Here's Centre's new lockdown addendum marking farming & agriculture services 'essential'

Amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday has made farming and its related activities as essential goods and services that can remain operational during the lockdown period, in its second Addendum to the lockdown guidelines. Also, inter-state and intra-state movement of harvesting has been allowed by the MHA.  

The Ministry in its order stated that agencies engaged in the procurement of agricultural products, mandis operated by the APMCs or notified by the state government, farming operations and manufacturing units of fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds have been exempted from the lockdown. 

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Here are the new guidelines:

READ | COVID-19: MHA Releases New Lockdown Guidelines; Farming & Related Activities To Operate

Additions to lockdown guidelines

On Tuesday, the MHA issued an order detailing guidelines for the nationwide lockdown. As per the order, all offices of the government barring for those providing essential services will remain shut. Hospitals and all medical establishments will be open and the transport of the people working in this field will be permitted. All commercial establishments and private organizations will be closed. The exemptions include print and electronic media, shops selling essential items, e-delivery of food, medical equipment, banks, petrol pumps, etc. The suspension of transport and hospitality services shall continue. 

READ | MHA Issues Fresh Lockdown Guidelines, Inter-state Movement Of Goods And Others Exempted

A day later, the MHA issued an Addendum specifying more categories of essential services exempted during the period of the 21-day lockdown. This includes the IT vendor for banking operations, coal and mineral production, manufacturing units of packaging material for food items, medical devices, the inter-state movement of goods for imports and exports and cross land border movement of essential items such as LPG, medical supplies and food products. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India, RBI regulated financial markets and entities such as NCPI, CCI, etc. will function with bare minimum staff. 

READ | COVID-19: MHA Releases New Lockdown Guidelines; Farming & Related Activities To Operate