New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) The parameters included in the sixth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) factsheets were finalised based on recommendations of a Technical Advisory Committee in line with the government’s data harmonisation push, and intend to present only key health and family welfare indicators, the Rajya Sabha was informed Tuesday.
Responding to query on omission of indicators such as mortality, sex ratio at birth, prevalence of anaemia and teenage pregnancy from the recently-released NFHS-6 factsheets, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said the integrated national survey covered a wide range of health and family welfare domains.
She said the indicators to be included in the NFHS-6 factsheets were finalised based on recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) constituted for the survey.
The committee comprised representatives from various ministries and departments, including the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, NITI Aayog, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, among others.
According to the minister, the TAC recommended finalising the list of indicators for the factsheets in line with the Government of India’s data harmonisation initiatives to avoid inconsistencies arising from fragmented data from different official sources.
“The TAC further recommended that the Fact Sheets are intended to present only key indicators, particularly those related to health and family welfare, to better highlight the key takeaways of the survey,” Patel said in her written reply.
The National Family Health Survey, conducted by the Union health ministry, provides data on broad domains such as population characteristics, fertility and fertility preferences, family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition, morbidity and healthcare, women’s empowerment and other indicators.
The national and state/Union territory factsheets of NFHS-6 — for the period of 2023-24 — were released May 29, 2026.
On anaemia, Patel said the Union health ministry, after due deliberations, has decided to adopt prevalence estimates from an independent survey being conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which uses the sophisticated intravenous method for haemoglobin testing.
She said this methodology would be used for arriving at prevalence figures of anaemia.
The minister also informed the House that both NFHS-6 (2023-24) and NFHS-5 (2019-21) factsheets, along with the indicators featured in them, have been placed in public domain.
Replying to concerns over lack of updated official data on the indicators not included in the factsheets, Patel said the government, under the National Health Mission, regularly assesses planning, monitoring and implementation of maternal, child and nutrition health programmes.
She said this is done through periodic regional and state-level review meetings, field visits to states and Union territories, and various digital platforms.
The minister’s response came to a question seeking reasons for deletion of crucial data, including mortality, sex ratio at birth, prevalence of anaemia and teenage pregnancy — indicators which featured in NFHS-5 — from the recently-published NFHS-6, and the measures taken to address the absence of updated official data related to these indicators. PTI PLB ARB ARB
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