India’s IMR has witnessed a remarkable decline of over 37% in the last decade falling from 40 per 1,000 live births in 2013 to 25 by 2023, as per the Sample Registration Survey.

This decline outpaces the global average and reflects strengthened institutional deliveries in both rural (96.16%) and urban (99.88%) areas. hile the national trend shows steady improvement averaging 1.4 points per year in recent years India still lags behind Asia’s regional IMR average of 17.4.

Kerala stands out with a single-digit IMR of just 5 per 1,000 lower than the United States’ 2022 rate of 5.6 while eliminating rural–urban disparity and delivering such levels through inclusive healthcare interventions. Major states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh remain outliers with IMRs as high as 37, whereas states like Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka registered more than 50% reduction in IMR over the decade.