Among modifiable factors linked to children’s well-being and cognitive development, maternal health, early nutrition, infections and education are well known. The National Family Health Survey, started in 1991, has tracked these measures with growing detail. Early rounds covered only ever-married women aged 13-49 and children under four, recording only height and weight. Later rounds added measurements for women, haemoglobin tests, never-married women, men, blood pressure and glucose, and greatly expanded the sample. NFHS-6 now includes hepatitis B and C testing. Teenage marriage fell from 54 percent in the first survey to about 20 percent now, though rates remain higher in some states. Low BMI among women dropped from 36 percent to 19.7 percent. Anaemia in pregnant women stays above 50 percent, and full iron supplementation reaches only 38 percent of cases. Under-five underweight prevalence holds near 32 percent nationally, with wide state differences. Full vaccination of children has risen to 87 percent. School attendance is high at ages 6-10 but falls by ages 15-17. More than ten years of schooling is reported by 46 percent of women and 55 percent of men. The data show gains in several areas yet underline the need for further economic support and social change.
