作者： bharat.cn

India has stepped up its efforts to tackle the coronavirus spreading throughout the country, labeling the virus a “Notified Disaster.” The designation allows local governments to tap into a special disaster-relief fund.
Covid-19 virus, which has already infected over 80 people across India, was formally branded a “notified disaster” by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday. Such a designation has effectively put the outbreak on a par with earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches and other major natural disasters.
The classification enables state governments to spend more money from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) on tackling the outbreak. Apart from funding hospitalization of Covid-19 patients and paying compensation to the relatives of coronavius victims, the funds can now be funneled into procurement of essential protection and lab equipment.
While India has been affected by coronavirus rather mildly, with over 80 confirmed cases (including two deaths), the country is apparently bracing for a large-scale outbreak. Earlier in the day, India’s sports authorities suspended all domestic cricket matches until further notice and football games were put on hold until the end of the month.

In a surprise move, PM Narendra Modi called upon the countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to come together and tackle the virus spread in the region. India has been distanced from the eight-nation bloc for the past several years because of its tensions with Pakistan.

In Gujarat in western India, fabric producer Sidwin Fabric is preparing to ship several tonnes of spunbond non-woven fabric to China next week, capitalising on the mainland’s huge facial mask-making boom during the coronavirus pandemic.
China’s desperation for the raw materials used to make the masks is resulting in a bonanza for Indian companies, which have been shipping more of their high-grade products to China, eclipsing the amount sold locally.
China, the world’s biggest mask maker, went from producing 20 million masks a day to 116 million since late-February when Beijing started directing its powerful state-owned enterprises to lead the increase in production.
Encouraged by Beijing’s incentives to make more masks, including lower taxes and subsidies, many private Chinese operators have added mask production lines to their factories, or expanded existing operations.
But China’s ability to direct resources to where they are needed in the economy meant a bottleneck formed in the supply of key products such as non-woven fabric.
Factory owners in China said raw materials for masks were difficult to source, even after transport impediments had eased following the initial lockdown across Chinese.
A thousand kilometres away in Haryana, near New Delhi, Aditya Nonwoven Fabric is also preparing to ship out three to four orders to Hong Kong and China. A company representative did not say how much was being sent, but an average daily order for the firm is around 20 tonnes.
The company has fielded many calls from China during the coronavirus outbreak, having previously fulfilled mainly local orders, while also selling to neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh. “Now our target first is to export,” the representative said.

Islamabad has signaled willingness to partake in a joint response to the coronavirus with a bloc of South Asian nations, after Indian PM Narendra Modi broke years of stalemate with the regional body and called for coordination.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Friday that the country’s Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Zafar Mirza would participate in a joint teleconference with leaders from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to formulate a combined action plan to contain the outbreak.

“The threat of #COVID-19 requires coordinated efforts at global and regional level,” Farooqui said in a tweet. “We have communicated that SAPM on Health will be available to participate in the video conference of #SAARC member countries on the issue.”

The announcement comes hours after Modi suggested leaders of SAARC countries come together to sketch a general blueprint for tackling the illness and halting its spread in the region – a surprise change of position for New Delhi after distancing itself from the eight-nation bloc for the last four years over intense disagreements with Islamabad.

“I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight Coronavirus,” the PM said in a tweet. “We could discuss, via video conferencing, ways to keep our citizens healthy. Together, we can set an example to the world, and contribute to a healthier planet.”

The SAARC’s last summit was planned for Pakistan’s capital in 2016, but the meeting was called off after a terrorist attack launched by Islamist militants in disputed Kashmir near the Line of Control left 19 Indian soldiers dead, prompting New Delhi to boycott the conference. In the wake of the attack, India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists responsible for the killing, with Islamabad rejecting allegations it had any involvement.

The incident became one of the deadliest attacks on Indian security forces in the disputed territory, and led to a major flare-up between the two countries. India subsequently claimed it took out dozens of militants in “surgical strikes” on the Pakistan-administered part of the region. Islamabad, however, denied that any bombing ever took place.

While short of outright rapprochement between the nuclear-armed neighbors, the agreement to work out a combined response to Covid-19 comes as one of the most significant steps toward cooperation in years, a move that was welcomed by some Indian netizens and members of the press.