Home Ministry finally releases data On Suicides During 1st Covid Wave 

The data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows an increase in suicides during the first wave of the pandemic. 

Data finally released on Suicides  

On Wednesday, the Government told the Rajya Sabha that as many as 25,251 citizens died by suicide due to unemployment or indebtedness between 2018 to 2020. Minister of State (Home) Nityanand Rai wrote in a written reply to a question on the issue of unemployment in Rajya Sabha.   

The suicides among the unemployed have increased. They touched the highest in the pandemic year of 2020 with 3,548. Due to unemployment, 2,741 ended their life in 2018, and 2,851 did so in 2019. However, the trend of deaths due to indebtedness was not the same. 4970 died by suicide due to bankruptcy in 2018. Figures increased to 5908 in 2019 and dropped by over 600 deaths to 5213 in 2020. 

The issue of unemployment was raised multiple times by various MPs during the budget session. They alleged that there were not enough provisions in the budget to deal with the country’s crisis in the wake of COVID-19. The data released by the Government is essential as in 2020, it was said that there was no record of deaths of migrant workers, and therefore the issue of compensation did not arise.    

Measures taken by the Government 

Rai on Wednesday said the Government was looking to address the issue by focusing on mental health and creating employment opportunities.  

“To address the burden of mental disorders, the Government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and is supporting the implementation of the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) under NMHP in 692 districts of the country,” Rai said.  

 Along with the data on suicides, the Government cited the steps being taken to combat growing mental disorders: “The Government is implementing the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) and supporting the implementation of the District Mental Health Program (DMHP). ”  

The program aims to provide services for suicide prevention, stress management in the workplace, life skills training, and guidance in schools and colleges added Minister Rai.  

Minister Rai also said that the Government launched employment and income generation programs such as Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) to incentivize employers to create new jobs. The National Career Service (NCS) project for job-matching was also mentioned.  

He also said that to tackle unemployment, the Government has also launched various programs to encourage job creation and benefits for social security. “Flagship programs of the government such as Make in India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Housing for All, Infrastructure development and Industrial corridors which have the potential to generate productive employment opportunities.”  

The minister also pointed out Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in the critical sectors for enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports would generate employment opportunities 

While all these schemes and policies to tackle unemployment and mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic have been laid out, it is vital to see how many of these policies can bring a substantial change on the ground level.  

Edited By- Subbuthai padma

Published By- Bharat Anand