Context : Sharp Rise in Registered Deaths (2021)
- Total deaths registered: 1.02 crore (10.2 million) in 2021.
- Increase from 2020: Around 21 lakh more deaths (81.2 lakh in 2020).
- Year-on-year increase: 26% rise in registered deaths.
- Compared to 2019 (75.9 lakh), deaths increased by over 34% in two years.
Relevance : GS 2(Health)
COVID-19 Impact
- COVID-19 deaths as per RGI:
- 2020: 1,60,618 deaths.
- 2021: 4,13,580 deaths.
- Total (2020–21): 5,74,198.
- Demographic breakdown (2021):
- Males: 2,67,363
- Females: 1,46,215
- Transgender: 2
- Official health ministry figure (as of May 5, 2024): 5,33,665 deaths due to COVID-19—suggesting a data discrepancy.
Medical Certification of Deaths
- Total medically certified deaths (2021): 23,95,128
- An increase of 5,83,440 from 2020.
- Share of certified deaths: ~23.4% of total registered deaths.
- Indicates low levels of medical certification, posing challenges for accurate mortality analysis.
Leading Causes of Medically Certified Deaths (2021)
- 1st: Circulatory system diseases (incl. pulmonary): 29.8%
- 2nd: COVID-19: 17.3%
- 3rd: Respiratory diseases (non-COVID): 12.7%
- 4th: Infectious & parasitic diseases: 6.1%
- COVID-19 moved from 3rd leading cause in 2020 to 2nd in 2021.
State-wise Contributors to Death Surge
- States/UTs with significant death increase:
- Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka
- Others: Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi
- Suggests wider and deeper pandemic impact across multiple regions.
Birth Registrations
- Slight Decline in registered births: ~0.1% drop in 2021.
- Indicates possible pandemic-related disruptions in birth registrations or slight fertility decline.
Key Takeaways
- Massive spike in excess deaths likely reflects undercounted COVID-19 fatalities.
- Discrepancy between official COVID dashboard and medical certification data suggests underreporting or misclassification.
- Urgent need to improve medical certification and data transparency for better public health policy.
