FIFA sees 'duty' to help from its 'support fund'

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No 2020 Wimbledon would be 'tough pill to swallow': John Isner

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Secrecy and suspense over Tour de France's fate

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NIS Patiala staff flouts lockdown protocol

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Patrick McEnroe feeling fine after mild case of coronavirus

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Ex-Marseille chief Pape Diouf dies after contracting coronavirus

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Broadcaster predicts La Liga restart in July with no fans

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Irate Amazon users vent online about delayed deliveries

Faced with delays or cancellation of orders of essential items, customers have taken to social media to criticise Amazon India in the past one week, after India imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown to counter the Covid-19 virus outbreak.

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Elon Musk Says Tesla Can Supply FDA-Approved Ventilators Free of Cost to Hospitals

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday the company has extra FDA-approved ventilators that can be shipped free of cost to hospitals within regions where the electric carmaker delivers.

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Tablighi meet turns into nightmare for states

Government authorities are tackling a logistical nightmare as they try to map the movements of thousands of people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation end-February and early March in New Delhi and then dispersed, many carrying the novel coronavirus to states across the length and breadth of India.

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New test kits likely in 2 months: ICMR

India is likely to start manufacturing new serological diagnostic testing kits within the next two months as many advances have been made after the virus was isolated by research agencies, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said. Meanwhile, to take speedy decisions on R&D, the government has formed a science and technology committee.

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Banks to roll out EMI waiver options soon

Banks will soon come out with the operational procedure for retail borrowers to avail a 3-month moratorium on their loans. Most lenders plan to send out text messages and emails allowing borrowers to avail the facility. The bank told customers that if an EMI was debited and they wish to avail the moratorium, they can contact the branch to initiate the refund process.

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Gold recovers from 3% slump as dollar, Asian equities ease

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,577.83 per ounce, as of 0030 GMT, having slumped 3.1% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.3% to $1,591.30.

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The Covid pause on your EMIs: Here's what banks have to offer

Bengaluru | Mumbai: Banks will mostly adopt one of two methods to honour the Reserve Bank of India’s call to allow borrowers to defer loan repayments for three months, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Customers will either have to contact the bank if they want to take advantage of the moratorium or the bank will allow the three-month break by default. In the latter instance, customers will need to let the bank know in case they want to keep up with payments.Banks said they have got in touch with customers or will do so in the next few days once they decide how to implement the decision. Many banks are still formulating policies on how the moratorium will be extended to retail loans, given their variety and complexity. RBI had announced the moratorium on March 27 as a relief to borrowers with the economy having ground to a halt due to the Covid-19 outbreak. SBI customers will possibly be able to opt for the delay by sending an email or visiting the branch, said the people cited above. Those who don’t want the option don’t need to do anything. The bank is working on the modalities with its IT department and the details could be out soon, they said.‘Be Wary of Debt Trap’Bankers said the way the moratorium is implemented will depend on the product. Borrowers should also be wary of getting into a debt trap. 74922733 “It’s a complex process and cannot be a one-size-fits-all,” said Axis Bank executive director Pralay Mondal. “Retail loans are of different kinds and the dispensation has to be in terms of the profile of borrowers and transaction history. For example, if we offer a moratorium for credit card loans, we may push some borrowers into revolving credit, which is dangerous both for the bank as well as the customers. We are still working out how to implement this.”ICICI Bank will offer customers options based on the product. Some customers will automatically be allowed a moratorium but can opt out if they want to while others will have to specifically ask for the deferment. Details are being worked out and will be issued shortly.HDFC Bank will likely ask customers to seek a moratorium by filling in their loan details on the website or sending an email. It will be assumed that those who don’t contact the bank will be able to keep paying. The policy is pending board approval.State-owned Canara Bank, the country’s fourth largest lender, has sent an SMS to 1.3 million retail customers stating that customers will need to respond with a ‘no’ so that standing instructions, post-dated cheques and electronic clearing system (ECS) payments can be stopped. If they do, the bank will not deduct equated monthly installments (EMIs) for three months.“We are sending similar SMSes to our MSME customers today. We have already received 33,000 SMSes from customers saying ‘no’. We will not deduct their EMIs for March, April and May,” said Canara Bank executive director A Manimekhalai.The bank did this to ease pressure on branches in the next few days.“Our branches will be under heavy pressure, having to make thousands of payments under various government schemes in the next few days,” she said. “They will not be able to handle customer queries related to EMIs, and large number of customers visiting branches for this will defeat the very purpose of social distancing. A simple SMS we thought will solve the problem.”IDFC First Bank will activate the moratorium for customers if they apply for it by email with mobile and loan account numbers. Punjab National Bank and Indian Bank announced they have activated the moratorium effective March, prompting queries from customers about whether these had to be applied for.Bank of Maharashtra also said it will continue to honour standing instructions on loan repayment unless the borrower applies for a delay. “The borrower is given liberty to make payment as per existing arrangement,” it said in a tweet.Private lenders Karnataka Bank and Federal Bank are working on options.“As of now, we have gone ahead with the three-month moratorium,” said Mahabaleshwara MS, MD at Karnataka Bank. “We have received many phone calls from customers asking if they can pay up their EMIs as before. We have to respect their sentiments, too. We are analysing those requests, and decide how to go about it.”An executive at Kerala-based Federal Bank said it’s working on various options to help customers who wish to opt out of the RBI relief.IDBI Bank is adopting a similar tack.

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$15.9 bn pulled out, FPIs march out of India

Mumbai: With global trading desks in a ‘sell-everything’ mood, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled a record $15.9 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore) out of the Indian debt and equity markets in March, according to NSDL data compiled by the ET Intelligence Group. The Covid-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on markets across the world, with investors fleeing to whatever haven they can find, exceeding exits from India during the financial crisis. For the year, FPIs have pulled out a record $15.11 billion (Rs 1.12 lakh crore) from India, the most in Asia, barring South Korea.The combined impact of market value erosion and redemption pressure on fund houses compressed total Indian equity assets under management by FPIs to $341 billion (Rs 25.52 lakh crore) on March 15, compared with $431 billion (Rs 33 lakh crore) at the beginning of 2020, a decline of 20%.FPIs account for a fifth of the total market capitalisation of Indian equities. In the first fortnight of March, the selling of FPIs in financial services, banks and oil & gas counters accounted for nearly 90% of the total outflow. FPIs have sold equities worth $9.5 billion (Rs 71,000 crore) in the past 22 days. On a rolling basis, FPI selling in the past 22 trading days was 0.7% of India’s market capitalisation, the most in the history, according to Nomura.74922864 Total March sales exceeded total FPI exits in all of 2008, the year of the global financial crisis. Fund flows from the debt and equity markets amounted to $9.33 billion (Rs 69,800 crore) in 2008. The ratio of purchases to sales of FPIs in the equity segment was 0.74 in March 2020 compared with 0.76 in September 2008. FPIs sold equities worth a record Rs 2.2 lakh crore in March 2020.On debt side, the gross buying to sales ratio was 0.27, the lowest since April 2008.

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Elon Musk Says Tesla Can Supply FDA-Approved Ventilators Free of Cost to Hospitals

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Energy firms hit by a pandemic of lawsuits

New Delhi: Energy companies are flooded with force majeure notices from customers as the lockdown has shuttered factories and commercial establishments, destroying fuel and electricity demand.From small tile makers in Gujarat to big fertiliser and power producers, refiners, and oil & gas producers have been jolted by the global spread of Covid-19, the measures taken to stem its spread and the economic fallout.Several small factories that have shut due to the lockdown have mailed force majeure notices to city gas distributors, who have in turn sent similar intimations to gas marketers such as GAIL, IndianOil and GSPC. GAIL, meanwhile, has issued force majeure notices to its domestic and overseas suppliers, including ONGC, Petronet LNG and Russia’s Gazprom.‘Chain Reaction’“It’s a chain reaction. If the end consumer loses appetite, the effect will go right up to the producer. This is an extraordinary time, and the problem is so widespread that it’s hard for anybody in the middle to absorb the shock,” said a GAIL executive. 74922877 GAIL has also received force majeure notices from several heavyweight customers in the fertiliser, power and refinery sectors. Power plants are facing a 30% drop in consumer demand as industries and offices remain shut. Fertiliser units have slowed due to labour shortage and transport hurdles, which has brought down their gas requirements.Petronet LNG, India’s biggest gas importer, has declared force majeure with respect to its gas purchase contracts with suppliers in Qatar and Australia, and deferred deliveries.Demand cut notices from GAIL, GSPC and other smaller buyers have forced 18% gas output cut at ONGC, India’s largest gas producer. “We have selectively shut wells and will be able to reopen them quickly when demand picks up after the lockdown,” ONGC chairman Shashi Shanker said.With fuel sales evaporating during the lockdown, refiners filled up their storages, cut run rates and then issued force majeure notices to suppliers across the globe. “This is an unprecedented situation. You can’t take more crude than you can process or store. It’s a global pandemic and even suppliers understand the problem,” said an executive at a state oil company.Most refineries in the country are running at about half their capacity and this might shrink further over the next few days. IndianOil, MRPL and HPCL are among refiners which have already invoked force majeure and deferred most of their April deliveries.Industrial customers whose functioning has been hampered due to the lockdown have also sent force majeure notices to refiners, citing an inability to take refined products.

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Shuttered buyers send force majeure notices to energy companies

New Delhi: Energy companies are flooded with force majeure notices from customers as the lockdown has shuttered factories and commercial establishments, destroying fuel and electricity demand.From small tile makers in Gujarat to big fertiliser and power producers, refiners, and oil & gas producers have been jolted by the global spread of Covid-19, the measures taken to stem its spread and the economic fallout.Several small factories that have shut due to the lockdown have mailed force majeure notices to city gas distributors, who have in turn sent similar intimations to gas marketers such as GAIL, IndianOil and GSPC. GAIL, meanwhile, has issued force majeure notices to its domestic and overseas suppliers, including ONGC, Petronet LNG and Russia’s Gazprom.‘Chain Reaction’“It’s a chain reaction. If the end consumer loses appetite, the effect will go right up to the producer. This is an extraordinary time, and the problem is so widespread that it’s hard for anybody in the middle to absorb the shock,” said a GAIL executive. 74922877 GAIL has also received force majeure notices from several heavyweight customers in the fertiliser, power and refinery sectors. Power plants are facing a 30% drop in consumer demand as industries and offices remain shut. Fertiliser units have slowed due to labour shortage and transport hurdles, which has brought down their gas requirements.Petronet LNG, India’s biggest gas importer, has declared force majeure with respect to its gas purchase contracts with suppliers in Qatar and Australia, and deferred deliveries.Demand cut notices from GAIL, GSPC and other smaller buyers have forced 18% gas output cut at ONGC, India’s largest gas producer. “We have selectively shut wells and will be able to reopen them quickly when demand picks up after the lockdown,” ONGC chairman Shashi Shanker said.With fuel sales evaporating during the lockdown, refiners filled up their storages, cut run rates and then issued force majeure notices to suppliers across the globe. “This is an unprecedented situation. You can’t take more crude than you can process or store. It’s a global pandemic and even suppliers understand the problem,” said an executive at a state oil company.Most refineries in the country are running at about half their capacity and this might shrink further over the next few days. IndianOil, MRPL and HPCL are among refiners which have already invoked force majeure and deferred most of their April deliveries.Industrial customers whose functioning has been hampered due to the lockdown have also sent force majeure notices to refiners, citing an inability to take refined products.

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Banks start giving options to avail loan moratorium

Bengaluru | Mumbai: Banks will mostly adopt one of two methods to honour the Reserve Bank of India’s call to allow borrowers to defer loan repayments for three months, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Customers will either have to contact the bank if they want to take advantage of the moratorium or the bank will allow the three-month break by default. In the latter instance, customers will need to let the bank know in case they want to keep up with payments.Banks said they have got in touch with customers or will do so in the next few days once they decide how to implement the decision. Many banks are still formulating policies on how the moratorium will be extended to retail loans, given their variety and complexity. RBI had announced the moratorium on March 27 as a relief to borrowers with the economy having ground to a halt due to the Covid-19 outbreak. SBI customers will possibly be able to opt for the delay by sending an email or visiting the branch, said the people cited above. Those who don’t want the option don’t need to do anything. The bank is working on the modalities with its IT department and the details could be out soon, they said.‘Be Wary of Debt Trap’Bankers said the way the moratorium is implemented will depend on the product. Borrowers should also be wary of getting into a debt trap. 74922733 “It’s a complex process and cannot be a one-size-fits-all,” said Axis Bank executive director Pralay Mondal. “Retail loans are of different kinds and the dispensation has to be in terms of the profile of borrowers and transaction history. For example, if we offer a moratorium for credit card loans, we may push some borrowers into revolving credit, which is dangerous both for the bank as well as the customers. We are still working out how to implement this.”ICICI Bank will offer customers options based on the product. Some customers will automatically be allowed a moratorium but can opt out if they want to while others will have to specifically ask for the deferment. Details are being worked out and will be issued shortly.HDFC Bank will likely ask customers to seek a moratorium by filling in their loan details on the website or sending an email. It will be assumed that those who don’t contact the bank will be able to keep paying. The policy is pending board approval.State-owned Canara Bank, the country’s fourth largest lender, has sent an SMS to 1.3 million retail customers stating that customers will need to respond with a ‘no’ so that standing instructions, post-dated cheques and electronic clearing system (ECS) payments can be stopped. If they do, the bank will not deduct equated monthly installments (EMIs) for three months.“We are sending similar SMSes to our MSME customers today. We have already received 33,000 SMSes from customers saying ‘no’. We will not deduct their EMIs for March, April and May,” said Canara Bank executive director A Manimekhalai.The bank did this to ease pressure on branches in the next few days.“Our branches will be under heavy pressure, having to make thousands of payments under various government schemes in the next few days,” she said. “They will not be able to handle customer queries related to EMIs, and large number of customers visiting branches for this will defeat the very purpose of social distancing. A simple SMS we thought will solve the problem.”IDFC First Bank will activate the moratorium for customers if they apply for it by email with mobile and loan account numbers. Punjab National Bank and Indian Bank announced they have activated the moratorium effective March, prompting queries from customers about whether these had to be applied for.Bank of Maharashtra also said it will continue to honour standing instructions on loan repayment unless the borrower applies for a delay. “The borrower is given liberty to make payment as per existing arrangement,” it said in a tweet.Private lenders Karnataka Bank and Federal Bank are working on options.“As of now, we have gone ahead with the three-month moratorium,” said Mahabaleshwara MS, MD at Karnataka Bank. “We have received many phone calls from customers asking if they can pay up their EMIs as before. We have to respect their sentiments, too. We are analysing those requests, and decide how to go about it.”An executive at Kerala-based Federal Bank said it’s working on various options to help customers who wish to opt out of the RBI relief.IDBI Bank is adopting a similar tack.

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Indian cricketers may face pay cuts: Indian Cricketers Association president

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COVID-19: Former US Davis Cup captain McEnroe tests positive

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COVID-19: Jos Buttler auctions World Cup final shirt

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Big tech takes equalisation levy row to US govt

A group of seven top industry associations representing internet and technology giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Adobe has sought withdrawal of the new equalisation levy that comes into force from April 1, due to its widespread negative impact on American companies.

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TN stares at major corona crisis as 10 Tablighi delegates test +ve

As Tamil Nadu recorded 17 more Covid-19 cases on Monday and at least a score more suspected to be infected, the state’s anti-Covid-19 machinery swung into action to trace the 980 Tamil Muslims who took part in a Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) conference in New Delhi and returned home.

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New bodyweight workouts replace hockey training, games

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ITTF freezes rankings, paddlers confused

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Scenarios for a potential return of the Premier League

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US Open venue to be 350-bed temporary hospital

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Messi confirms pay cut for Barcelona players, criticises board

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Raunak Sadhwani is lockdown chess online champion

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Augusta National donates $2 million to coronavirus fight

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Jailed former Brazilian football boss given early release by New York judge

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Why this lockdown has been painful so far

New Delhi: While the Central government has come up with advisories on exemptions from curbs being implemented during the nationwide shutdown until mid-April, consumer companies and retailers are facing hurdles, with local authorities in some states frequently changing rules, company executives said.For example, Lucknow city officials ordered wholesalers to sell essential goods to the authorities and not directly to the kiranas, which form the bedrock of retailing in India. Cash-and-carry companies said the city has fixed prices for essential goods that are below their costs.On the other hand, the authorities in Ghaziabad in the same state allow wholesalers to sell directly to the kiranas. Challenges for Offline RetailersIn Gautam Buddh Nagar, where Noida is located, the prices of flour, rice, staples and salt are fixed and action would be taken against those selling these commodities at higher prices.“New guidelines from the states are creating some confusion. While notifications and advisories from the Centre are very clear, the interpretation is different in each state,” said Arvind Mediratta, MD of Metro Cash & Carry India, which operates 27 stores in states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Punjab. “In many cases, it’s even different across cities in the same state. So this gap between the central guidelines and citywise implementation is becoming a big challenge.”“There is this discretionary power in the hands of the district magistrates and they behave like the new satraps and decide whatever they want to do,” said the chief executive officer of a retail company. These officials draw immense discretionary power under the National Disaster Management Act, which the Centre invoked to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the executive said.The home ministry issued guidelines on Sunday allowing transportation of all goods – regardless of whether they’re considered essential – distribution, supply and packaging of milk, and transportation of products such as handwashes, soaps, disinfectants and surface cleansers without restrictions. Addressed to the chief secretaries of all states, the guidelines direct all district authorities and field agencies to avoid any ambiguity at the ground level.A day earlier, the commissioner of Amdavad Municipal Corporation ordered three dozen supermarket and hypermarkets operated by Reliance Retail, Big Bazaar, DMart and Osia Hypermart to close “till further orders.”“Home deliveries are permitted. The decision will be reviewed after they improve home delivery mechanisms,” municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra tweeted on Saturday. People are “advised not to visit the stores,” he said.“We are offline retailers and if specialised e-commerce companies are not able to make deliveries these days, how can we?” said Dhirendra Chopra, chairman of Osia Hypermart, which operates 18 outlets Gujarat, of which seven in Ahmedabad are shut, as per the latest order.Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India, echoed the sentiments and said physical retailers don’t have the wherewithal for home deliveries.“It is not even economically viable for the physical retailers as such last-mile delivery is not in their capabilities,” he said. Angelo George, CEO of Bisleri, said he appreciates the challenges that the authorities face in enforcing the 21-day countrywide lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus.“However, despite state government notifications, an official in one part of the state wouldn’t issue permissions, while essential items move freely in rest of the state,” he said. “Or even at city level, one particular official wouldn’t issue approvals for his part of the city despite clear government guidelines. So, a lot of our time had to be invested in sorting out these administrative hassles.”

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Deferring credit card, loan payments may cost more

MUMBAI: Read the fine print on your credit card bill? If you did, you might not consider deferring those repayments — or that personal loan you took to fund that trip to Maasai Mara this winter.Of course, the central bank has given a three-month grace on repayments — and those include unsecured loans such as credit card repayments and personal loans. But the interest on them wouldn’t be waived, and since banks don’t have a security on these advances, the rate of interest would pinch.While lenders across the board are still finalising the nuances of how they’ll extend to customers the moratorium benefits, industry experts are advising customers to pay off those loans where interest rates are rather high.“The moratorium applies for overall card outstanding inclusive of interest. If one chooses to opt in for the moratorium, such outstanding interest will accrue further interest, leading to compounding,” RBL Bank said, responding to ET’s mailed questionnaire on the topic. “Customers are advised to make the maximum possible payments on time rather than deferring payments, leading to interest charges being levied.”While the burden could be manageable for borrowers of a benign interest loan tenor — home loans, for one — this may not be the case with borrowers of loans with higher interests, such as credit cards and other unsecured personal loans. Rates in these cases are typically north of 40% per annum.Industry experts have pointed out that the central bank relaxation guidelines only cover deferment of principal amounts and lenders may still opt to accrue compounded interest rates in this period, leaving customers under huge repayment burden when the moratorium ends.Take for example a letter by credit card bill management fintech CRED to its customers: “CRED recommends that you continue paying your total due amount (or as much as possible) within the due date to avoid interest charges at 36-42% compounding annual interest rate, if you can.”A customer, choosing not to pay until end-May dues of Rs 1,00,000 on her credit card as on March 3, would be required to pay Rs 1,15,000 in June, CRED explained. That would include the Rs 1,00,000 due as principal, and RS 15,000 by way of interest and other charges.The central bank governor on Friday announced a slew of measures, including a 75bps repo rate cut and grace period on all term loan repayments for a period of three months between March 1 and May 31. These are taken to ease the economic impact on millions of borrowers facing financial disruption caused by the pandemic. In the absence of clarity from the central bank, the call on how and when the interest rates would accrue for customers opting for the moratorium could depend on individual lenders.

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Covid-19 battle: Top food companies to not hike prices

Mumbai | Kolkata: Food companies such as Parle Products, ITC and Adani Wilmar said they will not hike product prices despite cost pressures in terms of raw materials and supply chain logistics completely wiping out profit margins. Companies also said their production is gradually improving after falling to half the capacity as some factories have restarted after fixing logistical hiccups. “We expect operations to be back on track in the next 5-7 days in terms of supply chain,” said Mayank Shah, category head at Parle Products, the country's biggest biscuit maker by volume. “At this point, we are focused on making and delivering products, and (there is) absolutely no focus on profitability.” Most food companies ran into supply cuts and distribution hiccups after enforcement authorities forced factories to shut in several places and halted movement of trucks. While this has been sorted out in most places across the country since then, unavailability of labour continues to impact production and movement of goods. 74901205 “There is a shortage of truck drivers and factory workers and our industry is not so automated that we can operate with limited workforce,” said Angshu Mallick, deputy CEO, Adani Wilmar. “We have also seen 50% rise in freight rates and significant pressure from currency devaluation, too,” he said, but added the company will not hike prices. The firm has opened nearly all its 80-odd depots compared to just 35 operational last week. ITC, too, said it is not hiking price of essential products despite escalation of cost. The maker of Aashirvaad atta is continuing manufacturing, distribution with minimum people."While we have progressively obtained permissions in some states, availability of trucks continues to be the biggest challenge at the moment,” an ITC spokesperson said. “Interstate and local truck movement has been severely impacted together with the challenge of shortage of manpower in factories. We believe it will take a few more days for the entire ecosystem and processes to be streamlined for movement of essential goods.”

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Bodyweight workouts replace hockey training

The scheduled breaks for the Indian men and women's hockey teams were put on hold after it was deemed unsafe for them to travel to their home towns in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak. In fact, on March 10, a lockdown order was issued at SAI.

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Cut out the noise. Now’s the time to add more to your equity SIPs

By DP SinghIt is said that half knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. This truism holds true today when you see the amount of misinformation floating around as genuine advice in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the stock market crash. While the advice is well-meaning, there is always a chance that it is only half-true or worse, completely wrong.The Covid-19 pandemic has spread fear throughout the world, with the epicentre now moving to Europe from China. India is also seeing a rise in reported cases every day and in response Indian markets, in tandem with global markets, have seen massive decline to the point of incredulity. At this time, it seems this is the worst thing that markets have ever been through, or at least that’s what the noise around it seems to be saying.Going by the current trend in the market, it is encouraging to know that there is a small section of investors who are unperturbed by the volatility. This is because the retail investors have evolved over time. They have become more aware of reasons for market volatility and what they must and must not do during those phases. However, there is a large section of the investors who still panic and get affected by all the noise around them.The fear being passed around feeds into a culture of panic and over-reaction that has come to define us in this hyper-connected, social media-dominated world. Information is everywhere and becomes that much harder to ignore, especially when it is regarding your health and wealth.Advice that is well-meaning but is misleadingOne piece of advice doing the rounds in these uncertain times is to withdraw lump sum investments and stop SIPs to reduce losses, given the steady and continuous declines in the market that are eroding the value of portfolios. Erosion of portfolio value is disconcerting, but you must remember that this is not the first time that stock markets have faced such fierce volatility and heavy losses.Back in 2008, during the global downturn due to the sub-prime crisis, the Sensex halved to about 8,000-9,000 levels by the end of that year. Investors, who despite advice to the contrary, continued to stay invested through that volatile period would have benefited with the Sensex growing fourfold over the next decade (2008-2018).Historically, markets have endured several events such as the SARS epidemic in 2002, the Chikangunya epidemic in 2006, the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009, the Ebola crisis in 2014, the India swine flu epidemic in 2015, and the Zika Virus in 2016. The chart below illustrates how the market has survived these crises periods. They have not only recovered the losses, but also have delivered positive returns for investors who stayed invested for the long term.Stay put with your fund or allocate more for your goalsIt is a given that markets will move up over the long term and an SIP is one of the most efficient ways of breezing through such volatile times. Light on the pocket, an SIP will help you continue with your investments and pick up higher units at a lower net asset value. The benefit of higher number of units will be experienced when markets start to move up again.Investors who have SIPs should not panic and stop their investments. For those whose SIPs are about to expire in the coming months, it’s an opportune time to consider taking advantage of the market lows by continuing their investments; adding new ones or choosing a top up in their existing scheme. For investors who have some liquidity at hand, lump sum investments could be considered at these levels. New investors should not try to time the market to look for a more favourable time to start investing.The right time is now and investors could choose mutual funds as the preferred vehicle to benefit from portfolio diversification in a staggered manner. Additionally, stock prices currently are extremely volatile and finding a suitable investment may be timeconsuming and confusing. So, leave it to the experts at mutual fund houses to make appropriate investment decisions for you.Tough times do not last long, Indian economy to recoverIt’s true that the mood in the market is fearful; we are living in uncertain times and can’t fully predict what lies ahead. However, taking cues from the past, investors should look at the long-term scenario.The levels that the Sensex has fallen to was last touched five years ago. Our fiscal and monetary policies have since then expanded to accommodate the growth of our financial markets. This has been supported by growth in infrastructure, investment and consumption, which has been the backbone of the economy, owing to the structural reforms introduced by the government in the last few years. Therefore, we believe our markets and economy should be able to weather uncertainty better than we did in 2015.Further, the Indian economy is expected to see gradual recovery once these tough times are behind us. Moreover, we expect a gradual shift in world supply chain dynamics, as this crisis would force companies to rethink the over-reliance on one country for their manufacturing requirements. We expect India to gain from this supply chain reorientation.The volatility we are seeing today will seem like a small hiccup over the long term. Instead of running away, investors should ride alongside it, and over the next decade, experience the benefits of their patience and resilience. Thus, we urge investors to avoid taking a U-turn on their goals and treat this time as their turn to stay invested.(The author is CMO, SBI MF. Views expressed are personal.)

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Lockdown: Real Kashmir's Scot coach stranded in Srinagar

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USA Rugby files for bankruptcy as COVID-19 worsens financial woes

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Covid-19 battle: Restrictions on drug export may be lifted

Mumbai: The government is likely to lift export restrictions on certain antibiotics and anti-diarrheal drugs as China’s Hubei province, a major hub for bulk drugs production which was under weeks of lockdown following the Covid-19 virus outbreak, is slowly getting back to normal.The country, which depends hugely on China for bulk drugs, had in February restricted exports because of the pandemic.Out of 13 drugs whose exports were restricted, the government is likely to lift the ban on five including paracetamol, tinidazole, metronidazole, ornidazole, and azithromycin, people in the know of the matter said.The government is thinking of removing the restrictions following the recommendations of an empowered group headed by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority chairperson Shubha Singh.The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and formulations put under export restrictions included antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, neomycin, metronidazole, Vitamins B1, B12, B6 and the hormone progesterone, among others.“Keeping in view that India has enough stock, now that the supply has started from Hubei, government is contemplating reversing its decision from five such drugs,” a person aware of the matter told ET.India imports bulk drugs from China to manufacture antibiotics and then exports finished products to other nations.Bulk drugs or APIs needed to manufacture antibiotics like metronidazole, chloramphenicol and azithromycin, apart from Vitamin B6, are imported from Hubei province, whose capital Wuhan was the epicentre of the outbreak.Hubei is also rich in minerals and India also imports borax, copper, gypsum, rock salt, coal, magnesium from the province.China’s decision to quarantine more than 45 million people stopped the import of the key raw materials.

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Covid-19 in India: Banks wary of liquidity crunch

Mumbai: How many borrowers will use the moratorium on loans? It’s a key question that many banks are grappling with.Some lenders, particularly private sector institutions, fear that if a large number of borrowers refuse to service loans, Reserve Bank of India’s measures to soften the blow from Covid-19 could fall short of requirement. In such a situation the moratorium on interest and loan repayment will more than offset the benefits of extra liquidity.Faced with such a situation, these banks would be reluctant to extend the moratorium to certain categories of borrowers such as government employees whose salaries have not been impacted or large companies with the wherewithal to tide over the crisis.Last week, the monetary authority lowered cash reserve ratio (CRR) — the slice of customer deposits banks set aside as cash with the regulator — by one percentage point, and raised the accommodation under marginal standing facility (MSF), under which banks borrow from RBI against government securities.Concerns for Banks with High Credit-Deposit Ratio“If 50% or more borrowers opt for moratorium, then the additional liquidity made available through the RBI measures could be less than the amount that banks would not receive as interest payments and principal repayments from borrowers during the three-month moratorium. Since these banks will have to continue to pay depositors the interest and maturity amounts, such a situation could actually worsen the liquidity position of banks,” a senior banker told ET.According to industry sources, banks have discussed the matter among themselves over the past few days. “This is an issue which concerns banks with high credit-deposit (CD) ratio... Under such circumstances, the central bank will have to consider opening a general line of credit to banks,” said another banker.Consider a bank with a net demand and liabilities (or net deposits) of Rs 10 lakh crore and loan book of Rs 6 lakh crore. The CRR cut and MSF flexibility will release Rs 20,000 crore liquidity for the bank. Suppose the moratorium becomes effective on 50% of the loans having an average yield of 12% and average tenor of 5 years. A three per cent delay in interest (for the three months) would mean deferred interest inflow of Rs 10,500 crore. Along with the postponement in payment of loan principal, the bank’s receipt of interest and principal on loans would be well over Rs 20,000 crore. This could cause a liquidity crunch for the bank and impact its ability to lend.After June, the bank may either raise the loan EMI or extend the tenor of the loan. This would depend on whether the borrower has the capacity to afford higher EMIs or is in a position to repay the loan over a longer tenor. According to an industry person, in case of stress loans which are yet to be categorised as non-performing assets, banks will consult RBI on the treatment of these `special mention assets’ and whether to stop applying interest on such loans or recovering instalments (known as freezing the clock in banking parlance).

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Covid-19: No outsourcing for these business processes management companies

Bengaluru: Business process management companies that handle critical functions for some of the world’s largest corporations are being forced to halt large chunks of their operations in India, as the country nears the second week of a nationwide lockdown to stem the tide of Covid-19 infections.Client protocol that disallows transfer to a work-from-home mode coupled with employees’ inability to commute to office is leading to large-scale stoppages, said company executives.“A significant portion of the work also requires employees to access private customer data, this cannot be shifted,” said an executive with a US-listed BPM company. “About 50% work has stopped,” the person said. The work that is most impacted is voice-based, with transaction and platform processes less affected.The $38 billion Indian BPO industry, which includes Genpact, Concentrix and EXL Service, has in the last two years grown faster than the larger Indian IT services industry. But the current shutdown that has affected locations both across India and the Philippines is severely restricting companies’ ability to fully service clients, executives said.74904131 Last week, EXL Service, which services insurance and travel clients and employs over 10,000 people in India, withdrew its 2020 guidance citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.Concentrix, the $1.2 billion BPO arm of US IT distribution company Synnex, fears more employees will be impacted as further restrictions come into force.Significant ChallengesThe company employs over 60,000 people in India.Synnex suspended the practice of issuing quarterly guidance last week.“Of the 150,000 staff in restricted movement locations, approximately 70,000 are unable to work currently,” Chris Caldwell, president of Concentrix, told analysts last week. Its workforce is both in India and the Philippines, another large delivery market, which has also implemented a lockdown. “As governments continue to refine strategy to deal with the Covid-19 virus, our expectations are further restrictions will be put in place affecting many more of our staff,” Caldwell said.Genpact, one of the largest BPM companies, told the US SEC earlier this month, that it was uncertain about the impact that Covid-19 would have on its business. The company has warned it faces significant risks from a shutdown in India. It added that this could result in revenue losses and inadvertent breaches of client contracts if many employees, or a group of employees in the same service line or who serve the same clients, were unable to work at the same time.Back-office firms located in India service airlines such as British Airways and KLM, banks such as Bank of America and Citi and industrial giants such as GE and Caterpillar."Today, almost 70-80% of the BPM industry’s workforce is working from home – possibly the largest work-from-home scale project anywhere,” said a spokesperson for National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) in an email response. “The mission critical workforce who are executing functions that are required from offices are getting special passes to come to office."India and the Philippines are the two most critical markets when it comes to the BPM sector. In both regions, the industry is running mission critical services and ensuring customer centricity through the continuity of business functions, said the industry body.Experts are of the view that the Indian BPO industry faces significant challenges in the short and medium term due to the Covid-19 related restrictions.“They have to operate on an immediate short-term footing to keep the lights on for enterprise clients,” Phil Fersht, CEO of IT consultancy HfS Research said.Last week, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) classified the IT and BPO industry that supports government, health services and financial industries as essential services."The ministry has received representations/suggestions from various IT/ITeS industry associations requesting to bring about uniformity across India, through a suitable advisory, with regard to essential functions that are undertaken by the IT-ITeS industry amidst the Corona epidemic related restrictions," MeitY said in the notification.Analysts say companies face challenges in organising thousands of computers and internet connections to employees at short notice, impacting work.“Some companies have clauses in emergency that some work can move back to the client side, and other clauses. But there is a challenge in doing remote work at scale. Companies that have made headway with chatbots and automation will be able to manage this better,” Mrinal Rai, principal analyst at consultancy ISG, said.

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Covid-19: No outsourcing for these business processes management companies

BPM companies are caught between mobility curbs and client protocol that disallows work-from-home. Experts are of the view that the Indian BPO industry faces significant challenges in the short and medium term due to the Covid-19 related restrictions. Analysts say companies face challenges in organising thousands of computers and internet connections to employees at short notice, impacting work.

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Covid-19: Labour-driven export sectors run for cover

New Delhi | Kolkata: The country’s labour-intensive export sectors such as leather, textiles, gems and jewellery, carpets and handicrafts have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic with orders getting cancelled, shipments delayed indefinitely, payments missed and consignments stuck at ports.According to sectoral estimates, about ₹7,600 crore of leather export orders have been cancelled, ₹2,000 crore carpet orders are stuck and handicraft sector losses are seen at ₹8,000 crore.“Around 30% of orders of labour-intensive sectors have got cancelled,” said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).The issues are set to be discussed at a meeting that commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will hold with the various export promotion councils on Tuesday.74903950 India’s exports contracted 1.5% to $292.9 billion in the 11 months to February 2020. The decline is likely to be much sharper going ahead.Cancellation of Trade FairsExport orders worth $1 billion were cancelled in the past 10 days and many customers have stopped payments, said Council for Leather Exports chairman Aqeel Ahmed Panaruna.“Customers are not paying invoices and all new orders are cancelled. Our American clients are not taking products that are ready for them,” Panaruna said.India’s Rs 12,000 crore carpet industry is also in distress with orders worth Rs 2,000 crore stuck and besides it’s running short of workers due to the lockdown.“We do 40% of our business in the January-March period. The lockdown will have long-term consequences,” said Siddh Nath Singh, chairman, Carpet Export Promotion Council. The handloom, handicraft, carpet and cottage sectors employ around two million people. India’s gems and jewellery exports fell 19% in February and are estimated to decline 12% in FY20 to $35.85 billion on year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).“In February, when the deadly virus spread in China, Hong Kong and Far East, gems and jewellery exports had plunged by 19.37% in comparison to February 2019,” said Colin Shah, vice chairman, GJEPC, and a leading diamond exporter. “But the situation worsened in March when it spread to Europe and the US.”Cancellation of key trade fairs in the US, Hong Kong and Jaipur also impacted the jewellery business.According to a Delhi-based exporter of garments, around 70% of orders have been postponed or cancelled and since this is a season-dependent sector, apparel meant for export will likely go waste.The handicraft industry fears closure of 60-80% of units in three months if the situation doesn’t improve as buyers are not paying, have cancelled orders already under production or are taking advantage of the situation by negotiating for discounts. “An initial estimate of the impact that the handicraft sector may suffer in wake of the existing crisis is approximately Rs 8,000-10,000 crore,” said Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) director general Rakesh Kumar.Exporters have sought an increase in pre and post-shipment credit duration to 180 days from 90 days now, besides getting international couriers to function, as sending documents has become a challenge given that all flights have been halted.“It is suggested that banks should be advised not to levy any charges on the exporters while cancelling forward contracts in those cases where the export orders are cancelled by the overseas buyers,” textile exporters have written to Goyal.Cancellation of forward contracts involves costs that the banks get from exporters.Exporters want the government to provide freight subsidies for goods that are brought back to the country, compensation in some form if items have to be abandoned or if discounts have to be given to buyers. They have also asked for a delay in declaring loans as non-performing assets for a year owing to the lack of business coupled with fixed costs.

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Coronavirus live: Total cases in India rise to 1251

The govt has said there is no plan to extend the lockdown beyond 21 days, and trashed media reports hinting at such a possibility. Meanwhile, the number of positive cases in India has crossed 1200 and the death toll stands at 32. Stay with TOI for the latest developments.

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Banks yet to act on EMI relief, spark confusion

With just two days left for the next EMI cycle to begin, most big lenders are unprepared to follow the Reserve Bank of India’s blanket order allowing borrowers to hold back from paying instalments for the month. Top lenders such as State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank have not activated any channel for customers to exercise an option.

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Australia says no collusion in decision to withdraw from 2020 Games

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Kobe Bryant's towel from finale sells for $33K in online auction

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Sports events around the world hit by the coronavirus

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Trophy-hungry Kane says he cannot guarantee Spurs stay without progress

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Liverpool deserve title if season cancelled: Gundogan

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Foam in hole and toilet paper for prizes, US golfers play on despite coronavirus

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Two Chicago Cubs employees test positive for COVID-19 virus

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Former NFL lineman Boselli in ICU with COVID-19: Report

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The wild hunt for 100-ounce gold bars

But the virus, and the global economic collapse that it’s sparking, have created such extreme price distortions that those easyexit options disappeared on them.

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Coronavirus: How Dubai, Saudi returnees slipped under radar

Many of those who returned from Gulf countries to India in February and early March were neither screened at airports nor advised to quarantine themselves. The focus then was on passengers from China, South Korea, Iran, Spain, Italy and Germany. Dubai and Saudi Arabia weren’t even on the radar.

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Coronavirus: Relief package for the poor via DBT may face hurdles

Mumbai: The government’s relief package for those hit the worst by the Covid-19 lockdown will need to quickly overcome operational and logistical hurdles in order to be effective, as it involves the direct transfer of such handouts through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.The finance ministry said ₹1.75 lakh crore will be given to “80 crore poorest Indians” under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) over three months starting April 1.Participants in the direct benefit transfer (DBT) architecture such as banks, ATM operators, Bank Mitras and fintech companies running payment systems aren’t sure if the process will function seamlessly.Challenges include having adequate cash in ATMs, operational efficiency of the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) at scale and the negligible digital payment acceptance infrastructure in rural areas, where there aren’t too many cash machines in any case, they said. A significant number of people still don’t have bank accounts and many of those that do haven’t linked them with Aadhaar.Constraints Faced by Bank MitrasThere are an estimated 1.1 billion operational bank accounts, of which 800 million have been seeded with Aadhaar.“The low acceptance of digital payments is definitely a challenge in rural areas,” according to State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar.“It is however an awareness and habit issue as well. We are urging all our customers to use digital means to transact as much as possible.”The DBT model depends on the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) architecture to directly remit government-sanctioned welfare funds to beneficiary bank accounts. That raises questions about how relief funds will be given to those without bank accounts, especially migrant workers.Of the 230,000 ATMs in the country, only 45,000 are in rural areas, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.“Cash for white-label ATMs is normally sourced from local bank branches but with the low inflow of cash to bank branches in these areas due to reduced commerce, we are now facing cash shortages resulting in a number of ATMs being unavailable to the needy,” said Rustom Irani, MD and CEO of cash business, Hitachi Payment Services, which maintains cash machines in India.74880932 CASH CONCERNSInadequate supply could lead to a dash for cash in an economy where over 90% of combined rural and urban retail spends are still made with paper money, said a stakeholder.“An immediate concern is transfer of foodstock from rural to urban areas where almost the entire logistics is driven by cash,” said the person.Restrictions on movement mean that regular maintenance of ATMs becomes difficult, making them prone to malfunction.“There are on-ground challenges related to the concerned staff not being able to commute and render their work owing to fear and confusion,” said Ravi Goyal, chairman of AGS Transact, an ATM service provider for banks.Under these circumstances, much of the burden for conversion of relief funds to currency notes for the urban and rural poor may fall upon the country’s estimated 1 million Bank Mitras or outsourced banking agents. Several concerns on the operation of these agents have also come to fore.“Only 30% of our Bank Mitras have been able to ply due to travel restrictions imposed by local area authorities despite their services being classified as essential by the government,” said Seema Prem, CEO of FIA technology, a financial inclusion service.Furthermore, these agents, who also act as micro ATM points, allowing rural customers to withdraw cash through the AePS, don’t have enough currency notes due to the halt in economic activity. Some are using previous experience as a guide.“We are treating our experiences during demonetisation as a preparation for coronavirus,” said Anand Bajaj, CEO PayNearby, a leading AePS facilitator.The sudden spike in transaction traffic owing to DBT withdrawals may also put pressure on the AePS infrastructure, where failure rates are higher than other digital payment channels. Transaction failures in AePS in some zones are as high as 45%, said a person with knowledge of the matter.“In the absence of any directions from the finance ministry, it would require coordinated efforts of the entire banking and payments ecosystem to reach out to these unbanked citizens for transfer of relief funds,” said a top official wishing not to be named.

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With no light at the end of the Street, indices unlikely to hold on to gains

Mumbai: The 14% bounce in Indian stock indices in the last four sessions could face hurdles in the days ahead amid rising cases of coronavirus in India and elsewhere. Analysts expect the Nifty to fall back below 8,000 levels and even touch 7,500, as the global economy faces its worst phase since the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The Nifty ended up 0.2% at 8,660 on Friday and the Sensex ended down 0.4% at 29,815.Overseas investors have reduced their selling of stocks over the past two trading sessions, which have soothed nerves, but various indicators are still not giving market participants the comfort to assume that the worst is over. FPIs are still holding their short positions after the March series expiry which saw the Nifty logging its worst series decline since 2008. For the stock market to keep the positive momentum going, the Nifty has to cross 9,000."Unless we go above 9,000, it will go down again. 9,000 level is 38% retracement from the previous sell-off. Failure to cross 9,000 would mean it would head back to 7,500 or a lower range,” said Rohit Srivastava, founder, Indiacharts.Options data show highest open interest among Nifty call options at 9,000 strike in the April series; while among put options, the 7,500 strike holds the highest open interest.Rajesh Palviya, head-technical and derivatives research at Axis Securities, says it remains to be seen if FIIs continue to be net buyers after Friday. “Until we cross 9,200, we cannot say bottom is made. If things worsen on the coronavirus front, we can again go to 7,500."On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India joined global central banks in easing monetary policy, slashing interest rates by 75 basis points and pumping additional liquidity into the banking system to cushion the financial system from the downturn caused by the pandemic. The government earlier announced a relief package to help the poor on Thursday. Investors think rate cuts alone will not help and are rooting for a stimulus by the government for the industry, which has been devastated by the 21-day lockdown."Although the government’s Rs 1.7 trillion package (0.83% of GDP) addressess some of the most basic issues, it pales in comparison with both the scale of the problem and what is being done by other countries. Among the various measures announced, some do not bear much incremental cost to the government and also have little impact in terms of creating a stimulus," said Emkay Global in a note. Moreover, the moratorium will defer but not remove the asset quality risk for banks, said Emkay.Brokerage reports following the announcement of 21-day lockdown also indicate that the worst is not yet over. Many are expecting the lockdown to be extended further."Markets will remain volatile as the economic impact of the lockdown will be severe while stimulus packages will help to contain the damage. How long the closure of businesses are done needs to be seen," said Rajat Rajgarhia, CEO, Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities.“These are unprecedented events - every macro-economic parameter is all over the place for next 1-2 quarters... A clear downtrend in the Covid-19 cases are critical for markets to have an uptrend," said Rajgarhia.

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Lost opportunity for Punjab’s sports gear industry

Manufacturers of Jalandhar were flooded with enquiries from across the globe, primarily Europe and the US, till last month as buyers looked for alternative supply sources after China shut down factories following Covid-19 outbreak.

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Major sporting moments on March 30 in history

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Gold gains as dollar weakens, fears of economic damage mount

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,621.85 per ounce, as of 0029 GMT. US gold futures rose 1 per cent to $1,641.80.

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India scrambles to avoid a viral nightmare

NEW DELHI: The Centre is identifying emerging “hotspots” of Covid-19 infection and employing a rigorous cluster containment strategy which involves demarcating an area of 3 kilometre radius around epicentre, a buffer zone of additional 5 kilometre radius and ensuring all quarantine protocols are followed here.The health ministry is studying data and identifying probable hotspots of Covid-19 which need to be better monitored so that the infection does not spread. Joint secretary (health) Lav Agarwal said, “We are studying emerging hot spots and these are being identified after which a rigorous containment policy is being followed.” The number of confirmed cases at 4 pm on Sunday had increased to 979 with 25 deaths. Over the last 24 hours, 106 new positive cases and six deaths from different states have been reported. 74879471 The rigorous containment strategy or the micro plan for containing local transmission involves first identifying the house of a Covid-19 positive patient and then tracing contact list and mapping all of them. In a scenario where this is taking time, the protocol is to demarcate an area of 3 kilometre radius as the epicentre. This epicentre would be the containment zone which would be sealed. All residents within this area would be asked to stay indoors and sanitisation would take place. Health workers in surveillance teams would be asked to go doorto-door and seek details such as number of people in a house, their age, gender and their health status, including any underlying conditions. A daily check would be kept on these. A 5 kilometre radius buffer zone would also be demarcated.The strategy to identify containment zones has been evolved after areas like Bhilwara have emerged as pockets showing quick spread of infection. The containment plan would involve the last-mile health worker in identifying such clusters, house-to-house visits, keeping a track of active cases and their contacts, maintaining a list of suspected cases and their contacts and ensuring all protocols of home quarantine are followed. Every health worker should be set a target of 50 houses in a day. Agarwal said, “The reason behind following this containment policy is to ensure that if there is any suspected case we quarantine them and if he develops symptoms proper medical treatment is given at the right time.” Secretary (health) Preeti Sudan took a meeting with state health secretaries on Sunday and took stock of isolation and quarantine facilities. The Centre has directed the states that there should not be any cohorting of infected patients with non -Covid patients.

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The guide to surviving a coronavirus crash

While the country has gone into a lockdown to halt the march of the Covid-19 virus, the stock market crash triggered by the global panic may be good news for long-term investors. Valuations have crashed and could fall further over recession fears. Narendra Nathan tells investors what they should do in these circumstances.There might be a silver lining to this once in a decade crashDespite short-term pains, the crash is a good accumulation opportunity for long-term investors. Previous crashes have wiped out more than 50% of the Sensex value. 74862245 Sensex PE is below long term averageWith Sensex PE close to 10-year lows, start buying in staggered manner. 74862257 Warning: Trailing PE have touched lower levels in previous bear markets over fears of fall in future earnings.Dividend yield is a good valuation toolDividend yield is at reasonable levels, another nudge to start buying. 74862266 It makes sense to buy cheapSince we are already in fair valuation zone, investors can start buying. 74862283 10-year Sensex CAGR is at 15-year lowA very low 10-year CAGR indicates that investors can start buying slowly. 74862291 Sensex dividend yield is close to 10-year highStart buying slowly and hike investments if the dividend yield goes up further. 74862295 Warning: Companies may cut dividends in coming year and dividend yield may fall again in futureHistorical low returns can be good newsHistorical 10-year CAGR turned negative only once in 2002-03. Any fall from current levels should be used to buy more as it may mean good future returns. 74862307

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Power units get 90-day waiver from advance freight, coal payments

New Delhi: Power plants have been exempted from advance coal and freight payments for three months, which will prevent supply disruption during the lockdown and give a major relief to generating firms, particularly in the private sector.A senior ministry official said the short-term dispensation was requested by private power companies that constitute 35% of Indian electricity generation base as they cited cash crunch due to non-payment by discoms. State and central generating companies including NTPC also face the problems but the power ministry on Friday directed them to supply electricity to even defaulting state electricity distribution companies through a three- month moratorium.The official said power minister R K Singh has written to coal minister Pralhad Joshi and railways minister Piyush Goyal seeking the exemption for three months to maintain electricity supply as the country remains in lockdown till April 14. The Reserve Bank has allowed financial institutions to give a moratorium of three months on repayment of loans, however Covid-19 poses a challenge in terms of recovery of dues from state electricity distribution companies.A coal ministry official said the power ministry’s demand was being evaluated though with Rs 14,000 crore outstanding receivables from state run power projects, Coal India is stretched for funds. “Realisations from them are likely to be long-drawn under the present challenging times,” he said. A railway ministry official said they were yet to receive communication from the power ministry.ET reported on March 24 that Covid-19 is expected to have a major impact on India’s power sector with distribution companies halting payments to generation companies as states electricity departments are not taking coercive actions to recover bills from consumers. Recovery of electricity dues by state discoms takes place in a big way in March every year.According to the Praapti portal of the Union power ministry, the outstanding amount of discoms stands at Rs 86,931 crore, of which Rs 76,063 crore is overdue.

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Coronavirus impact: Ecommerce operations resume but deliveries may move in slow lane

Bengaluru: India’s top online grocers and e-retailers said they have restored operations in larger cities but are still hobbled by the massive backlog of orders and shortage of workers triggered by the ongoing nationwide lockdown to stem the tide of Covid-19.E-grocers BigBasket and Grofers, ecommerce firms Amazon and Flipkart, as well as B2B platforms Jumbotail and Udaan cautioned consumers and kirana stores to expect delayed deliveries as they deal with operational upheaval caused by the restriction on manufacturing and movement of goods, and people.“Our people count is improving day by day...but it is still not enough. We should clear up most slots by Tuesday, Wednesday,” said Hari Menon, chief executive of BigBasket, which is now delivering orders in all top cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. However, due to a backlog in orders and some operational issues the company is selectively opening new slots, he said.Gurugram-based Grofers, which was unable to operate in several cities for a few days, following the announcement of the lockdown, has begun operations at 90% of its warehouses with half its delivery partners equipped with all relevant official permissions.74880853 Improved SuppliesFor customers there will be “longer delivery times,” Rohit Sharma, head of supply chain at Grofers, told ET.As factories closed and trucking companies faced stoppages at state borders, deliveries to consumers — both online and at offline stores — have been delayed, company executives said.B2B technology platforms like Jumbotail and Udaan are of the view that the disruption will settle in a few days as policymakers and businesses collaborate.To ease this situation, the ministry of home affairs in its revised guidelines on Sunday said that transportation of all goods, and not just essential goods would be allowed.Ecommerce firms welcomed the change, saying it would allow for faster movement of essential goods and let them bring non-essentials stuck in transit safely into their warehouses.An ongoing consumer survey by community platform LocalCircles on the availability of essential goods through both offline and online stores shows a gradual improvement in the last two days.Shortages of essentials were most severe on March 25 and 26, the survey showed, with perceptible improvement in availability at both kiranas, offline stores and online retailers during March 27 and 28.SMALL STORES OPEN“Keeping the small format retail store opened 24/7 is the key to ensure that everyone gets enough essential supply. Today about 50-70% of them are open but not all the time,” said Ashish Jhina, cofounder of Jumbotail.Ecommerce companies also continue to service orders for essentials, but delivery timelines remain stretched.“We continue to resume services gradually, adding in more cities as we get the necessary clearances and passes from the local authorities. We are first serving existing orders for essential products and accepting new orders for these items only,” an Amazon spokesperson told ET.A senior executive at a leading ecommerce firm said while inter-state truck movement had begun, companies are facing challenges of managing stock within fulfilment centres.“The bottleneck will move from trucks to fulfilment centres. It’s not ideal, but the government has been supportive, and we are slowly limping back,” the person said. “I won’t say back to normal, I don’t think it’ll get back to normal during this time, but things are certainly moving.”Snapdeal, Paytm Mall and Shopclues are also delivering essentials. “We have started intracity deliveries of food and grocery items in Delhi-NCR, including in Gurugram,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said.

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Investment downcycle coming, EMs face recession: Jim Walker

What is your outlook for emerging markets?I expect a recession in nearly all of them. The export side in EMs will be particularly weak but, like the developed countries, their corporate profits are being hard-hit. When profits go down, companies take extreme efforts to shore up their balance sheets by squeezing inventories, firing workers and slashing investment. It is the investment downcycle that causes recession. That is what is coming for most of us.How challenging will it be for the Indian government to pull the economy out of the downturn?India is one of the least exportdependent emerging markets and one of the most benefited by a fall in the oil price. Those two factors will help mitigate the effects of global downturn. However, the domestic economy was weak already and we see no sign that the government has really understood the nature of the economic problems facing India. Sub-3% growth is highly likely and it’s quite possible that it could worsen in 2020 at least.Markets have reacted rather indifferently to the fresh stimulus by the Fed. Just a month ago, it was the Fed’s liquidity that was driving stock prices. What is the market telling us?The Fed stimulus has now been joined by the BOE, the ECB and government efforts around the world and still equities are falling. The plain message is that this is not a simple financial crisis that can be addressed by splashing money all over the economy and further reducing interest rates to levels that cause as much damage as good. The real economic effects of the Covid-19 virus are just beginning to be understood and a global recession is all but guaranteed as company profits crash and this moves through the economic system in the form of much lower investments, reduced production, soaring unemployment and reduced levels of consumption (partly financial and partly repressed by lockdown policies). Markets will be volatile with a downward bias for some time to come. Do you think the stimulus measures by governments and the global central banks can avert a recession?No. They can help mitigate a recession over the coming two years but there is no prospect of them stopping one when company profitability has been shaken to the core.There seems to be stress in the US credit markets. Do you see a repeat of the situation in 2008-09?The central bank will do all it can to ease credit market conditions and, like 2008-09, will break the law and existing regulations to do so. It will end up buying paper that it has no legal right to buy but will be forgiven by government because it is a crisis. The real crisis lies at the heart of economic policy-making where all of the meddling in market functions over the last decade in particular have left economies in the developed countries in no shape to take any external shock to the system. We will eventually emerge on the other side of this crisis but the costs of further economic zombification and capital misallocation will be great.What will be the impact of supply-side disruptions on the dynamics in the global economy? How long do you expect the after-effects to last?That is a hard question to answer at this stage. Because of its activityreducing effects, this crisis is both a demand and supply shock. However, if we look to the Asian Crisis (1997) for a roadmap, which is much more relevant than the 2008 financial crisis that spilled over to the real economy for a short time, then the next two years will be particularly rough with global GDP likely to be contracting in 2020 and 2021. Very few economies will be spared although China has the wherewithal and deployment mechanisms to rebound quicker than most others.Are low oil prices here to stay?Probably not. The demise of the oil price has been predicted many times in the past and I suspect this time is no different. Geopolitical goals seem to be playing a part among the producers. Saudi is attacking a weak Iran while Russia is trying to get one over on the US shale industry. But eventually oil producers all aim for one thing, a higher price. Oil demand should keep the price weak for the rest of 2020 but we would expect oil prices to rise again in 2021, back to the US$50-80/barrel range.Is the best phase for gold over?Gold might recover some lustre in the next phase of this crisis because the government will be adding money direct to the economy this time rather than to the financial system which is why asset prices inflated after 2009, not consumer prices. This time the inflation is likely to be much more widespread, which is good news for gold. We would be accumulating slowly at the moment although gold mining stocks probably offer the best value.

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Covid lockdown: Smartphone makers ping government for essentials tag

Bengaluru: Top-selling smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi and Realme are asking the government to classify handsets as an essential commodity which can be delivered to customers through ecommerce platforms amid the 21-day national lockdown in India.Industry bodies Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) and India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) have written to the government seeking concessions in the delivery of smartphones among other electronics devices and removal of restrictions on the movement of components for inland and export purposes.“Smartphones today are probably the most essential items after food and groceries that anybody needs,” Manu Kumar Jain, the managing director-Indian subcontinent at Xiaomi, told ET. “We can increase social distancing and reduce the number of people going out if everyone is using a smartphone.” Jain said India saw sales of over 1 crore devices a month, with close to 30-40% of those purchases made by first-time smartphone users. It would make sense for even a fraction of those people to get access to devices at this point of time. Xiaomi clarified that it wasn’t just asking the government to allow smartphone sales as a business opportunity, but rather as fulfilling the essential needs of consumers.Realme chief executive Madhav Sheth said smartphones were essential and a gateway to other services that could be invaluable at this point of time. The company could make its devices available to customers immediately through online channels and was also requesting the government to allow opening up of some centres to support after-sales service, with all safety precautions being followed, he said. “We’re seeing a lot of requests on Twitter from people who say their phones have been damaged and need devices because they’re using them as Wi-Fi hotspots and for communications.” In its letter dated March 27 to the government, MAIT, the apex body of electronic product makers, suggested that ecommerce companies be listed under essential services and enabled to carry out deliveries under a controlled logistics framework. The ICEA wrote to the government saying that states and district authorities were being overcautious by not allowing inbound or outbound movement of electronics goods, despite the home ministry’s clarification over this. Both bodies said electronics manufacturers were sitting on large inventories meant for export and not allowing movement would jeopardise their ability to fulfil such shipments. ET has seen the letters written by both MAIT and ICEA.The ecommerce industry as a collective had also pitched to the government to expand the scope of essentials beyond food, grocery and medical supplies.

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Covid lockdown: Smartphone makers ping government for essentials tag

Industry bodies Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) and India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) have written to the government seeking concessions in the delivery of smartphones among other electronics devices and removal of restrictions on the movement of components for inland and export purposes.

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NBFCs want banks to pass on moratorium benefits

MUMBAI: Non-bank lenders, concerned about the ‘discretion’ banks would enjoy on demanding repayments through a three-month grace period, plan to approach the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on directing banks to mandatorily pass on the benefits of the moratorium to these last-mile financiers.“The core point is that while NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) will have to give a three-month moratorium to almost all their borrowers, what is the assurance that they will also get commensurate moratorium from their lenders?” asked Raman Agarwal, co-chairman, Finance Industry Development Council, an industry body representing NBFCs. “We are presenting our case to the RBI and the Ministry of Finance for urgent redressal of our concerns.”Last week, the central bank sought to cushion both borrowers and lenders against the unprecedented disruption engendered by the Covid-19 outbreak, allowing companies a three-month grace period on loan repayments. Banks will now have the discretion in deciding the limits on working capital, with Mint Road saying that no payment miss be considered a default and reported to credit information companies.The class of borrowers that NBFCs cater to has been the worst hit due to the 21-day national lockdown. People owning auto rickshaws, tempos, e-rickshaws, small shopkeepers and the micro, small and medium enterprises have already expressed their inability to repay, and most small and mid-sized non-bank lenders that cater to such clientele will have to extend them the moratorium benefits. NBFCs are also seeking a similar 90-day moratorium on interest/principal payments due on bonds, mutual funds and commercial papers, an aspect that has been left out of the moratorium’s scope.NBFCs are concerned because banks, after the default by IL&FS in October 2018, closed their funding tap to such entities. Even the partial credit guarantee scheme announced specifically for para banks to tide over the liquidity squeeze was only implemented after a nudge by the finance minister.“NBFCs and HFCs (housing finance companies) still remain a stable asset class and the perceived risk aversion after the IL&FS crisis will need a sharp review, given the current situation of lockdown and its deep impact on retail customers,” said Manish Jaiswal, CEO, Magma Housing Finance.

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Tennis foot soldiers struggle in time of coronavirus

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Governing in the times of a pandemic like this

Shastri Bhawan in Delhi is a hive of activity on any working day. Ministers, bureaucrats, officials and citizens visit the building complex that houses at least 11 ministries.Around two weeks ago, a delegation of 20 people from Punjab wanted to meet Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan at his office in Shastri Bhawan to discuss some payment issues. But, as a precautionary move, his ministry allowed only four from the delegation into the complex. Paswan wanted to minimise, if possible even avoid, face-to-face interactions. The coronavirus pandemic had reached India and the government wanted to minimise the spread. A week later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days.Paswan’s ministry – which has been instrumental in capping the prices of masks, hand sanitisers and its raw material and also placing them under essential commodities – had started discouraging unnecessary visits to the ministry since 25 days. The measures were taken to check the huge surge in prices of these items in the country. “Any work that could be done over video conference or over the phone should be done that way,” the minister tells ET Magazine.The eight-time MP, who is often called “the greatest weather vane” of Indian politics, has also distributed 500 masks to his office staff. Even before the government stopped trains and flights, he had decided to cut down on “unnecessary travel in these times”.Several government departments had taken similar decisions by the first week of March. After all, government staff has to continue working to ensure relief measures are implemented smoothly. At the same time, the government also wanted to contain the spread of the virus. “We have told everyone that safety comes first,” Union Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar told ET Magazine on Monday. “We are running on skeletal staff. Many of our staff members are working from home.”Three weeks ago, when this reporter had visited the ministry, efforts to install hand sanitisers were in full swing. Within days, all the ministries had installed dispensers with alcohol-based sanitisers at the entrance. A note near the dispenser said: “Please use 3-4 drops to sanitise hands”.In the Parliament complex, thermal scanners that check body temperature have been installed at every metal detector point. Hand sanitisers were placed at several places in the building. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Monday in the wake of the pandemic. “But when the Houses were functioning, we told our staff to always carry some object, like a file, in their hands so that they can overcome the natural tendency to shake hands,” says a senior official of Rajya Sabha, adding that it was just a precautionary measure.Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting even demonstrated social distancing. Photos of the meeting showed ministers sitting at least a meter apart. Sources said everyone is greeting others with a namskar, instead of a handshake.Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, who attended the meeting, says safety is of utmost importance now. “Apart from promoting the use of hand sanitisers, we asked our staff to take utmost care once they reach home also.”Union Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who is part of a group of ministers reviewing the actions to fight Covid-19, was going to his office at Transport Bhawan till Thursday. “We are working on minimising physical interaction. My family members keep calling from Gujarat asking me not to go to office. But some meetings were unavoidable,” he says. His office has declared flexible timings and only asks those living closer to the office to come to Transport Bhawan, that too only when it is unavoidable. The rest work from home.All the ministers this reporter spoke to said they were meeting only one or two persons at a time and that too when it cannot be avoided.Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says till a few weeks ago, they used to have hundreds of people visiting his office and residence to get paperwork done for travel or medical treatment. “But we started discouraging people from coming in the last few weeks. Instead, we started collecting their requests first at the gate and then over the phone,” Naqvi says. The idea was to ensure people did not congregate at a point.After the lockdown, most ministries have implemented work from home. The health ministry, for one, is working almost 24/7. Yet only about 10% staff is still working from their office in Nirman Bhawan. Health Minister Harsha Vardhan is conducting most meetings through video conferences and calling officials over phone to get updates, to avoid face-to-face meetings. “We have streamlined our work in such a way that face-to-face interaction is minimal,” Vardhan says.The finance ministry -- another ministry crucial to keep the country and economy functioning ¡V has also implemented similar measures. Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Pramod Chandra Mody says: "We have restricted our movement to office. It is entirely needbased. I go only when some work can¡¦t be done otherwise. I have also restricted oneto-one meetings to a bare minimum. Thanks to technology, most of the meetings and follow-ups are happening over video-conferencing and telephonically. I get the doorknobs cleaned from time to time to avoid the spread via surfaces."In Uttar Pradesh, the health minister has quarantined himself in his home for 14 days after he attended a party in Lucknow where singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive for Covid-19, was also present. Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said on Wednesday he was awaiting the results of the second test after the first one tested negative. "I am in self-isolation at home and will resume fulltime work after my second test results. If any file is very important, it reaches my home so that I can clear it. But I take all possible precautions," he added. Till it is all clear, it is work from home for ministers and bureaucrats.

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The tools that are saving the day

The rapid spread of Covid-19 has forced countries to use every trick in the book to contain the disease. Some countries, like South Korea and Singapore, have done a better job than, say, Italy and Spain.Asian countries have used a range of technologies in their fight against the pandemic, raising questions about excessive surveillance and the violation of citizens’ privacy. Here is a snapshot of some of the tech tools being deployed in different countries. 74867237 Location TrackingPossibly the most commonly used technology by governments, tracking people’s whereabouts through the location information provided by their phones has been crucial to identifying where an infected person went before being quarantined and how many people were in close proximity to the patient. Israel has allowed its internal security agency the use of its citizens’ location data for 30 days. South Korea, China and Taiwan have also used location-tracking widely to limit the transmission of the virus. However, in Europe, which has stricter laws on data protection, Germany and Italy are using anonymised location data to identify public spaces where people are gathering in groups by defying lockdowns. 74867240 Mobile Apps A startup in the UK recently launched an app for people to self-report their symptoms. C-19 Covid Symptom Tracker, which was downloaded 7.5 lakh times in three days, helps identify high-risk areas, among other things. South Korea has an app called Corona 100m that has mapped the locations of Covid-19 patients and alerts users if they come within 100 metres of an infected person.India is also set to launch an app that will tell users if they came in contact with someone who later tested positive for Covid-19, as reported by ET on March 26. The app will be based on location data obtained from the infected person’s smartphone. It will also use short-distance Bluetooth signals between phones, like Singapore’s TraceTogether app, which helps authorities trace contacts of a patient.In China, apps developed by Alibaba and Tencent give people a colour code based on their health condition and travel history. This code, decided by a big data-driven algorithm, will determine whether a person gains entry into a mall or a subway station, or can travel between cities. 74867248 CCTVs When a family of three in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from Italy, local authorities realised the family had visited several places and met many people for a week before they were quarantined. Reviewing CCTV footage from the areas they had been to was one of the methods the local administration used to track down 900 people the family could have potentially infected. South Korea and Singapore, too, have used CCTVs extensively in contact-tracing. 74867256 Smart ImagingIn an effort to enable contactless and rapid temperature detection, China is using AI-powered thermal cameras to identify those in a crowd who have a fever. The country is also deploying facial-recognition systems to identify those not wearing masks. 74867268 Robots & DronesIn early March, a new isolation ward was opened in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus outbreak started. What’s interesting about this ward is that it is entirely manned by robots that take patients’ temperature, give them food and drugs, and disinfect the ward. China has also used robots in quarantine facilities, and so has Singapore to clean hospitals. The use of robots spares healthcare workers the risk of contracting the virus. In some parts of China, the police have used drones fitted with cameras and loudspeakers to disperse crowds and direct individuals in the streets to return home. 74867275

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PM to focus on Covid-19 in 'Mann Ki Baat' today

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No fuel crisis in India; enough stock of petrol, diesel, LPG available to last lockdown: IOC

India, the world's third largest energy consumer, has enough petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) in stocks to last way beyond the three-week nationwide lockdown as all plants and supply locations are fully operational, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said. Singh, who continued to oversee the mammoth operations of ensuring that fuel reaches every nook and corner despite bereavement of his father on the day 21-day lockdown was declared, said there is no shortage of any fuel in the country and customers should not resort to panic booking of LPG refills."We have mapped demand for all fuel for entire April and beyond. We have refineries operating at levels enough to meet all of the demand. Besides all bulk storage points, LPG distributorships and petrol pumps are functioning normally. There is absolutely no shortage of any fuel," he told PTI. The nationwide lockdown that has shut businesses, suspended flights, stopped trains and brought almost entire vehicular movement to a halt, has impacted fuel demand with petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) showing negative growth (degrowth or fall in demand).With most cars and two-wheelers going off the road, petrol demand has fallen by 8 per cent in March while diesel demand has been down 16 per cent. ATF demand has fallen by 20 per cent, he said. "LPG consumption however continues to grow and we are servicing all customers," he said adding refill demand saw more than 200 per cent jump as the lockdown was announced.The refills sought were a result of panic booking as in the absence of the exhausting existing ones, many could not take deliveries of new cylinders, he said adding even customers with double cylinder connections had ordered for refills without exhausting even one cylinder. "There is absolutely no need for panic booking. We have enough stocks to meet all demand," he said."When a customer resorts to panic booking, it puts unnecessary strain on the system as the requirement is immediately transmitted to bottling locations which make additional refills, transport it to bulk location and onward to the distributor. "Distributors use already stretched delivery boys to physically deliver the cylinder to customer home only to return back with the filled cylinder as the customer refused delivery because existing ones hadn't exhausted."Singh said due to lower demand of liquid fuels, refinery run-rates have been lowered by 25-30 per cent - meaning they would produce up to 30 per cent less of all fuel petrol, diesel, ATF, naphtha and LPG. Every barrel of crude oil when processed produces a certain percentage of petrol, diesel, kerosene/ATF and LPG. So lower processing of crude would result in lower production of all fuel.

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How countries are using technology to fight coronavirus

The technologies being used against the pandemic are raising questions about excessive surveillance.

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French chess team quarantined in Russia plans next move

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