Lok Sabha Question No. 3258 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-17
Subject: Infant Mortality Rate
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Sudarshan Bhagat, Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak, T.N. Prathapan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED PARLIAMENT QUESTION 3258

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 th  DECEMBER 2021

## INFANT MORTALITY RATE

## 3258:   SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

SHRI SUDARSHAN BHAGAT:

SHRI MANOJ KOTAK:

SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN:

Will the MINISTER of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  present  status  of  infant  mortality  rate  in  the  country  and  the  data  thereof, State/UT-wise and year-wise since 2010;
- (b) the reasons and factors that influence the infant deaths in the country;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  appointed  any  research/investigation  committee  or organization to study about the infant deaths in the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof including the important findings;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  launched  schemes  and  projects  to  address  the nutritional needs of mothers/pregnant women in the country and if so, the details of such schemes, funds allocated/utilised and number of beneficiaries since implementation of these Schemes; and
- (f)  the  steps  taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to reduce infant mortality rate?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY

## WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

- (a):  As  per  the  latest  Sample  Registration  System  (SRS)  Bulletin  of  Registrar  General  of India, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) at National level is 30 per 1,000 Live Births in 2019. The State/UT-wise and year-wise detail since 2010 is placed at Annexure 1.
- (b)  to  (d):  Sample  Registration  System  of  Registrar  General  of  India  is  responsible  for generating data on regular basis on population statistics including Vital Statistics (Birth and Death) and Census.

The  major  causes  of  Infant  Mortality  in  India  as  per  the  SRS  reports  (2010-13)  include Prematurity  &  low  birth  weight,  Pneumonia,  Birth  asphyxia  &  birth  trauma,  Other  non- communicable  diseases,  Diarrhoeal  diseases,  Ill-defined  or  cause  unknown,  Congenital anomalies, Acute bacterial sepsis and severe infections, Injuries, Fever of unknown origin.

To ascertain the number and causes of child death, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated Child Death Review programme in August, 2014 and recently, Maternal, Perinatal, Child  Death  Surveillance  and  Response  (MPCDSR)  portal  has  been  launched  for  online reporting and reviewing of child deaths.

The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country has shown significant and consistent decline since the inception of National Health Mission due to implementation of various schemes in the States/ UTs.

(e): In order to address the problem of malnutrition in the country, Government implements several  schemes  and  programs  like  Anganwadi  Services,  Scheme  for  Adolescent  Girls  and Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  under  the  Umbrella  Integrated  Child  Development Services  Scheme  as  direct  targeted  interventions.  Government  has  also  set  up  POSHAN Abhiyaan ,  which  has  one  of  the  aim  to  prevent  and  reduce  prevalence  of  anaemia  among Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.

Government  has  also  taken  further  measures  to  strengthen  nutritional  content,  delivery, outreach and outcomes with focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity  to  disease  and  malnutrition.  Steps  have  also  been  taken  to  improve  nutritional quality and testing, strengthen delivery and leverage technology under the Poshan Tracker, a robust ICT enabled platform, to improve governance with regard to real time monitoring of provisioning of supplementary nutrition for prompt supervisions and management of services.

Government  has  advised  States/UTs  to  ensure  that  the  quality  of  supplementary  nutrition conforms to prescribed standards laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and regulations made thereunder and also to promote use of AYUSH systems for prevention of malnutrition and related diseases. A programme to support development of Poshan Vatikas at  Anganwadi  centres  to  meet  dietary  diversity  gap  leveraging  traditional  knowledge  in nutritional practices has also been taken up.

Mission  Poshan  2.0,  an  integrated  nutrition  support  programme,  has  been  announced  in Budget 2021-22.

Details of funds released to States/UTs under POSHAN Abhiyaan and ICDS Scheme from FY 2017-18 to FY 2020-21.

| Total Central Funds released to States/UTs from FY 2017-18 to FY 2020-21 (Amount in Lakhs)   | Total Central Funds released to States/UTs from FY 2017-18 to FY 2020-21 (Amount in Lakhs)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| POSHAN Abhiyaan                                                                              | ICDS scheme                                                                                  |
| 5,31,279.08                                                                                  | 34,00,721.54                                                                                 |

Till  date,  a  total  of 9.22  crore beneficiaries  are  registered  under  the  ICDS  scheme  as  per ICDS Rapid Reporting System (RRS) data.

(f):  In  order  to  bring  down  Infant  Mortality  Rate,  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare (MoHFW) is supporting all States/UTs in implementation of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under National Health Mission  (NHM)  based  on  the  Annual  Program  Implementation  Plan  (APIP)  submitted  by States/ UTs. The interventions include:

-  Facility Based New Born Care-Sick New-born Care Units (SNCUs) are established at District Hospital and Medical College level and New-born Stabilization Units (NBSUs) established at First Referral Units (FRUs)/ Community Health Centres (CHC) for care of sick and small babies.
-  Under Home Based New-born Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care of Young Children (HBYC)  program,  home  visits  by  ASHAs  are  conducted  to  improve  child  rearing practices and to identify sick new-born and young children in the community.
-  Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for first six months and appropriate Infant and  Young  Child  Feeding  (IYCF)  practices  are  promoted  under  Mothers'  Absolute Affection (MAA).
-  Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia  Successfully  (SAANS) initiative has been launched for reduction of Childhood morbidity and mortality due to Pneumonia.
-  Universal  Immunization  Programme  (UIP)  is  implemented  to  provide  vaccination  to children  against  life  threatening  diseases  such  as  Tuberculosis,  Diphtheria,  Pertussis, Polio,  Tetanus,  Hepatitis  B,  Measles,  Rubella,  Pneumonia  and  Meningitis  caused  by Haemophilus Influenzae B. The Rotavirus vaccination has also been rolled out in the country for prevention of Rota-viral diarrhoea. Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) has been introduced in all the States and UTs.
-  Children from 0 to 18 years of age are screened for 30 health conditions (i.e. Diseases, Deficiencies, Defects and Developmental  delay) under 'Rashtriya Bal  Swasthya Karyakaram  (RBSK)'  to  improve  child  survival.  District  Early  Intervention  Centre (DEIC) at district health facility level are established for confirmation and management of children screened under RBSK.
-  Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) have been set up at public health facilities to treat  and  manage  the  children  with  Severe  Acute  Malnutrition  (SAM)  admitted  with medical complications.
-  Intensified  Diarrhoea  Control  Fortnight  /  Defeat  Diarrhoea  (D2)  initiative  has  been launched for promoting ORS and Zinc use and for reducing diarrheal deaths.
-  Several capacity building programs of health care providers are conducted for improving maternal and child survival and health outcomes.

## Annexure 1

|       |                                 | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   | Infant Mortality Rate (SRS)   |
|-------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| S. N. |                                 | 201                           | 2011                          | 2012                          | 2013                          | 2014                          | 2015                          | 2016                          | 2017                          | 2018                          | 2019                          |
|       | ALL INDIA                       | 0 47                          | 44                            | 42                            | 40                            | 39                            | 37                            | 34                            | 33                            | 32                            | 30                            |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh                  | 46                            | 43                            | 41                            | 39                            | 39                            | 37                            | 34                            | 32                            | 29                            | 25                            |
| 2     | A&N Islands                     | 25                            | 23                            | 24                            | 24                            | 22                            | 20                            | 16                            | 14                            | 9                             | 7                             |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh               | 31                            | 32                            | 33                            | 32                            | 30                            | 30                            | 36                            | 42                            | 37                            | 29                            |
| 4     | Assam                           | 58                            | 55                            | 55                            | 54                            | 49                            | 47                            | 44                            | 44                            | 41                            | 40                            |
| 5     | Bihar                           | 48                            | 44                            | 43                            | 42                            | 42                            | 42                            | 38                            | 35                            | 32                            | 29                            |
| 6     | Chandigarh                      | 22                            | 20                            | 20                            | 21                            | 23                            | 21                            | 14                            | 14                            | 13                            | 13                            |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh                    | 51                            | 48                            | 47                            | 46                            | 43                            | 41                            | 39                            | 38                            | 41                            | 40                            |
| 8     | D&N Haveli                      | 38                            | 35                            | 33                            | 31                            | 26                            | 21                            | 17                            | 13                            | 13                            | 11                            |
| 9     | Daman &Diu                      | 23                            | 22                            | 22                            | 20                            | 18                            | 18                            | 19                            | 17                            | 16                            | 17                            |
| 10    | Delhi                           | 30                            | 28                            | 25                            | 24                            | 20                            | 18                            | 18                            | 16                            | 13                            | 11                            |
| 11    | Goa                             | 10                            | 11                            | 10                            | 9                             | 10                            | 9                             | 8                             | 9                             | 7                             | 8                             |
| 12    | Gujarat                         | 44                            | 41                            | 38                            | 36                            | 35                            | 33                            | 30                            | 30                            | 28                            | 25                            |
| 13    | Haryana                         | 48                            | 44                            | 42                            | 41                            | 36                            | 36                            | 33                            | 30                            | 30                            | 27                            |
| 14    | Himachal Pradesh                | 40                            | 38                            | 36                            | 35                            | 32                            | 28                            | 25                            | 22                            | 19                            | 19                            |
| 15    | Jammu &Kashmir including Ladakh | 43                            | 41                            | 39                            | 37                            | 34                            | 26                            | 24                            | 23                            | 22                            | 20                            |
| 16    | Jharkhand                       | 42                            | 39                            | 38                            | 37                            | 34                            | 32                            | 29                            | 29                            | 30                            | 27                            |
| 17    | Karnataka                       | 38                            | 35                            | 32                            | 31                            | 29                            | 28                            | 24                            | 25                            | 23                            | 21                            |
| 18    | Kerala                          | 13                            | 12                            | 12                            | 12                            | 12                            | 12                            | 10                            | 10                            | 7                             | 6                             |
| 19    | Lakshadweep                     | 25                            | 24                            | 24                            | 24                            | 20                            | 20                            | 19                            | 20                            | 14                            | 8                             |
| 20    | Madhya Pradesh                  | 62                            | 59                            | 56                            | 54                            | 52                            | 50                            | 47                            | 47                            | 48                            | 46                            |
| 21    | Maharashtra                     | 28                            | 25                            | 25                            | 24                            | 22                            | 21                            | 19                            | 19                            | 19                            | 17                            |
| 22    | Manipur                         | 14                            | 11                            | 10                            | 10                            | 11                            | 9                             | 11                            | 12                            | 11                            | 10                            |
| 23    | Meghalaya                       | 55                            | 52                            | 49                            | 47                            | 46                            | 42                            | 39                            | 39                            | 33                            | 33                            |
| 24    | Mizoram                         | 37                            | 34                            | 35                            | 35                            | 32                            | 32                            | 27                            | 15                            | 5                             | 3                             |
| 25    | Nagaland                        | 23                            | 21                            | 18                            | 18                            | 14                            | 12                            | 12                            | 7                             | 4                             | 3                             |
| 26    | Odisha                          | 61                            | 57                            | 53                            | 51                            | 49                            | 46                            | 44                            | 41                            | 40                            | 38                            |
| 27    | Puducherry                      | 22                            | 19                            | 17                            | 17                            | 14                            | 11                            | 10                            | 11                            | 11                            | 9                             |
| 28    | Punjab                          | 34                            | 30                            | 28                            | 26                            | 24                            | 23                            | 21                            | 21                            | 20                            | 19                            |
| 29    | Rajasthan                       | 55                            | 52                            | 49                            | 47                            | 46                            | 43                            | 41                            | 38                            | 37                            | 35                            |
| 30    | Sikkim                          | 30                            | 26                            | 24                            | 22                            | 19                            | 18                            | 16                            | 12                            | 7                             | 5                             |
| 31    | Tamil Nadu                      | 24                            | 22                            | 21                            | 21                            | 20                            | 19                            | 17                            | 16                            | 15                            | 15                            |
| 32    | Telangana                       |                               |                               |                               |                               | 35                            | 34                            | 31                            | 29                            | 27                            | 23                            |
| 33    | Tripura                         | 27                            | 29                            | 28                            | 26                            | 21                            | 20                            | 24                            | 29                            | 27                            | 21                            |
| 34    | Uttar Pradesh                   | 61                            | 57                            | 53                            | 50                            | 48                            | 46                            | 43                            | 41                            | 43                            | 41                            |
| 35 36 | Uttarakhand West Bengal         | 38 31                         | 36 32                         | 34 32                         | 32 31                         | 33 28                         | 34 26                         | 38 25                         | 32 24                         | 31 22                         | 27 20                         |