Mainstream papers remain convinced of a possible lockdown extension after PM Modi’s meeting with opposition leaders. The newspapers picked on the Prime Minister’s statement that the situation was akin to a ‘social emergency’.
Pink papers were happy with the finance ministry’s decision to provide relief to individuals and businesses by giving Rs 18,000 crore in tax refunds. Business Standard makes special mention of a Rs 1 trillion stimulus package for MSMEs which, it says, is in the works.
The Times of India focuses on the Delhi government sealing 13 cluster containment zones “to break the novel coronavirus infection chain”. Twenty two areas in Noida and 12 in Ghaziabad were also completely sealed off on Wednesday. “In effect, over 15,000 Delhiites are under complete lockdown in their houses,” the report notes. Home deliveries of essential supplies will be allowed in these places but opening any type of shops or ATMs will not be allowed.
`You can’t step out without a mask…’ is the Delhi government edict now. The report highlights Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement that “wearing of facial masks can reduce the spread of coronavirus substantially”.
On the national front, ‘Lockdown extension likely…’ reports that after chief ministers of as many as six states batted in favour of extending the lockdown, PM Modi was heard saying in a “leaked audio clip” that tougher measures may be required. According to TOI, Modi said at the interaction with opposition leaders that “we are passing through a situation which is like that of national emergency and which has forced us to take unprecedented measures from time to time.”
In some good news, the story `Kerala gets ICMR nod..’ says the Indian Council for Medical Research has approved Kerala’s request to conduct plasma therapy. “Experts in Kerala will now test if blood from coronavirus patients who have recovered could hold the key to treating the sick,” says the report — it highlights that South Korea used the same method with some success.
The Indian Express leads with PM Modi’s interaction with leaders of various political parties, describing it as the “first clear signal that some restrictions are likely to continue”. Unlike TOI’s report, the daily’s lead is based on a government statement in which the PM said that he will take a final decision after “another round of discussion with the chief ministers on April 11”.
The report ‘Across party lines, one demand’ lists the demands put across by the party leaders, which includes more financial relief measures, economic stimulus package, Covid-19 testing and the releasing of all dues including GST compensation to states.
Also, health officials are prepared to do “pooled testing in some of the 436 districts of the country where no case of Covid-19 has been reported”. The Express report, ‘Pool testing planned…’ notes the importance of this move, which is being done “to get a realistic estimation of the spread of the disease”.
And it appears it’s not just the US government which has been at odds with the World Health Organisation. In ‘Trump snaps at WHO…“, Express says that the Indian government has “politely sidestepped the periodic ‘advice’ from the WHO and, instead, leaned on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the experience of several state governments”. It also notes the contradiction in this as the WHO has been “closely working with the Centre and states… and its staff are helping state governments ramp up training and capacity-building”.
There’s an interesting report about how breweries like Effingut Breweries are making sanitisers “to cover demand-supply gap”. “In the coming three months, the popular microbrewery — which brews close to 15,000 litres of craft beer every day — has plans to produce 1.8 lakh litres of ethanol based gel, which is scarce in supply,” the report notes.
This lockdown has left several families scrambling for money. The page 1 anchor story notes that long queues of women have been “seen outside banks in districts across West Bengal” after the government announced that Rs 5000 per month would be deposited in the accounts of women Jan Dhan Yojana beneficiaries during the lockdown.
Hindustan Times also leads with the PM-opposition meeting Wednesday at which Modi said the “abrupt end to curbs [will not be] possible”. The report notes that the leaders present in the meeting had “raised the issue of the suspension of the MP Local Area Development Scheme for two years”. “The suspension of the scheme has become politically controversial, with opposition MPs saying that this will prevent aid from reaching those who need it most in their constituencies,” the report explains.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has reassuring news for consumers: it said that testing by private labs should be made free. Although an order has not been not passed, “the court also asked the government to explore a way to reimburse these laboratories”, says HT.
The paper also reports in ‘House to house checks in G’gm’, that the Gurugram administration has decided to conduct door-to-door surveys to trace Covid-19 cases. “About 1,200 small teams have been formed to survey four zones of the city to cover at least 400,000 households in urban, semi-urban areas, villages and slums,” the report notes.
There’s a small yet important report ‘Hydroxychloroquine hard to come by…’ on how the diminished supply of hydroxychloroquine is affecting patients of arthritis. This comes a “day after India allowed limited exports” of the drug,
And far away in the US, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his Presidential campaign “clearing the way for former Vice-President Joe Biden”. The report highlights that while the senator described Biden as a ‘decent man’, he “did not issue an outright endorsement of the former vice-president”.
Mumbai Mirror carries heartening news for those worried about the export of hydroxychloroquine to US and other countries: the pharmaceutical company IPCA, which is the largest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine in India with a 60 per cent market share in HCQ says it can meet all demands.
In the lead story, ‘Mumbai firm all set to meet global demand…’ Mirror says that according to IPCA’s joint managing director, the firm “can ‘easily’ tide over the current shortage of HCQ [in] India and meet the country’s and the world’s needs”. An interesting point is Jain’s remark on shortages. He blamed the lack of supplies on people buying large quantities of HCQ. “The shortage today is because people are hoarding, not because supply has reduced,” the report quotes him as saying.
The New Indian Express leads with PM Modi’s statement that the lockdown has created a “social emergency-like situation” and lifting the lockdown may not be desirable. In a grim report (‘Pandemic may bring states to their knees’), the paper says states are facing their most “unlucky moment in 2020” and seem to be financially “ill-prepared for the reality of falling income and rising expenses”. It adds: “Though market borrowings have always been a critical component, their reliance has been dangerously rising”.
The Tribune also leads with the PM’s “social emergency” comment. It also includes block quotes from two opposition leaders on the lockdown extension — BJD’s Pinaki Misra who said “life pre-corona and post-corona would not be the same” and Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad who said 80 per cent of leaders who were part of the PM’s video conference were in favour of extending the lockdown.
The newspaper reports a startling finding by the International Labour Organisation. In ‘40 Indians crore may sink into poverty’, it reports that 40 crore informal workers in India will face “catastrophe” amid the nationwide lockdown. The Covid-19 crisis is expected to “wipe out 19.5 crore full-time jobs or 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year” according to the study, says the newspaper.
After the Centre’s lifting of the pharmaceuticals export ban, it has asked firms and hydroxychloroquine makers to “ramp up up monthly production six times”. In “Ramp up HCQ production: Govt to firms”, Tribune says hospital preparedness and testing is next on the Centre’s agenda. “With antibody test kits arriving from Singapore to enable blood sample tests of people with influenza like illness in disease clusters, India hopes to ramp up testing scopes,” it adds.
In less cheery news, the anchor story reports the state of Haryana’s health infrastructure. In (‘Docs fear Haryana ill-prepared for Covid challenge’), it says medical professionals have said that the “state is not only abysmally short of isolation wards, ICU beds and ventilators but also barely 7 per cent of the doctors and nurses are trained to use life-saving equipment”.
In its report on the likely lockdown extension, The Economic Times notes NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s request to the PM during the video conference, to “stimulate economic growth once again.. and start planning from now on to revive the overall financial system”.
In news that will bring relief to many, ‘Govt to Release about ₹18,000 cr Tax Refunds’, the paper reports the finance ministry’s Rs 18,000 crore handout in terms of tax refunds. “These will include income tax refunds of up to ₹5 lakh besides goods and services tax (GST) and customs refunds”, it notes.
And for those who consume alcohol, the anchor story says liquor companies Diageo India, Bacardi, Remy Martin and many others have jointly requested the government to “allow shops that sell alcoholic beverages to open for some time everyday after enforcing social distancing norms”.
Unlike other pink papers, news about the Rs. 18,000 crore in tax refunds does not feature on Business Standard’s front page.
Instead, the paper reports the Centre’s upcoming Rs 1 trillion stimulus package for small and medium businesses. In “₹ 1-trn stimulus package for MSMEs on cards”, the paper says senior officials have indicated “a separate package could be announced for bigger companies after assessing the extent of the hit they have faced due to the lockdown imposed to fight the outbreak”, it reports.
Following Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express, Business Standard also covers the Supreme Court directing private labs to make coronavirus tests free. In “Stop pvt labs from charging testing fee, SC tells govt”, it notes that the Supreme Court has asked the government to “reimburse the fee charged by labs”.