Puducherry beats national average on most health indicators: Here's why

Part of Puducherry's success is thanks to its small population-its 1.24 million people give the state a population density of just 2,598 persons per square kilometre

Between 8.00 and 9.00 am every day, 150 diabetes patients gather at the out-patient department (OPD) of Puducherry’s Kosapalayam Primary Health Centre (PHC) to get their daily insulin shots. This is a rarity in India’s public health system, as it requires good community-wide disease management and consistent supply of medicines, something Puducherry’s health system is uniquely known for.

The union territory of Puducherry surpasses India’s performance on most health indicators. Its infant mortality rate is 16 per 1,000 live births same as Vietnam, while India’s average is 41 same as Ethiopia. Nearly 99.9% of births take place