NEW DELHI: Almost 20 years after India signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), experts are now looking at the glass as half full, on indicators related to child survival and development. While there are some reasons to cheer "under-five mortality has fallen even as girls" attendance in school has gone up” there are critical challenges ahead because of the sheer number of children in India.

India is home to one-fifth of the world's children. Partly because of its immensity and partly because of the pace of reform, India experiences child rights deprivation in greater absolute numbers. "Each year, 1 million newborns die during the first month of life; another million die before they reach 5 years. Almost 55 million children under 5 years are underweight. Many challenges remain," Karin Hulshof, UNICEF India representative said while releasing a special edition of the State of the World's Children report on Friday.

"Indicators are growing in the right direction. We are moving ahead but not fast enough. Our implementation is poor and we could even miss the millennium development goals," Sayeeda Hameed, Planning Commission member, said.

Despite tremendous economic growth, more than 40% of the population currently lives on less than $1.25 per day, 128 million people have no access to improved drinking water sources and a staggering 665 million defecate in the open.