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Business & COVID-19: Public cloud to the rescue

This is the most crucial time to leverage the power of exponential technologies, especially cloud. Any organisation that is still in two-minds about moving to the cloud; needs to embark on a cloud adoption process immediately.




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Covid-19 effect: Content production companies stare at large losses

OTT platforms do have a buffer in their libraries but delayed production schedules will hit revenues.




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IT jobs during Covid-19 times

Sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, grocery and warehouses would call for additional talent with new skill-sets.




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Covid-19 could hardly dent the earnings of Darjeeling first flush

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has allowed resuming operations in the gardens of Darjeeling, Doars and Terai with a workforce of 25%.




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Interview: Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate digitalisation, says Anjali Bansal, founder, Avaana Capital

Startups must maintain their financial health by conserving cash, cutting down on costs and renegotiating their existing contracts.




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Covid-19 and highway sector: Take the highway to recovery

Easing financial burden, preventing project failures and protecting jobs are a must if sector’s to preserve its health.




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Covid-19 lockdown: Trai to conduct discussions via video conferencing from May 6

The official also said as the social distancing norms will remain in effect in near future, it has to start conducting its discussions and other work online.




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NRI BR Shetty to invest Rs 1000 cr to produce India’s biggest-ever movie ‘The Mahabharata’

The promoters of the movie claim that it would be the costliest Indian movie and made in Hollywood style with technicians sourced globally.




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Corporation Bank swings back in black as provisions decrease sharp 73 per cent

NII is the difference between interest earned and interest paid by a bank. The lender’s asset quality improved q-o-q with gross non-performing assets (NPA) of 17.36%, down 10 basis points over Q2FY19.




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How brands can provide the best customer experience

‘Share of experience’ is the new norm, and one needs to consistently make efforts towards it to survive in the modern age




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Don’t force industry to pay wages during COVID-19 lockdown

Growth was already slowing before the corona outbreak; forcing industry to pay full wages imperils MSMEs’ survival




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Covid-19 pandemic: 800 million households dependent on remittances to be hit

Global and multilateral institutions and national governments need to come together to make sure that the loss of income is offset through cash-and-kind support.




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Risk, uncertainty and COVID-19: A stark choice

Risk has a known probability distribution. For uncertainty, the probability distribution is unknown. Covid-19 makes us confront uncertainty, not risk




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Designing minimum income guarantee post-Covid-19 collapse

Transfer amounts should also be linked to CPI. While PM-KISAN covers only farmers and is much more expensive and exclusive, such a transfer would avoid narrow coverage, also avoiding inclusion/exclusion errors




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Inside Track: Amid COVID-19 crisis, steps seem afoot to ensure Rahul Gandhi returns as Congress president

The impression was reinforced when Rajnath Singh, and not Shah, was appointed last month to head the 15- member high-power ministerial committee coordinating with states on ensuring movement of essential supplies during the lockdown.




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Why it is time to end Covid-19 lockdown

The lockdown has achieved its purpose. Extending it may not be worth the cost.




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Hunting for an anti-COVID-19 drug

WHO’s Solidarity and Oxford’s RECOVERY trials can give a clearer picture on some drugs that showed early promise.




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A new White Revolution: How COVID-19 could benefit the dairy industry

Covid-19 could benefit the dairy industry as consumers could shift from meat-based to dairy-based protein. The govt may consider reducing GST on ghee and milk fat from 12% to 5% .




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COVID-19 may double poverty in India

Even a 25% fall in their incomes due to the lockdown will make 354 mn more people poor. fixing this with cash transfers will cost the govt Rs 19,500 cr per month.




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South Korea’s COVID-19 success story

The country’s NGOs and trade unions were critical in monitoring the situation, and reaching vulnerable groups.




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Govts may not be able to isolate the true toll of the Covid-19 pandemic

Globally, experts are looking at “excess mortality” or mortality gaps as another measure of the coronavirus death toll. This approach compares the number of deaths during a certain period to the historical average.




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COVID-19’s costly trade-off: Unless lives are preserved, livelihoods become redundant

Coronavirus is ensuring the trade-off, especially for developing economies is significant, notwithstanding efforts to strike a balance




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COVID-19 crisis and the art of giving

A case could be made out for including chief ministers' relief funds in the list of entities eligible for corporate CSR funding




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COVID-19 pandemic: Reviving the aluminium industry to challenge China

The industry is the most apt for creating livelihoods. Govt should consider supporting SMEs in the sector through tariffs to prevent their collapse due to the pandemic




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COVID-19 lockdown: Urgent need to decongest megacities

Before tertiary infections take root, it could perhaps be a good to plan to decongest the slums by arranging travel of migrants to their home in orderly manner without losing time




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Fighting Covid: Need to expand Aarogya Setu to make it better

It must include those quarantined as well instead of just the infected; wider testing critical if the app has to work.




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Covid crisis: Govt orders like no pay and job cut can severely dent business confidence

Government orders on waiver of rents impinge on contractual rights.




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Covid fallout: 265 million people likely to face acute food insecurity

Corona will worsen world hunger, while malnutrition facilitates increased vulnerability to the pandemic.




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Dressing Covid numbers: Bengal’s handling of the Covid outbreak raises many questions

Bengal’s handling of the Covid outbreak raises many questions.




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Covid-19: Time to think of key tax reforms — Few suggestions

The Covid 19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law. A calibrated approach to balance welfare economics with a vision to pioneer economic activity and national growth is needed.




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What govts need to learn from Covid-19 crisis

Today, when the US, China, UK, France, etc, which spend much more on healthcare than other nations are facing a crisis, one can very well understand how bad the situation could have been if the outbreak was in the third world, where a majority of global poor live with very little or no access to public health care. The situation would have been much worse.




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Covid crisis: India at the cliff edge of a rating downgrade

India’s Achilles heel on ratings is its parlous state of fiscal affairs and the risk of a sharp deterioration of government debt to potentially ~75-80% of GDP.




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Coordinating Covid-Response: Global coordination needed to tackle Covid-19 crisis

The world must use this opportunity to fund global public goods and rebuild global systems to fight the right battles.




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Governments need to incorporate battling strategies for diseases like COVID-19 in their national security plans

In India, which is the biggest democracy in the world with over 1.3 billion people, the question of public health has never been debated in public.




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Building a resilient India: COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law

The Covid 19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law. A calibrated approach to balance welfare economics with a vision to pioneer economic activity and national growth is needed.




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Implement strong climate policy post COVID-19

The lockdown is an opportunity to mainstream sustainability in economic policy as it has made citizens amenable to decisions that have a high discount rate.




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Covid-19 testing rates do not match mortality rates

We should continue to implement all the needed public health measures instead of projecting testing rates as the sole path to salvation




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Covid crisis: States must be assigned their rightful role

The basic decision making on the ground must be left to the states and should involve municipal corporations and wards.




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Private hospitals have a point in not admitting patients without testing for Covid-19

Lack of PPE & shortage of testing kits is a real issue.




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Covid-19: Centre needs to refine the graded action plan if it is to work

Containment zones must be marked ‘red’, not the entire district; also, will activity be curtailed if areas turn ‘red’?




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What India should do to bolster confidence of investors in post Covid world

India’s share of world manufacturing output is just 3%; it can easily be raised to 6% in 3-4 years, and 15% by 2030




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Covid-19 pandemic: Growth lessons for states from Gujarat, Karnataka

The pandemic and its economic consequences have given every state economy the unprecedented opportunity to take bold decisions and accelerate decadal growth.




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COVID-19 lockdown: Stricter action required against violators of social distancing norms

Liquor-store crowds show the masses still don’t understand the importance of social distancing in fighting Covid-19




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Challenges beyond Covid-19 crisis: UGC should seriously think about an SAT-style entrance test

Covid-19 presents an opportunity for UGC to push for US SAT-style common entrance exam




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Covid lockdown: When you can’t litigate and arbitrate

Given the many advantages it has over traditional litigation during the corona crisis, arbitration should no longer be just an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, but the primary choice for adjudicating disputes.




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Niti Aayog CEO bats for ‘flexi-work’ in post-Covid world

Building infrastructure to enable remote working will boost economy.




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Do a big retail bond issue to part-fund COVID-plan

Banks don’t want to lend, so if `2-3 lakh crore of deposits flow to a 5% govt bond, a Covid-plan can be part-financed.




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An army against COVID-19: How countries like Israel, South Korea, US are racing to develop Corona vaccine

Israel has just reported a potent monoclonal antibody (mAb) against SARS CoV-2. Firms in South Korea, the US are leading mAb trials.




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COVID-19 war: Where are India’s rich, its temples?

In an unprecedented crisis, you would expect them to take full responsibility for lakhs of poor; as they did in ancient times.




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Relax FRBM target for states to fight COVID-19

States should be allowed to issue ‘pandemic relief’ bonds, with the central bank being allowed to buy these bonds by printing money and monetising their debt.