It was expected that with lower SBR and LBW in the ICDS area, the infant mortality too should be lower. However, there could be biological differences in these blocks responsible for this discrepancy. Further, in the ICDS area, the Anganwadi worker was introduced in 1984; in contrast' non-ICDS area got field workers in 1987-88. This difference may allow for greater mortality reporting in the ICDS area.

K.N. Agarwal,
Professor of Pediatrics,
UCMS and GTB Hospital,
Delhi 110 095,
India.