Tag: lockdown

Coronavirus: Maha to see partial lockdown; banks, stock markets, essential services to remain open, says health minister

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

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India’s Coronavirus cases have crossed the 200 mark with 186 active cases. The virus has claimed 4 lives and 20 people have recovered so far. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have reported fresh cases today.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit state with 3 new cases taking the total toll in the state to 52. Stepping up measures to contain the spread of the virus, Maharashtra government has announced a partial lockdown.

The state has ordered a shutdown from midnight tonight barring essential services, public transport, banks, stock markets and restaurants. The state has also cancelled all exams from class 1 to 8. Students will be promoted to next classes without exam.

Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said, “We have asked to close down all offices, private as well as government offices. The attendance should come down to 25 percent, 75 percent should remain absent in rotation.”

However, he clarified that grocery and medical shops, hospitals, financial institutions like banks and stock market will remain open. Local trains and BEST will be kept running, said Tope.

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

One should be watchful of these banks, says Pratik Gupta of Kotak Securities: Here’s why

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

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The full outbreak of coronavirus in India is not priced-in if we have Italy, China and Korea type of situation, said Pratik Gupta, CEO & co-head-institutional equities at Kotak Securities.

“The general assumption is that a couple of weeks later we will be back up and running. So from that perspective the stock prices are down, the index is down about 25 percent in the last one month and individual stocks are down 30-50-60 percent. So, the selloff does seem overdone even if we take into account the cuts in earnings estimates for the next few quarters and therefore, for FY21 as a whole,” he added.

“However, from a broader regional perspective India is down 25 percent in the last one month and that’s in line with what we are seeing across Asian emerging market universe whether it’s Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia etc.,” said Gupta in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

With regards to the market performance, he said, “If we take an assumption that the outbreak in India will not be as bad as what we have seen in some of the other countries whether it’s because of the weather, our immunity or whatever and also keeping in mind the big oil price decline that we have seen which is hugely beneficial for India and does help offset, some of the impact of coronavirus – that should result in India recovering a lot quicker.”

“However, short-term, there is a lot of uncertainty but for fundamentally oriented longer term investors, we are saying that this is a good buying opportunity, stick to quality,” he further added.

When asked about banks, Gupta said, “We need to be watchful of banks which have a very large exposure to SMEs, retail sector, airline, hotel, tourism etc. these are all sectors which will significantly get impacted but it would be naïve to assume that the authorities will not step in and do something like what they have done in the US and so on whether its forbearance on recognition of NPLs, direct subsidies or some kind of fiscal packages for the affected sectors and sector which got impacted because of lockdown due to coronavirus.”

“Therefore, in general, we would stick to our view that this is a great opportunity to buy a long-term high quality franchises, some of the top private banks have also come off 20-30 percent. So that’s a good opportunity for long-term investors in our view,” Gupta added.

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

US senator barred from Jammu& Kashmir as lockdown enters third month

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

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A US senator and an Indian activist were barred from visiting Jammu and Kashmir, where at least 10 people were injured on Saturday in a grenade blast as a government security and communications lockdown entered the third month.

Director-General of Police Dilbagh Singh said the blast was caused by a militant attack and occurred near the office of a civil administrator in Anantnag. He said a police official and a journalist were among those hurt and suffered minor injuries.  “It was a militant attack,” he said, without elaborating. “Police are probing to identify and nab the culprit.

Senator Chris Van Hollen denied permission to visit

“Senator Chris Van Hollen, part of a US congressional delegation visiting India on trade and other issues, told reporters on Friday in New Delhi that the Indian government had denied his request to travel to Kashmir. The Maryland Democrat said Washington was “closely monitoring the humanitarian situation” in Kashmir. The House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on human rights in South Asia later this month, and Kashmir is expected to be a focus.

Activist  barred 

Sandeep Pandey, an education reformer, said he and other activists were barred from leaving the airport in Srinagar, where they had travelled Friday for an informal fact-finding mission.”We were held up and we don’t know what it was done,” Pandey said at a news conference Saturday in New Delhi. The district magistrate restricted him from travelling beyond the arrivals lounge, citing a law that limits public gatherings, according to a copy of the order. The 54-year-old intended “to organize protests” against the constitutional changes in Kashmir, according to the order. Pandey denied the charge.

Lockdown enters the third month

Mobile internet and phone services have been cut and landline phone access remains spotty, disrupting daily life and business in the valley, home to about 70 lakh people. More than 2,000 people, including mainstream political leaders, are locked up or under house arrest.Ram Madhav, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said leaders under house arrest in Kashmir would be released soon, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.”Prevention detention in five-star hotels with good facilities with TVs and books and all those things is a temporary measure to ensure law and order in the state,” PTI quoted Mahdav as saying.

No foreign journalists have received permission from the Indian government to report in Kashmir since August 5, although Indian citizens who work for foreign news organisations, including The Associated Press, have been able to report from the region.

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