Indicators ‘missing’ in NFHS being monitored through national databases, say sources

Union Health Ministry sources addressed criticism directed at “missing” indicators, such as anaemia, sanitation and coverage of clean cooking fuel, in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 factsheets saying those are being monitored through dedicated national surveys and administrative databases, and were not ‘duplicated’ in the preliminary release.

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Responding to “commentary in sections of the media regarding the absence of certain indicators”, official sources said the factsheets represent the first stage of dissemination and cover 101 major indicators intended to provide a concise snapshot of India’s most critical health and demographic trends.

“The factsheets are the first stage of dissemination. The detailed national report will provide a much broader picture,” sources said. The report will be released subsequently with a much wider range of indicators, detailed analyses and methodological documentation.

“The objective is to ensure that each indicator is reported through the most appropriate and authoritative source, reducing duplication and improving overall data coherence,” one of the sources said.

The sources said several indicators cited as “missing” from the factsheets are being monitored through dedicated national systems. Sanitation and clean cooking fuel coverage, for instance, are tracked through specialised surveys and administrative platforms such as Swachh Survekshan Grameen and the Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry’s surveys, making duplication within the factsheets unnecessary, they said.

Key statistics relating to mortality, birth registration and population characteristics continue to be generated through established systems such as the Sample Registration System, Civil Registration System and Census framework, which remain the country’s designated sources for these indicators, the sources said.

On the absence of anaemia estimates in the factsheets, they said that haemoglobin testing was not undertaken in NFHS-6 due to concerns surrounding the capillary blood sampling methodology used in previous rounds.

Instead, anaemia prevalence estimates will be derived from the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Diet and Biomarkers Survey, which employs gold-standard venous blood sampling methods to improve accuracy and reliability. The decision reflects an effort to strengthen the quality of health data rather than reduce the survey’s scope, they said.

Far from narrowing the survey’s coverage, NFHS-6 has introduced several new indicators into the factsheets, including population composition, elderly population share, financial inclusion, antenatal care utilisation, vaccination coverage, severe diarrhoeal disease prevalence and expanded breastfeeding indicators, they said.

Official sources clarified that several indicators not reflected in the factsheets have not been dropped and will be presented in greater detail in the full national report. These include granular family planning indicators, selected child health interventions, further aspects related to women’s health and HIV-related findings.

They said that NFHS remains India’s largest and most comprehensive household health survey and continues to serve as a cornerstone for evidence-based policymaking. The final national report is currently being prepared in consultation with technical experts, relevant Ministries and development partners before its release, they said.

The NFHS questionnaire undergoes periodic refinement to reflect emerging policy priorities while maintaining survey quality and reducing respondent burden, a practice commonly followed by major household surveys worldwide, official sources said.

The evolution of the NFHS reporting framework reflects the growing maturity of India’s statistical architecture, where multiple specialised surveys and administrative databases increasingly complement one another to provide a more comprehensive, accurate and policy relevant picture of the country’s development journey, they said.