Jamshedpur, April 2 -- 'Saas-Bahu-Pati' (mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and husband) meetings, 'Pahal Kits' are some of the unique initiatives that has helped Jharkhand bring down the maternity mortality rate (MMR) to 54 and infant mortality rate (IMR) to 25 - MMR already much lower than national target of 70 by 2030 and IMR at par with national rate, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

As of March, 2026, Jharkhand's MMR has dropped to 54 per 100,000 live births according to the sample registration system (SRS) data of 2021-23 outperforming the national average of 80. This is even well below the national sustainable development goal (SDG) target of 70 by 2030. Unio MoS for health and family welfare Anupriya Patel placed thi...