2021 Saw 2 Million Extra Deaths, Shows Govt Data

India likely recorded almost two million extra deaths in 2021, the deadliest year of the Covid-19 pandemic, than it did in the preceding few years.

- Abhishek Jha

NEW DELHI: It also recorded 81,070 more deaths eventually attributed to Covid-19 than what was captured in the official toll released at the time.

These numbers were part of three reports released on Wednesday by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI), under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

They are the first official confirmation that India's official toll during the Covid-19 pandemic might have been a gross underestimate, which was indicated in various modelling estimates.

The RGI released three reports for 2021 — the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2021, the Vital Statistics of India Based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) 2021, and the Report on the Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD) 2021.

CRS is the record of all registered deaths and births in the country.

SRS is a survey-based estimate of births and deaths and tries to cover unregistered births and deaths as well, making it a vital complement to the CRS data.

The MCCD captures a small fraction of the CRS deaths where deaths are medically certified.