Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with Chief Ministers via video conferencing to discuss the situation emerging post Unlock 1.0 and plan ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the sixth such interaction of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers.
Prime Minister observed that timely decisions taken to combat the pandemic have been effective in containing its spread in the country. “When we look back, people will remember that we have presented an example for cooperative federalism to the world,” he said.
“We have tried to save each and every life,” the Prime Minister said. He underlined that all modes of transport are now open, lakhs of migrant labourers have travelled back to their villages, thousands of Indians have returned from abroad, and even though India has a huge population, coronavirus has not assumed as life threatening a form as in the rest of the world. He said that health experts worldover are praising the discipline shown by Indians, adding that the recovery rate in the country is now over 50%. He also noted that India is amongst the nations with the least deaths due to coronavirus.
PM Modi also mentioned that a big lesson is that if we remain disciplined and follow all rules, coronavirus will cause least damage. He emphasized on the importance of usage of mask/ face cover, without which no one should venture out. This is not just important for the person concerned but also for his family and community. He also talked about following the mantra of ‘do gaz doori’, washing hands with soap and using sanitizer. He forewarned that any laxity in discipline will weaken our fight against the virus.
The Prime Minister also noted that with the efforts of the past few week, green shoots in the economy are visible, including rise in power consumption which was earlier falling, fertilizer sale in May this year seeing a significant increase, a healthy increase in Kharif sowing in comparison to last year, production of two wheelers increasing, digital payment in retail reaching pre lockdown level, increase in toll collection in May and bouncing back of exports.
“These signals are encouraging us to forge ahead,” he added.