Goa, Sept. 6 -- Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has called for stronger maternity benefits for women working in India's unorganised sector, citing a sharp decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants under six months.

In a post on X, Tharoor addressed Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi, highlighting figures from the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6). He pointed out that while institutional deliveries in India have increased to 90.6%, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among children below six months has fallen from 63.7% to 55.8%.

Tharoor described the decline as a worrying trend and said the drop was particularly pronounced in rural areas and states such as Uttar Pr...