25,231 Indians committed suicides due to unemployment and debts in 2018-20

 9140 people died by suicide due to unemployment and 16,091 people due to bankruptcy or indebtedness during the time period

The Indian government has informed the upper house Rajya Sabha that more than 25,231 Indians died by suicide due to either unemployment or indebtedness between 2018 and 2020. As many as 9,140 people died by suicide due to unemployment and 16,091 people due to bankruptcy or indebtedness during the time period, the government told the upper house.

The information was provided by Minister of State (Home) Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question on the issue in Rajya Sabha. Rai said that the government figures are based on data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

According to the data, suicides among the unemployed have been increasing and touched the highest (3,548) in the pandemic year of 2020. While 2,741 ended life due to unemployment in 2018, 2,851 did so in 2019.

In 2018, 4,970 died by suicide due to bankruptcy, in 2019 the figure increased to 5,908. In 2020, it dropped by over 600 deaths to 5,213.

During the ongoing budget session, the issue of unemployment has been raised multiple times by various opposition MPs who have alleged that the budget provides little to deal with the issue facing the country in the wake of cOVID-19.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently attacked the government on the issue saying that unemployment in the country is the highest in the past 50 years. He had said that while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had pulled 270 million people out of poverty in 10 years, the NDA government under Narendra Modi had pushed 230 million people back into poverty.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had said that the budget had betrayed the hopes and aspirations of the people.

“The expectation was that the government would acknowledge the unprecedented levels of unemployment which has left countless citizens, especially the young, with little prospect for a brighter tomorrow. Admit that one-fifth of India’s population has plunged a staggering 53 % in the last five years in their income,” Tharoor had said.

Tharoor had said that while the wealth of the richest 100 Indians had soared to Rs 570 billion while 47 million Indians had slipped to extreme poverty below the poverty line.

“The unemployment rate is pegged at 6.75% as of January. This is a welcome improvement from 7.9% in the previous month. It is still higher than the worst unemployment rate in the country in the past 45 years. India’s unemployment rate has grown faster than Bangladesh and Vietnam. In the last two years, 84% of households have suffered a loss of income even as per capita income has fallen,” Tharoor had said.

                                                                         International Desk