Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with the State Chief Ministers through video conferencing this afternoon. Mr Modi will review the country's progress in containing the coronavirus pandemic. Discussion on further relaxations to boost economic activities is likely to take place.

The meeting will be attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, and some senior officials. AIR correspondent reports that this will be the Prime Minister’s fifth video conference with the Chief Ministers since the announcement of nationwide lockdown in March.

 As the country enters into the last week of its third phase of lockdown, the meeting is very crucial in terms of finalizing the roadmap ahead. In his monthly radio address 'Mann ki Baat' last month, Prime Minister said the country is in the middle of a war and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions. His note of caution came amidst gradual exemptions being granted by the Centre and States to revive economic activities.

Few state governments demand regarding revisiting the idea of demarcating red, orange, and green zones is high on the table. The decision over measures to further boost up economic activities and address migrant worker issues is as well on the agenda of this meeting. Prime Minister's this meet yet again stamps his belief of inclusive decision making where views of all stakeholders are necessarily considered.

Indian Railways has announced the gradual restart of passenger train services from tomorrow.  Initially, 15 pairs of trains will ply with passengers onboard. These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi. Booking for reservation on these trains will start at 4 pm today and will be available only on the IRCTC website.

 Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and counter tickets will not be issued. Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations. Passengers will have to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. Railways will start more special services on new routes. 20 thousand coaches have been reserved as COVID-19 care centers and an adequate number of coaches are also kept reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains every day as Shramik Special for stranded migrants.