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droptech22 · 2 years

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How Indian fashion and textile industry sailed through COVID Times !

Introduction

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has had a global impact, posing enormous health, economic, environmental, and social challenges to the world's population. This pandemic is one of the most extreme challenges that humanity has faced in modern times.

The outbreak has disrupted most global supply chains in South and Southeast Asia. The global economic downturn is visible, but emerging economies are bearing the brunt of the damage.

India has the world's second-highest number of corona virus cases, which presents a new set of opportunities and challenges for the textile and apparel industries. In developing economies, social and health care systems are not robust enough to handle a large population, and pandemics exacerbate the problem. The country's textile and apparel industries have come to a halt due to a series of lockdowns. Negative growth patterns, international trade deficits, unemployment, income, poverty, factory closures, retail closures, labour displacement, and shortages are just a few of the notable challenges that the sector has faced recently.

The industry could not have predicted such a long halt in the early days of the pandemic. To exacerbate this effect, consumer consumption has been declining sharply for the first time in decades.

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The outlook of Indian apparel sector

India has the largest domestic and export textiles and apparel sector in the world. The Republic of India has a long history of fine craftsmanship and began exporting in the mid-1960s. Since then, the sector has contributed significantly to the nation's exceptional socioeconomic progress over the last four decades. The sector is currently valued at US$ 200 billion, has contributed to India's GDP (3 percent), industrial manufacturing (13 percent), export earnings (12 percent), and directly employs approximately 45 million people.

India is surrounded by garment-producing neighbors, and buyers have consistently shifted in the last decade to chase lower prices. The Indian garment manufacturers are now dealing with increased competition as big box retailer’s shift to Africa for even lower prices. The sector experienced stuttering growth as a result of slow demand in Western countries, as well as a number of other issues such as technology advancement and poor infrastructure.

The Impact

The covid-19 crisis had a broad impact on the Indian fashion and textile industries. According to Kanupriya (2021), the impact of the crisis can be understood by examining demand-side factors (social distancing, consumer demand, and exports) as well as supply-side factors (production, supply chain, employment, prices of essential raw materials, and imports). Manufacturing activity in Asia has been halted due to cancelled orders and a lack of raw materials. Thousands of garment and textile factories had to close due to the mandatory lockdown (40,000 in Tamil Nadu), causing a major disruption in supply and demand. According to a study conducted by the Apparel Export Promotion Council, 83 percent of export orders had been completely or partially cancelled.

COVID-19 has a wide-ranging impact on the Indian textile industry. The flu pandemic has had an impact on almost every aspect of the Indian textiles industry, whether it is demand or supply, inputs or output. Needless to say, given the importance of this sector in India's economic landscape, the issues and challenges presented by this pandemic require a thorough discussion in order to mitigate and contain its impact not only on industries but also on the entire economy.

The Future Strategies

Given the bleak outlook for the Indian textiles sector as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is critical to develop a comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy that takes into account the various interconnections and dimensions of the crisis. A two-pronged approach that accounts for the employment and social security of textile sector employees, particularly those in informal segments of the industry, as well as support for small-scale textile businesses, is required. In this regard, the government must work with its industry partners to rigorously implement International Labour Organization (ILO) guidelines on work, occupational safety, and wage security.

Such measures are required because it is frequently observed during crises like these that private companies violate labour and occupational safety standards in order to reduce costs and maintain competitiveness.

Post-Covid Times

The pandemic has accelerated the demand for digitization throughout the value chain. On one end, where companies have suffered from working offline, digital technology and platform economy firms (Amazon, Alibaba, Google, and Netflix) continue to grow in importance and are moving to the centre stage in key infrastructure organisation. According to research, companies should implement digital transformation technologies as part of their innovation strategies. While the banking, education, and health care sectors are quickly adapting to digital changes, the fashion and textile industries are lagging behind.

As digital technologies have become an integral part of the industry, traditional approaches to selling fashion have been disrupted. Digitizing the manufacturing process has the potential to reduce lead time, lower manufacturing costs, reduce periodical maintenance through predictive maintenance, reduce machine breakdown time, and create a synergistic production setting with zero re-work.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 crisis took much longer than expected and has disproportionately impacted developing countries (Ahmed et al., 2020; Sumner et al., 2020). The goal of this research is not only to help the Indian sector, but also to serve as a model for other emerging economies facing similar challenges. Digitization is the future of all industries today, and the fashion and textile industries should start thinking about it seriously. The garment industry is important to India's economy and requires the attention of its stakeholders to ensure a prosperous future. The author attempted to present a comprehensive view of the sector during and after COVID-19.

A thorough value chain analysis identified current roadblocks and proposed viable solutions. The current crisis is an opportunity to recognize that problems can be turned into opportunities. The digital transformation of the Indian economy was well underway, and the crisis triggered a new revolution.

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maqsoodyamani · 3 years

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کورونا وائرس کے پیش نظر تامل ناڈو میں دو ہفتے تک کیلئے لگا مکمل لاک ڈاؤن

کورونا وائرس کے پیش نظر تامل ناڈو میں دو ہفتے تک کیلئے لگا مکمل لاک ڈاؤن چنئی، 10 مئی (آئی این ایس انڈیا) عالمی وبائی کورونا وائرس (کووڈ19) کی روک تھام کے لئے پیر کی صبح سے دو ہفتوں تک مکمل لاک ڈاؤن عمل میں لایا گیا ہے، حالانکہ اس دوران کچھ ضروری خدمات اس سے مستثنیٰ رہیں گی۔ ریاست کے وزیر اعلی ایم کے اسٹالن نے کووڈ 19 کے بڑھتے ہوئے معاملات کے پیش نظر تمام اضلاع کے کلکٹروں اور طبی ماہرین کے ساتھ…

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#Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu

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everythingshouldbereality · 3 years

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Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu for two weeks from Monday | Here's what's open, what's closed

Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu for two weeks from Monday | Here’s what’s open, what’s closed

Image Source : PTI Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu for two weeks from Monday With Tamil Nadu witnessing a sharp increase in the covid-19 cases, the government on Saturday announced a complete lockdown in the state for two weeks amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. The lockdown will begin from May 10 and continue till May 24. Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a statement that the lockdown was being…

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#covid 19 lockdown #Tamil Nadu Complete lockdown #two weeks lockdown tamil nadu

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news24fresh · 4 years

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Coronavirus India lockdown Day 89 live updates | At least 1,500 police personnel infected till date across Tamil Nadu

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Over four months after the first coronavirus case was detected in India, the case count in India stands at more than 4 lakh, with a death toll of over 13,000.

Read more on police personnel infected in Tamil Nadu.

Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.

Here are the latest updates:

COVID-19…

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#1india coronavirus lockdown june 21 2020 #Chennai #chennai lockdown #chennai lockdown news today #complete lockdown in chennai #coronavirus #coronavirus news india #delhi yoga day #health ministry updates #india coronavirus #india coronavirus lockdown #india coronavirus lockdown june 21 2020 live updates #india coronavirus news #lockdown #lockdown in india #lockdown news #solar eclipse india #tamil nadu updates

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newsbunddle · 4 years

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Chennai and neighbouring places to go under complete lockdown for 12 days from June 19

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Chennai: In a major decision to contain the COVID-19 spread in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to put Chennai and neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu under complete lockdown for 12 days from June 19, 2020, till June 30, 2020.

The decision comes after Chennai has reported over 31,896 coronavirus confirmed cases out of the 44,661 total cases…

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#Chennai #Complete #Coronavirus #coronavirus Chennai #Coronavirus news #coronavirus Tamil Nadu #COVID -19 #days #June #Lockdown #neighbouring #places

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fresatechnologies · 3 years

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We are hiring

Job Title:

Software Engineer

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Job Summary:

We are hiring Freshers / 1 year experienced professionals for the Software Engineer role.

- Must have completed any UG/PG Degree related to IT. - Need Good knowledge in Oracle database SQL, PL/SQL. - Well-known about Oracle Apex Technology. - Known to create Jasper report. - Required exposure in mobile app development. - Have strong communication skills. - The above skills are basic requirements and are not limited to this role.

Skills Required

- Welcoming applications from Freshers / 1 year experienced professionals. - Work from home now and resume the office after lockdown.

Salary as per market standards.

To reach out - +91 63692 49297

#fresa #freightsolutions #freightforwarding #developerjobs #jobs #bestfreightforwardingsoftware #softwaredeveloper #itjobs

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dailynewsprime · 3 years

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Why does India have so many COVID instances? | Coronavirus pandemic News

Something has gone horribly flawed in India. Today, the nation has reported 346,786 new instances of COVID-19 for the earlier 24 hours, with 2,624 deaths – the world’s highest daily toll for the reason that pandemic started final yr. Overall, almost 190,000 individuals have died from COVID within the nation, whereas greater than 16.6 million have been contaminated. The new outbreak in India is so extreme that hospitals are working out of oxygen and beds, and many individuals who have been taken unwell are being turned away. New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK and the US have both banned direct flights to and from India, or have suggested residents towards travelling altogether; and the record could properly get longer. The UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, who's eager to safe a post-Brexit commerce cope with the nation, has been pressured to cancel a planned trip to India this coming week and, as an alternative, plans to fulfill with President Narendra Modi just about. For a rustic the place COVID numbers gave the impression to be dropping dramatically just some weeks in the past, what has gone so flawed in India? The Indian variant, generally known as B.1.617, seems to be wreaking havoc within the nation. Since April 15, India has been reporting greater than 200,000 instances of coronavirus on daily basis and its capital, Delhi, just lately introduced a week-long lockdown after an increase in instances there overwhelmed the healthcare system. “If we don’t impose a lockdown now, we might face a bigger calamity,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mentioned as he addressed the town on Indian tv on April 19. Worryingly, mattress areas and oxygen supplies in hospitals seem like stretched, with experiences of sick sufferers being turned away from hospitals and social media feeds crammed with distraught relations whose family members can not entry the healthcare they want. On Wednesday this week, because the COVID toll was rising, Delhi’s highest court docket took the bizarre step of publicly criticising the central authorities and its method to managing the nation’s oxygen disaster. The court docket was listening to a petition filed by Max Hospitals looking for pressing assist to tide over the oxygen scarcity it was dealing with in six of its hospitals within the capital. “Human lives are not that important for the State it means. We are shocked and dismayed that government doesn’t seem to be mindful to the extremely urgent need of medical oxygen,” the Bench said. “We direct Centre to provide safe passage…so that such supplies are not obstructed for any reason whatsoever,” it mentioned. “Hell will break loose .” Damning phrases for the federal government in a time of disaster. It shouldn't be completely clear why this surge has occurred in India, however it's prone to be due to crowded occasions organised within the run-up to elections – President Modi himself hit the marketing campaign path addressing election rallies in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on March 30 because the upturn of instances started. Large teams and social gatherings throughout spiritual festivals have additionally performed a component, in addition to the re-opening of public areas and easing of lockdown measures which passed off steadily all through 2020 with the ultimate “unlocking” of restrictions taking place in December 2020. There can also be a lot concern in regards to the emergence of recent variants of the coronavirus in India. It is believed the dominant pressure within the nation now's the variant which was first recognized within the UK, and which has proven to be as much as 60 p.c extra transmissible between people. On March 25, it was additional introduced {that a} new “double mutant” variant had been detected in India, now generally known as the “Indian variant”. This growth is what has different international locations spooked. The Indian authorities don't assume this new variant has but change into the dominant COVID pressure within the nation, however it's prone to be contributing to the growing numbers. Genome sequencing of the brand new variant has proven that it has two vital mutations: 1. The E484Q mutation: This is just like the E484K mutation recognized within the Brazil and South African variants, which have additionally been reported in latest months. The concern is that this mutation can change elements of the coronavirus spike protein. The spike protein types a part of the coronavirus outer layer and is what the virus makes use of to make contact with human cells. Once contact has been made, the coronavirus then makes use of the spike protein to bind to the human cells, enter them and infect them. The immune response that the vaccines stimulate creates antibodies that concentrate on the spike protein of the virus particularly. Therefore, the fear is that if a mutation adjustments the form of the spike protein considerably, then the antibodies could not be capable of recognise and neutralise the virus successfully, even in those that have been vaccinated. Scientists are inspecting whether or not this may increasingly even be the case for the E484Q mutation. 2. The L452R mutation: This has additionally been present in a variant regarded as chargeable for outbreaks in California. This variant is believed to extend the spike protein’s capacity to bind to human host cells, thereby growing its infectivity. A examine of the mutation additionally suggests it could assist the virus to evade the neutralising antibodies that each the vaccine and former an infection can produce, although that is nonetheless being examined. This new wave in India has been devastating for the nation. A coordinated response is required between Indian states and central authorities to handle the provision of oxygen and important medicine if the variety of COVID-related deaths is to be introduced beneath management. There can also be a priority that we do not know the true number of deaths from COVID, as some individuals have died at house earlier than they might get to hospital and many others in India, notably in rural areas, have had issue accessing testing services. Pressure urgently must be lifted off the healthcare system and the one approach to do this is to ramp up the vaccination programme, strengthen social distancing procedures and re-introduce lockdown measures.

In the physician’s surgical procedure: Teaching medical college students throughout a pandemic

One of my passions as a physician is with the ability to move on my information to the docs of tomorrow. I have accomplished it for years and am a senior lecturer at two UK universities. A big a part of the instructing I do includes getting my college students to talk to and study sufferers. This has been a problem within the final 12 months as bringing sufferers into the surgical procedure for them to see college students has been too dangerous, and the sufferers that tended to have the sicknesses the scholars wanted to see have been usually shielding to cut back the probabilities of them catching COVID-19. Medical college students have been lending a serving to hand to COVID-ravaged hospitals everywhere in the world, and their help has been welcomed by many. But we additionally want to arrange them for a world past COVID and, within the restricted time we have with them, to make sure they're ready for a variety of medical circumstances from the bodily to the psychological. But how can we do this in the event that they have been unable to see sufferers as regular? Technology has been the reply. Our surgical procedure, the place I work as a household physician in Bradford, northern England, is fortunate sufficient to have a scientific abilities lab that college students can study in. This is a room that has “model” physique elements that the scholars can use for examination functions. Students can come into the surgical procedure and, initially, maintain phone consultations with sufferers, chatting with actual sufferers who ring in about their illnesses. The college students file a medical historical past by chatting with the sufferers and try to give you a administration plan which they then run previous me or one other physician for approval. Because the scholars can not study the sufferers bodily, we then make a listing of the examinations the scholars would have accomplished and, as soon as their clinic record is full, transfer over to the scientific abilities lab. I then ask them to observe the examination they might have accomplished on the fashions. This may embody a chest examination, a rectal or vaginal examination. The fashions will be adjusted so that every time the scholar makes use of them they may make a distinct examination discovering, equivalent to a brand new lump or irregular respiration sounds. It actually is kind of intelligent. Although it is going to by no means actually exchange the true factor, this methodology has allowed us to maintain medical schooling going all through the pandemic – one thing that has challenged medical colleges the world over.

And now, some excellent news: Exercising can cut back the dangers of COVID

A brand new study by Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland has proven that common train can cut back the chance of getting infections like COVID-19 by as much as 37 p.c. The researchers carried out a full-scale systematic overview of 16,698 worldwide epidemiological research revealed between January 1980 and April 2020, with world-renowned immunologists and epidemiologists from University College London (UCL) within the UK and Ghent University (UGent) in Belgium, in addition to train and sports activities scientists from Cádiz University in Spain and a public well being marketing consultant from NHS Lanarkshire (NHSL) within the UK. They discovered that doing half-hour of train which will get you out of breath and a bit sweaty 5 instances every week strengthens your immune response to infectious ailments. It is believed that common train will increase the variety of immune cells within the physique appearing on the primary line of defence – the mucosal layer of antibodies. These cells are chargeable for figuring out international brokers or “germs” within the physique with out miserable the remainder of the immune system, so it’s completely protected and protects you towards infectious illness. We have recognized for a while about the advantages train can have for an individual’s general bodily and psychological well being. Now, within the time of COVID, it has been proven to assist enhance your immune system too. So the message is obvious; get open air and train in the event you can or to the health club whether it is in line with your native COVID tips. If neither is feasible, your kitchen or front room is a wonderfully good place to do half-hour of dancing, leaping or no matter floats your boat!

Reader’s query: Is it protected to go to my hospital appointment throughout a pandemic?

Over the previous 12 months, individuals have repeatedly been informed that the most secure place for them is house and that hospitals are busy coping with COVID-19 sufferers. While that's true, it is usually vital to do not forget that different sicknesses have not gone away. I have discovered that many of my sufferers are usually not attending their appointments for different circumstances as a result of they're frightened about catching COVID or assume their sickness shouldn't be as vital as coronavirus. Hospitals and GP surgical procedures everywhere in the world have gone out of their option to make massive elements of their buildings COVID-free. This implies that they can be utilized for non-COVID-related companies and workers working there is not going to be crossing over to cowl COVID wards or clinics. So, in the event you obtain an appointment to attend a clinic or hospital service, it's actually vital that you simply do go. Read the full article

#Asia #Coronaviruspandemic #Doctor'sNote #Features #Health #India

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pehlayaxar · 4 years

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Three months after the imposition of a complete lockdown across the country to fight back against COVID-19, the transgender community in Tamil Nadu has been left to fend for itself.

All forms of government support have dried up, landlords have started demanding rent for the past four months, and any forms of ration relief announced by the state rarely reach those without ration cards or other forms of government identification.

Since the beginning of the lockdown, transgender rights activist Grace Banu has been working tirelessly in rural parts of Thoothukudi district to provide emergency food and medical assistance to vulnerable members of the transgender community.

Initial support, raised through crowdfunding platforms, has dried up - but there seems to be no end in sight to the community’s problems. Today, Grace needs your help to raise funds to support rental expenses and ration relief for more than 200 transgender persons across Tamil Nadu.

This includes several individuals who are immunocompromised due to their age or HIV status, folk artists who have had their income wiped away by the lockdown, and those who depended on street work to earn a living.

join suveksha & aditi in their goal towards supporting members of the trans* community in Tamil Nadu!

step 1) - make a donation here: https://www.ketto.org/supportfundraiser/gracebanu-nzg2z

step 2) - send a screenshot of your donation confirmation* to [email protected]

step 3) - wait! for a little token of our appreciation in the form of a poem-book

*there is, of course, no limit (lower or upper) to how much you can contribute. feel free to remove any indication of the amount in your email - our only hope is that we're here with the same hope, together.

with all love,

s & a

#india #fundraiser #tamilnadu #grace banu #ketto #translivesmatter

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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Over the last six weeks, they have crept into our consciousness. They have inspired pity, anger, hectoring and indifference. That they lived all around us was a detail we were barely conscious of before the nation-wide lockdown was put into place. They cleaned our homes and washed our cars, served us at restaurants and eateries, sweated and slaved away in the many small and big factories and workshops that one finds all over the urban sprawls that our cities have become. Many of us were similar to them in that we too do not hail from the cities that we now live in. We, or someone in our family, had moved there to seek employment or start a business and then stayed put or ‘settled down’ as we, the well-heeled, put it. We then grew roots, purchased an apartment or built a home, sometimes two, and came to feel that we ‘belonged’. ‘They’, on the other hand, were birds of passage who did not put down roots or try to belong. Sure enough, when the lockdown was announced, and then later, extended, they sought to ‘return’ home. The stories of their journeys which have been documented in the news and on social media have been gut-wrenching. Walking or cycling for days on end, on little food and water, families and meagre possessions in tow, sometimes collapsing and dying with their destination in sight, mowed down by trucks and run over by trains, the migrants have been the lockdown’s most unforeseen casualty. A century-and-a-half ago, many Indians — indentured labourers all — made similar journeys in cattle-like conditions on steamships, hoping to find paradise in a distant land where they would have sufficient food, perhaps a plot of land and enough money to tide them through rainy days. Most ended up being cheated and denied a fair shot at life. The journeys of migrants during the lockdown mirrors those journeys across the seas. One was the shame of the British Empire, which had set out to ‘civilise’ the ‘natives’ but ended up enslaving many of them. The current dispensation has shamed the citizens of the Republic of India and the hallowed Constitution, which the citizens gave unto themselves. The system of indentured labour (a ‘second slavery’ as many scholars have rightly termed it) originated in the 1830s when slavery had run its course in most of Europe and the larger public had expressed their outrage at the persistence of such an exploitative system. The destinations for indentured labourers were the Caribbean islands, Mauritius, Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa), South America (British Guyana and Suriname), Fiji and Malaya. This system sought to legitimise itself on the back of a contract, unlike slavery, which treated human beings as commodities. That the contract specified exploitative terms — poor wages, limited or no leave, loopholes in the clauses concerning release from contract etc — was given little consideration, since the parties were entering into it ‘willingly’. But given that those who assented to this contract were unlettered men and women, mostly from India and China who did not understand the contract’s fine print, was a detail that was conveniently swept under the rug. A second slavery was thus put into practice, and in 1834, the first group of indentured labourers was shipped to Mauritius. To find workers willing to under such contracts (or ‘girmit’ – a homonym for ‘agreement’), a recruiter (‘arkati’) fanned out into India’s poorest districts painting a pretty picture of their work destination. For a desperate populace on the verge of starvation, it was a chance worth taking. Then came the process of explaining to the workers the terms of their contract — a shambolic process. Often, groups were brought in front of a magistrate who inquired if they had understood the contract, without bothering to inquire further. Coached to say ‘yes’, almost all labourers assented and placed their thumb impressions on a sheet of paper. Few knew what they were getting into. The ordeal then began. Before the advent of the railways and its penetration into the Indian heartland, labourers walked from their villages in present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Calcutta (Kolkata), where a ship awaited them. This first leg of the journey took 30 to 40 days, almost entirely on foot. Journeys from the districts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to Madras (Chennai) were shorter, but grueling nonetheless. Sometimes, if there were no ships ready to sail, migrants waited at the emigration depot for up to three months housed in less than favourable conditions. These potential emigrants were kept under close watch and not allowed the free run of the city. Desertion upon hearing horror tales of the ‘promised land’ was a possibility, as also the chance that they would contract contagious diseases, thereby laying waste the efforts of the ‘arkati’. Once a ship was available, a medical examination followed, and then hundreds of labourers boarded the ship. In the early years, wooden sailing vessels of teak were used. Conditions on the ships were similar to those on slave ships. Totaram Sanadhya, who spent years in Fiji, writes in Fiji Dveep mein Mere Ikkis Varsh (My Twenty-one Years in Fiji) of the cramped conditions in the ship – each person had ‘a space one and a half feet wide and six feet long’. Four ‘dog biscuits’ and ‘one-sixteenth of a pound of sugar’ (about 150 grams) were handed out on boarding, a ‘welcome package’ of sorts. The ship then sailed. On the seas, the labourers were expected to make their own meals with the provisions provided. The toilets too had to be cleaned by them, and refusal to do so resulted in beatings. Two bottles of fresh water were handed out daily. The question of asking for more water in case of need did not exist. One had to make do or suffer silently. Sea journeys ranged from ten to 20 weeks (journeys to Malaya were shorter than ten weeks). An 1878 British Guyana report records that in that year 17 ships arrived. The length of their voyage ranged from 78 to 128 days and the number of passengers varied from 493 to 652. Deaths on the ship were a common occurrence, dysentery, measles and cholera being the frequent causes. Bodies were thrown overboard when deaths took place. Perhaps a religious-minded fellow traveller uttered a short prayer. Otherwise, there was little dignity in death. In 1878, 18 deaths (including 15 children) out of a total of 611 passengers took place on the Hesperides. That the ship had taken 128 days to complete the voyage probably had something to do with it. That same year, 19 deaths took place on the Plassey, which took 92 days to complete the voyage and had embarked with 627 passengers. Still, these conditions were better than the conditions in 1856-57, when the average death rate for Indians travelling to the Caribbean was 17 percent. As many as 11 children were born on the Hesperides during the course of the sea voyage. The Plassey witnessed nine births. To begin with, most of the labourers were men. Only a few women made these journeys. How these women managed the exigencies of childbirth on board a rollicking ship with little water, food and privacy is too terrible to imagine. Given that almost every one of these ships records the deaths of children, it is perhaps fair to assume (since no clear details are available) that many of these deaths were of newborns. More horrors awaited the labourers when they reached their destinations. Poor wages, pathetic living conditions, insufficient food and the dishonouring of the terms of their contracts were commonplace. The indentured system was a system of continuous and prolonged exploitation. When the system came to an end in 1916, close to 1.5 million had made the journey. A significant number had perished en-route or in their new homes. Many stayed back after their contracts ended. A small number returned. Every single one of them had undergone untold suffering. Even as a callous government and an even more callous middle class continue to wallow in utter indifference, a tragedy has unfolded in our times which historians of the future will use to pass judgment on our generation. The indentured system was a telling comment on the tyranny of the white man, the excesses of the Empire and the blood and sweat on which the pretty structures of the West have been built. The current tragedy is our Fall from our fraudulent Garden of Eden.

http://sansaartimes.blogspot.com/2020/05/migrants-across-eras-exodus-caused-by.html

#SEO #Local SEO training #daily news paper #daily news india #daily news newspaper #technology news a

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rusykohli · 4 years

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From The Bubonic Plague To COVID-19: Impact On The Legal Profession In India

https://www.barandbench.com/author/rusy-kohli

The COVID-19 Pandemic has fundamentally disrupted our social and economic order. It has affected the functioning of most institutions and the Indian Judiciary is no exception. The Guardian of Law now finds itself compelled to guard against this deadly virus, its fraternity and litigants alike. The declaration of lockdown in India was accompanied with Courts across the country restricting functioning to limited matters in order to curb the number of lawyers / litigants entering court complexes. Soon, all hearings were being conducted through videoconferencing only, in order to avoid any human contact whatsoever. However, just like previous health emergencies in India like the Bubonic Plague of the late 19th century and the Spanish Flu of 1918, Corona Virus has made many its victims including the Judiciary, and the legal profession. In order to fully appreciate the impact of the virus, the author attempts to provide an account of the effect of Covid-19 with reference to historical health emergencies and their impact on the judicial apparatus.

Pendency in Indian Courts:

The Indian Judiciary has been over-burdened for several years and COVID-19 is only adding to this menace. As of May 27, 2020, there are approximately 3.24 crore pending cases in India’s subordinate courts[i] and about 48.2 lakh pending cases in the High Courts[ii].

The Supreme Court via its Notification dated March 13, 2020 restricted functioning of the Court to “ urgent matters ” only ( w.e.f. March 16, 2020 )[iii], thereby only entertaining bail matters, suspension of sentence matters and the like.

High Courts too have restricted their functioning to urgent matters. In normal course, a High Court hears north of 400 matters a day. However, since late March, High Courts across the country are hearing anywhere between 10-100 matters a day.[iv]

Subordinate courts account for over 80 % of the pendency of cases. On April 30, 2020 the Karnataka High Court extended the closure of all District Courts, Family Courts, Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals in the State until May 16, 2020[v]. On April 29, 2020 the Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered that all the district and sub-divisional Courts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh will function “restrictively” from May 1 “till the lockdown / curfew is in force in the respective area”[vi]. These restrictive measures have led to a glut of pending cases, thereby increasing the burden on courts.

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied:

Pendency in India’s courts has always been a hindrance in securing timely justice for people, if not denying justice altogether. As the usual functioning of courts has been disrupted, many under-trials and even many of those whose appeals are pending are left with no recourse. It can hardly be denied that the subject adage has particular force in the criminal sphere.

In pursuance of the Apex Court’s directions dated March 23, 2020, States and Union Territories have been asked to constitute High Powered Committees “ to determine which class of prisoners can be released on parole or an interim bail for such period as may be thought appropriate. ” Therefore, each State is free to determine its own criteria for granting bail. Further the Supreme Court has clarified vide its order dated April 13, 2020 that it has not directed the States / Union Territories “ to compulsorily release the prisoners from their respective prisons.”[vii] This clarification has allowed High Courts to further restrict the nature of cases in which they are prepared to grant bail.

On March 29, 2020, the Insolvency And Bankruptcy Board Of India announced the insertion of regulation “ 40 C ”, which laid down that the period of lockdown imposed in the wake of COVID19 shall not be counted for the purposes of the time-line for any activity that could not be completed due to such lockdown, in relation to the corporate insolvency resolution process ( CIRP )[viii]. While this move has come as a relief for companies undergoing the CIRP, it has left creditors waiting for repayment of dues for longer than the mandated 330-day period. NCLT benches across the country are hearing only urgent matters until the lockdown is lifted. This has left many other matters, which do not qualify as urgent, pending. [ix]

Plight Of Advocates:

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court urging that non-payment of rent for professional premises belonging to advocates should not be made a ground for eviction, during lockdown. However, on April 30, 2020 the Apex Court refused to entertain the plea remarking that it was "not going to enter into this issue," and dismissed the petition as withdrawn. [x] Further on May 8, 2020 a three- Judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed a plea urging the court to direct the government to formulate a uniform welfare scheme for lawyers affected across the country.[xi]

Daily appearances in court are the main source of income for most advocates, and cash flow has come to a drip, if not completely dried up. In the month of April, 82,725 cases were filed in India’s courts as compared to 8,80,000 cases in March [xii]. This steep decline in cases filed has consequently resulted in a significant dip in court fee, besides Lawyers’ income.

Younger lawyers are left with little or no work. Today, a senior lawyer has the time, and the need to address minor matters, if any, personally, rather than refer them to a junior, which may have been done prior to the lockdown.

A petition was filed in the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to the State and the Bar Council to release Rs. 50,000/- to advocates, in order to compensate for the loss of work[xiii]. However, the Bar Council Of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry has resolved to disburse only Rs. 4000/- each to needy lawyers. The Bar Council was not in a position to release any more money because of limited resources.[xiv]

Law Firms:

Law Firms have also been severely affected. Many partners have either chosen to renounce salaries this financial year or agreed to take significant pay cuts. Firms which charged clients anywhere between Rs. 20,000 and Rs 75, 000 per hour, our now renegotiating their fee, since cash-strapped clients are no longer willing to pay exorbitant sums. Moreover, clients are questioning the actual amount of time that firms are spending on their matters, thereby making firms consider implementing technology that would track the number of hours spent by an executive on a client’s job, in order to provide proof to clients[xv]. This is great innovation; however, it comes with a significant cost in a day and age when law firms are suffering unprecedented lows in business.

Prisoners:

Corona Virus cases have already sprung up in various jails across India. Amongst other jails, there are over 180 cases in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail[xvi]. Authorities have been compelled to take drastic measures such as - release a large number of inmates, shift inmates to different prisons and designate temporary places as jails for keeping new undertrials.

By end February, nearly the cases (233 of 565) of COVID-19 reported in Wuhan, China, were from the city’s prison system.[xvii] This fact is reflective of just how dangerous prisons are today.

Indian prisons have historically been overcrowded and may potentially become breeding grounds when threatened by a contagion like Covid19. Considering the difficult living conditions and lack of hygiene, which is an unfortunate reality of our prisons, containing the spread would become nearly impossible.

Coping With This Challenge:

We are now in the age of what has come to be known as “Virtual Courts ” which function through videoconferencing, e-filing, telephonic mentioning of urgent matters and online payment of court fees. These are not bereft of teething problems. Perhaps, the biggest drawback of this new system is the inability to provide public access to courtroom proceedings. Virtual proceedings are being held in camera, and are therefore not open to public which is discordant with what has been held in Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar v State of Maharashtra[xviii], where the Apex Court observed that the public has a right to be present in court and to watch proceedings.

Lawyers are facing problems with basics such as uploading petitions on the Supreme Court website, since the data restrictions put in place are just 5 MB for a petition and 2 MB for additional documents, thereby compelling lawyers to break up the file into multiple volumes.[xix]

Déjà Vu

Historically, the Bubonic Plague of the late 19th century and Spanish Flu of 1918 are two points of reference when the entire framework of judiciary was disrupted on account of a health emergency.

The arrival of the Bubonic Plague in Bombay ( now Mumbai ) in 1896, brought courts to a grinding halt. A J C Mistry, a managing clerk at the Bombay law firm, Wadia Ghandy & Co. has given a grim account of the situation in early 1897. Mistry noted that the judges of the Bombay High Court “had no work to do.” The staff of the firm returned to work after four months, however over the next decade three members fell victim to the plague and died.

Mahatma Gandhi on page 72 in his book - The Law and The Lawyers[xx], while discussing an appeal which was to be heard in Veraval in Gujarat, writes that there were as many as fifty cases heard daily ( a lot of cases for that day and age ) in the Court at Veraval which had a population of about 5,500 people, however at the time of writing the “plague was raging ” and it was “ practically deserted ”. This anecdote bears a striking semblance to the scenario today.

Property which was seized in discharge of debts those days included pots, pans, utensils, bedding etc. These items were regularly hauled in and out of court. Legal historian Mitra Sharafi on page 48 in her book - Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia: Parsi Legal Culture, 1772–1947, writes that this practice of bringing property inside court rooms had become a “ particularly unsavoury phenomenon when the bubonic plague swept through the city. ”

When the Spanish Flu arrived in 1918, the judiciary was hit once again. Jurors, lawyers and assistants of the Calcutta High Court were severely affected. The Court was functioning on somewhat similar lines of how the courts are functioning today, thereby causing consequent pendency issues. [xxi]

Even in Bombay, law offices were bought to a standstill. In late June 1918 the Times Of India reported,

“ Nearly every house in Bombay has some of its inmates down with [influenza] fever and every office is bewailing the absence of clerks. ”

The flu soon found its way into jails and a need was felt to decongest prisons as inmates began to fall sick and the jails were short-staffed. The District Magistrate of Bijapur particularly wanted to release sick prisoners from jail, but the then Government was not ready to cooperate.[xxii]

It may be relevant to mention here that an eminent lawyer by the name of, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was himself laid down with the Spanish flu with a faltering heartbeat. However, destiny had charted out a different path for him, and India.

Conclusion:

This piece has only covered some of the ramifications of COVID-19 on the legal profession and there are other areas such as legal education which also need to be addressed on a priority. The existing delays in the legal system will only be exacerbated by the impediments COVID-19 will inevitably present to the progress of investigations, charging decisions, pre-trial processes etc. It appears that Corona Virus is here to stay, and the Judiciary needs to cope with it. We have been through a pandemic before and have come out of it as well. Normal functioning or rather “ New Normal ” functioning of courts is going to take its own time. Hopefully, it shouldn’t take too long, lest Lady Justice will soon have to, along with a blindfold, sword and scales, be adorned with — a mask.

Rusy Kohli

The author is a Post Graduate from Punjab University and a keen student of current affairs with context to lessons from history.

[i] “ Pending Dashboard ”: National Judicial Data Grid (District and Taluka Courts of India).

[ii] National Judicial Data Grid For High Courts.

[iii] Supreme Court Notification, March 13, 2020.

[iv] Data collected from Daily Cause Lists of various High Courts.

[v] Vide Notification No. DJA.I/550/1993, dated April 30, 2020.

[vi] Vide Order No. 13/Spl./RG/Misc. , dated April 29, 2020.

[vii] Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.1 Of 2020 ( In Re : Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Prisons ): Order dated April 13, 2020.

[viii] Vide Notification No. IBBI/2019-20/GN/REG059 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2020. , dated March 29, 2020

[ix] NCLT Notice dated April 20, 2020.

[x] Writ Petition (Civil) Diary No.11055/2020 ( ALJO K. JOSEPH Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ANR.): Order dated April 30, 2020.

[xi] Writ Petition (Civil) Diary No(S). 11049/2020 ( Abhinav Ramkrishna Vs. Union Of India & Ors. ): Order Dated May 8, 2020

[xii] “ How lockdown has hit judiciary, in numbers — April cases fall to 82k from 14 lakh avg in 2019 ”: The Print, May 4, 2020.

[xiii] W.P.No.7419 of 2020: ( Dr.A.E. Chelliah vs. The Chairman and Members of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and an. )

[xiv] Bar Council Of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry: Press Release Dated 08-05-2020

[xv] Covid-19 Fallout: Pressure on hourly fee of top consultants, lawyers: The Economic Times, May 1, 2020

[xvi] “ After 180 cases from Arthur Road Jail, Maharashtra to release half the state’s prisoners ”: The Indian Express, May 12, 2020.

[xvii] Mainland China adds 573 coronavirus infections, eyes risks abroad: Reuters.com, March 1, 2020

[xviii] (1966) 3 SCR 744

[xix] “ ‘ Public hearing fundamental to democracy’: Lawyers on SC hearings via video conference ”, The Print, April 20, 2020.

[xx] The Law and The Lawyers By: M. K. Gandhi

[xxi] Pandemic or poison? How epidemics shaped Southasia's legal history by Mitra Sharafi: Himal Southasian, April 20, 2020.

[xxii] GD 353, 1918 GOB to District Magistrate, Bijapur, 13 November, 1918.

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