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This cutting-edge technology is likely to make cruise travel safe again

2020-06-05T13:26:00.002+05:30

When these behemoths set sail again, with up to some 8,880 passengers and crew on board, they’ll be on the cutting edge of post-pandemic technology. They’ll have to be.

“Cruising has always been a ‘high touch’ business in almost every aspect,” says Chekitan Dev, professor of marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. You rub shoulders with people at bars. You share the buffet, join crowds for activities and shows, pass off fitness equipment and poker chips, and discover new places on shore excursions with other people. Cruising is the antithesis of social distancing; it’s all about the group travel experience. “Going to a ‘less touch’ model is going to have to have cruise companies rethink almost everything they do,” he says.

Besides Norwegian, which this week announced some preliminary reopening plans—for example, fleet-wide installation of medical-grade air filters (H13 HEPA) that the cruise line says will remove 99.95% of airborne pathogens—none of the major companies has publicly released specifics on post-pandemic health and safety plans. In the U.S., cruise lines await new regulations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a no-sail order from the CDC remains in effect until at least July 24.

In the interim, cruise lines will outsource at least some of that “rethinking” process for the post-pandemic era to industrial designers who normally tackle such challenges as putting water slides on top decks. Their proposals, which are being shopped to cruise executives with the help of virtual reality technology, range from smart, wearable devices for crowd control to elevators that work on voice commands and even robot crew members, among the innovations. Some are already being moved into prototypes under strict non-disclosure agreements.

“Now is the time where we can be creative and crazy,” says Georg Piantino, senior architect at Norway’s YSA Design, a leading cruise ship design company with clients that include Disney, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises. Here’s what he and other industry experts are lobbying for in cruise ships of the very near future.

Smart Tech Everywhere

Some of the latest cruise ships already have integrated touchless systems. Princess Cruises, for example, gives guests a quarter-sized wearable device that unlocks cabin doors and pays for drinks, and the app for Celebrity Cruises allows users to open doors remotely. That trend will only accelerate. Beyond the obvious need for touchless soap dispensers and toilets, trivia games, menus, receipts will be rendered hands-free; elevator buttons will be replaced by motion- or voice-activated sensors.

Smart tech, whether integrated into wearable devices or mobile apps, may also be the key to social distancing. Especially on large ships with thousands of passengers, Piantino envisions them as being like the buzzers at fast-casual restaurants that alert customers when it’s their turn to use the pool deck or gym. (The same goes for crowd control in embarking or disembarking.)

Systems that can track your location may also tell passengers which ship locations are at maximum capacity and which are crowd-free. Piantino expects casinos to become touchless, too, with slot machines that can be controlled from your phone.The main issue, he says, is making sure that people have space to linger while they wait to use popular amenities. “You can’t have them stand [around the pool deck] and watch somebody else bathing,” he explains. His fix: Direct passengers to activities in less-populated areas. That might mean art tours down guest corridors or daytime lectures in the disco. By extension, cabins with balconies—with no required wait for sunbathing—are sure to become more prized.

Germ-Proof and Quarantine-Ready

Redesigning cruise ships for a post-pandemic world may require going down to the studs.

In some renderings, cabins may shrink to accommodate a vestibule in the entryway to act as a holding area for meals and medication in the event a guest is quarantined. Creating wings of rooms that can be completely sealed off, if necessary, is a further possibility. Flexible interior layouts with easy-to-rearrange furniture will become paramount for designers, says Anne Mari Gullikstad, chief executive officer at YSA Design.

Inside the cabins, hidden panels behind walls could serve to hook up medical equipment, allowing any cabin to be converted into a hospital room should a viral outbreak occur. Antimicrobial fabrics could repel germs from surfaces that include beds, curtains, couches, and chairs.

“We are now forcing our suppliers to come up with materials that look rich, to preserve the feeling of the luxury cruise that you had before the pandemic,” explains Piantino. The challenge is finding upholstery options that don’t look sterile.

Suppliers are also pitching cruise lines on temperature-taking thermal resolution cameras mounted on walls and electrostatic spray technology, which Norwegian has said it will use to sanitize and disinfect cabins and public areas.

Smaller changes in operation can also make a big difference. Cornell professor Dev, who consults with hotel, cruise, and restaurant companies, says buffets may soon resemble “Chipotles on steroids,” with guests pointing to what they want while servers fill their plates from behind plexiglass barriers. In sit-down restaurants, menus might be uploaded to mobile apps or—for more of a wow factor—projected right onto the table. In showrooms and theaters, Piantino envisions dividers to separate smaller groups; whether singers and dancers will perform while socially distanced on stage is a separate question.

Dev adds that some amount of cleaning, both in cabins and public areas, could be relegated to robotic vacuum cleaners and disinfecting machines, further reducing human contact.

Who Will Pay?

The first guests back to sea will undoubtedly serve as guinea pigs for the widespread changes likely to occur, says Dev. “They are risk-takers, so they are the perfect profile with whom to beta test some of these ideas and iron them out for eventual rollout.”

Early returning passengers will shoulder the majority of these costs as well, says Art Sbarsky, a former cruise line executive who has worked for Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Crystal Cruises. “It works in contrast to the thinking there is going to be low-ball pricing when the ships come back” to gin up bookings, he says. “They will need to offset [all the new technology].” (The opposite may be true in cases with less ambitious retrofitting.)While Sbarsky agrees that massive change will come to every aspect of the cruise experience, he says it’s impossible to make a cruise ship completely touch-free. There’s an emotional aspect to consider: No one wants to vacation in a floating hospital.

“People go on cruises, knowing they are going to be socializing with other people,” Sbarsky adds. “The ideas all sound directionally appealing,” he admits, before pointing out the one major catch: “They all cut into the very fabric of the cruise experience.”

World Environment Day 2020: South Africa dehorns dozens of rhinos to prevent lockdown poaching surge

2020-06-05T13:23:00.002+05:30

South Africa has dehorned dozens of rhinos in three popular game parks, aiming to prevent armed poachers taking advantage of the post-COVID-19 crash in tourism to kill them for their horns.

The exercise in Pilanesburg National Park and the Mafikeng and Botsalano game reserves -- all northwest of Johannesburg -- leaves the rhinos with horn rumps too small for poachers to bother with, Nico Jacobs, helicopter pilot and founding member of non-profit Rhino 911 told Reuters.

As Jacobs flew a helicopter over Pilanesburg last month with Reuters journalists, they spotted a lioness eating the carcass of a rhino that had been poached days earlier. Experts fear the absence of tourists may already have spurred a poaching spike.

They proceeded to a spot where they tranquilised a female rhino before removing her horn with an electric saw. One of her calves had to be restrained.

Working with authorities, they began dehorning three years ago. Jacobs said they had since seen a drop in poaching. The numbers of rhinos in the parks, and how many have been poached, are kept secret to protect them.

“I’ve seen so many slaughtered, butchered rhinos. What is the solution?” he said. “For them (poachers) to come when there’s lions, elephants ... It’s too much risk for that little piece,” he said.

As the world marks World Environment Day on Friday, the threat from humans to other species’ survival -- and ultimately our own -- is a growing concern to conservationists.

On Monday, scientists published a study showing that humans are causing mass extinction on a scale unseen since a meteor wiped out the land dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the sixth large-scale extinction in Earth’s history.

Rhinos have been around for 30 million years, but decades of hunting and habitat loss have reduced their numbers to about 27,000 today, according to the International Rhino Foundation. A poaching surge has wiped out thousands in the past three years. “In order to ... give the population a chance to grow again, we need to relieve the pressure on them ... (by) dehorning,” Pieter Nel, acting head of conservation of the North West Parks board, said.

Rhino horn sells for $60,000 a kilogram, more than cocaine or gold. In East Asia, it is used in medicinal potions, despite containing the same key component as human fingernails.

Dehorning is controversial, especially as it makes male rhinos vulnerable in fights. But they are not essential for survival, and, like fingernails, they grow back.

Players send video message to NFL about racial inequality

2020-06-05T13:12:00.002+05:30

Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley and Michael Thomas are among more than a dozen NFL stars who united to send a passionate video message to the league about racial inequality. The 70-second video was released on social media platforms Thursday night and includes Odell Beckham Jr., Deshaun Watson, Ezekiel Elliott, Jamal Adams, Stephon Gilmore and DeAndre Hopkins, among others. Thomas, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver who has led the league in receptions the past two seasons, opens the video with the statement: “It’s been 10 days since George Floyd was brutally murdered.” The players then take turns asking the question, “What if I was George Floyd?”

The players then name several of the black men and women who have recently been killed, including Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Eric Garner.

“I AM George Floyd,” Hopkins says. Adams follows with: “I AM Breonna Taylor.” The video closes with the players insisting they “will not be silenced.” They also demand the NFL state that it condemns “racism and the systemic oppression of black people. ... We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. ... We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”

Germany striker Werner close to joining Chelsea from Leipzig

2020-06-05T13:11:00.004+05:30

Germany striker Timo Werner could be headed to Chelsea from Leipzig. The Premier League club reportedly agreed to a deal in principle to sign Werner after meeting his release clause of around 60 million euros ($68 million), which expires on June 15. The 24-year-old Werner has also been linked with a move to Liverpool.

He has scored 31 goals in all competitions this season for Leipzig, which has reached the Champions League quarterfinals. Werner, who moved to Leipzig from Stuttgart in 2016, will compete with Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud for the striker spot at Chelsea.

The London team has already agreed to sign Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech, who is set to join on July 1.

Embellished, couture, N95 or cotton masks? Find out which mask fits your fashion needs

2020-06-05T12:50:00.002+05:30

With the partial lifting of the government- mandated lockdown on account of the coronavirus in India, people are now beginning to slowly go back to their normal routines and stepping out of the house. And while the demand for personal protective equipment was high anyway since the pandemic took over the world, now more and more people are turning to masks and protective gear to save themselves from the virus as they step out, especiallly since the number of cases in India in on the rise. While N95 and surgical masks are most popular, cloth masks have proven to be equally effective and are fashionable. They are soft, comfortable and flexible while providing ample coverage to the nose and mouth. They offer features such

as triple-layer filtration, leakage control (to prevent an unfiltered airflow), ultra-cool technology and protection from pollution, pollen, smoke and dust.

Moreover, these masks are washable and can be re-used. While specialized masks (N95/surgical) have seen a surge in demand, the Indian government and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also issued an advisory on usage of cloth masks or homemade mask as an approved option to contain the spread.

All major fashion brands like Louis Phillippe, Jack & Jones, Max and W for Women have started making cloth masks and selling them online. In fact major Indian designers like Anita Dongre, Masaba Gupta among others have also been manufacturing masks. Amazon Fashion has launched a dedicated mask store offers that offers over 500 cloth masks from over 35 sellers across the country. You can also find masks made by local sellers like Wear Your Opinion, Bon Organik, Rapsodia among others.

Here are a few recommended options if you are in search of a mask that suits your fashion needs.

While these may be a bit over-the-top with all the glitzy additions and not the most practical option, especially in times of a pandemic, they are an interesting touch to the wardrobe, especially if you are a fashion lover and style influencer.

Printed

Print on print is always in fashion and these soft masks are available in tropical, geometric and quirky styles.

Floral

Soothing floral designs in subtle pastels are perfect for everyday wear and are feminine

Checks and Stripes

Masks in muted checks and stripes are ideal to wear to work they keep the look professional along with being functional.

Monotone

Pick from a range of bright, bold and solid coloured masks, one for every day of the week.

(With IANS inputs )

Lewis Hamilton back on track next week in Mercedes F1 test

2020-06-05T12:48:00.002+05:30

Six-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton will be back on track at Silverstone next week for the first time since February as Mercedes gear up for the start of the delayed Formula One season. Mercedes said on Twitter that Hamilton will be in his title-winning 2018 Mercedes W09 car on Wednesday, with team mate Valtteri Bottas driving on Tuesday, to practise protocols for the July 5 Austrian opener. Formula One has published an initial calendar with eight races in 10 weeks, taking place without spectators and in carefully controlled conditions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Silverstone, which hosts Hamilton’s home British Grand Prix, is due to host two back-to-back races in August when it will also celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first world championship grand prix there.

Drivers have not raced since December, with the planned season-opener in Australia cancelled in March, and while they have been busy training during the lockdown some are concerned about preparedness.

Mercedes returned to work only this week after a long factory shutdown as part of cost-saving measures.“There is going to be so much rust, a combination of emotion, excitement, eagerness,” Australian Daniel Ricciardo said last month.

“Everyone is going to be ready to go. You are going to get some guys who perform on that level of adrenalin and others who might not,” added the Renault driver.

“So you’re going to get some bold overtakes, some miscalculated ones. You’re going to see a bit of everything.”

What could a pared down Tokyo Olympics look like?

2020-06-05T12:44:00.001+05:30

The Japanese public is being prepared for the reality of next year’s postponed Olympics, where athletes are likely to face quarantines, spectators will be fewer, and the delay will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. In the last several weeks, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has given interviews outside Japan and hinted at empty stadiums, quarantines and virus testing.

IOC member John Coates, who oversees Tokyo preparations, said a few weeks ago in Australia that the Tokyo Olympics face “real problems,” partially because of the numbers involved: 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes to start with, and then staff, officials, media and up to 80,000 volunteers.

In the hours before an online news conference on Thursday with Tokyo Olympics spokesman Masa Takaya, Japanese media published several versions of virtually the same story citing unnamed sources: Next year’s Olympics will be “downsized,” “simplified,” or “very different.” Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto has been open about slashing costs and “reducing service levels.” Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, in Thursday newscasts, sounded the same tune. “We will move ahead with the items that should be streamlined and simplified,” she said, giving no details on the downsizing and adding that the public would be consulted.

Empty Stadiums

One typical report said Olympic seating could be reduced, leaving in limbo the disposition of millions of tickets already sold. Most major sporting events around the world are waking up to the reality that they may have to host matches in empty stadiums. European football leagues that have restarted—like the Bundesliga—are already being held to spectator-less stands, and the other leagues will follow. But for the Olympics, which comes only every four years and for which people travel from around the world, tickets are going to be a battle ground. When the Games were deferred in March, 4.5 million tickets of the estimated 8 million tickets had already been sold. The organizing committee has budgeted income of at least $800 million from ticket sales, and may be reluctant to return it. The tickets carry a “force majeure” clause, which may permit organizers to avoid refunds.

That leads us to the second point—the tourism influx that a country sees when it hosts the Olympics. In 2016, when Rio hosted the Olympics, Brazil saw 66 lakh tourists, an increase of 4.8% from 2015. Income from tourism rose to $6.2 billion, up by 6.2%. Rio got 11 lakh tourists for the Games’ fortnight of which 4.1 lakh were foreigners. 94% hotels in Rio were occupied. For the Games in 2012, 4.7 lakh tourists visited London. Their spending at hotels and restaurants and Olympic tickets sales took the UK economy out of a recession between July-September. The economy grew by 1% and the Office of National Statistics said Olympic ticket sales had added 0.2 percentage points to the figures.

Millions of visitors from around the world is exactly the opposite of what a country would want if it wants to keep the virus at bay. But that would also mean losing out on a lot of money for a country that, like most others, is headed towards a pandemic-induced recession.

The spread of Covid-19 had already hit tourism in Japan, even before lockdown began globally, with a 58.3% fall in numbers in February 2020 in comparison to the same time in 2019. Olympic costs, though, have soared. The cost of the delay in Japan has been estimated at $2 billion to $6 billion. Neither the IOC nor organizers have given a figure for the costs to Japan, or who will pay for them. Even before it was deferred, it was estimated that the Games would cost $12.6 billion, nearly 10 times of what was estimated in 2013.

Unceremonious

One way of “simplifying” that will go down well with just about every stakeholder is to drastically cut down on the opening and closing ceremony programmes. These bloated showpieces are almost universally disliked. The 2016 opening ceremony lasted roughly five hours, with millions spent on opulent pyrotechnics. The budget for the two ceremonies in Tokyo stands at $117 million currently. These two ceremonies also see thousands of athletes gather together in one place—just what you don’t want if you want social distancing.

At the moment, there is talk of combining the opening and closing ceremony for both the Olympics and Paralympics. “Many discussions are ongoing covering various areas, including the ceremonies,” Craig Spence, a spokesman for Paralympics, told AP.

So many people

A pared down Olympics would most certainly require a limit on the number of people who are involved in the Games. At the 2016 Olympics for example, 11,238 athletes and at least an equal—by most estimates, higher—number of support staff and officials attended the Games. 35,000 volunteers were called on. 85,000 police and other armed forces were deployed. India, for example, sent 117 athletes, more than 50 support staff, and an estimated 90 officials from the Indian Olympic Association and the sports ministry. Canada had 375 support staff and 165 officials for its 313 athletes. Is there a way to curb the number of support staff without compromising performances? How about a cap on the number of officials who can attend from each country? Is there a way of being less ostentatious and more strategic with the security deployment?

And so many sports…

One of the measures could be to drop some of the non-core sports. Besides the 28 core sports, the Tokyo programme includes events like 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX and Madison cycling, baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding. The core roster already has basketball and there are enough track and road cycling events to keep even the craziest velo lovers happy. Surfing, skateboarding, or, even baseball, which all have their own robust cultures, do not need the Olympics. Come to think of it, football does not belong at the Olympics either—cutting that out of the programme would mean a very large reduction of athletes and officials—but being a core sport, that’s not about to happen.

Cutting calories

A seriously austere measure would be to reduce the spread of food available for athletes at the Games village. In 2016, 2500 people worked to serve five varieties of sweets, six types of fried dishes, seven options in the main course and four types of drinks. This was just the Brazilian cuisine on offer. Indian athletes, for instance, could order food of their choice and others could source a burger from McDonalds.

In 1948, when London hosted the Games with the wounds of a World War still fresh and food being rationed, athletes were allowed 5467 calories a day—the equivalent of what dock workers and miners got. The national ceiling then was 2600 calories per day. Olympic athletes may require between 3000 to 8000 calories a day depending on their sport. Many teams brought their own food and that is an idea worth exploring for Tokyo.

Tokyo may have no other option but to be ruthless.

Oxford vaccine clinical trials to take volunteers from Brazil

2020-06-05T12:40:00.003+05:30

Brazil and Mexico reported record daily coronavirus death tolls as governments in South America battled to fortify defences against the pandemic with fresh lockdown orders and curfews.

The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that at least 100,000 infections were officially reported worldwide for each of the last five days, adding the Americas bore much of the brunt.

Mexico on Wednesday announced more than 1,000 deaths in a day for the first time, while Brazil reported a record 1,349 daily deaths.

The clinical trial for a vaccine conducted by experts at the University of Oxford will soon recruit 2,000 volunteers in Brazil The university said that on Tuesday, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency approved the inclusion of Brazil in the clinical trials.

Scientists are resuming Covid-19 trials of the now world-famous drug hydroxychloroquine, as confusion continues to reign about the anti-malarial hailed by US President Donald Trump as a potential “game-changer” in fighting the pandemic. It follows widespread criticism of the quality of data in a study in The Lancet which found high risks associated with the treatment.

Covid-19 continued to take a toll on US jobs, with another 1.9 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits, taking the number of those rendered jobless by the pandemic to cross 42 million. Layoffs have slowed down from the peak of 6.6 million in April, as all the 50 states have reopened.

Joe Biden, Donald Trump campaigns targeted by foreign hackers: Google

2020-06-05T12:39:00.000+05:30

Campaign staffs for both President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden have been targeted recently by foreign hackers, Google researchers said Thursday, highlighting persistent data security concerns ahead of the November US election.

A tweet from Google’s threat analysis chief Shane Huntley said the internet giant warned the Biden campaign about “phishing” efforts from China and the Trump campaign from Iran.

“No sign of compromise. We sent users our govt attack warning and we referred to fed law enforcement,” Huntley wrote.

The incidents nonetheless highlight fears about a repeat of a devastating data breach in 2016 involving the campaign of Hillary Clinton and a wide-ranging influence operation which officials said was directed from Russia.

“This is a major disclosure of potential cyber-enabled influence operations, just as we saw in 2016,” Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab, said in a tweet.

Brookie said the disclosure “is the cyber-enabled pre-cursor to potential influence operations. It’s a necessary reminder, especially to campaigns.”

Huntley said the incidents should be a reminder to campaigns to take security precautions, including so-called two-factor authentication to verify users.

He also noted that Google is offering free physical security key hardware and other assistance to US presidential and congressional campaigns.

Microsoft warned last year that at least one presidential campaign was being targeted by an Iranian state-backed cyber operation. Reports said the effort targeted a Trump campaign staffer.

A group Microsoft dubbed “Phosphorous” tried to identify email accounts of targets that included US officials, journalists covering global politics, prominent Iranians living outside that country and a presidential campaign.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter security teams met last year with FBI, homeland security and intelligence officials to discuss collaboration on election threats.

Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll surges to third-highest in world

2020-06-05T12:22:00.000+05:30

Brazil’s death toll from the novel coronavirus has surged past 34,000 to become the third-highest in the world, surpassing Italy’s, according to official figures released Thursday.

The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain.

Brazil has now confirmed 614,941 infections, the health ministry said -- the second-largest caseload in the world, behind the US.

Experts say under-testing in Brazil means the real numbers are probably much higher.

The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America, the latest epicenter in the pandemic.

Brazil, a country of 210 million people, has been the hardest-hit in the region.

President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticized coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.

The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage “war” on state governors who order business closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America’s biggest economy.

Covid-19 underlines necessity to prioritise needs of poor through digital solutions: India at UN

2020-06-05T12:18:00.001+05:30

India has called for prioritising the needs of the poor and vulnerable through digital initiatives, emphasising that disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that technology and people-centric solutions should become a critical component of nations’ development paradigm.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

In his first public remarks at the UN since assuming charge late last month, India’s permanent representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti on Thursday said that the global outbreak of Covid-19 has triggered a health crisis which has quickly transformed into an economic, social and humanitarian crises with potential long-term effects on development prospects.

“It is hard to imagine how the world would have coped with such a disruption by Covid-19 without the digital tools that we possess today. Hence, technology and digital people-centric solutions should become a critical component of our development paradigm,” Tirumurti said at the 2020 Annual Session of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Executive Board on Thursday.

“Prioritising the needs of the poor and vulnerable will have to receive the highest priority with respect to digital initiatives,” he said.

He said that nations are seized with the impact of the pandemic, reviewing their developmental priorities and reallocating their dwindling resources.

“We need to re-prioritise the UNDP priorities as per the partner countries’ new development priorities to, at the very least, mitigate the consequences of this Covid-19 crisis,” he said.

While the 2030 development agenda remains a long-term target for nations, the envoy said it is possible that the short-term and even medium-term priorities for countries may be slightly different though not necessarily contradictory.

“UNDP should be nimble enough to react to these changed immediate set of priorities of partner countries,” he said.

Tirumurti noted that it is equally important to focus on specific priority sectors since developing countries may be hit in varying degrees during the pandemic depending on their worst affected sectors, such as tourism.

“Reprioritising naturally puts the focus on the health sector as well as social protection,” he said, adding that the UNDP is embracing digital technologies but underscored the need to promote this in partner countries in a big way.

He pointed out that in recent years, India has undertaken transformative development and people-friendly programmes fully integrated through digital technology.

UNDP administrator Achim Steiner cited India’s example of using digital technology in its development agenda and lauded an initiative that connects the last district health centre in terms of a national and state platform for managing vaccine supplies.

“We have literally jumped 20 years in terms of ensuring custody and the chain of supply... and not running out of vaccines in these remote centres. This is now being exported to a number of countries by India itself,” Steiner said.

Tirumurti stressed that the coronavirus crisis has also underlined the need for partnership, ensuring that no one is left behind and in prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable.

He said that India has taken every effort, despite the difficult circumstances at home, to extend its support to partners around the world.

“From the supply of essential medicines, testing kits, personal protective equipment to deployment of rapid response teams to developing an information exchange platform and to conducting courses by our premier healthcare institutions under our flagship Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme, for India, development partnership is critical to South-South Partnership,” he added.

Delhi: Woman alleges Covid-positive father ‘not admitted’ in time by hospital, dies

2020-06-05T12:15:00.004+05:30

A woman has alleged that her Covid-19-positive father was not admitted in time by a Delhi government hospital and he died on Thursday, a charge denied by the authorities of the facility.

The woman, Amarpreet Kaur, took to Twitter earlier in the day, saying, “My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won’t survive without help. Pls help.”

My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi & they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won't survive without help. Pls help @raghav_chadha @ArvindKejriwal @SatyendarJain
— Amarpreet (@amar_hrhelpdesk) June 4, 2020

An hour later, she again tweeted, saying, “He is no more. The govt failed us.” Her tweets were widely circulated by netizens. Amarpreet is a social activist, her family said.

The authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, a dedicated Covid-19 facility, denied the charge, saying the patient was “brought dead”.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

According to information shared by the hospital, the 68-year-old man, who also had asthma, died at 7:37 am.

“According to a report from the emergency department, the man was tested for Covid-19 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the report came on June 1, in which he was found positive for coronavirus infection,” a senior official said.

He was sent to home quarantine from there, the authorities said.

On Thursday, he was brought to the casualty department of the hospital in an “unconscious state” and with a flat ECG line, and declared “brought dead”.

Amarpreet lives in Gurgaon with her husband Mandeep Singh, who said the family members rushed to the hospital after getting to know about his father-in-law’s condition.

“My father-in-law was taken in a car by my wife’s brother and a cousin, accompanied by my mother-in-law,” Singh said, and alleged that the LNJP Hospital staff “were not willing to see my father-in-law, even as he fainted in the car”.

“They are saying he was brought dead, but was he even attended to? The staff kept saying go to Ganga Ram Hospital. We were just at a loss,” he alleged, the charge again denied by the LNJP Hospital authorities.

Singh also alleged that the family “never received any call” from the SGRH on the positive Covid-19 status of his father-in-law.

A spokesperson of the SGRH denied the charge, saying, “There is no truth in these allegations. However, we sympathise with the family for their loss.” Singh also claimed that the family had approached three-four other private and government hospitals a few days ago, but “could not get admission” for the deceased in any of those facilities, adding that they found out that beds were available at the LNJP Hospital, so he was taken there.

Later, in a statement, the LNJP Hospital rejected the claims of the family as “incorrect and false”, saying the old man was brought to the hospital between 7:10 am and 7:30 am, was “not refused admission and examined by a doctor”.

It also claimed that the first tweet was put up by Amarpreet at 8:05 am and subsequently, she sent out another tweet, saying her father died at 9:08 am, but he died at 7:37 am.

Singh responded to it and claimed that the tweets were “put out from his wife’s account by a friend of hers”, as she was scrambling to get her father medical attention and hence, there could have been a delay.

Asked if the man’s family was made to wait at the hospital, a source said, the LNJP Hospital, being a dedicated facility, sees a “lot of rush” of patients.

“Also, there are four doctors in the casualty department, who can attend to only four patients at a time following all social-distancing and other safety guidelines. But the triage team looks out for any person in the queue, who needs immediate medical attention,” the source said.

The woman later tweeted seeking Covid-19 tests for all family members.

“I lost my father today morning to Covid we want other family members to get tested today only. which labs are not doing they are in danger. We are trying since morning. My mother, brother, his wife and two kids. Pls help (sic),” she said.

On June 2, the woman had also tweeted: “My father is corona positive and in Delhi, no helpline is responding @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia @dilipkpandey. Immediate support is needed.” “I am extremely thankful to @dilipkpandey and others for immediate attention and support. We are proceeding on next steps as advised by doctors!” she had tweeted.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Pandey had helped to get a doctor on a telephone call with the family, Singh said.

Delhi recorded 1,359 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, which took the Covid-19 tally in the city past the 25,000-mark, and the death toll due to the disease mounted to 650, authorities said.

Maharashtra: Bodies of two waiters found in water tank of Mira Road restobar

2020-06-05T12:13:00.003+05:30

The decomposed bodies of two men who worked as waiters in a bar and restaurant at Mira Road township were found in the outlet’s water tank early on Friday, police officials said.

The dead men were identified as Haresh Shetty, 48, and Naresh Pandit, 52. The bodies had stab wounds and head injuries and police believe they were murdered.

A suspect, Kallu Jadhav, who worked in the same hotel, is on the run. Mira Road Police have formed teams to trace and arrest him, said deputy superintendent of police Shantaram Walvi.

Gangadhar Shetty, the owner of the bar, said he received a call from Haresh Shetty’s phone that informed him about the murders. The police tracked the phone and its last location was somewhere near Nalla Sopara.

The two men were allegedly murdered on June 1 and their bodies were dumped in the water tank. A foul smell began emanating from the water tank on the ground floor when the bodies started decomposing, police said.

The 10,000-litre tank was built to store water supplied by the municipality and tankers for daily use. The bodies were fished out by Mira Bhayander fire brigade personnel at 1am on Friday.

Police officials believe more than four persons could have been involved in the murder. The CCTV footage from the bar is being scanned as part of the investigation.

The bar was closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but the staff stayed in rooms in the same building at MTNL Road in Sheetal Nagar, said Gangadhar Shetty.

“As of now, we have sent the bodies for a post-mortem examination and we have registered a case of murder against Kallu Jadhav, who is absconding,” said a police officer who didn’t want to be named.

SC asks RBI, FinMin to reply on interest relief

2020-06-05T12:08:00.000+05:30

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union finance ministry to file a joint response on whether interest on loans can be waived for the six-month moratorium period.

In March, the central bank had allowed a three-month moratorium on payment of all term loans due between March 1 and May 31. On May 22, the moratorium was extended till August 31.

On May 26, the apex court had sought RBI’s response after petitioner Gajendra Sharma sought interest waiver during the moratorium period. In an affidavit filed on Wednesday, RBI said it does not consider it prudent or appropriate to forcefully waive interest, which would risk the financial viability of the banks it is mandated to regulate, and put the interests of the depositors in jeopardy.

The RBI affidavit detailed the amount of losses that would have to be absorbed by the financial sector in case the moratorium was declared as an interest-free period. “The weighted average lending rate for banks as on December 3, 2019 was 10.40%, and the outstanding of term loans was ₹59,52,192 crore. Assuming that the moratorium was granted to only 65% of the above outstanding, the monthly interest that will be foregone by the banks in case moratorium period has to be declared interest-free will be approximately ₹33,500 crore,” RBI said.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, MR Shah and SK.Kaul heard the submission through videoconferencing.

Justice Bhushan said there were two main issues; the first was whether interest should be charged during the moratorium period or not; the second issue was whether interest should be charged on the accrued interest.

“There are two issues in this: No interest during moratorium period, and no interest on interest,” said Bhushan.

While referring to RBI’s reply, senior advocate Rajiv Dutta, appearing for the petitioner, said: “The cat is out of bag…They’re saying profitability of bank prime. So, only the banks should earn and the rest of the country goes down under?”

“We know, economic aspect should not be higher than the health of people,” said the bench.
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Govt releases Rs 36,400 crore GST compensation to the states

2020-06-05T12:05:00.003+05:30

The central government on Thursday released ₹36,400 crore to states as their pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation, said an official statement.

The payment is for the period of December 2019 to February 2020. The finance ministry also said in its statement that the fund was released in the context of the coronavirus pandemic where states need to make additional spending when their resources are adversely hit. Up to November, the administration had released ₹1,15,096 crore in GST compensation to states.

Union territories with legislatures also get the compensation. States have been urging the Centre to release full compensation due as the decline in economic activities have affected their revenue position. The government had last month announced that states will be allowed to raise up to 5% of their gross state domestic product.

2020-06-05T11:59:00.001+05:30

Kushal Pal Singh, 88, on Thursday stepped down as chairman of real estate developer DLF Limited, and assumed the position of chairman emeritus. In a conversation with Rajeev Jayaswal, he reflects on the evolution of DLF and creation of the millennium city of Gurugram on in which the company played a pioneering role, and talks about how to revive the economy hit by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Edited excerpts:

You entered DLF at a time when the company was virtually closed and it was about to be sold for ₹25 lakh. But you stepped in and Gurugram was born. How do you reflect on the past?

The government nationalised the urban land business in 1957-58. DLF [at that time it was run by Chaudhary Raghvender Singh, father-in-law of KP Singh] went out of business. I was into manufacturing. I came into DLF when the company was completely closed, [the land] business was nationalised, there was no money, banks were forbidden to lend money and the sector was dominated by unauthorised players. So, how did I get involved?

I was not involved in DLF till 1973-74. I was running a company called Willard India, making batteries, and American Universal, making electrical motors. But it so happened that the company (DLF) closed its business in 1960 as Chaudhary Sahab was against any unauthorised development. There was an occasion to sell the shares of the company to another member of the family because DLF was a brand.

My wife and her sister were the shareholders of the company. There was no third shareholder. In the normal case, they would have signed anything their father would have sent. But something happened that day. These girls were known as DLF girls as it was a big brand. It came to their mind, ‘Oh god we are losing everything.’ That evening was the turning point. My sister-in-law said, ‘Bhai Sahab, hamari tabiyat nahi hai bechne ke liye. Sirf 25 lakh [rupees] ke liye. (We don’t feel like selling, just for ₹25 lakh). My wife said the same. Maine kaha ‘aapki tabiyat kya hai?’ [what do you feel like?] They said we must revive the company. I said I don’t know this business. They said ‘If you apply your mind you can do it.’

Something happened to me. I took one or two days thinking ‘should I put myself into this area which is completely nationalised?’ There’s no bank that can give money. But DLF brand was big in the 50s. So I took the challenge. Because I couldn’t do two things, I sold Willard. And I set about myself, firstly, to get the laws changed, because they were wrong laws. That’s how Gurugram was born.

How was Gurugram developed?

Without land, you can’t develop a township. I had no money. The company was bankrupt. Banks were not ready to finance, rather they were not allowed to finance.

How do I do it? When your back is against the wall, something comes up. God was kind, it guided me, let’s follow the route my late father-in-law had followed in the 50s. He had developed a good name and reputation with farmers. So I thought let me encash this reputation with farmers.

In Gurugram, there was not any land ceiling at that time although it was completely barren land. So it is where an entrepreneur’s vision comes and an entrepreneur’s ability to take risk comes in.

So, I went there and I said, okay, I will work very hard. I spent almost eight-nine years with villagers. I ate with them, sat with them in their huts, met them every day, drank more milk in my life than I ever did. I did everything honestly. I did it passionately. Not just for the sake of doing it. By the way, I still go there and meet them. I became one of them. When you become one of them, then they not only sold the land to you, but also become the lenders. Thus the entire financing of DLF took place by the same farmers. Buying land, some 5,000 acres, on credit is something unheard of anywhere in the world.

USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and Harvard teams came to India in the early 90s to do a study.

And they were stunned. They said ‘my God, how the same farmers you bought land from gave money and not a single litigation.’ That’s the history. I did all myself. No managers. I had only two low-key revenue officials who were like patwaris [book-keepers].

You have seen many ups and downs in life. Have you ever seen this Covid-like situation?

No. Frankly, I have not seen. I can tell you, and I hope I’m wrong, but to me it appears it’s going to be like the Spanish flu ... the numbers may come down, then they will go back again. It will carry on till such time you get a vaccine. And the good thing that our Prime Minister has done, is that he has inculcated a sense of discipline, voluntarily in all the people.

You cannot dictate to people to do something, but he carried the whole country with him. Once you get a vaccine, like for small pox, the diseases will go away. Till that time we got to learn to live with it, by taking precautions and safeguards

The economy has been battered by Covid-19. What is the solution?

The Prime Minister is doing the right thing. He is now slowly bringing economic activities [back to normal] and encouraging every state to open up the economy... in the bargain, undoubtedly certain peaks will go up. But the economy has to be opened up, otherwise people will start facing trouble. When people don’t have money, that will... cause much more damage than Covid.

So, what will you suggest to the Prime Minister?

I was very happy to hear his speech [made at an industry association on Tuesday] .

He said growth will take place in India. And he will bring around major structural reforms. I appeal to the Prime Minister to understand that the biggest element missing in India today is realisation of one factor — that the most important sector of the economy, after agriculture, is urbanisation of India. Urbanisation means real estate, construction, housing, roads. They form part of the infrastructure of urbanisation, which has been completely neglected.

Frankly, and particularly dealing with townships and housing, migrants live in apathetic conditions. Why are people living in slums? It means that something we have failed to anticipate. India is a democracy. People are bound to move from rural to urban areas. I think our planning processes failed in recognising that you need to provide large- scale facilities for these millions of workers. That calls for revamping the entire urban infrastructure plan. Trust me, economic activity will take only when an entrepreneur finds it profitable. Government cannot push economic activity in areas which are not profitable.

Today, you see in the eyes of the migrant, one thing very clear, they are dissatisfied with the way they were living here. Now they’ve gone back to their villages. Okay, but now soon they will get dissatisfied there because they will have no jobs. When they come back here, there’ll be no job for them here also. So imagine the potential law and order problems which will follow.

So the only answer for it... (the) government must restructure the entire urbanisation now for the future generation. And results will come minimum after one or two decades. It won’t come in a few years. But at least our children, grandchildren, for them there will be a good future; otherwise this problem is going to massive in India. Migration from rural to urban areas will happen, nobody can stop it.

You are still very active. What are your future plans?

Firstly, I’m not leaving DLF. I’ve become the chairman emeritus, which means I’m still involved, not actively, but I’m there. I also believe strongly that everybody should have hobbies. I’ve strong hobbies I’m addicted to playing golf. I love music and I travel a lot. I have my daughter Piya and son Rajiv to help and drive philanthropic activities. I believe that at 90 one should not be the executive chairman of a listed company.

Tahira Kashyap dresses like husband Ayushmann Khurrana, leaves him flummoxed. See pics

2020-06-05T11:52:00.003+05:30

The trend of couples dressing identically is here to stay. Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma, and Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone often share photos after they have raided their spouse’s closet and now Tahira Kashyap has done the same.

The filmmaker-writer shared a photo where she was seen dressed in Ayushmann Khurrana’s jacket and accessorized it just like her husband. Sharing the picture, Tahira wrote, “We believe in gender fluidity.” Sharing Tahira’s story on his account, Ayushmann wrote, “Umm...”

Earlier, in answer to a question if Tahira would direct Ayushmann in the future, she had said, “I would really love to work with him from the perspective of directing a wonderful artist. He has grown tremendously as an artist. But at the same time, he is senior to me when it comes to working. So I need to earn myself a couple of films or a position where I deserve to direct him.”

In a recent post, Ayushmann revealed how he confessed his feelings towards Tahira. He said they was preparing for their board exams when it happened: “It was in 2001. We were preparing for our board exams. At 1.48 AM I’d confessed my feelings to her over the phone. Bryan Adams was playing on my stereo. Inside Out was the song. It’s been 19 years with this goofball. Umm.”

Tahira also reshared the same photo, “My weekend, hopeful, strictly left profile moods. Clicked by the all ‘rounder’ Gautam Govind Sharma. Ghar baithe aur karen (What else to do sitting at home).”

Earlier, Ayuhsmann Khurrana had disclosed that he had been with Tahira since 2001 as he shared a selfie on Instagram calling her his “high school sweetheart.”

Hardik Pandya’s ex Elli AvrRam finally explains her cryptic post after his engagement to Natasa Stankovic

2020-06-05T11:49:00.001+05:30

Actor Elli AvrRam has finally spoken about the cryptic message she had posted on Instagram days after cricketer Hardik Pandya announced his engagement to actor Natasa Stankovic. Elli and Hardik had reportedly been in a relationship but never made it public.

Speaking to BollywoodLife, Elli said that too much was read into her post. She said, “You got to be kidding me; that New Year’s one ...no, it had nothing to do with him. I love the way you guys just pick up things and overthink and go into this space of like, oh...she’s trying to send a message to him. If I want to tell him something, I’d just drop him a message. I don’t have to go through Instagram to do it. So, no, that had nothing to with him, nothing, and I’m seriously happy for him and Natasa.”

On January 3, Elli had written a post which said, “Be your own Angel this time xx.” It was a solo picture of hers; many had read it as her message for Hardik.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elisabet Elli AvrRam (@elliavrram) on Jan 1, 2020 at 10:36pm PST

On New Year’s day, Hardik and Natasa had taken to Instagram to announce their engagement. Sharing pictures from their engagement party on a yacht, Hardik had written: “Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged.” Hardik recently announced that the duo was expecting their first child together. He had written: “Natasa and I have had a great journey together and it is just about to get better Together we are excited to welcome a new life into our lives very soon. We’re thrilled for this new phase of our life and seek your blessings and wishes.”

In a recent Youtube Live interaction with well-known journalist Harsha Bhogle, Hardik had opened up about how he met Natasa. “I got her by talking. She saw someone in a hat at a place where I met her, wearing a hat, a chain, a watch, at 1 am. So she thought he is ‘alag prakaar ka aadmi aaya’ (different kind of person came),” he said.

“That is when I started talking to her, started knowing each other. Then, we started dating. Then got engaged on December 31.” the all-rounder added. Asked if Natasa was a fan of his and knew about him, he said, “She had no idea who I was.”

Choked movie review: Anurag Kashyap’s Netflix film cashes in on demonetisation

2020-06-05T11:42:00.000+05:30

Choked
Director - Anurag Kashyap
Cast - Saiyami Kher, Roshan Mathew, Amruta Subhash, Rajshri Deshpande

Hugely enjoyable but slightly ham-fisted, Netflix’s Choked is a minor film from a major filmmaker; a kitchen sink drama in which an actual kitchen sink plays a pivotal role.

Retrofitted by director Anurag Kashyap to suit his singular sensibilities, Choked is another attempt by the prolific filmmaker to unpack contemporary socio-political themes through the prism of genre cinema — it’s a magic-realist metaphor for clogged dreams, and a striking satire of sycophancy.

Sarita, having already been established as the sole breadwinner of her middle-class Mumbai home — her husband, Sushant, is jobless and in debt — is woken up in the middle of the night by a noise coming from the kitchen. The sink has been giving them trouble lately, but what they’d chalked down to some stuck ‘sabzi’ turns out to be something else entirely. Upon closer inspection, Sarita observes bundles of money, covered in plastic, being regurgitated from the drainpipe.

It was around this time, after watching Sarita stare in bafflement at currency notes no longer in circulation, that I was struck by a thought. It is the sort of thought that makes one overestimate their intelligence. “Could this be about demonetisation?,” I wondered, feeling a rush of excitement I’d otherwise associate with discovering that a new Christopher Nolan movie plays around with the concept of time.

Subliminal hints had already been made, the most telling of which being that the film is set in 2016. Bear in mind, I watched Choked a couple of weeks ago, without having seen a trailer or read a logline. I had no idea that just a few scenes later, a neighbour would barge into Sarita’s home with the news that the government has demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes — the OG Modi mandate that was intended for the rich, but ended up punishing the poor instead. The fistfuls of cash that she was just about getting accustomed to, Sarita realises, is almost as worthless as her no-good husband.

A part of me still wonders if restricting the film to being a veiled allegory of demonetisation, instead of leaning on it as a plot device would’ve served the story better. But this decision, in essence, is what every filmmaker straddling the mainstream and the arthouse must debate. Would avoiding the very mention of demonetisation have got the message across as effectively? Or would it have been too abstract? Who knows. It’s all for the best.

Because as it stands, Choked is already a wonky movie, just as likely to unleash a bank heist as it is to participate in impromptu ‘mohalla’ dance parties. After the Prime Minister makes the announcement, Sarita’s entire society congregates in the courtyard and performs a celebratory jig, juxtaposed to news footage of endless queues outside banks and ATMs. It’s the centrepiece of the movie, a scene that not only highlights the cruel irony of what is about to unfold, but also encourages self-reflection.

Bang in the middle of the party is Sushant, who after maintaining an insufferable attitude throughout the film, transcends into full-blown repulsiveness when he watches the PM deliver his speech, and reacts to it by saying, “What a great leader.”

It’s a rather unforgiving character, but Roshan Mathew peppers Sushant’s insecurity with a dash of dignity. Choked, in its heart of hearts, is a relationship drama about a crumbling marriage, and a keenly observed dissection of masculinity in modern India.

And, it is Saiyami Kher’s film from start to finish. The actor brings an instant warmth to Sarita that is vital to how Choked is perceived. If we hadn’t supported Sarita in her decision to stash the cash for herself, the film would have been strangled by its own set-up.

Signal lets you blur faces in photos and you can use them in other apps too

2020-06-05T11:37:00.002+05:30

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asked people to download encrypted messaging app Signal as protests against George Floyd’s death rages on in the US. The app has also just added a very cool blur feature that makes it all the more helpful right now

Twitter is one social media platform that is taking real active initiative in being a part of the protests that are raging across the US. After taking the call to moderate Donald Trump’s tweets on the platform, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted today about Signal.

Download @signalapp: https://t.co/I5SuycAqM3 https://t.co/TnWGiiwBLw
— jack (@jack) June 3, 2020

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that’s considered to be one of the most secure apps in the world. And now, Signal has added a very cool feature that is going to be super helpful for people out protesting.

Signal has been a go-to solution for a lot of protestors across the world, even in India, since the app is more secure than any other messaging app out there. Now, imagine you are out protesting and you happen to click a photo of the demonstration or of yourself at the protests and want to post it on social media or send it to a friend. While there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s not safe. Your photo, if it falls in the wrong hands could help identify people and put them in trouble.

And since it is important to share these moments, especially right now, it’s all the more important to take certain precautions to stop authorities from snooping on these photos and targeting people in them.

Signal has launched a new tool in its app that lets you automatically blur the faces of people in your photos and the cooler thing is, you can download the photos and use these images anywhere on social media.

To get this feature, you need to make sure your Signal app is updated on your iPhone or Android device to the latest version. And then you can follow these steps:

How to blur faces on Signal:

- Open the app and head to any chat in it. Tap on the camera icon to add images.

- Select images from your gallery and then tap on the Blur icon.

- You then tap on the Blur Faces toggle to automatically blur all the faces in the photo.

- If the app is unable to detect all the faces in the photo, like say half a face or something, you can manually blur them by using the blur tool.

- Once you are done you can share your photo on Signal with anybody you want, you can also download it and save it in your gallery to use on other apps. Face recognition programs will have a tough time skimming through photos that have faces blurred, so you and those around you are safe. Authorities have used facial recognition software to gauge crowds at protests.

Reliance Jio-Mubadala deal: 6 key things to know

2020-06-05T11:34:00.000+05:30

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has continued to raise investments for its Jio platforms. The latest is Abu Dhabi-based investor Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala). The company has bagged an investment of ₹9,093.60 crore in Jio platforms from the Abu Dhabi investor in exchange of a 1.85% equity stake.

Here are six important things to know about the Reliance Jio- Mubadala deal.

- This is the six investment in Jio platforms in the last six weeks

- The latest investment is at an equity value of ₹4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of ₹5.16 lakh crore, which is same as the recent investments.

- Jio platforms have now raised ₹87,655.35 crore from firms such as Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala.

- Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala has a wide portfolio which includes advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, metals & mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, and more.

- Morgan Stanley served as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel.

- The Reliance Jio- Mubadala deal comes amid reports of Airtel being in talks to reach a similar stake deal with Amazon. Earlier reports have claimed Google is exploring a 5% stake in Vodafone Idea.

Instagram collaborates with Swiggy and Zomato, adds food order sticker

2020-06-05T11:19:00.001+05:30

The photo-sharing app Instagram will now make it easier for its users to order food through its platform. The company on Thursday announced that it has partnered with food-delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato to help small restaurants survive and establish themselves during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Instagram launched a special food order stickers to enable users to order food.

The small-scale business can share newly launched food order stickers by Instagram on their Stories, which would allow users to just tap on it and place an order through Swiggy or Zomato.

“We want to do our part in helping small businesses stay open, keep in touch with customers, and be informed on how to navigate this crisis. For the food industry in particular, we’re rolling out the food order sticker, which will aid order discovery and spur engagement, and we’re glad to have partnered with Swiggy and Zomato for the same," Nitin Chopra, industry head, e-commerce and retail, Facebook India said in a statement.

In order to use the food order sticker, businesses or restaurants should have the latest version of Instagram on either iOS or Android. They should either use a business account on the app or a creator account. They can add either Swiggy or Zomato’s link to their Instagram Stories and also share the link on their Instagram profile. This would make it easier for people who follow them to place orders just by tapping on the “order food” button or the Stories.

Talking about the collaboration with Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform, Srivats TS, vice president - marketing, Swiggy said, “Supporting the small business ecosystem, especially the restaurant business, which is severely affected, is a huge priority for us. As physical distancing continues and businesses innovate with online models, features like the food order sticker from Instagram will aid engagement between customers and their favorite food businesses, and ideally have a positive impact on increasing online food delivery order volumes.”

People can also help the small scale businesses by sharing the stickers with a link to Zomato or Swiggy in their Stories too. This would help the restaurants in reaching out to more and more people.

“At Zomato, we are focused on the overall development of the food delivery sector and have been working with restaurants to design different growth models. Instagram’s food order sticker will not just help restaurants introduce themselves to more customers, improve their engagement but also add a new growth avenue for their businesses," said Sandeep Anand, chief marketing officer, Zomato said in a statement to Mint.

World Environment Day 2020: The year of resilience and transformation

2020-06-05T00:51:00.000+05:30

In living memory, never perhaps has there been a time where truly the entire world has shut down and is struggling to grapple with health, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental turmoil all at the same time. 2020 has not been an easy year so far.

Covid-19 has both divided and united the world simultaneously and at large. Among other challenges, climate change looms over us with frequent reminders of nature’s imbalance whilst prompting us to rethink about the way we live. Data points are staggering; value chains disrupted in ways we do not know yet; and, what we took for granted seems like a distant luxury now. We find ourselves as reluctant actors in a dystopian movie plot where fact and fiction are blurred and every day our resilience is tested against a background score of consistent uncertainty. In all likelihood, ongoing events and those leading up to them will have a far-reaching impact on all of us. We may see the following responses to shape our resilience.

The emergence of the home as a sanctuary: Lockdowns world over have confined us to our homes as the centre of our lives. Ownership, location, proximity, form, function, arrangement/sequence, adaptability, flexibility, planning, design and development will all undergo significant changes.

Change in planning and design of different asset classes: Most other asset classes will see a change in some format owing to new ways of living, working, learning, shopping, eating/drinking and playing among others to adapt to changes and the emergence of new demographics thrown up against the current scenario.

Also Read: This cutting-edge technology is likely to make cruise travel safe again

Decentralisation of downtown: While this was already underway, it may be expedited as more people work from home and the need for physical concentration and density of work creation at key locations becomes less prevalent.

More Mixed-Use and Mixed-Income self-sufficient neighbourhoods: Smaller home/residential centred mixed-use and mixed-income communities may come up to ensure for self-sustenance and provide for equitable opportunities from a socio-economic standpoint.

Importance Transit-Oriented Development: While travel comes back to normal and the need for travel may see some change; transit and transit-oriented development would become important to ensure 3 and 4 above in shaping our cities as more equitable working engines of growth and opportunity.

The emergence of new asset classes and their combinations: In the pervasive sharing economy, we have already seen the emergence of co-working spaces. We may see more such trends in living, retail, hospitality, industrial and other sectors. From a design and planning standpoint, and owing to the current scenario, we are already seeing combinations between health/wellness and other sectors.

Experience of merging virtual and physical spaces: By effectively creating an alternative to real commuting with telecommuting we would see more focus on the design, planning and management of spaces that overlap between physical and virtual worlds to create optimum experiences across sectors.

Need for flexible spaces: Design and planning of spaces would need to effectively cater to individual isolation/communal use; multiuse adaptation; scaling; physical/virtual use and experience and change.

Use of new and improved technology: From due diligence, estimating use/usability and generating a brief using big data, design/planning tools, customer interface, marketing/sales digitisation, contracting, use of smart materials, prefabricated/pre-engineered construction/delivery, automation, sensing, measurement and lifecycle use – ‘Prop Tech’ may emerge as a new discipline and ecosystem.

Focus on sustainability, health and wellness: This is the primary reason for our resilience It is our responsibility to ensure triple bottom line sustainability as individuals and as a collective to not only repair our planet but make all necessary changes that will reverse the impact of climate change in setting up our environment for a healthier future.

Our resilience and transformation may not just be limited to trends alone, but in truly evolving the way we live, learn, work, play, eat, drink and socialise. These difficult times are teaching us what is important and for the right reasons. They are reminding us of what we do not want with clear insight into what a brighter future could be.

Despite all current challenges, the skies are bluer, the air is cleaner, water is purer, flora and fauna seem to be regenerating and we are sure that we like it this way as compared to how it has been. Perhaps and hopefully, we will see the silver lining in these dark clouds and the year 2020 in the future will come to represent the idea that hindsight was indeed 2020; and that we as humans changed our ways for the better to deserve a sustainable and healthy future.