Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are in a huddle over the way forward as the fourth phase of lockdown ends this week.
The escalation in numbers might prove to be a big worry as the country reported 7,467 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the last 24 hours in the highest single-day surge, taking the tally to 165,799, according to the Union health ministry.
The meeting comes a day after the home minister spoke to chief ministers to discuss their views on extending the lockdown and future strategy to fight the pandemic.
Officials said that the CMs, in meeting with Shah, contended that the lockdown should be extended with considerable relaxation in economic activity.
This was the first time that the home minister was in consultation with the CMs. Earlier, the PM used to chair those meetings. An officer at the Centre said that the PM may not interact with the CMs this time.
