Coronavirus LIVE: Anti-HIV drugs given to infected Italian couple in Jaipur

The number of Coronaviruscases in India rose to 47 as the outbreak keeps growing across the world. Authorities on Monday sealed a village in Leh district of Ladakh region after a pilgrim who had visited Iran died in the hospital of suspected coronavirus infection.

Health Minister Dr. Hars Vardhan during the day said that States have been asked to form early rapid action teams to deal with COVID-19 and laboratories are being strengthened to better test the virus.
"We are sending detailed guidelines to all states on ways to contain coronavirus. Have asked states to strengthen laboratories and manpower to effectively deal with coronavirus and form early rapid action teams," Vardhan said. The health minister chaired a review and coordination meeting with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, mayors of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi and senior officials of various departments.
More than 114,343 people have been infected by the Coronavirus across the world and 4,025 have died as the disease upturns the modest growth in the world economy.
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03:01 PM
As 2 test positive for coronavirus, kin admitted in Pune
A day after two patients tested positive for novel coronavirus in Pune, district authorities on Tuesday said their family members have been admitted in Naidu Hospital here and their samples sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology.

Divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said the two Covid-19 patients were part of a group of 40 people which landed at Mumbai airport on March 1 from Dubai and had taken an Ola cab to Pune.

"The Ola cab driver has been admitted in Naidu hospital. His samples have been sent to NIV for testing. The list of 40 people who were with the the two patients has been received and respective district authorities have been told to carry out their medical examination," he said.
03:00 PM
Anti-HIV drugs given to coronavirus-affected elderly Italian couple in Jaipur
Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, for the first time a combination of two drugs, which is widely used for controlling HIV infection, was administered on an elderly Italian couple undergoing treatment at a Jaipur hospital for Covid-19.

The Drug Controller General of India has approved "restricted use" of the combination of medications lopinavir and ritonavir which are second-line HIV drugs, for treating those affected by novel coronavirus after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) sought an emergency approval for the same.

SMS Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr D S Meena said the Italian man and his wife had developed severe respiratory problems following which a decision was taken to put them on the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir.

According to officials, consent of the patients was taken before the drugs were administered.
02:09 PM
Six more coronavirus cases in Kerala, total 12: CM
Six more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Kerala, and the total number of infected people now stood at 12, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
01:52 PM
Coronavirus: What Italy's complete lockdown means for its 60 million people
In an unprecedented crackdown on the spread of Coronavirus, Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday announced that the movement of 60 million across the country would be sharply restricted. With 7,300 infected in the country, Italy has reported most number of cases after China, where the virus erupted. Deaths in Milan's Lombardy alone jumped to 333, while the national death toll soared to 463, the highest in the world after China. The latest restrictions have put in place until 3 April. READ ON...
12:04 PM
A Pune couple test positive for COVID-19
A day after a couple tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in Pune, city Mayor Murlidhar Mohol on Tuesday appealed to people not to panic and said the civic body is all prepared to handle the situation.

Mohol asked people not to celebrate Holi at the places where a large gathering is expected.

"We all should take utmost care and avoid going to the crowded places," he said.
12:03 PM
First coronavirus death recorded in Canada
Canada has recorded its first death from the new coronavirus, health officials in the westernmost province of British Columbia have announced.

The victim, a man living at an elderly care facility, "was infected with COVID-19 (and) passed away last night," the province's health officer Bonnie Henry told reporters.

Officials have not released the victim's age.
11:57 AM
Kiren Rijiju extends Holi greetings, celebrates in 'controlled' manner amid coronavirus concerns
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday extended his greetings to the nation on the occasion of Holi and celebrated the festival in a very "controlled" manner, amid rising concerns over coronavirus.

"Happy Holi to all the dear countrymen. May this festival of colours brings endless happiness, prosperity and happiness in your life," Rijiju tweeted in Hindi.

In another tweet, Rijiju posted a video where he can be seen celebrating the festival with Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Very private and controlled happy Holi celebration with my senior Minister colleague @naqvimukhtar ji
11:44 AM
119 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection on Chinese mainland
Chinese health authority on Wednesday said it received reports of 119 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and 38 deaths on Tuesday on the Chinese mainland.

Among the deaths, 37 were in Hubei Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

Meanwhile, 143 new suspected cases were reported, said the Commission.
11:17 AM
Italian premier Conte locks down entire country to combat Coronavirus
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has put his entire country on lockdown to combat the coronavirus, banning all but the most important travel and putting the final kibosh on social gatherings after Italians failed to take previous warnings to heart amid skyrocketing infections.

Two days after imposing the same strict measures on a quarter of the country, in the hard-hit north, Conte on Monday urged all 60 million Italians to stay home.

The only travel allowed will be for proven work reasons, for health conditions or other cases of necessity.
10:48 AM
Chinese President Xi Jinping pays first visit to Wuhan since coronavirus epidemic, says state media: AFP

Threat of Coronavirus pandemic 'has become very real': WHO Chief

The coronavirus is closer to causing a pandemic but outbreaks in countries can still be controled through a combination of containment and mitigation measures, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
"Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a news conference. "But it would be the first pandemic that could be controlled. The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus."
Four countries account for 93% of the nearly 110,000 cases worldwide, Tedros said. "We are encouraged that Italy is taking aggressive measures to contain its epidemic and we hope that those measures prove effective in the coming days," he added.

ED seizes Rajiv Gandhi painting; many of YES Bank's big loans under scanner

As part of its money-laundering investigation against arrested YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was now looking into several multi-crore-rupee loans issued by YES Bank to corporate houses that turned non-performing assets (NPAs), officials said.
The ED has widened its probe in the case, taking it beyond the loan it gave to Dewan Housing and Finance Limited (DHFL) and is now looking at the bank's books to see if the Kapoor family and others received any kickbacks from business houses in lieu of non-initiation of the loan recovery processes.

The central agency is probing the Rs 600-crore loan scam-hit DHFL gave to a firm "controlled" by Rana Kapoor's family -- his wife and three daughters -- allegedly for not recovering from it over Rs 4,000 crore of loans issued by YES Bank.
YES Bank CEO Ravneet Gill was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its office in Mumbai on Monday, news agency PTI reported on Monday quoting sources.
The sources added that the investigators had also zeroed in on Kapoor's purported foreign assets in the UK, France and the US to see if the proceeds of money laundering had been used to purchase these assets by the banker and his family.
A dozen alleged shell firms, the Kapoor family's investments of Rs 2,000 crore, and over Rs 4,500 crore worth of other transactions are under the scanner of the agency at present.
The agency has also found that 44 costly paintings, one of them purchased from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are allegedly in the possession of Kapoor. The ED has seized that painting and brought to its office.
A letter written by Priyanka Gandhi to Kapoor in June 2010 confirmed the sale of this portrait of her father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, painted by M F Husain, for Rs 2 crore. In the letter, Priyanka Gandhi thanked Kapoor for purchasing the portrait "which was presented to him in 1985 at the Congress party centenary celebrations and is presently in my ownership and possession".
While the Congress party has said that the deal was transparent, as the payment of Rs 2 crore was received by Vadra from Kapoor through cheque and was reflected in income tax returns, the ED is probing if the painting was owned by her or the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
It is also investigating if the provenance certificate (signed by an artist to state his genuine work) was signed by Vadra and under what circumstances. Apparently, this Rs 2 crore was used by Vadra to purchase a property in Himachal Pradesh.
The portrait had been made by celebrated artist Husain and gifted to Gandhi during the AICC centenary celebrations in 1985.
Kapoor and his wife are also expected to be confronted by the ED with Kapil Wadhawan, DHFL promoter and CMD. He was arrested by the ED in the Iqbal Mirchi PMLA case and is out on bail at present.
A big housing finance company and a financial insurance firm are also under the scanner of the ED for their dealings with Kapoor and YES Bank.
A particular instance of a popular power generation company taking Rs 500 crore loan from the bank and it later turning NPA is also being probed by the ED.
The Income Tax Department is also set to initiate action against Kapoor and others for tax evasion and possession of alleged undeclared foreign assets.
Meanwhile, the Odisha unit of the Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) on Monday alleged a conspiracy behind the deposits of Rs 545 crore of the Shree Jagannath Temple in capital-starved bank and demanded a probe into it by the ED. Senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra also claimed the involvement of some members of the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and two government officials in depositing the funds in the private bank.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), however, rubbished the allegations and said the saffron party was misleading the people. The Odisha government had on Sunday sought the Centre's intervention for release of the funds in the interest of devotees.
BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan had on Sunday held the state government responsible for pushing the temple's funds into uncertainty. Reacting to the charges, BJD spokesperson and the party's Rajya Sabha nominee Subhas Singh said: "The BJP leaders are trying to mislead people over the matter. It is an old habit of Mohapatra to politicise issues related to the Lord Jagannath Temple.
Earlier, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra had demanded a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the matter. Odisha Chief Minister Patnaik has been silent on the issue.
In another development, bondholders with exposure to YES Bank's Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) securities have approached the Bombay High Court against a decision to write down their investments in the struggling bank as part of a draft rescue plan, news agency IANS reported.
Under the draft resolution plan for YES Bank given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after superseding its board, the banking regulator capped deposit withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per person and appointed an administrator. It also proposed to write off Rs 8,400 crore worth of AT1 bonds on the lender's balancesheet while retaining equity.
Axis and Nippon India Mutual Fund Trustees may have moved the court to seek relief. It is, however, yet to be confirmed by the fund houses. According to an Icra report, 16 Indian banks have Rs 93,669 crore worth of AT1 bonds outstanding. But the development in case of YES Bank has triggered a debate about the seniority of the AT1 bondholders over equity investors.
But RBI is within its powers to write down AT1 bonds under Basel-III norms.

Domestic flight occupancy drops 15% as Coronavirus sparks fear of flying

Fresh bookings and occupancy in domestic flights have dropped by almost 15 per cent in the last few days as customers defer or cancel trips over fears of coronavirus.
With domestic travel, generating bulk of the revenue for carriers slowing down, the slump in crude oil price will provide limited relief for airlines.

International air travel to and from India has already been hit due to travel ban and warning issued by many countries, including those from West Asia. According to analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities, the international air route mix is 19 and 25 per cent for IndiGo and SpiceJet respectively.
Executives of Indian airlines said that the drop is primarily for flights to major metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, which are the prime revenue generators on the domestic front. “Domestic travel was the only thing that had somewhat insulated Indian airlines from the impact of corona. But now it is being impacted and that is visible from the fares,” said an airline executive.
A cursory glimpse of fares on the Chennai-Bengaluru route shows that tickets for the same day were being sold for Rs 1,100 lower or equal to fare of a Volvo bus.
“Airfares are falling in line with oil prices which continues to drop. Airlines are also refraining from increasing prices at the moment as they expect weakening of demand on the domestic side. Few domestic carriers are also waiving change and cancellation fees for immediate travel due to virus outbreak. While overall last minute fares on popular domestic routes have decreased 20-25 per cent, variable spot fares of certain routes have seen an increase due to holiday travel on occasion of Holi,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder of ixigo.
ChartAirline executives also said that if such dip in demand continues to be a long term phenomenon, airlines will start grounding aircraft. German airline major Lufthansa is slashing half of its flights due to the virus impact on airline industry When the epidemic spread out in January, Indian airlines were hoping for minimal impact from corona virus as Indians carriers have limited exposure to China and South East Asia. But visa restrictions and travel bans has forced them to cancel flights. On Monday Qatar announced a ban on entry of Indians and thirteen other nationalities and this will force airlines to cut flights. An IndiGo executive said that they have cancelled all flights to Doha as there is minimal transit passengers onwards Doha.
Fuel accounts for over 30 per cent of an airline’s operating expense and a low fuel environment will however help Indian carriers which have not been able to add fuel efficient planes into their fleets due to delivery delays (A320Neo) or regulatory bans (Boeing 737 Max) but with crude oil under $35 per barrel even conventional variants like the A320 Ceo and Boeing 737 NG will become attractive to operate, said an industry expert.
Brokerage firms are still optimistic that airlines will manage to generate a small profit in this quarter by curtailing operations. “ While there is a possibility of lower traffic in March & April, possible adjusting of flight frequency to maintain occupancy will help as an offset,” ICICI Securities said in a report.

Madhya Pradesh political crisis LIVE: Scindia quits Cong, 19 MLAs follow

A faction led by Jyotiraditya Scindia who, along with at least 17 legislators, went incommunicado, sparking intense speculation about the fate of Kamal Nath-led Congressgovernment.
Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia along with 19 MLAs on Tuesday resigned from the party. The development came after the disgruntled leader and former MP from Guna in Madhya Pradesh met with the top two of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi — in New Delhi.
In a surprise move, all 20 Cabinet ministers in the Madhya Pradesh government had tendered their resignations to Chief Minister Kamal Nath at around 11:30 pm Monday, plunging the state's Congress government into a political uncertainty. The CM accepted their resignations and was likely to reconstitute the Cabinet today.
Earlier in the day, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met current president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the political crisis in Madhya Pradesh after several MLAs close to Scindia flew to Bengaluru and went incommunicado. A legislative party meeting of the Congress is taking place in Bhopal.
A few days ago, it had been alleged that the BJP, the principal Opposition in the state, was holding at least eight Madhya Pradesh MLAs against their will at a resort in Gurugram and in Bengaluru.
In the 2018 Assembly election, the Congress, which had won 114 seats in the 230-member House, had formed the government with support from four Independent MLAs and two BSP MLAs, and a legislator from the Samajwadi Party (SP). The BJP had secured 109 seats in the state Assembly.
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03:09 PM
Kamal Nath writes to MP Governor, recommends the immediate removal of six ministers
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Chief Minister Kamal Nath writes to Madhya Pradesh Governor, recommends the immediate removal of six ministers.
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03:07 PM
Madhya Pradesh government: Know the numbers
Here's how the numbers stack up if the Congress MLAs exit from the Madhya Pradesh government.
Total assembly size

227

Current strength

120 MLAs with Kamal Nath government
Majority mark: 116
Margin: 4 above majority mark
Composition: 114 Congress, 6 allies

Without 20 Congress MLAs

Majority mark comes down to 104

Total MLAs falls to 207
Congress: 100
BJP: 107
02:58 PM
Not surprised that Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from Congress & will join BJP: Former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh
Former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh: I am not surprised that Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from Congress & will join BJP. I feel he will be sent to Rajya Sabha & inducted into Union Cabinet. His father Madhavrao Scindia would have been Prime Minister if he had lived.
02:57 PM
Most of the Congress MLAs will resign from the Congress in coming days as they are fed up with the functioning of Kamal Nath govt
Bisahu Lal Sahu: I have resigned from the Congress as well as from the membership of State Assembly. I have joined BJP. Most of the Congress MLAs will resign from the Congress in coming days as they are fed up with the functioning of Kamal Nath govt
02:18 PM
Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves from his residence
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Delhi: Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves from his residence. He had met PM Narendra Modi and HM Amit Shah earlier today and had tendered his resignation to Congress President Sonia Gandhi
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02:17 PM
The government is not going to fall, says Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria
Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria after meeting Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath: State govt is strong and it will continue to run. The government is not going to fall because someone is saying so. We have required number of MLAs.
02:02 PM
Congress' youth wing chief thanks Sonia Gandhi for expelling Jyotiraditya Scindia
Indian Youth Congress (IYC) chief Srinivas B V on Tuesday slammed Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has announced his resignation from the primary membership of the Congress, and thanked party chief Sonia Gandhi for expelling the former Guna MP "who was promoting anti-party activities and factionalism".

Soon after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Tuesday, disgruntled Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi, saying it was now time for him to move on.

"The history of 1857 and 1967 was once again repeated," Srinivas B V said, referring to the 1857 Revolt against East India Company and the role of the Scindia royals back then as well as Vijayaraje Scindia's switch from the Congress to the Jana Sangh in 1967.

"I would like to thank Congress president Sonia Gandhiji for taking the strong steps to expel the leader who was promoting anti-party activities and factionalism," the IYC chief said.

"No person is, nor will be greater than the party," he added.
01:59 PM
MP political crisis: Digvijaya Singh, other Congress leaders meet Kamal Nath
Amid an ongoing political crisis in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Jitu Patwari, Bala Bachchan, Sajjan Singh Verma, Surendra Singh Baghel and others arrived at Chief Minister Kamal Nath's residence here on Tuesday.

The meeting came even as senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the party, stating that "it is time to move on."

"Having been a primary member of the Congress Party for the last 18 years. it is now time for me to move on. I am tendering my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and as you well know this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year," said Scindia in his resignation letter submitted to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.
01:26 PM
19 Congress MLAs including six state ministers from Madhya Pradesh who are in Bengaluru, tender their resignation from party
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01:13 PM
Shivraj Singh Chouhan: For some Congress leaders when Scindia was in Congress he was a Maharaja, now he is a mafia?
Shivraj Singh Chouhan: For some Congress leaders when Scindia ji was in Congress he was a Maharaja, now he is a mafia? These are their double standards.
01:02 PM
Our govt in Madhya Pradesh won't survive, says Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary
Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, Congress leader in Lok Sabha: So yes it will indeed be a loss to our party and I don't think our Govt in Madhya Pradesh will survive. This is the present-day politics of BJP, always tries to topple and destabilize opposition govts.

01:01 PM
Maybe Scindia got lured by the offer of ministership given by Modi: Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary
Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, Congress leader in Lok Sabha: Scindia ji held many senior posts in Congress party and was well respected, maybe he got lured by the offer of ministership given by Modi. We know his family has been associated with BJP for decades, but yet it is a big loss.

Oil price slump: Centre may not hike excise duty for petro products

The Centre has ruled out an increase in excise duties on petroleum, and believes that softening global crude prices would dampen inflation, which would induce the Reserve Bank to cut policy rates.
“We are not in favour of an excise duty hike as that would add to inflationary pressures for the end-users. Softening inflation due to oil prices would increase consumers comfort,” a top government official said.

“The crude oil prices have led to bond yields also coming down. This will also have a counter-inflationary impact, and could lead to a situation which is conducive for a rate cut,” the official said. On Monday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Indian government debt slid below 6 per cent for the first time since 2009. It ended trading down 12 basis points to 6.07 per cent.
For 2019-20, the Centre had estimated average crude price of $55 a barrel, and for 2020-21, it has been assumed at $50 a barrel. The official admitted the crude price crash would be beneficial for them on the fiscal front, but declined to give details.
Analysts believe the steep fall in the international oil prices would give the government a bonanza in terms of reduced current account deficit (CAD), even as it may not have much impact on reining in the Centre’s fiscal deficit.
ALSO READ: Oil price crash: Domestic petrol, diesel prices may fall in the near future
So far as the Centre’s fiscal deficit is concerned, economists don't believe that declining oil prices would impact it much. Nowadays, the burden of subsidies to the government comes for only LPG and kerosene. These subsidies were estimated at around Rs 38,000 crore for 2019-20, against about Rs 25,000 crore a year ago and Rs 41,000 crore in FY21.
The Centre might not be as adversely placed in terms of revenues as its taxes on petrol and diesel are lump sum. On the other hand, states would be much worse affected as their taxes — value added tax — are ad valorem.
Karnataka has already increased value-added tax. Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA, believed other states would follow suit.
chartSo far as CAD is concerned, every $10 a barrel decline in oil prices could improve CAD by 27 basis points, according to the calculation made by Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief policy advisor at the SBI group.
CAD is essentially a gap between what the country receives imports and what it pays for exports of goods and services but excludes capital accounts such as money that comes in and goes out from the stock markets.
Nayar pegged CAD at 0.9 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product for FY20 at the current oil prices, against 1 per cent that she was expecting earlier. She expected the deficit to come down to just 0.2 per cent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2019-20, against 0.9 per cent in the third quarter and 0.7 per cent a year ago.
CAD remained over 2 per cent in the first quarter of FY20 and the first three quarters of FY19.
Nayar also projected CAD at 0.8 per cent for the next fiscal year against her earlier forecast of 1 per cent.
Lower CAD basically means that the country would not require too much capital inflows to finance it.
Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings, said the country was net oil importer and hence softening oil prices would dampen CAD.
For instance, India is projected to be a net importer by $56.4 billion in the current financial year.

YES Bank to transform into a retail bank: Administrator Prashant Kumar

Prashant Kumar, the new man in charge of YES Bank, has chalked out the strategy of the beleaguered bank, which includes selling down part of its vast portfolio of corporate loans, and focusing on retail banking — the mainstay of its highly profitable rivals.
The focus on retail banking is the opposite of what the management led by Rana Kapoor had focused on, and which led to the accumulation of a huge amount of bad debt in its corporate loan portfolio. This had resulted in the ouster of the board by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week, and a moratorium was placed on withdrawals of deposits above Rs 50,000. According to an estimate by JP Morgan, the bad loans in the bank could go as high as an additional Rs 45,000 crore.
In an interaction with Business Standard on Monday, 59-year-old Kumar said the queues at bank branches and ATMs were thinning after State Bank of India (SBI) and the RBI offered support to maintain liquidity at India’s fourth-largest private bank. “We are hopeful that by Friday we will be able to lift the moratorium on withdrawals. We are also thankful to our customers for standing by us,” said Kumar, who was appointed the bank’s administrator by the RBI.
“We are banking on three things to instill confidence in customers. First, SBI is investing up to 49 per cent of the bank’s equity, which is a big thing. Second is the speed of resolution, which is moving very fast with support from the RBI and SBI. Finally, the bank is firming up capital-raising plans and will announce these soon,” he said.
ALSO READ: YES Bank fiasco: Troubled times for consumers with EMIs, SIPs and such like
The bank will come out with its financial numbers for the December quarter by March 14, as announced earlier, Kumar said.

chart“The RBI is in the process of appointing a new board and our strategy to convert into a full-fledged retail bank will then be placed before this new board,” said Kumar.
The officials posted in the corporate loan portfolio will be asked to focus on recovering old loans instead of disbursing new ones, he said.
The bank will have to be predominantly retail (assets), the share of which should be 60-70 per cent. At present, the share of retail in the loan book is around 30-35 per cent and the rest is corporate. We need to reverse this, Kumar said.
Kumar added that it was very important for the bank to demonstrate that it would be able to meet its customers’ withdrawal demands. “If we are able to show on the first day that we will meet all the withdrawals, it will be a demonstration of our intention that all customers’ deposits are safe.”
ALSO READ: Business not as usual: YES Bank changes way banks, Mint Road are looked at
This bank has very good customer connect and our teams are reaching out to tell them we are ready to meet their demands, Kumar said.
On various UPIs (unified payments interface), which are unable to transact business because of the moratorium, Kumar said those using YES Bank’s back end will be able to transact as early as Friday, when the moratorium is expected to be lifted.
“All the systems and technology are in place. Let me assure all customers that there is nothing to worry,” Kumar said.
ALSO READ: YES Bank rescue plan: How brokerages have interpreted the proposals
The administrator said several customers who were unable to repay loan installments to other banks will be given certificates by YES Bank about the RBI’s plans, so that those banks take the moratorium into consideration and don’t penalise customers.
When asked about the quantum of withdrawals of deposits in the past few months, Kumar did not provide any figures, but said all numbers would be provided on March 14.