New Delhi: A new study has said India’s excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic could be as high as 4.9 million.
It suggested that millions more may have lost their lives to the deadly virus than the official death toll.
The report by Washington-based think tank Central for Global Development used three different data sources from the start of the pandemic through June 2021 to estimate excess mortality during the period. However, the study doesn’t ascribe all excess deaths to Covid-19.
The report co-authored by former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, included deaths from all causes since the start of the pandemic through June this year.
The official tally of more than 414,000 deaths is the world’s third highest after the United States and Brazil, but the study adds to growing calls from experts for a rigorous nationwide audit of fatalities.
“What is tragically clear is that too many people, in the millions rather than hundreds of thousands, may have died,” the report said, estimating between 3.4 million and 4.9 million excess deaths during the pandemic.