The selection of twelve variables for eliciting the composite index for ranking of 569 districts seems to be arbitrary in the sense that some of the important dimensions of reproductive and child health which have a direct bearing on infant and maternal mortality have been altogether omitted from the list of available RCH indicators in the survey reports. The extent of utilization of Antenatal care has often been emphasized as having a direct bearing on maternal and infant health and mortality, especially the neonatal component of infant mortality. Furthermore, some of the indicators do not depict any relevance to the basic demographic parameters of fertility and mortality,.
