Explained: India lockdown, other lockdowns

News:According to the Stringency Index, India had one of the strongest lockdown measures in the world at a score of 100.However, it was relaxed after the government eased norms for certain workplaces in regions outside the red zones.

Facts:

• Stringency index is one among the metrics used by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker.
• The tracker has been developed by researchers from Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.
• Aim:To systematically record government responses worldwide and aggregate the scores into a common ‘Stringency Index’.
• The tracker is based on 17 indicators of government responses such as school and workplace closures; restrictions in movement; income support to citizens ; emergency investment in healthcare; investment in vaccines among others.
• Based on these indicators, countries are given a number from 0 to 100. A higher index score indicates a higher level of stringency.