NPR to be postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak: Announcement shortly

New Delhi, Mar 23: The NPR exercise scheduled to begin from April 1 2020 is likely to be put off in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The matter has been discussed several times over the past week and the government may make an official announcement regarding this in the next couple of days. Further the Home Ministry is also monitoring the situation to decide on whether the Census 2021 exercise should also be postponed or not.

The exercise was to kickoff at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Meghalaya on April 1.

Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik in a letter to the Prime Minister said all efforts of the state machinery were directed towards controlling the outbreak of COVID-19.

Mobilisation for census and concerned activities posed a risk to the field functionaries and the people. I would rather suggest that the scheduled census and related activity be postponed, he had also said in the letter.

There is no official word from the Home Ministry on the same. However sources tell OneIndia that an official announcement postponing the exercise may be made in the next two to three days. Officials are however confident that the exercises would be completed before the deadline of September 2020. There is a need to defer it in the wake of the outbreak for now, the officer cited above said.