PM Modi reviews key aspects of country's COVID situation in meeting with Empowered group

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting with the Empowered group, in which he reviewed the COVID-19 related situation and directed the government to work in close coordination with the States so that the poor get benefits of free food grain without any issues. The meeting holds significance at a time the country is witnessing a surge in COVID cases, which has led to restrictions such as lockdown and curfew, hampering the day to day to lives of the people. 

Minutes of the meeting

Through a presentation, the group explained to the Prime Minister steps taken in the economical and social sphere. Discussing the 'One Nation One Ration Card' initiative, the group pointed out that it has brought about a sense of portability which has benefitted a lot of people. Moving on to the discussion of insurance, the group highlighted that the schemes for the healthcare workers have been extended for another 6 months. Taking cognizance of the same, the PM added that steps should be taken to expedite the settlement of pending Insurance claims so that the dependents of the deceased are able to avail of benefits in time.

The next up for discussion was the issue relating to facilitating supply chain and logistics management. While the group put forth various advisories relating to measures to be taken to contain the pandemic, the PM instructed officials to plan holistically to ensure seamless movement of goods so that supply chain disruptions are avoided. The last for discussion was the Government's partnership with the private sector, NGOs and International Organisations. It was discussed that volunteers from civil society could be utilised to lessen the pressure on the healthcare sector while the NGOs could help to establish and maintain lines of communication between the patients, their dependents & health care personnel.

COVID-tally in India

Setting a new record, India in the last 24 hours, registered as many as 386,452 fresh COVID-19 cases. With this, the cumulative count of the country jumped to 1,87,62,976, of which 31,70,228 are still active, and that comprises over 16.90 per cent of the total infections. The death toll, on the other hand,  has increased to 2,08,330 with 3,498  daily new fatalities, and with that, the case fatality rate stands 1.11 per cent. 

(Credit-PTI)