Parliament Question: Exclusion of Certain Indicators in NFHS - 6

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2098 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31-07-2026 EXCLUSION OFCERTAININDICATORS IN NFHS- 6 2098.SMT.KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI: Will the Minister of HEALTH & FAMILYWELFARE be pleasedtostate: (a) whether the Government is aware that certain indicators, including anaemia prevalence, infant mortality rate and sex ratio at birth are not included in the NFHS-6 factsheetsreleasedinMay 2026; (b) if so, the detailsthereof andthe reasons for non-inclusion therefor; (c) whether the Government has assessed the impact of the non-inclusion of such indicators on the planning, monitoring and implementation of maternal and child health and nutritionprogrammes; and (d) if so, the detailsthereof ? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SMT.ANUPRIYA PATEL) (a) to (d): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) conducts an integrated survey namely National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The survey provides data on health and family welfare and associated domains like characteristics of the population; fertility and fertility preferences; family planning; maternal and child health; nutrition; morbidity and healthcare; women’s empowerment, etc. The National and State/UT Fact Sheets of sixth round of NFHS(2023-24) were releasedon29.05.2026. The indicators to be included in the NFHS-6 National and State/UT Fact Sheets were finalized on the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) constituted for NFHS-6, comprising representatives from concerned Ministries/Departments including Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, NITI Aayog, Department of Empowermentof Personswith Disabilities (DEPwD) etc.The TAC recommended finalizing the list of indicators for the Fact Sheets in line with the Data Harmonization initiatives of the Government of India, so as to avoid inconsistencies arising from fragmented and unharmonized data available across different official data sources. The TAC further recommended that the Fact Sheets are intended to present only key indicators, particularly those related to health andfamily welfare, so as tobetter highlight the keytakeawaysof the survey. Additionally, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, after due deliberations, decided to adopt the prevalence figures of anaemia to be arrived from an independent survey conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research utilizing the gold standard intravenous method for haemoglobintesting. The Sample Registration System (SRS), conducted by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, provides annual estimates of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB). SRS data are used for annual monitoring of mortality/vital indicatorssuch asIMR andSRB. Under National Health Mission, the Government of India assesses the planning monitoring and implementation of various maternal, child and nutrition health schemes by undertaking periodic Regional/State level review meetings, field visits in various States/Union Territories (UTs)andthrough variousdigitalplatforms. *******