A report by the Washington-based Centre for Global Development suggests that India’s excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic could be as high as 4.9 million . The study is co-authored by Arvind Subramaniam, a former chief economic adviser to the government of India. Even the official fatalities figure stands at more than 414,000 - the third highest after the US and Brazil. The vast differences between the mortality data of the government and independent agencies are alarming. The Covid-19 management in India has been far from optimum. The fact is that there could be serious undercounting of Covid-19 mortalities in the villages and hinterland of India, where nearly 70 per cent of the population of 1.38 billion people live. Medical resources and monitoring staff are scarce in these areas. The government should initiate a comprehensive audit of Covid-19 mortalities in the urban and rural areas. The audit should be undertaken by an independent third party, like an accounting firm. India’s doctors, judges fight lonely battle to prevent third wave of Covid-19 This is important. People should trust government data, and any lingering doubts need to be resolved at the earliest. India also needs to accelerate its vaccination programme. In the six months since the start of the drive in January, India has been able to fully vaccinate only 6.5 per cent of its people, and only about a quarter of the people have received a single dose. India has disbursed 433 million doses of the vaccine by July 24, against 1.54 billion doses in China. At the rate of 1 per cent full vaccination per month, India will need 100 months or around eight years to vaccinate all its people. Its vaccination drive has to be expedited on a war footing. If and when a third wave of infections grips India, it can have disastrous consequences. India must do its best to avoid a third wave of infections by being savagely proactive on vaccinations. Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai