Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that he will hold a meeting with the chief ministers of all the states on April 2 to discuss the measures to be taken to wipe out the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The PM will conduct the meeting via a video conference at 11 am on Thursday.


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As the ongoing pandemic continues to infect and kill people globally, including India, PM Modi has imposed a strict lockdown across the country till April 14 midnight. India has recorded a total of 1,466 positive cases and 38 deaths till 3.30 pm (IST) on Wednesday.


Determined to contain the dreaded virus from spreading in the community, PM Modi and his big team of experts are working tirelessly to monitor minute-to-minute development of any happening related to the pandemic in the country. From the announcement of the 21-day lockdown to various key strategies of preventing community transmission in the world`s second most populated country, PM Modi`s decisions are based on massive research and collective opinion of top experts.


Amid the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Modi has stretched his working schedule to 17-18 hours, often working through night till 3 am or even more. "Series of meetings go on through the middle of the night, as the PM vigorously reviews implementation of decisions taken by various high-level groups constituted to effectively control the pandemic," highly-placed sources informed news agency IANS.


Besides holding frequent video conferencing from his camp office at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg and consulting key Cabinet Ministers on a daily basis, PM Modi works tirelessly with 11 dedicated teams of experts which include doctors, bio-scientists, epidemic experts, and economists, each working as a separate group.


Top sources in the PMO revealed that presently the PM is more focussed on Emergency Medical Management Plan. The team looking after this plan is led by Dr V Paul, member of the NITI Aayog and coordinated by Modi`s aide Rajendra Kumar, a director-level officer in the PMO. These groups feed into the core group assisting the PM which in turn disseminates vital information to him.


Another area which concerns the PM is disease surveillance, testing and setting up hospitals and quarantines. This important team which includes AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and ICMR`s top epidemic expert Dr Raman Gangakhedkar is headed by C.K. Mishra Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change.


Prevention of coronavirus in India largely depends on this crucial team. PM Modi has kept two of his trusted PMO officials, Shikhar Pardeshi and Mayur Maheshwari in this team. "Modiji keeps a close tab on the number of people being tested (and its outcome) and also on the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19. He seems determined in his endeavour to prevent the virus from spreading into large communities," says an official, a member of one of the 11 groups constituted to fight the pandemic.


In an outbreak of a pandemic at such a large scale, seen as the worst in the last 100 years, the Prime Minister realises the contribution of the private sector, NGOs, international organisations and relief related social groups.


A special team to coordinate with NGOs and the private sector has been working round the clock under Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog. Gopal Bagley, a joint secretary in the PMO, is coordinating with Amitabh Kant to mobilise the NGOs and leading companies in raising funds and also organising relief work on the ground at a bigger scale