The Indian government has extended the nationwide lockdown by two more weeks from May 4, 2020. However, unlike previous times, this time around there are a few relaxations for the people as well as the industries. Being called the Lockdown 3.0, it allows four-wheelers and two-wheelers to ply on roads in orange and green zone districts. The new guidelines and advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs gives a ray of hope to the automobile manufacturers as it allows them to resume production again at their factories while dealerships are also expected to open with stringent hygiene measures.
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First things first, the MHA has categorized all the districts in three major categories: Green, Orange & Red. Red Zones, also known as Hotspot districts, have been identified on the basis of total number of active cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases, extent of testing and surveillance. In such districts, four-wheelers with two passengers in maximum besides the driver are allowed to ply on the roads. In the case of two-wheelers, no pillion is allowed. Though, both the aforementioned vehicle movements are not allowed in areas that have been labelled as containment zones. The order also stated that cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, taxis and mobile-app based cabs like Ola and Uber are not allowed to ply in the red zone districts.
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The Green Zone districts have been classified as ones with zero confirmed cases till date or districts with no confirmed case in the last 21 days. A plethora of activities have been allowed in these districts which includes functioning of taxis and mobile app based cab aggregators like Ola and Uber with drivers and a maximum of two passengers. The two-wheeler movement is allowed with pillion, while the private four-wheelers will have maximum two passengers besides the driver. The bus depots and buses can also operate with upto 50 percent seating capacity. Orange Zone districts are those which are neither defined as Red nor Green Zones, and besides the plying of intra-district and inter-district buses, they will enjoy the same relaxations as the Green Zone districts.