In the revised guidelines for the extended lockdown until 3 May, the Union Ministry for Home Affairs said it would allow self employed people like electrician, IT technicians, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters to work in the non-containment zones from 20 April.

The MHA, in a press release, said non-containment zones will be decided by the state, Union Territory (UT), and district authorities based on their chances of not emerging as a hotspot for coronavirus outbreak. These individuals will be able to resume their work in accordance with the strict compliance of lockdown norms, the order said.

The MHA on Wednesday (15 April) released new guidelines for the phase two of the nationwide lockdown, from 15 April - 3 May, to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, it was reported earlier.

The guidelines also carried the details of conditional relaxation in the lockdown measures from 20 April in areas where the outbreak has been contained efficiently, as told by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in his address on Tuesday.

“In order to mitigate hardship to the public, select additional activities would be allowed, which would come into effect from 20th April, 2020. However, these additional activities would be operationalised by States/ Union Territories (UTs)/ District Administrations based on strict compliance to the existing guidelines on lockdown measures,” read the press release.