Country’s infant mortality rate down marginally

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country has gone down marginally, from 55 per thousand live births to 53, over the last one year, according to the latest figures released by the Registrar General of India (RGI).

While the figures may seem unimpressive compared to the IMR in developed nations — it’s 3.2 in Japan and 3 in Singapore — health ministry officials said the steady decline over the last three years is a positive sign. India hopes to reduce its IMR to 30 per thousand live births by 2012.

IMR is the number of deaths of infants under one year in a given year per thousand live births.

This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country. According to the United Nations, the current world infant mortality rate is 49.4.

While states like Kerala (12), Delhi (35), Maharashtra (33), Tamil Nadu (31), West Bengal (35), Goa (10) and Manipur (14) and union territories Puducherry (25) and Chandigarh (28) are better off, states like Karnataka (45), Gujarat (50), Madhya Pradesh (70), Uttar Pradesh (67), Rajasthan (63), Orissa (69) and Assam (64) remain areas of concern for the government.

The IMR in urban areas was 36 in 2008 (compared to 37 in 2007) while in rural areas it was 58 (61 in 2007), according to the report.