New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) Assam is doing much better than the rest of India in exclusive breast feeding to infants and has saved 1.7 million kids from slipping into under-nourishment, the Unicef said Monday.

'In Assam, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in infants younger than six months increased from 29 percent in 1999 to 63 percent in 2006,' the Unicef said.

However, in India, only 46 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed and rates of exclusive breastfeeding have shown little improvement in the last decade. 'Some states are an exception to this rule. Assam is one of them,' said the UN agency on health and child welfare.

'Unquestionable global evidence demonstrates that breastfeeding counselling and support is the most important child survival intervention,' added Victor Aguayo, the chief of Child Nutrition and Development Programme with Unicef here.

The children's health watchdog said that an accelerated effort to increase the exclusive breastfeeding in the northeastern state has helped protect 1.7 million children from under-nourishment.

The Indian government and international organisations recommend that infants be fed only breast milk for the first six months of life, with no other foods or fluids added, not even water. This is referred to as exclusive breastfeeding.

Every year, two million Indian children die before their fifth birthday, most of them from preventable causes. Global evidence shows that in developing countries, optimal breastfeeding is the most important child survival intervention and the earlier the baby is breastfed, within the first hour of birth, the better.