Four years ago this day an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – of nationwide lockdown – shook entire India, which was starting to feel the pressure of a fast-spreading infection through a virus that the world had no idea how to treat: the novel coronavirus, also named Covid-19, short for coronavirus disease 2019.
The memory of that nationwide shock – empty roads, crores of migrant workers heading back home, and offices abruptly shifting to work-from-home mode – still feels fresh for many. This is reflected in people continuing to search for “lockdown in India” even today.
Why are people searching ‘lockdown in India 2026’
After months of reporting thousands of cases daily, many deaths and a mega vaccination drive, India managed to fight Covid-19 and does not currently face any major threat from the novel virus, believed to have been first reported in China’s Wuhan.
While the disease has not been completely eliminated — with just seven active infections reported as of February 2, 2026 — the situation remains largely under control, with no immediate cause for concern or cause for any more lockdowns.
As a result, the spike in searches for “lockdown in India” appears to be primarily driven more by recollection than risk, coinciding with the anniversary of March 24, 2020, when Narendra Modi announced a complete nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget Session, Narendra Modi on Monday recalled how global supply chains were disrupted during the Covid-19 period, drawing parallels with the ongoing disruptions caused by the current US-Iran conflict.
“In the past too, our government did not allow the burden of global crises to fall on the farmers,” he said, while apprising the House of the situation in India in the context of tensions in West Asia.
Although localised curfews had been imposed earlier, the nationwide lockdown was formally announced on March 24, 2020. At the time, Modi had warned that failing to take strict measures could set India back by decades.
While the world currently faces no major threat from Covid-19, the “war” triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 has emerged as a fresh global concern, particularly due to its impact on supply chains and energy flows, given the strategic importance of the Gulf region.
The conflict has also disrupted movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route through which nearly 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass.
Some searches on Tuesday also were about whether there will be a lockdown again in India due to war. The government of India has maintained through multiple statements issued so far over the West Asia conflict that there is no need for panic regarding disruptions globally in gas and oil supplies, however, people have been urged to be mindful in their usage of the key natural resources.
