As the end of Lockdown 4.0 approaches on the midnight of May 31, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled up all Chief Ministers on Thursday evening, asking them about the future of lockdown, say sources.
Shah wanted to know whether the lockdown should be further extended or not. He heard the apprehensions of different states about further opening up the economy.
States like West Bengal were initially apprehensive about large scale migrants reaching the state when Shramik trains were started. Haryana on Thursday once again sealed its borders with Delhi. Sources say Shah listened to their views and will convey their inputs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Before completion of each lockdown, there is generally at least one Prime Minister’s video conference with all state Chief Ministers. So far, this time around, there has been no such announcements.
The fourth phase of the lockdown ends on May 31. When Lockdown 4.0 kicked in, the MHA had said: “A limited number of activities will continue to remain prohibited throughout the country. These include all domestic and international air travel of passengers.” However, halfway through it, Union Civil Aviation Minister Harddep Singh Puri surprised everyone by conditionally restarting domestic flight operations.
Now, the question that confronts both states and Centre is “What’s next?”The 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed from March 25 was to end on April 14. However, it was extended to May 3, then to May 17 and subsequently till May 31.
The Union government also lifted the restriction on the export of paracetamol APIs.
In March, the Centre had imposed curbs on the export of several active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and formulations made from these APIs including paracetamol, and tinidazole, on concerns of a shortage of drugs in the country.
On April 17, the government lifted the restrictions on shipments of formulations made from paracetamol.
“The notification dated 03.03.2020 is further amended to remove the restriction on the export of Paracetamol APIs, making its export ‘free’ with immediate effect,” said a statement from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Thursday.
India is a major exporter of paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine, which have witnessed a surge in demand amid the coronavirus crisis.
