Face of Nation International : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation today at 10 am on the coronavirus lockdown, after requests from states to extend it. The Prime Minister is widely expected to announce a roadmap for an extended lockdown to tackle the rise in COVID-19 cases across the country.
During his meeting with 13 Chief Ministers on Saturday, PM Modi had agreed that a longer lockdown was necessary to fight the highly contagious COVID-19, which has infected over 9,000 in India, but had talked about saving livelihoods as well as lives.
There are concerns that India’s economy, which was already growing at its slowest pace in six years, will take a severe hit amid the lockdown, with unemployment rising to record levels. The restrictions have put millions of poor people out of work and hit small shops and industries hard. There is a proposal to mark districts as red, orange and green based on the intensity of the Covid 19 infection and continue a complete lockdown or partial restrictions accordingly.
PM Modi had indicated in the four-hour meeting that while saving lives is priority, the economy also needs to restart. “Jaan bhi, jahaan bhi (both life and economy are important),” he told the Chief Ministers, compared to what he had said three weeks ago while announcing the total nationwide lockdown – “Jaan hai toh jahaan hai (the world exists if life exists).”
Though there was nothing official after the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted: “PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it.” (Source: NDTV News – India)
