Government says 15 suicides an hour in India

The Indian government says the rate of suicide is increasing in the country and more than 15 people kill themselves every hour.

Financial difficulties and debts led to most of the male suicides while women were driven to take their lives because of domestic pressures and demands for dowry.

A report released late yesterday says nearly 135,000 people committed suicide in the country of 1.2 billion last year. The report says the suicide rate increased to 11.4 per 100,000 people in 2010 from 10.9 the year before.

A 2008 World Health Organisation report ranked India 41st for its suicide rate. Because of its huge population it accounted for 20 per cent of global suicides.

AP