COVID-19 lockdown to be extended till May 3: PM Modi

After a meeting between PM Modi and state chief ministers a week ago, a broad consensus had emerged for the national lockdown to be extended by at least two weeks. By Tuesday, states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Odisha had already extended the lockdown in their respective territories till April 30.

But, extending the lockdown as it is comes with its own issues. On Sunday, the World Bank, in its 'South Asia Economic Update: Impact of COVID-19', had said the coronavirus pandemic has severely disrupted the Indian economy, magnifying pre-existing risks to its outlook, predicting the Indian economy to slow down to 2.8 per cent growth in FY 2021. Lives are at stake, but so were livelihood. It was up to the Centre to undertake measures to contain the health and economic fallout, with the RBI providing calibrated support in the form of policy rate cuts and regulatory forbearance.

The Centre, in consultation with states, will now restart economic activities in a graded manner in what is seen as a nuanced change in strategy. It had earlier sought inputs related to production, labour and logistics from clusters in five key sectors to ascertain expected output if they are made operational within a fortnight. The five sectors were textiles, chemicals, electronics, steel and pharmaceutical.

States are likely to designate districts, towns and cities as red, orange and green zones depending upon the number of COVID-19 cases as part of efforts to allow differentiated restoration of normalcy. There will be conditions like uses of masks and social distancing in public.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had suggested that all transport vehicles of all sizes, whether inter-state, intra-state or intra-city, need to be allowed, whether empty or full, by all enforcement agencies without asking any question. It has also asked for certain repairing units like those individuals or small agencies involved in providing repair services in mobile, refrigerator, air conditioner, television, plumbing, cobblers, ironing (dhobi), electrician, automobile mechanics, cycle to be allowed. The department has stated that all street vendors like fruit and vegetable sellers should be allowed by the states in order to improve doorstep delivery and also to provide much needed liquidity to this population.

Migrant workers who were stuck in their places of employment had been restless during the lockdown. While many took perilous journeys back to their home states on foot, most others found themselves locked in. In Gujarat, for instance, while a number of migrant workers from the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan managed to cross the borders even during the lockdown, a large section from other states such as Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar have not been able to return to their homes. Addressing their issues will be crucial.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier said talks are underway with state governments to re-start highway construction projects where migrant labourers can be gainfully employed. The Centre has asked the state and union territories to take welfare measures for the migrant labourers living in camps in different parts of the country that include food, shelter, medicine, mobile and video call facilities. The Bihar government also reached out and provided relief to over 5 lakh distressed residents of the state stranded in Delhi and other parts of the country.