The SRS Data on Early  Childhood Mortality in India

Researchers have evaluated the quality of Sample Registration System data in the past and found errors in the estimated under-fi ve mortality rate. Discrepancies were observed in the age-specifi c death rates at ages 0–1 and infant mortality rate for India and state published by the Offi ce of the Registrar General of India in the SRS statistical report for 2018 and it was found that the published IMR and U5MR in the statistical report of many of the states are substantially different from the estimated IMR and U5MR in the life table constructed from the ASDRs published by the ORGI. Such errors are likely to incorrectly measure mortality gaps across population subgroups, for example, gender.

Faced with the lack of usable quality data on births and deaths under the civil registration, in 1964–65, the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) initiated the Sample Registration System (SRS). Since then, the SRS reports have provided various fertility and mortality indicators, including crude and age-specific rates, annually for India and large states. The SRS also provides a few indicators for smaller states and union territories. The most recent report available is for 2018. The SRS matches births and deaths captured in the routine registration by the local enumerators with the events enumerated during the six-monthly survey by an independent team.¹ For the final count, the mismatched events are verified and appropriately corrected.

The SRS publishes quick summary indicators in its bulletin and detailed tables in the annual statistical reports.These indicators are commonly used to monitor the progress of various health interventions and programmes. A few researchers, including Bhat (2002, 2002a) and Yadav and Ram (2019), have evaluated the quality of SRS data using demographic techniques. Saikia et al (2010) brought out an error in construction of life tables published by the ORGI which had led to incorrect estimation of under-five mortality rate (U5MR).