Innholdsfortegnelse for June 15, 2020 i India Today

Being the financial capital of the country, Mumbai has often been labelled the New York of India. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic raging across the world, it has also come to share the dubious distinction of being the city with the highest number of corona infections and deaths in the country with its American counterpart. One of every five COVID-19 deaths in India these days is in Mumbai alone. Maharashtra has come to account for 35 per cent of the total infections and 42 per cent of the total deaths in the country due to Covid. Its health system is in danger of being overwhelmed. The three states most affected by the coronavirus—Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat—are also India’s wealthiest, most industrialised states. The intersection between health and wealth is…

Fang does not allow the official narrative, of glorious triumph over a virus, to erase the record of Wuhan’s suffering Underlying the boredom and banality of nearly three months of total lockdown, Chinese writer Fang Fang showed in her widely read social media dispatches from Wuhan, ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic, was anger and a public mood of plangent, bitter sorrow. Fang Fang’s portrayal of a city’s grief, its trauma, is convincing, but it is her evocation of its bitterness over the refusal of those in power to be accountable that will stay with readers. Nine million people, she writes, “ended up quarantined in their homes and five million people were trapped outside Wuhan, unable to return home. This isn’t something we can let go. This is one buck…

Union minister of state for consumer affairs and senior BJP leader from Maharashtra Raosaheb Danve had faced some embarrassment during the Lok Sabha election last year. His son-in-law, former Shiv Sena MLA Harshwardhan Jadhav, had contested as an independent, leading to the defeat of then alliance partner Shiv Sena’s Lok Sabha candidate in Aurangabad. Jadhav recently announced he was quitting politics and alleged that Danve had his phone tapped. Danve clearly has a rebel on his hands.…

ONLINE DASHBOARD Updated every half an hour, it shows the number of vacant beds in 6,000 govt and 2,624 pvt hospitals across the state PRIORITY TO DIALYSIS PATIENTS A daily dialysis facility for 600 Covid and 100 suspected Covid patients is likely to reduce the death rate. A dedicated portal has been set up for registration AMBULANCE BOOKING The BMC has tied up with Uber for booking of 456 ambulances. Their drivers are equipped with mobile phones and PPE kits ‘CHASE THE VIRUS’ CAMPAIGN In slums and containment areas, 15 people associated with each Covid patient are sent for institutional quarantine COMMUNITY WATCHDOG Community leaders are monitoring food quality and toilet sanitisation in containment areas. Each of the 227 BMC wards will have a war room of 7-8 people HIKE…

As the weeks of India’s coronavirus lockdown dragged into months, many of those privileged enough to isolate started to chafe at the bit. But not artists. Almost all those involved in Art Alive Gallery’s #ArtForHope initiative, confess that their working lives are less disrupted than most people’s. Virus or no virus, visual artists are so used to days spent in splendid isolation that they exhibit few signs of cabin fever. Many of the senior names—Krishen Khanna (b. 1925), Maite Delteil (b. 1933), Sakti Burman (b. 1935), Gopi Gajwani (b. 1938) and Jogen Chowdhury (b.1939)—had already retreated from the hubbub of gallery openings and art fairs. They are devoting themselves to work with enviable focus and often childlike enthusiasm. Gajwani, for instance, has been drawing after many years, describing these solitary…

On June 1, Moody’s Investors Service, which rates bonds issued by governments and commercial entities, downgraded India’s foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer ratings by a notch to ‘Baa3’ from ‘Baa2’, adding that the outlook remained ‘negative’. This is the lowest investment-grade rating in Moody’s assessment. Bond credit ratings represent the creditworthiness of corporate or government paper. The reasons Moody’s cited for the downgrade are: weak implementation of economic reforms since 2017, relatively low economic growth over a sustained period, a significant deterioration in the fiscal position of governments (central and state) and the rising stress in the country’s financial sector. Moody’s downgrade of India’s sovereign rating to Baa3 brings its rating in line with Standard &Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch’s ratings (BBB-), a notch above ‘junk’ status. This comes after Moody’s…

In this pandemic your contribution has bc-u unique and significant. Could you share about ii. When the lockdown was first announced it whipped up panic all around and so the first thing that I did was to take around 25-30 doctors from different disciplines and create a pan India "Covid helpline" with our numbers, but without disclosing our identity. It was meant to allay the anxiety of people by answering all their questions and guiding them appropriately. Way back in March when the lockdown was suddenly clamped, people were flummoxed. The healthcare institutions too were on backfoot as they were not equipped or organised to handle the situation and at that time when utter chaos prevailed, we used to take calls 24x7 which were as high as 200 calls a…

Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s attempt to replace state election commissioner (SEC) N. Ramesh Kumar with retired Madras High Court judge V. Kanagaraj, has boomeranged. Kumar was removed via an April 10 ordinance, following a row over the postponement of the local body polls. Armed with a state high court order striking down the ordinance removing him, Kumar issued a circular reinstating himself and is threatening to move court again accusing the state of contempt. Kumar’s five-year term would have ended March 31 next and Reddy was advised against the move. But the CM remains adamant, doing all he can to obstruct Kumar’s return.…

AJOY MEHTA Chief Secretary The 1984-batch IAS official has a tight grip on the CM’s office. Mehta retired in Sept. 2019, but was given an extension till Jun. 2020. He has been behind key Covid decisions: imposing the lockdown, upgrading health facilities, forming a state-level taskforce of doctors, transferring BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, deferring govt employees’ salaries and home delivery of liquor RAJESH TOPE Minister of Health, Maharashtra The NCP leader ensured supply of PPE through CSR funds in the initial days of Covid. Under him, the state significantly scaled up the number of Covid testing laboratories and ICU beds in government hospitals. A mechanical engineer by training, Tope visits his ailing mother at Bombay Hospital before starting his day EKNATH SHINDE PWD Minister The Shiv Sena leader from Thane…

Unlock 1.0 could be grim for Tamil Nadu, a state that witnessed a near ten-fold jump in Covid cases last month—from 2,323 in April to 22,333 on May 31. With 145 deaths reported through May, even the mortality rate surged to five times that of the earlier period. The only consolation perhaps is that at 0.7 per cent, Tamil Nadu’s mortality rate is well below the national average of 2.8 per cent and of other large states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. The worry now is the continuing spread of Covid in northern Chennai and its contiguous districts, which are densely populated and house much of the state’s industries. More than half the ‘active’ Covid cases are in Chennai, which also accounts for maximum deaths, and the Greater Chennai Corporation…

Influence meter CONSCIENCE KEEPERS Consulted primarily on policy issues and for crisis management RAHUL’S DURBAR RANDEEP SINGH SURJEWALA The communications in-charge has Rahul’s ears BHUPESH BAGHEL CM of Chhattisgarh NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU Sidelined in Punjab, but Gandhis back him as a counterbalance to Amarinder K.C. VENUGOPAL Organisation secretary of party gets an RS berth from Rajasthan RAJEEV SATAV Ex-Youth Congress president is Rajiv Gandhi’s find; now all set to become a Rajya Sabha member AJAY MAKEN Lost LS and assembly polls, resigned as Delhi Congress chief citing poor health K. RAJU Ex-bureaucrat is in-charge of Rahul’s office; now spends more time in home state AP PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Head of the Congress data analytics cell JAIRAM RAMESH Still consulted by Rahul on policy issues but has little influence in party forums…

This is not how Shoojit Sircar imagined it. His film, Gulabo Sitabo, was supposed to release in theatres on April 17. Now, however, it will directly stream to homes via Amazon Prime Video from June 12. In an ideal world, he would have been promoting his film in Mumbai, but he is presently with his family in Kolkata, a city dealing with the double blow of Covid and the Amphan cyclone. Instead of complaining, though, Sircar is adapting. “I have to move on,” he says. “I didn’t want to hold on to the film. I decided to experiment with the digital medium.” Sircar’s decision sent shockwaves through the movie theatre industry, which saw it as a bellwether of what filmmakers are likely to do with cinemas now shut. For Sircar,…

KRISHEN KHANNA’S memories of war and Partition offer sobering perspective for these pandemic times Krishen Khanna is 95 and still paints daily. “It’s like a demon inside me that wants it,” he says on the phone. “I have been through more than one migration, seen how people are forced to live in new situations. And this is not new, pushing people around: think Tughlaq. But this is probably the worst.” Born in Faisalabad in what is now Pakistani Punjab, Khanna was a schoolboy in England during World War II and his vivid memories of war and Partition offer sobering comparison and perspective. “The people in charge are still talking of winning the “battle” against coronavirus. As if it is a war. But it is not. This is our overreach. We…

ahir Ludhianvi was among India’s most talented Urdu poets. After joining the film industry in 1950, he also became one of the most popular. If you’ve grown up with Hindi film music, you’re likely to know many of Sahir’s poems—even if you don’t know they’re his. You might know the multi-religious “Allah tero naam, ishwar tero naam, Sabko sanmati de bhagwaan” from Hum Dono or the critical-nostalgic “Yeh mahalon yeh takhton yeh taajon ki duniya” from Pyaasa. You might have sung one of his immortal love songs, from the irresistible “Yeh raat yeh chaandni phir kahan” (Jaal, 1952) or the wistful “Chalo ik baar phir se ajnabi ban jaaye hum dono” (Gumraah, 1963), all the way to “Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai”, an early Sahir poem around…

LOSERS (2019) Each of the eight episodes of this docuseries is dedicated to a different sport—golf, boxing, etc.—and to a different story of an underdog whose loss was as spectacular as their opponent’s grand victory. NETFLIX ANDY MURRAY: RESURFACING (2019) Once in the same league as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Murray’s career was threatened by multiple hip injuries and operations. Resurfacing tells the story of his somewhat impossible comeback. AMAZON PRIME CHEER (2020) Navarro College has the best junior college competitive cheer squad in the US. This wildly popular and emotional docuseries follows its cheerleaders as they train hard for the 2019 national championships. NETFLIX…

MINDY KALING ’S show about the Indian-American teen experience has found a wide audience Q. Never Have I Ever tells us that very familiar coming-of-age story from an Indian-American perspective. Did you expect it would have a crossover audience? We are blown away by how many people have seen the show around the world and the response we have gotten. We are telling a specific and personal story about one Indian-American girl and her family. It definitely could have been received as niche, but we are so happy it has had more appeal than that. Q. Is the show autobiographical? Did you also have an identity crisis like Devi in your teenage years? Yes and no. I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and didn’t want to do a…

71% Reduction in use by Indians of retail and leisure spaces over five weeks up to May 25, shows the most recent Google mobility trends report. The baseline is usage recorded between January 3 and February 6, 2020. Use of parks and similar spaces was down 55%. Data for the USA over a similar period showed the use of parks and public spaces had increased by 60%, while retail and recreation was down 28%. 3 times in just over a week—that’s how often Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita has been arrested by Delhi police over alleged involvement in anti-CAA violence. Despite the high court giving her bail after her first arrest on May 23, the police re-arrested her in connection with a second case and then a third. On June…

1983: Bombay Hawkers Union challenges the BMC’s powers to refuse renewal of licences and removal of goods without hearing hawkers 1985: Supreme Court allows hawkers to carry on their businesses, but brings in stricter norms to check adulteration 1988: Delhi High Court rules vendors have no right to run their business on public roads and cause a nuisance 1989: Supreme Court allows local bodies to permit hawkers on the sidewalks, but restricts hawkers from asserting permanent occupation over the space 1998: National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), a network of various associations and vendors unions, is formed to collectively fight for the rights of vendors 2001: A task force in the ministry of urban development with municipal commissioners and police officials is formed to draft a national policy…

HITS MORE ICU BEDS In March, the Maharashtra government had control over only 350 ICU beds. It now has 8,000 ICU beds across 53 private hospitals alone CAPPING TREATMENT COST After a series of complaints against alleged overcharging by private hospitals, the government capped the treatment rates—Rs 4,000 for a normal Covid bed, Rs 7,000 for an oxygen-equipped bed and Rs 9,000 for a ventilatorequipped bed INSURANCE FOR ALL Maharashtra became the first state on May 22 to provide free health insurance to all its citizens irrespective of income. Anyone with a domicile certificate can avail free treatment at any of the over 1,000 private hospitals DOCTORS’ TASK FORCE A state-level task force of 11 expert doctors brought uniformity in the line of treatment. An audit of deaths has helped…

THE DISGRUNTLED SACHIN PILOT Led the party to victory in assembly polls, but Gehlot got the Rajasthan CM’s chair; has been sidelined in governance, disgruntled but doesn’t have too many options JITIN PRASADA Lost two consecutive LS polls and assembly polls in 2017. Had almost joined the BJP in 2019, ironically was wooed back by Jyotiraditya Scindia JITENDRA SINGH The ex-royal and Union minister lost the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 R.P.N. SINGH Lost two consecutive Lok Sabha polls, but as AICC in-¬charge of Jharkhand, led the party to form a coalition government; yet not part of any significant committee MILIND DEORA Lost two consecutive LS polls, was made Mumbai Congress president but failed to deliver SANDEEP DIKSHIT Has remained a perennial rebel since his late mother’s 15-yearterm as Delhi…

Q Why do you think it has taken so long for a film to be made against the backdrop of demonetisation? Times have changed. People are probably not expressing themselves. We got this script at the FICCI Script Bazaar in 2015. Then it was a story of a marriage: a wife who has given up on the dream and a husband who sticks to it very arrogantly but does nothing about it. It was a beautiful premise but the X factor was missing. Then demonetisation happened and, suddenly, I felt this script will now make sense. I have strongly refrained from giving any character my political voice or forcing my opinion of demonetisation on them. Q. Why? ANURAG KASHYAP, wary of becoming a victim of his own perception, has been…

There is good reason to approach an authorised biography with a degree of wariness, especially when the subject is a beloved movie star and the book is published not long after her untimely, much-lamented death. Such were my initial feelings about Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess, which was written with the cooperation of the actress’s husband Boney Kapoor, described by the author as “the invisible force behind this book”. But what makes this book feel personal (and discourages the notion that it was a hurried ego project) is that Nayak makes his own Sridevi obsession immediate and persuasive. While much of the journalistic information here comes from magazines, or first-hand interviews, there is also enough evidence that the author has closely watched and engaged with her large filmography. For those…

Herman Melville begins his unfinished, posthumously published novella Billy Budd with an invocation of the ‘handsome sailor’, worshipped by his fellows as “some superior figure of their own class, moving along them like Aldebaran among the lesser lights of his constellation”. The Last Dance, a recent 10-part documentary that has captivated the US and much of the rest of the world, follows Michael Jordan, the archetypal handsome sailor, through his last glorious season with the Chicago Bulls before the team, six-time champions in an eight-year period, is broken up by management imperatives. Jordan is a peerless basketball player. A dollar billionaire who has made much of his fortune from his eponymous Nike shoe, a street fashion icon, Jordan may have thought his playing legend could do with one more polish.…