Coronavirus: MHA Postpones Padma Award Ceremony 2020 Till Further Orders

In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Home Affairs postpones has decided to postpone the annual Padma Awards 2020. The Padma Award was scheduled to be held at Darbar Hall, Rashtrapati Bhawan on April 3, 2020. "It is informed that in view of the outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus, it has been decided as a precautionary measure to postpone the ceremony until further other," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. The next date and time of the ceremony will be decided in due course of time.

Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi government on Saturday decided to treat COVID-19 as a notified ‘disaster’ in a bid to provide much-needed relief under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The Union Home Ministry has issued a notification stating that Rs 4 lakh will be paid as ex-gratia to the family of the person who will lose their life due to coronavirus. Those who will get the benefit also include people involved in relief operations or associated in response activities. As of now, 84 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported across India. Two deaths due to the coronavirus have also been registered in the country. Additionally, the movement of foreigners via land borders has also been restricted. No visa is being issued till April 15.

The Modi government has taken several measures to combat coronavirus. On Friday, the Centre had declared masks and hand sanitiser as essential commodities in the country.

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With this, companies will need to step up the production of these products, enable a smooth supply chain while also ensuring the sale of both the items at MRP. There have been several cases of black-marketing of these products.