The centre is going on a massive policy initiative to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and the lifting of the lockdown. A huge internal exercise is underway to prepare an action plan for the next two months. Every ministry has been asked to prepare a roadmap and give a presentation, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to personally see, sources told NDTV.
All departments and ministries have also been asked to prepare a list of the work they did since March 24, when the lockdown was declared, sources told NDTV. They also have to prepare an action plan for the coming two months.
The idea is to smooth out the procedural bumps in the backdrop of criticism over the implementation of the lockdown. “In a lockdown era, the government believes that it was forced into decisions in which it did not have the luxury of time for intense deliberation,” a source said.
“The government also feels that many decisions taken may not have been successfully implemented. A detailed presentation of steps taken and the steps that will be taken in the future will give the government a fair assessment,” a source said.
As the lockdown started in March, the government had announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore package for the poorest of the poor. But a detailed financial package that would revive the economy and the industries hit by the coronavirus is still awaited. The Prime Minister had created a task force – headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman – to evaluate the effect of the coronavirus on the economy.
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