June 13, 2020: With the country recording a spike in novel coronavirus cases even as it gradually eases lockdown restrictions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a fresh round of consultation with Chief Ministers of all states and Union Territories n two batches next week on June 16 and 17.

It may be stated that the PM has held five interactions with CMs since promulgation of the countrywide lockdown on March 25. On June 8, states lifted several restrictions imposed earlier in accordance with the Centre’s directives on ‘Unlock 1’.

On June 16, the Prime Minister is likely to interact with CMs of 21 states and UTs including Punjab, Assam, Kerala, U’khand, J’khand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadar Nagar Haveli & Dama Diu, Sikkim & Lakshadweep.

On June 17, the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu And Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha will be present in the virtual meeting.

The exercise has been planned amid steady rise of COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country.