Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Begins Work From Office

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, tweeted a picture of her back at work at her North Block office. Earlier, the government had announced that ministers and officers above the rank of the joint secretary would work from their offices.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar also held a meeting with officials in his office.

The underlying message is that the Modi government is battling the COVID-19 crisis pro-actively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been leading this COVID-19 battle from the front and has been holding three or more video conferences with ministers and officials on a daily basis, according to media reports.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has asked officials to return to work to the state secretariat. The government has asked officials to work while maintaining social distancing, according to media reports.

The Centre is also looking at ways of reviving economic activity in a calibrated manner. Certain industries are likely to be exempted from restrictions.

The Centre has already announced exemptions for certain categories, most recently for the aquaculture sector. Similarly, states have sought exemption for farmers who have to harvest their crops and shift the produce to warehouses and storage places and for the construction sector with an emphasis on social distancing.

It is likely that the second phase of the lockdown would not be a total one. However, a final decision on this is likely to be announced by the Centre today. Many states have already announced the lockdown in their respective states. These include Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Delhi, among others.