BENGALURU: In 2023, at least 12 people died each week in India due to drug overdoses, according to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). That translates to nearly two overdose-related deaths every day. Over the past five years (2019-2023), a total of 3,290 overdose deaths were recorded, with the average remaining fairly consistent with the 2023 figures.
However, what makes these statistics especially troubling is what they don't show. The figures only account for confirmed drug overdose deaths and do not include cases that go unreported or those where the cause of death was misclassified. Moreover, the NCRB data does not specify whether the overdose involved narcotics or prescription drugs.
Experts, including psychiatrists, clinicians, and retired police officers, have called for clearer classifications in drug overdose reporting. They pointed out that many overdose deaths may involve prescription medications like painkillers or sleeping pills, yet these are often not categorized as drug overdoses in the data.
The trends over the past few years highlight volatility rather than a clear decline in overdose deaths. In 2019, India recorded 704 overdose deaths, but the number dropped sharply to 514 in 2020, likely due to the pandemic lockdowns. However, the numbers surged again to 737 in 2021, the highest in the five-year period, before stabilizing somewhat at 681 in 2022 and 654 in 2023.
Regional Trends:
Tamil Nadu had the highest overdose death rate in the country in the early years of the period. In 2019, the state saw 108 deaths, but that number dropped to 110 in 2020 before spiking to 250 in 2021. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic reversal. Deaths fell to just 50 in 2022, and rose slightly to 65 in 2023.
Punjab, which shares a porous border with Pakistan—long considered a key route for drug trafficking—has consistently ranked high in overdose deaths. While the state did not feature in the top five in 2019, it recorded 34 deaths in 2020. The number more than doubled to 78 in 2021 and reached 144 in 2022, making Punjab the state with the most overdose deaths that year. In 2023, while the toll dropped to 89, Punjab remained the state with the highest number of deaths.
Rajasthan has shown a worrying trend of consistent increase in overdose deaths. Starting with 60 deaths in 2019, the toll climbed to 92 in 2020, 113 in 2021, and 117 in 2022. Though there was a slight decline to 84 deaths in 2023, Rajasthan has remained in the top five for overdose deaths throughout the five-year period, holding the second or third position each year.
Madhya Pradesh, which wasn't among the top five states in 2019 or 2020, saw a rise in overdose deaths in 2021 with 34 cases. This figure increased to 74 in 2022 and rose again to 85 in 2023, making it the second-highest state in 2023.
States like Mizoram and Manipur have appeared intermittently in the top rankings. Mizoram recorded 30 overdose deaths in 2020 and 61 in 2022, while Manipur saw 36 deaths in 2021. Karnataka, which had been in the top five in 2019 with 67 deaths and in 2020 with 36, is another state impacted by the ongoing crisis.
These figures highlight the persistent and escalating challenge of drug overdose deaths in India, which continue to affect various regions across the country.
