Left, Right & Centre

The number of coronavirus cases increased by a whopping 704 in the last 24 hours to reach 4,281 today, while 111 have died and 319 have recovered from the disease. With 13 days to go before the scheduled end of the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government said it was "monitoring the world situation every minute". Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat, speaks about the pandemic.

Singapore is heading for a lockdown for a month after cases of COVID-19 saw a sharp rise. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the global economy as businesses, except essential services, are shut in most nations. The outlook for the world is bleak The shock of this is going to be as severe as the Great Depression in 1930s. The challenges to India are not unique. They are part of a global problem, DBS Bank chief executive Piyush Gupta told NDTV. But the reality is that countries like India do not have the wherewithal that some richer countries, like Singapore, for example, have immense budgetary surpluses and reserves that can be used to fight the problem, he said.

Despite the massive disruptions in supply chains across India because of the 21-day lockdown, dairy major Amul said it is doing everything it can to ensure milk and essential food items are available. Amul Managing Director RS Sodhi explains how the firm has been able to keep going despite the logistical challenges due to the lockdown.

As the number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 3,000-mark, it has been an incredibly difficult two weeks for healthcare professionals, who have been facing difficulty reaching their workplaces because of limited mobility options during the lockdown. The National Health Authority has now announced a tie-up with Uber to give rides to frontline healthcare workers engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. How will it work? Uber India and South Asia president Pradeep Parameswaran explains.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel talks about how his state has been preparing to fight COVID-19 since February and is currently probing symptomatic cases.

COVID-19 special envoy Dr David Nabarro talks to NDTV about the coronavirus pandemic. I want to thank all the people of India for really taking this seriously. I am delighted is that India has reacted quickly as soon as cases of coronavirus have appeared by resolute action to inform people. India has a chance of really getting on top of this virus and getting ahead of it. Other countries were slow when it started - that wasn't any blame to them but in India you imposed the strong measures quite quickly, he said.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's conference with Chief Ministers across India, where he said the focus for next few weeks should be on testing, tracing and isolating patients, on Left, Right and Centre, we discuss whether states and the centre can work together and ensure that each state has enough finances, testing kits and medical equipment to battle COVID-19.

As the coronavirus advances in India, a mass of evidence points to how crucial delays by the government in placing orders for safety wear may have exacerbated the shortage in India, potentially placing at risk thousands of healthcare professionals. Further, when these contracts finally went out, they seem to have gone to a dozen small domestic companies, with barely the output needed for India's massive requirements.

What impact is COVID-19 going to have on 2020? Small investors have been hit hard; there has been interest in saving scheme which has been slashed. Provident fund was earlier 7.9%, now its 7.1%. National saving certificate was earlier 7.9%, now its 6.8%. Sukanya Samriddhi scheme was earlier 8.4%, now 7.6%. This is one part of the story we are staring at a situation where there could be possibly job losses in an already difficult situation of unemployment. At a time when we had a prevailing situation of slowdown, what impact is COVID-19 going to have on 2020 in terms of economy? We discuss.

A massive religious gathering at Delhi's Nizamuddin mosque earlier this month has caused a huge coronavirus scare. "The fact that when any gathering beyond 200 wasn't allowed, and there were 200 people there in Markaz, then the responsibility lies on the organisers to cancel the event," Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said.