Infant Mortality Rate: Too Varied To Celebrate

It may bring some relief that the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India has fallen from 50 to 32 per 1,000 live births over the past decade, but the wide variation in numbers across the country offsets the achievement.

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Data released recently by the office of the Registrar General of India in its Sample Registration System bulletin shows that the numbers vary dramatically among states and between rural and urban areas. Nagaland, for instance, reported the lowest IMR of 4, while Madhya Pradesh reported the maximum IMR of 48.