[21] In 2021, due to the largest wave of infection in the country, several state governments, including Uttar Pradesh,[22] and Delhi,[23] announced complete lockdowns in April 2021.

At 5 p.m. that day, all citizens were asked to stand in their doorways, balconies, or windows, and clap their hands or ring their bells in appreciation for the professionals delivering these essential services.

[34] As part of Unlock 2.0 in July, most activities are permitted outside of containment zones, except educational institutions, international air travel, places of recreation (swimming pools, gymnasiums, theatres, entertainment parks, bars, auditoriums, and assembly halls), and large gatherings of any kind.

As per the guidelines of issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, wine shops were allowed to re-open, however, people were asked to follow the protocols of social distancing and as well as wearing a mask.

[47] The government held meetings with e-commerce websites and vendors to ensure a seamless supply of essential goods across the nation during the lockdown period.

[48] On 26 March, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a ₹170,000 crore (US$20 billion) stimulus package to help those affected by the lockdown.

[49] The package was aimed to provide food security measures for poor households through direct cash transfers, free cereal, and cooking gas for three months.

[citation needed] The national rail network has maintained its freight operations during the lockdown, to transport essential goods.

[63] The government also announced certain relaxations from 20 April, allowing agricultural businesses, including dairy, aquaculture, and plantations, as well as shops selling farming supplies, to open.

[70] On 17 May, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the lockdown for a period of two weeks beyond 18 May, with additional relaxations.

In Phase III, easing of restrictions on international air travel, operation of metros, and recreational activities (swimming pools, gymnasiums, theatres, entertainment parks, bars, auditoriums, and assembly halls) would be decided upon in August.

Only essential activities were permitted in containment zones while maintaining strict parameter control and "intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions".

[78] On 3 November the Government of Kerala opened its tourism sector by reopening hill stations, beaches, national park, and inter-state public transport movement[citation needed] The Government Of India has decided to open all educational institutions by January 2021 including schools and colleges and universities across India.

[90][91] Due to the lockdown, more than 350 deaths were reported as of 10 May, with reasons ranging from starvation, suicides,[92] exhaustion,[93] road and rail accidents,[94] police brutality[95][96][97] and denial of timely medical care.

[104] With factories and workplaces shut down, millions of migrant workers had to deal with the loss of income, food shortages and uncertainty about their future.

[114][115] In its report to the Supreme Court of India on 31 March, the central government stated that the migrant workers, apprehensive about their survival, moved in the panic created by fake news that the lockdown would last for more than three months.

[116][117] In late March, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to arrange buses at Delhi's Anand Vihar bus station to take the migrants back to their villages for free.

[121] The Railways later clarified that it was bearing 85% of the total cost of running and the rest 15% which makes up the ticket fare was being borne by the originating states.

[126] The order issued by the Home Ministry on 24 March allowed the functioning of shops dealing with food items as well as the manufacturing units and transportation of "essential goods".

However, the lack of clarity on "essential goods" meant that the policemen on the streets stopped workers going to factories and the trucks carrying food items.

[128] On 26 March 2020, the Indian government announced a relief package of $22.6 billion to assist the poor population hit economically by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[139][140][141] On 29 March, Prime Minister Modi advised against this, urging people to stay home in his Mann Ki Baat radio address.

[143] On 2 April 2020, thousands of people assembled at temples in various parts of West Bengal defying the lockdown for celebrating Rama Navami.

[148] A group of researchers at the University of Oxford who tracked the governmental policy measures to counter the pandemic rated India's lockdown as one of the most stringent in the world, scoring "100 out of 100" on their tracker.

[151][non-primary source needed] In a routine press briefing on 22 May, Dr. VK Paul, chairman of the national task force on COVID-19, along with officials from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, announced that the growth rate of new cases came down to 5.5% on 15 May from 22.6% on 3 April.

[citation needed] Based on estimation models from various independent sources and MoSPI it was predicted that lockdown (1.0 + 2.0) helped avert 14-29 lakh cases and 37,000-78,000 deaths until 15 May.

[152][153][154] Among various estimation models presented at the briefing the one by Boston Consulting Group showed that 1.2M-210,000 lives were saved and 36-70 lakh cases were averted due to the lockdown until 15 May.

[155] On 3 April 2020, Dr David Nabarro, WHO's special envoy on the disease, said that the "Lockdown in India was early, far-sighted and courageous" and was better than waiting for another 3 or 4 weeks.

[159][160][161][a] In an op-ed in The New York Times, the CDDEP director Laxminarayan explained that if the national lockdown finds good compliance, it would reduce the peak infections in early May by 70 to 80 percent, but still 1 million would require hospitalisation and critical care.

The study also said that the lockdown measures like physical distancing, ban on social gatherings, and movement restrictions would further delay and reduce the peak of infections and hospitalisation.