Self-reliant India is the only solution to deal with coronavirus pandemic: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India has turned the coronavirus crisis into an opportunity. India transformed itself to a major PPE kit producer during the crisis from being a country with no PPE kit production, PM Modi said. "When the corona crisis began, not a single PPE kit was made in India. N-95 production was also meagre. Today the situation is different. India produces 2 lakh PPE kits and 2 lakh N-95 masks every day," Modi said. When the entire world today is fighting for its life, India's medicines have brought a new ray of hope, Modi added.

It is the third time that PM Modi is addressing the nation amid ongoing coronavirus lockdown. On March 24, Modi had announced the lockdown in a televised address. Then  on April 14, he had announced the lockdown extension. The lockdown is expected to be lifted on May 17.

The address comes a day after Modi had an extensive meeting with chief ministers of various states via video-conferencing. While a few chief ministers requested to extend the lockdown, others urged the prime minister to take a decision in this regard. PM Modi had called for a "balanced strategy" in the meeting with the chief ministers, to both revive the dwindling economy, as well as keep the fight against coronavirus on.

Meanwhile, the total count of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 70,756 on Tuesday, according to the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 46,008 active cases, 22,454 recoveries, and 2,293 deaths.