{"id":105828,"date":"2026-05-30T11:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=105828"},"modified":"2026-05-30T11:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:53:07","slug":"national-family-health-survey-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-family-health-survey-6\/","title":{"rendered":"National Family Health Survey &#8211; Key Findings of the Latest Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>National Family Health Survey Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union Health Ministry has released the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) findings, showing significant progress in maternal and child health alongside a sharp rise in obesity and diabetes among Indian adults.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>About the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round household survey conducted across India to provide reliable data on population, health, nutrition, and family welfare indicators.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is one of the most comprehensive sources of health data in the country and plays a crucial role in shaping public health policies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Background and Institutional Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nodal Agency: International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, conducts the survey on behalf of the MoHFW.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Round: Conducted in 1992-93<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Latest Round: NFHS-6, conducted in 2023-24, is the first survey after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Coverage and Methodology<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NFHS-6 covered <\/span><b>approximately 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in all States and Union Territories, except <\/span><b>Manipur<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It collects data on indicators such as:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fertility and contraception<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maternal and child health<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nutritional status<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaccination coverage<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Non-communicable diseases<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Domestic violence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women&#8217;s empowerment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanitation and hygiene<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Findings of the NFHS-6<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><b>Maternal and Child Health: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey recorded significant progress in maternal and child health indicators:<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><b>Institutional Deliveries<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Institutional deliveries rose to 90.6% from 88.6% in NFHS-5 (2019-21).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflects sustained expansion of public healthcare and schemes like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/janani-suraksha-yojana\/\" target=\"_blank\">Janani Suraksha Yojana<\/a> <\/strong>(JSY) and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-is-pradhan-mantri-surakshit-matritva-abhiyan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan<\/a><\/strong> (PMSMA).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><b>Caesarean Section Deliveries<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">C-section deliveries rose sharply to 27.2% from 21.5%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In private healthcare facilities, the rate jumped to 54.1% from 47.4%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In public health facilities, it rose to 16.9% from 14.3%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In urban areas, the rate stands at 40%, far exceeding the WHO optimal threshold of 10-15%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><b>Antenatal Care<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">95.9% of pregnant women received antenatal care.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">76.2% received care in the first trimester (up from 70%).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mothers receiving at least four antenatal visits rose from 58.5% to 65.2%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><b>Maternal Nutrition<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mothers consuming iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements for 100+ days rose from 44.1% to 54.9%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those consuming IFA supplements for 180+ days rose from 26% to 37.8%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Child Nutrition and Health<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Improvements in Child Nutrition<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stunting among children under 5 declined from 35.5% to 29.3%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Severe wasting dropped from 7.7% to 5.2%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Underweight children declined marginally from 32.1% to 31.8%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><b>Child Health<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acute respiratory infection symptoms fell from 2.8% to 1.9%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Severe diarrhoea prevalence dropped to 0.5%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Breastfeeding<\/b>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">95.6% of infants under six months were being breastfed during the survey period.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Vaccination Coverage<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months rose from 83.8% to 87.1%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">95.6% of children received most vaccinations through public health facilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rotavirus vaccination coverage rose dramatically from 36.4% to 85.4%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second dose of measles-containing vaccine coverage increased from 58.6% to 71.8%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fertility and Contraception<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total Fertility Rate (TFR) held steady at 2.0, just below the replacement threshold of 2.1.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) rose from 66.7% to 69.1%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Menstrual Hygiene<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use of hygienic methods of menstrual protection among women aged 15-24 years rose from 77.6% to 79.2%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Rising Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NFHS-6 has flagged a concerning rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and lifestyle-related risks, marking a significant shift in India&#8217;s health landscape.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sharp Rise in Obesity<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Women<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proportion of women aged 15-49 who were overweight or obese rose from 24% to 30.7%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban areas: 42.8% of women are overweight or obese.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rural areas: 25.5% of women are overweight or obese.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Men<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proportion of men aged 15-49 who were overweight or obese rose from 22.9% to 27.3%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban areas: 36.3% of men are overweight or obese.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rural areas: 23% of men are overweight or obese.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rising Diabetes Prevalence<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Men<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proportion of men with high blood sugar (&gt;140 mg\/dl) or taking medication rose from 15.6% to 20.9%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban areas: 23.9% of men affected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rural areas: 19.7% of men affected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Women<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proportion of women with high blood sugar rose from 13.5% to 17.8%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban areas: 21.9% of women affected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rural areas: 16.2% of women affected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Significance and Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Progress Areas<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthening of public healthcare systems and maternal health programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improved vaccination coverage indicates the success of Mission Indradhanush and the Universal Immunisation Programme.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Better antenatal care reflects effective implementation of JSY, JSSK, and PMSMA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Declining stunting and wasting show the impact of POSHAN Abhiyaan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Areas of Concern<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excessive C-section deliveries, especially in private facilities, indicate potential overmedicalisation and the need for stricter regulation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rising obesity and diabetes signal a public health crisis requiring urgent intervention.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban-rural disparities in lifestyle diseases highlight changing food habits and sedentary lifestyles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s dual burden of malnutrition, i.e. persistent undernutrition among children (stunting, wasting, underweight) and rising overnutrition (obesity) among adults. This requires integrated nutrition strategies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/health\/over-90-of-indian-babies-born-in-hospitals-87-of-one-year-olds-fully-vaccinated-nfhs-6\/article71037506.ece#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/health-wellness\/sharp-rise-in-obesity-diabetes-in-five-years-since-2019-shows-latest-health-survey-10714931\/#:~:text=Adult%20obesity%20in%20India%20is,Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Family\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/theprint.in\/india\/sharp-rise-in-obesity-high-blood-sugar-levels-among-indian-adults-survey\/2945581\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Print<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>National Family Health Survey &#8211; 6 reveals 90% institutional deliveries, improved child nutrition, but a sharp rise in obesity and diabetes among Indian adults.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":105836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,4708,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-105828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-national-family-health-survey","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105828"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105843,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105828\/revisions\/105843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}