Month: May 2020

Coronavirus originated from China’s Wuhan lab: US President Trump

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The novel coronavirus, that has killed over 230,000 people globally so far and has shattered economies, emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China, US President Donald Trump claimed Thursday with a high degree of confidence.

“Yes, I have. Yes, I have,” Trump told reporters at the East Room of the White House when asked if he has seen anything at this point that gives him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where the virus originated.

The president, however, refuse to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, he said, “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

The president, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for this. “I don’t want to say that, I don’t want to say that, but certainly it could have been stopped. It came out of China and it could have been stopped and I wish they had stopped it and so does the whole world wish they had stopped it.”

Reiterating that this is something that could have been contained at Wuhan ground zero, he said that China could have contained it. “They were either unable to, or they chose not to. And the world has suffered greatly.”

One of two things happened, he reasoned. “They either didn’t do it and you know they couldn’t do it from a competent standpoint or they let it spread and I would say probably it got out of control.”

“But there’s another case that how come they stopped all of the planes and all of the traffic from going into China, but they didn’t stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the United States and from coming into all over Europe,” he said, citing the example of Italy, the hardest-hit European country.

“This country (the US) is very lucky and I’m very lucky that I put the ban on China, as you know, very early on. In January, we put the ban on China and that was a very early day. That wasn’t a late day, that was an early day. Then, we later put the ban on in Europe,” he said.

Before holding them accountable, Trump said he wants to find out what happened. “I think we’ll be able to get a very good — a very powerful definition of exactly what happened. We’re working on it strongly now and I think it’s going to be very powerful,” he said.

“But they could have stopped it. They are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. It got loose, let’s say, and they could have capped it. They could have stopped it, but they didn’t. And they stopped the planes from going to China, but they didn’t stop them from going to the rest of the world. What was that all about?? he asked.

“We should have the answer to that in the not-too-distant future and that will determine a lot how I feel about China,” Trump said.

When asked if President Xi misled him, Trump said, “Something happened. I don’t say misleading or not. I’ll let you know that. I mean, I’ll be able to give you that answer at some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future.”

The entire world has suffered as a result of this, he said.

“We have had tremendous death and tremendous sorrow, sadness, and nobody’s ever seen anything like it. So, have most of the countries of the world. They’ve suffered tremendously. It’s something that is going to have to be dealt with. We’ll have to see,” said the president.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin tests positive for coronavirus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he has tested positive for the new coronavirus and has told President Vladimir Putin he will self-isolate.

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will temporarily perform Mishustin’s duties, but the prime minister said Thursday that he would stay in touch on key issues.

Mishustin, 54 ,was named prime minister in January. During a video call, Putin voiced hope that Mishustin would continue taking part in drafting policies to shore up the Russian economy, which has been hurt by the virus pandemic.
In Russia, the prime minister oversees the economy and answers to the president.

It was not immediately clear when Putin last met with Mishustin in person. The Russian president has minimized meetings and switched to holding video conferences with officials during the pandemic.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus impact: Fitch downgrades viability ratings of SBI, BoB, ICICI, Axis Bank

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Fitch Ratings on Thursday downgraded the viability ratings (VR) of State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and Axis Bank to ‘bb’ from ‘bb+’ on account of deteriorating operating environment for banks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global rating agency also downgraded Bank of Baroda’s (BOB) VR by one notch to ‘bb-‘, from ‘bb’.

The agency affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings (IDR) of SBI and BOB at ‘BBB-‘ and those of ICICI Bank and Axis Bank at ‘BB+’.

The outlook for all the four banks has been kept as stable.

“The rating actions are driven by rapid deterioration in the operating environment for banks in the country following the coronavirus pandemic and measures to contain its spread,” the agency said.

For SBI and BOB, the VR downgrades reflect the heightened risks that weakening asset quality will pose to their less-than-satisfactory loss-absorption buffers.

“We expect SBI’s and BOB’s financial performances to worsen, although their asset-quality problems may not materialise until the effects of the 90-day regulatory moratorium on impaired loans recognition wear off,” it said.

The VR downgrades of ICICI Bank and Axis Bank highlight heightened risks to their asset qualities and earnings from the disruption in business and consumer activity, which the rating agency expects to continue well beyond the lockdown in the country.

Besides these banks, the rating agency also affirmed IDRs of Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India (BOI) and Canara Bank at ‘BBB-‘, with stable outlooks.

The viability rating of PNB has been affirmed at ‘b’ and that of Canara Bank at ‘bb-‘.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

5G spectrum price suggested by DoT too high, says govt task force

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The 5G spectrum price suggested by the Department of Telecom is too high, a task force constituted by the finance ministry said, as it recommended rationalising of prices for making the next generation services affordable for all.

The industry has unanimously raised the issue of high spectrum price. However, the Department of Telecom (DoT) adopted the spectrum rate as recommended by the sector regulator Trai.

The task force, in a report released on Thursday, acknowledged stress in the telecom sector and said the Supreme Court judgement mandating companies to pay around Rs 1.35 lakh crore has placed some operators in a “precarious position” due to the short period of time in which they have to meet their liabilities.

It said for the upcoming auction of 5G airwaves, the DoT has suggested a base price of Rs 492 crore per megahertz, which is very high compared to the base price in countries where 5G is already deployed.

“The high price comes at a time when the demand for spectrum is likely to be subdued as consolidation has reduced the number of players in the sector to effectively only four,” the report said.

The DoT has zeroed in on the base price suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and it has to be approved by the Cabinet for the proposed spectrum auction.

Telecom players have unanimously said the spectrum price proposed for the auction is too high. Bharti Airtel has already said it will not bid for 5G spectrum at the price.

The task force under the finance ministry said providing inclusive and affordable 5G services to all sections of the population in the country is important to achieve the National Digital Communications Policy goals.

“For this, participation of the private players in the 5G auction should be robust. In order to enable this, the authorities should rationalise all elements of spectrum pricing for the auction, including base price, period of payment of charges and interest rates,” the report said.

The report also noted that lower penetration of digital infrastructure in rural areas and slow data speeds have restricted the full potential of digital technologies such as Internet of Things, cloud computing and artificial intelligence and recommended measures to address these issues.

“With continued increase in demand for data, additional telecom towers need to be installed to increase coverage in rural or non-metros and to increase capacity in metros. Currently, India has around 5.5 lakh towers and the industry believes the country will require additional around 1 lakh towers per year over the next 2-3 years to meet the estimated demand,” the report said.

The task force said only about 25-30 per cent of telecom towers are connected through optical fibres and India will need to fiberise over 50-60 per cent of its towers ideally before launching 5G, which needs quick approval by state authorities for laying fibre, especially in metros and Tier 1 cities.

“There is an urgent need to fast track the progress, necessitating fundamental changes in the way we operate, specifically with respect to creation of digital communications infrastructure, which faces several hurdles…Investments in infrastructure need to be enhanced and universal last-mile connectivity needs to be promoted,” the report said.

It said the telecom sector is already reeling under financial stress of Rs 7.7 lakh crore and the AGR liability is further going to add to uncertainty for some of the companies.

It said the liability on telecom companies imposed due to the apex court judgement pertains to assessments up till fiscal 2016.

“There are serious concerns about the capability and capacity of some of the companies to meet their contractual commitments,” the report said.

According to the report, overall capital expenditure of Rs 309,672 crore would be incurred by both the Centre and states for fiscals 2020-25 to boost telecom infrastructure.

The projects on which the Centre will invest include Rs 37,284 crore for 4G services of BSNL and MTNL, Rs 14,768 crore for network for spectrum, Rs 13,000 crore for BharatNet and Rs 11,640 crore for miscellaneous projects.

The task force estimates private players’ capital expenditure during the period to be around Rs 2.28 lakh crore.

“As per industry estimates, an additional 10 lakh towers need to be established and an 30 lakh kilometer of optical fibre cable (OFC) need to be laid by 2025. Typically, about Rs 50 lakh is the required investment for setting up a tower,” the report said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Here’s how Pune is combating coronavirus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

While Mumbai remains the worst affected, accounting for nearly 70 percent of all infections, Pune has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus positive cases this week.

Total number of infections in Pune district is up nearly 30 percent and it now accounts for about 12 percent of the total cases reported in the state so far. The death toll in the district is also nearing triple digits accounting for about 20 percent of the total deaths in Maharashtra. The total number of cases in the state is about 10,000.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, Municipal Commissioner of Pune Shekhar Gaikwad discussed how Pune is combating the virus.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow