Praising the states of the country for putting up a united fight against Corona virus infection, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India’s capability to keep the Covid casualty rate down and its fight against coronavirus is a fine example of ”cooperative federalism”.
Speaking at a meeting with Chief Ministers from 20 states to discuss coronavirus crisis and the road ahead for the country, the PM said that it was because of the united efforts by the people of the country against Coronavirus that the COVID pandemic did not have the kind of devastating impact it had in other countries.
”In the future whenever there will be a study of the country ‘s fight against COVID, this period will be remembered for our united efforts against the Corona virus infection. In doing so, we presented a fine example of cooperative federalism,” PM said.
The PM said that the right timing of imposition of the lockdown had helped in controlling the impact of the COVID pandemic to s large extent.
”While dealing with a crisis, timely action is very important. Decisions taken at the right time have helped in limiting the impact of the virus.
When Corona virus was not even a subject of discussion in other countries, India had started preparations to fight the virus. We have worked day and night to save the life of every Indian. In the last few weeks, thousands of Indians have returned from abroad and hundreds of migrant workers reached their hometowns. Almost all modes of transport have resumed operation,’ ‘the PM said at the meeting, which was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan.
The PM said that the economic activity, that had come to a halt in the aftermath of the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, is now picking up.
“Almost all the offices are open now, people are out on roads and markets. Even minor negligence can cost us dearly. India is capable of managing a rapid revival of its economy.
Over the last two weeks since crucial areas of restrictions were lifted, exports are up, two-wheeler production has been gaining pace, and power consumption, which was dropping, is now showing an upward movement,” the PM.
The PM said that India is among the countries where lives of people are being saved from Corona virus infection.
”Today, the recovery rate in India from COVID is more than 50 per cent. For us, death of even one India from COVID is unsettling. But it is also a fact that India is among those countries of the world where there is lowest number of deaths from Corona.
The PM said that our experience during this time could be beneficial for the future.
“Two weeks have passed since Unlock-1, our experience during this time could be beneficial for us in the future. Today, I will get to know ground reality from you, your suggestions will help in chalking out a future strategy,” the PM said.
He said that two weeks of Unlock 1 has given us a lesson that if we follow rules and guidelines, then India will be able to limit its damage.
In this context, he stressed the need to wear face mask while going out.
”We have to keep in mind that the more we are able to stop Corona, the more we will be able to open up our economy, Our offices, markets, modes of transport will open that much and new sources of income will open that much.
The smaller factories we have are in need of guidance, hand-holding. I know that a lot of work is being done on this under your (CMs) supervision. So that trade and industry can catch up to its old pace, we will have to work together on value chains as well,” the Prime Minister said.
In reference to the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said that farmers have benefited greatly from the reforms done in the marketing of produce. “It has provided farmers with new ways to sell their products, their income will increase and we will also be able to decrease the loss faced by them due to lack of storage,” PM said.
Reiterating his push for local products, the PM said that the cluster-based approach adopted by the government will benefit each state.
“It is important to identify such products in each block and each district that can be rolled out into the nation’s and the world’s markets with processing or marketing,” the PM said.
India has reported 3,43,091 cases of COVID virus. Over the last 24 hours, 10,667 new patients have tested positive. The number of fatalities has touched 9,900, with 380 deaths reported over the last 24 hours.