First india jaipur edition-29 april 2020

HAKUNA MATATA
Scanning the horizon nervously, in their
trademark style, this gang of meerkats remind
us of Timon, the wisecracking meerkat from
the famous movie Lion King! As the world
reels under coronavirus pandemic, we are
reminded of the song Hakuna Matata (there
are no troubles) crooned by Timon, which
teaches us that worrying about things,
outside our control, is not a way of life!
USA 10,19,823 57,601 +804
SPAIN 232,128 23,822 +301
ITALY 201,505 27,359 +382
GERMANY 159,137 6,174 +48
UK 157,149 21,092 +586
TURKEY 114,653 2,992 +92
RUSSIA 93,558 867 +73
IRAN 92,584 5,877 +71
CHINA 82,836 4,633 +2
COUNTRY TOTAL TOTAL NEW
CASES DEATHS DEATHS
GLOBAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS
WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO
LAST UPDATED: APRIL 28, 2020, 11:00 PM
SAMPLE RECEIVED
SAMPLE NEGATIVE
4,308
UNDER EXAMINATION
92,506
IN RAJASTHAN
DISTRICT TOTAL NEW TOTAL
CASES CASES DEATH
AJMER 135 +11 —
ALWAR 7 — 1
BANSWARA 63 +1 —
BARMER 2 — —
BHARATPUR 110 — 2
BHILWARA 35 — 2
BIKANER 37 — 1
CHITTORGARH 8 — —
CHURU 14 — —
DAUSA 21 — —
DHOLPUR 9 +4 —
DUNGARPUR 6 — —
HANUMANGARH 11 — —
JAIPUR 859 +26 27
JAISALMER 35 — —
JHALAWAR 40 — —
JHUNJHUNU 42 — —
JODHPUR 400 +25 7
KARAULI 3 — —
KOTA 189 +24 6
NAGAUR 117 +1 1
PALI 3 — —
PRATAPGARH 2 — —
RAJSAMAND 1 — —
SWAI MADHOPUR 8 — —
SIKAR 6 +1 2
TONK 131 +8 1
UDAIPUR 7 +1 —
OTHER DIST. 0 — 2(UP)
TOTAL 2301 +102 52
OTHER (Italy) 2 — —
EVACUEES 61 — —
GRAND TOTAL 2364 +102 52
85,834
CORONA IN RAJASTHAN
On Tuesday 102 new positives were
found in the state. In which 26 were
from Jaipur. At the same time, state
reported two deaths on Tuesday wherein
a 60-year-old man died in Kota while
another 70-year-old died in Jodhpur.
CORONA
ALERT
JAIPUR l WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 322
23°C - 38°C
OUR EDITIONS:
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COVID-19
UPDATE
RAJASTHAN
52
DEATHS
2,364
CONFIRMED CASES
ADB APPROVES $1.5 BILLION
FINANCING TO INDIA
Manila: Asian Development Bank (ADB)
on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion dollar
loan to India to help fund its response
to coronavirus pandemic. This includes
support for immediate priorities like
disease containment and prevention as
well as social protection for the poor
and economically vulnerable sections
of the society, especially women and
disadvantaged groups.
RECOVERY RATE IN INDIA
IMPROVES TO 23.3 PC
New Delhi: A total of 6,869 people have
been cured of coronavirus in India so
far, taking the recovery rate to 23.3 per
cent, said the Union Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare on Tuesday. A total
of 1,543 new cases of coronavirus
have been identified, which take the
total number of confirmed cases in the
country to 30,631, said Lav Agarwal,
Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
London: Scientists at Oxford University say
they are one step closer in developing a vac-
cine to stop the spread of Corona. Promising
results were seen after six rhesus macaque
monkeys were injected with a single dose
of the university’s new vaccine. This means
that vaccine trial involving more than 6,000
participants will be started by the end of next
month to show vaccine is safe and effective.
New Delhi: Union Ministry of Health has is-
sued guidelines for home isolation of people
who either have very mild COVID-19 symp-
toms or are in the pre-symptomatic phase.
Such patients with requisite self-isolation
facility at their residence will now have the
option for home isolation. Ministry asked
people to download Aarogya Setu app on
mobile & it should remain active at all times.
HOPE FOR VACCINE BY SEPT AS
MONKEY TESTS ‘SUCCESSFUL’
HOME ISOLATION OPTION FOR
PATIENTS WITH MILD SYMPTOMS
New Delhi: The Health Min-
istry on Tuesday said current-
ly plasma therapy is at experi-
mental stage and there is no
evidence yet to support that it
can be used as treatment for
COVID-19. Addressing a press
briefing, Health Ministry
Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal
said currently there are no ap-
proved therapies for COVID-19
and there is not enough evi-
dence to claim that plasma
therapy can be used for treat-
ment of the disease.
“ICMR has launched a na-
tional-level study to study ef-
ficacy of plasma therapy in
treatment of COVID 19,” he
said. “Till ICMR concludes its
study and a robust scientific
proof is available, plasma
therapy should be used only
for research or trial purpose.
If plasma therapy is not used
in proper manner under prop-
er guidelines, Turn on P6
New Delhi: Union Health
Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan
on Tuesday said that the coun-
try will be able to produce in-
digenous coronavirus-testing
kits by May.
“We will be able to produce
RT-PCR and antibody test kits
in India by May. All processes
are in advanced stage and pro-
duction will start after getting
approval from ICMR. It will
help us in meeting our target
of one lakh tests per day by
May 31,” the Union Health
Minister said.
Meanwhile,issuingadetailed
response over faulty anti-body
testing kits, China has rejected
theclaimsbytheICMR.Chinese
embassy spokesperson Ji Rong
said in a statement issued early
on Tuesday that the quality of
medicalproductsexportedfrom
Chinais‘prioritized’,callingac-
tion taken as ‘unfair and irre-
sponsible’. Turn on P6
‘PLASMA THERAPY
IN TRIAL STAGE’
Indigenous testing
kits by May: Govt
No evidence yet to support it can
be used for treatment, say experts
Will help in meeting target of
one lakh tests per day by May 31
INDIA FIGHTS BACK New Delhi: Outstanding loans
amounting to Rs 68,607 crore
of top 50 wilful bank loan de-
faulters in the country includ-
ing firms of Mehul Choksi and
Vijay Mallya have been techni-
cally written off till September
30, 2019, the Reserve Bank of
India said in a RTI reply.
Absconding dimantaire
Choksi’s company Gitanjali
Gems tops the list of these de-
faulters with a whopping
amount of Rs 5,492 crore, ac-
cording to the list.
This is followed by REI Agro
with Rs 4,314 crore and Win-
some Diamonds with Rs 4,076
crore. Rotomac Global Private
Limited has funded advances
of Rs 2,850 crore Turn on P6
`68K cr loans of
wilful defaulters
written off: RBI
Never tried to take credit for Raj Model in Corona fight: Gehlot
New Delhi: Lauded by
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi for his
government’s effi-
ciency in handling the
coronavirus-induced
crisis, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot said he
has never tried to take
credit for the efforts
made collectively by
all stakeholders in
containing the pan-
demic in the state.
During a video con-
ference held on April 27
between chief minis-
ters and the Prime Min-
ister, the ‘Rajasthan
Model’ for controlling
the spread of coronavi-
rus right from the be-
ginning received praise
from Modi. Gehlot told
PTI in an exclusive in-
terview that his state
was ahead of the others
in all aspects, including
the number of COV-
ID-19 tests. Gehlot said
his government has
placed orders for the
import of two ultra-
modern machines from
the USA which will en-
able them to conduct
additional four to five
thousand tests on a dai-
ly basis. He said these
machines, developed by
Roush, will be delivered
by the end of May.
Headdedonemachine
will be used in Jaipur
andtheotherinJodhpur.
Jodhpur is also Gehlot’’s
hometown. Talking
about the steps taken by
the Rajasthan govern-
menttohandlethehealth
crisis, the chief minister
said the state took the
initiative to control the
virus from spreading in
the initial days of its
spread in India.
“We were very early
to take measures by do-
ing whatever was in our
capacity.Inotonlyspoke
with the opposition par-
ties but also with the
religious and social
leaders. I urged them to
createawarenessamong
people about the impor-
tance of staying at
home. They all agreed,
and they felt that they
were being involved and
are a part of the pro-
cess,” Gehlot said.
Hesaidthishelpedthe
government machinery
andthemedicalstaff im-
mensely. Turn on P6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday praised Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot’s efforts in handling Corona crisis.
CM Gehlot’s efforts paid dividends
on Tuesday when more than 1,500
stranded Rajasthanis returned home
WORLD
2,14,105
DEATHS
31,02,666
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
977
DEATHS
30,631
CONFIRMED CASES
Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51
The revelation by RBI in an
RTI query is shocking that
Indian banks wrote off loans
worth Rs 68,607 crores due
from 50 top willful defaulters.
NO RELAXATION IN HOTSPOT AREAS: CM
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot clarified on Tuesday
that no relaxation will be given to people residing
in hotspot areas. Gehlot does not want that the
hardships of the past one month goes to waste
since if relaxations are given there is a chance
of further spread of the virus. However, those
residing in the green zone will be given relief
as gehlot is now looking to better the economic
health of Rajasthan.

NEWSJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
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A LONG JOURNEY?
A man rides a bicycle, at 5.40 pm, past a tree that has shed white flowers, looking like cotton balls, on the road near Narayan Singh Circle in Jaipur. Most roads of the city wear a deserted look due to the nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus has ‘devastating
impact’ on Raj’s hotel industry
It may take 8 to 10 months or even more to recover from the losses: Hoteliers
Naveen Sharma
Jaipur: Even though
the lockdown is affect-
ing the general public
at present, the hotel-
iers are worried about
the future of their
business. Various pri-
vate events, wedding
ceremonies, and gov-
ernment conferences
have been cancelled.
Due to which, the busi-
nessmen associated
with the hotel business
across the state, in-
cluding Jaipur, are
worrying about the
expenses of the hotel,
including the salary
of the employees and
electricity.
A large number of
tourists visit Jaipur
every month, which
boosts the hotel and re-
lated businesses. The
people associated with
the hotel industry are
saying that 80% of ad-
vance bookings were
done in hotels, but all
those bookings have
been cancelled due to
the lockdown.
According to Direc-
tor of Fairmont Ratan
Sharma, the lockdown
is going to have the
worst impact on the
hotel industry. Direc-
tor of JW Marriott
Vikram Sukhani be-
lieves that it may take
8 to 10 months or even
more to recover from
the losses caused due
to coronavirus. The ho-
tel operators are say-
ing that despite follow-
ing proper hygiene,
people would still
avoid outside food for
some time.
First India News
Jaipur: Governor
Kalraj Mishra has sanc-
tioned Rs 10 lakh from
the governor relief
fund for purchase of
PPE kits and N95
masks. He informed the
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot about it over tel-
ephone.
Governor Kalraj
Mishra said that these
kits can be used in SMS
hospital, RUHS and oth-
er hospitals of the state.
Governor Mishra
takes daily feedback of
efforts to fight the co-
rona pandemic. He
spoke to additional
chief secretary
(Health) Rohit Kumar
Singh following which
he ordered that Rs 10
lakh should be given to
RMSCL.
Governor Kalraj
Mishra also presented
the poster of corona
warriors incentive
scholarship scheme on
Tuesday. Apex Univer-
sity has launched this
scheme for the children
of corona warriors
studying in its univer-
sity. Governor Mishra’s
OSD presented him
this poster. The univer-
sity has earmarked Rs
one crore for this schol-
arship.
First India News
Jaipur: BJP’s Rajya
Sabha MP Om Mathur
has sanctioned equip-
ment worth Rs 14.89
lakh to Bangar hospital
in Pali. Mathur who be-
longed to Pali has pro-
vided BiPAP, ventilator,
disposable masks, and
humidifier. Medical col-
lege Principal Dr KC
Agarwal informed that
Mathur had recom-
mended the purchase of
15 BiPAP auto with inte-
grated humidifier, 2 Bi-
PAP AVAPS integrated
humidifier and 10 Bi-
PAP disposable masks
from his MPLAD fund,
which will help patients.
Om Mathur has paid
homage to Jagadguru
Adi Shankaracharya.
On the birth anniver-
sary of philosopher and
theologian who consoli-
dated the doctrine of
Advaita Vedanta, Ma-
thur said that he wrote
Shankara Bhashya on
Brahma Sutra & re-
vived Sanatan dharma.
He also said that
Shankaracharya was
an inspiration for eve-
ryone for the way he
tried to unite the world.
—Picture for representational purpose only
Governor Kalraj Mishra receiving the poster of scholarship
scheme from his chief privilege Govindram Jaiswal on Tuesday.
Covid-19: Guv Mishra sanctions
`10L for PPE kits, N95 masks
BJP’s Om Mathur provides equipment
worth `14.89L to Pali’s Bangar hosp
Pilot takes feedback
from Cong workers
regarding relief work
CM deriving political
mileage, alleges Poonia
First India News
Jaipur: State BJP pres-
ident Dr Satish Poonia
has alleged that CM
Ashok Gehlot is a politi-
cian by nature. He has
been using PM Modi’s
innocuous comments to
derive political mile-
age. “No one knows
what did the PM say
and in what context he
praised the CM but the
latter who always
thinks in terms of poli-
tics has been using it to
gain mileage,” Poonia
said. According to him,
the PM was courteous.
He appreciates when-
ever someone does
something good or in-
novative. He had appre-
ciated sarpanches also.
First India News
Jaipur: Deputy CM
and PCC chief
Sachin Pilot on Tues-
day held a VC with
the Congress candi-
dates for last Loksab-
ha elections. Pilot
took feedback from
erstwhile candidates
regarding the relief
work being carried
out in their areas.
The candidates sug-
gested the PCC chief
of ensuring proper
distribution of ra-
tion and effective
purchase of crops on
MSP. They also
thanked Pilot for get-
ting Rs 50,000 sanc-
tioned for each vil-
lage panchayat for
mask & sanitizer dis-
tribution. Pilot on
his end stressed a
broad scheme to be
taken up by central
govt for getting the
stranded workers
back to their homes.
He said that due to
the virus threat ac-
tivities like raw
boundary wall con-
struction of the
farms, toilet and
pond construction
was being encour-
aged which automati-
cally implementation
of social distancing.
Deputy CM Sachin Pilot during the VC on Tuesday.
LawyerversusMinisteratBharatpur!
First India News
Bharatpur: A smart
and shrewd lawyer ver-
sus a firebrand and
powerful minister
seems to be the ‘flavour
of the season’. Well,
senior advocate Poon-
am Chand Bhandari
had given a complaint
to Bharatpur SP
against Tourism Minis-
ter Vishvendra Singh
claiming that Singh
roamed around with-
out wearing a mask.
The lawyer had de-
manded the SP to regis-
ter an FIR against the
minister.
In an interesting
twist in the tale, Bha-
dari claimed that he
has received two threat
calls on his phone after
he gave the complaint
to the police against
the minister. But
Bhandari maintained
that he will not bow
down to pressure and
will work according to
law.
Interestingly, on
Tuesday, Bhandari
wrote to Director Gen-
eral of Police Bhupen-
dra Singh Yadav re-
questing him to regis-
ter the FIR on the com-
plaint given to Bharat-
pur SP since no FIR has
been registered so far.
“Fifteen people have
been arrested in an an-
other case where peo-
ple were not wearing
masks. If no action is
taken, I will be forced
to file an application in
the High Court,”
Bhandari said in the
letter sent to the DGP.
Poonam Chand Bhandari Vishvendra Singh
Dr Satish Poonia
Patients at Bangar Hospital being provided with state-of-the-art
medical equipment by MP Om Mathur.
In such a situation,
the hotel operators
have made some
demands from the
government.
z Removal of fix
bill for 6 months
z Considering
renewal of 2019-20
as 20211-22
z Reduction in
state GST
z Free electric-
ity and water for 6
months
There has always been a power struggle between
officers of dist administration and police now its
assuming new proportions amid lockdown so much
so that the fight is out in open now. The police crossed
limits and bashed one of the prominent employee
posted at the collectorate. The incident took place on
Sikar road where the police barricading the road stopped
the PA of ADM (IV). The bitterness can be gauged by
the statement used by the police while misbehaving the
PA. They allegedly said “Enough of forced salutes to
you people”. Earlier Shyam Nagar SHO Santra Meena
and RAS Devyani also confronted which was reported
to collector Jogaram. Even the RAS association had
expressed its displeasure on the incident.
POWER STRUGGLE WITH THE
POLICE WON’T END WELL
OFF THE
RECORD
—PHOTOBYSUNILSHARMA

RAJASTHANJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
2 MORE DIE OF CORONA IN STATE, 102
NEW CASES DIAGNOSED IN LAST 24 HRSFirst India News
Jaipur: Two corona
deaths were reported in
last 24 hours taking the
total to 52 along with 102
new corona positive cas-
es. Jodhpur and Kota
reported one death each
onTuesday.26newcases
came from Jaipur, 25
from Jodhpur, 24 from
Kota, 11 from Ajmer, 8
from Tonk, 4 from Dhol-
pur and one each from
Banswara, Nagaur,
Tonk & Udaipur. There
were 2364 cases in state
on Tuesday night. State
has tested 92506 samples
so far out of which 85834
tested negative while re-
ports for 4308 samples is
awaited.
Jaipur has 859 posi-
tive cases followed by
Jodhpur 400, Kota 189,
Ajmer 135, Tonk 131,
Bharatpur 110, Nagaur
117, Banswara 63, Jhun-
jhunu 42, Jhalawar 40,
Bikaner 37, Jaisalmer &
Bhilwara 35 each, Dausa
21, Churu 14, Hanuman-
garh 11, Dholpur 9, Chit-
torgarh & Sawai Mad-
hopur 8, Alwar &
Udaipur 7 each, Dungar-
pur & Sikar 6 each,
Udaipur 6, Karauli &
Pali 3 each, Barmer &
Pratapgarh with 2 cases
each and Rajsamand
one case. Apart from
this 2 Italians and 61 In-
dians evacuated from
Iran tested positive. 28
out of 33 districts are
infected.
So far 770 patients
have recovered. 584 have
alreadybeendischarged
from the hospitals and
rest would follow the
suite after they com-
plete their mandatory
quarantine period. 273
fromJaipurrecovered,5
from Alwar, 31 Ban-
swara, 1 Barmer & Dhol-
pur, 5 Ajmer, Bharatpur
& Dungarpur, 30
Bhilwara, 36 Bikaner, 40
Jhunjhunu, 13 Churu, 7
Dausa, 2 Pali & Pratap-
garh, 2 Hanumangarh &
Karauli, 30 Jaisalmer, 20
Jhalawar, 81 Jodhpur, 98
Kota, 9 Nagaur, 35 Tonk,
2 Sikar, 4 Udaipur, 2
from other states, 2 Ital-
ians and 25 Indians
evacuated from Iran
also turned positive.
Drones are being used for making public announcements and surveillance in walled city area of Jaipur.
HELPING HANDS
Sanatan Seva Samiti,Khatipura along with Rotary Club Jaipur North,has been operating the
Sanatan Ran Rasoi for the last 26 days to help the daily wage laborers,unemployed and destitute
with support from 150 active members.Committee members Ganesh Singh,Himmat Singh and
Bheem Singh informed that they will continue with the good work until the lockdown is lifted.
CS: Need system to
arrange meals for
women and children
RSRTC to get `100
crore grant from govt
Jpr Airport may reduce
number of flights
Kota reports 6th
death, so far
189 test +ve
First India News
Kota: In addition to 6
new coronavirus cases
reported in Kota on
Tuesday, increasing the
total cases to 189, sixth
death has also been re-
ported. It has also been
revealed that most of
the new cases are from
Bajajkhana and Indra
market areas.
Moreover, 3 more
workers have tested pos-
itive among the workers
of the plant of Suket’s
road construction com-
pany. So far, 20 migrant
laborers have been
found positive. In Kota’s
New Medical College,
113 patients have recov-
ered after testing nega-
tive for the second time.
First India News
Jaipur: Chief Secre-
tary DB Gupta chaired
a meeting on Tuesday to
discuss how to arrange
meals for women and
children.
He emphasised on
creating a management
system for it. The meet-
ing was attended by K K
Pathak, secretary of
women & child develop-
ment department and
other officials. He also
stressed on ensuring
monitoring of nutrition
programme.
Aanganbari centres
have been receiving nu-
tritional meals regular-
ly because of lockdown;
therefore, CS took the
meeting of high level
committee to ensure nu-
tritional meal through
alternative means. They
were also asked to en-
sure WHO and health
department’s protocol
of safeguarding self
against corona during
distrbution of food.
First India News
Jaipur: In order to
help the Rajasthan
State Road Transport
Corporation (RSRTC)
get over the financial
crisis, the Gehlot gov-
ernment has provided
a grant of Rs.100 crore.
The Finance Expendi-
ture Department has
given the approval to
send the amount to the
private account of the
Corporation.
The economic condi-
tion of the Roadways is
already bad and the
only way it is able to ar-
range salary and pen-
sion for its employees
and pensioners from
time to time is after re-
ceiving a grant from the
government. In such a
situation, the Roadways
would get a boost with
the amount in the op-
eration of buses for
transporting migrants
and after the lockdown.
First India News
Jaipur: Though the sta-
tus of flight operations
are not clear, it is expect-
ed that whenever it
starts, the number of
flights would fall by
about 75%. However, dif-
ferent airlines have
started booking tickets
for May 16 and June 1.
But it is believed that
flights would be opera-
tional only after May 31.
India’s largest airline
IndiGo could signifi-
cantly reduce number
of flights. Sources said
that Jaipur Airport was
operating 23 flights from
Jaipur before lockdown,
but now it would start
with only 6 flights, one
each to major cities of
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolka-
ta, Bengaluru, Hy-
derabad and Pune. A
similar effect would be
seen with other airlines.
Jaipur Airport does
not have adequate re-
sources. Therefore, it
won’t be possible to op-
erate same number of
flights as earlier.
Nature heals itself and we thrive on it,
but what happens after lockdown?
33% recovery rate in state,
highest in country: ACS
Migrant workers find way to
thank locals for providing food
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: Covid-19 threat
has forced mankind to
lock itself inside their
houses. This has drasti-
cally changed our life
styles. Now we don’t
wake up with blaring
vehicle horns but hear
birds chirping nearby.
The roads which use to
be bumper to bumper
from early morning to
late night now are emp-
ty and serene. The air is
muchcleanertobreathe,
the vision much better
without smog and life
slow but relaxed. All be-
cause of a forced lock-
down due to corona
threat but a lockdown
which has brought us
near to nature again.
There are reports of
people in certain cities
able to see mountains
hundreds of kms away,
Ganga water is cleaner
than ever before, pollu-
tion reduced drastical-
ly, much more time for
family members, daily
needs reduced to a new
and unimaginable level
and above all rediscov-
ering the nature
around. Even the wild
animals living in near-
by forests are finding it
strange without human
intervention and ven-
turing out of their habi-
tat to see some. People
are adopting hobbies
ranging from reading to
gardening. Lockdown
has given the humans a
break from the mess
they themselves had ac-
cumulated over years.
The million dollar
question is that what
will happen once the
lockdown is lifted? Will
we get back to our old
selves? Polluting indis-
criminately, harnessing
nature to the extent of
exploitation, become
part of the never end-
ing rat race of material-
ism again and forget
about the nature we are
inseparable part of.
Vikas Sharma
Jaipur: Corona cases
may be rising but there
is a silver lining for Ra-
jasthan. It has maxi-
mum ratio of patient
recovery in the country;
death ratio is low and
the rate of doubling
cases is low than the na-
tional average.
According to addi-
tional chef secretary
(health) Rohit Kumar
Singh 33% corona pa-
tients in state have re-
covered, which is high-
est in the country. Ra-
jasthan’s death rate of
1.87% is less than the
national average of
3.13% and cases have
been doubling in 11 days
in Rajasthan than 9.2
days at national level.
Singh attributed this
success to aggressive
testing. Rajasthan has
been conducting 1173
tests per 10 lakh com-
pared to 450 at national
level. “This is more
than four times the na-
tional average,” he said.
Feather in the cap
was recovery of two
90-year-old elderly peo-
ple, who in less than a
week recovered and
were discharged from
SMS hospital.
The ACS dismissed
reports of less testing
in Ramganj. “The con-
tagion there is only in a
limited area; therefore,
our focus is on saving
people’s lives. We have
divided the area in to
clusters for targeted
sampling. We have in-
cluded elderly, direct
contact persons and
people already suffer-
ing from other serious
illness,” he said.
He clarified that if a
worker tests positive, no
action would be taken
against factory owner
and they are only asked
to ensure distancing.
First India News
Sikar: Police inter-
cepted 57 migrant
construction workers
from Madhya Pradesh
on the night of April
18 on Ranoli highway
and quarantined
them at Badhala ki
dhani govt school.
Local villagers
came forward and
took care of the food
for the quarantined
workers, The workers
also reciprocated
by building a much
needed kitchen in
the school building.
Some villagers and the
local SHO contributed
towards the building
material.
Rohit Kumar Singh
DB Gupta
First India News
Jaipur. PWD has de-
cided to turn the modi-
fied lockdown into an
opportunity to rejuve-
nate the life of workers
dependent on the de-
partment. It has started
work on 33 road projects
in 10 districts providing
work to almost 1200
workers.
State govt has per-
mitted many industrial
units to start produc-
tion during the modi-
fied guidelines. Deputy
CM Sachin Pilot, who
also holds the PWD
portfolio, instructed
ACS Veenu Gupta and
other senior officers to
take up 2678 projects in
a planned manner pro-
viding maximum em-
ployment to the work-
ers. Veenu Gupta along
with Chief Engineer
Sunil Gupta have
planned construction
of 8590 Kms of road pro-
jects worth Rs 3700
crore. This includes 13
projects of 212 Kms of
national highway roads
worth Rs 1056 crore and
9 projects of Central
road fund worth 423
crore.
NABARD has already
sanctioned Rs 383 crore
under Rural Infrastruc-
ture Development Fund
Scheme to take up 2252
Kms of road construc-
tion. This will have
roads connecting vil-
lages to the highways
and improving the vil-
lage network itself.
Apart from this the PM
rural road connect
scheme too has 243
works worth Rs 1143
crore already sanc-
tioned.
Pilot emphasized on
all precautionary meas-
ures like washing
hands repeatedly and
wearing masks while
working.
PWD to provide employment to almost 1200 workers
SILVER LINING
HOW MANY AND WHERE?
—PHOTOBYSUNILSHARMA
—PHOTOBYMUKESHKIRADOO
—Pic for representation purpose only
Pigeons ﬂock outside Amer Fort during lockdown.
Migrant workers from MP working while serving quarantine.

You cannot travel the path
until you have become
the path itself. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
PERSPECTIVEJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
G Vol 1 G Issue No. 322 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
FEWER KITS IN
HAND BUT THE
FIGHT IS ON
s coronavirus cases in India
neared the 30,000 mark, the
rapid testing kits remained a
debatable issue. After com-
plaints from states about the
Chinese kits giving faulty results, the In-
dian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
told them to stop using those kits. About
6.5 lakh rapid testing kits were imported
from Chinese companies Guangzhou
Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diag-
nostics. They are called rapid kits since
they give the results in 30 minutes. Ini-
tially, ICMR had suspended the use of kits
for two days. After ICMR’s centres carried
out validation tests the objections by
states were found to be true. Now ICMR
wants the kits to be returned.
This has raised two issues. One, the number
of Covid-19 tests being carried out suffered a
setback. As it is, given the population size the
number of tests being done is perceived below.
The ICMR, however, disagrees. One study said
that on April 19, 27, 824 samples were tested of
1,134 were found to be positive. Cumulatively,
over 4 lakh samples had been tested until that
date and five lakh tests by April 22. Dr Raman
Gangakhedkar, ICMR’s head of Epidemiology
and Communicable Diseases was quoted as
saying sometime back “…we are conducting
24 tests out of which one comes out to be posi-
tive. Also, we have a huge population and not
all people belong to vulnerable groups. Hence
can’t say our testing ratio is low”.
India now intends to scale up testing to
one lakh daily. Union health minister
Harsh Vardhan recently said India will
be able to make its own rapid test kits by
May as all processes were in an advanced
stage and production will begin after
ICMR approval. Once these kits are ready
the country would be able to carry out
100,000 tests covering a bigger section of
the population daily.
The second issue that has come up is Chi-
na’s response to the rejection of its testing
kits. While the health ministry says that the
country won’t lose a rupee if the kits are re-
turned to suppliers, the Chinese embassy in
New Delhi voiced “deep concern” with ICMR
decisions and evaluation results. It also said
that the kits had ICMR’s approval. After the
National Institute of Virology’s validation,
the kits were found to be satisfactory, the em-
bassy claimed. Wondfo rejected the charge of
supplying faulty vaccines and blamed the
timing of tests for the variations.
This leaves us at a critical juncture.
Fewer rapid testing kits mean fewer tests
at a time when a huge percentage of cases
are asymptomatic. In Maharashtra 80 per-
cent of cases are said to be asymptomatic,
those who are infected but do not show
symptoms. In Rajasthan, where around
70,000 tests had been done until a few days
ago, the government is apprehensive of
asymptomatic patients. Hopefully, lock-
down will keep the virus in check.
IN-DEPTH
A black swan incident leaves its
mark and impact. Corona is
one such incident. This pan-
demic will bring another eco-
nomic pandemic that shall im-
pact the economies of various
countries. The pandemic has
affected Dharavi and Bucking-
ham Palace equally. Recession
is an outcome of war or busi-
ness cycles or risky uncertain-
ties like a pandemic. Probably
such incidents happen to pro-
vide sustainability to our mad-
ness towards the growth rush.
SPREAD OF RECESSION
Developed and developing
countries shall be equally af-
fected badly as a consequence
of COVID-19. The Indian econ-
omy is no exception to it. The
aviation sector, rail transport,
bus transport, shipping, the
auto sector, textile, solar power,
electric good industry, domes-
tic and international tourism,
pharmaceuticals, domestic
trade, MSMEs, etc. shall be se-
verely affected by falling of de-
mand and shrinking propensi-
ty to consume.
CIRCULAR
CONSTELLATION OF
RECESSION
The world will be caught in a
circular constellation or a vi-
cious circle of recession. A vi-
cious circle is one in which
cause is the effect and vice
versa. The unorganized sec-
tor’s business is closed. The
huge working population is
unemployed which will cause
low income thereby low pur-
chasing power leading to de-
mand goods and services (ex-
cept the pressure of demand
for essential goods). This will
further cause low production
leading to low income and
thereby low level of purchas-
ing power. So low purchasing
power which is a cause of re-
cession is the final effect too.
So there shall be needed to
break through this vicious cir-
cle at any point by bailouts and
welfare schemes or monetary
and fiscal stimulations and
booster dozes to the various
sectors of the economy. Bottle-
necks have to be faced not only
from demand-side but from the
supply side too.
DECOUPLING IS NOT
POSSIBLE
Aftertheestablishmentof WTO
in1995dependencyof onecoun-
try over other countries has tre-
mendously increased. No coun-
try can remain in isolation after
joining the globalization band-
wagon. China missed it in 1995
so realized later that trade isola-
tion is harmful and was com-
pelled to join WTO in 2001. In
2008 the world had faced a glob-
al recession due to the sub-
prime crises and countries have
witnessed that the decoupling
theory fails to work as the world
is more interdependent today.
NEED OF THE HOUR
In the present scenario, the
high growth rate or a high
GDP growth rate are not the
priorities. GDP at current
prices and overall growth rate
is bound to fall in this era. But
the priority is to create alter-
native employment opportuni-
ties, giving broad and selective
bailouts, effective PDS, cash
transfers without leakages,
food security, combating
hoarding, expanding coverage
of MGNREGA, old age pen-
sion distribution, etc. Relax-
ing labour market regulations,
creating for lost activity, curb-
ing trade through protection-
ism improving propensity to
spend, initiating the process
of reconstruction is the prior-
ity of the present era.
COMBATING STRATEGY
The world is already in reces-
sion.Theworldisfacingadouble
whammy of demand and supply
shocks. Lending will freeze eve-
rywhere which will restrict pro-
duction and disrupt the global
value chain. The oil collapse is a
further blow. The problem will
spread in the banking system
with NPAs proliferating.
As per the UN trade report,
developing countries would re-
quire a relief package of
around 187 lakh crore. Devel-
oped countries will have less
investment by 225 lakh crore.
The reconstruction process has
to be started by International
organizations. Developed and
developing countries will have
to devise their monetary and
fiscal measures in such a man-
ner that the problem may get
hit from various angles. At the
national level Reserve Bank of
India has already begun to
make recession combating
strategies by reducing CRR,
repo and reserve repo, interest
rate structure, deferment of
EMIs and moratorium period,
etc. RBI is devising a strategy
of an easy monetary policy to
confront recession. RBI has
propagated zero-interest loans
to boost investment thereby
business activity and employ-
ment generation in the econo-
my. These measures will bring
liquidity and credit expansion
in the economy. Not only quan-
titative monetary measures
but qualitative monetary meas-
ures are being taken by RBI
which will boost economic ac-
tivity in India in a long way. It
is suggested that RBI must of-
fer a Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV) loans as a qualitative
monetary measure to get rid of
recession and expanding credit
in the desired direction.
KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS
Fiscal measures will go a long
way in this crisis. During Wall
Street Crisis the British econo-
mist John Maynard Keynes
worked on fiscal stimulant
through his pump-priming
strategy of deficit financing
which made the collapsing
economy of Great Britain alive.
Tax concession, subsidies, defi-
cit financing, good governance,
increasingpublicspending,and
a mixed blend of easy monetary
policy worked very well in com-
bating Wall Street Crisis.
Govt of India must also cre-
ate alternative employment for
people by expanding frontiers
of MGNREGA, increasing pub-
lic spending, tax ease, invest-
ment-oriented monetary meas-
ures will help the Indian econ-
omy to conduct corona induced
recession. It is suggested that
Govt. of India must bring
amendments to the FRBM Act.
In, 2003 it restricts the govern-
ment to increase the deficit as
a percentage of GDP. FRBM
Act only allows 0.5 deficit in ad-
dition to the prescribed range
during severe stress but Cov-
id-19 stress is so severe and re-
quires amendment in FRBM
provision.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
COMBATING CORONA
INDUCED RECESSION
A
The world will
be caught in a
circular
constellation or
a vicious circle
of recession. A
vicious circle is
one in which
cause is the
effect and vice
versa. The
unorganized
sector’s business
is closed. The
huge working
population is
unemployed
which will
cause low
income thereby
low purchasing
power leading
to demand
goods and
services (except
the pressure of
demand for
essential goods)
PROF. ND
MATHUR
The writer is a Director, School of
Humanities and Social Sciences
Manipal University, Jaipur
outh Korea ex-
perienced one
of the world’s
largest initial
outbreaks of
COVID-19 outside China.
But, unlike the United
States and many European
countries, we have been
able to contain and drasti-
cally reduce the spread of
the virus, at least so far –
and without imposing a
nationwide lockdown. Our
response may provide in-
sights that can help other
governments and civil-so-
ciety groups working to
combat the pandemic.
SO, HOW DID WE DO IT?
As is widely known, South
Korea’s government fo-
cused on aggressive testing
and contact tracing to con-
tain community transmis-
sion, and established a
strict triage system to pro-
tect health-care workers.
But testing and tracing
alone did not stop the
spread of the virus. The
country’s civil society – in-
cluding non-governmental
organizations and trade un-
ions – played a critical role
by monitoring the situation
closely, helping to hold the
authorities accountable,
and reaching the most vul-
nerable social groups.
The government pro-
cured high-quality diagnos-
tic kits based on a tightly
coordinated transfer of
public-fundedtechnologyto
private manufacturers, and
quickly established a mass
testing system in which
public-health centers
played a central part. These
earlyinterventionspaidoff:
the country now has more
than 600 testing sites, in-
cluding 80 drive-through
centers, capable of testing a
total of 20,000 people per
day. Moreover, individuals
with suspected COVID-19
symptoms and contact his-
tory are legally entitled to
be tested free of charge.
Each time a new case
was identified, local gov-
ernments used contact
tracing to quarantine po-
tential carriers and pub-
licly disclosed their indi-
vidual travel histories in
order to inform nearby
residents of their potential
exposure. This helped to
contain infection clusters.
And the triage system in
hospitals helped to prevent
patients with severe symp-
toms from indiscriminate-
ly infecting health-care
workers and other patients.
For contact tracing, the
authorities relied on mo-
bile-phoneGPSdata,credit-
card transaction records,
and CCTV footage. While
this use of personal data is
legal in South Korea and
proved effective in combat-
ing the virus, it also raised
significant privacy con-
cerns. Over the last two
months, some patients
whose detailed travel his-
tory was made public have
been blamed, as if they had
recklessly put others at risk
of infection. The country’s
National Human Rights
Commission and advocacy
organizations have called
for an appropriate balance
betweenprotectingthepub-
lic and respecting individu-
al rights, and this debate
continues today.
Trade unions, NGOs,
and the public were also
instrumental in pushing
the government to protect
vulnerable citizens, re-
spect their basic human
rights, and address the
deeply rooted inequalities
highlighted by social-dis-
tancing measures.
Many low-wage workers,
for example, could not work
remotely or take paid leave
to support themselves and
their families. A call center
in southwest Seoul, where
workerswerecrammedinto
asmall,poorlyventilatedof-
fice, emerged as one of the
country’s biggest COVID-19
clusters. And one delivery
worker died on the job, col-
lapsing from exhaustion
because of the huge in-
crease in online orders.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATECOM
How South Korea stopped COVID-19 early
S
South Korea’s
civil-society
organisations
played a critical
role by monitoring
the situation
closely, helping to
hold the authorities
accountable
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Women in Odisha have shown
exemplary grit and determination
and are playing a crucial role in the
fight against #COVID-19. Salute our
#NariShakti for their #IspatiIrada
for a happier and healthier
Odisha. #OdishaFightsCorona
#IndiaFightsCorona
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Fulfilling dreams of North East
India: 100 meter high & 555 meter
long bridge over river Makru
in Manipur will enable smooth
movement of passenger & freight
traffic. The bridge will enhance
connectivity to the State & boost
development in the region.

INDIAJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
New Delhi: Delhi High
Court has granted in-
terim bail to an under-
trial prisoner, who was
facing charges includ-
ing cheating, forgery
and criminal intimida-
tion, etc, on medical
grounds during the on-
going coronavirus cri-
sis.
Justice Sanjeev Sach-
deva, after hearing the
submissions, on Mon-
day granted interim
bail to accused Yashpal
Uppal for 45 days on
condition of him fur-
nishing a personal bond
of Rs 50,000. “Keeping
in view of the facts and
circumstances and also
the present pandemic
situation in the country
and the medical condi-
tion of the petitioner,
petitioner is granted
interim bail for a peri-
od of 45 days on his fur-
nishing a personal bond
in the sum of Rs. 50,000
to the satisfaction of
the Superintendent
Jail,” the court said.
The court also im-
posed a condition that
the petitioner shall
duly surrender to the
concerned Superinten-
dent Jail on the expiry
of the period of 45 days
of his release.
Counsel for the peti-
tioner told the court
that petitioner is dia-
betic and a patient of
hypertension and re-
cently one of his
thumbs had been ampu-
tated on account of the
illness. The lawyer said
that the petitioner is at
high-risk in view of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The person is facing
trial under Sections 420
(cheating, dishonestly
inducing delivery of
property), 448 (house-
trespass), 468(forgery
for cheating), 506 (crim-
inal intimidation, 120B
of the IPC. —ANI
HC grants bail to man facing cheating charges
LEGAL EAGLE
COVID UPDATE
New Delhi: Eighty dis-
tricts of the country
have reported no COV-
ID-19 cases over the last
7 days, Union Health
Minister Dr Harsh Var-
dhan informed on
Tuesday.
The Union Minister,
through video confer-
encing, interacted with
autonomous institutes
and public sector units
(PSUs)underthedepart-
ment of biotechnology.
“No fresh case has been
reported in 80 districts
since last 7 days. In 47
districts, no case has
been reported in the last
14 days, while 39 dis-
tricts have not reported
a case since the last 21
days.Seventeendistricts
have not reported a case
for last 28 days,” he said.
While300districtsare
non-hotspots, 129 dis-
tricts with significant
COVID-19 cases have
been declared as hot-
spots, the Union Minis-
terinformed.In the past
24 hours, no fresh case
has been reported from
16 districts. As India
battles COVID-19, coro-
navirus cases on Tues-
day soared to 29,435,
including 21,632 active
cases, 6869 cured/dis-
charged patients and
934 deaths. —ANI
‘No case in 80 dists in last 7 days’
Shiv Sena
seeks financial
aid for states
Mumbai: TheShivSena
demanded that the Cen-
tre declare a financial
package for states from
10 % of the country’s
GDP like several west-
ern countries to deal
with the situation aris-
ing out of COVID-19
lockdown.
In its mouthpiece
‘Saamna’, Shiv Sena
cited NCP chief Sharad
Pawar’s letter to PM
Modi in which the lead-
er sough financial pack-
age for Maharashtra
and said that the Centre
should take “financial
guardianship of states
at this hour”. It high-
lighted that almost all
states including Maha-
rashtra are under heavy
loan burden so the Un-
ion government should
take a loan and distrib-
ute it to states instead of
states left to borrow.the
Shiv Sena said: “The
Centre should declare a
package for states from
10 per cent of the coun-
try’s gross domestic
product (GDP) as sever-
al western countries
have done.” —ANI
Rules issued to import remains of patients
New Delhi: The Centre
has assured Delhi HC
that the Standard Oper-
ating Procedures
(SOPs) have been is-
sued by it in the form of
detailed guidelines for
importation of human
remains related to
COVID-19.
The court was hear-
ing a plea seeking di-
rection to repatriate
the mortal remains of a
person who died in the
UAE. Justice Sanjiv
Sachdeva heard the
matter through video
conferencing on Mon-
day and allowed the pe-
titioner to withdraw
the plea after Counsel
for the petitioner sub-
mitted that with the in-
tervention of Central
and Uttarakhand gov-
ernment and with the
efforts of Roshan Ra-
turi, Social Worker at
the UAE, the mortal
remains of the brother
of the petitioner
reached Delhi on Mon-
day morning and were
transported to Uttara-
khand where the de-
ceased’s last rites were
performed. —ANI
AirIndia,Navyonstandbyforevacuation
Dubai: India’snational
carrier Air India and
Indian Navy have been
asked to be on standby
with their aircraft and
warships for the mass
evacuation of Indians
from Gulf countries as
the Covid-19 pandemic
continues.
“We are assessing
the scenario and find-
ing the plan to evacu-
ate Indians from the
Gulf countries. We
have asked Air India
and Indian Navy for
thedetailedevacuation
plan,” top government
sources said.
Amid the coronavi-
russcare,thousandsof
Indianshaveexpressed
willingness to come
back to India from the
Gulf countries,butdue
tosuspensionof airop-
erations and other
modes of travel, they
have been stuck there.
In response to the
report, Consul Gener-
al of India to Dubai
Vipul told Khaleej
Times, “We are still
waiting for official
confirmation from
Delhi on this matter.
The mode of evacua-
tion will be decided by
the government of In-
dia and I am sure that
Air India will be in-
volved as well.” —ANI
New guidelines for
mild-symptom
patients at home
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry has
come up with guide-
lines for home isolation
of people who either
have very mild corona-
virus symptoms or are
in the pre-symptomatic
phase. At present in In-
dia all suspected cases
are quarantined in a
hospital setting.
“As per existing
guidelines, during the
containment phase, the
patients should be clini-
cally assigned as very
mild/mild, moderate or
severe and accordingly
admitted to COVID
Care Centre, Dedicated
COVID Health Centre
or Dedicated COVID
Hospital, respectively,”
the ministry said in its
new guidelines.
“However, very mild/
pre-symptomatic pa-
tients having the requi-
site facility at his/her
residence for self-isola-
tion will have the op-
tion for home isola-
tion,” it said.
The patient should be
clinically assigned as a
very mild case or pre-
symptomatic case by
the treating medical of-
ficer. The Guidelines
say, the patient should
regularly inform his
health status to the dis-
trict surveillance offic-
er for urther follow up.
The care giver and
all close contacts of
such individuals should
take Hydroxychloro-
quine as a preventive
medication according
to the protocol and as
prescribed by the treat-
ing medical officer.
The home isolation
will end when symp-
toms are clinically re-
solved. —ANI
Keeping in
view of the
facts, current
scenario and medical
condition of the peti-
tioner, the petitioner is
granted interim bail
for a period of 45 days.
—Sanjeev Sachdev,
Justice, Delhi HC
GHMC workers take an oath to protect the public in Hyderabad.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan holds a review meeting via video conference with LG-Delhi, Delhi Health Minister, MCD
Commissioners, DMs and DCPs of all districts of Delhi on Tuesday., as Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey looks on. — PHOTO BY ANI
UP CM ADITYANATH CHAIRS
COVID-19 REVIEW MEET
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath
chaired a meeting with ‘COVID-19 management
Team-11’ regarding the prevailing coronavirus
situation in the state. According to the data of
the Ministry of Health, till 11:55 am today, there
are 1,955 coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh
including 31 deaths.
‘YSRCP, RESPONSIBLE FOR
COVID-19 SURGE IN ANDHRA’
Amaravati: TDP chief
N Chandrababu Naidu
accused Jagan Mohan
Reddy-led Andhra
Pradesh government
and SEC of causing a
nonstop rise in corona-
virus cases in the state.
In an open letter to the
people of Andhra h,
Naidu appealed them to protect themselves by
personally taking all possible preventive measures
. Alleging that the situation deteriorated ever since
SEC gave a call for election preparedness despite
nationwide lockdown, he said: “The YSRCP lead-
ers began holding rallies, crowd based gatherings
and door delivery of benefits. Such open viola-
tions of lockdown coupled with failure of official
machinery led to the present nonstop rise in
COVID-19 cases in the state.”
TREAT COVID-19 AS
OPPORTUNITY: PRASAD
16-YR-OLD IS ASSAM’S
YOUNGEST PATIENT
New Delhi: Minister for Electronics and IT
Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked state gov-
ernments to treat COVID-19 pandemic as
an opportunity & prepare for the forthcom-
ing boom in the electronics manufacturing
sector. The comments of the minister came
at a meeting with his state counterparts
where he said that “anger against China
can be used towards benefit for India’s
manufacturing sector”. During his in-
teraction with state CMs, IT
ministers& officials, Prasad
claimed that major opportu-
nity in electronic
manufacturing
sector is likely
to open up for
India soon.
Dispur : Assam Health Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma on said that a secondary
contact of a Markaz attendee has tested
COVID-19 positive in the state. “Alert ~ A
16-year-old girl from Salmara Bongaingaon,
secondary contact of a Markaz attendee,
has tested COVID-19 positive. The number
of COVID-19 patients in Assam now stands
at 36. However active hospital cases are 8,”
Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
NITI AAYOG SEALED, AS
EMPLOYEE TESTS POSITIVE
New Delhi: A NITI Aayog employee was tested
positive for COVID-19 after which its building
here has been sealed as a precautionary meas-
ure. “An employee working at NITI Bhavan has
been detected positive with COVID-19. It was
informed to authorities. NITI Aayog is follow-
ing all the due protocols necessary as per the
Ministry of Health guidelines. The building has
been sealed,” the Aayog tweeted. “Disinfection
and sanitisation of the building are underway.
Contacts of the single COVID-positive person
have been asked to go on self-quarantine.”
MAKING PEOPLE AWARE...
A mannequin
based coronavirus
set-up on a
vehicle ply on
road to spread
awareness to
commuters during
the nationwide
lockdown to
curb the spread
of COVID19, in
Bhubaneswar on
Tuesday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
While 300 districts are non-hotspots, 129 districts with COVID-19 cases have been declared as hotspots, Health Min informed

INDIAJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
PMO WON’T HAVE SECRETARY?
There are indications that now PMO will not have
a regular Secretary. Presently, PMO is having two
retired Secretaries as Advisors to PM. They are
Amarjeet Sinha and Bhaskar Khulbe.
IFS OFFICERS POSTING FILE
CLEARED?
If sources are to be believed, the PMO has
reportedly cleared the transfers and postings file
of about half a dozen IFS officers. It is said that
about half a dozen IFS officers likely to get new
postings including in UK, EU, Austria , Finland
and UN Rep at Geneva.
GAITRI ISSAR KUMAR LIKELY TO
BE INDIA’S NEXT HIGH
COMMISSIONER TO UK
Gaitri Issar Kumar, India’s Ambassador to
European Union, is likely to be appointed as next
High Commissioner to United Kingdom. She is an
Indian Foreign Service officer of 1986 batch.
SANTOSH JHA TO BE INDIAN
AMBASSADOR TO BRUSSELS ?
Santosh Jha, currently India’s envoy to Uz-
bekistan, is likely to be appointed India’s new
Ambassador in Brussels.
WHO WILL BE NEW DG OF ITBP ?
In case SS Deswal moves to the BSF, who will
succeed him as DG of ITBP. Tie is said to be
between two 1986 batch IPS officers, Jyotirmoy
Chakravarty and MA Gnapathy.
THREE IRS - IT OFFICERS
TRANSFERRED
Three IRS-IT officers - Prashant Bhushan of
1988 batch, Sanjay Bahadur of 1989 batch and
Prakash Dube of 2001 batch – have been trans-
ferred. It is said they reportedly suggested to im-
pose additional taxes on rich and a 4% Covid-19
cess on taxable income of over Rs 10 lakh.
GANGADHAR PANDA RETURNS
TO PARENT CADRE
Upon return from deputation, Gangadhar Panda
has been appointed as CIT (OSD) in the office of
Pr CCIT Delhi Region. He is an IRS-IT officer.
CADRE OF NEHA YADAV
TRANSFERRED TO
ASSAM-MEGHALAYA
The cadre of Neha Yadav has been transferred
from Tamil Nadu to Assam-Meghalaya on the
grounds of marriage to Mridul Yadav, an IAS offi-
cer of 2017 batch. She is a 2019 batch IAS officer.
TENURE OF DAYAL AND DR NANDA
ON HUDCO BOARD ENDS
The tenure of Pratima Dayal and Dr SK Nanda as
Part time Non-Official (Independent) Directors on
the Board of HUDCO has come to an end.
TWO SECRETARY EQUIVALENT
OFFICERS TO RETIRE ON APRIL 30
Two officials equivalent to Secretary will retire by
this month end. They are N Sivasailam Special
Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Preetam
Singh Secretary, National Commission for Sched-
uled Castes M/o Social Justice & Empowerment.
DDG PRASAR BHARTI GETS ONE
YEAR EXTENSION
Col Vijay Kumar Shad, DDG (Admn) in Prasar Bharati,
has been given extension in his deputation tenure
for one year w e f June 11, 2020. Col Shad is from
Military Services Branch.
JS LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT PREETI
SRIVASTAVA TO RETIRE
Joint Secretary in Lok Sabha Secretariat Preeti
Srivastava is retiring by this month end.
SADHU NARASIMHA REDDY JOINS AP
GOVT ON DEPUTATION
Sadhu Narasimha Reddy, presently Additional Com-
missioner of GST and Central Excise, Visakhapatnam,
has joined the Government of Andhra Pradesh on
deputation. He is a 2006 batch IRS-C&CE officer.
POWERGallery
Never tried...
“We took all the correct
steps. We did maxi-
mum number of tests.
You will see that death
rate is minimum (1.7
per cent) in our state
while the national aver-
age is 3.3”.
He said that Rajas-
than was ahead of the
national average in oth-
er aspects also. “The
doubling rate of corona-
virus cases in Rajas-
than is more than any
other state. It is 11 in
our state while five in
Gujarat and seven in
Uttar Pradesh. The na-
tional average is nine
days. The recovery rate
is also better in compar-
ison of other states,”
Gehlot said. He said in
Rajasthan 88,000 people
have been tested so far,
whereby the state’’s
rate of testing is 1,174
people per 10 lakh of
population while the
national ratio is 450
tests per 10 lakh people
and in UP this ratio is
234 tests per 10 lakh.
Gehlot also said his
government had been
efficient in handling
the migrant labourers
and students from other
states who are stranded
in Rajasthan as well as
those from the state
who are stuck in other
parts of the country
due to the lockdown.
“From Monday we
have started the regis-
tration process of mi-
grant labourers and
students from Rajas-
than who are stranded
in other states, and
those who belong to oth-
er states and want to go
back.” He said that on
the first day around
1,60,000 people from dif-
ferent states registered
including 56,000 who
belong to different
states and want to go
back.
“I never tried to take
credit individually. Ev-
eryone deserves praise
be it the common man,
social or political activ-
ists or social and reli-
gious organizations,”
he said. The CM said
that given the social
and geographical situa-
tion of Rajasthan, he is
satisfied with the work
done so far. “We are do-
ing 5,000 tests daily now.
We have already or-
dered COBASS 8800 ma-
chines from the USA
and will get them deliv-
ered by the end of May.
It will enable us to in-
crease the number of
tests by four to five
thousand daily.” Refus-
ing to predict when the
health crisis would end
and normalcy would re-
turn, Gehlot said some
experts had said the
pandemic-induced situ-
ation may drag on till
June or July.
“As far as lifting the
lockdown is concerned,
we have initiated a
‘’modified lockdown’’
from April 20. Under
this 7,000 small, medi-
um and big units across
288 places have been re-
started and more than
50,000 labourers are
back to work,” he said.
“Countries like USA,
France, and Germany
have announced hefty
packages to deal with
this crisis. Some have
declared to allocate 12
percent while some are
contributing 15 percent
of their GDP but in In-
dia the centre so far has
not given even one per-
cent of GDP,” he said.
On the World Day for
Safety and Health at
Work CM Ashok Gehlot
said that everyone
should take care of per-
sonal hygiene and wash
their hands regularly
while ensuring that
they wear masks. “Our
safety at work place is
our responsibility. Take
care of yourself and of
your co-workers.
The Chief Minister
also said that the recov-
ery rate of Covid-19 pa-
tients in Rajasthan is
better. “it is all due to
the hard work and com-
mitment of our doc-
tors, health workers
and cleanliness work-
ers. I pray that all the
patients across the na-
tion recover soon and
stay healthy,” he said.
Meanwhile due to
the ongoing efforts of
Gehlot, 40 buses carry-
ing stranded individu-
als from various states
entered from Rajas-
than-MP border and
headed to various
cities —PTI
FROM PG 1
BJPhelpingloandefaulters:CongNew Delhi: The Con-
gress on Tuesday,
slammed the govern-
ment for writing off
loans of top fifty wilful
defaulters to the tune of
Rs 68,607 crore, saying
the government and the
Finance Minister
should come clean on it.
Congress charged the
BJP with helping the
defaulters. “Till April
24, Rs 68,607 crore have
been written off by the
government.
The PM can not evade
this question by keep-
ing silent,” said Con-
gress Chief spokesper-
son Randeep Surjewala.
The Congress said
Rahul Gandhi had
asked this question in
Parliament, but the gov-
ernment did not re-
spond. “But now an RTI
has revealed the magni-
tude of the waiver,” he
said.
“As much as Rs 8,048
crore have been written
off of Mahul Choksi
and Nirav Modi. Anoth-
er diamond merchant
Jatin Mehta’s Rs 6,048
crore too have been
written off, and so is the
case with Kingfisher’s
Vijay Mallya. Similar is
the case with the rela-
tions of these default-
ers,” said Surjewala.
The Congress said
the “Jan-Dhan Gaban
Yojna cannot go with-
out knowledge of the
govt’s top echelon.
Two militants killed
in Shopian, ops on
Srinagar: Two mili-
tants have been killed
in ongoing encounter
which broke between
goverment forces and
militants in Melhora
Area of Zainapora in
South Kashmir’s Shop-
ian District on Tuesday.
two militants were
killed in a gunfight.
However identity of the
slain militant is yet to
be ascertained as opera-
tion is still underway
Ajoint team of Police
and army’s 55 RR
launched cordon and
search operation in
Melhora.
As the joint team of
forces approached to-
wards the suspected
spot, the hiding mili-
tants fired upon them,
triggering an encoun-
ter. —Agencies
‘BringouttruthinSadhus’murder’
New Delhi: Congress
General Secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
has lashed out at the
UP government for de-
teriorating law & order
situation, rise of crime
and murder of two
saints in Bulandshahr
on Tuesday.
She said, “Today in
Bulandshahr, two sad-
hus were murdered
while they were sleep-
ing. The truth must
come out after investi-
gation in this heinous
crime and at this stage
no body should politi-
cize this issue.”
“In UP before April
15, about 100 people
have been murdered.
Three days back in
Etah, five of a Pachauri
family have been killed
so mysteriously that no
body knew what has
happened,” she added.
She urged the UP
government for fair
probeto bring out the
truth behind the mur-
ders as it is the state
government’’s respon-
sibility. Two sadhus
were found mur-
dered inside
a Shiva
temple at
Pagona vil-
lage of Bu-
landshahr
district in
on Tues-
day.
Sensex jumps
371 pts, Nifty
tops 9,300
Mumbai: Extending its
gains for the second ses-
sion, equity benchmark
Sensex jumped 371
points on Tuesday driv-
en by aggressive buying
in financial stocks amid
hopes of another stimu-
lus package by the gov-
ernment.
After a volatile ses-
sion, the 30-share BSE
gauge settled 371.44
points or 1.17 per cent
higher at 32,114.52. It hit
an intra-day high of
32,199.91 and a low of
31,661.34.
Similarly, the NSE
Nifty advanced 98.60
points, or 1.06 per cent,
to close at 9,380.90.
IndusInd Bank was
the top gainer in the
Sensex pack, rallying
over 15%, followed by
Bajaj Finance, HDFC,
Axis Bank, ICICI Bank,
Sun Pharma, Nestle In-
dia, NTPC, HCL Tech
and Bajaj Auto were
among the laggards.
RBI’s massive liquid-
ity booster to the mu-
tual fund industry con-
tinued to spur buying in
financial stocks, trad-
ers said. —Agencies
VHP HOLDS ‘SATVIK PROTEST’
New Delhi: The Vish-
wa Hindu Parishad of-
ferred ‘shraddhanjali’
or last respects on Tues-
day evening to the de-
ceased sants who lost
their lives in Shiv Sena
ruled Maharashtra’’s
Palghar. However, it re-
mained mum on the
murder of two seers
in BJP-ruled Bu-
landshahr district.
VHP Secretary
General Milind
Parande offerred
‘’shradhanjali’’ by
lighting a lamp at 7
p.m. at the
VHP head-
quarters
in Delhi’’s RK Puram. A
message from the VHP
says this is “to pay trib-
ute to the immortal
souls of the revered
saints and their driver”.
Other senior mem-
bers of the organiza-
tion also participated in
the event, which was-
claimed to be brief and
keeping social distanc-
ing norms in mind.
The Hindu Dharma
Acharya Sabha and the
VHP had jointly given a
call for a ‘’Satvik Pro-
test’’ on Tuesday in re-
membrance of the vic-
tims of the Palghar
lynching. —Agencies
BOOK KILLERS: THACKERAY TO YOGI
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra CM Uddhav Thack-
eray called up UP CM
Yogi Adityanath &
urged him to take strin-
gent action against
those involved in the
killing of two sadhus in
Bulandshahr. “I called
up the UP CM and ex-
pressed concern over
the brutal killings to-
day. We are all with the
(Uttar Pradesh) gov-
ernment in tackling
such heinous crimes,”
said Thackeray.
He pointed out that
on April 16, a similar
incident of two sadhus
and their driver being
lynched had taken place
in Palghar in which the
Maharashtra govern-
ment had initiated
strong action. “We are
hoping that you will fol-
low suit and give strong-
est punishment to the
accused in the (Buland-
shahr)incident,”Thack-
eray said.
YOGI TO INTERACT WITH
STUDENTS FROM KOTA
UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath will
hold a vc with stu-
dents, who were
brought back to their
homes from Kota, on
Tuesday evening, an
official said. Accord-
ing to the spokes-
man, the Chief Min-
ister will enlighten
the students about
safety protocols pre-
scribed to combat the
deadly virus. More
than 7,500 students
who were brought
back to the state from
Kota about a week
ago, have been placed
in 14-day quarantine
in their homes. Yogi
is also expected to ap-
praise the students
of online classes and
inquire about their
studies. —Agencies
Rs 8,048 cr
have been
written off of
Mehul Choksi & Nirav
Modi.Diamond mer-
chant Jatin Mehta’s Rs
6, 048 cr have been
written off.
—Randeep Surjewala,
Cong Chief Spokesperson
Uddhav Thackeray
Priyanka Gandhi
Jitin Prasada
demands Yogi’’s
resignation
New Delhi: After two
Sadhus were found mur-
dered in Bulandshahr the
Congress has attacked the
CM for deteriorating law
and order situation in the
state. Congress Working
Committee member and
former Union Minister Ji-
tin Prasada has demand-
ed the resignation of Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The murder of the two
Sadhus came after a fam-
ily of five have been found
dead under mysterious
circumstances.
Ashok Gehlot
@ashokgehlot51
Condemn the brutal
murder of two sad-
hus in UP’s #Buland-
shahr in a temple.
There should be an
inquiry & the culprits
must be given harsh-
est punishment
Indigenous
testing...
China also claimed that
the statement made by
ICMR is an example of
‘prejudice’. Ji, however,
did not clarify who are
the individuals she was
referring to. At the
same time, the spokes-
person said China will
continue to support In-
dia’s fight against the
pandemic and will
jointly work with New
Delhi to overcome the
challenge “at an early
date” to protect people
of the two countries
from the infection. —PTI
`68K cr loans...
which have been techni-
cally written off and Ku-
dos Chemie Ltd with Rs
2,326 crore, Ruchi Soya
Industries Limited, now
owned by Ramdev’s Pa-
tanjali, with Rs 2,212
crore and Zoom Devel-
opers Pvt Ltd with Rs
2,012crorebeingtheoth-
er companies. Mallya’s
Kingfisher Airlines fig-
ures in the list at num-
ber 9, with outstanding
of Rs 1943 crore which
have been technically
writtenoff bythebanks.
ForeverPreciousJew-
ellery and Diamonds
Private Limited has
loans of Rs 1,962 crore
written off while Dec-
can Chronicle Holdings
Limited have Rs 1915
crore written off loans.
Choksi’s other firms
Gili India and Naksha-
tra Brands also have
loans of Rs 1,447 and Rs
1109 crore respectively
written off.REI Agro of
Jhunjhunwala brothers
is already under the
scanner of ED. The CBI
and ED are also probing
alleged fraud by the
owners of Winsome Di-
amonds. Vikram
Kothari’sRotomacisthe
fourth in the list. —PTI
‘Plasma therapy...
then it can also cause
life threatening compli-
cations,” said Agarwal.
The official said that
the doubling rate of
coronavirus cases now
stands at 10.2 days.
He further said that
in the last 24 hours,
1,543 new cases of
COVID-19 have been re-
ported, taking the total
cases to 29,435. “6,868
COVID-19 patients,
which is 23.3 per cent of
total cases, have recov-
ered so far,” he added.
FROM PG 1

TALKING POINTJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
Taking a cue from the above, the
government has recently notified
an amendment (2020)to the Rules
to bring all medical devices under a
single regulatory framework. The new
rules are to ensure that all imported, as
well as locally made medical devices,
meet certain quality standards, making
it mandatory for all the devices to get
certified by the Central Drugs Standard
Control Organization (CDSCO), India’s
drug regulatory authority. By the new
definition of medical devices, the Un-
ion Govt expanded the scope of ‘medi-
cal devices’ to include all such devices,
interestingly even a disinfectant has
been included in the new definition of
medical devices.
The Medical Device Rules, 2017,
and the amendment Rules of 2020
have many attractive features that
encourage the medical device sec-
tor in India. By introducing a single
online portal, the registration process
has been streamlined. An audit by the
notified bodies will further increase
the manufacturing quality of devices.
A change in clinical trial requirements
will encourage the innovation of new
medical devices. The regulations
will thus encourage domestic manu-
facturing and increased scrutiny of
Import License documents. However,
there are still some grey areas and
it is important to bring these to the
attention of the stakeholders. They
include rapid testing to probe the risk
associated with devices, securing the
market for domestic manufacturers,
which in turn will increase competi-
tion resultantly bringing down costs
and reduction in imports, separate FDI
Framework for medical device industry
that is independent of regulations
governing the pharmaceutical sec-
tor, penalising frauds exclusively for
medical devices. Mere control through
licensing, testing, and certification
could result in red-tapism, and delays
in the final product reaching the mar-
ket, which could, in turn, lead to a lack
of timely treatment of patients.
Lastly, the industry is surviving a
regulatory vacuum & regular patient
safety concerns. The recent J&J hip
implant frauds and the most recent
ban on Transvaginal Pelvic Mesh by
USFDA due to potent risk to women
made the Indian regulators seri-
ously think to look medical devices
as a different sector altogether. It has
become imperative to have a separate
law as devices are engineering items
and not medicine, continued attempts
to regulate them as drugs are irra-
tional. Separate penal provisions for
the manufacturers or importers for
faulty medical devices having adverse
impacts on patients should be included
in the existing provisions. Separate
legislation for the same would be a
welcome step.
REGULATION OF MEDICAL
DEVICES IN INDIA
Govthasrecentlynotifiedanamendment(2020)totheRulestobringallmedicaldevicesunderasingleregulatory
framework.Therulesensurethatallimported,aswellaslocallymademedicaldevices,meetcertainqualitystandards
Despite such widespread
significance, there
were fundamental and
systematic issues persist-
ing in this industry. The
most common concern is
Device safety and efficacy.
Lack of regulatory sys-
tems with global stand-
ards has put a patient’s
life at stake. Poor device
safety and functionality
have been crucially related
to legislative loopholes
which makes it easy for
device makers to get their
products in the market
before proper testing.
Lack of quality product
testing in India is another
hurdle that results in sub-
standard devices occupy-
ing the market. Rampant
imports at a low cost not
only lead to poor quality
equipment but a big it is
a big impediment to the
domestic manufacturers
as well. The absence of
regulatory oversight and
lack of reporting of failure
of medical devices has
added to the issues sur-
rounding this sector. Other
combinations of issues
include malfunctioning of
the devices, instructions/
labeling/packaging issues,
and lack of understanding
of use related issues. As
we’ve seen, though, each
of these major problems
with the health care device
market has captured the
attention of regulators and
those concerned, the govt
is yet to attain a safer and
more transparent indus-
try. In such a scenario,
proper manufacturing,
regulation, planning,
assessment, acquisition,
management, and use of
medical devices which
are of good quality, safe,
and compatible with the
settings in which they are
used has become quintes-
sential. Indian medical
devices and equipment
sector with the majority
of medical devices sold in
India imported from other
countries (currently 75%)
went unregulated until
the notification of Medi-
cal Devices Rule, 2017
came out. The Indian govt
stepped up and initiated
some reforms for improv-
ing the quality of the
medical device sector. The
CDSCO under the Ministry
of Health regulates the
safety, efficacy, and quality
of notified medical devices
under the provisions of
Drugs and Cosmetics Act,
1940, and the Rules made
thereunder.
ALL MEDICAL DEVICES UNDER SINGLE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
FUNDAMENTAL AND SYSTEMATIC ISSUES
I
n the wake of reports of
faulty test kits and pro-
tective gear purchased
by India from China, In-
dia’s medical device indus-
try has been in limelight
again which can hamper In-
dia’s fight against COVID -19.
In the past too, India has
faced such failures over pa-
tient safety, quality control,
and efficacy of the medical
devices and equipment, be it
Johnson’s and Johnson’s
faulty hip transplants lead-
ing to disabilities in patients
or use of unapproved drug-
eluting cardiac stents threat-
ening cardiac care in India.
At the time when India has
been looking at scaling up
testing and surveillance due
to increased disease burden,
the significance of regula-
tion, and monitoring of med-
ical devices cannot be over-
emphasized.
Medical Devices, in gen-
eral, mean any instrument,
apparatus, implement, ma-
chine, implant, or other to be
used for the specific medical
purposes of diagnosis, pre-
vention. monitoring, treat-
ment, or alleviation of dis-
eases or injuries, supporting
or sustaining lives, control
of conception, replacement,
modification, support or
providing information of
physiological process. Rang-
ing from simple thermome-
ters, stethoscopes and
tongue depressors to com-
plex devices like pacemak-
ers with microchip technol-
ogy, ultrasound, etc., medi-
cal devices are essential for
safe and effective preven-
tion, diagnosis, treatment
and rehabilitation of illness
and disease.
Until recently, the health-
care stakeholders, i.e., doc-
tors, patients, physicians,
employers, insurance com-
panies, pharmaceutical
firms, and government were
focused on the drugs and
other pharmaceuticals.
There was a limited aware-
ness which led to free hands
on the medical devices regu-
lation. Now, India attaches
great significance to medical
devices as they are quintes-
sential to healthcare. The
industry is expected to grow
drastically over the next sev-
eral years amidst the rising
demands, high incomes and
growing middle class, speed
innovation and technology
changes, increased public
health awareness and spend-
ing and government health
initiatives.
In January 2017, the Min-
istry of Health and Family
Welfare released the long-
awaited Medical Device
Rules of 2017, which came
into effect on Jan 1, 2018.
Upon implementation,
these rules replaced the
existing provision regulat-
ing Medical Devices under
the Drugs and Cosmetics
Act (DCA). Prior to imple-
mentation of the Act, the
medical device industry in
India was largely unregulat-
ed, except for a few devices
specifically notified under
DCA. The list of covered
devices was limited (only
15 medical devices were
included), and the DCA
treated these devices as
drugs rather than establish-
ing regulations tailored to
the medical device indus-
try. The implementation
of Medical Devices Rules
2017 attempted to establish
a uniform regime for medi-
cal device manufacturing
and marketing sector and
to bring it at par with the
global standards. It laid
down a risk-based classifi-
cation of medical devices.
The rules notified an in-
creased number of medical
devices to be regulated
and separate provisions for
a clinical trial of medical
devices to access safety,
performance, and efficacy.
Certifying bodies for third
party assessment was also
notified. Strict registration
and licensing norms and
post-market surveillance
to ensure safety, perfor-
mance, and adaptability
of the device were the key
highlights.
Notifying 2017 rules was
a step in the right direc-
tion. However, there still
existed some gaps and
ambiguities. Bringing into
domain larger no of medi-
cal devices was the ultimate
aim with opportunities for
domestic manufacturers to
penetrate into the market.
The pricing of the devices
was still determined by
market forces resulting in
out of pocket expenditures
and poverty shocks. The
country still witnessed
scandals, the biggest of
which was the faulty hip
implant resulting in severe
patient disabilities. Medical
devices outside of these
“notified” device categories,
with unproven designs,
poor quality control, limited
defect traceability, and
inconsistent reliability are
freely circulated in the
market.
UNIFORM REGIME FOR MEDICAL DEVICE INDUSTRY
ADITYA JAIN NEHA
GYAMLANIAdvocate on Record
at Supreme Court
of India
Advocate at Supreme
Court of India
DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

Sometimes you have to draw
from the well of your innermost
strength to get through a single
day, Do it! Every day is worth it!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 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
Rajendra Chhabra
Jaipur: Amid Cov-
id-19 gloom there is a
reason for Rajasthan
torejoice.Recent Sec-
retary level reshuf-
fle done by the Modi
government in Del-
hi has a good news
in form of Rajesh
Verma. The 1987
batch IAS Verma
has been deputed as
Secretary (Corpo-
rate Affairs) in the
coveted Finance
Ministry. Although
Verma is an Odisha
cadre IAS but he basi-
cally hails from Ra-
jasthan.He was born
in Alwar in 1964
and also married in
the state. He has
many relatives re-
siding in Rajasthan.
Apart from this, he
has served the state
on many posts be-
tween 1997-2003
while he was on in-
ter-state deputation.
Verma has emotional
roots in the state
where he was born.
Vermaalsoshares
special bonding
with present ACS
(Finance) of Ra-
jasthan, Niranajan
Arya and therefore
can play an impor-
tant role in safe-
guarding the state’s
interests while delib-
erating from such an
important post. Actu-
ally this becomes all
themoreimportantin
the present scenario.
Itisworthmentioning
that Rajesh Verma be-
forejoininginDelhiin
2019 as Special Secre-
taryinDepartmentof
Agriculture, Coopera-
tion and Farmer Wel-
farehasalsoservedas
Secretary to the Odis-
ha Chief Minister.
Raj’s son of the
soil scores high
in Modi govt
Rajesh Verma
Raj to test corona through
CBNAAT machines: Raghu
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Even as
the Rajasthan Gov-
ernment has been go-
ing all out to bring
back stranded Ra-
jasthanis back to the
home state and in this
regard several initia-
tives have been taken,
but there has been a
twist in the tale. A re-
cent order issued by
the Jalore Collector
has literally become
the bane for thou-
sands of Rajasthanis
stranded in Gujarat,
particularly in
Ahmedabad, Surat,
Rajkot, Vadodara and
Bhavnagar districts.
Collector Himanshu
Gupta has shot a letter
to his counterparts in
these districts which
states, “the districts of
Ahmedabad, Surat, Ra-
jkot, Vadodara and
Bhavnagar have been
labelled as hot-spots of
Covid-19 infection. It is
a request not to provide
permission to any Ra-
jasthani to enter Jalore
district from the afore-
mentioned places.
Kindly ensure that
even if someone has a
pass or not, no person
should enter Jalore
district. No individu-
al will be allowed to
enter Jalore district
from these areas.”
The order, which
raised several eye-
brows falls in line
with the guidelines is-
sued by the Ministry
of HomeAffairswhich
says that those living
in the red zone are not
allowed to leave their
homes and escape to
some other place.
Interestingly, in
context of return of
migrants and strand-
ed Rajasthanis, an en-
vironment of despair
is looming around
such individuals as al-
though the govern-
ment has proclaimed
applications can be
submitted through the
e-mitra app, portal or
through helpline num-
bers, however these
services appear to
have been hit a road-
block as they are not
working. Even the hel-
pline number is non-re-
sponsive creating confu-
sionamongthemigrants
as to what should they
do now!
Jalore Collector bars entry of Rajasthanis from Guj!
CONTRADICTION GALORE!
Vikas Sharma
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
government will use
tuberculosis-detection
machines for corona-
virus testing, Health
Minister Raghu Shar-
ma said. The govern-
ment will test the cor-
onavirus infection
through TB-testing
CBNAAT machines
which will give results
in an hour, he said.
The state does car-
tridge-basednucleicacid
amplification test (CB-
NAAT) for tuberculosis.
Dr Sharma said eight
CBNAATmachineshave
been handed over from
differentdistrictstofour
medical colleges – SMS
Medical College in
Jaipur, SN Medical Col-
lege in Jodhpur, PBM
Hospital in Bikaner and
New Medical College in
Kota – of the state.
These machines can
check a maximum of
four samples at a time,
he said. The minister
said free medicines for
a month will be provid-
ed to all TB patients of
the state.
While talking about
the corona situation
in state, Dr Sharma
expressed happiness
at the containment of
the rate of corona
spread in the state but
also alert for the cur-
rent hotpots. Dr Shar-
ma is personally mon-
itoring the situation
of every district and
is active in formulat-
ing district specific
strategy to contain
the Covid-19 spread.
He said that he was
taking along health, ad-
ministrative and police
personnel to combat co-
rona. He said that the
peoplewhoareviolating
the lockdown or curfew
withoutvalidreasonare
being dealt strictly. The
Health Minister reit-
erated that more tests
will let the real situa-
tion come forth. He
said that at present
the state was testing
6,000 samples every-
day and soon the ca-
pacity will be in-
creased to 10,000 sam-
ples per day. The min-
ister said that state
was able to drastically
contain infection
since April otherwise
by now, the number of
infected would have
been at least 4,500.
Dr Sharma said that
it was the grit and spirit
of the health workers
and the vision of the
state government that
768 positive patients
have turned negative
and as many as 584 have
been discharged. The
recovery of positive
cases in such large
numbers sends out a re-
assuring message to the
people of the state.
Dr Sharma also
briefed about the contin-
uous sampling in Ram-
ganjareaanddoingaway
with the pendency of re-
ports. He was far too
happy with 93,000 tests
done so far which is a re-
cord in the country. The
aggressive sampling
strategyisturningoutto
be a milestone, he said.
Dr Sharma informed
that state has demanded
1,500 ventilators, RNA
extraction and PCR kits
from the Centre.
First India News
Jaipur: The Ra-
jasthan High Court
ordered that the
caste of any person
should not be men-
tioned in any judi-
cial and administra-
tive matter as it was
against the constitu-
tion. The court gave
the direction follow-
ing a controversy trig-
gered by the mention
of caste in a bail order
last week.
In the standing or-
der put on the court
website late on Mon-
day night, the HC is-
sued the direction in
compliance with its
earlier order.
InJuly2018,aperson
named Bishan was not
released on bail by the
jail authorities for five
days despite having
been granted bail by
HC, only because his
caste on the order was
not the same as men-
tioned in the police ar-
rest memo. The court
of Justice Sanjeev
Prakash Sharma had
then observed that
an individual should
not to be identified
by his caste but by
his parentage.
In an order which
was passed earlier this
month by the Ra-
jasthan HC wherein
Court refused to hear
the matter which was
conducted through
video conferencing as
alawyerwhoappeared
was wearing a vest.
When the order was
uploaded, it was seen
thathiscasteappeared
on the side by his
name. Following this,
an advocate had writ-
ten a letter addressed
to CJI complaining in
this regard highlight-
ing the deep-rooted
caste prejudices incor-
porated in a judicial
order.UrgingtheChief
Justice to abolish such
practices, the advocate
said that such practic-
es were against the
principle of equality
incorporated in the In-
dian Constitution.
‘Keepcastenamesout
ofjudicial/admnorders’
Rajasthan Municipal polls
deferred till August 31
First India News
Jaipur: Election
process in Munici-
pal Corporations of
Jaipur, Jodhpur and
Kota has been post-
poned till the end of
August, in wake of
coronavirus out-
break. The decision
was taken after the
state election commis-
sion filed an applica-
tion in the Rajasthan
High Court. The gov-
ernment informed the
court about the grav-
ity of coronavirus
situation.
It said that pro-
hibitory orders are
in force but if elec-
tions are allowed,
the officials would
be required to hold
meetings. Besides,
EVMs too will pose
the danger of spread
of contagion, there-
fore, it would be pru-
dent to defer the
elections till August
31. State election com-
mission supported the
state government over
the postponement of
elections process. It
said that the election
commission requires
state government ma-
chinery to conduct
elections but at this
point of time, the en-
tire administration is
busy in corona protec-
tion.Thestateelection
commission also said
that a large number of
peoplewillcomeoutto
vote that would pose
danger of contagion.
The high court ac-
cepted the state gov-
ernment and election
commission’s plea
and allowed them to
approach the court in
case the situation
changes.
Rajeev Gaur
Jodhpur: A commando
of special team of
Jodhpur (rural) police
succumbed after sus-
taining a bullet injury
that was accidentally
fired from a gun of the
station house officer
of Borunda police sta-
tion. Though the man
was rushed to hospital
after the accident, he
could not be saved. Till
late on Tuesday night
the deceased cop’s fam-
ily did not give a report
for initiating investi-
gation in the matter.
According to the po-
lice the deceased has
been identified as head
constable Ashok Bish-
noi. “Ashok was a
member of special
team of Jodhpur rural
police. On Tuesday,
Jodhpur (rural) po-
lice’steamwastrailing
few smuggler when
the car in which the
cops were following
the miscreants, devel-
oped a puncture near
Bar in Pali district.
Ashok got down and
was changing the tyre
when Borunda SHO
started removing the
spent bullets from his
gun. However, one bul-
let suddenly got fired
in the process which
hit Ashok in the neck,”
officials revealed.
Themanwasimmedi-
ately rushed to Bilara
for treatment from
where he was referred
to Mathuradas mathur
hospital where his con-
dition deteriorated re-
sulting in his demise. A
factual report on the
matter has been sent to
the Superintendent of
Police. Earlier,SPRahul
Barhath said, the head
constable was changing
the tyre that got punc-
tured while chasing the
smugglers.Whilechang-
ing the tyre, the trigger
of his pistol got pressed
and the bullet hit him in
neck. He was brought to
MDM hospital where he
succumbed to his inju-
ries during treatment.
New Delhi: NITI Aay-
og CEO Amitabh Kant
has identified 15 plac-
es including Delhi,
Mumbai and
Ahmedabad as ‘high
case load’ and said In-
dia’s success in bat-
tling COVID-19 is de-
pendent on them.
Out of these 15, sev-
en districts show par-
ticularly high case
volumes, like Hy-
derabad (Telangana),
Pune (Maharashtra),
Jaipur (Rajasthan),
Indore (Madhya
Pradesh),Ahmedabad
(Gujarat), Mumbai
(Maharashtra) and
Delhi.
Other high case load
places that are ‘critical’
in the battle against
COVID-19 include – Va-
dodara (Gujarat), Kur-
nool (Andhra Pradesh),
Bhopal (Madhya
Pradesh), Jodhpur (Ra-
jasthan), Agra (Uttar
Pradesh), Thane (Maha-
rashtra), Chennai (Ta-
mil Nadu) and Surat
(Gujarat).
“These 15 districts
are critical in our bat-
tle against #Covid_19
Of them 7 show par-
ticularly high case vol-
umes. India’s success
in battling COVID-19
is dependent on them.
We must aggressively
monitor, contain, test,
treat in these districts!
We must win here,”
Kant said in a tweet.
Kant, heads the Em-
powered Group (EG 6)
on coordinating with
private sector NGOs
and international or-
ganisations. —PTI
Mumbai: Actor Irrfan
Khan, who hails from
Jaipur, has been ad-
mitted to the ICU at
the Kokilaben Dhirub-
hai Ambani Hospital
inMumbai,sourcessaid.
The actor is currently
under observation for a
colon infection.
A statement from the
actor’s official spokes-
person read, “Yes it is
true that Irrfan Khan is
admitted to ICU at Koki-
laben in Mumbai be-
cause of a colon infec-
tion. He is under doc-
tor’s observation.” Ir-
rfan in 2018 announced
that he had been diag-
nosedwithaneuroendo-
crine tumour, and
sought treatment
abroad. He lost his
mother Saeeda Begum
on Saturday. —Agencies
Senior accidentally shoots commando
‘Jaipur among 15 high case load places’
Actor Irrfan
Khan admitted
to ICU for
colon infection
Amitabh Kant
Himanshu Gupta
Ashok Bishnoi
Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma

ollywood dances have im-
pacted the public so
much, that now it is an
accepted dance form like
others and the dance
moves are now a familiar
sight on Western TV and
cinema screens. These
dances are easy on the
eye not just because of
the beautiful gorgeous
sets right from the
time of Amrapali to
Padmaavat, but also
the doe-eyed Bolly-
wood heroines
who wooed the
audiences, men
and women
alike, with their
graceful dance
moves, expres-
sions, and sheer
cinematic piz-
zazz. But be-
neath all this
glamour is a
series of
h i s t o r i c
s y m b o l s
and tradi-
tions, which originate in
India’s numerous tradi-
tional dance forms all
brought to life by the her-
oines, the chorus group,
and the Choreographer,
who draws the
strings.
With the suc-
cess of Bolly-
wood films, the
dance has taken
the world by
storm and has
now come into
the global spot-
light. Stars like
Madonna,Shakira,
and Britney Spears
have incorporated the
Bollywood style of
dance or music into their
songs, videos, and stage
shows.
Since songs and lyrics
are a major component of
the Bollywood songs and
dance sequence, the two
basic elements of clas-
sical Indian dance -
abhinaya (ex-
pression) and
nritta (pure
dance) play a
critical role.
The emphasis
in Indian dance is about
storytelling and expres-
sions contribute to that.
Most of the famous hero-
ines of Bollywood
who excelled in dance
have had a background of
classical dance.
Bollywood dance has
moved from classical,
cabaret, disco to the free-
style which is in vogue
today. The evolution of
Bollywood dance is a pro-
cess that is entirely Indi-
an yet cross-cultural at
the same time. And the
best part is that you can
learn it by watching, so
put on the TV, watch the
movies, practice and get
ready for the wedding af-
ter the lockdown is over
to show off your dancing
skills!
JAIPUR, WEDNESDAY
APRIL 29, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE DANCE SEQUENCES ARE THE HIGHLIGHT OF A BOLLYWOOD MOVIE
AND OVER THE YEARS HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN SIGNATURE STYLE OF DANCE
B
Jacqueline Fernandez
Malaika Arora
Hema Malini
Vyjayanthimala Waheeda Rehman
Madhuri Dixit
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajinikanth
Deepika Padukone
Kareena Kapoor Khan
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

10
ETCJAIPUR | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
AASHIKA BHATIA, Actress
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Professionally, you have
already proved your metal
and your career is going
great. Your friends may be
helping but can also manipulate you
sometimes so be careful. Those who
matters will always understand you
and those you don’t, you should not
care about them.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Money is flowing into your
life from all directions and
your spouse is your lucky
charm. You must not be a
part of any controversies and you
know someone close to you involved
then guide them and show them a
way out. A new vehicles is on cards,
may also come as a gift.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You are on with your
fitness regime and you will
surely get the results you
desperately desire. Going
abroad for settlement is on cards and
you must start with your
preparations. On domestic front, you
will be quite in demand and lots of
things will keep you busy.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Those involved in export and
import business will see a
hike. You will complete all
your pending task today.
You will managed to sustain a peaceful
environment. You will be very busy
today, as you can expect some calls
from friends today. You will at ease
sponsor your kid’s dream education.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You may feel challenged on
work front but its an
healthy competition which
will help you realise your
true potential. On domestic front, do
not indulge in any kind of argument
with your parents just for the sake of
it, sometime you need to understand
their concern.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You are an outstanding
home maker and you take
care of your kids like no one
can. You are very close to
your parents and may visit them
frequently going forward. On
professional front, you will get the
break that you have been expecting.
You may get a job offer.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You may feel financially
secure but your ambitions
have take away your sleep
of the night, try and relax
and sometime take it easy. You will
soon meet a friend who can
understand you and whose company
will make you happy. Remember
somethings take time.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You are great when it come
to money management and
you have a big heart for
others. You will success-
fully complete the project, which kept
you occupying for long. Today is a
very auspicious day for any kind of
inauguration. You will be involved in
lot of charity.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You are very jovial and
kind hearted person. You
are a very nice parent and
always understand your
kids but you must know when to
stop pampering. You may bring a pet
to your house and it will be the best
decision in the recent times. You may
feel a lot of pressure to get married.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Your new business is
doing good but you need
to have some patience
when it comes to profit.
Your child may need your serious
counselling so show them you are
there. You make take your family
along on a work trip. Its time to take
your love life to next level.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You may find yourself in a
very perplexed position
when it comes to money,
unable to decide whether
to spend money on fun to have an
image in your circle or to be an odd
one out. Your teachers will be
extremely impressed with you. You
will enjoy your parents company.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will feel very refresh
and energetic today. You
worry without any reason
so relax and enjoy what
you have. You may get an unexpect-
ed career call that will change your
life forever. Your spouse will pamper
you in many ways today. You are
very satisfied with everything.
CHANDAN SEN
 How do you per-
ceive the background
of the crisis?
See, the year 2019 ended
ominously, with a six
planet combination in
Sagittarius, and a solar
eclipse in Sagittarius
on 26 December 2019.
Nature wields an
unfathomable
power and in-
fluence, and
when nature
is outraged,
the chastise-
ment which follows
can be nothing short of
a catastrophe.
Foretelling a cata-
strophic event would
have no real meaning or
value, if we as a human
race, fail to understand
the Natural laws which
govern such cata-
strophic situations. It is
one such law, The Law
of Cosmic Habit Force
(CHF), that is of special
interest to us now. Hyp-
notic Rhythm (HR) is
the pejorative sense of
this law. The two terms,
Cosmic Habit Force,
and Hypnotic Rhythm,
come to us from Napo-
leon Hill, the author of
Think and Grow Rich,
Outwitting the Devil,
etc. In fact, hypnotic
rhythm is the title of
the sixth chapter of
Hill’s work, Outwitting
the Devil.
 You mentioned
Nature; what is
Nature’s role in it?
Nature has a lofty pur-
pose for human exist-
ence, and she enforces a
law, which can aid the
human race in CON-
SCIOUSLY repeating a
mental thought, a feel-
ing, an attitude, or a be-
haviour, until it be-
comes so practiced, that
it is automatic, and al-
most second nature to
us. By way of an exam-
ple, Hill mentions what
we may call the Whirl-
pool Effect. An object
may float around or
drift in the water, until
it gets caught up in a
whirlpool, after which,
it will swirl around, and
be unable to escape the
whirlpool.
 Could you please
elaborate on the
CHF & HR?
Cosmic Habit Force is
the principle
which under-
lies practi-
cally all habit
fo r m at i o n s,
and it is Nature’s
way of cementing
habits, to ensure
higher levels of
growth and develop-
ment in the human
race. However, this law
works the same for all
habits, both good and
bad. Hypnotic Rhythm
is the pejorative sense
of this law and it is the
shadow side of this law.
While Cosmic Habit
Force is CONSCIOUS,
the hypnotic rhythm is
unconscious. It is the
outcome of mental
drifting and keeps us in
a perpetual state of in-
action, the” I will do
this, when that hap-
pens” attitude, for ex-
ample. When negative
habits and patterns of
behavior get crystal-
lised, the hypnotic
rhythm has so to speak
set in completely, and
now the balance which
Nature carefully main-
tains between produc-
tivity and destruction
gets threatened.
 What does this
mean for human
beings?
What does this mean for
human beings general-
ly, is a good question.
Many of us are swirling
around in the whirlpool
of aimless actions.
Huge talents and vast
potentials lie untapped
within us. Dreams and
ambitions sleep within
us because we are
caught up in the hyp-
notic rhythm of inac-
tion. There is a plane-
tary movement which
has been silently going
on from 30th March
2019 to roughly 30th
June 2020. Contrary to
what many people be-
lieve, man is not at the
mercy of his stars. As-
trology is neither ran-
dom nor chaotic. It is a
spiritual science, but its
application is an art.
 What about the
influence of the
planets?
Jupiter, is the preceptor
of the gods, the wise
counselor, and a
great benefit. He
is the planet of
expansion. No
building work
of any real val-
ue can begin,
without first
pulling down
old, outdated
structures. Sat-
urn, the old churl,
as he is sometimes
jokingly referred to,
is responsible for pull-
ing down old structures,
which no longer serve
any purpose. While Ju-
piter expands, Saturn
contracts and limits.
Jupiter ‘s movement
from the end of March
2019 to the end of June
2020 makes for an inter-
esting watch. Saturn
being in his own house
is at the height of his
own power. Jupiter has
kept a watchful eye on
his own house Sagitta-
rius, stationing himself
there for about three
weeks in April 2019, re-
treating, progressing,
and retrogressing al-
most at will. His tack-
ing and turning has a
strong message for all
of mankind and is a
wake-up call. We need
to rouse ourselves from
our stupor, break our
own hypnotic rhythms,
and step up to our own
possibilities. The lesson
is very clear.
Cosmic Habit Force, and
the Hypnotic Rhythm
Dr Meenakshi
Sundaram is a well-
known astrologer, meta
physician and a cosmic
expert from Kota,
Rajasthan. She talks with
Chandan Sen about the
cosmic factors and
astrological influences
leading to the current
crisis and how it has
impacted the earth, and
its people.
Jupiter and Saturn as Custodians of Natural Laws

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