Road Ahead for India Post Lockdown? Six-point Plan Shared by Niti Aayog CEO Offers Solution

New Delhi: As India's lockdown 2.0 inches towards its end, the country is bracing for a phased return to normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic, in order to prevent a second wave of the disease.

Amid the strategy being planned by the government, Niti Aayog's CEO Amitabh Kant has shared a six-point plan that could be the road ahead for the country.

Hyper-localisation in red zones with 'ruthless containment': Red zones are those areas where many positive cases of the novel coronavirus disease have emerged. These areas will be bracing for strict lockdown measures even ahead of the lockdown's end to bring them to normalcy and reduce the further spread of cases.

Physical distancing and masks, the new fashion: For people returning to work, or daily life, precautions are still to remain a necessity. People will be required to don masks and distance themselves from each other to prevent another surge of Covid-19.

The virus can bounce back: Experts, including the WHO, have repeatedly called for a phased easing of restrictions in countries, as the coronavirus disease may make a comeback post lockdown halts.

Look after 60+ with co-morbidity conditions: Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness, WHO states. Thus, despite an easing of lockdown, these at-risk groups demand continued scrutiny and care.

A vaccine still far away: A possible vaccine for Covid-19, and drug treatment remains under investigation; being tested through clinical trials. However, a certified vaccine and its distribution is still an uncertain reality, which is why the disease remains a perpetual threat.

For livelihoods, the economy should kickstart with full supply chains: The extended lockdown has brought the Indian economy, apart from other world economies, to a grinding halt. Moody's Investors Service recently slashed India's growth forecast to 0.2 per cent for the 2020 calendar. This has also affected people's livelihoods severely, which is why restarting supply chains in non-red zones seems like a viable option.

The Union Health Ministry also today released a list, wherein 733 districts in India were split into red, orange and green zones. All metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad) were in the 'no activity' zone.

According to the list, there are 130 red zones, where more stringent restrictions will be enforced post May 3. However, there will be partial easing in orange zones and liberal easing in green zones.

You can access the full list of the zones here.