Prime Minister Say ‘Green Shoots’ In Economy Visible

-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Chief Ministers of states and Lieutenant Governors of Union territories; through video conferencing to discuss the situation emerging post Unlock 1 and plans ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the sixth such interaction of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers. The earlier ones had been held on 20th March, 2nd April, 11th April, 27th April, and 11th May.

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.

Prime Minister said, we have tried to save each and every life. 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. Mr. Modi said that health experts world over 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. Prime Minister 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. He also talked about following the mantra of ‘do gaz ki doori’, washing hands with soap and using sanitizer. He forewarned that any laxity in discipline will weaken our fight against the virus.

Prime Minister 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.

Mr. Modi said there is significant importance of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and MSMEs in the participating States, provisions for which have been made under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan. He said that if quick disbursal of credit to MSMEs is ensured through Bankers Committees, these industries will be able to start working quickly while also ensuring provision of employment opportunities. Smaller factories require guidance and hand-holding.

He mentioned the importance of working together on value chains to give fillip to trade and industry. Specific Economic Activity Points in the states should work 24 hours a day and loading and unloading should be quickened to give further boost to economic activity.

The interaction was the first part of the two day conclave, and witnessed participation of States and UTs including Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu, Sikkim and Lakshadweep.

The Chief Ministers and LGs thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership during such a challenging time. They provided feedback about existing health infrastructure in their states and efforts for augmentation to tackle the impact of the virus. They mentioned about the awareness campaigns being run by them, help being provided to workers who have returned home, usage of Aarogya Setu app, and kick-starting of economic activities in the states.

Earlier, Prime Minister had held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and officials on 13th June to review India’s response to Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting had reviewed the national level status and preparation in the context of the pandemic.It was observed that out of the total cases two-thirds are in 5 states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities.

Prime Minister had taken cognizance of the recommendations of the Empowered Group on city- and district-wise requirements of hospital beds/isolation beds which will be required and instructed Health Ministry officials to undertake emergency planning in consultation with the States/UTs. He had also advised the Ministry to ensure suitable preparations in view of the start of the Monsoon season.

Script: Kaushik Roy, AIR: News Analyst

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Data Darbar Suicide Attack

-
The deadly attack on the famous Sufi shrine Data Darbar in Lahore on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan that killed 10 and injured more than 25 people is yet another ghastly reminder that Pakistan still shelters terrorist groups that have now come to haunt its own State. The suicide bombing was apparently targeted towards the elite security force that was assigned to guard the Shrine as the inflow of devotees increase during Ramadan. This is not the first time a Sufi Shrine was targeted by terrorists in Pakistan. Many Shrines like Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Baba Farid in Pakpattan and Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi were attacked in the past. The Sufi nature of these shrines has made them an easy target of the terrorist groups that consider Sufis to be heretics. The terror organisations within Pakistan such as the Pakistan Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Hizbul Ahrar (said to be a splinter faction of the local Taliban) that took responsibility for the latest bombings in
Read more

US Needs To Relook Into Talks With The Taliban

-
The US has deviated from its resolve to root out terrorism in any form. From July last year it has entered into a dialogue with Taliban. The sixth round of these talks began in Doha, Qatar last week and is still underway. The talks have not yielded any result so far. US Special Envoy for the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad is reported to have said that the talks revolve around withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, guarantees against terrorism, ensuring negotiations between Taliban and Afghanistan government for initiation of political settlement and a lasting cease fire. Direct involvement of US in Afghanistan dates back seventeen years to September 2001; when terrorists attacked twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. Following this, America had declared a war against terrorism. It vowed to punish Al Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden, whom it considered to be behind the attacks on American soil. It also declared to root out Taliban from Afghanistan for providing safe
Read more

India To Roll Out The World’s Biggest Covid19 Vaccination Drive

-
India will begin inoculating its 1.3 billion population against coronavirus starting January 16, in one of the world’s massive rollouts. The first phase of this daunting and complex task will cover 30 million frontline and health workers. This will be followed by the vaccination of 270 million people above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities or with high risk of infection. The aim is to vaccinate 300 million, equal almost to the entire US population, by July. This will be an unprecedented scale of immunisation. From developing, manufacturing to becoming a key supplier, India will play a crucial role in the global immunisation programme with two “Made in India” vaccines—Covaxin and Covishield. Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine against Covid 19, is manufactured by the Hyderabad-based pharma company Bharat Biotech. The second, Covishield, was developed jointly by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and is manufactured by the Serum Institute of Ind
Read more