News In Shorts

The report is compiled by the Registrar General of India (RGI), Ministry of Home Affairs.

Key highlights of the report 

• Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB): (excluding Sikkim) was 928 females per 1000 males.
  • Highest - Arunachal Pradesh (1,085)
  • Lowest – Jharkhand (899)
• Share of institutional Deaths and Births (excluding Sikkim)- 74.7% and 24%.
• Births: Number of registered births decreased by 0.9% from 2022.
  • Level of Registration of Births (LoR)- 98.4%
  • Births registered in urban areas was higher than in rural areas.
• Deaths: Number of registered deaths increased by 0.1% from 2022
  • Level of Registration of Deaths (LoR)- 97.2%
  • Deaths registered in rural areas was higher in urban areas.
• Infant deaths increased from 2022
• 21 and 19 States/UTs have achieved 100% level of registration of births and deaths respectively.
  • Birth and death registrations for males was higher than females in both rural and urban areas. 

Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 4^th issue of the Children in India 2025 Report.

• The report provides details on children’s education, health, nutrition, protection, etc. to guide evidence-based policies to improve children’s rights and well-being.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Decreased from 44 (2011) to 25 (2023).
  • IMR is the number of deaths of infants (children below 1 year of age) per 1,000 live births in a given year.
• Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR): Declined from 30 (2022) to 29 (2023).
  • U5MR is the probability of a child dying before reaching the age of five, expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births in a given year.
• Birth Rate: Declined to 18.4 per 1,000 population in 2023 ; Rural: 20.3, Urban: 14.9
• Dropout Rate (2022-23 to 2024-25):
  • Preparatory stage: Dropped from 8.7% to 2.3%.
  • Middle level: Declined from 8.1% to 3.5%.
  • Secondary level: Reduced from 13.8% to 8.2%.
• Child Marriage (Women aged 20-24 married before 18): Reduced from 26.8% (2015-16) to 23.3% (2019-21).
• Adoption Statistics: Total adoptions increased from 3,927 (2017-18) to 4,515 (2024-25).
  • In-country adoptions: 4,155; Inter-country adoptions: 360–653 annually.
• Gender Parity Index (GPI): Achieved parity across all education stages in 2024-25.

Key Highlights 

• Decline in Global Tobacco Use: The global prevalence of current tobacco use among adults significantly dropped from 26.2% (2010) to 19.5% (2024).
  • Despite this reduction, 1 in 5 adult’s worldwide remains hooked on tobacco.
• Rising Popularity of E-Cigarettes: More than 100 million people worldwide use e-cigarettes.

India’s Progress and Status

• Tobacco Use in India (2024): In 2024, India accounted for approximately 243.48 million tobacco users aged 15 and older.
• India on Track to Meet WHO NCD Target: India's expected relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence between 2010 and 2025 is substantially high, projected at 43%.
  • WHO NCD Target to achieve a 30% reduction in tobacco use by 2025.

India’s Steps to Curb Tobacco Use

• Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003: Prohibits smoking in public places; ban on sale of tobacco products to minors, etc.
• Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022: Provided images for display on package with health warnings.
• National Tobacco Control Programme: To create awareness & reduce the production and supply of tobacco products.
• Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched the Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative.

• It will be implemented under the Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U).

About SSJ initiative:

• It is a structured mentorship and collaborative action program involving 72 mentor cities and around 200 mentee cities.
  • The mentee cities will get direct exposure to well performing cities to replicate their best practices.
• Aim:  Foster knowledge and experience sharing, peer learning and transforming best practices in sanitation and waste management across urban India.