Nudges from Prime Minister Narendra Modi were critical in creating herd effect on the COVID-19-induced lockdown and social distancing norms across the country, a study has revealed. PM Modi's frequent public appearance was “the most significant factor that created nudges” in keeping a country of 1.3 billion people under strict lockdown and social distancing measures.

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Published in science journal PLOS One, the study at the University of Cambridge used machine learning and AI-based algorithms to identify key nudges in policy responses across various government departments to deal with the pandemic, including the lockdown.

“India is a vast and diverse country, what was easier for the western world where digitalisation has penetrated to last-mile homes, India is yet in the nascent stages,” said Ronita Bardhan, assistant professor and co-author of the study.

“Hence these prompt nudges were required while simultaneously generating the digital backup infrastructure. It was a mammoth task given the transition state of India, where poverty and affluence co-exists.”

The prime minister’s nudges drove preparedness, action and mitigation strategies in the country, the study noted.

Rigorous media campaigns and Modi’s public assurances nudged in creating the herd effect across pharma, economic, health and public safety sectors that enabled strict national lockdown, the study by Bardhan and Gates Cambridge Scholar Ramit Debnath said.

“Most of the interventions were targeted to generate internal motivation by using triggers that potentially produces lasting desired behaviour in repeat settings (i.e, repeated broadcasting of information through multi-media channel and engaging Bollywood to use songs, poems and dramatisation); also, the use of nostalgia in the form of Ramayana and Mahabharata telecast to encourage people to stay at home”, the authors said.