PM Virtual Meeting with CMs Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold marathon meetings with chief ministers today and tomorrow to review strategies to tackle covid and to decide on extent of economic activity to be allowed in future. Modi will hold a video conference with the leaders of 21 states and union territories at 3 pm Today, including Punjab, Assam, Kerala and all northeastern states. On Wednesday, also at 3 pm, he will meet with the 15 worst-affected: including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi. Today’s meeting will be attended by representatives of six Union territories, North Eastern states and Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The worst affected of these states are Assam, which has a total of 4,000 total cases, Punjab with over 3,000 cases, and Kerala with over 2,400 cases. These will be the sixth and seventh meetings between the Prime Minister and various chief ministers on the coronavirus outbreak. India saw a jump of over 11,000 novel coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, taking the total number of infections to over 3.32 lakh, while the toll rose to 9,520 with 325 more deaths. The unlocking of the economy in June 2020 witnessed a rapid fall in the unemployment rate. After clocking 23.5 per cent in April and May, the unemployment rate first dropped to 17.5 per cent in the first week of June and then it took a steeper fall to 11.6 per cent in the second week. This fall is almost as dramatic as the rise in unemployment when the lockdown began. The government’s Unlock 1 plan has allowed inter-state travel and businesses to open up under guidelines for social distancing and safety. Ahead of his meeting with chief ministers, the prime minister had reviewed the steps being taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in areas with the high caseload and the road map for effective management of the situation.