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Maharashtra became the second state after Telangana to announce a ‘cut’ in the salaries of its ministers, MLAs and government employees to lessen the financial crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic — a welcome move no doubt but one that may be a case of pennies on the dollar.

• Not a cut: To be sure, Telangana’s move to reduce the salary bill for March isn’t really a cut but a deferment — which means that the amount of March salary not paid in April, will be paid later on. The deferment in Telangana CM, K Chandrashekar Rao’s case will be 75% of the gross salary — the same as for other MLAs while the bureaucrats will see 60% of their gross salary deferred. The deferment is 50% for all other government employees and 10% for Class IV employees. For pensioners, the deferment depends on the category of the employee.
• Richie rich: Telangana’s MLAs are the highest paid in the country — overtaking their counterparts in Delhi a few years back (Delhi's MLAs get Rs 2.1 lakh monthly including Rs 50,000 as salary). However, what the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office hasn’t clarified is whether the deferment applies to gross emoluments or just the basic salary — that’s because an MLA’s salary is Rs 20,000 per month while the monthly constituency allowance is Rs 2.30 lakh. Rao himself gets a monthly package of Rs 4.21 lakh, including various allowances. The state’s MLAs are also entitled to buy a car worth upto Rs 30 lakh on a loan that attracts 4% interest per annum — the average car loan interest rate is around 10%.

• Wages in EMI: In Maharashtra’s case, the salaries for the month of March and April will be paid in two phases — so it’s not exactly a pay cut either. While CM Uddhav Thackeray and his cabinet as well as the MLAs will receive only 40% of their salary for March, Class A and Class B officers will receive just 50% while the clerical staff — Class C — will receive 75% of the March salary. There will be no cut in the salary of Class D or Class IV employees, which includes peons and office assistants. Maharashtra’s MLAs get a basic salary of Rs 67,000 per month, though their monthly emoluments go up to Rs 2.3 lakh.

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5 THINGS FIRST
Merger of state-run banks comes into force; Higher GST rates on mobile phones applicable from today; Air India to operate special flight to Frankfurt to fly home Germans in India; UEFA to discuss the fate of Champions League and other suspended tournaments; April Fool’s day

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre before a Supreme Court bench on Tuesday said that an advisory has been issued to the states regarding complete prohibition of inter-state migration. Importantly, he had these numbers:

• 41,400,000: The number of Indians who had migrated for work, according to the last Census. But backward migration is now happening due to Covid-19 fears.
• 2,288,000: The number of migrant labourers, poor and daily wagers currently being provided food by governments across India after being stopped en route to their native places in various states.
• 663,000: The number of people who have been provided shelter so far, according to the central control room.
• 3 out 10: The possibility of persons moving from cities to rural areas carrying the coronavirus.
• 0: The number of migrants currently on Indian roads.

Also,

• 2,800,000: Number of people who have been screened at airports and seaports. As many as 350,000 persons are being monitored.
• 1: Number of Covid-19 testing labs in January 2020.
• 118: The number of labs across the country currently, with a capacity of 15,000 per day.

The SC bench, in turn, asked the Centre to prevent migration of people due to coronavirus. It added these shelters should be run by volunteers and not the police, with no use of force and intimidation. It also asked the Centre to prevent migration of people and take care of their needs of food, shelter, nourishment and medical aid. Another suggestion was roping in community leaders to prevent panic and calm those in shelter homes. "Ensure trained counsellors and community leaders belonging to all faiths visit relief camps and prevent panic," it said.

The apex court also asked the Centre to set up within 24 hours a portal for disseminating real time information on the pandemic to counter the panic being spread through fake news. "Panic will destroy more lives than the virus," it added.

• What: The world economy will go into a recession this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and that means serious trouble for developing countries, according to a new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN trade and development body. The trade report, however, adds that India and China are likely to be the exceptions.
• Why: The report, however, did not give a detailed explanation as to why and how India and China will be the exceptions as the world faces a recession and loss in global income that will impact developing countries.
• Then: Here’s a possible reason: Four engines drive India’s economic growth: private consumption, exports and public and private investment. Private consumption contributes nearly 60% to India’s GDP and it is domestic demand that has driven the economy in recent years. Though it has taken a hit in recent months, with global trade taking a hit too due to the coronavirus pandemic, domestic demand will now play an even greater role. If some companies shift focus from the export market to make things that Indians want and can afford, it may help bring life to private investment. The crisis is already helping fire the other engine of economic growth — public investment — as the government and the Reserve Bank of India take measures to keep the economy afloat.

Meanwhile, China's manufacturing rebounded in March as authorities relaxed anti-disease controls and allowed factories to reopen and global lender World Bank warned that about 11 million people could be driven into poverty in East Asia and the Pacific as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

• A portion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, the iconic venue that hosts the US Open, is to be transformed into a 350-bed temporary hospital to help New York’s strained healthcare infrastructure handle the pandemic. “We’re here to help — no two ways about it. New York is our home, we’re all in this together,” a spokesperson for the US Tennis Association, which owns the tennis centre, told Reuters. The site is likely to be used for the care of non-Covid patients, a city official said.
• New York state is the epicentre of the outbreak in the US, recording over 67,000 cases and 1,200 deaths. The metropolis of New York City alone accounts for nearly 38,000 cases and 914 deaths. The number of confirmed cases in the US has crossed 175,000, including 3,415 deaths — more than China’s.
• The outbreak has forced New York to request medical staff from other states, scamper for more hospital beds and ventilators, and convert facilities into temporary hospitals. On Monday, US Navy’s hospital ship, Comfort, sailed along the Hudson River to be docked in Manhattan. The 1,000-bed ship has 12 operating rooms, a medical laboratory and more than 1,000 Navy officers, reports the New York Times. City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that 750 of its beds will be put to use “immediately”. Comfort, too, is expected to treat non-Covid-19 patients.

• Projections from the University of Washington show the US could record nearly 84,000 deaths by early August.

Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry came to the end of their roles as working British royals on Tuesday. The couple stepped down from official duties and signed off as senior royals with their final social media post. Bidding farewell to fans on their official ‘SussexRoyal’ Instagram account, they added that "while you may not see us here, the work continues".