This paper uses recently available data from India and from other countries to assess the role of income changes and other changes over time in determining infant mortality rates (IMR) and total fertility rates (TFR). It uses this information to assess the performance on these outcomes of India relative to other countries and of individual Indian states relative to the all-India average. The paper's main conclusions are: (i) While income does have some influence on health outcomes, technical progress and other factors are substantially more important. Less than a quarter of India's dramatic reductions in IMR and TFR between 1975 and 1990 can be explained by income growth. (ii) India's performance on IMR falls short of what would be expected given results of other countries of its income. (iii) By contrast, India's performance in reducing TFR is substantially better than would be predicted from its income. (iv) Not surprisingly states vary substantially in the performance relative to their income level and the all-India average values of IMR and TFR.
