Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened the fifth episode of the virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of the states and the union territories to prefix and to outline the country's road map after May 17, which is the deadline of the current spell of the nationwide lockdown. 

The country is entering its final phase of the 54-day nationwide lockdown. However, the sequel of the unprecedented experiment shown that it hasn't paid off as expected as the nation had seen soaring high cases which is contrary to what the country has aimed - flattening the curve of COVID-19 affected cases.

Amid the upward trend of the COVID-19 cases, the fifth virtual meeting had begun on Monday at 3 pm and unlike its preceding episode, this meeting has given a space for every chief minister to have their say to the Prime Minister and to rest of their counterparts on the road ahead. 

According to the reports, the prime focus of this meet will be on formulating the exit strategies from the lockdown and to resuscitate the ailing economy. The nation has currently been tied under the second lockdown extension which would hold its grip till May 17 following which the Center would roll out the road map on how India would deal the pandemic for the upcoming month and precisely for the second half of 2020. 

This fifth virtual meeting would aim to come up with the efforts to reduce the eruption of the COVID-19 red zones across the country as the Center and the states would eye to resume the economical activities in a gradual and calibrated manner. The resumption of the transportation channels has been one of the crucial players in Monday's meet as the Center is ought to formulate the strategies to resume the transports by ensuring that the strict social distancing norms are in place. 

According to the reports, it's less likely that the Center would withdraw the restrictions in one shot. However, the Center would award additional concessions for what the states have already allowed with the view of resuming the economic and commercial activities that have been plummeting in the wake of the nationwide lockdown, that was imposed by the Center on March 24 as one of the major weapons to fight the spread of the Coronavirus. 

One of the takeaways from the meet would be how the Center and the states are equipped with counter strategies to balance the health and economic crisis as they must super-spread the strategies across the nation to revive the economy without compromising the fight against COVID-19. The fifth virtual meeting has come when India had seen a spike in the number of cases. 
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 5th video conference meeting with Chief Ministers underway. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also present. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/BAAaudPe75

— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2020

According to the Union Health Ministry, India has reported over 4,000 fresh cases and 97 deaths in the last 24 hours. The Indian Railways had announced that it would resume the passenger train services partially from May 12. At the initial stage, it would operate 15 special trains from New Delhi to the 15 urban cities. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were also present in the virtual meeting.