Telangana’s infant mortality rate dips, beats national average

Hyderabad: Telangana has continued to outperform the national average in infant health indicators, recording an Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, according to the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) report released by the Office of the Registrar General of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.The state ranked fifth among major states and remained significantly below the national average IMR of 24. Telangana has consistently maintained a lower IMR than the national average since its formation in 2014. Over the past decade, the state’s IMR declined sharply from 35 in 2014 to 17 in 2024, while the national IMR reduced from 39 to 24 during the same period.Infant Mortality Rate is a key indicator of public health and measures the number of deaths of infants below one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year.However, the report highlighted a continuing rural-urban disparity in infant survival rates within Telangana. Rural areas recorded an IMR of 19, compared to 14 in urban areas. At the national level, rural India reported an IMR of 27, while urban India stood at 17.Among major states, Chhattisgarh recorded the highest IMR at 36, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh at 35 each. Kerala remained the best-performing large state with an IMR of 8, while Delhi and Tamil Nadu reported 11 each.A senior official from the Telangana health department attributed the improvement to sustained focus on maternal and child healthcare through regular antenatal care, institutional deliveries and early screening of high-risk pregnancies.“ASHA and ANM workers conduct early pregnancy registrations and continuous check-ups to screen for hypertension, gestational diabetes and severe anaemia. Interventions such as the Aarogya Laxmi nutrition programme and Amma Vodi free transport services for pregnant women are expected to further reduce disparities between rural and urban areas,” the official said.The official added that the growing trust in the public healthcare system can also be seen from the fact that even children of AIS officers have been born in government hospitals in recent months across the states.Public health experts noted that Telangana’s progress reflected improvements in institutional deliveries, expanded immunisation coverage and stronger maternal healthcare services over the years.“The steady decline in infant mortality is encouraging. However, the rural-urban gap shows that access to neonatal care, nutrition and awareness still needs strengthening in rural areas. Focused interventions at the primary healthcare level will be important to bring the numbers down further,” said Dr K Sadhana, senior gynaecologist.The SRS data also pointed to broader demographic trends in Telangana. Telangana recorded a birth rate of 15.7 per 1,000 population, lower than the national average of 18.3, while the natural growth rate stood at 9.1 compared to India’s 11.9.