Estimates in a Lancet article say that 19 lakh children experienced orphanhood due to COVID-19 in India during the first 20 months of the pandemic are "sophisticated trickery intended to create panic among citizens", the government said on Wednesday.
"The Ministry of Women and Child Development finds the Lancet article dated February 24, 2022 giving estimates of children affected by COVID-19 associated orphanhood very surprising. These findings have no correlation with ground reality in India as reflected from field findings," it said in a press statement.
The Ministry said that as per data collected by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) from States and Union Territories, the number of orphans during COVID-19 in India stood at 1.53 lakh.
