Health Ministry terms study on Covid deaths in India as ‘misleading’
The Union Ministry of Health on Saturday issued a strong rebuttal to a study published in the academic journal ‘Science Advances’, which reported significant excess mortality in India during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Ministry termed the study’s estimates as “untenable and unacceptable,” following media coverage highlighting its findings.
The paper’s authors claim to adhere to standard methodologies for analyzing data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). However, the Ministry has identified critical flaws in this approach.
“Media reports highlighting Excess Mortality in 2020 from the study in the journal ‘Science Advances’ based on untenable and unacceptable estimates. Excess mortality reported in the ‘Science Advances’ paper in 2020 over the previous year is a gross and misleading overestimate. The study is erroneous and the methodology followed by the authors has critical flaws; the claims are inconsistent and unexplainable
“The all-cause excess mortality in 2020 compared with the previous year in India is markedly less than the 11.9 lakh deaths reported in the ‘Science Advances’ paper. Discrepancies between the study’s findings and established #COVID19 mortality patterns further undermine its credibility. Study fails to acknowledge India’s robust Civil Registration System (CRS), which recorded a substantial increase in death registrations (over 99%) in 2020, not solely attributable to the pandemic,” said Union Health Ministry, rebutting the international journal’s study on Covid deaths in India.
The study, published in Science Advances journal, suggested that India lost 2.6 years in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020. The study indicated that socially disadvantaged groups, such as Muslims and Scheduled Tribes, experienced the most significant losses, with females seeing a larger decline (3.1 years) compared to males (2.1 years).
Highlighting several methodological flaws in the study, the Health Ministry said that the authors used a non-representative subset of households from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted between January and April 2021, to extrapolate mortality rates for the entire country. The ministry argued that the NFHS sample is representative only when considered in its entirety, and the analysis of just 23% of households from 14 states cannot accurately reflect national mortality trends.
Union Health Ministry also criticized the study for alleged potential selection and reporting biases, as the data was collected during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It asserted that the Civil Registration System (CRS) in India is robust, capturing over 99% of deaths. “This reporting has constantly increased from 75% in 2015 to over 99% in 2020,” it said.
India’s Health Ministry noted that death registrations increased by approximately 474,000 in 2020 compared to 2019, a trend consistent with previous years and not solely attributable to the pandemic.
“Excess number is also due to an increasing trend of death registration in CRS (it was 92% in 2019) and a larger population base in the succeeding year,” the Ministry added.
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
- Cash-discovery row: Delhi HC CJ’s report, police video prompt CJI to initiate action against Justice Yashwant Varma - March 23, 2025
- The decline of Congress in Uttar Pradesh: A struggle for survival amid corruption and factionalism - March 23, 2025
- Persecution of Hindus by radical Islamists in Bangladesh a matter of concern: RSS - March 22, 2025
Suggest the science journal write how Indian Politicians – Khangress & BJP both have plagued entire nation & nation is suffering from uncurable political disease call power & empty words. Politicians are more dangerous than any bacteria or mosquitoes
Why waste time on such Woke journals ? It is useless & worthless. What is that govt to score over such woke journals ? Want to get Nobel Peace Prize or Oscar award or Grammy award ?