What cost decisiveness? A cost benefit analysis of the lockdown to contain COVID-19 in India

On 24 ^th March, 2020 the Government of India announced a national level lockdown to contain the spread of COVID. The lockdown policy has generated considerable controversy, with critics arguing that it was done without adequate notice or planning, exposed vulnerable section of the population to a humanitarian crisis, and failed to contain the spread of COVID. In response, the Government has claimed that lockdown slowed the transmission process of COVID, thereby reducing the number of cases and deaths substantially. The consequent pressure on the health infrastructure was also much less. To judge between competing claims, this study has undertaken the first cost-benefit analysis of the world’s biggest lockdown. Although the data for a proper cost-benefit analysis is currently not available, we have made a ball point estimate of the net benefit of the lockdown under alternative scenarios. Our estimates reveal the net benefits of lockdown to be negative; moreover, the results are robust under all scenarios.