Rajnath Singh reviews contribution of NCC in fight against COVID-19, congratulates cadets

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday congratulated the 17 Directorates of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) for their contribution the country's battle against Coronavirus. The Defence Minister reviewed their contribution and stated that the NCC cadets have played a 'significant role' in assisting the civilian administration. This comes amid the soaring number of COVID-19 cases as there are 32,138 active cases at present. The country has also witnessed 1,568 deaths due to Coronavirus. 

Earlier on Monday, the Defence Minister had held a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry on the expansion of NCC. Singh informed that several options were discussed to achieve the objective of promotion of NCC in border and coastal areas. 

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Centre asks states to prepare second line of defence

Concerned over scores of frontline security personnel catching the COVID-19 disease, the Centre has suggested to states to prepare an effective second line of defence by deploying home guards, civil defence and NCC cadets among others wherever feasible to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

READ | COVID: Centre Asks States To Prepare Second Line Of Defence With Home Guards, NCC Cadets Others

In a communication to all states and UTs, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the police chiefs may consider the option of 'work from home' for personnel not deployed on the frontline, and wherever possible.

"To meet the challenge of COVID-19, and to ensure sustainment of control strategy for COVID- 19, police forces need to prepare an effective second line of defence to make up for the police personnel who may be rendered ineffective due to COVID infection during the pandemic," the ministry said.

READ | Defence Minister Singh Reviews Overall Preparedness Of Armed Forces

Defence Minister reviews overall preparedness

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top commanders of the armed forces to ensure that India's adversaries do not get any opportunity to exploit the current situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. At a high-level meeting, Singh reviewed the operational preparedness of armed forces and asked the top military brass to be "fully vigilant" to deal with any possible external security challenge facing the nation, they said. 

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(With Agency Inputs)