Govt Not Going for Lockdowns In Big Way, Says Nirmala Sitharaman Amid Covid Wave

Amid the increasing coronavirus cases in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman  made it clear on Monday that the government would not go for lockdowns in a big way and only resort to local containment.

Sitharaman, in a virtual meeting with the World Bank Group President David Malpass, appreciated the initiatives of the international financial institution to increase the lending space for India to enhance the availability of finance for development.

”Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman shared the measures being taken by India to contain the spread of the second wave of pandemic including the five pillared strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and #COVID19 appropriate behaviour,” the finance ministry said in a tweet. ”Even with the second wave, we are very clear that we are not going in for lockdowns in a big way. We don’t want to totally arrest the economy. The local level isolation of patients or households that have people in quarantines are the methods through which the crisis will be handled, the second wave will be handled. There shall not be a lockdown,” Sitharaman said.

According to a World Bank statement, Malpass and the finance minister discussed the importance of the partnership between the Group and India, including recent programs in civil service and financial sector reform, water resource management, and health.

The statement said, they also discussed India’s COVID-19 situation as well as the country’s large domestic vaccine production capabilities.

Malpass reaffirmed the World Bank Group’s commitment to supporting India’s COVID-19 response and its work toward poverty mitigation and shared prosperity.

He noted the importance of India’s COVID-19 vaccine exports — both to the region and around the world. Malpass also highlighted the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan, including the role of diagnostics in achieving the most benefits from climate finance.