India's life expectancy falls for 1st time in 50 yrs; blame it on Covid-19

Even in 2020, the first pandemic year, deaths had already risen by over six per cent compared to 2019

For the first time in nearly half a century, India witnessed a moderate decline in its life expectancy at birth during 2017-21, a setback attributed largely to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

According to the latest health statistics, the life expectancy at birth, which had steadily risen from around 49.7 years in the early 1970s to 70 years by 2016-2020, dropped to 69.8 years in the 2017-2021 period.

 

The drop, though numerically small, is seen as a significant demographic indicator, reflecting the toll of the pandemic on the nation’s population.

 

It aligns with a sharp increase in the number