Kashmir.Watch

Category: National

  • Kanika Kapoor is finally Corona negative

    Singer Kanika Kapoor has tested negative in her sixth coronavirus test indicating that she is recovering from the highly contagious and dangerous disease. The singer, who was first tested positive on March 20, will have to stay hospitalised till another COVID-19 test result comes back as negative.

    “Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor’s sixth COVID-19 test result comes negative. However, she will have to stay at PGI Hospital Lucknow until one more test result comes as negative,” Sanjay Gandhi PGIMS said, according to a report in ANI.
    Earlier, the Lucknow police booked the singer for negligence as instead of self-isolating for 14 days like mandated, the singer attended various social gatherings with hundreds of people and risking them exposure to the Coronavirus.

    She has been booked under Sections 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sarojini Nagar police station in Lucknow. The complaint was filed by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Lucknow.
    Kanika Kapoor had announced the news of her being tested positive on Instagram through a now-deleted-post. The singer was met with harsh criticism and trolling due to her “recklessness” with the diseases. However, there have not been any other Coronavirus positive cases detected from people who were in contact with the singer.

  • “Proud Of You”: Pakistan Air Traffic Controller To Air India’s COVID-19 Relief Flights

    Pakistan Air Traffic Control in the country not only welcomed Air India flights into its airspace but also appreciated the work the airline is doing in these uncertain times

    Written by Neeta Sharma, Edited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan

    New Delhi: National carrier Air India, which has operated numerous relief and evacuation flights worldwide amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, has received messages of praise from several countries. The latest nation to join that list is the one least expected – Pakistan.
    The Air Traffic Control in the country not only welcomed Air India flights into its airspace but also appreciated the work the airline is doing in these uncertain times.

    On April 2 Air India operated two flights from Mumbai to Frankfurt in Germany; these flights carried relief materials and European nationals stranded in India after the “total lockdown” announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.

    “The flight took off from Mumbai at 1430 hours. We entered Pakistan airspace at 1700 hours. We tried to contact Air Traffic Control but did not get a response. So we changed frequencies and (then) managed to contact ATC,” a senior Air India officer said.

    The first words from Pakistan ATC surprised the pilots.

    “As-salamu alaykum (Peace be upon you). This is Karachi Control welcoming Air India for relief flights,” the Air India officer told media, quoting the ATC.

    “Confirm you are operating relief flights for Frankfurt,” the ATC then asked, to which the Air India pilot replied: “Affirm”.

    According to Air India officials the Pakistan ATC also told the pilots they were proud of them for operating flights at such difficult times. “We are proud of you that in a pandemic situation you are operating flights, Good Luck!” the ATC said.

    “Thank you so much,” the captain of the flight responded.

    The Air India official told media that Pakistan ATC also saved the flight 15 minutes flying time by allowing them to fly closer to Karachi.

    The Pakistan ATC’s helpful stance didn’t end there.

    A short while later, when the Air India planes were entering Iran airspace but were unable to contact the authorities, Pakistan helped again.

    “Here also Pakistan helped us and got in touch with Iran and gave our message to them. Normally in such flights we spend maximum number of hours in Iran airspace but Iran also gave us a shorter route,” the Air India official told.

    The Air India flights also received praise and welcome from Turkish and German Air Traffic Controllers.

    “The flight was scheduled to reach Frankfurt at 0915 hours but it landed at 0835 hours,” Air India said.

    The national carrier is scheduled to operate 18 charter flights to repatriate German, French, Irish and Canadian nationals stuck in India, as requested by their respective embassies.

    All flights, including ones bringing critical medical equipment from China, are being operated in adherence to safety protocols laid down by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

    Air India is also scheduled to operate cargo flights between Delhi and Shanghai to bring in critical medical equipment for India; these flights will run till April 9.

    The novel coronavirus pandemic has infected over a million people worldwide and led to nearly 50,000 deaths. In India the number of cases has crossed 3,000, with 75 deaths linked to the virus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

    NDTV

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

  • Trump requests PM Modi to release Hydroxychloroquine ordered by U.S.

    India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade on March 25 banned the export of the anti-malarial drug.

    PTI

    U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the amount of Hydroxychloroquine ordered by the United States after India last month banned the drugs for exports.

    Trump said that he spoke to Prime Minister Modi on Saturday morning and made a request to release Hydroxycholoroquine for the U.S.

    “I called Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. They make large amounts of Hydroxychloroquine. India is giving it a serious consideration,” Trump said at his daily news conference at the White House on Saturday.

    India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade on March 25 banned the export of Hydroxychloroquine but said that certain shipments on humanitarian grounds may be allowed on a case-by-case basis.

    With more than three lakh confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and over 8,000 fatalities, the U.S. has emerged as the worst sufferers of the deadly coronavirus diseases to which there has been no cure. Scientists across the world in particular in the U.S. are racing against time to find either a vaccine or a therapeutic cure to the virus that has so far killed more than 64,000 people and infected 1.2 million in more than 150 countries.

    Based on some initial results, the Trump administration is banking heavily on using Hydroxychloroquine, a decades old malaria drug, for the successful treatment of coronavirus.

    Following a quick provisional approval from the U.S. Federal Drug Administration last Saturday, the malaria drug along with a combination of some other drug is being used in the treatment of about 1,500 COVID-19 patients in New York.

    According to Trump, the drug is yielding positive results. If successful, he told reporters that it would be a gift from heaven.

    In the next several weeks, health experts in the U.S. has projected between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths due to coronavirus, which due to human-to-human transmission is spreading like a wildfire in the U.S. In anticipation of it being a successful drug in the treatment of coronavirus, the U.S. has already stockpiled some 29 million doses.

    It is in this context Trump requested Modi to help U.S. get millions of doses of Hydroxychloroquine. “And I said I would appreciate if they (India) would release the amounts that we ordered,” Trump said, without mentioning that quantity of Hydroxychloroquine that has been ordered by U.S. companies from India. The Trump administration has made Hydroxychloroquine as part of its Strategic National Stockpile.

  • Foreign investors sell over ₹1 lakh-cr. securities in a month, for first time in history

    But domestic institutions save markets the blushes, buying stocks worth ₹55,595 crore in March and arresting a further plunge

    Ashish Rukhaiyar

    For the first time in the history of the Indian capital markets, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold securities worth over ₹1 lakh crore in a single month.

    As per data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), the cumulative net outflow from the debt and equity segments was pegged at ₹1.18 lakh crore in March — more than double the previous high of ₹44,000 crore witnessed in June 2013.

    Further, both the equity and debt segments have individually registered new highs in terms of monthly outflows of ₹61,973 crore and ₹60,376 crore, respectively.

    COVID-19 concerns

    According to market participants, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has affected stocks worldwide is the primary reason for such record outflows as foreign investors shy away from riskier assets and also, emerging markets.

    The global death toll of the pandemic had crossed the 50,000-mark with more than 10 lakh confirmed cases. In India, the last few days have seen a greater rise in the number of new cases thereby adding to investor concerns.

    Incidentally, the impact of the record sales by overseas investors has been clearly visible in the stock markets with the benchmark Sensex registering its worst monthly fall in over 11 years. In March, the 30-share barometer lost a little over 23% (23.05% to be precise) which was the highest since October 2008 when it plunged 23.89%.

    Currently, the Sensex, which closed at 27,590.95 on Friday after falling 674.36 points, or 2.39%, is trading over 53% lower than its intraday record high of 42,273.87 touched in January.

    Interestingly, buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs), which include banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and domestic financial institutions, has been acting as a strong counter force to the selling by foreign investors.

    As per BSE data, March also saw the highest-ever monthly net purchases by DIIs who bought equities worth ₹55,595.18 crore. This was again double that of the previous high of ₹26,033.9 crore registered in October 2018.

    In the current calendar year, while FPIs have sold equities worth ₹51,832 crore — they were net buyers in January and February — DIIs have bought shares worth ₹74,554 crore.

    Meanwhile, the voluntary retention route, or VRR, in debt securities, which was opened up for FPI investments in January, has seen an inflow of ₹4,165 crore in March while hybrid securities saw a marginal outflow of ₹19 crore, according to NSDL data.

  • Coronavirus | Modi’s blackout call puts power grid managers on high alert

    However, the Power Ministry has maintained that there will be no impact on the operation of the grid.

    PTI

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a nine-minute blackout at 9 p.m. on April 5 has raised concerns for power grid managers as they are gearing up for ensuring grid stability during the period.

    State-run Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO), which is responsible for integrated operation of the grid, is working towards ensuring there is no pressure on the grid due to the possible grid collapse and resultant blackout throughout the country. The Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERA) necessitates permissible range of the frequency band of 49.95-50.05 Hz for normal running of grid and if there is any discrepancy in the same with sudden increase or decrease in power flow, it might result into grid collapse.

    Power sector under stress

    “The entire power sector is currently under stress. The demand has already fallen significantly due to the ongoing lockdown. There could be some stress due to this blackout of few minutes, but since we know the time, we can plan for it well in advance,” a government official said on condition of anonymity.

    According to Power Ministry data, power demand slipped over 25% to 125.81 GW on April 2 as compared to 168.32 GW on April 2, 2019 amid the lockdown to contain COVID-19 outbreak. According to the official, POSOCO has already informed all the five regional load despatch centres and national load despatch centre to ensure grid frequency is maintained even if demand drops suddenly during the blackout.

    The ministry has also maintained that there will be no impact on the operation of the grid. An industry expert said that since it is a planned blackout, there will be enough time to manage the grids.

    Exact timing

    “This is unlike the blackout of 2012 which resulted in failure of the grid. Since they know the exact timing, it will be easy to manage the grid. Moreover, only households will switch off the lights. However, other establishments and street lights will continue to draw electricity during that time,” the expert added.

    In July 2012, India had witnessed severe power outages due to collapse of northern and eastern electricity transmission grid.

    An official from the Power Grid Corporation said that although there would be some pressure, it would not be too serious and the grid operators were well prepared to handle the sudden drop in power demand.

    Mr. Modi has appealed to India’s 130 crore citizens to light a lamp, candle or shine a mobile flashlight to symbolically dispel the darkness spread by coronavirus.

  • Locked down India struggles as workers flee cities

    Watch Video:

    Millions of homeless people and migrant labourers have been left in the lurch after India announced a 21-day lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.

    With factories and construction sites closing down, many have expressed fears that they would starve to death.

    State governments have announced that they will open centres to feed these people, but have been overwhelmed.

    Many have opted to walk hundreds of miles to their villages as public transport has been suspended.

    Video by Varun Nayar

  • Shashi Tharoor criticises “Pradhan Showman”

    Listened to the Pradhan Showman. Nothing about how to ease people’s pain, their burdens, their financial anxieties. No vision of the future or sharing the issues he is weighing in deciding about the post-lockdown. Just a feel-good moment curated by India’s Photo-Op PrimeMinister!

  • Rupee slips 48 paise to 76.08 against US dollar in early trade amid coronavirus scare

    Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities dragged the local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.

    PTI

    The Indian rupee fell 48 paise to 76.08 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, as investors braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty as coronavirus cases witnessed a sharp rise across the world and in India.

    Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities dragged the local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.

    The rupee opened weak at 75.97 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 76.08, down 48 paise over its last close.

    The rupee had settled at 75.60 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

    Forex markets in India were closed on April 1 for the annual closing of banks and on April 2 on account of Ram Navami.

    According to Reliance Securities “rising coronavirus cases in India and globally could also weigh on sentiments as investors could continue to buy the safe haven Dollars“.

    There are more than one million declared cases of coronavirus worldwide and in India, the tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has crossed the 2,000-mark.

    Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 3.24 % to $ 28.97 per barrel.

    Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, as they sold shares worth ₹ 1,116.79 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

    Domestic bourses opened on a negative note with benchmark indices Sensex trading 353.48 points down at 27,911.83 and Nifty down 118.25 points at 8,135.55.

    The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.03 per cent to 100.20.

  • Dharavi emerges as COVID-19 hotspot

    With coronavirus (COVID-19) claiming its first victim in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum is a hotspot. On Wednesday, Dharavi reported its first case, a 56-year-old garment shop owner from Baliga Nagar, and the person died on the same day.

    The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Police are checking whether he had come in contact with anyone from Tablighi Jamaat. He had no history of foreign travel. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Niyati Thaker said, “The person had another house in the same area and it seems some members of Tablighi Jamaat were staying there. Some other members of the Jamaat were also staying in a local mosque. We are verifying.”

  • 27 persons who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation test negative

    About 27 of the 33 persons from Belagavi district of Karnataka, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin, Delhi have proved to be Negative.

    The results of six others are awaited.

    The district administration had identified 62 persons from Belagavi district who had attended the meeting in new Delhi in March.

    Of them, the throat swab samples of 33 suspected cases had been sent for testing. The tests of 27 have proven negative and the results of six are awaited.

    Deputy commissioner S B Bommanahalli has urged the people to declare if they had attended the meeting.

    Members of the general public who have knowledge of anyone from their village attending the meeting have been requested to inform the concerned teheshildar.