More than 42 percent of the children in the country under the age of five are underweight. In Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, the percentage over underweight children in rural areas is as high as 60 percent. In a written reply to a question on the issue in the Lok Sabha today, the Women and Child Development Minister Mrs. Krishna Tirath said, malnutrition which is the main reason for underweight children needs to be addressed in a holistic manner. In reply to another question, the Health Minister Mr. Gulam Nabi Azad said that the infant and maternal mortality have declined over the last three years. However, 143 countries in the world have lower infant mortality rate than in India where 53 infants out of 1000 die every year. In Madhya Pradesh it is as high as 70 per 1000 births.<br/><br/>