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  • Jamia sends stranded hostellers back to J-K in special bus

    Two university guards, who are former armymen, are also accompanying students in the bus, the varsity said.

    PTI

    The Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday sent its students from Jammu and Kashmir back to their native places in a special bus arranged by it.

    Two university guards, who are former armymen, are also accompanying students in the bus, the varsity said. These students were stranded in hostels due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the university said.

    The bus was properly sanitised before leaving for Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University for medical screening of students, guards and drivers for fever and other symptoms related to the coronavirus, it said.

    The university is making arrangements for hostellers to send them back to their homes in their respective states, it said.

    Meanwhile, boarders of the girls and boys hostels wrote to the vice-chancellor stating it is impossible to vacate the hostels at this time with their belongings.

    They urged the administration to reconsider its decision asking the students to vacate their hostel rooms.

  • Manmohan Singh stable; developed reaction to medication: Hospital sources

    The 87-year-old Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness.

    Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is stable but is being investigated to rule out causes of fever, a Congress functionary said on Monday, quoting All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) sources.

    “Dr. Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication. He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided care as needed,” the source said quoting AIIMS doctors.

    Dr. Singh, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, was admitted to the AIIMS around 8.45 p.m. on Sunday night following complaints of reported uneasiness and chest pain.

    “He is stable and under care of a team of doctors at the Cardiothoracic Centre of AIIMS,” the party functionary added.

    Since Sunday evening, wishes for Dr. Singh’s speedy recovery have poured in.

    “Much worried to know former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh ji has been admitted to AIIMS. I wish him speedy recovery and pray for his good health and long life,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted on Sunday.

    “Praying for good health of Doctor saheb. We are sure he will be fit and fine at the earliest,” senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said in a tweet.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • Make modest opening of road, air transport to start economic activity: Chidambaram

    He also welcomed the government’s decision to start select inter-state train services

    PTI

    Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Monday urged the government to allow operation of road and air transport, saying it was the only way economic and commercial activities can effectively resume.

    He also welcomed the government’s decision to start select inter-state train services.

    The government has decided to start train services from May 12 connecting Delhi to some select stations across the country, bookings for which will begin from Monday by the IRCTC.

    “We welcome the decision of the government to cautiously start operation of inter state passenger trains. The same modest opening should be started with road transport and air transport,” the former Finance Minister said.

    “The only way economic and commercial activity can effectively begin, is to open road, rail and air services for passengers and goods,” Mr. Chidambaram said on Twitter.

    The Congress has been demanding restarting of economic activities which have come to a standstill in view of the complete lockdown enforced due to coronavirus.

    The Congress has also demanded a relief package for the poor and an economic stimulus package to help the industry.

  • Pandemic exposes U.S.’s weak social safety net

    European countries outscore America when it comes to providing benefits in times of crisis

    AP

    The COVID-19 pandemic is straining social safety nets across the globe — and underlining sharp differences in approach between wealthy societies such as the United States and Europe. In Europe, the collapse in business activity is triggering wage support programmes that are keeping millions on the job, for now. In contrast, in the United States more than 33.5 million people have applied for jobless benefits and the unemployment rate has soared to 14.7%.

    That is a pattern seen in earlier economic downturns, particularly the global financial crisis and the Great Recession. Europe depends on existing programmes kicking in that pump money into people’s pockets. The U.S., on the other hand, relies on Congress taking action by passing emergency stimulus programs, as it did in 2009 under President Barack Obama, and the recent rescue package under President Donald Trump.

    Budget policy

    Economist Andre Sapir, a senior fellow at the Bruegel research institute in Brussels, said budget policy in the U.S. plays partly the role that Europe’s welfare system plays because the American welfare system is less generous and a recession can be much harsher on workers.

    In downturns, U.S. employees can lose their health insurance if they lose their job and there’s also a greater risk of losing one’s home through foreclosure. On the other hand, Europeans typically pay higher taxes, meaning they earn less in the good times. “In the U.S. you need to keep pumping money into the economy so that people continue to be employed, because it is through being employed that they are protected,” said Mr. Sapir.

    The U.S. tends to rank below average on measures of social support among the 37 countries of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, whose members are mostly developed democracies. The U.S. came last in people living in relative poverty, meaning living on half the median income or less, with 17.8%. Countries like Iceland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Finland have less than 6%.

    Unemployment benefits

    Americans on unemployment were collecting an average of about $372 weekly before the coronavirus struck. By comparison, Germany’s jobless benefit pays 60% of previous salary for a year. France provides up to 75% of the previous average daily wage for up to two years. Unemployment benefits in France are on average €1,200 ($1,320) per month.

    And there’s Europe’s short-hours programmes, which pay most of worker salaries if companies put them on shorter hours through a temporary disruption. More than 10 million workers are being paid that way in Germany and about 12 million in France, helping hold eurozone unemployment to only a 0.1 percentage point increase in March over February, to 7.4%.

    Nearly half of Americans receive health insurance through their employers, while another 34% get benefits through the government programs Medicare and Medicaid. In Europe, universal health coverage is the rule, generally funded by payroll or other taxes.

    Europe’s more generous social safety nets come at a cost, largely paid through taxes levied on workers and employers. In the U.S., Social Security contributions amounted to 6% of GDP in 2018, according to the OECD. In France it was almost three times higher, at 16% of annual GDP, while in Germany it was just over 14%.

  • Supreme Court to deliver verdict today in Jammu and Kashmir 4G mobile Internet case

    Petitions have argued that 4G speed is essential for healthcare, education during pandemic

    PTI

    The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Monday its verdict on petitions seeking restoration of 4G mobile Internet in Jammu and Kashmir amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

    The petitions have argued that 4G speed was essential for healthcare, education and trade/business in the Union Territory during the pandemic.

    A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana had recently reserved its judgment in the case. The court had agreed that 4G was faster than 2G Internet though a balance would have to be struck between healthcare in the time of the pandemic and national security concerns in Jammu and Kashmir.

    On the last day of the hearing in the case, the petitioners led by Forum of Media Professionals, represented by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi and advocate Shadan Farasat, had even argued that the ‘Aarogya Setu’ App, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had encouraged the public to download to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, could not be downloaded in J&K on 2G speed.

    The petitioners had countered the official narrative in court that 4G speed facilitated terrorism, saying “there is no rational relation between the legitimate State goal [curbing terrorism] and the method used [restricting access to the Internet]”. Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal had referred to the encounter in northern Kashmir’s Handwara which killed several Army personnel.

    Mr. Ahmadi had argued that access to information through the Internet was protected free speech under the Constitution. The burden would be on the government to establish that curtailing access to the Internet bears a rational relationship with its goal to curb terror.

  • Indian, Chinese troops face off in Eastern Ladakh, Sikkim

    The incident in Eastern Ladakh occurred on the intervening night of May 5 and 6 near Pangong Tso lake and the second one at Naku La, Sikkim, on May 9.

    PTI

    Two incidents of face-off occurred between Indian and Chinese troops last week, resulting in injuries to several soldiers of both sides, Army sources confirmed.

    The first incident occurred in Eastern Ladakh on May 5 and the second occurred at Naku La, Sikkim, on May 9. The issues were resolved locally.

    “An incident of face-off took place between the troops and, as a result of aggressive behaviour, minor injuries were caused to both sides. Troops disengaged after dialogue and interaction at the local level,” Army sources said on Sunday, speaking about the incident in the Naku La sector, ahead of Muguthang, at an altitude of over 16,000 feet. A large number of troops were present, and at least four Indian and seven Chinese troops were reportedly injured.

    Sources said the face-off in Eastern Ladakh occurred on the intervening night of May 5 and 6 near Pangong Tso lake, a major part of which China holds. Several soldiers were injured in a scuffle. “The issue was resolved locally by the morning of May 6,” the sources said. Pangong Tso has witnessed such incidents in the past, including in 2017 and 2019.

    Temporary and brief face-offs occur because the boundary is undemarcated, the sources said, and troops resolve such issues as per the established protocols. “Such an incident occurred after a long time,” the sources said of the Naku La incident.

    A defence source said that at Muguthang, the road on the Chinese side is motorable, and on the Indian side, it is a remote area. Due to this, they can bring in a large number of troops if need be, the source added.

    Both countries have differing perceptions owing to the undemarcated boundary, which lead to transgressions and face-offs as each side patrols up to the areas they claim along the 3,448-km Line of Actual Control (LAC). Any such issue is resolved through the mechanisms put in place to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border.

    In September 2019, a scuffle broke out between the patrol teams of both sides near Pangong Tso. The issue was resolved in a few hours after a delegation-level meeting at the Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point at Chushul. In August 2017, a video surfaced, showing several hundred soldiers hurling stones at each other.

    In January 2020, Army chief Gen. Manoj Naravane said the Army was rebalancing advanced weaponry to the northern borders. He said that after the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April 2018, differences over the border were being settled at the lowest level. Following the “strategic guidelines”, small differences are “sorted out locally and not allowed to escalate”, he said.

    The Wuhan summit ended the impasse in the relationship following the 73-day stand-off between the two Armies at Doklam in 2017.

    According to information given in Parliament by the government in November 2019, there were 1,025 transgressions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army along the LAC between 2016 and 2018. There were 273 transgressions in 2016, 426 in 2017 and 326 in 2018, the government had informed.

  • Coronavirus lockdown | Railways to resume select passenger train services from May 12

    All passenger train services were suspended due to a lockdown announced on March 25.

    PTI

    The Indian Railways will gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains, the national transporter said Sunday. These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

    All passenger train services were suspended due to a lockdown announced on March 25.

    After the resumption of these 15 services, railways will start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains everyday as Shramik Special for stranded migrants.

    Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 p.m. on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in/).

    Ticket booking counters at railway stations will remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) will be issued, it said.

    Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter railway stations. It will be mandatory for passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the trains.

  • Bakery owner arrested in TN for “no Muslim staff” tagline

    PTI

    Chennai: A 32-year old man, running a bakery here has been arrested for alleged promotion of products using a tagline that said his firm does not employ Muslims, police said on Sunday.

    The man, who is also selling his products online had allegedly said “made by Jains on orders, no Muslim staff” for promotion purposes in his WhatAppgroup.

    A complaint was lodged against him saying the words depicted Muslims in a bad light and Mambalam police registered a case and arrested him, a release said adding a probe was on.

    Recently, a man was arrested in Mumbai after he allegedly refused to collect groceries he had ordered online since the delivery person was a Muslim.

  • SBI complains to CBI after ₹411 crore loan defaulters flee country

    PTI

    The CBI had recently booked Ram Dev International and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita

    Three promoters of Ram Dev International, recently booked by the CBI for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks to the tune of ₹411 crore, have already fled the country before the State Bank of India reached the agency with the complaint, officials said on Saturday.

    The CBI had recently booked the company engaged in export of Basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita on the basis of complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI), which suffered the loss of more than ₹173 crore, they

    The company had three rice milling plants, besides eight sorting and grading units in Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading purposes, the SBI complaint said.

    Besides SBI, other members of consortium are Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank, they said.

    The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not carry out any searches in the matter because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the officials said.

    The agency will start the process of summoning the accused, incase they do not join the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated, they said.

    According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset (NPA) on January 27, 2016.

    The banks conducted a joint inspection of properties in August and October, nearly 7-9 months later only to find Haryana Police security guards deployed there, they said.

    “On inquiry, it has been come to notice that borrowers are absconding and have left the country,” the complaint filed on February 25, 2020, after over a year of account becoming NPA, the officials said.

    The complaint alleged that borrowers had removed entire machinery from old plant and fudged the balance sheets in order to unlawfully gain at the cost of banks’ funds, it said.

  • 11 more test positive, J&K tally is 847

    Srinagar: Eleven more tested positive on Sunday in J&K, taking the total number of Covid-19 patients in the Union Territory to 847.

    Official sources told news agency KINS that 11 persons tested positive today among them, three were confirmed at Viral Diagnostic Lab of SKIMS, Srinagar, and include one each from Baramulla, Shopian and Kupwara.

    Eight other cases were confirmed at the COVID-19 testing laboratory at Chest Disease hospital.

    The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir now stands at 847. (KINS)