Govt extends coronavirus lockdown by 2 more weeks, eases curbs

The government on Friday extended the national lockdown by two more weeks from 4 May while easing curbs in places where there is no or limited incidence of coronavirus infections, opting for caution rather than risking a potential spurt in the viral spread by opening up the economy.

The extension came amid considerable relaxations being introduced in non-containment zones across the country. The Centre also made it clear that no staggered easing of lockdown will take place in areas that have been identified as red zones.

The government has classified districts as red, orange and green zones based on their risk profiles and offered considerable relaxations in the districts falling in green and orange zones.

Green zones are districts that have had no confirmed cases till date, or none in the past 21 days. Red zones are identified on the basis of total number of active cases, the doubling rate of confirmed cases, the extent of testing and surveillance feedback from the districts.

A district which is neither green or red will be classified as an orange zone, according to the government order.

Regardless of zones, some activities such as air travel and rail travel—with some exceptions—will continue to remain out of bounds to prevent a relapse.

While e-commerce firms can sell only essential items in red zones, they can sell non essentials as well in orange and green zones.

While essential services, production of pharmaceuticals, operation of export units, farm activities and limited movement is allowed in red zones, more freedom has been allowed in orange and green zones, with taxis and cab aggregators allowed with two passengers and a driver. Pan, gutka and liquor shops are allowed only in green and orange zones. In green zones, buses have been allowed at half capacity.

The extension of the lockdown and the controlled easing of restrictions mean only limited economic activity will take place.

The move also means the reopening of the virus-stalled economy will restart without India’s biggest cities that account for more than half of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), as they remain under red zone restrictions.

The Union health ministry had on Thursday classified Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru as red zones, advising states to take extensive steps, including placing strict checks on movements other than for medical emergencies and essential supplies in containment zones.

At the same time the government has already eased curbs on farming and agro-processing to ensure that winter harvesting and monsoon sowing are not affected.

Delhi, where all 11 districts fall under the red zone, for example, has over 194,000 registered companies, according to data available from the ministry of corporate affairs.

Maharashtra, which has 14 red, 16 orange and 6 green zones, is home to more than 200,000 companies.

This is in addition to other forms of businesses such as partnerships and proprietorships. The bulk of India’s corporate tax receipts come from Maharashtra.

Official data also showed that out of the over 2,300 limited liability partnerships formed in March, 442 were in Mumbai, followed by 326 in Delhi, 184 in Bengaluru and 72 in Chennai. With movement and economic activities restricted in metros, economic revival is likely to be a long-drawn process.

With most commercial activities still restricted, barring some such as drug manufacture and export production, a revival in economic growth at the moment appears to be a distance away. Economists and business leaders have been seeking a major stimulus package to help the industry tide over the crisis.

India needs an immediate fiscal stimulus of around 5% of gross domestic product (GDP), and the needs will increase the longer the government waits to announce such a measure, said Rakesh Mohan, former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor, in an interview on Thursday.

Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian had earlier this week said Indian policymakers should be prepared for the possibility of a significant negative growth this year and that a stimulus package of the order of ₹10 trillion was needed.

“While a regular assessment of the zones and activities is required to further relax the opening up of business activities, it is also now opportune time for the government to come up with the financial package, especially for the MSMEs, and for the industry on the whole,” said Sangita Reddy, president of industry chamber Ficci.

Experts said it will be quite a task for authorities in densely populated urban areas to contain the spread of the virus.

“It is extremely challenging for the urban poor living in slums, sometimes in single rooms with common toilets, to follow the advisory on practising social distancing, work from home and self-quarantine in the event of symptoms. It is also very difficult to maintain the required hygiene standards in such a situation,” Poonam Muttreja, executive director Population Foundation of India (PFI).

Neetu Chandra Sharma contributed to this story.