Storm warning

The Hindu Newsletter - Storm warning Monday 18, May 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying home and staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: Storm warning The India Meteorological Department today said that cyclone Amphan, which has intensified into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, may turn into a super cyclone and make landfall between West Bengal and Bangladesh on Wednesday. “Extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’ [pronounced as um-pun] over west-central and adjoining central parts of South Bay of Bengal: cyclone warning for West Bengal and north Odisha coasts,” the met department announced on social media earlier today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had reviewed the situation and discussed response measures and evacuation plans. Sensex crashes again The Sensex crashed 1,069 points on Monday, following massive sell-offs in banking and auto stocks. The fall seems to have been triggered by a lack of confidence, especially among domestic investors, in the government’s fiscal stimulus package. The 30-share BSE index ended 1,068.75 points, or 3.44% lower, at 30,028.98, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 313.60 points, or 3.43%, to 8,823.25. IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, cracking around 10 per cent, followed by HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, and UltraTech Cement. The relief package announcements appeared to have fallen short of market expectations on demand side reforms, sparking the sell-off, analysts said. No compulsory payment of wages The Centre has withdrawn its earlier order of March 29, 2020, mandating employers to pay full wages to all employees even for the period during the Covid-19 lockdown, when industrial and commercial units perforce have to remain shut. The new set of guidelines issued for Lockdown 4.0 have omitted this requirement. Industry bodies had been lobbying hard for a withdrawal of the order, in view of revenue losses due to the lockdown and the absence of any grants from the government to tide over the cash crunch. While employers heaved a sigh of relief, trade unions have slammed the decision. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of positive coronavirus cases reported from India stands at 97,868 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 3,092. Globally, 4,833,249 infections have been reported, with 317,218 fatalities. India recorded its biggest single-day increase of xx new Covid-19 cases today. Among the states, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of cases, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. A day after extending the nationwide lockdown till May 31, the Centre said states and Union Territories cannot dilute restrictions despite the relaxations in the guidelines. However, states do seem to be taking more of a lead in formulating policies. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said shopping malls will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity on a rotational basis. The state will also allow intra-district buses to ply. Karnataka too said it would allow buses and trains within the state. West Bengal has also allowed the opening of big stores and salons, and said there will be no night curfew, which may go against the Centre’s guidelines. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 18 announced the opening of shops in markets on an odd-even basis, and the running of buses with only 20 passengers. But he said Metro services, schools, colleges, cinema halls, and salons will remain closed. U.P. accepts Priyanka’s offer The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday accepted Congress general secretary [Priyanka Gandhi’s offer]( of 1,000 buses to transport stranded migrant workers to their homes in the State. The government communicated to Gandhi’s personal secretary that her proposal had been accepted. The decision came two days after Gandhi had written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting him to allow the Congress to run 500 buses each from the Ghazipur border in Ghaziabad, and the Noida border. All the costs would be borne by the All India Congress Committee. Congress trashes fiscal plan The Congress on Monday said the [fiscal stimulus package announced by the government]( is “hopelessly inadequate” as it amounts to only ₹1.86 lakh crore, which is 0.91% of the GDP. Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram said the stimulus package has left several sections, including the poor, migrants, farmers, labourers, workers, small shopkeepers and the middle class high and dry. “In our view, a fiscal stimulus of ₹1,86,650 crore amounting to barely 0.91% of GDP will be totally inadequate given the gravity of the economic crisis and the dire situation in which people find themselves,” he said. Ahmedabad clash Nearly 100 migrant workers hit the streets in Ahmedabad today, demanding that they be allowed to return to their hometowns. They were reacting to the extension of the lockdown by another two weeks. The workers reportedly pelted stones at police personnel and passing vehicles. The police used teargas to disperse the crowd. The incident took place on a road connecting the IIT-Ahmedabad campus with Vastrapur area in the city. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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