Cases of businesspersons dying by suicide on the rise

Covid-19 may take a further toll on entrepreneurs, warn experts

A trader (name withheld to maintain anonymity) with international operations lost about $2-3 million during the Covid-19 crisis. He owed large amounts to local banks and was also in debt to private sources. A friend who noticed signs of depression and suicidal tendencies, guided him to a mental health professional. After the timely intervention, the man and his business are now on their way to recovery.

Not everyone is so lucky. The lack of awareness about mental health issues and not seeking professional help leads to a large number of businesspersons in India dying by suicide. A total of 9,052 such cases occurred in 2019, an increase of 13.3 per cent over the previous year, according to the latest data issued by the National Crime Records Bureau. This rate of growth is higher than the 2.7 per cent seen in 2018.

The number of suicides by businesspersons in 2019 includes 3,351 by those categorised as vendors, 2,906 by tradesmen and 2,795 by people classified under other businesses. The data pertains to the profession of the people who died by suicide, without going into the reasons for the death. This translates into over two dozen such deaths every day on an average during the year.

The gender breakup shows that men accounted for over 93.6 per cent of the suicides. This could be a reflection of skewed ownership of business enterprises. The sixth economic census showed that women owned only 15.4 per cent of proprietary establishments in India.

The number of farmers’ suicide, a much talked about subject, was 10,281 in 2019, marginally lower than 10,349 in 2018. The information that the rate of growth in the number of suicides by entrepreneurs is higher than that for farmers in the country comes just ahead of the World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 (Thursday).

And with the Covid-19 pandemic taking a huge toll on businesses this year, mental health professional advise a close watch.

Experts say that early intervention can help. Psychiatrist Harish Shetty pointed out that there is often a great deal of stigma attached to failure. The pandemic has made the situation worse. “Small businesses are suffering,” Shetty said.

Psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria said many are

embarrassed about not being able to pay their employees. As the economy reels under a significant contraction, cases of suicide may well increase without adequate intervention, she said.