[ad_1]
Coronavirus blockade: some economic activities will be allowed after April 20, government said
New Delhi:
The government has reviewed the list of economic activities and services that will be allowed starting Monday in parts of the country designated as non-COVID-19 hotspots, or those least affected by the new coronavirus outbreak.
According to an interior ministry order released today, the supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies has now been banned during the shutdown period. The sale of such products, such as mobile phones, laptops, televisions, and refrigerators, had been allowed by the government last week.
Economic activities and services to be functional include health services (including the AYUSH Ministry) and non-bank financial corporations and microfinance institutions that are considered essential services.
More significantly, a list released by the government after a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on Saturday confirmed that all activities related to agriculture and horticulture will be allowed; This was after some senior ministers warned that the harvest season was approaching and the potential for excellent wheat harvests.
The fishing industry (both inland and marine) and the aquaculture industry will also be able to function, as will the livestock sector.
Plantation activities, such as those related to tea, coffee and rubber, will reopen with up to 50 percent of employees working at any given time, the government said. Coconut, bamboo spice, areca nut and cocoa plantations, and scheduled tribal forest products have also been added to the list.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the construction, in rural areas, of water supply and sanitation, and laying of electrical lines and telecommunication cables and optical fibers will also be allowed.
The reopening, albeit to a limited extent, of the construction will be good news for the thousands of unemployed migrant workers and daily workers who were left without work due to the prohibition of activity in this sector under the closure ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi .
A detailed tweet released Saturday by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad listed more economic activities and services to be allowed, including certain commercial and private establishments and industries and industrial establishments (both government and private).
However, all factories and reopened workplaces will have to comply with the guidelines on social distancing published by the government last week.
Here is a list of what will remain open across India from April 20, 2020.
This will NOT be applicable in the containment areas.
Let’s all fight together # COVID-19#IndiaFightsCorona#StayHomeStaySafepic.twitter.com/d1EG0CMEOa
– Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 18, 2020
The following are other services that will remain open from April 20:
- Financial sector (banks will be open according to normal business hours, ATMs will work)
- Social sector (operation of homes for children, disabled people and people with special needs, as well as homes for the elderly and indigent people; the disbursement of social security and employee pensions will be made, as will the operation of anganwadis (for the distribution of food to women and children in their homes once every 15 days)
- MNREGA works (with strict social distancing and use of masks)
- Public services (water, sanitation, waste and energy management)
- Loading and unloading of goods / cargo, both interstate and intrastate (by rail, air, sea and road)
- Online teaching / distance learning
- Supply of essential goods (local supermarkets and e-commerce retailers)
- Commercial and private establishments (these include print and electronic media, including broadcast, DTH and cable services; data and call centers (for government activities only); e-commerce companies selling essential products; courier services; and hotels, houses family and accommodation for homeless people (people or medical and emergency personnel)
- Industrial industries / establishments (government and private industries operating in rural areas and those involved in food processing and the manufacture of drugs and medical equipment)
- Construction activities (roads, irrigation projects, and industrial projects in rural areas and where no additional workers are needed)
- Private vehicles for emergency services (medical and veterinary care), procurement of essential products and for staff traveling to workplaces in exempt categories, as instructed by Union state / territory authorities.
- Indian government offices and offices of states and union territories
[ad_2]
