ISAS Insights

Suicides in India have been rising steadily over the last couple of decades. The number of suicides committed on economic grounds has more than doubled between 1991 and 2009. This paper studies the pattern of suicides in 10 states reporting highest suicides for the year 2009 and analyses the economic factors behind these suicides. The paper finds that bankruptcy or sharp changes in economic status, along with poverty, are major factors driving suicides in India's relatively prosperous states, while property disputes, career problems and unemployment are doing so in the relatively poorer states. The paper argues that economic prosperity in India has not necessarily resulted in economic security. Suicides on economic grounds might increase unless India is able to develop effective social security mechanisms for tackling economic hardships.