Start the day with a health warning on the front page: newspapers headline two fresh cases of coronavirus in Delhi and Hyderabad.
The Opposition’s concerted attack on the government in Parliament on the Northeast Delhi communal riots was the other major page 1 story. But it’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hint that he will quit social media next Sunday that really dominates the news.
The Times of India’s lead on its flap reports that “India on Monday reported two more positive cases and one suspected case of Covid-19” and these cases include “a Delhi resident who returned from Italy on 25 February and a 24 year old man from Telangana who returned from Dubai”. An accompanying piece has more bad news: ‘Worst threat to world economy since ‘08: OECD’ says the world organisation believed that the coronavirus outbreak presents “the global economy with its greatest danger since the 2008 financial crisis..’’ with the risk of restrictions on “movement of people, good and services…”
TOI‘s main story is a statistical analysis of PM Modi’s popularity on social media after he announced that he was “thinking of giving up” his social media accounts (`PM hints at giving up social media…’). The paper adds that the absence of any official explanation for the move, “spawned an instant industry of theories..’’ that include Modi taking “a digital detox’’, dedicating his social engagement for the day to International Women’s Day or even launching “a platform that is not ‘biased’ against right-wing or pro-BJP handles’’.
The paper also reports that the Delhi Police Monday arrested over 40 people on charges of spreading false news on social media platforms after there was a lot of “rumour-mongering about fresh violence and riots in different parts” of Delhi Sunday (`Cops arrest 40…’).
It also notes ‘Jack Welch,`Manager of the 20th century’, died at 84’. Welch “has led General Electric through two decades of extraordinary corporate prosperity and became the most influential business manager of his generation”.
The Indian Express remains focused on the Delhi riots in `Opp unites to seek resignation of Shah..’. The “opening day of the second leg of the Budget session” saw the Opposition unite “to demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah“. The Congress, DMK, Left parties, Shiv Sena, NCP, SP, BSP, NC and TMC protested in “separate groups”outside the Parliament before coming together in the two Houses and rising “as one to shout slogans against Shah” inside the two Houses.
Also, Iran became the fourth Muslim nation to condemn the Modi government over the riots as Foreign Minister Javad Zarif “urging authorities to not let the ‘senseless thuggery’ prevail” (`Iran speaks out…’).
While it reports on the two new cases of coronavirus detected in India, Express highlights the worrisome news about pharmaceutical units in Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt of Himachal Pradesh being “warned of suspension of production, with import of raw materials used to make drugs hit due to the coronavirus scare in China” `(`Supplies hit, pharma hub in Himachal faced production crisis’).
`PM keep all guessing..’ notes that it could be a social media blackout for Prime Minister Modi, after his Monday evening tweet on thinking of giving up all his accounts.
Hindustan Times, in its lead story titled ‘Corona reaches Capital’, quotes Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who said, “We are taking all possible measures to screen and contain. So far, 15 labs under ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) have been testing Covid-19. We have the capability to increase the network to 50 labs; we will make 19 other labs functional in the next two or three days.”
In “deal or no deal?”, HT writes that “days after signing a deal with Washington aimed at ushering in a new era of peace”, “a deadly blast shattered a period of relative calm in Afghanistan on Monday as the Taliban told fighters to resume operations against Afghan security forces”.
And in ‘India’s big B’desh outreach during Mujib centenary’, HT reports that India Monday “sought to reassure Bangladesh” on CAA and a possible all-India NRC after the “cancellation of the fourth high-level visit from Bangladesh to New Delhi in three months”.
The Hindu chooses to be different by ignoring the PM’s social media puzzle and coronavirus for its lead story, ‘Supreme Court to hear petition on Delhi violence tomorrow’. It notes at length CJI Bobde’s statement where he said that “courts were not ‘equipped’ to handle palpable ‘pressure’ being created to somehow step in and prevent violence in Delhi”.
It also mentions that the Delhi court Monday “deferred the execution of the death sentence of the four Nirbhaya gang-rape case convicts indefinitely”.
In ‘Baghel protests against use of CRPF in Chhattisgarh I-T raids’, Hindu reports a letter written by Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bhagel to PM Modi in which he says the “ongoing tax raids using Central forces in Chhattisgarh and the actions of the Union Finance and Home Ministries are an affront to cooperative federalism”.
And in Delhi, the AAP government’s relief camps for riot victims haven’t attracted survivors. ‘Day 5 at govt. Relief camps: no one in sight’, that at the camp in Panchsheel Garden, Shahdara, “not a single riot victim has come to take refuge here…”. An official thought this was because of lack of knowledge and the distance.
In its bold lead story “curb your OTT instincts”, Mumbai Mirror reports that the “government gives online platforms 100 days to put mechanisms in place to self-regulate adult entertainment and politically sensitive content”. It writes that “pressure is mounting on over-the-top (OTT) players… to adopt some form of censorship for their content”.
The Tribune‘s page 1 is crowded with a whopping 12 stories. Among the noteworthy ones is the report about Taliban “resuming offensive operations against Afghan security forces” a day after President Ashraf Ghani said “he would continue the partial truce at least until talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban kick off”.
Also, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, is once again in the headlines after claiming the “origins of English could be traced back to Sanskrit” in ‘English has Sanskrit roots: Govt’.
Amid the din in the Rajya Sabha over the Central Sanskrit Universities Bill 2019, Pokhriyal elucidated that the English words mother and brother come from the Sanskrit words ‘maa’ and ‘bhatri’.
A chaotic page 1 in The Economic Times brings back the focus on the crisis in the telecom industry with the lead ‘Airtel’s Own Estimate Puts AGR Dues at a Third of Telecom Dept’s’. The report, quoting a source, explains that “certain deductions haven’t been allowed by the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) owing to the absence of certain documents.”
Also, as the coronavirus outbreak “spreads across the world”, `Business travel takes a back seat’ says ET, adding that “companies are being forced to impose ever-widening restrictions on business travel by staff”. “Having started with China, the curbs have been extended to cover Southeast Asia, the Far East and Europe. Video conferencing and working from home are being encouraged,” the report notes.
Meanwhile, even as the automobile sector struggles because of the slump in demand and lockdown in China, Maruti Suzuki “is developing two car models that will be prices below Rs 5 lakh, expanding its offerings in the entry-level segment.”
Mint asks if we’re ready to take on the coronavirus outbreak in ‘Virus at the gate: Are we ready?’ Seems not. “Experts say India is yet to develop a robust primary healthcare, quality emergency response infrastructure and a surveillance system ,” it reports and furnishes data of the number of beds and health care centres in the country, which are woefully short. It notes that India’s overall score in tackling an outbreak is a mere 46.5 out of a possible 100.
Also, the next casualty in the outbreak could be India’s growth, according to another report. “The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)…slashed India’s growth forecast for 2020-21 by 110 basis points (bps) to 5.1% over the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak”.
Business Standard leads with the ups and downs in the markets over the coronavirus scare in ‘Markets seesaw as coronavirus fears linger’. The report highlights that the Sensex climbed “as much as 785 points or 2 per cent to reverse all gains in the last hour of trade”. However, “at one point, the Sensex was down 511 points over its previous close of 37,785”.
The “bearish market conditions” has also spelt a dead end for the central government to achieve its divestment target of Rs 65,000 crore. “With a number of offers for sale (OFS) such as NMDC, SAIL, PFC, Coal India, IRCON and Hindustan Aeronautics planned for March getting deferred, the divestment target could fall short by close to Rs 10,000 crore,” the report notes.
BS offers its own explanation for PM Modi’s likely exit from social media on Sunday (“Sunday, March 8, is international women’s day”). It quotes a source close to the PMO saying that “Modi was just taking a day off from social media platforms…allowing women to post on his behalf”. That will reassure his millions of followers.
The Italian Tourist along with 19 of his Group Mates from Italy toured around Rajasthan when 1 of them fell sick and was Positive with the Coronavirus. The Other 19 carried on to Agra. So, who knows who all have been affected from Rajasthan and Agra. Also, if Local Indians got affected thanks to Italians, how many more other Local Indians would have got affected via Traveling around India including via Trains? 1 Scenario Like This is Enough to Set it Off as India has around 1.4 Billion People. Can Read The Full Stuff under Outlook India Article – “Coronavirus patient in Jaipur an Italian tourist”