The home ministry has classified telecommunications and internet services as 'public utilities', which will pave the way for state governments to allow shops selling, repairing or servicing mobile phones, as well as selling mobile recharge vouchers to reopen in non-hotspot zones after April 20.
The new rules are part of the guidelines issued by the government for the phase-2 of the nationwide lockdown on Wednesday, and the new classification will let mobile sellers and allied services to operate during the period.
A senior home ministry official said that state governments will release their own advisories on this matter. The move comes as telecom operators issued extended recharge validity dates and supplementary talktime credits to users, particularly in the low revenue bracket, to help them remain connected during the lockdown period.
Earlier, the Kerala government had issued an order on April 8 that allowed the reopening and phased operation of mobile phone and recharge services.
According to the state’s advisory, shops that sell mobile phones, or service and repair these devices, as well as shops that sell recharge vouchers, were allowed to stay open on every Sunday, subject to a set of conditions.
The state government said the shops will be allowed to stay open only between 10AM and 5PM, with bare minimum staff at each store. Each staff should wear masks, and customers were told to maintain social distancing to prevent spreading of Covid-19.
While the overall lockdown tenure across India has been increased until May 3, a larger selection of services, including electronics on e-commerce portals, will now be allowed to operate in an attempt to ease the stress on orkers, factories, businesses and the entire economy.
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