LONDON: Britain is urgently reviewing its social distancing rule and might be able to relax quarantine for travellers to help its economy recover from a coronavirus crisis collapse, the country's finance minister Rishi Sunak said.
Progress in tackling the coronavirus pandemic meant Britain was able to take a "fresh look" at the two-metre rule, which many employers have said will make it harder to get back up to speed after the lockdown, Sunak said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, which says it has always followed scientific advice in its handling of the pandemic, faces the difficult balancing act of reviving the economy without allowing a second wave of coronavirus cases.
Britain has the third highest number of coronavirus deaths after the United States and Brazil, something critics of the government say reflects its response to the crisis.
"It's important that we look at it comprehensively, in the round, and that's what we will do urgently," Sunak told Sky News about the social distancing rule, adding that preliminary work had already begun.
Reducing the distance people must keep apart from each other would mean three quarters of pubs could reopen, rather than about one third with a two-metre rule.
Sunak also said the government could make changes to a 14-day quarantine for people coming into the country, such as the introduction of travel corridors with specific countries.
Airlines have warned of huge job losses because of the quarantine introduced last week.
"The transport secretary is actively looking at options as we continue to make progress against the virus. We might be able to do more here as well," Sunak said.
Sunak said he would reopen the economy "slowly and safely", starting with the retail sector this week, and he hoped the hospitality sector would follow in early July.
The scale of the economic slump was laid bare by data last week which showed output shrank by a quarter over March and April, but the focus was now on the recovery phase.
Sunak said he wanted to encourage companies to hire workers and there needed to be more skills training, while higher levels of household savings represented a positive for the economy.
Asked if he might cut value-added tax to spur spending, Sunak said it was something Britain had done previously.
"Before we have that conversation we need to actually reopen those sectors. There's no point in cutting VAT on a sector that is actually closed," he said.
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Britain urgently reviewing distancing rules, could ease quarantine for travelers
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Britain urgently reviewing distancing rules, could ease quarantine for travelers
- Progress in tackling the coronavirus pandemic meant Britain was able to take a "fresh look" at the two-metre rule, Sunak said
- Britain has the third highest number of coronavirus deaths after the US and Brazil
Induction stoves fly off shelves in India as gas shortage fears spark panic buying
CHENNAI: Indian households are rushing to buy electric induction stoves, draining stocks online and in stores, amid fears of a potential cooking gas shortage tied to the Middle East conflict.
India, the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to boost supplies for households even as availability tightens for commercial users including canteens, hostels and restaurants.
Meanwhile, consumers are buying electric cooking appliances as a precaution, with some households worried about refill delays and higher prices.
Checks by Reuters on Thursday showed several induction stove models were unavailable on Amazon, Walmart-backed Flipkart, Eternal’s Blinkit and Zepto, while some offline chains said fresh supplies were still days away.
Induction stove sales on Amazon India have jumped more than 30-fold, while rice cookers and electric pressure cookers are up fourfold, a company spokesperson said.
Kitchen appliances maker TTK Prestige said demand for induction stoves had surged far beyond supply.
“There is a threefold surge (in demand),” CEO Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan told Reuters.
The company has raised its production capacity to 100 percent from about 70 percent before the start of the war, and increased staffing by roughly 15 percent. It also plans to raise prices of induction stoves in the June quarter to offset any higher costs.
Induction stoves accounted for about a tenth of TTK’s 25.30 billion rupees ($274.52 million) standalone revenue in 2024–25.
Online shopping platforms also showed models from Butterfly , Havells India and Bajaj Electricals marked as “currently unavailable.”
Google Trends showed search interest for induction stoves hit a record high on March 12, while some restaurant chains, including Wow Momo and California Burrito, said they were exploring induction stoves as a contingency plan.
Anand Rathi analyst Manish Valecha said large kitchen appliance makers with domestic assembly and strong distribution, including TTK Prestige, Butterfly and Stove Kraft, are best placed to benefit from the surge in induction cooktop demand. But reliance on imported components could pose supply risks if the spike persists, he added.
TTK Prestige will switch from sea shipments to airlifting components sourced from China and Southeast Asia, absorbing higher costs to ensure supplies if disruptions persist, Vijayaraghavan said.
The Middle East conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, raising costs and tightening oil and gas supplies from the Middle East.
On Thursday, the Suezmax tanker Shenlong reached Mumbai with Saudi crude, becoming the first crude carrier to arrive in India from the Middle East since the war between Iran and the United States and Israel erupted in late February, LSEG data showed.
India, the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to boost supplies for households even as availability tightens for commercial users including canteens, hostels and restaurants.
Meanwhile, consumers are buying electric cooking appliances as a precaution, with some households worried about refill delays and higher prices.
Checks by Reuters on Thursday showed several induction stove models were unavailable on Amazon, Walmart-backed Flipkart, Eternal’s Blinkit and Zepto, while some offline chains said fresh supplies were still days away.
Induction stove sales on Amazon India have jumped more than 30-fold, while rice cookers and electric pressure cookers are up fourfold, a company spokesperson said.
Kitchen appliances maker TTK Prestige said demand for induction stoves had surged far beyond supply.
“There is a threefold surge (in demand),” CEO Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan told Reuters.
The company has raised its production capacity to 100 percent from about 70 percent before the start of the war, and increased staffing by roughly 15 percent. It also plans to raise prices of induction stoves in the June quarter to offset any higher costs.
Induction stoves accounted for about a tenth of TTK’s 25.30 billion rupees ($274.52 million) standalone revenue in 2024–25.
Online shopping platforms also showed models from Butterfly , Havells India and Bajaj Electricals marked as “currently unavailable.”
Google Trends showed search interest for induction stoves hit a record high on March 12, while some restaurant chains, including Wow Momo and California Burrito, said they were exploring induction stoves as a contingency plan.
Anand Rathi analyst Manish Valecha said large kitchen appliance makers with domestic assembly and strong distribution, including TTK Prestige, Butterfly and Stove Kraft, are best placed to benefit from the surge in induction cooktop demand. But reliance on imported components could pose supply risks if the spike persists, he added.
TTK Prestige will switch from sea shipments to airlifting components sourced from China and Southeast Asia, absorbing higher costs to ensure supplies if disruptions persist, Vijayaraghavan said.
The Middle East conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, raising costs and tightening oil and gas supplies from the Middle East.
On Thursday, the Suezmax tanker Shenlong reached Mumbai with Saudi crude, becoming the first crude carrier to arrive in India from the Middle East since the war between Iran and the United States and Israel erupted in late February, LSEG data showed.
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