front of Hawa Mahal
after leading a march in the city. —PHOTO BY NAIM KHAN
Poonia accuses state
govt to be all talk no
work, praises Modi
Migrant workers have no choice but to
be ‘Atma Nirbhar’ despite CM’s orders
Issue advisory to pvt
hospitals on their
functions: Rathore
‘Banning usage of social
media is unconstitutional’
First India Bureau
Jaipur: BJP state pres-
ident Satish Poonia has
once again praised the
Rs 20 lakh crore relief
package by PM Modi.
Poonia alleged that
CM Gehlot is simply
talking about arrang-
ing 4000 buses for the
migrant workers but is
not coming up with ac-
tual facts & figures.
He accused the state
government of taking
false credit for expens-
es on rail tickets of the
migrant workers de-
spite Modi government
promising any number
of trains with 85% of
fare footed by it.
Poonia also ques-
tioned Gehlot about ar-
rangement of food &
employment for the
incoming migrant
workers which he said
will prove to be a big
problem for the govt in
future.
Aishwarya Pradhan
Jaipur: Former Health
Minister Rajendra
Rathore has once again
written to the CM to
raise some issues. This
time Rathore has
raised the issue of pri-
vate hospitals who are
in a state of dilemma in
absence of any clarity
to function.
Rathore urged the
CM to issue an adviso-
ry for the private hospi-
tals in the state, so that
claims worth Rs 700
crore lying pending
with Rajasthan State
Health Insurance Com-
pany can be cleared.He
said due to the notices
& warnings by the govt,
these hospitals aren’t
able to give services to
the people which are
necessary for a long
fight against corona.
First India Bureau
Jodhpur: Chief Justice
Indrajeet Mohanty
chaired a meeting of
the committee, consti-
tuted to decide the pro-
cess of regular hearing
in HC, on Saturday,
through video confer-
encing. It was attended
by judges of Jaipur and
Jodhpur benches, advo-
cate general, assistant
solicitor general and of-
fice bearers of Jaipur
and Jodhpur Bar Asso-
ciation. Court timing
was increased by one
hour from 8:30 AM to
12:30 PM. The number
of cases per day will
also be increased.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Former higher
education minister and
MLA Kiran Mahesh-
wariwrotetoCMAshok
Gehlot asking him to
increase special Shra-
mik trains for migrant
workers specially from
Mumbai and Bengalu-
ru. Maheshwari spoke
to railway minister Pi-
yush Goyal about oper-
ation of Shramik spe-
cial trains. The railway
minster claimed that
1200 trains were ready
and the railway could
operate 300 trains per
day, on demand by state
governments who have
to pay only 15% of cost.
Laxmikant Sharma
Dausa: CM Gehlot
might be instructing his
bureaucrats to not let
any migrant worker
walk on the highways
and arrange buses for
their travel but district
administration seems to
come short of imple-
menting it.
First India team
found example of real
‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’
on the highway passing
Dausa. Hundreds of mi-
grant workers were on
foot headed to their na-
tive villages in UP, some
had all their materialis-
ticbelongingspackedon
one bicycle.
They stop whenever
moving feels impossible
and cook whatever is
available on roadside,
eat and continue.
Our team met a group
of 18suchworkershead-
ing for Barabanki, and a
family with five kids,
ready to drop of exhaus-
tion, heading to
Hindaun. Some social
workers provided them
with food & water.
FI team’s presence
trigerred the alarm and
one official after anoth-
er reached the area, an-
gry that they didn’t
reach out for help. They
then for arranged buses.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Leader of Op-
position Gulabchand
Kataria has called the
orders banning social
media in Dholpur and
Kota by respective col-
lectors as unconstitu-
tional.
He said that if some-
one propagates fake or
incorrect information
or news, then he/she
should be booked un-
der relevant laws but a
ban on the using social
media is unconstitu-
tional.
Kataria also asked
Gehlot why the num-
ber of trains in Ra-
jasthan bringing in the
migrant workers back
home is so less com-
pared to other states.
According to him, at
such a slow pace, it
would take 6 months to
get our people home.
LOP also demanded
for information on the
status of action
against guilty SDMs
for still letting mi-
grants walk on the
highways despite his
orders.
125 CASES IN JPR
DISTRICT JAIL
COURTESY MEET
L-R: Madhulika Rawat, Diya Kumari, Roshan Sodhi, General Bipin Rawat and Col HS
Sodhi. Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari called on Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat
at his residence in Delhi on Friday and lauded the Armed Forces for their contributions.
Migrant workers with their family at Dausa highway.
Gulabchand Kataria
Satish Poonia
Court timings
and cases per
day increased
MLA asks CM
to raise no. of
Shramik trains
Rajendra Rathore
Bharat Dixit
Jaipur: The corona vi-
rus pandemic has given
a big blow to the dreams
of the youth preparing
for competitive exami-
nations in the state.
More than three doz-
en recruitment exami-
nations of about fifty
thousand posts in the
state have been stopped
due to court and ad-
ministrative reasons.
Whereas how these ex-
ams will be conducted
following social dis-
tancing is another
challenge.
RPSC had postponed
its 3 recruitment exams.
Among these, the Li-
brarian Grade III Direct
Recruitment Examina-
tion to be held in April
and May, Pharmacist
Direct Recruitment and
Agricultural Investiga-
tor Recruitment Exami-
nation were postponed
till further orders.
RPSC also postponed
the proposed school lec-
turer recruitment exam
from 11 to 14 May. REET
teacher recruitment of
around 31 thousand
posts, 2020 examination
date is now supposed to
be conducted from Au-
gust to September. But
the pattern of Level
Two was released and
neither was the release
issued, there is confu-
sion among the candi-
dates regarding this re-
cruitment. Candidates
say that with the end of
the lock down, the gov-
ernment will have to
decide the priorities for
these recruitments.
Govt worried about conducting examinations amid social distancing
COMPETITIVE EXAMS
CURRENT STATUS OF RECRUITMENTS
Name of recruitment Posts Current position
RS Bharti 2018 1017 CasespendinginHighCourtregardingreservation
Senior teacher recruitment 2018 9000 Board allocation and appointment process left
Sanskrit Education Department 690 Final Results Remaining and
Senior Teacher Recruitment 2018 Appointment Process Remaining
Agricultural supervisor
Recruitment 2018 1832 questions dispute pending in high court
Women Supervisor 2018 180 STF Case pending in High Court
Women Supervisor Aganbadi
Recruitment 2018 309 STF Case pending in High Court
Laboratory Assistant 1200 Appointment Process in
Recruitment 2018 (Education) STF Case Pending in High Court
School Lecturer Recruitment 2018 5000 Results to be released
PR Recruitment 2018 23 Interview and appointment process left
Name of recruitment Posts Current position
Ldc Recruitment 2018 11322 District Department allocation and
appointment process left
Stenographer recruitment 2018 1111 application process and exam remaining
Assistant Statistics Officer
Recruitment 2018 225 appointment process left
Police constable recruitment 2020 5000 exam remaining
Patwari recruitment 2020 4260 exam remaining
JEN recruitment 2020 1098 syllabus release, exam remaining
RPSC AEN 2018 916 Main Exam Result Remained
Pharmacist recruitment 2018 1736 exam remaining
Library president recruitment 2018 500 examination to be done
Forest Ranger recruitment 2018 169 exams left

PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
G Vol 1 G Issue No. 340 G RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
SPEEDING UP
CASH FLOW TO
REVIVE ECONOMY
e seem to be fumbling at every
step of our fight with the novel
coronavirus even as lockdown re-
strictions are being eased to re-
vive the economy. The sudden
shutdown left lakhs of migrant workers in
different states staring at a stark future.
These traumatised men, women, and chil-
dren began marching back to their home
states. On the way, policemen waited as if
in ambush, to greet them with lathi blows.
Some of them were even put in jail for vio-
lating the restrictions. Their woes were
compounded by penury, hunger, and thirst.
What motivated them to brave all adversity
was the fervent desire to reach home come
hail or storm. Sadly, few states understood
the scale of the reverse migration which
had begun in the right earnest. An insensi-
tive bureaucracy further complicated mat-
ters all across.
After over 50 days of lockdown and death of
around 100 migrants due to fatigue, starvation,
androadaccidents,UnionHomeMinistryissued
a circular telling state to ensure that migrant
workers don’t walk their way back home. What
preventedtheCentreandstategovernmentsfrom
providing help to these hapless hordes? Is it due
to a lack of empathy and respect for the poor
man’sdignity?Perhapslabourersdonottrustthe
bureaucracy after what they experienced.
Shelter homes and quarantines without
basic facilities of food and toilet have dom-
inated television news forcing one to once
again ask if officials are ever sensitised to
human misery. To alleviate the misery of
eight crore migrants, Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman promised one nation,
one ration card facility, a long-term propo-
sition, even as they would immediately re-
quire a job and some cash to pick up the
threads once again.
With migrants’ issues dominating the Cov-
id-19 narrative economic revival has been rel-
egated to the second spot. To some extent, the
tranches announced by Nirmala Sitharaman
are responsible for the subdued response to her
proposals. She has promised concessional cred-
it to farmers, small credit to street vendors, and
Rs 3 lakh crore credit to MSMEs.
How many of the loan seekers from the
above categories will be able to get the loan
will largely depend on the discretion of
bank officials who would be wary of adding
to their non-productive assets.
How will farmers and floriculturists be com-
pensated for the crops they have had to destroy
because the supply chain lay disrupted? Even if
they do get the help, how soon will they be able
torestarttomakeupforthelossesandalsorepay
their loans is anybody’s guess.
What the FM has not mentioned so far is
about reviving demand. With little or no
cash in hand, unemployment numbers like-
ly to be high, labour reforms being made
exploitative and prices expected to zoom
after the lockdown, how does one boost
consumer and capital demand is a chal-
lenge staring us in the face?
IN-DEPTH
W
or the last few months, hu-
mankind has had only one
item on its agenda, corona-
virus. It is global, deadly.
Hospitals, doctors, and nurs-
es, the media, and govern-
ments have given almost all
their time to this pandemic.
Patients with heart, kidney,
liver, cancer, and other fatal
disease have not received the
attention and care they do.
To some extent, this is un-
derstandable but is no com-
fort or consolation to no
Covid-19 patients. So far the
priority has been to cope
with the coronavirus. Now
that governments and insti-
tutions have concluded that
COVID-19 is not going away
from the world, so one must
turn to major international
problems that can no longer
be set aside.
I shall name five. One. In
which direction will the US and
China relations proceed. Will
existing tensions continue,
ease, or increase. Will America
anti- China’s verbal overkill
continues. Secondly, will China
come clean and disclose facts.
The two sides must resort to di-
plomacy. Also, China shall not
bend. It is a great nation and
will never bow. It is used to cop-
ing with crises. The real worry
is that in the White House a
steady hand is not visible.
Two. The growing rift be-
tween the USA and Iran.
Sanctions have been im-
posed on Iran by the US and
there is the UN Embargo un-
der which countries are pre-
vented from selling ad-
vanced weapons to Iran.
Iran’s economic situation is
dire. The US President
threatening Iran will be
counterproductive. Its Euro-
pean allies are not with the
US when it comes to Iran.
Regardless of the arms em-
bargo, Iran has not changed
its regional policies. Russia
will be only too willing to
supply arms to Tehran. One
reality that is costing Iran
deer is the dramatic fall in
the price of oil.
Three. The Israel-Palestine
problem continues to simmer.
Prime Minister Benjamin Net-
anyahu did not win the recent
national election. He did not
even scrape through. His hold
overpower is tenacious. Yet he
wants to annex the West-bank
permanently. What will keep
Prime Minister Netanyahu in
theofficeishiswarmfriendship
withPresidentTrump?Thetwo-
state solution is all but dead.
Four. What about Britain
and the European Union.
The UK cannot do without
the European Union and the
EU needs the UK Brexit has
not disappeared. The real
tragedy for the UK and the
European Union is weak and
uninspiring leadership on
both sides of the channel.
Additionally, Corona Virus
has caused havoc in the UK
The transition period fol-
lowing the UK leaving the
European Union expires on
31 st December. The future
UK- EU relations remains
cloudy. This is worrying.
Five. Climate change. This is
the greatest problem facing the
World. Yet, the The most power-
ful country’s President takes
no interest in this issue. This is
not the only abdication of duty,
but it is also utterly irresponsi-
ble. He walked out of the Paris
climate change conference.
Such indifference to so vital an
issue is unfortunate. The USA
has always given a lead in times
of crisis. It is now left to former
President Barak Obama to give
the people of hope and succor.
President Trump’s priori-
ty now is to get re-elected in
November. He’s calling his
democratic opponents names
shows the President in poor
light and lack in manners.
His initial reaction to the
pandemic was not serious.
Even now he is blaming doc-
tors working for him in the
White House. What an ex-
traordinary way to function.
His chances of getting re-
elected have apparently de-
creased mainly due to his
erratic handling of the crisis
produced by the Virus.
The Modi government needs
to be commending for the effi-
cient and caring manner in
whichhehaskepttheChief Min-
isters and public at large of the
progress that has been made in
checkingthespreadof thevirus.
Exceptions are four states.
The worst-hit are Gujarat
and Maharashtra. In these
states, there is no let-up.
However, there is no room
for complacency.
Serious concerns are being
expressed that in a few months
a second wave may hit the USA
and the UK. Deaths are on the
rise. The worse sufferers are
pregnant mothers and their
newborn babies. This is pain-
ful beyond words. Let me quote
the English poet Tennyson:
“I sometimes hold it half
a sin To put in words the
grief I feel For words like
nature Half reveal and half
Conceal the soul within.”
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
FIVEINTERNATIONALISSUESTHAT
GOVERNMENT MUSTPRIORITISE
F
The growing rift
between the USA
and Iran.
Sanctions have
been imposed on
Iran by the US
and there is the
UN Embargo
under which
countries are
prevented from
selling advanced
weapons to Iran.
Iran’s economic
situation is dire.
The US President
threatening
Iran will be
counterproductive
Serious concerns are
being expressed that
in a few months a
second wave may hit
the USA and the UK.
Deaths are on the
rise. The worse
sufferers are pregnant
mothers and their
newborn babies
hile many
countries con-
tinue to grap-
ple with esca-
lating COV-
ID-19 outbreaks, two
have declared theirs ef-
fectively over: New Zea-
land and Iceland. It is no
coincidence that both
countries’ governments
are led by women.
New Zealand Prime Min-
ister Jacinda Ardern and
her Icelandic counterpart
Katrín Jakobsdóttir have
both received considerable
– and well-deserved – praise
for their leadership during
the COVID-19 crisis. But
they are not alone: of the
top ten best-performing
countries (in terms of test-
ing and mortality), four –
Estonia, Iceland, New Zea-
land, and Taiwan – have
woman leaders. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel
and Danish Prime Minister
Mette Frederiksen have
also been commended for
their pandemic leadership.
Women account for less
than 7% of the world’s
leaders, so the fact that so
many have distinguished
themselves during the
COVID-19 crisis is note-
worthy. But that’s not all.
Some of the worst-per-
forming countries are led
by unapologetically old-
fashioned “men’s men.”
Brazilian President Jair
Bolsonaro’s entire perso-
na channels a retrograde
masculinity and a patri-
archal view of women.
Accordingly, he has called
the virus a “measly cold,”
boastingthathe“wouldn’t
feel anything” if infected.
In the United Kingdom –
whichhasrecordedthemost
COVID-19 deaths in Europe
–PrimeMinisterBorisJohn-
sonalsohasahistoryof sex-
ist comments. Like Bolsona-
ro, Johnson’s first instinct
was to minimize the threat
COVID-19 poses, though he
changed his tune after being
infected and ending up in an
intensive-care unit.
It’s the same story with
US President Donald
Trump. A leader who
came to power gloating
about powerful men’s
ability to assault women
sexually – which he and
his supporters dismissed
as “locker-room banter”
– Trump has often worn
his misogyny like a badge
of honor. He, too, has
consistently downplayed
the COVID-19 crisis, fo-
cusing instead on “mak-
ing China pay” for allow-
ing the virus to spread
beyond its borders.
Just as leaning into mas-
culine stereotypes seems to
correlate with poor pan-
demic responses, many ob-
servers seem to believe that
woman leaders’ success
may be rooted in their tra-
ditionally “feminine” qual-
ities, such as empathy, com-
passion, and willingness to
collaborate. Forbes called
Norwegian Prime Minister
Erna Solberg’s televised
address to her country’s
children an example of the
“simple, humane innova-
tions” that are possible un-
der female leadership.
This reading is outdat-
ed, reductive, and simply
wrong. Trump and his
ilk may act tough, but ul-
timately their leadership
is an incompetent cha-
rade of bluster, vacilla-
tion, and self-aggran-
dizement. High-perform-
ing female leaders, by
contrast, have been reso-
lute, assessed the evi-
dence, heeded expert ad-
vice, and acted decisively.
Following the mantra
“go hard and go early,”
Ardern imposed a strict
lockdown four days before
New Zealand’s first COV-
ID-19 death. Taiwanese
President Tsai Ing-wen in-
troduced more than a hun-
dred public-health meas-
ures in January – when the
World Health Organization
was still casting doubt on
the possibility of human-
to-human transmission.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM
Why women make better crisis leaders
W
Women account for
less than 7% of the
world’s leaders, so
the fact that so
many have
distinguished
themselves during
the COVID-19 crisis
is noteworthy
Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the
kingdom of the Father.
—Matthew 13:43
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ahmed Patel
@ahmedpatel
Migrant crisis is now as big as
corona pandemic itself. Govt
cannot be a bystander as poor
either go hungry or lose their lives
in accidents. Speeches are not a
solution.1000 cr of PM care funds
must reach their hands. If need
be govt must use Army to help
migrants reach safely
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
To provide relief to migrant
labour, Indian Railways is ready
to run “Shramik Special” trains
from any District in the Country.
District Collectors should prepare
lists of stranded labour &
destination and apply to Railways
through the State nodal ofﬁcer.
K NATWAR
SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
http://bit.ly/whatsappjpr
Telegram:
https://t.me/firstindiajaipur
Click the above link☝ & subscribe us on your
preferred platform.

INDIAJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
New Delhi: In view of
the court functioning af-
fected due the coronavi-
rus-induced lockdown,
the Supreme Court has
decided to declare its
summer vacation as a
period of functioning of
the court.
“In a partial modifi-
cation of notification
of even number dated
October 14, 2020, noti-
fying the list of Su-
preme Court Holidays,
2020 and the summer
vacation of the court,
it is hearby notified
that the five-week pe-
riod from May 18, 2020,
to June 19, 2020 of the
summer vacation of
the Supreme Court ca-
lander 2020 has been
rescheduled and de-
clared as period of
functioning,” the apex
court said in a notifica-
tion on Friday. The rest
of the aforesaid notifi-
cation dated October
14, 2019 remains un-
changed, it said.
The top court had on
Friday decided to con-
tinue its work during
the summer vacation,
and that too, with al-
most the full strength
of the court and com-
mitting to work as
much as possible at
least till June 19. —ANI
New Delhi: In the back-
drop of coronavirus
outbreak, the first
phase of Census 2021 &
updation of National
Population Register
(NPR) has been post-
poned until further or-
ders in Uttar Pradesh.
The Census 2021 was
scheduled to be con-
ducted in two phases-
-Phase I i.e. House List-
ing and Housing Cen-
sus during April-Sep-
tember, 2020 & Phase II
i.e. Population Enumer-
ation from February 9
to February 28, 2021.
The updation of
NPR was also proposed
to be done along with
the Phase I of Census
2021 in all States and
Union Territories, ex-
cept Assam. —ANI
NPR-2021 exercise
postponed in UP
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra BJP leader, Kirit
Somaiya demanded
immediate deploy-
ment of Army in Ma-
harashtra as Covid-19
cases continue to rise
in the state. He had
earlier shared a video
on his twitter page
claiming that a crowd
gathered at a market
on Friday. In the video,
he questioned the Ud-
dhav Thackeray-led
government and
asked, “Where is
Thackeray govern-
ment's police?” —ANI
Call the army,
says BJP leader
Kirit Somaiya
New Delhi: Union Rail-
way and Commerce
Minister Piyush Goyal
on Saturday said that
the Indian Railways has
operated 1,034 Shramik
Special trains to trans-
port the stranded mi-
grant workers across
the country.
In a tweet, Goyal
said, “To bring back
the workers till date,
the Railways has oper-
ated 1,034 Shramik
Special trains. Out of
which 106 were oper-
ated yesterday (Fri-
day). Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar has taken
steps positively and 80
per cent of the total Sh-
ramik Special trains
have been operated by
these two states.”
The Indian Railways
has started to run Sh-
ramik Special trains to
transport the stranded
migrant workers, stu-
dents, pilgrims and
tourists since May 1.
Till date the railways
has transported over
12 lakh people across
the country in these
Shramik Special
trains. —ANI
‘1,034Shramiktrains
beingrunsinceMay1’
New Delhi: HRD Min-
ister Ramesh Pokhri-
yal Nishank twweted,
“#CBSE is taking into
consideration some ad-
ditional technical as-
pects before finalising
the datesheets of the
board exams of classes
10th and 12th, due to
which, the date sheets
will now be released by
Monday i.e. 18-05-2020.
Inconvenience caused
is sincerely regretted,”
HRD minister tweeted.
The pending exams
of class 12 will be con-
ducted from July 1 to
15. The examinations
were earlier halted
twice this year, first
due to violence at Mau-
jpur-Babarpur areas of
North East Delhi, and
later due to coronavi-
rus pandemic.
The exams will now
be conducted only for
29 major exams – in-
cludes six exams for
class 10 students for
North-East Delhi and 12
subjects for students of
class 12 to be held
across the country. —ANI
CBSE Board
exam dates to
come out on
Monday
UP NO LESS IN NATION BUILDING,
PRASADA SLAMS COLLEAGUE
New Delhi: Congress
leader from UP Jitin
Prasada has hit out at his
party colleague and data
analytics department chief
Praveen Chakravarty after
and old video of the latter
where he is seen analys-
ing the resource alloca-
tion between states for a
media house, went viral.
Prasada said contribution
of UP can’t be ignored
in nation building. “The
migrants that you see
headed back home to UP
are the ones fuelling the
growth in the states you
are talking about. You
cannot ignore UP’s contri-
bution to nation building
and India’s growth story,”
said Prasada. Chakra-
varty, head of data dept
of Congress criticised the
party in a video message.
5 MIGRANT WORKERS KILLED
AS TRUCK OVERTURNS IN MP
Bhopal: Five migrant workers died in an acci-
dent in Madhya Pradesh as the truck they were
travelling in overturned on Sagar-Chhatarpur
road. Another 18 co-passengers got injured in
the incident. According to police, on Saturday
morning the cargo truck was going from Sagar to
Chhatarpur. The driver lost control of the vehicle
near Semra Bridge and it overturned there. The
accident took place under the Bakswaha police
station area of Chhatarpur district. The injured
have been admited to the hospital in Banda.
DELHI: 3 MORE CISF
PERSONNEL TEST POSITIVE
New Delhi: Three more Central Industrial Secu-
rity Force (CISF) personnel tested positive for
COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total
number of cases in the force to 118 across the
country , said the CISF on Saturday. Among the
new cases reported, one case was reported from
Mumbai Airport, one from the Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) and one from the Garden
Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited
(GRSEL), Kolkata. A total of four personnel were
cured and discharged on Saturday.
SOLDIER’S WIDOW DONATES RS 2
LAKH TO PM CARES FUND
New Delhi: Moved by the
gesture of an 82-year-old
widow of a soldier who
lost his life in the 1965
war to donate Rs 2 lakhs
to PM CARES fund, Chief
of Defence Staff (CDS)
General Bipin Rawat
urged everyone to follow
her example. 82-year old
Darshani Devi of U’khand
whose husband was a
Havaldar in the Army and
died in the 1965 war with
Pakistan, donated Rs 2
lakhs from her savings to
the PM CARES fund.
SCdeclaresitssummerbreak
asaperiodoffunctioning
New Delhi: Union
Minister for Petrole-
um and Natural Gas
Dharmendra Prad-
han interacted with
around 660 beneficiar-
ies of the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yoja-
na (PMUY) on comple-
tion of four years of
the ambitious scheme
launched to improve
the health of women.
The minister, be-
sides inquiring about
the availability and
delivery of gas amid
lockdown, appealed to
everyone to wear
masks and encour-
aged people to down-
load the Aarogya Setu
app. Apart from ben-
eficiaries, officials
and stakeholders too
participated in the
video conference.
“I want to appeal to
our Ujjawala family to
wear masks and en-
courage everyone to
wear it. Corona can
stay for months while
our scientists are
working to find a vac-
cine for it. Till then
there is only one cure
which is to wear
masks, which can be
your dupatta as well.
We need to defeat Co-
rona,” Pradhan said.
Speaking to one of
the beneficiaries
from Ambedkar Na-
gar in Uttar Pradesh,
the minister asked if
she was getting free
wheat and pulses. He
also urged the benefi-
ciary to motivate and
ensure that her
friends and family
downloaded the Aaro-
gya Setu app.
The minister also
asked beneficiaries
whether they were sat-
isfied with steps taken
by PM Modi to contain
Coronavirus. Every-
one answered in af-
firmative & praised
the government for
measures taken to con-
tain COVID-19. —ANI
‘Wear masks to fight Corona’
New Delhi: Congress
general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra slammed the
government for fail-
ing to provide buses
to migrant workers
who were killed in
an accident in Au-
raiya district and
said the government
remains 'oblivious'
to everything.
“The heartbreak-
ing incident has once
again raised the ques-
tion that after all what
is the government
thinking to not pro-
vide proper arrange-
ments for the workers
to go home? Why are
buses not being run to
take laborers inside
the state? Either the
government does not
see anything or..” Pri-
yanka said in a tweet.
The Congress leader
further said “Is the
government's job only
to deliver statements?
They remain oblivi-
ous even after seeing
everything,” she
tweeted. Priyanka
further requested to
send the bodies to re-
spective family mem-
bers and in addition
to that, the injured
should be provided
with proper treat-
ment.
In yet another mis-
hap involving mi-
grants, 24 labourers
were killed after the
truck they were trave-
ling in, collided with
another truck in Uttar
Pradesh's Auraiya
district. —ANI
Priyanka slams govt
over migrants death
AURAIYA ACCIDENT
Police ofﬁcials put a body of a migrant in an ambulance who was killed in the accident.
The heartbreaking incident has
once again raised the question
that after all what is the govern-
ment thinking to not provide
proper arrangements for the
workers to go home? Why are
buses not being run to take
laborers inside the state? Either the government
does not see anything or..”
—Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Cong Gen Secy
Disturbed by news of the
tragic accident in Auraiya, UP
in which 23 workers died. I
request all BJP workers to fully
cooperate with administration
in relief work. My condolences
to the families of victims. I pray
to God for quick recovery of the injured.
—JP Nadda, BJP National President
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Saturday requested
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi to reconsider
the financial package
announced by the Cen-
tre as the country con-
tinues its fight against
coronavirus.
“Today our poor peo-
ple need money; I am
requesting Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
that he should recon-
sider this package. He
should consider direct
bank transfer, MGNRE-
GA for 200 days and
money to farmers di-
rectly, as these people
are our future,” said
Rahul Gandhi during a
press conference held
via video call.
“I have heard that the
reason behind not giv-
ing money to people is
ratings. It is being said
that if we increase our
deficit today, the foreign
agencieswilldowngrade
our ratings,” he said.
“Our ratings are
made by India, by farm-
ers, by labourers, small
and big businesses who
need money. Now, is the
time think about India
not others,” the Con-
gress leader said.
He emphasised that
people need to be pro-
vided with financial
help directly.
He also suggested
that the NYAY scheme,
proposed by the Con-
gress during LS elec-
tions last year, maybe
introduced by the Cen-
tre. “Do NYAY tempo-
rarily, but please start
putting money directly
into small businesses,
into the migrants' bank
accounts, if we do not,
we will have a cata-
strophicresult,”hesaid.
NYAY scheme prom-
ised to provide Rs
72,000 annually to the
poorest 20 per cent
families, in Congress-
ruled states. PM Modi
had announced Rs 20
lakh crore special eco-
nomic package for the
country to become
'self-reliant and fight
coronavirus. —ANI
Think about people: RaGaGovernment must reconsider the Rs 20L cr economic package, the Gandhi scion said
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with migrant workers, who were walking near Sukhdev
Vihar ﬂyover in New Delhi on Saturday, to return to their home states. Party workers later arranged
vehicles to take them to their home state. —PHOTO BY ANI
Pained by the
news of the death
of 24 labourers
and injuries to
many people in the
accident in Uttar
Pradesh’s Auraiya. I
express my deepest
condolences to
the families of the
deceased and wish
speedy recovery for
those injured.
—Rahul Gandhi
Congress Leader

INDIAJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
SACHAN REPATRIATED TO DOT
Shiv Shankar Sachan, who was Director in the
Ministry of Skill Development, has been repatriat-
ed to his parent DoT. He is an ITS officer.
COTTON CORPORATION TO GET NEW
CMD IN PK AGARWAL ON JUNE 1
Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, Director (Marketing),
CCI, will be taking over the charge as Chair-
man-cum-Managing Director, Cotton Corporation
of India Limited (CCI) on June 1, 2020. Agar-
wal, whose appointment to the post has been
approved by the ACC, will succeed Dr Alli Rani
retiring in May this year.
RAJESH GOEL TAKES OVER
AS DG, NAREDCO
Rajesh Goel has taken over the charge as
Director General, National Real Estate Develop-
ment Council (NAREDCO), under the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs.
RLY MINISTRY ADVERTISES
TWO VACANCIES OF VC (JUDICIAL),
RCT IN ADVANCE
The Railway Ministry has now advertised for two
posts of Vice Chairman (Judicial) in the Railway
Claims Tribunal (RCT) at Mumbai and Secunderabad
for vacancies anticipated upto December 31, 2020.
EXTENSION OF JURISDICTION OF
CAT, CHANDIGARH NOTIFIED
The jurisdiction of CAT, Chandigarh has been
extended. According to Notification, now UTs
of J&K & Laddakh will also come under CAT,
Chandigarh. Other states under CAT, Chandigarh
are- states of Himanchal, Punjab, Haryana &
Chandigarh UT.
CAT, GUWAHATI HAS BIGGEST
JURISDICTION
Among the 17 CATs, the Guwahati CAT has the
biggest jurisdiction. Apart from Assam, it has
other six states of NE.
PAWAN KUMAR SINGH APPOINTED
DDG, POSTAL DIRECTORATE
Pawan Kumar Singh has been appointed DDG
(FS), Postal Directorate, New Delhi. He is a 2000
batch officer of Indian Postal Service.
T NIRMALA DEVI APPOINTED PMG,
HQ REGION, AHMEDABAD
T Nirmala Devi has been appointed PMG, HQ
region, Ahmedabad Gujarat circle. She is a 2000
batch officer of Indian Postal Service.
APPAKANNU GOVINDARAJAN
APPOINTED PMG, NORTHERN
REGION
Appakannu Govindarajan has been appointed
PMG, Northern region, Muzaffarpur, Bihar circle.
He is a 2000 batch officer of Indian Postal Service.
METICULOUS EFFORTS BY CBI
OFFICER, SUMAN KUMAR PAVES
WAY FOR MALLAY’S EXTRADITION
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has
lauded the painstaking investigation, the hard
work and the meticulous efforts undertaken by
the investigating officer, Suman Kumar, Addition-
al SP in successfully pursuing investigation and
extradition proceedings against the economic
offender and fugitive, Vijay Mallya. The High
Court of Justice, London, UK has rejected the
application of the liquor baron Mallya seeking
permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court
against its order.
POST OF CMD IN J&K BANK BIFURCATED
According to a few reliable official sources, the
Jammu and Kashmir Government has for the first
time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir Bank,
has bifurcated the post of Chairman and Manag-
ing Director of Jammu & Kashmir Bank subject
to the Reserve Bank of India’s approval.
POWERGallery
New Delhi: As hun-
dreds of migrants con-
tinue to travel a long
distance in this COV-
ID-19 crisis, Union Food
Minister Ram Vilas Pas-
wan on Saturday ap-
pealed to state govern-
ments to immediately
lift food grains and
pulses from the go-
downs and distribute
them for free within a
fortnight to 8 crore mi-
grants who neither
have centre nor state ra-
tion card.
According to the
Food Ministry, about
142 lakh migrants will
benefit in Uttar Pradesh
and in Bihar (86.45
lakh), Maharasthra (70
lakh), West Bengal (60.1
lakh), Madhya Pradesh
(54.64 lakh), Rajasthan
(44.66 lakh), Karnataka
(40.19 lakh), Gujarat
(38.25 lakh),TamilNadu
(35.73 lakh), Jharkhand
(26.37 lakh), Andhra
Pradesh (26.82 lakh)
and Assam (25.15 lakh).
In the national capi-
tal, about 7.27 lakh mi-
grants will get free 5 kg
food grains per person
and 1 kg chana per fam-
ily for May and June.If
the number of mi-
grants exceeds the cur-
rent estimation of 8
crore, the Centre is
ready to provide addi-
tional grains for free
supply but the identi-
fied person should be
genuine which state
governments have to
validate,” Paswan told
the media via video
conference here.
The allocation has
been made consider-
ing 10 per cent of the
existing 81 crore ben-
eficiaries under the
NFSA ( National Food
Security Act).
The free food distri-
bution to 8 crore mi-
grants for two months
was announced by the
Centre on May 14 as
part of an economic
package to help those
who bore the brunt of
the clampdown to fight
the COVID-19 crisis.
”This decision is in the
interest of migrants.
Congress may say give
more quantity of
foodgrains for free.
The NFSA, under
which 5 kg per person
subsidised grain is giv-
en to 81 crore through
PDS, was framed dur-
ing the UPA time. But,
the Modi government
is doing maximum.
This is not the end of
all. The Prime Minis-
ter is sensitive and
aware of the situa-
tion,” Paswan noted.
Paswan, an NDA ally,
further said his minis-
try has made all ar-
rangements, but the
state governments
which have to imple-
ment at the ground lev-
el, have to be proactive
in this regard. —ANI
‘Give free ration to 8 cr migrants’State govts were asked to immediately lift food grains from the godowns & distribute them for free
CM announces...
get relief at the earliest.
New projects of skill de-
velopment should be de-
signed so that skills can
be imparted to workers
according to the current
needs,” Gehlot said.
The Chief Minister
said that the entire sce-
nario of the industry
has changed due to the
lockdown. “At the same
time, there is a big chal-
lenge of labor planning.
There is a need to
change and reform la-
bor laws as per the need
of the hour,” Gehlot
stressed. He also direct-
ed to make more and
more schemes and pro-
grams of Labor Depart-
ment online.
During the review,
Gehlot also approved
the formation of the
‘Pravasi Rajasthani
Workers Welfare Fund’
announced in the bud-
get for the welfare of
migrant Rajasthani
workers. “Through
this welfare fund, mi-
grant Rajasthani work-
ers should be provided
the necessary help ac-
cording to their needs.
Whatever schemes are
being run for the wel-
fare of the poor, needy
and workers, all possi-
ble help should be en-
sured to them in this
time of trouble. Ac-
cording to the guide-
lines of the Govern-
ment of India, the La-
bor Department should
also ensure that no en-
trepreneur removes
the workers and does
not cut their wages,”
he stressed.
Moreover, Gehlot in-
structed the officials
“PCR test should be
done for every person
coming from abroad
via flight, so that there
is no risk of spreading
of infection.
‘Don’t fear...
“had the child been giv-
en treatment at the right
time and the family
members not feared Co-
rona, the child could
havebeensaved.”Gehlot
also asked officials to
conduct analysis of the
deaths due to Corona, to
follow complete medical
protocol in jails of state
and to prepare the peo-
ple to live with Corona.
Zameen se...
Discoms in UTs to be
privatised: Electricity
distribution companies
in Union Territories
(UTs) will be privatised
and this is expected to
provide a model to be
replicated in states lat-
er to improve efficiency
and attract investment.
FM said there is sub-
optimal performance of
power distribution and
supply in the country.
She said privatisation
of discoms will lead to
better service to con-
sumers and improve-
ment in operational and
financial efficiency in
power distribution.
This would serve as a
model for emulation by
other utilities across
the country, she added.
Restrictions on In-
dian air space use:
Finance Minister an-
nounced easing of re-
strictions on utilisation
of Indian air space,
benefiting civil avia-
tion sector by about
Rs1,000 crore per year.
She said only 60& of In-
dian airspace is freely
available. More air
space available would
reduce travel time and
save on fuel, she said.
Six Airports to be
auctioned : Apart from
this six more airports
will be auctioned for
private participation.
Also, an additional in-
vestment of Rs13,000
crore will be made by
private players in 12 air-
ports auctioned in first
and second rounds.
A research reactor
in PPP mode: India
will also set up a re-
search reactor in PPP
mode for the production
of medical isotopes, Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman said.
This will produce medi-
cal isotopes and make
available affordable
treatment for cancer
and other diseases, she
said unveiling the
fourth tranche of the
economic stimulus
package. She said the
research reactor in
public-private partner-
ship (PPP) mode would
use irradiation tech-
nology for food preser-
vation - to compliment
agricultural reforms
and assist farmers.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: With the
possibility of resuming
domestic flights soon,
airlines in India have
submitted their air-
craft’s airworthiness
report to the country’s
aviation regulator Di-
rector General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) and
the Ministry of Civil
Aviation (MoCA).
As per the set proto-
col, airlines have to sub-
mit their aircraft de-
tails to the DGCA and
the MoCA before the
resumption of their
flight operations.
“Airlines are submit-
ting their aircraft’s sta-
tus and airworthiness
report to the regulator,”
sources in the MoCA
told ANI. The Central
government is planning
to start domestic flights
with several guidelines,
but as of now, no clear
instruction has been
given to them.
MoCA has informed
all aviation stakehold-
ers including airlines
through the draft SOPs
that “people over the
age of 80 will not be al-
lowed to travel in the
first phase of flight
commencement.” Cen-
tral Govt and AAI have
issued instructions for
passengers. —ANI
‘Yes,ouraircraftare
ready to fly again’
AIRLINES TO CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY
New Delhi: A Landing
Craft Utility (LCU)
Mark IV warship built
by the Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engi-
neers Limited (GRSE)
was commissioned
into the Indian Navy at
Port Blair by Lt. Gen-
eral P S Rajeshwar, the
commander-in-chief of
the Andaman and
Nicobar Command.
The warship, INLCU
L57, is the seventh LCU
Mark IV to be inducted
into the Indian Navy,
the government-run
GRSE said in an official
statement.
LCU Mark IV is an
amphibious ship with
its primary role being
transportation and de-
ployment of main bat-
tle tanks, armoured
vehicles, troops and
equipment from ship
to shore.
“The first ship of the
Mark IV LCU Vessels
INLCU L51 was com-
missioned into Indian
Navy in March 2017,”
the GRSE said.
The entire design of
these LCU Mark IV
ships has been devel-
oped in-house by GRSE
as per requirements
specified by the Navy.
“The seventh of the
eight Landing Craft
Utility (LCU) ship INL-
CU L57, built at GRSE,
Kolkata, a Mini Ratna
Category 1 and leading
shipyard of the country,
was commissioned at
May 15 at Port Blair by
Lt. General PS Rajesh-
war,” it said. —PTI
LCU L57 warship inducted into Navy
Kolkata: In view of cy-
clone build-up, the Indi-
an Coast Guard has ini-
tiated various measures
in co-ordination with
West Bengal & Odisha.
“Indian Coast Guard
has initiated various
measures in co-ordina-
tion with West Bengal
and Odisha. ICG ves-
sels are directing fish-
ing boats to return to
harbour and giving
warming in local lan-
guage,” said CPRO Kol-
kata, Ministry of
Defence. A private fore-
caster, Skymet weather
said that coastal areas
of Andhra, Odisha and
West Bengal are
vulnerable to Cyclone
Amphan. —ANI
CYCLONE AMPHAN: IGC
INITIATES MEASURES
THE DIRECTIVE
New Delhi: Vande
Bharat Mission, which
started on May 7 to
bring back stranded
Indian nationals back
home from other coun-
tries, initiated its sec-
ond phase of operation
from Saturday (May
16) by sending three
Air India flights to
Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Under the second
phase of Vande Bharat
Mission a total of 149
flights, including feed-
er flights, will be oper-
ated to bring back Indi-
ans from 40 countries.
Out of the 149
flights, 13 flights will
come from the US, 11
from the UAE, 10 from
Canada, 9 each from
Saudi Arabia & UK, 8
each from Malaysia,
Oman, 7 each from Ka-
zakhstan and Austral-
ia. India began phased
repatriation of its citi-
zens stranded abroad
from May 7.
In the second phase,
31 flights will come to
Kerala, 22 to Delhi, 17
to Karnataka, 16 to
Telangana, 14 to Guja-
rat, 12 to Rajasthan,
nine to Andhra
Pradesh, seven to Pun-
jab, six each to Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh,
three to Odisha, two to
Chandigarh, and one
each to Jammu and
Kashmir, Jaipur,
Mumbai and Madhya
Pradesh. —ANI
149 FLIGHTS, 40 COUNTRIES: VANDE
BHARAT MISSSION PHASE II BEGINS
New Delhi: In order to
help India fight against
the coronavirus pan-
demic, China-based
Sany Group has donated
about a million masks
to India as well as other
South Asian countries.
It has been reported
that this is the largest
donation of medical
protective articles to any
overseas country by the
Chinese company. In-
dian Embassy supported
the move.
New Delhi: As many
as 135 BSF personnel
have recovered from
COVID-19 so far, as per
information provided by
BSF. Since yesterday,
98 BSF personnel have
been discharged from
hospitals after testing
negative for COVID-19
post treatment. While 42
personnel were dis-
charged from Jodhpur,
31 were discharged
from Tripura and 25
from Delhi. —ANI
CHINA’S SANY
GROUP DONATES
1MILLION MASKS
TO INDIA
135 BSF
PERSONNEL
RECOVERED
SO FAR
‘NO HUGS,NO HANDSHAKES THIS EID’
New Delhi: Prominent Muslim clerics advised
the community members not to hug each
other and shake hands on Eid on May 26 and
maintain social distancing. “Since the entire
world is at present battling coronavirus, the
happiness of Eid is in not hugging each other
and not shaking hands this time over,” said Dr
Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of All
India Imam Organisation. —ANI

TALKING POINTJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
The coronavirus pan-
demic has brought hun-
ger to millions of people
around the world. National
lockdowns and social dis-
tancing measures are dry-
ing up work and incomes,
and are likely to disrupt
agricultural production
and supply routes — leaving
millions to worry how they
will get enough to eat.
The coronavirus has
sometimes been called an
equalizer because it has
sickened both rich and poor,
but when it comes to food,
the commonality ends. It is
poor people, including large
segments of poorer nations,
who are now going hungry
and facing the prospect of
starving.
“The coronavirus has
been anything but a great
equalizer,” said Asha Jaffar,
a volunteer who brought
food to families in the Nai-
robi slum of Kibera after
the fatal stampede. “It’s
been the great revealer, pull-
ing the curtain back on the
class divide and exposing
how deeply unequal this
country is.”
Already, 135 million peo-
ple had been facing acute
food shortages, but now
with the pandemic, 130 mil-
lion more could go hungry
in 2020, said Arif Husain,
chief economist at the
World Food Program, a
United Nations agency. Al-
together, an estimated 265
million people could be
pushed to the brink of star-
vation by year’s end.
“We’ve never seen any-
thing like this before,” Mr.
Husain said. “It wasn’t a
pretty picture to begin with,
but this makes it truly un-
precedented and uncharted
territory.”
The world has experi-
enced severe hunger crises
before, but those were re-
gional and caused by one
factororanother—extreme
weather, economic down-
turns, wars or political in-
stability.
This hunger crisis, ex-
perts say, is global and
caused by a multitude of
factors linked to the corona-
virus pandemic and the en-
suing interruption of the
economic order: the sudden
loss in income for countless
millions who were already
living hand-to-mouth; the
collapse in oil prices; wide-
spread shortages of hard
currency from tourism dry-
ing up; overseas workers
not having earnings to send
home; and ongoing prob-
lems like climate change,
violence, population dislo-
cations and humanitarian
disasters.
Already, from Honduras
to South Africa to India,
protests and looting have
broken out amid frustra-
tions from lockdowns and
worries about hunger. With
classes shut down, over 368
million children have lost
the nutritious meals and
snacks they normally re-
ceive in school.
There is no shortage of
food globally, or mass star-
vation from the pandemic
— yet. But logistical prob-
lems in planting, harvest-
ing and transporting food
will leave poor countries
exposed in the coming
months, especially those re-
liant on imports, said Johan
Swinnen, director general
of the International Food
Policy Research Institute in
Washington.
WHY CORONAVIRUS HAS BEEN CALLED AN EQUALISER?
FOOD CRISIS
ven before
the pandem-
ic, there
were signs
that global
food prices
could soon surge. Ex-
treme weather events
induced by climate
change have become
more common. African
swine fever wiped out
over one-quarter of the
world’s pig population
last year, causing food
prices in China to in-
crease by 15-22% year on
year so far in 2020. And
more recently, the worst
locust blight in 70 years
has destroyed crops in
East Africa. In Kenya,
the price of maize, a sta-
ple food, has risen by
over 60% since 2019.
COVID-19 is amplify-
ing the risk of a world-
wide food-price spike,
which would trigger out-
right crises in many de-
veloping countries. In the
poorest of these, food ac-
counts for 40-60% of the
consumption basket,
about 5-6 times its share
in advanced economies.
While lockdowns have
led to a collapse in de-
mand for durable goods
and discretionary servic-
es, the opposite is true of
food. In cities around the
world, reports of panic
buyingandfoodhoarding
have proliferated since
the pandemic began.
E
Thepandemicisamplifyingtherisk
ofaworld-widefood-pricespike,
whichwouldtriggeroutrightcrises
inmanydevelopingcountries
On the supply side, global
grain stockpiles are
healthy but could quickly be
depleted as the virus disrupts
food production and distribu-
tion. And shortages of animal
feed, fertilizers, and pesticides
have increased both the costs
of farming and the risk of bad
harvests.
Moreover, from harvesting
fruits and vegetables in India
to operating meat plants in
America, labor shortages
are becoming increasingly
apparent as cross-border
travel restrictions in much of
the world disrupt the normal
seasonal cycle of migrant
farm workers. And transpor-
tation shortages are making
it more challenging to get
produce to market – when
there is one.
Farmers need to reconfig-
ure their supply chains away
from bulk wholesale to (cur-
rently closed) restaurants, ho-
tels, and schools, and toward
grocery stores and home
delivery. But that takes time,
not least because commercial
and consumer food products
are prepared and packaged
differently. In the meantime,
fresh produce has had to be
destroyed.
Furthermore, some major
food-producing coun-
tries have already imposed
export bans or quotas in
response to the pandemic,
as Russia and Kazakhstan
have done for grain, and In-
dia and Vietnam have done
for rice. Meanwhile, other
countries are stockpiling
food through accelerated
imports, as is true of the
Philippines (rice) and Egypt
(wheat).
Such food protectionism
may seem like a good way
to provide relief to the most
vulnerable segments of the
population, but simultane-
ous interventions by many
governments can result in
a global food-price surge,
as happened in 2010-11.
The World Bank estimates
that protectionism ac-
counted for about 40% of
the increase in the global
price of wheat and 25% of
the rise in maize prices at
that time.
Multilateral institutions
have mobilized quickly
during the crisis to pro-
vide emergency loans to a
record number of develop-
ing countries, while G20
creditors have agreed to a
temporary suspension of
debt-service payments from
poor countries that request
forbearance. But because
the risks posed by surging
food prices do not apply
only to the most vulner-
able economies, temporary
debt relief may need to be
extended to other countries
as well. With the pandemic
threatening to wreak eco-
nomic havoc, governments
must work together to ad-
dress the risk of disruptions
to food supply chains. Some
modicum of global policy
coordination is essential to
prevent food protectionism
from becoming the post-
pandemic new normal.
One can understand these
countries’ nervous-
ness. While the COVID-19
pandemic has led to falling
growth, rising unemploy-
ment, widening fiscal
deficits, and soaring debt
in advanced and emerg-
ing economies alike, the
appearance of new infec-
tion hotbeds in developing
countries will mean an even
starker tradeoff between
saving lives and protect-
ing livelihoods. Moreover,
developing countries are
already facing a sudden
stop in capital and remit-
tance inflows and a collapse
in tourism, while the terms
of trade and currencies of
the many oil and primary-
commodity exporters
among them are crashing.
Nomura’s Food Vulner-
ability Index ranks 110
countries based on their
exposure to large food-
price swings, taking into
account their nominal GDP
per capita, the share of food
in household consumption,
and net food imports. The
latest reading shows that
of the 50 countries most
vulnerable to a sustained
rise in food prices, nearly all
are developing economies
that account for nearly
three-fifths of the world’s
population.
In fact, surging food
prices would be a global
problem, because they are
highly regressive every-
where. Even in developed
economies, a jump in food
prices would drive a bigger
wedge between the rich and
poor, exacerbating already-
severe wealth inequality.
No one should ignore the
age-old connection between
food crises and social
unrest.
G20 CREDITORS HAVE AGREED TO
SUSPENDED DEBT-SERVICE PAYMENTS
GLOBAL GRAIN STOCKPILES COULD DEPLETE QUICKLY
PANDEMIC HAS LED TO FALLING GROWTH
FOOD-PRODUCING COUNTRIES HAVE
IMPOSED EXPORT BANS
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA
Preventing a COVID-19

Jaipur: Extending help
to migrant workers re-
turning to their home,
RSS members can be
seen manning help cen-
tres set up on highways
to distribute necessary
items to them. As per
the directions of Kshet-
ra Seva Pramukh Shiv-
lehri, drinking water,
food, and place to rest is
being provided to all
those who are walking
along highways or rail-
way tracks to reach
neighbouring states of
Rajasthan, UP, MP, Har-
yana, and Gujarat
From Sanganer to the
Kota National Highway,
500 labourers are helped
daily with food packets
and drinking water bot-
tles. Food packets con-
taining biscuits, banan-
as, puffed rice etc were
alsodistributedbyTejaji
Shakha, Mahesh Nagar,
to labourers travelling
through Gopalpura By-
pass in Jaipur. —PTI
LATE IN RUNNING
TRAINS
In the ongoing Corona
crisis, by the time the
governmentcameoutof
its slumber, 50 days had
passed since the lock-
down came into effect,
and lakhs of migrant
labourershadstartedon
their way home travel-
lingthousandsof kilom-
eters amid hunger and
braving the tropical
sun. A few reached their
destination, several oth-
ers were put in isolation
and then there were
those who became a vic-
tim of the road itself.
According to an esti-
mate, there are eight
crore migrant labourers
whohadlefttheirhomes
in search of job. The
railway has decided to
run 300 trains and main-
taining social distanc-
ing while around 1,200
labourers are ferried in
each train. An estimate
says that the railways
will have to run 66,666
trains to ferry these
eight crore migrant la-
bourers and the time
taken to complete this
task is 182 days. The
Railway claims that of
the total expenditure in-
curred on running spe-
cial trains for labourers,
it is realising only 15
per cent from states
since these trains are
only travelling one way
with passengers while
returning devoid of
them. Keeping in mind
social distancing, the
middle berth has been
removedandthepassen-
gers are being provided
with food and water for
the journey. So the rail-
way is incurring an ex-
pense of Rs 6 to 8 thou-
sand per person of
which they are charging
only 15 per cent. It
should be noted that the
Modi government has
allotted a total Rs one
lakh crore to the rail-
waystotakethemigrant
labor home and if sourc-
es are to be believed, the
railways are chugging
out Rs 50 lakh for each
train journey.
WHY ARE NON-BJP
MEN BEING KEPT
ALOOF?
Most trains, for the
‘ghar-wapsi’ of la-
bourers, are being run
for Uttar Pradesh. Out
of a thousand trains, 400
arefor UP.Whenapress-
er was called in this re-
gard by Railway Minis-
ter, a clarification came
that states like Chhatis-
garh, Jharkhand and
Odisha did not raise any
demand. On this, the
Chief Ministersof three
states showed their pre-
vious videos where they
had raised demand and
accused the Railways
minister of leading the
country astray. When
poultry owners were
culling their birds fear-
ing businesses taking a
dip in lockdown, they
were questioned the rea-
son behind their action.
They answered that
they won’t fetch a good
priceforchickeninmar-
kets since the amount
they were spending to
feed the birds, not even
half of it was being re-
covered. Hence the mi-
grant labourers who
have been kept in isola-
tion in UP, the state gov-
ernment is paying Rs 40
to NGOs for their meal
ie Rs 120 for the entire
day whereas, states like
Rajasthan have been
paying NGOs Rs 300.
When NGOs in UP ques-
tioned officials over the
same, their quota was
increased to Rs 70 but
the file is still stuck un-
der red tapeism while
the labourer is leaving
isolation centres and
reaching their homes.
DELHI TO MUMBAI
IN 14 HOURS
The dream project of
Union minister for
Highways and road
transport Nitin Gadkari
is taking shape even
while the country is un-
der lockdown. The total
cost of the project is es-
timated at Rs one lakh
crore and after the pro-
ject is completed, the
journey between Delhi
and Mumbai will be
completed in 14 hours.
The government is not
going ahead in the pro-
ject on PPP mode. Once
the green signal is given
to this project, the next
major task of land pro-
curement will be initi-
ated and the govern-
ment has started giving
toll rights as well since
the government be-
lieves that the toll itself
would give it Rs 25 thou-
sand crores.
NITISH COULD BE
‘SAFFRON-
STUNNED’
Bihar Chief Minis-
ter Nitish Kumar’s
alleged ignorance over
migrant labourers
could prove dear to him.
An online survey sup-
ported by BJP has re-
vealed that since lock-
down was announced,
there has been a tre-
mendous fall in Nitish’s
popularity. The survey
also says that if Nitish
contests in the upcom-
ing assembly elections
on his own and not with
BJP, he would win on a
meagre 20 seats. If Nit-
ish and BJP come to-
gether to contest under
one banner, then JDU’s
candidates have a win-
ning chance of 50
per cent while BJP can-
didates could have a
winning edge of 70
per cent. However, now
there could be a tussle
between BJP and JDU
over the distribution of
seats where Nitish
wants 15-20 seats from
the saffron party while
the BJP can pitch in the
equal bifurcation of
seats. If Nitish contin-
ues with his ‘big broth-
er’ attitude, then BJP
could give him 2-5 seats
extra with the condi-
tion that the next CM
will be decided by elect-
ed legislators.
PRESIDENT’S
LARGE-
HEARTEDNESS
President Ramnath
Kovind has al-
ready donated his sal-
ary for the month of
March in PM Care
Fund and keeping in
view of the economic
condition of the na-
tion, he announced a
30 per cent cut in his
annual salary. The
Rashtrapati Bhawan
was going to buy a new
limousine car this
year which has now
been cancelled. Other
expenses including
purchase of products
for beautification have
also been halved. Even
the guest list has been
cut short and so has
the food menu. Where
in normal times, some
or the other part of
the Rashtrapati Bha-
wan would be under
maintenance, the
works have now been
called off. Expenses
incurred on Presi-
dent’s tours have also
been halved and the
President will now
take aid of technology
to reach people direct-
ly. Really, the Presi-
dent has tried to pre-
sent an example be-
fore the nation.
The author is a
journalist and political
commentator and views
expressed are his
personal
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
Piyush Goyal Nitish KumarRamnath Kovind
BY TRIDIB RAMAN
Nitin Gadkari
Ahmed,Rupani‘grab’each
otherbyscruffofneck
Jaipur: RSS
workers reach
out to migrants
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A war of
words has broken out
between Congress
heavyweight Ahmed
Patel and Gujarat
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani after the for-
mer questioned the
State Government for
reducing the number
of tests against the
national policy of in-
tensive checking of
people for Covid-19.
It all began with Pa-
tel, who is AICC treas-
urer, tweeting on Sat-
urday afternoon about
the falling number of
daily tests in the hot-
spot Ahmedabad. Ru-
pani rebuffed this and
rolled out cumulative
figures to dispute Patel’s
claims. When Rupani,
in his tweet, asked the
Congress leader to
check his sources of
information, Patel re-
torted asserting that
his source was the Gu-
jarat Government’s
very own Covid-19 site.
Patel attached a
graph which showed
the number of tests in
Ahmedabad dropping
from 2,522 on May 1 to
1,240 on May 14. “Why is
(the) Gujarat govern-
ment reducing testing?
This is very disturbing
& is contrary to nation-
al policy of increasing
tests. In a pandemic it is
important to be honest
about the problem rath-
er than trying to con-
ceal it,” Patel tweeted.
Hitting back, CM
Rupani tweeted a ta-
ble of total tests con-
ducted in Gujarat, as
wellasinAhmedabad,
Surat and Vadodara
districts till May 16.
“Mr. AHMED PATEL,
Gujarat has not at all
decreased (the) number
of tests. Kindly recheck
your information sourc-
es which are far away
from facts and ground
realities,” he tweeted.
Rupani said Gujarat
had tested 1,27,858 sam-
ples at the rate of 1,943.3
samples per million
people, which was high-
er than the country’s
per million average of
1,478 tests.
Ahmed Patel Vijay Rupani
Vaishali
New Delhi: They say,
you have to start early in
life if you want to make
it big. While luck may
play a role in the lives
of a few who start late
and reach a consider-
able position, however
the experience and
hardwork one garners
when starting any-
thing in life is most
recognized by an in-
stitution. For AICC
General Secretary KC
Venugopal life has
been nothing short of
myriad of challenges
at every turn and a bid
to overcome those
challenges.
Known across party
lines to be a Rahul
Gandhi favourite, the
57-year-old Congress-
man from Kerala was
only 17 when he en-
tered the political are-
na. His tryst with stu-
dent politics quickly
catapulted him to be-
come one of the well
known faces in Payya-
nur College in Kerala
andhebecamethePresi-
dent of Kerala Student
Union. From here on,
Venugopal’s actual po-
litical journey started
as he continued to
climb the ladder be-
coming state president
of Youth Congress,
winning MLA election
and then going on to
become the MP and ul-
timately MoS Power
and Civil Aviation in
Manmohan Singh gov-
ernment.
However, it is his cur-
rent role that can be
termedas thehighpoint
in his political graph.
With ample support
from senior Congress
leader and Rajasthan
Gehlot, since he re-
portedly suggested
Venugopal’s name to
Congress President to
step in place of Ge-
hlot for AICC general
secretary position,
Venugopal has been
virtually handling
the entire AICC these
days. Observers believe
that such is the trust of
Sonia and Rahul Gan-
dhi on Venugopal that
she had even asked KC
to preside over the meet-
ing of all PCC chiefs
and General secretaries
on Friday afternoon to
take a feedback on work
done related to corona
by PCCs and field func-
tionaries. Rajasthan
Congress incharge Avi-
nash Pande was also
present in the meeting.
The man, who finds
himself in Rahul’s
core team due to his
dedication to the party
and in particular Ra-
hul, is currently han-
dling party’s tasks
from top to bottom,
except a few highly
sensitive and critical
areas where Ahmed
Patel has no substitute
or alternative. Infact,
in 10 Janpath’s inter-
nal equations, Ahmed
Bhai is considered as
Sonia’s trusted trou-
ble shooter for the last
30 years, whereas KC
enjoys the reputation
and Goodwill of Ra-
hul’s blue eyed man in
the party. However, at
the end of the day both
Ahmed and KC report
to Rahul and Sonia.
Know to be Rahul’s
man, he is very well ad-
justed with the current
Congress President and
across party leaders.
Party members claim
that Venugopal is one
of the leaders who is
always available for
the workers and does
not shy to get himself
involved with the
grass root worker. A
point in fact being his
handling of the AICC
Control room set up to
take stock of Corona
situation and the prob-
lems faced by people. A
seniorGujaratCongress
leader Shakti Singh Go-
hil and Rajiv Satav will
be assisting Venugopal
in this Control room co-
ordination job.
Venugopal, who in-
teracts with Congress
CMs, office bearers and
workers alike for Coro-
na relief, gathers infor-
mation from across the
nation and provides it
to Sonia and Rahul. He
then relays Sonia Gan-
dhi’s message and di-
rections to the PCCs
and workers in the or-
ganisational matters.
According to sourc-
es, KC did not contest
the last Lok Sabha
election from Kerala
because at the same
time his mentor Ra-
hul was contesting
from Wayanad seat
from Kerala itself.
Now KC has been re-
warded with a Rajya
Sabha ticket from Ra-
jasthan and he will be
formally declared
elected, as soon as de-
ferred RS poll takes
place in near future.
So lets wait and
see… a new team of
Gehlot and KC taking
charge and working
together in Rajasthan!
THE RISE AND RISE OF KC VENUGOPAL
Rahul Gandhi with KC Venugopal —FILE PHOTO
Guj CM asks Cong leader to check sources of info; he replies: My source is your govt
‘Maal’-practice: Is RMSCL
‘bleeding’ government?
Vikas Sharma
Jaipur: Can a govern-
ment enterprise be a
mute spectator to ram-
pant flouting of tender
rules by firms? Can
bureaucracy also side
with ‘malpractices’
conducted by firms,
even if it means bleed-
ing the government?
Well, take a look at
developments in and
around Rajasthan
Medical Services
Corporation (RM-
SCL) and once cant
help but wonder if
there is a bigger
game played in the
Corporation.
Let us delve a little
deeper. At a time like
this when Corona in-
fection is the biggest
threat, three firms of
theRMSCLleftthegov-
ernment’s side as a re-
sult the price of triple
layer masks, that were
usually sold for 88 pai-
se, jumped several
times to Rs 6.50. It is
but natural that their
this act deemed neces-
sary a penalty on the
firms, however, lo and
beholdthebureaucrats
have come to their aid.
As a measure to
save the firms, the
specification in final
tender was changed.
The ‘defaulter’ firms
had to supply masks
till June 2020 but re-
alising that there
was more profit in
the market than sell-
ing it to the govern-
ment, the firms de-
nied giving the
masks and in a haste
a new tender of 20
lakh masks at a price
range of 6.50 rupees
was finalised. The
new tender was based
on the specification of
old tender. But in the
monthof May,thespec-
ification was changed
for the second tender.
This change in the
specification made a
huge change in pen-
alty that would have
otherwise been lev-
ied, since provision
for penalty was re-
moved! And now pen-
alty will be calculated
on the basis of masks
supplied in the first
tender. The role of ED
(procurement) Nilesh
Sharma and other of-
ficials is questionable
in the entire episode!
One of the best ways to rise above
the ordinary is to read. Read
whatever interests you, but read
it in-depth and with a thought for
understanding and analysis.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONTPOSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21
AHMEDABAD COVID TESTS

omen who ride are braver than those
who don’t, I believe. With the mod-
ern smoother, faster and lighter mo-
torbikes on the road, it is not physi-
cal courage but a mental one to enter
into a world dominated by men. It
was Elspeth Beard that first led me
on the hunt for female riders who faced the
road alone. Here’s her story in the tiniest of
nutshells: At 24 years of age, she became the
first Englishwoman to ride a motorcycle
around the world, a journey spanning 3 years
and 54,000km in 1980.
We give you quick tips on the motorcycles
which are suitable for women though there
are no motorcycles made specifically for
women. The Harley-Davidson Sportster 883
Super Low is a popular bike with women. It
is Harley’s entry-level model, and since Har-
ley dominates the female market share, and
women are the fastest-growing segment of
new riders, it makes sense that Harley-David-
son’s entry-level model would be the most
popular motorcycle
ridden by women
today.
The V Star 950 is
also a popular mo-
torcycle choice among
women, putting Star Mo-
torcycles
right be-
hind Har-
ley-Davidson as
the second most
popular brand of
bikes among female
riders. The V Star 950 is
a strong middleweight
contender that is hugely
versatile as an urban cruiser
or one that can be outfitted for
touring.
The Honda model which is liked by
women is naturally, one of the Shadow
models. This venerable platform has
been hugely popular among women rid-
ers for decades.
The Kawasaki Ninja 250 and the
300 have been a beginning bike for
many women.
Choose wisely, learn smart, kit
up properly and ride in to the
sunset or sunrise for that
matter. Remember to wear a
proper helmet and to tie
your hair, long flowing
hair look nice only in
movies are a risk
otherwise. Hap-
py Riding!
JAIPUR, SUNDAY
MAY 17, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
HARD & FAST-RIDE ON!
W
There is something very romantic about riding a bike into the sunset and though traditionally women have
ridden pillion, now more and more women are riding bikes and how! Hold Tight and join us for the ride!
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

10
ETCJAIPUR | SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
KOMAL PANDEY, Content Curator
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will get the financial
support , may be a from a
person or from a group of
people. sooner or later you
will surely get successful in your
endeavour as you are a person or
strong will. There will be many
opportunities in future for now focus
on enhancing your skills.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may need the money
that you gave as a loan to
someone close, you must
politely ask the person to
return the favour. You will get closer
to your friends even if you cannot
meet them in person. These are the
time to self reflect. You will get an
excellent opportunity professionally.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Your spouse will feel very
happy around you as you
are the best partner that
one can expect. You will
get immense respect for the work
that you have been doing lately.
Listen to your heart and take decision
based in your intuition. Times are
tough but it will get better.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
For now stop taking tension
about property related
matters, have faith in the
power above all. This is the
right time the person know that you are
in love with him/her. Your spending
habit will change for good. Don’t get
into office politics just do you work
religiously and ear your living.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Your friend will keep his/
her word and you won’t be
disappointed. Count your
blessings and express
gratitude to the mother nature for all
that is good in this world. You will
get closer to your spouse by doing
small things. You will be handling
some prestigious projects.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
On domestic front, you will
help your spouse more than
you ever imagined. You will
be amazed to receive a gift
of sentimental value from someone
you didn’t expect. Those on the quest
of getting desired body must have an
exercise regime as you will not find any
time better than this.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will go for higher
studies, don’t let these
tough times discourage
you. Outing is not possible
at this time so try sometime new at
home that will keep you occupied.
Hours spent on something will not
go waste therefore don’t loose
patience till the very end.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Youngsters must not loose
hope because of the
lockdown your education
won’t be hindered and you
will get the success that you always
dreamt of, one way or the other. Keep
paying your outstanding dues if you
can, so that you can relax in future.
Don’t poke your nose anywhere.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will have good time at
home and this is the time
when you can develop
great understanding with
your partner. Your family will support
you no matter what. You may wish to
officialise your relationship with your
long time friend. Have patience, you
will get into many business ventures.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A candle light dinner
arrangement is what you
can do right now to make
your partner feel special.
Trust your parents, they will not let
you down. Long distant relationship
is no big deal for you as you are a
person of deep understanding. You
may be in the need of loan.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Have confidence and no
matter what don’t let
anyone slow you down.
Start expressing your
feeling to the people who need to
know how you feel about them. It
good to meditate some or the other
time. You will get surprisingly good
returns from an investment.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Your partner will fulfil all
your emotional needs and
he/she will also keep trying
until they get successful in
cheering you up. Keep trying don’t let
the hard times kill your spirit because
after every dusk there is a dawn.
Your quality of life will improve but
give some time.
Sponsored by Shree Salasar Oversease Pvt. Ltd.
Coronavirus and its Impact on the
Indian Automobile Industry
he year 2020 seems
to be what 2012
tried to become.
We started the new
year with good
wishes and a good
vibe. Little did we
know that the future has
some other plans for us.
What seemed to be a rather
minor outbreak very
quickly turned into a Pan-
demic. The Novel Corona-
virus or the COVID-19 has
brought the entire country
to a standstill. Factories
shut down, offices empty
and roads looking like the
endless mirages in a de-
sert. It was the 23rd of
March In India when a
Lockdown was put in ef-
fect. As I am writing this,
the lockdown has been ex-
tended twice and is in its
third phase now.
2019 | A PREMONITION
Let’s rewind back a little
bit. The year 2019 was when
the Great Indian Automo-
bile Crisis happened. The
automobile industry has
never faced such a slump in
over two decades. The tran-
sition from BS4 to BS6
emission norms saw the
sales pile driving in double
digits, people started losing
their jobs. It was a BIG
problem. Big enough for the
government to step in and
introduce some major
changes to the years budget
to help jump-start the sec-
tor. And as we all know it
didn’t do much. This was
evident in February at the
Auto Expo 2020, where ma-
jor car manufacturers like
Honda, Ford, Jeep, BMW,
Audi and almost all two-
wheeler makers decided to
skip the biennial automo-
tive event.
THEN THE LOCKDOWN
HAPPENED
24th March came in like a
wrecking ball for the Indian
automobile industry. The
sector that was already try-
ing to recoup the losses
from the previous year, got
hit once again. A Lockdown
meant total shutdown of
factories, dealerships and
service centres nationwide.
The first phase of the
lockdown was expected to
end by the 14th of April.
But, seeing the rising infec-
tion levels, the Lockdown
was extended up to the 3rd
of May. For the first time in
history, automobile manu-
facturers reported ZERO
car sales in the month of
April. Furthermore, Lock-
down 2.0 made it nearly im-
possible for car dealerships
to survive without sales.
Unsold stocks were lying
unsold, car service centres
with no cars. Carmakers
like Maruti Suzuki stepped
up and offered support to
their dealership network
for the sake of sustainabil-
ity. But it was not enough.
3rd of May and the Lock-
down was extended for an-
other 2 weeks. Lockdown
3.0 was in effect. But, this
time the government had to
do something in order to
revive the economy or else
India would have entered a
stage of a recession similar
to the European countries.
This is when the whole
country was divided into 3
zones viz. Red, Orange and
Green zones. Red is a highly
vulnerable area while
orange being mildly vulner-
able and green ones being
the areas where life can be
brought back to normal.
With plenty of restrictions
in place, companies were
given permission to
start the production plants
once again.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Restarting from a total
standstill is not an easy
task. Given that the Gov-
ernment has not allowed
100% of workforce and op-
erations to function, the
companies had to come up
with a plan to make it work
while only the essential
workers were available.
Production has started but
what about the sales? Let’s
take a look at a few high-
lights here:
I It’s a probability that
people will start buying
vehicles post lockdown.
Two-wheeler sales can
see some boost due to the
people preferring per-
sonal transport over pub-
lic ones.
I There have been nation-
wide layoffs and salary
deductions so that the
companies can sustain
in these hard times. This
means that there will be
a lesser cash flow in the
market and this flow is
not expected to take a
turn towards the auto-
mobile industry.
I The economy has to be
revived. Hence, the gov-
ernment decided to in-
crease the tax on petrol
and diesel which has led
to an increase in fuel
prices. This is also a con-
cern that needs to be ad-
dressed.
I For the sake of sustain-
ability, NBFCs and banks
are not willing to lend
any more.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
So now comparing the if’s
and but’s, the near-future
of the automobile industry
seems to be bleak. The in-
dustry has demanded that
the government lifts the
taxes on the purchase of
new vehicles or at least re-
duces them in order to
boost the sales. But seeing
the current condition of the
government depository,
it seems highly unlikely
that there will be any re-
laxation.
This industry which
accounts for 7% of the
country’s GDP and 49% of
manufacturing GDP has
been affected by a slump
for over a year now. And
this Coronavirus-induced
lockdown is only adding to
the sorrow.
If relaxations are not
given and the sales net-
works are not opened, pro-
duction will only add to the
pile of stocks and there
will be no benefit for the
manufacturers and the
economy alike. Given the
current situation, 2020
seems to be lost and only
time will tell what the year
2021 will bring for the In-
dian automobile sector.
RITVIK GUPTA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ritvik Gupta is an Automobile Engineer. He is currently pursuing his career as an
Automotive Content Developer at GoMechanic. Ritvik is an automobile enthusiast
with a knack to decode the nitty-gritty of the Indian automotive scene.

First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020

First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020

Similar to First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020 (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (16)

First india jaipur edition-17 may 2020