New Delhi, Apr 3 (IANS): The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday wrote to universities and colleges to apprise students and the faculty about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to light candles at 9 p.m. for 9 minutes on April 5.

The request came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to stay indoors and switch off lights of their homes for nine minutes and light up lamps, candles, and mobile flashlights at 9 p.m. on Sunday to display the nation's collective spirit to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

In the letter, UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain requested vice-chancellors of universities and principals of colleges to disseminate information among students, faculty members, researchers, non-teaching staff members and others about the PM's request.

The UGC also urged the heads of the institutes to share information about Arogya Setu mobile application. The application is designed to inform the users about risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of Covid-19.

The letter also urged the heads to share information about AYUSH Ministry's guidelines on self-care that involve Ayurvedic steps like Yoga, to build a strong defence mechanism and follow the principle of "prevention is better than cure."