NEW DELHI: Given the unprecedented circumstances arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, the Centre has agreed to accept foreign donations in the PM-CARES fund, sources said.
On the issue of the foreigners who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in New Delhi violating visa norms, sources said that the authorities concerned will take action if norms were flouted. “We will extend all cooperation that is required,” a source in the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Dismissing reports that a prohibited PPEs were exported to Serbia, sources said it was not on the prohibited list. “The guidelines for the export are clear. Some items can be exported on a case to case basis after clearance by the Director General of Foreign Trade. However, the item sent to Serbia was not on the prohibited list,” a source said.
Sources said a three-point focus strategy is being employed to counter the spread of the virus — taking care of Indians abroad, efforts on the bilateral, regional and global level to help chalk out a coordinated response, and setting up the COVID-19 cell.
PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have been speaking to their counterparts. There is a meeting of the Indo-Pacific members on March 20, sources said. Later his week, commerce ministers of SAARC nations will also meet.
Covid database
A COVID-19 control room set up by MEA is working round the clock to address the issues of Indians across the globe. The control room, sources said, has received a total of 3,300 calls and 2,200 emails since it was set up on March 16. A database is also being created to help find the pandemic.