Lockdown 5.0, Jio's billion-dollar deal, YS Exclusive with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and more

Termed 'Unlock 1', this lockdown will see the re-opening of prohibited activities in areas outside containment zones in a phased manner from June 1.

Monday June 01, 2020 , 4 min Read

We're officially in Lockdown 5.0, and things are looking a lot different. Termed 'Unlock 1', this will see the re-opening of prohibited activities in areas outside containment zones in a phased manner from June 1. As India readies to open up after almost two months of lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to be “extra careful” and stick to precautions like maintaining social distance and wearing masks.

Last week, to showcase the #Aatmanirbhar heroes of India, YourStory, in association with C-CAMP, launched a comprehensive report on the innovators of C-CIDA helping India battle COVID-19. Then, we took a deeper look at the billion-dollar deals being inked by Reliance Jio — Facebook ($5.7 billion), Silver Lake Partners ($747 million), Vista Equity Partners ($1.5 billion), General Atlantic ($870 million), and KKR’s Asia PE Fund ($1.5 billion). Find out why investors are flocking to Mukesh Ambani's $65B internet business.

On March 24, when the nationwide lockdown was announced, it was evident that the supply chain would be affected. Foreseeing a difficult situation ahead, on March 26, the Ministry of Civil Aviation launched ‘Lifeline Udan’, an initiative to ensure a steady supply of essentials to even the most remote parts of India.

In her first media interaction since the launch of the initiative, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the head of Lifeline Udan, shed light on its operations, goals, and more.

Lifeline Udan — Picture courtesy: Ministry of Aviation

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Oyo Rooms, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons the past year. In an unfiltered conversation on Money Matters with Shradha Sharma, he spills the beans on dealing with negative press, scaling up OYO, COVID-19, and more.

In an exclusive interaction, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the measures undertaken by the Centre to revive and promote MSMEs and startups amid the economic downturn.

Last but not least, we spoke to actor Sonu Sood, who has ascended to real-world superhero status almost overnight for helping migrant workers amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The actor — best known for essaying villainous roles in Indian cinema — tells us his late parents are an inspiration for his many random acts of kindness.