The Mountains Are Moving

How Meghalaya Rewrote Its Health Story in Eight Years

A glance at what the NFHS-6 numbers reveal about a state that decided not to wait.

There is a particular kind of progress that does not announce itself loudly. It does not arrive as a ribbon-cutting or a single triumphant statistic. It accumulates quietly, one institutional birth at a time, one fully immunised child at a time, one young woman who finishes school instead of marrying at seventeen, until one day a national survey holds up a mirror and the change is undeniable. That is the story the sixth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) talks about Meghalaya. And it is a story worth telling honestly, because the honest version is more impressive than the inflated one.

Consider where the state began. For decades Meghalaya carried the twin burdens common to India’s hilly, sparsely connected frontier states: a high maternal mortality rate, fertility well above the national average, and child nutrition indicators that consistently trailed the rest of the country. The terrain itself was an adversary, villages folded into valleys that a single monsoon could cut off, health centres a half-day’s walk from the families who needed them. Against that backdrop, the NFHS-6 results are not just good news. They are evidence of a deliberate, sustained turning of the wheel.

The numbers that matter

Start with fertility, the indicator that has long defined Meghalaya’s demographic challenge. The Total Fertility Rate fell from 2.9 children per woman in 2019-21 (NFHS 5) to 2.2 in 2023-24 (NFHS 6), a 24.1 per cent decline that is the steepest fertility reduction of any state in India. Teenage pregnancy dropped by more than a third, from 7.2 to 4.6 births per thousand adolescent girls. Child marriage rate reduced by 18.3%. These are not abstract demographic curves; they are thousands of girls whose futures widened.

The gains in maternal and newborn care are just as striking. Data from NFHS 5 and NFHS 6 clearly demonstrates the change. Institutional births rose from 58.1 to 65.6 per cent, and crucially, more of those deliveries are happening in public facilities, the share climbing from 49.1 to 55.7 per cent, a sign that families increasingly trust the government system rather than being forced toward costly private care. Deliveries attended by a skilled health worker climbed to 70.9 per cent. On the pace of improvement in both institutional delivery and skilled attendance, Meghalaya ranks among the top two or three states in the country. Full immunisation of young children leapt from 64 to 75.3 per cent, again, one of India’s fastest gains. The proportion of expectant mothers taking iron-folic-acid supplements for the recommended hundred days rose by nearly half.

And then there is the figure that should give every reader pause: spousal violence against ever-married women fell from 15 per cent to 5.9 per cent, a 60 per cent reduction in eight years. A society does not move a number like that by accident.

None of this means the work is finished. Meghalaya’s child stunting that has seen a 20.9% improvement between the period 2019-21 to 2023-24, still stands at 36.8 per cent, its unmet need for family planning, the worrying dip in children receiving an adequate diet, and very high tobacco use among men all remain stubborn challenges. Thus, the honest reading of NFHS-6 is that Meghalaya is one of India’s fastest-improving states even though its absolute levels still sit in the lower band nationally. It is a story of rapid catch-up, not yet of arrival, and that is precisely why the trajectory matters more than any single rank.

Why the curve bent

Progress at this scale is rarely the product of a single scheme. What distinguishes Meghalaya’s approach is that the state government chose to treat health not as a department’s problem but as a whole-of-government project, and, just as importantly, as a partnership with the communities themselves.

The foundation was laid with the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project, a multi-year effort to rebuild the bones of the public health system: better-equipped facilities, stronger referral chains, and a relentless focus on data. Out of it grew the MOTHER programme – Measurable Outcomes in Transforming the Health sector through a holistic approach with a focus on women’s Empowerment, which used a mobile application to register and track at-risk pregnancies in real time, so that a mother in a remote village became visible to the system rather than invisible to it. Layered on top was the Rescue Mission, an explicitly multisectoral effort that pulled the Departments of Health, Social Welfare, and Community & Rural Development into the same room to attack the social causes of poor maternal outcomes, not just the clinical ones.

Some of the most effective innovations came from the ground up. SHG-run transit homes, modest community-managed lodgings near health facilities, solved one of the most intractable problems of mountain geography: how does a pregnant woman from a road-less village reach a hospital before labour, not during it? By giving her somewhere to stay in the days before delivery, these homes converted intention into safe, institutional childbirth. The same self-help-group networks, federated through the State Rural Livelihoods Mission, became the carriers of nutrition awareness, agri-nutrition gardens, and behaviour change, a model credited with a sharp fall in severe acute malnutrition cases in the areas it reached.

On the demand side, the Megha Health Insurance Scheme, now in its fifth phase and offering cashless cover of up to ₹5.3 lakh per family, integrated with the national Ayushman Bharat–PM-JAY, removed the financial terror that once kept families away from hospitals altogether. The newer CM Care+ scheme extends a safety net for the catastrophic, high-cost treatments that fall beyond even that ceiling. When a family knows that a complicated delivery or a sick newborn will not bankrupt them, the decision to seek institutional care becomes far easier.

Most recently, the government has trained its sights on the one battle it has not yet won: child nutrition. The Mission 1000 Days programme, built around the now-well-established science that the window from conception to a child’s second birthday largely determines lifelong health, channels nutritional support, mother-and-child kits, frontline-worker training, and community interventions into that critical period. Its companion “003” agenda, zero maternal deaths, zero unimmunised children, and healthy growth for every child in the first 1,000 days, has drawn praise from UNICEF for its community-partnership design. It is the logical next chapter: having moved the needle on access to care, Meghalaya is now going after outcomes.

A model worth watching

What ties these efforts together is a philosophy the state’s leadership has articulated plainly that lasting development comes from long-term human-development systems rather than isolated welfare announcements. It is an unfashionably patient idea in an age of quick wins, and the NFHS-6 data suggest it works. Build the institutions, trust the community workers, use the technology to make the invisible visible, remove the financial barriers, and then hold the course across electoral cycles.

Meghalaya has not solved every problem; no honest account would claim otherwise, and the stunting and family-planning gaps are real summons to keep going. But it has demonstrated something that more prosperous states often struggle to achieve; that a frontier region with difficult terrain and tight resources can post some of the country’s fastest improvements in the indicators that decide whether mothers survive childbirth and whether children grow up healthy. Eight years ago, that would have read as aspiration. NFHS-6 has turned it into evidence.

The mountains, it turns out, can be moved. Meghalaya is showing how, one mother, one child, one village at a time.

Data source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5: 2019-21 and NFHS-6: 2023-24), International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. Programme details drawn from Government of Meghalaya health and rural-development initiatives as reported in 2025–2026.

Flixora, the new platform designed to democratise movie streaming and distribution launches on Monday 1^st June 2026.

Flixora is designed to help filmmakers, studios and content owners distribute and monetise their movies globally and instantly. Creators do not need to have millions of followers before seeing an income, as they do on other platforms. Small filmmakers can get payment and recognition for their work, instead of the industry being monopolised by big studios and those with a name already.

The platform will enable creators to upload, manage, market and sell their content directly to audiences, without relying on traditional gatekeepers or complex distribution networks.

Flixora focuses on simplifying movie distribution for independent filmmakers and emerging creators who often struggle with limited access to global streaming platforms, high distribution costs, low visibility and restricted monetisation opportunities. By providing a direct-to-audience streaming infrastructure, Flixora allows creators to retain control over their content, pricing, audience reach and revenue generation.

The platform also helps filmmakers, production companies and distributors looking for a more accessible and scalable way to reach international viewers.

At the same time, it offers audiences access to a broader and more diverse catalogue of films, including independent cinema, regional productions, and underrepresented stories that may not appear on mainstream streaming services.

How it works for the creators

For movie makers, the process is remarkably straightforward. For a nominal fee of $100* per month you can start adding your movies to Flixora. The fee covers as many films as you want to upload.

All movies are reviewed by the team and, upon approval, are uploaded for end users to stream. The review process ensures quality standards are maintained. If a filmmaker fails to get approval for their movies the $100 is refunded.

The quality of the films streaming on Flixora is paramount, meaning that creators can rest assured they are not getting drowned out by substandard content that also deters viewers. Movies must be original and can only be submitted by the creator.

There is scope for a wide variety of content, as long as the films are over 30 minutes long. Fiction can include any genre and any format, and factual films can include documentary style or practical tips-based material. Music is expected to be a significant section of content. The chief limitation is no pornographic content or anything illegal.

Producers are also offered the choice of countries where they wish viewers to have access to their movie streams, and the site will even provide projected earnings. Those earnings all go directly to the filmmaker, with no cut taken by Flixora, up to a limit of $1 million.

How it works for the viewer

Flixora offers unique design and user experience. Users can search by genre or subject and the search facility includes voice command. You can even search by release date. Just ask “show me all the movies launched on 1^st June”, for example, and a list will appear.

Because there is a minimum length of 30 minutes and all films are reviewed by Flixora to ensure they are high quality, there is not an overwhelm of choice or substandard content that you have to plough through to get to what you enjoy watching.

For viewers the price point is, once again, a winning feature. In the free model, you can pay as you watch with a single movie costing just $1 per session. Alternatively, you can select a premium user status for just $5a month, with unlimited access.

Uniquely, premium users can invite friends to watch movies with them wherever they are, and they can watch together in real time, with friends paying just $1 each. The premium user can stop and start the movie in real time and fellow watchers will stop and start with them. So, they can all go and top up their drinks and grab popcorn at the same time, or stop to discuss what they are watching.

The aim for both producers and viewers is to democratise movie making and viewing, making it accessible to anyone and everyone.

From 1^st June there will be approximately 30 movies, all of them originals, available to stream and Flixora’s projections show that those numbers will grow fast.

Martins Osuofia, Founder of Flixora said: “Flixora isn’t trying to replicate the traditional streaming model and compete on that level. We’re creating a brand new structure for global film distribution, one built around accessibility, creator ownership and direct audience reach.”

Andrew Stevens, writer and producer of ‘The incredible true story of 100 dates in Dallas’ said: “Flixora’s model reduces barriers to entry in the entertainment industry by giving creators such as myself the tools needed to distribute content professionally through a digital-first platform. I am very excited at the prospective opportunities to connect directly with global audiences and to earn directly from day one.”

New Delhi, June 1 (BNP): Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid heartfelt tribute to legendary playback singer Suman Kalyanpur following her demise, describing her passing as a major loss to India’s music fraternity and remembering her as a voice that touched millions across generations.

Expressing grief, Shah said the Indian music industry had lost one of its most melodious and graceful voices, whose timeless songs continue to occupy a special place in the hearts of listeners.

In his tribute, the Home Minister acknowledged Suman Kalyanpur’s immense contribution to Indian cinema and music, noting that her soulful renditions and unmatched vocal elegance enriched the country’s cultural heritage over several decades.

He also conveyed condolences to her family, admirers and members of the artistic community, saying her legacy would continue to inspire generations of singers and music lovers.

Suman Kalyanpur earned recognition as one of India’s most admired playback singers, lending her voice to numerous memorable songs in Hindi and regional cinema. Her distinct singing style and emotional depth won her enduring admiration among audiences and musicians alike.

Tributes from political leaders, film personalities and fans have continued to pour in following news of her passing, reflecting the profound influence she had on Indian music and popular culture.

Her demise marks the end of an era in Indian playback music, with admirers remembering her not only for her unforgettable melodies but also for the lasting emotional connection her voice created with audiences across the country.

Ahmedabad, June 1 (BNP): Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic IPL 2026 title victory was marked by an emotional celebration off the field as actor Anushka Sharma shared a heartfelt moment with star batter Virat Kohli following the team’s triumph.

Soon after RCB sealed their second consecutive Indian Premier League title with a victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Anushka was seen celebrating alongside Kohli and the team members at the Narendra Modi Stadium. In a touching moment that quickly captured public attention, she congratulated Kohli with a sweet kiss on his forehead, reflecting pride and joy over the memorable achievement.

The candid celebration soon gained traction across social media platforms, with fans praising the couple’s emotional bond and expressing admiration for the heartfelt gesture following one of the biggest moments in Kohli’s cricketing career.

Kohli, who played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 75 in the final, emerged as one of the key architects of Bengaluru’s successful title defence. His composed innings helped RCB comfortably chase the target and secure another IPL crown.

The emotional exchange between Anushka and Kohli added a personal touch to RCB’s championship celebrations, with supporters widely sharing visuals of the moment and calling it one of the standout images from the IPL 2026 final.

RCB’s title-winning campaign, coupled with Kohli’s strong performance and the post-match celebration, ensured the night remained memorable both on and off the field.

India,  June 1:  John Crane, a global leader in flow control technologies and a business of Smiths Group plc, has retrofitted a mechanical seal on a large underflow thickener slurry pump at a major copper mining operation, cutting the clean water needed for sealing by around 288,000 litres per day and supporting a move away from frequent, high-risk maintenance interventions on a production-critical asset.

Underflow thickener pumps are a key link in tailings handling, moving high-density slurry from the thickener into the tailings transport system. In this application, the Warman 550 pump operates at approximately 65% solids, where reliability is essential and any unplanned interruption can have an immediate impact on production.

Prior to the retrofit, the pump used a traditional stuffing box (packing) arrangement. In abrasive service, that approach led to accelerated wear on the shaft sleeve, with replacement required around every four months. Although the impeller and rubber liners were typically replaced annually, sleeve change-outs were major events involving a full mechanical crew working across two shifts (around 36 hours), a 100-tonne crane, and extended exposure to safety and downtime risk.

John Crane designed a mechanical seal package to be installed at the rear of the pump replacing the original stuffing box (packing) arrangement and enabling a retrofit without modifications to the pump. The scope also included an adapter sleeve to suit the shaft. To support performance in mining service, the seal uses a controlled seal-flush arrangement to maintain a clean fluid environment at the seal faces and is specified with diamond-faced materials for robustness in the event that seal-flush pressure drops and solids enter the seal chamber.

Following installation and commissioning, the sealed pump is operating well. The seal-flush system was designed around approximately 11 m³/h at 75 psi, with actual operating flow running at approximately 7.5–8 m³/h. By comparison, a parallel pump operating with packing has been consuming around 20 m³/h of water. This indicates a reduction of roughly 12 m³/h, equivalent to approximately 288 m³ (288,000 litres) per day, subject to site operating conditions.

The retrofit is designed to align maintenance with the site’s planned annual major service interval, when the impeller and liners are replaced, reducing the need for additional intrusive interventions during the year.

“Underflow thickener pumps are among the most critical assets in a mine’s tailings circuit, so customers are understandably cautious about change,” said Warren Smith, Global Mining Market Director, John Crane. “This project is a practical example of how improved sealing can reduce maintenance exposure and cut the clean water required for sealing, while supporting more predictable planned maintenance.”

This installation also represents a milestone for John Crane. With a shaft diameter of approximately 270 mm, it is the largest slurry seal sold by John Crane to date.

New Delhi, June 1 (BNP): The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that the online portal for Class 12 post-result verification of marks and re-evaluation will be activated soon, bringing clarity to students awaiting the application process following board examination results.

Representational image

The update comes amid growing concerns among students over delays in the activation of post-result services, which allow candidates to seek verification of marks and request re-evaluation of answer sheets.

Responding to queries raised by students on social media platform X, CBSE confirmed that the verification and re-evaluation portal would go live shortly and stated that a detailed official announcement would follow.

The board had earlier indicated that the portal was expected to open during the final week of May. However, activation was reportedly deferred to ensure a secure, transparent and error-free process for handling post-result applications.

Once operational, the portal will enable eligible students to apply for various post-result services, including verification of marks, access to photocopies of evaluated answer sheets and re-evaluation of specific responses as per prescribed guidelines.

Under the verification process, CBSE examines whether all answers have been evaluated, marks correctly totalled and final scores accurately uploaded. Students dissatisfied with their performance may subsequently apply for re-evaluation, subject to eligibility norms and procedural requirements.

Officials are expected to release detailed instructions regarding application dates, service fees, timelines and submission procedures shortly after the portal is activated.

Meanwhile, students have been advised to regularly monitor official CBSE websites and notifications for updates and keep important credentials, including roll numbers and admit card details, readily available to avoid last-minute inconvenience.

CBSE officials reiterated that students are not required to take any immediate action and should wait for the formal notification before initiating post-result applications.