Opinion | Family, Job, Discrimination: What's Driving Indian Youth To Suicide?

Lately, suicides among students have captured the news cycle and the public's attention. Kota, India's infamous 'coaching hub' is at the centre of this fixation. Stories about the tragic deaths by suicide among young students and policy measures to identify and support students who exhibit signs of suicide risk have become commonplace.

Last month, a report underscored the growing concern. The number of suicides among students saw a drastic rise of 21% between 2019 and 2020, and, more recently, 4.5% from 2020 to 2021. The data paints a grim picture that extends beyond Kota and its intense coaching culture.

India's suicide rate has been growing at an unprecedented rate - one that was not seen earlier, in the last six decades since data was collected. In 2022, the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) reported 1.71 lakh deaths by suicide in the country, and as many as 40% of these deaths were among children and young people. If we take a closer look, around 10,000 young people below the age of 18 years took their lives in 2022. Generally, more men die by suicide as compared to women in India. However, within this age group, we observe a skew in the data, where 55% of suicide deaths were reported among girls and young women.