More businesspersons died by suicide than farmers in 2020, shows data

A small-business owner* struggled with falling sales after the Covid-19 pandemic. Then he contracted the disease and was largely confined to his bed for months. The family was facing a difficult time financially and the businessman talked of going to the mountains, leaving everything behind. Luckily for him, he was able to seek the help of a mental health professional who had seen that such cases going towards suicide and took steps to address the issue. The family is slowly coming out of the crisis.

At least 11,716 Indian businesspeople died by suicide in 2020, more than the farm suicides cases, which numbered 10,677, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the National Crime Records Bureau.

There were nearly 144 farmers who died by suicide for every 100 businesspersons in 2015. The ratio has since been dropping. There are now 91 farmer suicides for every 100 businesspeople deaths in 2020, shows the latest data.

“More people would have died due to business issues,” said Mumbai-based psychiatrist Harish Shetty, adding that a lot of deaths remain uncaptured. They are often brushed under the carpet with deaths attributed to other causes such as family issues, he said.

“People are still shy about discussing issues,” said psychiatrist and author Anjali Chhabria who runs a mental health programme called ‘The Shrink And The Nut’ with her comedian brother Atul Khatri, which addresses suicide prevention through performances which get people to open up about their problems. She has seen friends and family providing practical help such as job interviews for the unemployed after problems are shared, she said. 

There is a 29.4 per cent increase in the number of businesspersons dying this way in 2020. The growth rate was 13.3 per cent for the previous year. Such deaths rose 3.9 per cent for farmers in 2020 reversing years of decline. There has been criticism in the past on classification mechanisms, which exclude women farmers and put them in the category of housewives. The segment accounts for 22,374 deaths, or 14.6 per cent, of the 153,052 such deaths in total.

One reason for this data may be that rural India has done better during the pandemic on a relative basis.

“Rural India has been cited as the economy’s silver lining since the onset of the pandemic, often due to agriculture, its robust output and exemption from policy restrictions,” noted a September 2021 note authored by Sreejith Balasubramanian, Economist - Fund Management, IDFC Asset Management Company, titled ‘Rural India-A bright spot which cannot light up the whole economy.’

The recovery in the rest of the economy has been slower, with many facing the prospect of being unable to pay their loans. The Reserve Bank of India’s July 2021 Financial Stability Report noted the continuing stress for smaller businesses.

“While banks’ exposures to better-rated large borrowers are declining, there are incipient signs of stress in the micro, small and medium enterprises…,” it said.

The business deaths included 4,226 vendors, 4,356 tradesmen and 3,134 individuals involved in other businesses. The farm deaths include 5,579 farmers or cultivators, and 5,098 agricultural labourers.

The rate of such deaths has been growing in India over the last five decades, according to a July 2021 study titled ‘Forecasting suicide rates in India: An empirical exposition’ from authors Prafulla Kumar Swain and Subhadra Priyadarshini from Utkal University; Ravenshaw University’s Manas Ranjan Tripathy, and Subhendu Kumar Acharya from the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar.

“…(With) Covid and…disruptions in personal and family spaces, the projected suicide trend during the next two to three years (2020–22) may rise far high and then it may show a declining path,” it said.

There was an increase in news reports about such deaths during the pandemic in India and Bangladesh, according to a June 2021 study titled ‘Impact of Covid-19 pandemic related lockdown on Suicide: Analysis of newspaper reports during pre-lockdown and lockdown period in Bangladesh and India’ from authors Sujita Kumar Kar, Vikas Menon, S M Yasir Arafat, Sagar Rai, Charanya Kaliamoorthy, Hasina Akter, Shreya Shukla, Nivedita Sharma, Deblina Roy and Vivekanandan Kavanoor Sridhar from different institutes across the two countries.

The economic and social devastation brought on by the Covid crisis “coupled with the unavailability of traditional coping resources is a ‘perfect storm’…. Evidence suggests that its impact may be disproportionately high in low-and-middle-income countries,” it said.

*Identifying details removed to protect anonymity

 Mental health tips on dealing with business issues:

Share problems with friends and family

No shame or guilt is warranted, financial crisis hits even the wealthiest

Look for out-of-the box solutions, seek financial support

Talk to debtors, don’t avoid calls

Reduce expenses as you work your way out of the crisis

Seek other income sources even if at a lower level

Mental health professionals are there to help

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences toll-free number: 080 – 4611 0007