The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday extended the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus by another two weeks or 14 days. This is in addition to the extended lockdown due to end on May 4 as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sources tell India Today that the decision to extend the lockdown further was taken based on risk-profiling of various districts across the country. The MHA has also issued specific guidelines to regulate different economic activities during this period.

Beginning May 4, all districts of India will be classified into Red, Orange and Green Zones as the country enters a new phase of the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. The zone classifications will determine the kind of restrictions imposed in a district. Here is a look at all Indian districts and their zone classifications.

Red, Orange and Green -- that's how districts across India will be classified over the next few weeks as the country enters another phase of its battle against the novel coronavirus pandemic. With the nationwide lockdown ending on May 3, the government has decided to move to a district-wise zone classification system.

The 733 districts of India will be broadly divided into Red Zones, Orange Zones and Green Zones. The zone classification will determine the kind of restrictions placed on the movement of people and the supply of goods in a district.

This zone classification is dynamic, i.e. it will be revised every week based. This story will be updated to reflect the latest classification of districts according to the central government. The current list is for the week of May 4 onwards.

Before we get to the full list of districts, there are important points regarding restrictions and classification you must know. If you're already aware of them, you can click here to jump to the full list of Red, Orange and Green Zone districts.

RESTRICTIONS: The government is yet to release details of what kind of restrictions will be imposed in which zones. This story will be updated with information on the restrictions as and when details become available.

CLASSIFICATION: The new classification is based on factors such as the number of novel coronavirus cases, the doubling rate of Covid-19 cases, and the extent of testing and surveillance. Red Zones have a high number of cases and a high doubling rate, Orange Zones have comparatively fewer cases and Green Zones have not had any cases in the last 21 days.

LOCAL CLASSIFICATION: States and Union Territories administrations are allowed to classify additional districts as Red or Orange Zones. States and UTs, however, cannot lower the zone classification of a district. For example, Green Zones or Orange Zones can be re-classified as Orange Zones or Red Zones, respectively. But, Red Zones or Orange Zones cannot be re-classified as Orange Zones or Green Zones, respectively.

CONTAINMENT ZONES: Within Red Zones and Orange Zones, district authorities will identify clusters (colonies/wards/towns in urban centers and villages/panchayats/blocks in rural areas) as containment zones where the movement will be severely restricted.

This classification will come into effect from May 4 and will last for around a week after which it will be revised. This list is based on the classification of the central government; states or Union Territories may make some modifications.

This list will be updated with the fresh Red, Orange and Green Zone classification as and when it is revised by the central government.

Source: India Today