NFHS

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a nationwide, large-sample household survey conducted under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, serving as the nodal agency. First launched in 1992–93, the NFHS belongs to the global Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme, with technical assistance historically provided by ICF International and funding support from agencies including USAID and UNICEF. The survey supplies the empirical basis for tracking India's progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the National Health Policy 2017 targets, and welfare schemes such as Poshan Abhiyaan, the Janani Suraksha Yojana, and the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan. It is distinct from the decennial Census and from the Sample Registration System (SRS), being purpose-built for health and demographic indicators.

The NFHS measures indicators across several domains: fertility (Total Fertility Rate), family planning and contraceptive prevalence, maternal and child health, immunisation coverage, infant and under-five mortality, nutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight, anaemia), and, from later rounds, non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, plus household sanitation and women's empowerment metrics. A key methodological feature is its disaggregation to the district level — NFHS-4 (2015–16) was the first round to generate district-level estimates for all districts — enabling granular, evidence-based micro-planning. Five rounds have been completed: NFHS-1 (1992–93), NFHS-2 (1998–99), NFHS-3 (2005–06), NFHS-4 (2015–16), and NFHS-5 (2019–21), the last conducted in two phases and released in 2021–22.

NFHS-5 produced several headline findings of recurring exam relevance: India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) declined to 2.0, falling below the replacement level of 2.1 for the first time; the sex ratio of the total population rose to 1,020 females per 1,000 males (the first time it crossed 1,000 in NFHS history); institutional births rose to 88.6 per cent; and contraceptive prevalence increased to 66.7 per cent. However, anaemia among women, children, and pregnant women worsened relative to NFHS-4, becoming a flagged area of concern. As of 2026, NFHS-5 remains the most recent published round, with NFHS-6 fieldwork having been initiated; candidates should verify the latest release status from MoHFW and IIPS sources.

For the examinations, NFHS data is tested across multiple papers. In the UPSC Civil Services Mains, it anchors GS Paper II (issues relating to health, social-sector schemes, and governance) and GS Paper I (population, society, and women's issues), while prelims and current-affairs sections routinely ask for specific NFHS-5 figures such as TFR, sex ratio, and anaemia trends. Answer-writing strategy demands citing exact statistics with the round number and survey period to demonstrate factual precision. For BCS, CSS, and other South Asian services, the NFHS serves as a comparative template for understanding DHS-style health surveillance. Aspirants should distinguish the NFHS clearly from the SRS, the National Sample Survey (NSS), and the Census, and be able to explain why district-level health data matters for targeted policy delivery.