Most Mondays we wish we could bring you Sunday stories as the features are mind blowing. One such is Julian Sancton’s new book that speaks on Roald Amundsen’s ruthless strategy to win the race to the South Pole against Robert Scott. We also look at the Covid situation which seems to have eased slightly in north India for now, but seemingly not the govt’s tolerance for criticism. In this week’s Short Explainer, we check out the Ultra Low Cost Carriers model, which GoAir (now GoFirst) aims to adopt.
Coronavirus News
📉 Are we there yet?: In last 7 days infections fell consistently in India even as testing increased at a steady 3.6%. Delhi and Maharashtra showing major improvement. But the drop is not uniform. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bengal are still rising. And testing in rural areas is still a concern. Expert says it is too early to say anything.
💉 New Protocols: CoWin has been reconfigured to allow booking of shot 2 only after 84 days. Existing bookings to remain. Bookings can be done only within India, limited third-party access to prevent coders accessing it.
😐Expert exits: Top virologist Shahid Jameel quits INSACOG, a govt panel of experts tracking virus variants. On May 13, he wrote in NYT that there is “stubborn resistance to evidence-based policymaking”. He was also critical about SC’s move to create a task force.
Centre’s fight plan: States to set up 3-tier plan for rural areas – (i) makeshift facilities for mild cases, (ii) health centres for moderate with more O2 beds and more testing, (iii) district and private hospitals for severe.
💉💉 Russian shots: 60K Sputnik V doses land.
⏬ Dismal: 9.3% Indians got 1st shot, 2.5% got both.
Go 🔙: Haryana farmers protest CM Khattar arriving in-person to inaugurate Covid hospital. Police lob tear gas and lathi-charge them. Farmers also angry at govt blaming them for Covid spread.
🗣️Opposition’s Voice: AAP says it is behind the posters critical of Modi and tells police to leave those who pasted them alone.
🚷 Lockdown: Haryana, Delhi till May 24, Punjab curbs till May 31.
🙏 Dead: Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Satav (46)
🙄 Ramming it: Madhya Pradesh cop tells people who are caught violating lockdown to write “Ram” for 30 to 45 mins.
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Other India News
🇦🇪 Duped, stranded: Over 500 Kerala nurses duped by recruiters are stranded in the UAE.
🌀 Cyclone update: Maharashtra and Gujarat evacuate people over Tauktae as storm intensifies to”very severe” and may hit Gujarat at 185kmph- worst since 1998.
Glass ceiling: More women directors on Nifty 50 company boards — at 17%.
🧎♂️On Strike: Sachin Tendulkar reveals that he suffered anxiety for most of his 24-year long career: “Acceptability is key. Not just for the player, for people around him also. Once you have accepted you start looking for solutions.”
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World News
⚔️ Israel, Palestine: Deadliest day as Israel airstrike kills 42. Netanyahu says it will continue for as long as necessary.
🗺️ Int’l response: India calls for restraint from both sides but supports Palestine more calling it a “just cause”; Israel leaves out India in its “thanks” message. UN Security Council meets and calls for a ceasefire, but there was no common statement from the group as the US blocked it. Islamic nations blame Israel and also their own “normalisation” of relations over the past few years.
👨🔧 Kerry in curry: US climate envoy says that “future tech” will help in cutting emissions. But experts say it is impossible in the time we have left to act.
🌳🛢️ Eco-investor A shareholder group called Follow This is proposing at oil companies’ meetings to adopt emission plans that stick to the Paris Agreement. On Tuesday, Shell is hoping shareholders will back its carbon cutting plan and not of this group.
🐧 Eat to live: In 1858, Amundsen’s ship was stuck in the Antarctic and the crew got scurvy. They started eating raw penguin meat that had Vit C. Amundsen used the strategy during the race, also the weaker dogs that pulled his sled. Scott refused this and died; Sancton says scurvy weakened him.
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✈️ Short explainer: Ultra Low Cost Carriers (ULCC)
Basics: Ryanair is credited with creating the model: low cost, max revenue. ULCCs sell every inch to advertising — from cups to luggage bins — and charge passengers for every seat, bag, water and use of washrooms. They also serve more “secondary airports”, which are cheaper.
But: India’s rules do not allow such blatant charging. Many airlines have instead opted for the Low Cost Carrier model. India has few “secondary airports”. Instead, GoFirst could likely go for reserving flights as handbag-only flights and dropping corporate plans.
Research: A 2017 analysis of US aviation showed ULCCs brought down the overall fare, but were more likely to abandon a market after just 2 years.
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