FEMALE LITERACY: A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUE TO MINIMISE INFANT AND MATERNAL MORTALITY IN INDIA.

Female literacy has become a crucial issue to fight against infant mortality and maternal mortality in any civilized country for an overall socio-economic development. To ensure a sustainable socio-economic development in India, more initiatives should be taken to eradicate female illiteracy by providing all sorts of educational help to Indian women. This study is conducted to evaluate the state wise rate of female literacy, infant mortality and maternal mortality in India. Another objective of this study is to explore the correlation between female literacy and infant mortality as well as between female literacy and maternal mortality in India. Taking the Census data of Government of India, the analyses have been conducted to reveal how far the different states of India have accomplished satisfactory level of female literacy to minimize both infant and maternal mortality.

It is an accepted fact that with a poor or low literacy rate no nation can achieve a sustainable economic growth. In this context, the role of female literacy is also very significant. Developing countries like India always have to face wide discrepancy between male and female literacy rate because of gender imbalances, income imbalances, religious imbalances, caste imbalances and technological barriers prevailing in the country. The school of thought of welfare economics considers that if a woman remains illiterate then the entire family has to bear the consequences of her illiteracy. Even, the country has to suffer from high levels of fertility as well as mortality. Once UNESCO has reported regarding the massive illiteracy of India whereas the census of 2011 shows the male literacy rate in India is about 82.14% where for female it is about 65.46%. According to the census of 2011, the growth in female literacy rate (11.8%) is very significant and it is increasing faster than the growth rate of male literacy (6.5%). Moreover, female illiteracy stimulates the mortality rate of our demography and the mortality is one of the prime economic variables of our nation. It has been affecting the population, employment, national income and overall the economic growths of the developing country like India.
Most of the countries in the world, developed as well as developing have experienced radical enhancement in life expectancy. Though since independence both the infant mortality and maternal mortality are becoming the threats to India, the present scenario has been remarkably changed and a rapid decline in both of the mortality rates has improved the situation. Apart from the increase in female literacy, the factors contributing towards improvement in

Objectives AndMethodology:-
This study is an attempt to find out the type of relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality as well as between female literacy and infant mortality in Indian context. Considering the growing importance of sustainable economic development in India, this is also an attempt to realise that the growth rate of female literacy in India is in line with that desired sustainable development and to minimize both infant and maternal mortality.
Thus, the objectives include:-1. To identify the prevailing relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality in India. 2. To identify the prevailing relationship between female literacy and infant mortality in India. 3. To study the present status of female literacy, maternal mortality and infant mortality to understand whether female literacy is growing in a sustainable rate to minimize both maternal mortality and infant mortality in considerable rate in India.
Relevant charts, diagrams are used to show the changes in the rate of female literacy, maternal mortality and infant mortality in India. A correlation analysis is conducted to show the relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality as well as between female literacy and infant mortality in India.

Status Of Maternal And Infant Mortality In India:-
Maternal mortality is a susceptible symbol of socio-economic development of our community or nation. Maternal mortality is defined by the WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) as "The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or individual causes." In 2017 report, the world maternal mortality rate had declined 44% since 1990, but the picture is still very alarming. In India everyday 830 women die due to pregnancy or child -birth related causes. The common causes of maternal mortality are listed here. Hemorrhages, Infections (usually after child birth), Eclampsia, Unsafe abortion, Child marriage, Lack of access to health care, HIV, Lack of contraceptives, Women treated as inferior in society, Poor sanitation.
According to the census of 2011, the maternal mortality rate in India was about 167 per 1,00,000 live birth. In West Bengal it was about 77.08%, so the percentage is still very alarming. But Govt. has taken some initiatives to reduce this rate. Improvement in literacy rate, establishment of health centers in rural and backward regions, an increase in the use of contraception, awareness for more birth in the hospital, with the presence of skilled personnel are the preventive measures taken by the Govt. for contracting this rate.  Though Assam has shown its initially first position in the context of maternal mortality rate keeping the highest rate of 480 per 100000 live birth but it has also drastically improved the rate of maternal mortality from the initial figure to 300 per 100000 live birth in 2013.  Assam  480  390  328  300  Bihar  312  261  219  208  Madhya Pradesh  335  269  230  221  Orissa  303  258  235  222  Rajasthan  388  318  255  244  Uttar Pradesh  440  359  292  285  Andhra Pradesh  154  134  110  92  Karnataka  213  178  144  133  Kerala  95  81  66  61  Tamil Nadu  111  97  90  79  Gujarat  160  148  122  112  Haryana  186  153  146  127  Maharashtra  130  104  87  68  Punjab  192  172  155  141  West Bengal  141  145  117  On the other hand, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is a crucial indicator of our Indian economic structure. Infant mortality refers to the death of young children typically those whose age is less than one year. The major causes of infant mortality can be listed as problem with brain functions after birth, blood infection, diarrhea, malaria, measles, malnutrition and other syndromes responsible for death.
According to the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) in 2016 the IMR was about 34 per 1000 live births in India. The IMR rate has been considerably decreased. Apart from sustainable development in mothers' level of education over the nation, there may be also some major initiatives towards decline in the infant mortality rate like improvement in medical science, access to clean drinking water, proper sanitation, vaccination or immunization for infectious diseases, polio campaign for the awareness of people to eradicate polio and other public measures which can help to reduce infant mortality.

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Pradesh had the maximum IMR, this rate has considerably decreased in 2011 census. IMR in INDIA has improved drastically from 1981 to 2011. INDIA has gained 42% reduction in infant mortality during this period.  When and wherever the rate of female literacy increases it leads towards a literate and educated women community. As a consequence, these women do not let their children die in malnutrition or without treatment and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) automatically falls down. Even literate and educated mothers can take proper care of themselves in time of their pregnancy. As a result, higher rate of female literacy leads towards lower rate of maternal mortality. As recorded in the Census of India in 2001, among all the states and union territories of India, Kerala has the highest female literacy rate (87.9% of population) and lowest infant mortality rate (16%). On the contrary, Uttar Pradesh has the low female literacy rate (43%) and highest maternal mortality rate. Bihar has the lowest female literacy rate but less IMR than Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, Uttar Pradesh has the highest MMR but more literacy rate (43%) than Bihar (33%). There must be a strong correlation between female literacy and IMR as well as female literacy and MMR .The table below     In the above table the MMR and IMR rate are converted into percentage.
In the four series together, there are two ties in all. Firstly while getting the relationship between female literacy and maternal mortality it is found that there is one tie involving two states, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Secondly, while getting the relationship between female literacy and infant mortality it is found that there is one tie involving two states, Karnataka and Kerala.
It is clear from the statistical investigation that it establishes a negative correlation between Female literacy and IMR and also Female literacy and MMR.

Conclusion and Recommendation:-
This study is an attempt to determine the relationship between female literacy and infant mortality as well as female literacy and maternal mortality. The study reveals that improvement in female literacy results in a decline in infant mortality and maternal mortality. There exists a strong negative correlation between women literacy and infant mortality as well as women literacy and maternal mortality. From the past four censuses (1981-2011) it has been evidenced that female literacy programmes depress the maternal mortality and infant mortality not only in short run but also have long run effect in India. From the inferential statistics it is found that improvement in women literacy is associated with decrease in maternal mortality and infant mortality. Apart from female literacy there are also some socio-economic as well as biological factors that influence both infant and maternal mortality rate. In country like India, the rate of infant mortality and maternal mortality are still alarming. It is high time for the society to take up the problem as a challenge. So it is highly recommended for the Govt. and non Govt. organizations that they should take positive steps to arrange more female literacy programmes in a revolutionary manner to minimize both infant and maternal mortality in India as it is a fact that women education is the key to sustainable development in India.