India hid Covid deaths, toll in 2020 was eight times higher: Study
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New Delhi: A study claims that eight times more people may have died of covid in the country in 2020 than the figures released by the government, according to reports.
The study rejects the government’s claim at the time when the world was facing a huge crisis that through strict lockdown, the deaths due to the disease had been reduced to some extent.
The study report, prepared by demographers and economists from leading institutions of the world, says that at least 1.19 million people may have died from Covid in India in 2020. However, the official figures of the government put the deaths at only 1,48,738.
The new report is based on the Government of India's Family Health Survey, Health and Welfare Report and data from the World Health Organization for the period 2019-21.
The study report points out that there was a loss of 2.6 years in the life expectancy of Indians between 2019 and 2020.
Also, the socially backward sections like Muslims and Scheduled Castes suffered the biggest losses in life expectancy. Compared to men (2.1 years), women had a shorter lifespan (3.1 years).