Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that becoming self-reliant is the biggest lesson that coronavirus pandemic has taught. It's difficult to face coronavirus-like problems without self-reliance, Narendra Modi said on National Panchayati Raj Day. "The coronavirus pandemic taught us the biggest lesson: That we have to become self-dependent. The villages became self-reliant, and it's very important that districts, states and the entire country should become self-reliant," Narendra Modi said in a video conference with village sarpanches from across India. Even with restricted resources, the citizens are taking on this challenge instead of giving in to difficulties, he added.

At the same event, Narendra Modi also inaugurated e-Gram Swaraj portal and a mobile application on the occasion as a part of a new initiative aimed at providing Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement gram panchayat development plan (GPDP). Adding, Narendra Modi said that a robust rural economy is significant to the country's development. The government moves forward with Mahatma Gandhi's belief that India's soul lives in its villages, he said.

PM Narendra Modi will meet the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman later today to discuss the financial package that was a nnounced earlier. Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 23,077, while death toll spiked to 718 on Friday, according to latest figures released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India recorded its sharpest spike in cases with 1,684 cases and 37 deaths in 24 hours. There are 4,748 recoveries in the country so far. The confirmed coronavirus cases include 17,610 active cases.