LUCKNOW, May 18 -- In improving signs for Uttar Pradesh, the state reported a decline in neonatal and infant deaths, as per the central government's latest Sample Registration System (SRS) report for 2021.

U.P's neonatal mortality rate or NMR stood at 26 per 1,000 live births against 28 stated in the 2020 report. Overall, India reported 19 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021, a one-point decline from 20 in 2020. In Bihar, it was at 19, in comparison to 21 in 2020, said the report.

In the tally of 19 bigger states, UP stood third in terms of NMR after Madhya Pradesh (30) and Chhattisgarh (28). While a total of eight states reported declining NMR, seven others showed no change in the figures for 2020 and 2021. However, Assam (fo...