India accounts for nearly a fifth of the world’s child deaths. In terms of numbers, it is the highest in the world-nearly 16 lakhs every year. Of these, more than half die in the first month of life. Officials believe that the reason for this is the absence of steps to propagate basic health practices relating to breast feeding and immunization. Also the large reproductive population of 2-6 crore remains bereft of care during the critical phases of pregnancy and post-delivery. Added to this is the prevalence of child marriages, anaemia among young women and lack of focus on adolescent sanitation, all of which impact child death rates.

Correct Option (c)

The passage identifies multiple, interconnected factors contributing to India's high child mortality rate. These include the absence of steps to propagate basic health practices (such as breastfeeding and immunization), inadequate care for the reproductive population during critical phases of pregnancy and post-delivery, the prevalence of child marriages, anemia among young women, and a lack of focus on adolescent sanitation. The comprehensive nature of these issues, spanning maternal care, child health practices, and adolescent well-being, strongly indicates that an integrated and universal approach to maternal and child health services is essential to effectively address the problem.

Incorrect Options:

The passage highlights specific deficiencies in health practices, maternal care, and adolescent health as contributing factors to child mortality. It does not primarily attribute these issues to illiteracy, but rather to a lack of propagation of basic health practices and inadequate care during critical phases. Therefore, option (a) is not the most critical inference.

While India's substantial population presents challenges, the passage focuses on systemic shortcomings in the delivery of maternal and child health services, such as insufficient propagation of basic health practices and inadequate care during pregnancy and post-delivery. It emphasizes gaps in service provision rather than solely attributing the problem to the government's inability to manage services due to population size. Therefore, option (b) is not the most critical inference.

The passage explicitly states that "anaemia among young women" and "lack of focus on adolescent sanitation" are factors that "impact child death rates." Anaemia directly relates to the nutritional status of women in child-bearing age. Therefore, the assertion that the nutrition of women in child-bearing age does not affect the child mortality rate is directly contradicted by the provided information, making option (d) incorrect.