New Delhi, April 14 In what will be the first Cabinet meeting in the second leg of the shutdown, the Union Cabinet will meet on Wednesday at 5.30 pm. However, it is unclear so far whether the Prime Minister will go for a virtual meeting through video conference or physically meet his unintuitive colleagues.
Meanwhile, even as ministers have been asked to join their ministries from this Monday, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari continues to be stuck at Nagpur from where he is operating. Gadkari will join the Cabinet meeting through video conference on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, during his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government would issue detailed guidelines on how to go about the lockdown 2.0 on Wednesday. This may come up during the meeting before the MHA gives out the guidelines to states and union territories.
Modi said, till April 20, the shutdown will be enforced even more strictly. All states will be monitored till then. A mechanism for the same is likely to be discussed in the meeting.
Meanwhile, it is speculated that the government may announce an economic package after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Almost all industries and sectors in India are struggling with the suspended animation due to the shutdown, which now has been extended to May 3. The speculated package is believed to bring some ease.
( With inputs from IANS )