PM Modi: We have to give importance to economy as well as continue fight against Covid-19

Stressing on the importance of economy along with the fight against Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said there should be the usage of technology as much as possible and utilization of time to embrace reform measures.

Interacting with Chief Ministers of states via video conferencing to discuss the emerging situation and plan ahead for tackling the pandemic, Mr. Modi said, 'We have to give importance to the economy as well as continue the fight against Covid-19.' This was the fourth such interaction of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers, the earlier ones were held on March 20, April 2 and April 11.

Mr. Modi emphasized the importance of the use of technology and asked the attendees to embrace reform measures. The Prime Minister underlined that the lockdown has yielded positive results as the country has managed to save thousands of lives in the past one-and-a-half months. He added that India’s population is comparable to that of the combined population of several countries.

'The situation in many countries, including India, was almost similar at the start of March. However, due to timely measures, India has been able to protect many people. He, however, forewarned that the danger of the virus is far from over and constant vigilance is of paramount importance.'

He stressed on the significance of ensuring that more people download the Aarogya Setu app to bolster the efforts of the country in the battle against COVID-19. He said, 'We have to be brave and bring in reforms that touch the lives of common citizens.' People associated with Universities can be integrated into devising ways to fight the pandemic and strengthen research as well as innovation, he suggested.

Mr. Modi highlighted the importance of enforcing guidelines strictly in the red zone areas of the state. He stated that the efforts of the states should be directed towards converting the red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones.

On the issue of getting back Indians who are overseas, he said that this has to be done keeping in mind the fact that they don’t get inconvenienced and their families are not under any risk.

Among others Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, his counterpart in Karnataka BS Yediyurappa, Delhi' s Arvind Kejriwal, Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana's K Chandrasekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh's YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath attended the meeting.