Covid-19 impact: More businessmen committed suicide in 2021 than farmers

According to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 12,055 businessmen died by suicide in 2021, which is higher than 11,716 deaths reported in 2020. Overall deaths by suicide have increased by 7.2 per cent from 2020. The overall suicide rate increased from 9.9 per 1 lakh people in 2017 to 12 per 1 lakh people in 2021. Daily wage-earners accounted for the largest segment of people dying by suicide.   

The NCRB noted that the deaths in the business community were higher than in the farming segment, which reported 10,881 deaths in 2021. As per the analysis, the suicide cases of self-employed people have increased by 54% in 2021 when compared with 2018 data. The total number of fatalities in 2015 was 8,780 as compared to 12,055 in 2021. 

Source: NCRB 

The states with the highest number of businessman suicide cases were Karnataka (14.3 per cent), Maharashtra (13.2 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (11.3 per cent). Tamil Nadu and Telangana, with 9.4 per cent and 7.5 cent, respectively, were in the fourth and fifth spots.     

Classifying the details, NCRB noted that 4,532 vendors, 3,633 tradesmen, and 3,890 persons engaged in other businesses died of suicide in 2021. Daily wagers' death by suicide also almost doubled between 2014 and 2022. 

Overall, the prominent reasons behind the suicide cases are bankruptcy and indebtedness. An EY report stated that of the 1,000 MSME entrepreneurs, who were interviewed, 

around 70% of the respondents were impacted during Covid-19 and reported heavy losses due to reduced orders, loss in business, availability of raw material, and liquidity issues.