'If we are forced to be confined indoors for a month or two months, it's not such a big deal. It's not like we are in jail.'
Sheela Bhatt reports from Firozabad, the country's centre for glass bangles, on what life is like for its workers in the wake of the national lockdown.
Normally, kharif sowing of vegetable seeds starts during the first week of May across the country. Farmers start preparing their fields to make them suitable for kharif sowing during the second fortnight of April. Now, however, faced with the lockdown, farmers are in a hurry to clear their fields of rabi crop and prepare for kharif planting. With a normal monsoon forecast this year, they are doing all they can to take advantage of pre-monsoon showers.
'A national government will help us to harness the totality of national resources to fight the war against the coronavirus most effectively,' state Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Workers who had gone to their hometowns and did not return for work after Diwali vacation owing to the demonetisation impact have now started trickling back to the industrial hubs in Gujarat, say Vimukt Dave & Sohini Das.
Trinamool Congress MPs accused the Modi government of having imposed a "super emergency" by launching the exercise and engaging in "vendetta politics" by arresting two party lawmakers after it opposed the "draconian" move.
Anmol Ambani, the eldest son of industrialist Anil Ambani, has lashed out against a new round of lockdowns being imposed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, saying such restrictions do not concern health but control and that they destroy the very backbone of the society and economy. The 29-year-old former executive director of Reliance Capital Ltd in a series of tweets lambasted the new semi-lockdown rules hurting small businesses and daily wage earners. "Professional 'actors' can continue shooting their films. Professional 'cricketers' can play their sport late into the night. Professional 'politicians' can continue their rallies with masses of people. But YOUR business or work is not ESSENTIAL. Still don't get it?" he said in a tweet.
The daily wage earners who oil the wheels of the movies business are struggling to cope with the fallout of the lockdown.
'When they were looking for an action girl, I wanted my name to be right on top.'
'Saving our economy is a priority.' 'We have to save our people and save our country.'
Shooting is underway for Amitabh Bachchan's Goodbye, Shah Rukh Khan's Pathan, Salman Khan's Tiger 3 and Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan's Adipurush among other films.
There were 86 million salaried jobs in India during 2019-2020. In August 2020, their count was down to 65 million. The deficit of 21 million jobs is the biggest among all types of employment, points out Mahesh Vyas.
In Kolkata, there is a community of chartered accountants, and it is easy to find 'directors', who for Rs 5,000 will sign anywhere.
The CM recently instructed officials to prepare a roadmap for providing local jobs to about two million people, especially in the rural-based industries, such as khadi, dairy, and food processing units and MSMEs.
The party's performance in the assembly polls in the state -- which is the most populous and hence sends maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha -- will have a bearing on its future prospects on the national level.
The joint secretary also said a high-level task force to work on frontiers of science related to vaccines and drug testing was formed on Sunday.
'Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't.' 'But you can use the RTI to improve the future.'
Moody's Investors Service on Friday said India's economy is expected to contract for the first time in more than four decades saying economic damage owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will be significant with lower consumption and sluggish business activity. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, Indian economy already was growing at its slowest pace in six years and with the stimulus measures announced by the government falling short of expectations, the disruptions are likely to be greater. "We now expect India's growth to register a real GDP contraction for the fiscal year ending in March 2021 (fiscal 2020-21), from our earlier projection of zero growth," it said in a research note.
Gandhi also called upon the government to immediately put money into the hands of the poor and provide a financial package to the industry to help revive the economy.
Fresh guidelines issued by the Union home ministry on Wednesday permit industries operating in rural areas to run from April 30 with strict social distancing norms.
Flood and erosion is a serious issue in the state as more than 4.27 lakh hectares or 7.4 per cent of the state's total area have already been eroded by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries since 1950.
Son of a daily wage labourer, roadside vendor, taxi driver, private tutor, landless farmer to magazine vendor crack IIT-JEE this year thanks to Bihar's Super 30
"All corona warriors deserve high praise," Kovind said in his televised address.
'We don't want to lead this hellish life. Enough is enough.'
'I have many times bought meals for the accused, and the police pay for it.'
'We had no inkling this would come. Admittedly, we failed to inspire confidence in migrants that no harm would come to them if they stayed back.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
'The sooner we understand and accept this current situation as the new normal, the better,' advises Major Mohammed Ali Shah (retd).
Opposition leaders on Thursday observed a 'Black Day' in Parliament premises to mark one month of the announcement of demonetisation, with Rahul Gandhi launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his "foolish decision" has "devastated" the country.
The pandemic has forced us to reflect and re-evaluate our old habits and perceptions, says Anamika Sengupta.
'Let us all keep calm and face this medical emergency unitedly.' 'Our top priority is to fight the pandemic and win this war.'
More than ever before, women voters can make or mar a political party's electoral fortunes.
Daily wage earners and casual low income group workers were the worst affected
Curfew-like situation prevailed in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area for the third consecutive day with people not being allowed to step out of their houses though no untoward incident took place in the violence-hit locality on Monday
As the world awaits the end of the global pandemic, rural Bengal might be witnessing a recession unfolding in bits and pieces. With factories and tea gardens closing down, agricultural income falling and storm Aila ravaging a large part of deltaic West Bengal in 2010, migration gradually became a norm.
Shivdutt, the child's father, claimed his son was not given proper treatment by the nurse who gave him a wrong injection after which he died.
Hitting out at Prime Minister for calling note-ban a 'shuddhi yagna', senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said the move is nothing short of an "uncontrolled forest fire" that has claimed several lives and hit the economy.
'If at all there is going to be a second wave, it will not be very strong unlike in the US and Europe.'
'I have always taken care of people. It's never happened that someone took care of me.'
'There is lack of demand because people have no jobs, and no income.' 'Lakhs of people have lost their jobs and they have no income which has led to no demand in the market.'
Another 8 pm prime ministerial speech. Will this one too lead to a scramble and chaos like his previous 8 pm telecasts?
