Monday, 16 March
Dainik Jagran comments on the coronavirus crisis, which emerged from China, and has now become a serious concern for humanity. It notes that to deal with this crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi organised a video conference with all the leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to inspire South Asia as well as the rest of the world. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan sent the country’s health minister Zafar Mirza. Unfortunately, he was more interested in how to refer to the Kashmir case during this time of crisis. However, it is important to note that collaboration among all countries is the need of the hour so that all possible precautions can be taken against the virus.
Amar Ujala also comments on the novel coronavirus pandemic and the SAARC video conference. The daily argues that this is a good decision by the Modi government amidst the crisis. Apart from China, Iran and Italy, people have been brought back from all countries. We have to also learn from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, who have shown a lot of courage and have effectively tackled the virus. The newspaper calls for people to take initiative to collectively defeat the virus.
Wednesday, 18 March
Dainik Jagran argues that the Government of India is taking every possible step to fight the coronavirus, but these efforts will only be successful if citizens are alert themselves. The Health Ministry has found the virus in people without a travel history, implying that it has reached stage two of transmission within the community. Considering India’s population density, this can prove to be extremely dangerous. Furthermore, people who inhabit slums etc. will not be able to effectively practice the precautionary measures. Thus, the government needs to step up and ensure that the infection is contained.
Amar Ujala lauds the decision of the Supreme Court which ruled in favour of permanent commission to female officers in the Indian Navy and asked the government to treat men and women equally in the armed forces. This will change the attitude towards women and will open up new opportunities for them.
Thursday, 19 March
Dainik Jagran comments on the rising cases of the coronavirus and the serious health and economic crisis the country is facing. Due to the stagnation of economic activity in China, all economic and business activities are slowing down globally. While the reduction in crude oil prices is a relief for India, at the moment it is difficult to estimate how beneficial it will be to the economy. Amidst all this, the central and state governments will also have to gear up to ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities nor should their prices increase. It is important to keep in mind that every crisis also brings some opportunities with it.
According to Dainik Bhaskar, even though the government’s claim of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 is not a fact, there is no doubt that the income of agriculture has increased, but only slightly. The government’s efforts in the past five years have paid off. This can be seen by the fact that the country registered a record increase in grain yields this year while the consumption of chemical fertilizers has also decreased steadily in the last two years, which means farmers produced more grain at a lower cost.
However, the latest quarterly figures registered a fall and economists believe that if farmers do not buy goods for general consumption, then this decline will be greater.
Friday, 20 March
Dainik Jagran says that the coronavirus pandemic is extremely serious and the need of the hours is, as Prime Minister Modi put it, resilience and resolve to fight the novel coronavirus. In such a situation, it becomes our moral responsibility to fulfill the expectations of the Prime Minister.
Everyone’s cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic is necessary. To avoid this crisis, every citizen of the country needs contribution — be it urban or rural. Lack of cleanliness and being negligent can lead to the same horrific conditions as can be seen in Italy. Here, it is important to keep in mind that Italy is a sparsely populated country and its health infrastructure is also quite developed.