On ‘excess deaths’ in Rajasthan

In the article titled, “Rajasthan ‘excess deaths’ 5 times official toll”, published on Sunday, The Hindu had calculated 45,088 excess deaths in the State during the pandemic period based on State Civil Registration System data maintained in the Pehchaan application. But the State’s registration toll in the CRS report released by the office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner for 2018 and 2019 were 4,43,173 and 4,51,315 respectively, nearly double the data in the Pehchaan system for the same years – 2,16,370 and 2,19,814 respectively.

If the full CRS data for Rajasthan is analysed, the undercount factor may change and could go up further. The excess deaths calculations and undercount factor will be updated if and when the full CRS data for 2020 and 2021 is made available. In light of this, the article has been amended in the online edition with the headline, “Excess deaths in Rajasthan are at least five times the official COVID-19 tally” and the graphics and data conclusions have been accordingly updated.