According to two major reports released by the Registrar General of India (RGI) after five years, India recorded over 1 crore deaths in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 lockdown—an increase of approximately 21 lakh deaths compared to 2020.
This significant increase in total mortality stands in stark contrast to the official COVID-19 death toll, with the Union Ministry of Health’s dashboard, as of May 5, listing only 5,33,665 pandemic-related deaths.
The report titled “Vital Statistics of India,” based on the Civil Registration System for 2021, revealed that registered deaths increased by 26%, from 81.2 lakh in 2020 to 102.2 lakh in 2021, compared to 75.9 lakh deaths recorded in 2019.
Another report, the “Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2021,” also prepared by the RGI, indicated that deaths due to COVID-19 rose from 1,60,618 in 2020 to 4,13,580 in 2021.
This included 2,67,363 male, 1,46,215 female, and two transgender deaths.
Out of the total 1.02 crore deaths in 2021, 23.95 lakh were medically certified, showing an increase of 5.83 lakh certified deaths from the previous year.
Combined, 5,74,198 COVID-19 deaths were reported in 2020 and 2021, while data from the Union Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, as of May 5, lists 5,33,665 pandemic-related deaths.
The report also highlighted that diseases of the circulatory system, including pulmonary conditions, were the most common cause of medically certified deaths at 29.8%, followed by COVID-19 at 17.3%, respiratory diseases at 12.7%, and infectious or parasitic diseases at 6.1%.
COVID-19 was identified as the second leading cause of death in 2021, up from third in 2020.
Several States and Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand, and Delhi, contributed substantially to the increase in registered deaths from 2020 to 2021.
Meanwhile, registered births saw a marginal decline of 0.1%, from 242.2 lakh in 2020 to 242.0 lakh in 2021, according to the Civil Registration System report.
 after five years, India recorded over 1 crore deaths in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 lockdown—an increase of approximately 21 lakh deaths compared to 2020.){kind=link}