Rajnath Singh chairs Group of Ministers meet on coronavirus situation; Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, others attend

New Delhi: A Group of Ministers under the chairmanship of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday (April 18) reviewed the situation in New Delhi in the wake of extension of lockdown due to coronavirus COVID-19 up to May 3 and allowing partial economic activity in non-hotspot zones from April 20 onwards.

The GoM obtained feedback from various ministers on the situation. It appreciated the decision of gradual opening up of economic activity in areas which have not reported any positive case of coronavirus in line with the MHA guidelines issued on April 15.

It was noted that these measures will allow for resumption of graded economic activity keeping in view local conditions with in the ambit of measures to prevent spread of the virus.

The GoM appreciated disbursement of Rs 31,000 crore to more than 33.25 crore beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to mitigate the problems of economically weaker sections of population.

The GoM examined suggestions received to enlist services of retired doctors, health professionals and medical students in the final year of their graduation. It reiterated its appeal to people to observe social distance norms and refrain from participating in mass prayers or religious congregations.

It also appealed to people to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion by making contribution in feeding the needy people, making face masks at home and maintaining social distance.

This is the fifth meeting of the GoM on COVID-19 since March 25. Inputs, suggestions and feedback from the discussions held at these meetings are conveyed to Prime Minister by the Defence Minister.

Among those who attended the meeting were DV Sadananda Gowda, Ram Vilas Paswan, Smriti Zubin Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Giriraj Singh, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hardeep Singh Puri and G Kishan Reddy.