PM Narendra Modi has announced extension of the complete lockdown of the country till May 3. PM Modi is addressing the nation after much anticipation for days as the nationwide lockdown imposed for 21 days comes to an end today. Several state governments have already announced lockdown extension in their states, the Centre made an announcement today and PM Modi said the lockdown has been extended till May 3.

UPDATES OF PM MODI'S SPEECH:

11.30 am: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said, "The poor have been left to fend for themselves for 21+19 days, including practically soliciting food. There is money, there is food, but the government will not release either money or food. Cry, my beloved country," he said on Twitter.

11 am: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says he supports the lockdown extension but PM Modi should have announced some relief for the poor. Tharoor said in a tweet, “I support the announcement by @PMOIndia @narendraModi of #Lockdown extension. Can't discard the gains being made. But he should have also announced serious relief for those who cannot make ends meet. MNREGA payments, JanDhan accounts, GST dues to states and aid to sweeten the pill.”

10.50 am: Govt Sources on the extension of lockdown to May 3rd rather than April 30 (as recommended by states): 1st May is a public holiday, 2nd May is a Saturday and 3rd May is a Sunday.

10.23 am: “Country has enough stock of medicines and ration. Hurdles in the supply chain are constantly been addressed. We are also moving forward rapidly in the field of health infrastructure,” says PM Modi.

10.23 am: “Keeping in mind the livelihoods of our poor brothers and sisters, provision of limited relaxations in identified places from 20th April has been made. Daily wagers and those who depend on daily earning are my family,” says PM Modi.

10.22 am: PM Modi: Detailed guidelines on lockdown will be issued tomorrow and focus would be on providing some relief to the poor class.

10.21 am: PM Modi says, "In case of any positive development in any particular area or district, we can give a conditional concession from April 20. In case of any violation, development of any new hotspots, those concession will be rolled back in those area."

10.20 am: “Till 20th April, all districts, localities, states will be closely monitored, as to how strictly they are implementing norms. States which will not let hotspots increase, they could be allowed to let some important activities resume, but with certain conditions,” says PM Modi.

10.17 am: PM Modi announces lockdown relaxations for daily wagers who have suffered a severe blow due to the lockdown. PM Modi announces relief for farmers ahead of the rabi crop harvest season.

10.15 am: Lockdown in India extended till May 3, announces PM Modi.

10.12 am: PM Modi says, "With fast action and early lockdown, India has done much better than the bigger nations. The figures from these developed nations show that we are doing much better."

10.10 am: PM Modi says India acted very early to contain the coronavirus problem. "Screenings started even before India reported any Covid-19 cases," says PM Modi, adds, "We didn't wait for the problem to get out of hands".

10.05 am: PM Modi remembers BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary.

10.02 am: PM Modi: I know the kinds of difficulties the people of India have been tolerating for days to protect the country. You have faced difficulties with food, work, but you are still resolved to fight.

10 am: PM Narendra Modi begins his address of the nation as the complete lockdown of the country ends today after 21 days.

9.57 am: PM Modi to begin his address in few minutes from now.

9.45 am: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi releases video statement ahead of PM Modi's speech. In a message to the nation, Gandhi said, "Whether in power or not, the Congress will help people fight against coronavirus spread. I feel we, with strong morale, will emerge out of this crisis soon."

9.25 am: Prime Minister Modi will be making his much-anticipated speech within a few minutes from now. India completes 21 days of complete lockdown. Will the Centre extend the lockdown till April 30 as most states have demanded?

9 am: India reports 1,211 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed 10,000 with 339 deaths.

8.55 am: In a tweet, PM Modi said, "Greetings to people across India on the various festivals being marked. May these festivals deepen the spirit of brotherhood in India. May they also bring joy and good health. May we get more strength to collectively fight the menace of COVID-19 in the times to come."

8.50 am: PM Modi has wished Indians on the various festivals different parts of the country is celebrating today. In multiple tweets in different regional languages, PM Modi wished Poila Baisakh, Bohag Bihu, Vishu and Puthandu to people of different regions.

8.30 am: PM Modi had announced the nationwide lockdown in a televised address on March 24. The lockdown went on for 21 days and it is ending today. PM Modi will once again be addressing the nation today on the last day of the lockdown. He is expected to make an announcement on the extension of lockdown in his speech at 10 am today.

8.25 am: Maharashtra became the latest state on Monday to announce extension of the lockdown till April 30. The chief ministers of states in a meeting on Saturday had appealed to PM Modi to extend the lockdown in order to stop a violent spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which has already claimed over 300 lives in India.

India has so far reported 10,363 coronavirus cases and 339 deaths. Maharashtra and Delhi have recorded the most number of cases.

As the states want an extension of the lockdown beyond April 14, the Centre is looking at a more relaxed lockdown with some relief for economic activities in the country that came to a standstill on March 25.

In the meeting with the chief ministers, PM Modi, who was sporting a homemade mask, said the Centre now believes in “jaan bhi, jahan bhi” (lives as well as livelihood). PM Modi has hinted at resumption of economic activities to some extent as the lockdown has dealt a body blow to the economy.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have already announced extension of the lockdown till April 30.