NITI Aayog member denies claims around inflated COVID deaths, says CRS report represents truth

The number of deaths 4.75 lakh in 2020 reported by the Civil Registration System 2020 (CRS) shows 'the truth' around the fatalities reported and it further helps in analysing the mortality load of the country, said Dr VK Paul member of (Health) Niti Aayog on Tuesday.

"What you're seeing in this (CRS) report is the actual number of deaths reported by the states and written by the Office of the Registrar General of India," Paul told ANI.

Explaining the science and statistics behind the number of deaths, the NITI Aayog member said, "The number of deaths includes fatalities reported due to all the causes including COVID-19, natural, maternal, infant, everything. So, if you look at the overall picture it helps us to understand the mortality load of the country in the calendar year of 2020."

Terming the data as 'simple truth' that has been derived from a well-supervised robust system, "It is not a question of which model has been adopted. It is a simple truth derived from a well robust system. No particular model. It is a system shaped and curated for many years."

The NITI Aayog member also denied the claims made by some international media reports that COVID-19 deaths are eight times more than that is being reported in India. He advised them to be "careful" before making such claims.

"I want people creating a narrative that mortality is eight times more than reported to be careful in stating this because through a systematic process following a timeline we have the actual numbers with us. We now know that the excess mortality rate is 4.75 lakh."

The Central government on Tuesday published the Civil Registration System (CRS) report 2020 based on birth and death reports in the country.

According to CRS, death registration has increased by 4.75 lakh in the year 2020 as compared to 2019.

There was an increase of 4.87 lakh and 6.90 lakh in death registrations in the year 2018 and 2019 respectively. The number of registered deaths has increased from 76.4 lakhs in 2019 to 81.2 lakhs in 2020.

Deaths due to COVID, as per the MoHFW website (as of April 28, 2022) are total 5,23,693. Out of which 1,48,994 people died in the year 2020, which increased to 3,32,492 in 2021 and 40,207 in 2022.

( With inputs from ANI )

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