NEW DELHI: India has scored a dismal 69 out of 150 in a latest report on the state of infant feeding practices, which has revealed that a majority of indicators on support meted to women for breastfeeding and policies for its advocacy are in a dismal state in the country.

The report is an outcome of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) launched in 51 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America launched earlier in the year by International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) to track, assess and monitor policies and programmes to protect kids from malnutrition and in turn support breastfeeding.

It was released at the India International Centre (IIC) here Tuesday by Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar.

The report was compiled in India based on government surveys, information and documents procured under the Right to Information Act (RTI) as recent as October. The details came with a flashy report card that slammed the country's performance on various indicators.

For instance, just 24 percent of newborns start breast feeding within an hour from their birth. Only 46 percent of infants aged less than six months are exclusively breastfed - there is a drop from about 70 percent in the first month to 27 percent in the sixth.

'The high infant mortality and child malnutrition stems from the fact that in its first crucial months the child's health is not safeguarded and breastfeeding is neglected,' Vandana Prasad, a pediatrician and a prominent public health and nutrition advocate, said at the release.

'There are only guidelines for advocacy of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) - no national level authority, no legislative entitlements to the mothers and most importantly no budget allocation or political will - all these are necessary,' she added.

On the indicator of national policy, programme and coordination for IYCF, the country scored a poor two out of 10.