According to the survey conducted by India's National Family Health Survey, half the children's population in India is malnourished. This survey covers around 200,000 people and is the third one since 1992-1993.

On a comparative note, the survey indicates that infant mortality in rural areas is 62% while it is 42% in urban regions. Underweight children account for are 46% while in China it is only 8%. On the nutrition front, it is as poor as Burkina, Faso and Cambodia which are the poorest countries in the world.

On the brighter side, 51% of pregnant women visit the doctors as against 44% in the last survey. There is also a drop in infant mortality.