Why Do Officials Stay Silent on NCRB Suicide Data?

Farmers, Students, Housewives Lead Suicide Toll, Officials Offer No Response

October 3, 2025

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released its 2023 suicide statistics, once again through a quiet website upload with no official briefing, no explanation from any ministry, and no space for scrutiny. This silence demands questioning, as it blocks civil society and the press from holding departments accountable for mounting human tragedies.

If suicide, the most irreversible human response to distress, does not compel ministries to act, then what will? The statistics show a sustained trend year after year, yet there is no record of what has been done to address it, and no one clearly accountable. It is time to ask which ministries must respond to these numbers and what programmes, if any, they have initiated to intervene.

Agriculture Sector

Let us begin with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, which is directly responsible for policies, schemes, and support systems related to farming, crop insurance, credit, input subsidies, procurement and income support. There is also overlapping responsibility with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Cooperation, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and state governments.

Now, according to the NCRB data, a total of 10,786 people involved in farming, both cultivators and agricultural labourers, died by suicide in 2023. Of these, 4,690 were farmers and 6,096 were labourers. These deaths made up 6.3 percent of the 1,71,418 total suicides reported nationwide. While this marked a modest 4 percent decline from 2022, the absolute number remains high and disproportionately concentrated in certain states.

Maharashtra alone recorded 4,151 such deaths, making up more than 38 percent of suicides in the farming sector. Karnataka followed with 2,423 cases, then Andhra Pradesh (925), Madhya Pradesh (777) and Tamil Nadu (631). Maharashtra and Karnataka had more farmer suicides than labourer suicides, whereas the other three states reported higher deaths among agricultural labourers.

Together, Maharashtra and Karnataka accounted for over 60 percent of farm-related suicides in 2023. These were also the top two states in 2022, showing no change in trend or policy impact.

None of these ministries or state governments is known to have responded on their own to the statistics. What is on record, however, is that Maharashtra’s Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate was allegedly caught playing a rummy game on his mobile phone in the state assembly in July, as reported by Mint.

Students

Now, as the trend of suicides among students rises more sharply, let us turn to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, state governments and education departments.

The number of student suicides rose from 8,423 in 2013 to 13,892 in 2023, marking a 65 percent increase over the decade. In comparison, the total number of suicide deaths in the country rose 27 percent over the decade. Students accounted for 8.1 percent of total suicides in 2023, up from 6.2 percent in 2013. The growth in the student suicide rate outpaced national trends, pointing to growing vulnerability among young people.

Mental health experts have cited academic competition, job insecurity, financial pressure and a lack of mental health support as contributing factors. The NCRB data does not offer explanatory detail, and no educational authority has commented on the numbers. As a result, there is no public record of what, if anything, is being done in response.

Suicide among the unemployed presents another clear signal.

Kerala recorded the highest number of suicides in this category in 2023, which is 2,191 out of 14,234 nationwide. This amounted to 15.5 percent of the national total, followed by Maharashtra (2,070) and Tamil Nadu (1,601). These three states alone accounted for nearly 40 percent of suicides among unemployed persons.

The data shows that men made up the vast majority of such cases: 11,775 of the 14,234 total. In Kerala, 1,736 men and 455 women were recorded. Delhi led among Union territories with 765 cases. While the overall proportion of suicides linked to unemployment was 8.3 percent, the state-wise distribution reflects uneven economic pressures.

Housewives

Now, let’s look at Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, state governments and Women and Child Development departments.

In 2013, nearly two-thirds of all suicides occurred among people aged 18 to 45. Housewives made up over half the female victims: 24,048 out of 46,648.

Housewives made up 14.6 percent of the 1,53,052 suicides recorded in India in 2020, and over half of all female victims. Since 1997, when the NCRB began categorising suicides by occupation, more than 20,000 housewives have died by suicide every year. In 2009, the number reached 25,092. Year after year, these deaths are routinely attributed to vague causes like “family problems” or “marriage-related issues.” A government survey previously found that 30 percent of women reported spousal violence, according to BBC. Combined with the isolation, unpaid labour and lack of autonomy many women face within marriage, the domestic space itself becomes a site of sustained distress. Yet there is no clarity on what, if anything, the relevant government authorities have done to address it.

Overall Statistics

Among small states, Sikkim reported one of the highest suicide rates at 40.2 per lakh population, second only to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 49.6. At the other end, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh reported the sharpest annual declines in suicide numbers, ranging from 14 to nearly 36 percent, which is such a relief.

What failed in Maharashtra, Kerala, Sikkim or Andaman and Nicobar? What brought down suicides in Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh? Why are student suicides rising faster than the national average? These are questions that should be put to ministers in any democratic system that takes transparency seriously.

Just Numbers or Public Emergency?

The silence of ministries, state governments and departments suggests they treat the NCRB data o suicide as a routine formality rather than a public emergency. The quiet upload, with no press conference or ministerial statement, leaves no opening for questions in Parliament, media coverage or official action. It seems each ministry continues as usual, untouched by the scale of loss the data reveals.

Some countries stand out for how their governments treat suicide as a matter of public accountability. Australia publishes real-time suicide data through its national statistics agency, followed by detailed statements from health officials and parliamentary discussions. Japan requires its Cabinet Office to release monthly suicide statistics, accompanied by press briefings and updates on government response measures. Scotland integrates suicide data into annual government reports, tabled in Parliament and tied to national mental health policy reviews.

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