India’s 2021 Covid-19 Death Toll at 2.1 Million, 6.4 Times Higher Than Official Count, MHA Data Shows

New data from India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reveals nearly two million excess deaths in 2021, indicating a substantial undercounting of Covid-19 fatalities in the country. Official government figures had attributed approximately 330,000 deaths to Covid-19 in 2021, but the excess death count is now estimated to be 2.1 million, which is 6.4 times higher. This discrepancy highlights that the actual Covid-19 death toll in India for 2021 was much greater than previously reported. The findings have drawn attention to the limitations of earlier estimates by the World Health Organization and other researchers, which were dismissed by the Indian government at the time. The new data underscores the scale of the pandemic's impact in India and the challenges in accurately capturing mortality related to Covid-19.