The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the key findings of the Sixth Round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), 2023-24. Executed independently by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) across 679,238 households, NFHS-6 provides vital data to track India’s progress toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
It was seen that the demographics & welfare rate of thepopulation aged 60+ grew to 12.9%. Health insurance coverage saw a massive surge, rising from 41.0% in NFHS-5 to 60.2%.The Total Fertility Rate stabilized at 2.0. Women marrying before the legal age of 18 dropped nationally to 20.1%.In maternal care it was seen , institutional deliveries reached 90.6%. However, Caesarean sections jumped to 27.2% nationally, soaring to 54.1% in private facilities. Full immunizationbin children rose to 82.6%. Child stunting dropped sharply from 35.5% to 29.3%Obesity rose to 30.7% for women and 27.3% for men, alongside a spike in high blood sugar levels.
Divergent state trends emerged. Andhra Pradesh led in health insurance (91.9%) but faced high C-section rates (52.2%). Bihar showed remarkable nutritional recovery, cutting child stunting to 35.6%. Assam significantly reduced child marriage to 25.3%, while Arunachal Pradesh achieved 98.2% household electricity connectivity.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda noted that NFHS-6 will critically enable policymakers to formulate informed, corrective interventions at state and national levels.
Written by: Pragna Biswas
Graphics by: Pramit Hazra
