The Union home ministry on Wednesday issued guidelines, listing out a host of commercial activities that would be permitted after 20 April, if safety conditions are met, while barring others as India steps up its fight against the deadly novel coronavirus that has infected more than 11,000 so far in the country.
A perusal of the guidelines suggests that if the authorities are able to contain the spread of the virus by then, a large part of the economy could resume operations, helping daily-wage earners, the self-employed and blue-collar workers.
India’s general lockdown, of course, has been extended till 3 May. The government proposes to allow all software services firms and e-commerce entities to operate after 20 April.