Despite a decade-old financial crisis that has crippled its hospitals, Greece appears to be keeping its coronavirus outbreak under control, with a far lower death toll than many other European nations. Dr Yota Lourida, Infectious Diseases specialist at Sotiria hospital in Athens, explains how it dealt with the crisis, and the steps taken by the country to mitigate against potentially catastrophic outcomes

Joint statement insists return will not happen until stringent ‘test and trace’ regime in place

Ministers’ plans to reopen schools as early as 1 June are in serious doubt after unions representing teachers and school staff insisted that they would not consider a return without a stringent coronavirus “test and trace” regime.

In an unusual joint statement, which one senior union official said indicated that an early return to a normal school timetable was “off the menu”, the Trades Union Congress said that there should be “no increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme”, and called for the establishment of a Covid-19 taskforce with government, unions and others to agree on the safe reopening of schools.

This week is a bit scattered, but it’s SCATTERED AWESOME, so who are we to complain? We’ve got some great book deals, delightful new art, and some behind-the-scenes photos for the making of the trailer! April Fool’s Redux Last week’s prank of a re-release of the Peace Talks trailer with “improved” visual effects was ridiculously [...]

Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan's daughter, Suhana, may not have yet entered Bollywood, but she still is a well-known star kid who has a huge fan following already. Suhana Khan recently made her acting debut in a short film titled The Grey Part Of Blue, written and directed by Theodore Gimeno. In the film, Suhana is cast as a happy young girl.

Now, in a series of BTS photos and videos shared by Gimeno on Instagram, you can see that Suhana Khan had a lot of fun while shooting for her debut acting venture. She can be seen laughing and just having a good time with her co-star and crew.

Sharing the BTS footage, Gimeno wrote, "I just released the BEHIND THE SCENES video to my short film The Grey Part of Blue. You guys highly requested it so here it is! It is live now!"

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

I just released the BEHIND THE SCENES video to my short film The Grey Part of Blue. You guys highly requested it so here it is! It is live now! (LINK IN BIO) Here are some teasers btw! This video is super special to me as I now finally share how we made The Grey Part of Blue. The real thing! So yeah, rush to my bio. Show as much love as you want, share it around! Everything! And maybe you’ll want to watch the short film again 🙃 Love you guys, take care during these weird times! Big love to the whole crew, the team, the friends❤️ #thegreypartofblue

A post shared by Theodore Gimeno (@theodoregimeno) onApr 22, 2020 at 9:11am PDT

The Grey Part Of Blue is about a couple, played by Suhana and her co-star Robin Gonella, who set out on a two-day road trip to meet Suhana's parents. During the trip, certain situations force them to face truths about life, love and their relationship. The 10.05-minute fiction film was released on YouTube.

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A 40-year-old man allegedly killed his wife and later committed suicide by hanging himself in Thane on Thursday. Sunil Sangle, an auto driver, on Wednesday night strangled his wife Archana Sangle (35), to death at their home in Sri Nagar locality and later hanged himself on Thursday afternoon, said police inspector Sulabha Patil.

The couple often had fights over domestic issues and apparently the man also suspected his wife’s character, and this may have triggered the murder, police said. According to Hindustan Times, Sunil Sangle was an auto-rickshaw driver and his wife worked as a security guard at an IT park in the city. A probe is underway, the police added.

In a similar case, a 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing a man suspecting him of having an extra-marital affair with his wife in outer Delhi, police said Saturday. The accused identified as Anil Chaudhary, a resident of Nangloi, used to work in a shoe factory.

Other two men, Bakil (38) and Kamrul Huda (27) who allegedly robbed the victim after he was killed by the accused Chaudhary, were also arrested, police said. On Thursday, Nihal Vihar Police station was informed by Satya Bhama Hospital that a person has been brought dead in the hospital, Rajendra Singh Sagar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) said.

The victim was identified as Vikas Yadav by his relatives. He used to work as a labourer in a chemical factory. On interrogation, the accused Chaudhary revealed he suspected Yadav of having an illicit relationship with his wife since a year. So, he decided to eliminate Yadav and on Wednesday night, he fired at Yadav, the officer said. Yadav was carrying two mobile phones and Rs 15,000 which were missing from his possession, the officer added.

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Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

In the beginning, people said homosexuality is unnatural. Then scientists showed them that hundreds of species of animals do indulge in homosexuality. So people started saying homosexuality may be natural, but it is best restricted to animals. Amongst humans, it is a social disease. This unscientific understanding is popularised by many religious leaders, who are clueless about science, though they insist that the Vedas/Quran/Agama/Tripitaka/Talmud are essentially scientific.

These religious leaders fall into two categories. The first category is the 'liberal' guru who says sex is great for spirituality, provided it is heterosexual. The second category is the 'conservative' guru who says sex is not great for spirituality, and if you must indulge in it, do it for babies.

A gay man heard how a broad-minded Indian guru presented sexuality as an integral part of spirituality, and so decided to read a bit more of the guru's writings. He was suitably impressed, there was a lot of talk of how exploring sexual desires authentically enhances spiritual growth. But then came the horror! When the guru spoke of sexuality, he was referring only to heterosexuality and was essentially promoting orgies as a tool to liberate yourself. He saw homosexuality as a social disease resulting from heterosexuality being suppressed when men are locked with men in monasteries and prisons and women are locked with women in nunneries. This was his fantasy, which he marketed as mystical knowledge of the East!

A lesbian woman came upon a guru who gave her a sympathetic ear, and who confidently asserted that ancient mystical sages (all male, of course) had revealed to him that natural sexual activity is for making babies only, and that pleasure is just nature's way of incentivising you to make more babies. It is the human perversion to bypass the baby-making and focus on pleasure. Such value placed on pleasure comes from stress, hormones, and a lack of spiritual grounding. He insisted that homosexuality is a social pathology, not a natural physiology. She could stay a single woman if she did not wish to be a man's wife, but she had to engineer her life towards spirituality rather than sexuality if she sought fulfilment and happiness. Her libido, he insisted, was in dire need of fixing!

Most of these gurus do oppose the criminalising of homosexuality, and so appear to be modern. However, they do see homosexuality as a deviance (or its Sanskrit equivalent), or a 'fluidity' that needs explanation, management and re-alignment. They mirror the homophobia directed at queer people (pandakas, napunsakas) that we find in ancient monastic orders such as Buddhism and Jainism. Their discomfort with queerness is similar to their well-disguised discomfort with gender equality: 'Women are as good as men, provided they put the man's needs first.' Essentially, these gurus preach qualified equality, where their personal comfort zone (heterosexuality, celibacy, masculinity) remains privileged.

It is important to recognise gurus as political figures. They are today clearly political vote banks, with a vast number of followers who do whatever the guru tells them to do. Hence the power of their spiritual discourses to influence social and political direction needs to be acknowledged.

We must also recognise the power of followers over gurus. Gurus are expected to be superhuman, and 'pure and pious'. We don't mind them dancing to Bollywood songs or playing golf. But if they were to talk too much in favour of sex and pleasure, we will see them as less than spiritual. In our hearts, many of us are convinced spirituality is an adversary of sexuality. We see Shiva who burnt Kama to ash. We refuse to see Shiva who was enchanted by Kamakshi and Mohini.

The author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt@devdutt.com

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The Belgian Formula One Grand Prix scheduled for August 30 is in doubt after the country's ban on public gatherings was extended until the end of that month, organisers said. "All scenarios are being studied: postponement, holding it behind closed doors, or cancelling it. No-one can say what the situation will be in four and a half months," Vanessa Maes, the grand prix's director general, told Belga news agency.

Holding the event behind closed doors is unlikely with local backers unhappy with the financial fallout, according to the newspaper La Derniere Heure. The race is expected to join nine other grands prix that have already been cancelled or postponed this season as Formula One grapples with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Our absolute priority remains the health of the Belgian people and the spectators who come to Spa-Francorchamps," the race venue, said Maes.
The French Grand Prix scheduled for June 28 is also in doubt. A decision on whether to go ahead with the race behind closed doors or to postpone or scrap the event is expected in the coming days.

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After the government's protocol of social distancing and self-quarantine, many people have found ways to keep themselves busy into the four walls. Speaking of which, Janhvi Kapoor was seen cooking and trying her hand into various dishes. But guess who turns the judge of her experimentation cooking classes? It's none other than baby sister Khushi Kapoor.

Last time, the actress baked a carrot cake, and once again, it was fed to Khushi Kapoor first. Janhvi shared the review video as her Instagram story, and Khushi liked the cake baked by her sister. Take a look at the video here.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Manav Manglani (@manav.manglani) onApr 21, 2020 at 10:21am PDT

Now, once again, Janhvi Kapoor wore the chef's cap and made 'banana toffee,' and shared a video as her story. As soon as Khushi Kapoor tried the dish, she couldn't help it but subtly reject what Janhvi cooked for her. We can't stop laughing her Khushi's various expressions in one bite of 'banana toffee.'

Speaking of Khushi Kapoor, the star kid was in New York for her further studies, but papa Boney Kapoor brought her back as soon as the coronavirus outbreak started to take over the world slowly. Now, the duo has been living with papa at their Mumbai residence.

On the work front, Janhvi Kapoor will be next seen in Gunjan Saxena, where the actress is portraying a real-life person for the first time in her career. Based on Gunjan Saxena, who is one of the first female pilots to fly in combat, Janhvi plays an important role in rescuing injured soldiers during the Kargil War in 1999 and was awarded the gallantry Shaurya Vir Award for displaying courage during the war.

Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film also stars Vineet Kumar Singh, Angad Bedi and Manav Vij in pivotal roles. She will also be seen in Karan Johar's multi-starrer Takht alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Bednekar and Anil Kapoor, and Roohi Afza opposite Rajkummar Rao.

Apart from Gunjan Saxena and Takht, Janhvi Kapoor will be seen in Dostana 2 and Roohi Afzana.

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It's doesn't get bigger than this! Youtube has a huge lineup of celebrities from various fields for their upcoming YouTube Virtual Graduation Ceremony 2020. The ceremony would be headlined like former President Of The United States, Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Amongst the notable names includes singer Lady Gaga, world-famous band BTS.

The Dear Class of 2020 will be mixed with commencement speeches and musical performances. "I’ve always loved joining commencements––the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice. Even if we can’t get together in person this year, Michelle and I are excited to celebrate the nationwide Class of 2020 and recognize this milestone with you and your loved ones," Barack Obama wrote in his tweet on May 5.

BTS has had a global impact with their music. The group, composed of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit in South Korea, and were keynote speakers at United Nations in 2018. Singing in their native language Korean, the septet has become the world's biggest boyband. Their latest album 'Map Of The Soul: 7' has become No. 1 in 21 countries.

Being in the pop scene for more than a decade, Lady Gaga changed the face of pop music and re-introduced artistic ways to evolve music. In today's times, she is considered one of the most impactful musicians of all time.

Here's a list of participants:

Featuring

President Barack Obama

Michelle Obama

BTS

Lady Gaga

Sec. Robert M. Gates

Sundar Pichai

Sec. Condoleezza Rice

Malala Yousafzai

Special Appearances by

asapSCIENCE

Alicia Keys

Chloe x Halle

Kelly Rowland

Kerry Washington

The Try Guys

Zendaya

Mr Kate

Dude Perfect

Jackie Aina

Zane Hijazi

Dear Class of 2020 premieres on June 6.

ALSO READ: BTS members V and Jungkook make carnations on Parents' Day, perform 'Never Not' by Lauv during live stream

More BTS music is coming our way! The South Korean septet released the highly awaited 'Map Of The Soul: 7' album back on February 21, 2020. They are releasing their fourth Japanese album 'Map Of The Soul: 7 - The Journey' on July 15, 2020.

As per new details released on Thursday, May 7, the Japanese album will have Japanese versions of some of their previous album songs including four new tracks - 'Intro: Calling', 'Stay Gold', 'Your Eyes Tell', and 'Outro: Journey'.

Tracklist:

1. INTRO: Calling
2. Stay Gold
3. Boy With Luv -Japanese ver.-
4. Make It Right -Japanese ver.-
5. Dionysus -Japanese ver.-
6. IDOL -Japanese ver.-
7. Airplane pt.2 -Japanese ver.-
8. FAKE LOVE -Japanese ver.-
9. Black Swan -Japanese ver.-
10. ON -Japanese ver.-
11. Lights
12. Your eyes tell
13. OUTRO: The Journey

This will include the 'Stay Gold' music video. The track will also serve as Original Sound Track for Japanese drama, Spiral Labyrinth – DNA Forensic Investigation (literal translation). Tanaka Kei will headline the drama which is based on a manga of the same name. Jungkook has participated in the composition of 'Your Eyes Tell'.

4th Japanese Studio Album "MAP OF THE SOUL 7 - THE JOURNEY -" out July 15! pic.twitter.com/UvWuwPsiLM

— BTS Charts (@btschartdata) May 7, 2020

'Stay Gold' will be the first Japanese release since last year's 'Lights/Boy With Luv'.

ALSO READ: Troye Sivan reveals interesting details about co-writing 'Louder Than Bombs' for BTS' 'Map Of The Soul: 7

After the decision to postpone the event due to the coronavirus crisis, the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday, rather, held a virtual telecast which was no short of slime and the awards.

On Saturday a virtual show was hosted by the 'Victorious' star Victoria Justice of the event, whic was originally scheduled to take place on March 22 in Los Angeles.

The star-studded awards show had specials appearances of 'The Avengers' cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner.

The team's big hit superhero film 'Avengers: Endgame' won favourite movie, and 'Spider-Man' actor Tom Holland was voted favourite superhero.

Netflix's 'Stranger Things' grabbed the favourite TV show awards, meanwhile, the young star Millie Bobby Brown took home the favourite female TV actor award for her role as Eleven.

In the music category, artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and BTS took home the glory.

Reported by Variety, the show also made USD 1 million donations to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to help end childhood hunger and support people affected by coronavirus crisis.

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The nation is under a lock-down, and like everyone else, Tiger Shroff is also trying to sail through this time by keeping himself occupied at home. But it looks like he simply can't get the Baaghi franchise off his mind.

About two weeks back, Baaghi completed four years, and the actor wrote a brief, emotional note on Instagram, sharing a BTS video with us. Today, he shared with us glimpses of his workshop for the film, in Bangkok where it was shot. The video has Tiger practicing for some intense action sequences and packing powerful kicks. "Workshop, on set rehearsal, and action! Busy streets of bangkok," he wrote. Watch the video below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Workshop, on set rehearsal, and action! Busy streets of bangkok❤️#baaghi1

A post shared by Tiger Shroff (@tigerjackieshroff) on May 6, 2020 at 2:52am PDT

Baaghi 3, the latest edition of the franchise, looked promising and fans were looking forward to all the action and entertainment. It released on 6 th March but only had a brief run at the theatres. Baaghi 3 is now streaming on an OTT platform.

COVID-19 has started showing its impact on the mutual fund industry. Few days ago I mentioned in my article, Debt mutual funds witnessed massive outflows of Rs 1.95 trillion in the month of March.

Though we could attribute most of that outflow to corporates redeeming funds to meet their quarter end obligations, high volatility and uncertainty as consequences of the pandemic could have also played a major hand in the redemption pressure for debt schemes.

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FII have been redeeming investments heavily in equity and debt segment ever since WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In March, FIIs pulled out Rs 60,375 crore from the debt market.

High redemption and lack of buying interest has made debt mutual fund schemes vulnerable, especially those with higher exposure to low rated instruments.

This instability has claimed its first casualty in debt mutual funds...

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (FTMF) has decided to wind down six of its debt schemes with effect from April 23, 2020 due to COVID-19 related market dislocation. This is something that is unheard of in the mutual fund industry and has perplexed many investors and advisors.

The schemes that are wound up are:

• Franklin India Low Duration Fund
• Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund
• Franklin India Credit Risk Fund
• Franklin India Short Term Income Plan
• Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund
• Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund

Together these schemes have an AUM of 30,854 crore as on March 31, 2020. Notably, these are the very schemes which in the past had to create segregated portfolio for its exposure to downgraded papers of Vodafone Idea and Yes Bank.

What led to the move?

According to a statement to investors from FTMF, "Despite several measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the liquidity in certain segments of the corporate bond markets has fallen-off dramatically and has remained low for an extended period. In this scenario, mutual funds are facing unprecedented liquidity challenges due to a variety of factors-rising redemption pressures due to heightened risk aversion, mark to market losses following a spike in yields and lower trading volumes in the bond markets. These factors have together caused a significant and worsening liquidity crunch for open-end mutual fund schemes investing in corporate credits across the credit rating spectrum."

The schemes had to resort to continuous borrowing to fund redemptions during this time, and were unable to repay the borrowings through sale of portfolio securities due to the prevailing market environment. The Investment manager did not believe it was prudent to continue funding redemptions through potentially increasing levels of borrowings.

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FTMF follows a high-risk high-return strategy for the above mentioned funds - Meaning a major part of its portfolio is exposed to lower rated securities (rating below AAA). The market disruption due to the virus outbreak has impacted these securities the most.

Under conditions of high redemption pressure, mutual funds sell their liquid assets to meet the demand, leaving the portfolio highly exposed to illiquid assets.

Thus, investors who choose to stay invested are at a disadvantage here.

Anticipating continued liquidity stress to the funds, the fund house thought winding up the scheme is the only viable option for the unitholders to minimize erosion of value.

Table: Details of schemes being wound up

What does it mean for investors of these schemes?

Investors of these schemes will not be able to purchase/redeem investment, switch to other schemes or do systematic transactions. In short their funds will be locked. The fund will not charge any management fees for the funds that are being wound up.

The fund house will rely on coupon payments, maturity value of underlying securities, and selling of securities at realisable value. While the fund house expects to realise most of the proceeds as per maturities, there may be some low rated securities that may even default on the due date. The fund house may create segregated portfolios for such securities and pay back as and when the money is realised.

It will be prudent to check the average maturity of portfolios of each fund and expect major repayment within that period.

What should investors in debt funds do?

Debt mutual fund Investors are not as confident, due to incidents of exposure to toxic papers in the past. This event could make them even more wary about their investment in debt schemes. As a consequence, there may be some panic selling in other debt schemes by investors worried about their funds getting locked.

However, instead of taking any hasty decisions, it would be a great idea to check your funds for the quality of assets it holds.

Choose a fund house that follows prudent investment process and stringent risk-management system. In these uncertain times, it would be wise sticking to liquid funds and overnight funds for the fixed-income part of your portfolio. Alternatively, if you prefer safety of capital, invest in Bank fixed deposits.

Our friends at Quantum Mutual Fund have highlighted the secret behind their debt management strategy which has helped them provide safety and liquidity to investors when it comes to investing in quantum funds. Don't Worry, Quantum Liquid Fund always aims for Safety and Liquidity

The way ahead...

While the fund house has done this to protect investors' interest, it has made the funds illiquid from the investors' point of view. Many investors may lose faith in debt funds for their short-term goals.

Going further, investors may have to consider liquidity risk due to AMC action, while investing in any high credit risk oriented debt funds.

It is time for the regulator to step up and clarify the illiquidity part for other debt schemes out there to investors. Moreover, it needs to provide a framework of strict guidelines to restrict fund managers from putting investors' hard-earned money at risk by exposing them to low rated securities for higher yield.

Meanwhile, AMFI has assured investors that a majority of the fixed income fund assets is invested in superior credit quality securities, and the schemes have appropriate liquidity to ensure normal operations. It further stated that the industry remains fully committed to the investors' interests and there is no need for them to panic and redeem investments.

Author: Divya Grover

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

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PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

Last month, SEBI had asked credit rating agencies not to consider any delay in payment of interest or principal loan amount arisen solely due to the nationwide lockdown conditions as a default.

The stress in the Indian mutual fund industry due to the pandemic impact deepened after Franklin Templeton MF decided to wind down six of its debt schemes. The lack of liquidity and redemption pressure compelled FTMF to take the extreme step.

In this economic environment, Mutual Fund houses are concerned about companies that are likely to delay and default in payments. Many companies have sought deferment/rescheduling of payment due to COVID-19 related disruptions. In order to minimize the resultant damage, market regulator SEBI recently provided temporary relaxation in valuation norms for instruments mutual funds hold.

SEBI has asked valuation agencies to avoid treating delays in payment of interest/principal or extension of maturity of a security as default for the purpose of valuation of money market or debt securities held by Mutual Funds, if it has been caused solely due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and/or in light of the moratorium permitted by RBI.

[Read: Will Mutual Fund Houses Act Against Companies Approaching Courts To Prevent Rating Downgrade Amidst COVID-19?]

"In view of the nationwide lockdown and the three-month moratorium/ deferment on payment permitted by RBI, a differentiation in treatment of default, on a case to case basis, needs to be made as to whether such default occurred solely due to the lockdown or loan moratorium", SEBI circular said.

SEBI has stated that in the above mentioned scenario, if there is any difference in the valuation of securities provided by two valuation agencies, the conservative valuation shall be accepted. This revised norm will be in effect until the RBI's period of moratorium.

However, AMCs shall continue to be responsible for true and fairness of valuation of securities.

Mutual fund houses have to mark the value of their assets based on valuations provided by valuation agencies appointed by AMFI.

At present, a debt or money market security is classified as 'Default' if the interest and/or principal amount has not been received on the day such amount was due; or when such security has been downgraded to 'Default' grade by a credit rating agency. Default denoted that the security is below investment grade.

This leads to mark down of the respective security and thereby impacts NAV of the scheme.

SEBI's move provides some relief in this regard. It will ensure that all fund houses follow a uniform approach while dealing with defaults/delay due to COVID-19.

Will it make investment in debt fund safe?

SEBI has not yet provided any moratorium on commercial paper and corporate bond repayment. According to a report published in Livemint, Rs 1.5 trillion worth of commercial paper and corporate bonds will be maturing in the first quarter.

As mentioned earlier, AMCs shall continue to be responsible for true and fairness of valuation of securities. But in the absence of rating downgrade from valuation agencies, fund houses cannot side-pocket their exposure to a defaulting company. Therefore, we may still see some write-offs if the AMC finds recovery to be difficult even after the relaxation period.

COVID-19 has impacted businesses across sectors. Some sectors such as NBFCs were under stress even before the pandemic. The default risk has thus amplified.

The relaxation of valuation would delay the issue, but downgrades would arise subsequently. Spike in number of side pockets (by fund houses) may thus become imminent.

My colleague, Rounaq, rightly mentioned yesterday, losses the investors suffer will be directly proportionate to the stress, pressure mutual fund houses and their investors will face. Eventually retail and High Net-worth Individuals, particularly, will lose confidence and may not be keen to invest in debt funds.

What should investors do?

In these uncertain times, it would be wise sticking to liquid funds and overnight funds for the fixed-income part of your portfolio and avoid funds that take higher credit risk. Alternatively, if you prefer safety of capital, invest in Bank fixed deposits.

Choose a fund house that follows prudent investment process and stringent risk-management system.

Our friends at Quantum Mutual Fund have highlighted the secret behind their debt management strategy, which has helped them provide safety and liquidity to investors when it comes to investing in quantum funds. Don't Worry, Quantum Liquid Fund always aims for Safety and Liquidity.

SEBI has time and again taken steps to tighten norms for debt funds. As an investor, if you take portfolio risks, align it with your own risk appetite and financial objective.

PS: If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

Author: Divya Grover

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

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PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

(Left to right) Vidhi Legal members Namrata Mukherjee, Nitika Khaitan and Nivedita Saksena. Pic/Ajay Gautam

The legal framework in India has often posed many a problem for members of the LGBTQ community. Some regulations are being changed, and certain implementations are underway. But, taking into account the slow pace of change, a new manual helps members of the queer community navigate the lacking legal regime, as it exists currently.

The manual deals with identity documents, violence, education, health and personal finances. It is the brainchild of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a Delhi-based think-tank conducting legal research assisting the government to make better laws. Namrata Mukherjee, a core member of the team explains, "Legal change will only come slowly; meanwhile, it is important to spread awareness on how queer community can access its rights, working around the law that's already in place." Pallav Patankar, former director of programmes at Mumbai's The Humsafar Trust, India's oldest LGBTQ organisation, scrutinised the 112-page manual. While he's appreciative of the initiative, he outlined certain critical insights to us which we got Vidhi Legal to respond to.

Pallav Patankar. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Trans women having two PAN cards - male and female - which is illegal
"This is because of the (hitherto) missing option of transgender, on the PAN card application," says Nitika Khaitan, another core member. "As of three weeks ago, that option has been introduced. Now you can reapply with the gender of your choice."

The manual seems to be critical about the concept of Aadhaar...
"Aadhaar has been at the centre of controversy mainly due to privacy concerns. Because privacy is intrinsic to this community, it's important to flag this. We are in no way influencing the debate," says Mukherjee. The manual states clearly that Aadhaar does not require people to verify their gender. "You are supposed to be able to put the gender of your choice. The implementation of this, of course, depends on the concerned on-ground officer," she adds.

Discrimination in school addresses the transgender issue and not sexuality
"There's very little by way of government policies that addresses the issue of discrimination at the school level. While UGC guidelines for trans students are there, there is no such thing with regards to sexuality," says Khaitan. The manual is addressed entirely to those above 18 years of age. "Underage boys and girls often face problems related to violence, healthcare, emotional abuse and discrimination in educational institutions. This is one area where we have not been able to find a solution," she adds.

The listed steps while procuring a voter ID are not followed by officials
Mukherjee says, "We have heard several complaints related to this. One tactic could be to take a copy of the NALSA judgment (National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India) that recognises the fundamental and civil rights of transgender persons, and present your case to the officials on ground. Another option is to approach your local MP and get him to write a letter on your behalf which you can take to the electoral photo ID centre and then mark the gender of your choice. You must also carry the gazette notification that says you've changed your name and gender. But, the success of these tactics depends entirely on the attitude of on-ground officials."

The chapter on health is from an academic perspective on health, gender dysphoria and gender affirmative therapy. What is the legal connect with India?
"There isn't a connect. There is nothing in our legal framework that regulates gender dysphoria or gender therapy. Because the queer community always encounters discrimination or harassment when they approach healthcare service providers, we have outlined general remedies that would be available to them under medical negligence laws, HIV Act; specific provisions that address discrimination that not many know of," says Khaitan.

Some suggestions in the manual seem to apply only to the digitally literate
Mukherjee says, "We are cognisant of the fact that access is determined by class. The idea of the manual is to reach grassroot LGBTQ organisations that will be able to disseminate the manual more effectively. This could be a tool that they can hopefully rely on while trying to access justice. We are also getting the manual translated into five regional languages." Add to this, the first chapter on identity documents is being recorded as a Hindi podcast. "We hope to publish it on social media, so that people can easily access it on WhatsApp etc."

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The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America's coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on 'reopening' the nation. Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House's new testing targets were sufficient. Monday's developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president's focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a 'blueprint' for states to scale up their testing in the coming week, a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.

The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6 per cent of their populations each month, a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said. The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that 'anybody that wants a test can get a test,' but the reality has proved to be vastly different. The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated, and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of test per day. While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms, they were still limited by shortages of supplies, from nasal swabs to the reagents used to process the samples.

Administration officials maintained Monday that the limiting factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested ' either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them. The CDC moved to address one of those concerns Monday, expanding the list of people to be prioritized for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings like nursing homes. And Trump met with leaders of businesses including CVS, Walmart and Kroger, who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country. 'Testing is not going to be a problem at all,' Trump said later in the Rose Garden.

However, many of the administration's past pledges and goals on testing have not been met. Jeremy Konyndyk, a disaster preparedness expert who helped lead the Obama administration response to Ebola, said the administration's testing plans are well short of what is needed. Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day, and possibly many more. Konyndyk said the aim should be 2 million to 3 million per day. Trump said the current total, up sharply in recent days, is over 200,000 per day. Konyndyk said, 'Over the past month, we've doubled or if you want to be really generous tripled the testing capacity in this country. We need to take where we are now and expand it 10-fold."

The testing blueprint for states provides details missing from the administration's guidelines for them to return to normal operations that were released more than a week ago. It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as 'rapid response' programs to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they had come in contact. The administration aims to have the market 'flooded' with tests for the fall, when COVID-19 is expected to recur alongside the seasonal flu. Trump and administration medical experts outlined the plan on a call with governors Monday afternoon, before unveiling them publicly in a Rose Garden press conference. The White House announcements came as Trump sought to regain his footing after weeks of criticism and detours created in part by his press briefings.

Days after he set off a firestorm by publicly musing that scientists should explore the injection of toxic disinfectants as a potential virus cure, Trump said he found little use for his daily task force briefings, where he has time and again clashed with medical experts and reporters. Trump's aides had been trying to move the president onto more familiar and, they hope, safer, ground: talking up the economy in more tightly controlled settings. Republican Party polling shows Trump's path to a second term depends on the public's perception of how quickly the economy rebounds from the state-by-state shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus.

On Monday, the White House initially announced there would be a Trump briefing, but canceled it as Trump's greatest asset in the reelection campaign ' his ability to dominate headlines with freewheeling performances ' was increasingly seen as a liability. But hours later, Trump it became clear Trump had other ideas. He held court in the Rose Garden for a bit less than an hour. Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said that briefings would be held later in the week but 'they might have a new look to them, a new focus to them.' Trump said he hoped that virus deaths would end up no more than 60,000 to 70,000, slightly revising upward his public estimate of recent days as the U.S. toll neared 56,000 on nearly 1 million cases.

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The South African Revenue Service has reminded taxpayers that individual tax payment is required by January 31, 2018.

ICICI Bank's board also approved issuances of bonds/notes/offshore Certificate of Deposits in overseas markets up to $3 billion in single or multiple tranches for a period of one year

Franklin Templeton: The fund house has not given any clear indication about the possible timeline within which it will liquidate all its investments and return investors' money

Franklin Templeton Debt crisis: FT investors can hope to get better realisation of their locked investment if the market sentiment improves

Lack of emergency funds will force you to either go for distress selling of your investments or high-cost borrowing, which will jeopardise all your future goals. One should ideally have an emergency fund which can take care of at least 6 months of expenses

The new review has described the growing skepticism regarding adoption of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients. The review is published in FASEB journal.

Malta has enacted rules removing the bias in favor of debt financing by creating a notional interest deduction for equity financing.

Most parents force youngsters of LGBT community to undergo conversion therapy (back to normal), they even tend to involve therapists, and religious leaders

In kidneys from living donors, subtle structural features help predict the risk of transplant failure in recipients, revealed Mayo Clinic researchers.