India, May 8 -- India likely recorded almost two million extra deaths in 2021, the deadliest year of the Covid-19 pandemic, than it did in the preceding few years. It also recorded 81,070 more deaths because of the pandemic than what was captured in the official death toll.

These numbers were released in three reports released on Wednesday by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI), under the Ministry of Home Affairs. They are the first official confirmation of the fact that India's official death toll during the Covid-19 pandemic might have been a gross underestimate, which was indicated in various modelling estimates.

The RGI released three reports for 2021 -- the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2021, th...