Sex ratio improves, infant mortality up

NEW DELHI: More girls were born in Delhi in 2015 as compared to the previous year, according to Delhi’s annual report on registration of births and deaths in 2015. But on the flip side, there was a rise in the number of infant deaths.

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The report was released on Wednesday by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

In 2015, Delhi’s sex ratio at birth increased by two points, from 896 to 898. “The situation is now getting better and Delhi has shown a healthy improvement in the sex ratio. Now, it is very difficult to get a sex-selective abortion done in Delhi. The rules are being followed strictly,” said Delhi health secretary Dr Tarun Seem.

In 2015, 83 more children below the age of one died in Delhi. There were 8,695 infant deaths in 2015 as compared to 8,612 in 2014, taking the infant mortality rate up from 21.66 to 23.25.

Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants under one-year-old per 1,000 live births. This means, 6.98% of the total 1,24,516 deaths in 2015, were that of babies below the age of 1.

But quoting the sample registration system (SRS) data, Sisodia said, “Infant mortality rate in Delhi decreased from 25 per thousand live birth in 2012 to 24 in 2013 and then 20 in 2014.” The SRS data for 2015 is not available.

The report shows hypertension killed 6,200 people in Delhi in 2015 -- 4.98% of all deaths in Delhi. Hypertension was the second major killer after septicaemia. Blood infection resulted in 8.31% of all deaths.

The report says the average number of births per day in Delhi was 1,025 and the average number of deaths per day was 314 in 2015, making the net natural increase in population 684 per day. “According to the data, the natural increase in population in 2015 should be 2.50 lakhs, the remaining increase is due to migration,” Sisodia said.

The data showed that a total of 3,74,012 births were registered with the corporation in 2015, an increase of 319 registered birth from 2014. However, the birth rate – number of live births per 1,000 population – reduced from 20.9 in 2014 to 20.5 in 2015.

“Institutional deliveries – births in hospitals and maternity homes -- increased from 81.75% in 2013 to 82.83% in 2014 and then 84.41 % in 2015. Of the 3.16 lakhs institutional births, about 2.12 lakhs (67.2%) births occurred in government hospitals in 2015,” said Sisodia.