India’s Interior Ministry prolonged the nationwide coronavirus lockdown to May 31 as cases have hit 90,000 and more clashes between the police and stranded migrant occurred.
The delay to the end of the lockdown was for the third time when it was supposed to end at midnight this Sunday.
For the third extension, schools, malls, and other public places will remain mostly closed, although rules will be relaxed in areas with low numbers of cases. Commerce and industry are to reopen across much of the country outside of containment zones with high numbers of active cases as all other activities will be permitted.
India sees the population density, mainly in poorer areas, as the major contributor to the spread of the pandemic in the country. Other than that, millions of migrant workers returning home from big cities after unemployment, along with large-scale religious events also contributed to the spread significantly.
When the lockdown first started on March 25, India ordered all nonessential businesses to close. People are banned from leaving their homes aside from buying groceries and medicine.
After a second extension on May 4, the country relaxed restriction by dividing 700 areas nationwide into zones based on the severity of the spread. Green zones were permitted to resume economic activities with precautions while most big cities were still categorized as red or orange zones.
India’s economy has been damaged by the ongoing lockdown as most factories are stopped production. After many reopened last Tuesday, they still met delays in procuring parts. In April, many automakers did not ship new cars domestically.
On Wednesday, Nomura Singapore predicted India’s economy to shrink by 5% this year, after expecting only a 0.5% contraction in April.
On Tuesday, the government announced a stimulus package worth INR20 trillion (USD264 billion), including financial assistance to small and midsize businesses, food handouts to migrant laborers, and loans to street vendors.
Other than that, the government also said that its coal industry would be open to the private sector. It would also ease foreign investment restrictions in the defense industry.
