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Introduction
At the turn of the century, the Millennium Summit saw world leaders accept and ratify the United Nations Millennium Declaration. Derived from this declaration were the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Set for the year 2015, the eight goals committed to bring about progress in the worlds poorest nations. This article will discuss MDG-4 and India's achievements of its targets.

Under-5 mortality (U5MR) refers to the probability of death (per 1000 live births) of a child dying before the age of five. Almost half of these deaths are neonatal deaths, occurring mostly due to peripartum complications and infections. The U5MR also is a good indicator of various other influential factors like maternal nutritional status, vaccination levels in the country, accessibiity to maternal and childcare services, and so on.

The MDG-4 had only one target: To reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, U5MR.

Main Sources of Statistics in India
Four important sources produce essential health statistics in India


 * 1) The Sample Registration System (SRS)
 * 2) The Civil Registration System (CRS)
 * 3) Indirect estimates from the decennial census
 * 4) Indirect estimates from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS)

The first three are under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while the NFHS is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Sample Registration System (SRS)
The SRS was devised in the 1960s, and its primary objective is to generate yearly vital statistics for the states and the nation based on a probability sample. The SRS provides regular and reliable statistics particularly on fertility and mortality. The Office of the Registrar General of India measures their achievements of India's MDG-4 targets using data released by the SRS.

India's progress with MDG-4
In 1990, U5MR in India was 125. The MDG target was set at 42. India almost achieved the goal, and in 2015, its U5MR was 43.

Urban-Rural Divide of U5MR
The Rural-Urban divide has been decreasing in terms of U5MR over the years.