In order to prevent the spreading Coronavirus, 21 days’ complete lockdown across the country from 12 o’clock Tuesday’s midnight has been announced by Prime Minister Modi. While saying that it is the only way of breaking the Covid-19 infection cycle, he asked the country to forget to leave the house for 21 days. Addressing the country for the second time within a week, PM Modi said. “The public has made the curfew a success. It is not that the countries that are affected are not making efforts and neither is there a lack of resources. The same conclusion is coming out of these countries for two months of study that the only way out is social distancing i.e. there is no other way apart. Such negligence on Corona will cost India a great price.”
India will be into 21-days lockdown as coronavirus cases cross 560
He further added, “For two days, many parts of the country have been locked down. Looking at the experience of experts and other countries, the lockdown is going on in the entire country from 12 o’clock tonight. Saving each and every life of the country is the priority of the Government of India, the State Government, and the municipal bodies. Therefore, I request you all to stay where you are for 21 days i.e. 3 weeks. It is very important for health experts to break the coronavirus cycle. If these 21 days are not sustained, then many families will be destroyed forever and the country would be set back 21 years.”
He has also announced a Central allocation of Rs 15,000 crore to strengthen the health infrastructure to tackle the disease.
Modi later issued an appeal to the public to desist from panic buying as people began crowding markets to stock up before the midnight deadline. The government also issued a notification that said all essential services will remain open, as before, and all essential commodities and medicines would be available. Banks, ATMs, petrol pumps, hospitals, and grocery shops will continue to function. However, all transport services — air, rail, and roadways — will remain suspended until April 14 except the freight movement that will continue to carry essential commodities across the country.
The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for filing income tax and GST returns, raised threshold of default that could trigger insolvency of a company and waived charges on cash withdrawals from ATM of other banks as a precursor to a broader stimulus package for the economy distressed by the coronavirus outbreak.
The last date for filing income tax returns for 2018-19 as well as that for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar has been extended by three months to June 30. The last date for filing GST annual returns for last fiscal, which is due on March 31, has also been extended till the last week of June.
A senior home ministry official said that due to the prevailing situation, the NPR and Census exercises have been deferred until further orders.
Meanwhile, an official statement said on Tuesday, the Election Commission has deferred the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for March 26 in view of the coronavirus outbreak. It reads, “Fresh date of poll and counting for the said biennial elections shall be announced in due course after reviewing the prevailing situation.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the government has also banned the export of all sanitizers and ventilators with immediate effect in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
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