While all industrial activities are permitted in rural areas, limited industrial establishments will be allowed to operate in urban areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in an order released Friday. The manufacturing establishments allowed in urban areas include: only special economic zones (SEZs), export oriented units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control, manufacturing units of essential goods including drugs and pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediaries; production unis, which require continuous process and staggered shifts and social distancing and manufacturing units of packaging material.

Similarly, while all construction activities have been allowed in rural areas, the government has maintained restrictions in urban areas. The construction will be allowed in those urban areas where workers are available on site and not required to be brought in from outside. The construction of renewable energy projects is also permitted.

Meanwhile, the government today announced an extension of nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus crisis for two more weeks beyond May 3. "After a comprehensive review, and in view of the Lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI) issued an Order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, today, to further extend the Lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4, 2020," the order stated. The government also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green and Orange Zones. The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxation in the districts falling in the Green and Orange Zones, the government added.