Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a meeting of the Union cabinet on Monday as India enters Day 1 of the Centre’s 3-phased unlocking plan3-phased unlocking plan. The meeting also assumes significance as it will be the first after the central government completed a year of its second term in office.
According to officials, several important decisions are expected to be announced. “During the meeting, historic decisions having a transformative impact are expected to be taken,” a source said.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is likely to meet on the backdrop of Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Further, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting will also be held today at PM Modi’s residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg to discuss economic aspects of COVID-19 lockdown.
Agenda 1: Standoff with China
In Galwan area of Ladakh, the Chinese and Indian armies are in an eyeball-to-eyeball contact against each other. As reported earlier, the Chinese side has been strategically ramping up its supplies along the Line of Actual Control. The Indian side has responded by moving additional troops as well as equipment to match the Chinese numbers. The Chinese PLA Army has reportedly deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan valley. The government has maintained that military and diplomatic dialogue is underway to resolve the deadlock.
Agenda 2: Coronavirus cases on the rise, economy
Even as unlock 1.0 began on Monday, India’s COVID-19 tally continued to rise and inched closer to the two-lakh cases mark. According to the Health Ministry data on Sunday, India’s COVID-19 count has crossed 1.82 lakh and the death toll has risen to 5,164. A total of 86,983 cases have been cured. On Sunday, the country recorded the highest single-day spike in the number of cases. With rising cases, India is now the seventh worst-affected nation in the world.
Mean-while, India has reported a daily rise of more than 8,000 Covid-19 cases for the second day in a row as the Union health ministry data showed there were 8,392 new Covid-19 cases between Sunday and Monday morning.
There are 93,322 active cases of the coronavirus disease in the country so far, the Union health ministry’s Covid-19 dashboard showed.
The death toll stood at 5,394 and the number of people who have been cured of the highly-infectious disease went up to 91,818 from 86,983 from Sunday. It brings the rate of recovery in the country to 48.18%.
