Tag: 21-days national lockdown

Implement NYAY scheme to counter economic effect of lockdown: Congress to govt

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Congress on Wednesday demanded the implementation of the party-proposed NYAY Yojna (minimum income guarantee scheme) to help the poor families in the country to cope with the situation arising out of the nationwide lockdown to break the transmission chain of COVID-19.

Asserting that the party supports the lockdown, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, however, said the Congress was “deeply disappointed” by lack of coherent strategy or a clear way ahead on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Dear PM, India will adhere to the lockdown. But what steps did the government take to tackle the corona pandemic despite early warnings in February?,” he asked.

In a series of tweets, addressed to the prime minister, Surjewala said,”the Congress demands relief package for framers… fair price for crops, indebtedness relief and suspension of all recoveries from farmers.”

“Dear PM, need of the hour is to implement forthwith ‘minimum income guarantee scheme (NYAY) mooted by Rahul ji and Congress. Please transfer Rs 7,500 to every Jan Dhan A/C, PM Kisan A/C & every Pension A/C to tide over nutrition needs of 21 days and give free PDS ration,” he said.

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had proposed, and promised to implement the NYAY scheme if voted to power.

In his remarks, a day after Modi announced a complete nationwide lockdown for 21 days to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Congress leader also said, “we will rise together as a nation & defeat COVID2019. We stand with the lockdown but are deeply disappointed by the lack of coherent strategy or a clear ‘way ahead’ on your part.”

“Please remember, Trying times are true test of leadership. Is government ready to rise up & deliver,” he asked.

“The Congress demands a comprehensive package for daily wagers, MGNREGA workers, factory workers, unorganised workers, fishermen and farm labourers,” Surjewala said.

He asked when the doctors, nurses and health workers will have adequate protection and how many isolation beds and ventilators are available in the country and where.

“How will daily wagers, labourers, MGNREGA workers, Factory workers, Unorganised workers, Fishermen, Farmers & Farm Labour sustain for 21 days,” he asked.

Asserting that indebtedness relief to farmers was the only way forward in these testing times as they are the “backbone” of country’s economy, he said there should be a moratorium on farmer’s loans and recoveries and the government should ensure procurement of crops at MSP.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

I-card carrying delivery staff not to be stopped in lockdown

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Faced with disruptions in supplies and delivery of essential items following the nationwide lockdown announced to contain Covid-19, the Centre plans to issue fresh set of advisories to the states as not to disrupt the movement of people working to deliver medicines, groceries, dairy products and other food items.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has initiated talks with the state Chief Secretaries asking them not to restrict movement of people engaged in home delivery of essential items, mentioned in the list of exempted items circulated by the Home Ministry.

States have been asked to ensure that people making home deliveries should not be harassed or stopped if they carry genuine identity cards issued by their companies. They are also being asked to ensure uninterrupted supply to retailers of essential items to prevent any problem to people due to lockdown.

“We have told e-commerce companies to provide ID cards to their employees that would allow them free movement during lockdown. Also, associations of organised retailers, e-commerce firms and pharmacies have been told to provide a list of their outlets, delivery personnel and supply wares to the state Chief Secretaries to maintain the supply of essential items,” said a DPIIT official.

The state that have shut borders were being asked to allow movement of essential items to maintain supply lines up to retailers.

The move has been triggered by complaints from retailers and e-commerce firms that they were unable to move their goods due to lockdown-related restrictions and harassment of employees.

In fact, several e-commerce entities, dealing with supply of food and other essential items, have not been operating since ‘janata curfew’ on March 22. It has forced people to head and crowd markets to get essential supplies, much against the advisory on social distancing.

“Supply chains will be smoothened in a day or two,” DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra told a media outlet.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 lockdown: No shortage of essentials, don’t resort to panic-buying, says Prakash Javadekar

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said the Centre and state governments are working in tandem to prevent the spread of coronavirus and asked people not to panic amid countrywide lockdown.

The lockdown was imposed in the country from today and will be in force till April 14.

In a cabinet briefing, Javadekar requested people to stay at home, maintain social distancing, wash hands frequently and visit a doctor if the symptoms appear.

“The 21-day lockdown is important. Spend quality time with your family and do not resort to panic-buying. Essential items will be available throughout the country,” he said.

For the poor, the Centre will give rice and wheat at the rate of three and two rupees a kg, respectively.

“Cheap or free ration is being given out. It is the world’s biggest food security system. This will be extended to three months,” the Union minister added.

He further said that contractual labourers will get wages on time and also announced recapitalization of regional banks.

Javadekar said the Ministry of Home Affairs is slated to come up with a helpline number today. “Every district will have a helpline number.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 lockdown: Big Bazaar enters doorstep delivery space as Flipkart, Amazon, Bigbasket, Grofers curtail operations

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As the online delivery space shrunk with Flipkart, Amazon, Bigbasket and Grofers suspending or curtailing operations amid the 21-day lockdown, supermarket chain Biz Bazaar has entered the fray, with launching doorstep delivery services in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gurugram.

However, within no time, even Big Bazaar was flooded with calls, forcing the company to issue a statement on Wednesday, saying that “In light of the recent announcement, we are receiving an unprecedented numbers of request for doorstep delivery. There could be delay due to the restrictions on movements”.

Owned by Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL), part of the Future Group, Big Bazaar has also started doorstep delivery services in like Ranchi, Uttarakhand, Noida, Ghaziabad, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Faridabad, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

According to the government notification on the official 21-day lockdown period, “Shops including ration shops (under PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder can remain open.

Future Retail that currently attracts over 35 crore footfalls across its retail network like Big Bazaar and Foodhall, is present in more than 400 cities with over 1,500 stores that cover over 16 million square feet of retail space.

Big Bazaar is the flagship chain while small store neighborhood retail chains, EasyDay and Heritage Fresh, operate closer home to customers.

Amazon India and Future Retail Ltd in January this year announced long-term agreements to expand the reach of Future Retail stores and consumer brands through the Amazon India marketplace.

Last year, Amazon agreed to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Biyani’s Future Coupons, which owns 7.3 per cent of Future Retail.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India 21-day lockdown: Working on ensuring supply chains are not disrupted, says DPIIT Secy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

India is in the midst of 21-days national lockdown that was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night. There have been various advisories that the centre has sent out to the state government. State governments have been in their own versions of lockdowns and there are items under the exempt category that are permitted to continue operations to ensure that there is no supply disruption.

However, the problem is that the enforcement agencies on the ground are not necessarily taking those advisories forward. Guruprasad Mohapatra, secretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) discussed this in detail said, “Considering the real seriousness of the COVID-19 virus, the PM has given a call for a massive lockdown of citizens wherever they are. A certain categories of exemptions have been given in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) guidelines. The sectors which are exempted are – food, pharmacy and fodder.”

“We have told the states that there are people who will be working for home delivery. Those should be facilitated that if they can show an ID card given by their employer to the enforcement people, they should not be harassed. That is one. Two – there are supply chains, which are required to keep these stores and warehouses both of the organized retail as well as the e-commerce retail as well as individual pharmacy and vegetable and retail grocery units – we are also requesting the state that when they are enforcing this, they should keep this part also in mind and not that only the stores should remain open,” said Mohapatra, adding that the stores will remain open only if these supply lines are taken care of. This might be the problem area but we are in touch with them and a lot of discussions are taking place both directly with the states and others. This is not the time to deal with non-essential, non-permitted items at all.

“I am sure within a day or two, it would stabilized. A lot of seriousness by the field officers have been shown to ensure that the lockdown is genuine and complete. Within a day or so this should improve,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

When asked what kind of provisioning would be done to ensure the inter-state travel of goods is not disrupted, he replied, “To keep the supply chain on for the permitted items has to be looked into. Those kind of movements, which are very essential to keep these permitted sectors under the MHA guidelines – we are looking into that.”

On procurement of components for manufacturing critical items like ventilators, he further mentioned, “The secretary of Department of Pharmaceuticals is coordinating about this. They have taken up the list of all the ventilator manufacturers and of the other critical items in the country and they are seeing how production can be ramped up, and there is a group of joint secretaries, which is also working on that. I am sure they should be able to ramp up the production and supply as per the requirement.”

“Specific divisions which deal with these items like retail, internal trade, e-commerce – we are in constant touch with them. We are also in touch with the associations and the states. So the implementation of this will happen in the state, so there will be a lot of focus from our side to take it up with the states and see that the genuine grievances as per the guidelines are resolved,” he added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow