Naveen announces prize money for dists reducing MMR, IMR

With Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) remaining high despite all out efforts by the Odisha government, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced provision of Rs one crore prize each for districts, which successfully reduce the rates.
"The districts which will successfully reduce the IMR and MMR will be given cash prize of Rs one crore each every year," Patnaik announced this during the second session of the ongoing Collectors' Conference at the state secretariat.
While one prize would be for reducing IMR, another would go to the district for its success in bringing down the rate of MMR.

Patnaik's announcement was made in the backdrop of the fact that Odisha tops the list in both early neo-natal mortality rate (ENMR) and IMR in the country.
While the ENMR in Odisha remains at 28, it is only four in Kerala. The national average for ENMR is 22.
ENMR in other states like Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat also remained less than Odisha.
In case of IMR, it is 51 in Odisha, while the figure is only 12 in Kerala. The national average for IMR is 40.
In case of MMR, Odisha remains at the top despite implementation of several schemes. Against the national average of 167 in MMR, it is 222 in Odisha, second to Rajasthan, which records 244 mother deaths.