Nileena Suresh

There is no separate kitchen space to cook food in more than one in four rural households in India. Even in urban areas, nearly one in five households where cooking takes place indoors do not have a separate kitchen. The National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2019-21, asked household heads whether cooking is usually done inside the house, in a separate building, or outdoors. If cooking was done inside the house, the survey further asked whether there is a separate room used as a kitchen.

The usage of tobacco varies by region in India and is highest in its eastern states and lowest in the southern states and in Punjab. Almost four in ten men aged 15-49 use tobacco in some form, according to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21). Given that fewer than one in ten women use tobacco, we look at data for men to understand regional patterns in tobacco consumption.

The availability of healthcare workers is a key measure of the effective functioning of a country's health system. It reflects not just access to care, but also the capacity of the system to support its population. In India, modern medicine developed alongside traditional systems of healthcare and medicine during the colonial period.