The outbreak and lockdown have thrown up a number of challenges, such as layoffs, pay cuts and a general slowdown. Many subscribers after their unsuccessful attempts to use the scheme have taken to social media to voice their complaints, as the EPFO website and grievance portal suffer outages and its customer helpline remains unreachable.
'If the mandis were not working in Delhi, or the onion market in Nashik got affected, or there were disruptions because of unloading or loading in any sector in south India, we intervened.'
'A hundred days later, it is a moot point whether the lockdown has been partially or totally effective, or, as sceptics indicate, plain ineffective.' 'Did it actually deflect infections and the loss of lives, or was it merely a hasty decision rammed down the populace's throats that choked the economy and caused the searing tragedy of dispossessed migrant workers?' ask Radha Roy Biswas and Manoj Mohanka.
Patnaik said the state has also urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to Odisha till April 30.
Several passengers have been complaining on social media as domestic airlines have decided not to give refunds in cash for cancelled flights due to the lockdown and instead issue credit for future travel.
Rediff.com reader Milon Kumar Sanyal from Kolkata tells us how he kept himself busy during the lockdown.
A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed sports complexes and stadia to open without spectators, National Sports Federations were deliberating ways to facilitate training of at least the Olympic-bound athletes. The lockdown has been extended till May 31.
Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, Public Health Foundation of India, V Ramana Dhara, said the unlock has resulted in a return to old habits of indiscipline in physical distancing and improper mask use.
'In the first phase, you might allow 30 per cent of the workforce to come in and see how it goes,' says industrialist Harsh Goenka.
'Cricket is a game where if you come back after a gap, then it is not easy to perform immediately.'
'When you don't have food to eat, will you be worried about the virus or the next meal?'
Besides Karnataka, states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have already announced area-wise lockdown for different durations.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said the government is expected to remain cognisant of the situation and evaluate it closely and if it is found that the rate of infection is going up, they can always review their decision and impose curbs, depending upon the situation.
During this period, all government and private offices, shopping complexes, malls, bars, sports complexes, pubs and beauty parlours will remain closed.
The state government will review the lockdown situation in Guwahati after seven days from the enforcement of the restrictions.
Gandhi said if money is not given in the hands of the poor and small and medium industry, there could be "serious economic damage" in the country.
Australia's limited overs captain Aaron Finch helped second grade student Alex Altube beat the lockdown blues by assigning the kid a cricket project through his school teacher, adding some joy to his daily routine.
"At least for 15 days if people stay strictly indoors, like last year, we may expect better results. Please advise your government," the high court said.
Olympic silver medallist shooter Vijay Kumar has started learning law online as part of his training for the DSP post he holds in Himachal Pradesh Police.
The home ministry has already written to all state governments informing them about the exemptions given for holding the examinations across the country with certain conditions.
According to the fresh guidelines that will come into force from Sunday morning, inter-district movement of private vehicles has been restricted and the timings for shops and government offices have been shortened.
The experts agreed that the lockdown has helped in slowing down spread of the virus but insisted that the situation has not reached a plateau and that there was an urgent need to upgrade healthcare facilities to deal with the crisis.
Business activity has fallen by a fourth of the pre-COVID levels due to lockdowns imposed by states to contain the spread of the second wave of COVID-19, Japanese brokerage Nomura said on Tuesday. However, it said the falling activity levels will have a muted economic impact and maintained its growth estimates for the year, saying the lockdowns present "downside risks". As of April 25, the Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) registered its steepest weekly fall in over a year of 8.5 percentage points to 75.9, which is 24 percentage points below pre-pandemic normal, the brokerage said in a statement.
The announcement comes amid a rise in domestic violence cases due to the ongoing lockdown. It was found that many women who are victims of domestic violence are more vulnerable during the lockdown period.
What is aggravating the situation is that e-commerce firms are facing huge shortage of delivery personnel. They have not been able to bring back their staff to work, despite offering higher pay and Covid-related insurance packages.
Swastika's father Sandeep, who is also her coach-cum-training partner, has been rendered jobless for more than four months and is finding it difficult to pay the rent for the house they are staying in at Navi Mumbai.
Young Rediff readers share inspiring messages to raise awareness about COVID-19.
'I think it will be environmentally very beneficial. Life is such a hustle, and you never get the time to spend with your family and connect with them'
The forced lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak has brought out the innovative side of Indian sports fans.
The task force then recommended that the state government implement measures like a stricter lockdown to stem the rise in coronavirus positive cases.
Pegging the cost of the covid-19 lockdown at USD 120 billion (approximately Rs 9 lakh crores) or 4 per cent of the GDP, analysts on Wednesday sharply cut their growth estimates and stressed on the need to announce an economic package. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is scheduled to announce its first bi-monthly policy review on April 3, is set to deliver a deep rate cuts and it should also be assumed that the fiscal deficit targets will be breached, analysts said.
India's petrol and diesel sales fell by about 17 per cent in May from a month ago as restrictions clamped to curb the world's worst outbreak of coronavirus infections stifled demand. Sales of petrol -- used in cars and motorcycles -- fell to 1.79 million tonne in May, the lowest in a year, according to the preliminary data of state-owned fuel retailers. While the consumption was almost 13 per cent higher than demand in May 2020, it was 28 per cent lower than pre-COVID levels of 2.49 million tonne.
Will you be allowed to step out? Will you be able to go to work? Can you go out for a job? These questions will be answered by this simple table below.
The ICMR is working on a war footing to develop the testing ecosystem -- especially for the screening blood tests. NIV, Pune, is in the process of validating antibody-based screening kits.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared 3D animated videos of him performing yoga.
Section 144 of CrPC, prohibiting assembly of five or more people at one spot, will be in force during the period, Thackeray had said, but refrained from terming the new curbs as a lockdown.
Is it sustainable?' 'Or is it like an overdose of a medicine that saves your life in the short run but kills you through long-lasting side-effects?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The UK prime minister stressed that a complete lockdown was the only answer to prevent the overrunning of the country's state-funded National Health Service, which would be a "medical and moral disaster" beyond the raw loss of life.
A complete lockdown will be imposed in Nagpur City police commissionerate area from March 15 to March 21 over the spread of Covid-19, the administration has announced.
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
