The Central Government has dismissed media reports suggesting that India's COVID-19 death toll is significantly higher than the official figures, calling these claims "fallacious and inaccurate."

A release issued by the Press Information Bureau addressed a research paper published in Journal Science Advances that estimated between 3.2 million to 3.7 million COVID-19 deaths in India by early November 2021, whereas the official count stands at 460,000. The government criticised these reports as speculative and not based on factual evidence.

"There have been some media reports based on a published research paper alleging that mortality due to COVID-19 in India is much higher than the official count and actual numbers have been undercounted. As has been stated earlier for similar media reports, it is again clarified that these reports are fallacious and completely inaccurate. They are not based on facts and are speculative in nature," the statement said.

The government emphasised that India has a robust system for reporting deaths, including those caused by COVID-19, and insisted that fatalities are reported transparently.

"Based on globally acceptable categorisation, the Government of India has a comprehensive definition to classify COVID-19 deaths which have been shared with the States and the States are following it," the release noted.

The disputed study used data from four distinct subpopulations—Kerala residents, Indian Railways employees, MLAs and MPs, and school teachers in Karnataka—to estimate nationwide deaths. The government argued that such projections, based on limited data sets and specific assumptions, should be approached with caution before generalising to the entire country.

The government also highlighted the effort to capture all COVID-19 data, including deaths, as families of the deceased are entitled to monetary compensation. This process is under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India.

Image source: AP News