Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
Source: IANS
IMR has seen a 36% reduction during the past ten years. Taking into consideration the rate of Infant Mortality Rate in India, in the past ten years, the IMR has decreased from 44 to 28.
India’s Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has witnessed a significant reduction from 2010-2020. The data about the IMR was published in a report recently published by office of the Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The report is titled as ‘Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2020.’ At the national and sub-national levels, accurate annual estimates of the infant mortality rate, birth rate, death rate, and other fertility & mortality indicators are provided by the Sample Registration System (SRS). Every year, the Office of the Registrar General of India conducts a massive demographic survey throughout all States and Union Territories.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is defined as the ‘number of deaths of children under the age of 1 year per 1000 live births for a given year.’ According to the report, in comparison to 1971 (129 infant deaths per 1,000 live births), the current IMR level (28 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, for the year 2020) is less than one-fourth. IMR has seen a 36% reduction during the past ten years. Taking into consideration the rate of Infant Mortality Rate in India, in the past ten years, the IMR has decreased from 44 to 28.
Despite a drop in IMR over the past few decades, one in every 36 infants at the national level dies in the first year of life (irrespective of rural or urban. The chart below shows the Infant Mortality rate by sex in five best performing states (large) and five poor performing states (large). The other chart shows the IMR by sex in three best performing states (small) and three poor performing states (small).
Source: Sample Registration System Bulletin, Office of the Registrar General of India
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the worst performing states as the IMR was as high as 43 in Madhya Pradesh and 38 while its neighbor Chhattisgarh reported the IMR at 38. MP recorded the highest IMR for male infants at 44 and also for the female infants at 41. Uttar Pradesh was at third among the 5 worst performing large states as it reported the total IMR at 38 and IMR for female infants at 38. The fourth and fifth position was filled by Assam and Odisha respectively. Among the 5 best performing large states, Kerala topped the list with the lowest IMR at 6. Kerala reported the IMR for infant females as low as 3 while 10 for male infants. This means that Kerala witnessed the deaths of more male infants than female infants. National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi recorded the total IMR at 12 and the IMR for male and female infants was also reported the same. Same was the case with Tamil Nadu which reported the IMR at 13. The fourth and fifth best performing large states were Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir.
Source: Sample Registration System Bulletin, Office of the Registrar General of India
Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh were the worst performing small states as the former reported the total IMR at 29 while the former reported the IMR at 21. Meghalaya witnessed the highest IMR for female infants among the small states at 30 and also the highest IMR for male infants at 27. The third poor performing state was Tripura with total IMR of 18 and IMR of 17 for female infants. The best performing state was Mizoram with the lowest IMR of just 3 and male IMR of 1 and female IMR of 4. The second and third positions were secured by Nagaland and Sikkim respectively. Nagaland reported the total IMR of 4 while Sikkim reported the total IMR at 5.
Though the IMR has been declining in India, there are some states which have been reporting high IMR which is a cause of grave concern. Some strict and effective measures need to be implemented in such states in order to reduce the IMR.
