Bihar catches up with national average of IMR

At 26, Bihar has been able to catch up with the national average of infant mortality rate (IMR), but ranks eighth highest in the country among 37 states and Union territories, as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) data for 2022, released on June 12 this year, said officials.

- Ruchir Kumar

PATNA:

The improved IMR, which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given period, is a pointer to better medical facilities available for newborns and higher number of institutional deliveries in the state, said officials.

Bihar's IMR, which was 44 in 2011, the same as India, showed a very slow decline to 42 in 2015 (India's average was 37), having been constant for the previous two years (2013 & 2014).

The first significant drop was in 2016, when the state recorded an IMR of 38, a drop by 4 points as compared to the previous year, the SRS data revealed.