This paper focuses on infant and child mortality in rural areas of India. We construct a flexible duration
model framework, which allows for frailty at multiple levels and interactions between the child's age and individual,
socio-economic and environmental characteristics. The model is estimated using the 1998/1999 wave of the Indian
National Family and Health Survey. The estimation results show that socio-economic and environmental characteristics
have significantly different impacts on mortality rates at different ages. These are particularly important immediately
after birth. We use the estimated model for policy experiments. These indicate that child mortality can be reduced
substantially, particularly by improving the education of women and reducing indoor air pollution caused by dirty
cooking fuels.