“Next 3-4 weeks are critical in determining the impact of steps taken till now to curb the spread of the virus,” Modi said in the meet.

The lockdown, announced on March 24, has raised concerns about India’s struggling economy.

Addressing the issue, Modi suggested specific measures for agriculture and allied sector including modification of laws related to agricultural produce market committee (APMC), a marketing board for farmers, to facilitate the sale of farm produce.

Meanwhile, elaborating on the relevance of the lockdown, the health ministry, in one of its media briefings, said that without the lockdown India would have witnessed over 800,000 cases by April 15 at a 41% growth rate.

“Post lockdown, the rate is down to 29% because of which India has 7447 cases today when it would have been around 45,000 without any measure,” Lav Agarwal, joint secretary at the health ministry said while addressing the media on April 11.

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