From the start of industrialization, air pollution in India and around the globe started increasing with new pollutants coming into existence. The extent of air pollution has also increased in the last few decades, very rapidly affecting human health and the earth's ecosystem badly. During pandemics like it happened in other countries, the same way, in India also government-imposed lockdown that resulted in the termination of all economic activities. The pandemic and imposed lockdown provided improved air quality as a gift to mankind. This duration also shows insight into the relationship between the economy and good air quality. We also get some insight into how to improve air quality without affecting the basic needs of society. This paper aims to examine the variation of the concentration of 5 main contaminants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, CO and Ozone) before and after the lockdown imposed in 5 major Indian cities. After reading this paper, we get an insight into to what extent we can reduce air pollution by imposing lockdown and how the socio-economic, geographical variance across cities decides the extent of reduction in air pollution. We also get direction for future management strategies and policies to regain economic strength with sustainable improvements. So at the moment, we have to focus on both air pollution management and economic recovery. This study provides insight into the air quality index across the geographical variation of India.