PIP: This brief article presents some basic facts about the Indian National Family Health Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of 89,777 ever-married women aged 13-49 years and 88,562 households in 24 states and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The survey was conducted during April 1992 to September 1993 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in conjunction with the International Institute for Population Sciences in Bombay and the 18 university-based Population Research Centers throughout the country. Other consultants included Macro International in the US and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in New Delhi. USAID funded the survey. Findings show that fertility is declining in India, but there are wide differences between regions and states. Considerable effort is still needed to improve the health and living conditions of India's vast population. The 1991 Census reported a total population of 846.3 million, which represents an almost 24% increase in population size over a 10-year period. The average population growth rate was 2.11%, or 27 million births/year. It is expected that India will surpass China after the turn of the century in becoming the most populous country in the world.