Policy lessons from data gaps in Covid death toll and Maha Kumbh mumbers

Newly released data implies that the health care system coped very badly. The likely under-allocation of resources due to undercounting suggests it may also cope poorly in the next major health crisis

There is statistical data that suggests the impact of the pandemic is still being felt, and that it had a far higher death toll than is acknowledged. In financial year (FY) 2024-25, the Indian Railways (IR) carried 7.15 billion passengers. (Suburban commuters account for around 55 per cent of all rail passengers.)

 

While this traffic was 5 per cent higher than the 6.9 billion carried in FY24, it was well below the 8 billion mark that IR had carried in every financial year from 2015 to 2020 with a peak of 8.44 billion in FY19. Traffic crashed to just 1.25