The target to reduce Infant Mortality Rate [IMR] during the eleventh plan period was kept at

The correct answer is B) 28 per 1000 live births. The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) set the target of bringing Infant Mortality Rate down to 28 per 1000 live births by 2012, and the same document carried a longer-term goal of 25 by 2017. Plan documents set these as national outcome targets, so the figure is best remembered as an official plan target rather than a measured value.

Why the others fail:

• A) 27 is not the plan target; it is a number that often gets confused with later or regional benchmarks.
• C) 29 and D) 30 have no basis in the Eleventh Plan target. Both are close enough to tempt a guess, which is exactly why the question is set this way.

Core concept: IMR is a key indicator of child health and of the health system's reach, and it links to the Millennium Development Goal 4 on child mortality. The Plan targets were pursued through NRHM, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and immunisation. For Mains, use this to discuss why IMR reduction depends on social determinants such as nutrition, female literacy and sanitation, not only on clinical services.

Trap: Candidates mix up the Eleventh Plan target (28 by 2012) with the 25 goal for 2017, which appears in later health policy documents. Always tie the figure to the specific plan period.