PM Modi holds 6th video conference with CMs, discusses coronavirus situation

The sixth video conference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Ministers of different states and Union Territories (UTs) got underway on Tuesday afternoon to decide the strategy to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic going forward.

The sixth interaction has been split into two days. Chief Ministers or representatives of 21 states and UTs are attending Tuesday's meeting.

The video interaction started soon after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh briefed Modi about the prevailing situation in Eastern Ladakh, where Indian Army faced multiple casualties during a violent face-off with the People's Liberation Army of China.

The states and UTs attending Tuesday's video conference include Punjab, Assam, Kerala Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

However, only a few will be allowed to speak during the interaction. The Chief Ministers who will be allowed to speak on Tuesday's include Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and Tripura CM Biplab Deb, among others.

Sources said the focus will be to increase testing facilities, give attention to urban clusters and stringently isolate the containment zones.

So far, five such interactions have taken place ever since the first lockdown was implemented to contain the spread of coronavirus. India has more than 1,53,000 active Covid-19 cases as on Tuesday.