Swaroop's index is used to measure what in a community?

• A. Crude birth rate
• B. Health status of the community
• C. Life expectancy
• D. Maternal mortality ratio

Answer: (B)

Swaroop's index is a simple composite measure used to gauge the health status of a community. By combining mortality and fertility outcomes into one indicator, it provides a quick snapshot of overall community health rather than focusing on a single statistic. This makes it useful for comparing different communities or tracking changes over time, since it reflects more than one aspect of health. In contrast, crude birth rate, life expectancy, and maternal mortality ratio describe specific aspects: births per population, average longevity, and deaths related to pregnancy, respectively. Therefore, Swaroop's index is best understood as a measure of the community’s overall health status.