New Delhi, Sep 10 - A survey will be taken up in nine states to assess the health of rural population since the launch of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

The annual health survey will be carried out in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Assam by the health ministry, the home ministry and the Registrar General of India (RGI).

The decision was taken Thursday at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and was announced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.

The survey aims to provide feedback on the impact of the schemes under NRHM, launched in 2005, in reduction of the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) at the district level and the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) at the regional level by estimating these rates on an annual basis for 284 districts in these states.

The NRHM aims to reduce infant mortality rate to 30 per 1,000 births, maternal mortality rate to 100 to 100,000 live births and total fertility rate to 2.