The Evening Wrap Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying home and staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: Repo to the Rescue The RBI has joined the fight against the coronavirus, announcing a slew of big bang measures. These include letting banks place a moratorium on repayment of term loans by borrowers. In other words, banks can give borrowers the option of not paying their EMIs for three months, with no penalty and no adverse impact on their credit rating. The central bank also slashed the repo rate (the interest rate at which it lends to commercial banks) by 75 basis points to 4.4%. It also cut the reverse repo rate (the interest earned by banks when they park their funds with the RBI) by 90 basis points to 4%. The objective here is to create what in monetary policy is known as an “asymmetrical corridor”. The lower cost of funds from the RBI, in combination with the lower returns on funds parked with the RBI, are expected to increase the credit outflow into the market, and hopefully generate some economic momentum. This measure assumes particular significance in the light of a sharp downward revision of India’s GDP growth forecast for 2020 by Moody’s Investors Service -- from 5.3% to a depressing 2.5%. Prime Minister Modi has termed the central bank’s measures “giant steps to safeguard the economy”. But former finance minister P Chidambaram was more circumspect. Chidamabram welcomed the cut in repo rates but called the moratorium on loan repayments half-hearted, since the central bank had left it to the discretion of the commercial banks to extend this benefit. How many of the banks – and which ones – offer this benefit to their borrowers is a story that will be keenly followed in the coming days. We also have some reactions to the RBI’s moves from top business leaders that you can find here. Heavy surveillance The monitoring and surveillance of international travellers entering India is shaping up into a big issue. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has said that between January 18, when screening of arrivals began, and March 23, when all international flights were suspended, about 15 lakh passengers landed in India. But not all of them were screened on arrival, resulting in a surveillance gap that could undermine efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, he said. In a letter issued to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories, he has asked them to step up their surveillance of these individuals, “given that many amongst the persons who have tested positive for Covid-19 so far in India have a history of international travel.” Meanwhile, we have some initial reporting on some privacy issues regarding such surveillance: “The government’s efforts to monitor people under advised quarantine for the Covid-19 virus ran into privacy issues on Friday, after the database of hundreds of passengers who returned from “Coronavirus-affected countries” was leaked online and shared by social media groups,” our National Editor Suhasini Haidar writes. In addition, activists are questioning a newly launched pilot or beta version of a mobile phone application called “Corona Kavach”, which uses the data of confirmed coronavirus patients to alert subscribers when they are in close proximity. COVID watch national COVID-19 has claimed 21 lives in India as of March 27, according to data from the Health Ministry and State governments. More than 860 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. Kerala reported 39 fresh cases today, taking the total number of people under treatment there to 164, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Of the 39 cases, 34 are from the worst-affected northernmost district of Kasaragod. Meanwhile, a senior surgeon attached to a South Mumbai hospital has become the latest casualty of COVID-19. Follow all the latest developments on COVID-19 with our live page here. COVID watch international The number of deaths around the world from the novel coronavirus stood at 24,663, according to a tally compiled by AFP. In some grim news from Europe, the death toll in Spain crossed 4,800 on Friday after 769 people died in 24 hours. That is a record one-day figure for fatalities in the country, according to the government. From the U.K. comes news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus. He is self-isolating but will continue lead the government’s response to the outbreak. Meanwhile, reportage from CNN and other sources indicate that the U.S now has the highest number of known cases of coronavirus in the world, with more than 82,000 patients. Amidst the growing crisis, President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two leaders reportedly discussed pledging cooperation to help fight the pandemic. This is a change in tone for the U.S. President, who until now had been repeatedly referring to coronavirus as ‘Chinese virus’ in an attempt to blame China for the pandemic. In Brief The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a plea to immediately evacuate and provide medical support to 800-odd Shia pilgrims stranded in Qom, Iran, on account of the COVID-2019 pandemic. The Army has responsive and agile Quick Reaction Medical Teams (QRMTs) on standby to mobilise at six hours notice to meet the requirements of hospitals and the civil administration, Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Manoj Naravane said on Friday. The BBC’s global Trusted News Initiative, in which The Hindu is a partner, will be extending its efforts to identify false and potentially harmful information on the coronavirus pandemic. That’s it for this edition of The Evening Wrap. We’ll see you on Monday! | 
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