Kerala tops NITI's Health Index, UP worst performer

Kerala was followed by Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, according to the report 'Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on Rank of States and UTs'. Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha are among those which have performed poorly on the index. In terms of annual incremental performance, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are the top three states.

Kerala has topped among large states on overall health performance in NITI Aayog's Health Index, while Uttar Pradesh appears at the bottom though it has shown big improvement in the recent past.

Kerala was followed by Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, according to the report 'Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on Rank of States and UTs'. Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha are among those which have performed poorly on the index.

In terms of annual incremental performance, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are the top three states. These three states showed the maximum gains in indicators such as Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR), Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR), full immunisation coverage, institutional deliveries.

Among the smaller states, Mizoram ranked first followed by Manipur and Goa. Among Union Territories or UTs, Lakshadweep showed both the best overall performance as well as the highest annual incremental performance.

Releasing the report, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the government think tank believes that the Health Index will act as a tool to leverage co-operative and competitive federalism, accelerating the pace of achieving health outcomes.

(With PTI inputs)