NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY IN NEWS

NUTRITION SCHEMES

1. Plans To Overhaul ICDS Programme

These articles by Harsh Mander and Rashme Sehgal expresses concerns over the plan

of the central government to overhaul the Integrated Child Development Services

(ICDS) programme. The government considered replacing the current practice of

serving hot cooked meals by either providing direct cash transfers or substituting it

with packaged food.

Cash transfers into bank accounts have not worked successfully either in the

MGNREGA or in the Public Distribution System (PDS). The key question is will they

be effective in combating malnutrition and rampant anaemia affecting lakhs of

pregnant and lactating mothers?

https://thewire.in/185629/government-planning-dismantle-icds-programme/ (By

Rashme Sehgal - 9th

October 2017)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/why-replacing-food-with-cash-transfers-

cannot-end-malnutrition-in-india/story-6juy4x9t3gng1n20cxsg9o.htm (By Harsh

Mander - 5th

October 2017)

2. Time To Explore Mid-Day Meals During School Holidays: HRD Ministry

The possibility of providing mid-day meals even during school holidays should be

explored, a top HRD ministry official said in reference to the death of a Jharkhand girl

allegedly due to starvation. The official said while it has been established that the 11-

year-old girl was not being denied mid-day meals, it was true that she could not avail

its benefits during the period that preceded her death due to school holidays. "Can we

think of some initiative for the poorest of the poor wherein we can provide them mid-

day meals even during holidays?" Rina Ray, special secretary in the Department of

School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Human Resource Development,

asked.

https://www.ndtv.com/education/time-to-explore-mid-day-meals-during-school-

holidays-hrd-ministry-1767916 (27th

October 2017)

3. Introduce Eggs, Milk in Mid-Day Meal, ICDS Diet: NHRC

For the ICDS scheme, it has been recommended that adequate food testing facilities

be created preferably at the district level by all states through the public health

department, universities and colleges.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/introduce-eggs-milk-in-mid-day-meal-icds-

diet-nhrc-4910152/ (28th

October 2017)

4. Maternity Entitlements On Hold: How The Government Has Undermined

Women’s And Children’s Rights

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), maternity entitlements of Rs 6,000 per

child is a legal right of all Indian women. However, over the years it has been

observed that the current government has not done much on this front. The finance

ministry made a modest allocation of Rs 2,700 crore for maternity benefits in the

2017-18 Budget – a fraction of what is required for universal coverage as per NFSA

norms, but better than nothing. The women and child development ministry designed

a new scheme for this purpose, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

(PMMVY). According to a recent statement of the ministry of women and child

development, only 10,000 women have received maternity benefits under PMMVY so

far. This is barely 1% of IGMSY coverage before it was discontinued.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/maternity-entitlements-on-

hold-how-the-government-has-undermined-womens-and-childrens-rights/ (By Jean

Drèze – 11th

January 2018)

5. Public Health Activists Oppose Maneka Gandhi's Move to Packaged Nutrients

Over Take Home Rations in Anganwadis

Expressing their discomfort with private contractors holding people‘s food in their

hands, the campaigners added, ―For years, the Right to Food campaign has been

fighting the battle against the role of private contractors in the supply of

supplementary nutrition in the ICDS. In state after state it has been seen that the

unholy nexus between the contractors and politicians/bureaucrats result in central

contracts worth hundreds of crores for supply of food to ICDS. The quality of food

supplied to the centres is compromised while companies make profits from the

meagre allocations for supplementary nutrition.‖

https://www.news18.com/news/india/public-health-activists-oppose-maneka-gandhis-

move-to-packaged-nutrients-over-take-home-rations-in-anganwadis-1721591.html

(18th

April 2018)

6. Nutritional Politics

Many children have died of malnutrition in India and yet Women and Child

Development Ministers over the years haven‘t decided what food to give children in

anganwadis. This is worrying. How many more children must suffer from stunted

growth before the Minister in charge of their welfare decides on whether to serve

them hot-cooked nutritious meals or packaged/processed fortified mixes? And why

does there have to be a choice between the two? Why can‘t India incorporate both? Is

it really that difficult to keep a close watch on the quality of food served to children

between the ages of three and six as well as take-home ration for pregnant and

lactating women?

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/nutritional-politics/article23686583.ece (By

Anuradha Raman - 27th

April 2018)

7. Nutrition Council Rejects Maneka Gandhi’s Proposal To Replace Anganwadi

Rations With Nutrient Packages

Referring to Maneka Gandhi‘s proposal, the minutes of the first meeting, released this

week, states, ―The Chairman brought out that the council had received a reference

from the Hon‘ble Minister of WCD with respect to administration of Supplementary

Nutrition i.e. Its composition and delivery. The Chairman drew attention to the PMO

decision in this regard and the need for continuance of the existing practice of Hot

Cooked Meals for children (3-6 years) age group and Take Home Ration (THR) for

children (6 months-3 years) and pregnant women and lactating mothers as decided by

the state government in conformity with the National Food Security Act 2013 and the

Supplementary Nutrition Rules 2017. This view was endorsed unanimously by the

Council.‖

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/nutrition-council-rejects-manekas-proposal-to-

replace-anganwadi-rations-with-nutrient-packages-5154583/lite/ (By Shalini Nair –

28th

April 2018)

8. Without Maternity Benefits

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013, every pregnant woman is

entitled to maternity benefits of ₹6,000, unless she is already receiving similar

benefits as a government employee or under other laws. The PMMVY was announced

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31, 2016. Unfortunately, it violates

the NFSA in several ways. First, the benefits have been reduced from ₹6,000 to

₹5,000 per child. Second, they are now restricted to the first living child. Third, they

are further restricted to women above the age of 18 years.

The scheme largely defeats the purpose it is supposed to serve: according to a recent

analysis, it excludes more than half of all pregnancies because first-order births

account for only 43% of all births in India. In our sample, less than half of the women

met the PMMVY eligibility criteria. Among those who were eligible, a little over half

had applied for maternity benefits.

The application process is cumbersome and exclusionary: a separate form has to be

filled, signed and submitted for each of the three instalments, along with a copy of the

applicant‘s mother-child protection card, her Aadhaar card, her husband‘s Aadhaar

card, and the details of a bank account linked to her Aadhaar number. The compulsory

linking of the applicant‘s bank account with Aadhaar often causes problems. Further,

the PMMVY provides little assistance to women who lose their baby, because the

successive payments are made only if the corresponding conditionalities are met.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/without-maternity-

benefits/article25616970.ece?Utm_campaign=amp_article_share&utm_medium=refer

ral&utm_source=whatsapp.com (By Aditi Priya – 28th

November 2018)

9. Maneka Gandhi Bypassed; Nutrition Norms Cleared

The NITI Aayog has approved the supplementary nutrition guidelines, prepared by

the Ministry for Women and Child Development, bypassing Minister for Women and

Child Development. The disagreement primarily centred around the approaches to

food procured as take-home rations and the hot cooked meals served to 10 crore

beneficiaries at 14 lakh anganwadis under the Integrated Child Development Scheme

(ICDS)

The debate within the Ministry has also included the issue of what constitutes

supplementary nutrition at anganwadis. Ms. Gandhi has repeatedly asserted that

policy-makers need to ―stop thinking of giving food and instead think of giving

nutrition,‖ while officials record in their communication to the NITI Aayog that as per

the National Food Security Act ―food security is supply of the entitled quantity of

food grains and meals.‖

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maneka-gandhi-bypassed-nutrition-norms-

cleared/article24905702.ece?Homepage=true (By Jagriti Chandra – 9th

September

2018)

10. Private Sector Ideas On Nutrition Should Be Taken With A Pinch Of 'Fortified'

Salt

In Bali‘s piece, the first priority is to ―adequately re-engineer‖ the Integrated Child

Development Scheme (ICDS), the Midday Meal Scheme (MDM) and the Public

Distribution System (PDS), by creating a ―disaggregated supply model‖ that ―engages

local communities‖. She says this is an ―ideal initiative for public private partnership‖

involving the ‗best nutritionists‘ and ‗anchored‘ by relevant private sector.

Bali‘s second priority is to ―mandate and scale staple food fortification‖ to address

―hidden hunger‖ or ―micro-nutrient deficiencies‖.

Fortification is necessarily a centralised process and places large food industries like

Britannia – of which Bali was earlier the managing director – in vantage positions and

thereby contradicting her first priority of ―creating disaggregated supply models‖ that

―engage local communities‖

Based on national data over several National Family Health Surveys and National

Nutrition Monitoring Bureau reports, activists of the Right to food Campaign,

consisting of activists, paediatricians and nutritionists, have petitioned the Supreme

court for years, to universalise the supplementation programmes for children, finally

leading to the enactment of the crucial National Food Security Act (2013).

Strengthening the components of the Act such as maternity entitlements, pensions and

other food schemes assures sustainability in the long run.

The Act makes state governments accountable to citizens, unlike corporates which are

accountable only to their shareholders, with the added danger of corporates abdicating

their PPP experiments during a recession.

https://thewire.in/health/private-sector-nutrition-vinita-bali-right-to-food (By Sylvia

Karpagam and Veena Shatrugna – 24th

September 2018)

11. How India’s Anganwadi System Is Getting Some Things Very Right Despite Its

Many Flaws

Largest mother and child nutrition and care programme of its kind in the world, the

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is meant to cover six services:

supplementary nutrition, non-formal early education, health and nutrition education,

immunization, health check-up, and referral services.

ICDS was launched on October 2, 1975, with about 5,000 anganwadis. Close to half a

century later, with about 1.4 million anganwadis in 7,000 blocks and around 2.8

million frontline personnel, India is still grappling with child malnutrition.

One-third of the world‘s stunted children live in India. This is the highest number in

the world. Stunting in children is associated with underdeveloped brains and long-

term harmful consequences for learning capacity, school performance, and later

earning ability. Persistent undernutrition is a matter of deep concern, especially in the

context of successive and severe droughts in many parts of the country.

Https://www.thehindu.com/society/how-indias-anganwadi-system-is-getting-some-

things-very-right-despite-its-many-

flaws/article26470237.ece?Utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign

=Newsletter (By Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta – 9th

March 2019)

12. Nyay Scheme Might Dismantle Public Distribution System

The Indian National Congress announced a minimum income support scheme of Rs.

72,000 per annum to 20% of India's poorest families if voted back to power. The

scheme would be called ―Nyoontama Aay Yojana, or NYAY.

In the absence of any clear policy framework proposed by the Congress, it is likely

that the NYAY scheme, if implemented, would replace the existing welfare

programmes, amongst which the worse hit would be India‘s public distribution system

(PDS), which includes delivery of wheat, sugar, rice and kerosene to poor households;

mid-day meals for school-going children ages 6–14 years under the Mid-Day meal

scheme; and meals for children between 6 months and 6 years, and pregnant and

lactating women under the Integrated Child Development Services scheme.

The NYAY scheme would be mere eyewash if it dismantles the existing PDS. In fact,

it would possibly make the poor even more vulnerable by virtue of social barriers and

market price fluctuations. In this context, one way in which the state can raise

resources for the scheme to work without replacing the existing welfare schemes is to

raise direct taxes on the rich through, say, increasing the wealth tax supplemented by

an inheritance tax.

https://www.newsclick.in/Rahul-Gandhi-NYAY-Scheme-Elections-2019 (By Manas

Raturi - 28th

March 2019)

13. Schools Told To Grow Own Veggies For Mid-Day Meals

In order to make schools across Karnataka self-reliant when it comes to implementing

the ambitious mid-day meal scheme, the state government has ordered as many as

34,000 schools to grow veggies on the premises instead of buying them from outside.

Interestingly, the move is said to be an attempt by the government to increase the taste

and nutrition of the food, especially after reports surfaced that many vegetables sold

in the open market had pesticide and chemicals.

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/schools-told-to-grow-own-veggies-for-mid-day-

meals-736173.html (By Rashmi Belur - 26th

May 2019)

14. Government To Peg MGNREGA Wages To Inflation In Bid To Hike Incomes

Staring at a slump in rural demand and a slowdown in the rural economy, the Centre

plans to inject more money into the UPA‘s flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme by linking wages under the Act to

an updated inflation index, which will be revised annually. It hopes this will increase

wages, thus increasing purchasing power and reviving rural demand.

However, some economists question whether linking wage rates to a better inflation

index will be sufficient, given that MGNREGA workers get paid much lower than

market rates.

The national average wage of an MGNREGA worker is ₹178.44 per day, less than

half of the ₹375 per day minimum wage recommended by a Labour Ministry panel

earlier this year.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/government-to-peg-mgnrega-wages-to-

inflation-in-bid-to-hike-

incomes/article29443145.ece?Utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campai

gn=Newsletter (By Priscilla Jebaraj – 18th

September 2019)

15. Eggs in Mid-Day Meals, Anganwadis Will Ensure Nutrition – And Gender

Parity

Household division of nutritious food continues to be gender-biased in India. There is

consistent evidence that most girls and women eat last and least. A qualitative

study in rural north Bihar found that boys and men of a household were always the

first ones to eat, were more likely to get larger portions of foods like pulses, eggs and

meats, and sweets, and were more likely to have their own separate plates.

On the other hand, girls and women always ate after the men, took leftover portions,

and often shared plates with children or other women which entailed an overall lesser

intake of food.

Given the persistent inequality of nutrition, interventions outside the household are as

important as changing the gender-bias from within. The provision of hot cooked mid-

day meals, nutritious food and take-home rations to children, students, teenage girls

and pregnant women in government-run anganwadis and schools is a crucial element

of nutritional support to girls and women across rural parts of India.

https://thewire.in/health/eggs-mid-day-meals-anganwadi-nutrition-gender-

parity/amp/?__twitter_impression=true (By Kanika Sharma – 19th

July 2019)

16. Eggs In Noon-Meal Scheme: Why Some States Chicken Out

The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition has pointed out in multiple

recommendations and guidelines that egg is a complete food for children. ―Egg is

proven to be a wholesome food, especially for children below two years. It provides

the nutrients that a child requires,‖ said Veena Shatrugna, former deputy director of

National Institute of Nutrition.

Shatrugna added that while certain private contractors may not be okay with eggs on

the menu, a State can always disburse separate funding to schools for providing eggs

in mid-day meals, as in Telangana. The State provides three eggs per week under the

scheme, and seven eggs a week per child in Anganwadis (for children below six

years).

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/eggs-in-noon-meal-scheme-why-some-

states-chicken-out/article28712412.ece (By Garima Singh/Maitri Porecha – 25th

July

2019)

17. Haryana Government To Scrap ‘Dal Roti’ Scheme, Offer Subsidised Sugar

Dal roti scheme was appreciated for its pro poor approach, but now we see the

downside of not having similar schemes included in the States Rules under NFSA.

Since these are not legal entitlements, they can be withdrawn by the

state government at any moment.

https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/haryana-govt-scrap-dal-roti-scheme-offer-

subsidised-sugar-1502541294.html (By Shiv Rawal - 7th

December 2017)

18. Ration Bachao: Why Do Protesters In Ranchi Want Food Not Cash?

The shift from PDS to Direct Benefit Transfer is often argued on the claim that PDS is

inefficient because of corruption, poor quality of food, and leakages. Both biometric

authentication and DBT have been proposed as measures to prevent this inefficiency.

How true are these claims, and are cash transfers the answer.

https://www.epw.in/engage/article/ration-bachao-why-do-protesters-in-ranchi-want-

food-not-cash?0=ip_login_no_cache%3d75209d4cd041269ca64989343fc96f19 (1st

March 2018)

19. Why Mid-Day Meal Workers Are Opposing Privatization In Assam

The mid-day meal workers are protesting against the decision to hand over charge of

serving mid-day meals to an NGO, Akshaypatra Foundation. Since 2010, the

foundation was selected as a partner to serve cooked meals in all government schools

on a public-private partnership model in Kamrup (rural and urban) after the then

Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the foundation‘s premises and were impressed by

their machinery and expertise. But many point out that centralized kitchens are more

or less preferred in large urban areas. In a predominantly diverse rural landscape like

Assam, there should be more emphasis on appreciating the diversities in our food

culture rather than clubbing them under one monolithic umbrella. Instead, collective

kitchens run by local people and monitored by the Mothers Clubs could be a viable

alternative.

https://www.ifp.co.in/page/items/47711/why-mid-day-meal-workers-are-opposing-

privatization-in-assam/ (By Nasreen Habib – 6th

April 2018)

20. Women’s Groups Win As Supreme Court Cancels Anganwadi Contracts Worth

Rs 6,300 Crores In Maharashtra

Women‘s self-help groups in Maharashtra have clinched a significant victory in the

Supreme Court, which struck down tenders worth Rs 6,300 crores issued by the state

government in 2016 for the production and supply of take-home rations under the

Centre‘s Integrated Child Development Scheme.

The Supreme Court has now ordered the Maharashtra government to stop the supply

of ICDS rations under the current system, issue fresh tenders within four weeks, and

design an alternate system of ration-supply for the interim period. ―Terms and

conditions of the tenders should not be framed in such a manner that they [women‘s

self-help groups] get excluded from participating itself,‖ the judgment said.

https://scroll.in/article/916022/womens-groups-win-as-supreme-court-cancels-

anganwadi-contracts-worth-rs-6300-crore-in-maharashtra (By Aarefa Johari - 11th

March 2019)

21. Tamil Nadu Orders Closure Of 8000 Noon Meal Centres In Government Schools

In bad news for scores of government school students across the state, 8,000 noon

meal centres have been ordered to be shut owing to a re-jig of staff. This comes

months after employees of the government-run programme demanded rightful wages

for their work, going on an indefinite strike.

The closure of noon meal centres in ‗low-enrolment‘ areas also means loss of jobs for

workers since the new rule would replace the triumvirate of an organizer, a cook and

an assistant with just one staff member.

Launched by former Chief Minister K Kamaraj and extended and popularised by

former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, the noon meal scheme has been an

incentive for increasing enrolment and reducing dropouts from government schools.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tn-orders-closure-8000-noon-meal-centres-

govt-schools-criticised-move-94042 (27th

December 2018)

22. The Meal That Fed Millions

Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in midday meal programmes encouraging children to attend

school. K Kamaraj introduced it first in the 1960s, across all districts of the State.

Today, the programme is implemented across States, and is a Government of India

scheme.

The tradition was started in 1911 by a few trustees and philanthropists, and is

probably the oldest noon-meal scheme in the country, says MN Sankaran, president of

Sourashtra High School Council. ―And it was from here that the then Tamil Nadu

Chief Minister K Kamaraj was inspired to introduce the scheme for the entire State.

As the strength of the school grew, we got students from the outskirts and

neighbouring districts as well. That‘s when we also introduced free breakfast two

decades ago, as many of them had to start early from home to reach the school on

time.

https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/behind-the-midday-meal-scheme-that-

is-reproduced-across-the-country-today-is-madurais-century-old-sourashtra-boys-

higher-secondary-school-and-its-rich-legacy-of-nutritious-food/article24529495.ece

(By A. Shrikumar – 27th

July 2018)

23. No Onion And Garlic In Midday Meals

The State government appears to have backtracked on its stand that onion and garlic

be introduced in mid-day meals served to students. It has entered into a Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) with the Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF), a subsidiary of

the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), despite the latter‘s

refusal to use the two ingredients.

In Bengaluru alone, APF provides meals to 1.83 lakh students in 1,212 schools.

―Akshaya Patra Foundation refused to include onion and garlic. We could not make

alternative arrangements to provide food, and had to yield,‖ said an official, adding

that the issue is yet to be resolved.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/no-onion-and-garlic-in-midday-

meals/article26555844.ece (By Tanu Kulkarni – 16th

March 2019)

24. Food At Anganwadis 'Unfit For Consumption'

A fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on those officials responsible for supplying unfit

food items to anganwadi centres.

At a time when the state and central governments have come under fire over

malnutrition of children, a recent report by food safety authorities has found glaring

violations at a food production centre with staples like wheat flour containing live

insects.

For years, food being supplied to Anganwadis would pass rigorous testing by the

FSSAI. That changed this month when state authorities found food items so poor in

quality that some were even deemed ―unsafe.‖

The discovery comes at a time when there has been renewed focus on the problem of

malnutrition in the state. The 2015-16 National Family Health Survey determined that

Karnataka is among the worst-affected states when it comes to malnutrition in south

India, with 36.2% of children under the age of 5 being stunted and 26.1% of children

under 5 being weak. A further 10.5% of children 5 were classified as severely weak.

https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/state/karnataka-food-at-anganwadis-unfit-for-

consumption-760272.html (By Akhil Kadidal – 10th

September 2019)

25. Government’s Refusal To Enforce MOU With Akshaya Patra Is Hurting The

Scheme

Recent reports on refusal of the ISKCON-linked NGO Akshay Patra Foundation

(APF) to include onion and garlic in the food served by them as part of Mid-day

meals scheme in Karnataka, have created an erroneous impression that APF is no

longer required to include these ingredients. A copy of the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) for the year 2018-19 signed between Bengaluru Zilla

Panchayat (First Party) and APF (Second Party) accessed under Right to Information

Act shows that APF is still legally required to include onion in the food.

https://aharanammahakku.home.blog/2019/03/24/governments-refusal-to-enforce-

mou-with-akshaya-patra-is-hurting-the-scheme/ (By Siddharth K Joshi – 24th

March

2019)

26. Why Are Karnataka’s Schoolchildren Unhappy with the Mid-Day Meal?

ISKCON‘s Akshay Patra Foundation refuses to add onion or garlic to the meals it

provides even though the children crave the familiar taste.

APF, which caters to 2,814 schools and roughly 4.43 lakh children in the State, has

been dominating headlines for its stubborn decision to not use onion and garlic in the

meals it makes. Onion and garlic are ‗tamasic‘ ingredients, is what APF reportedly

believes. In a post on a blog run by ISKCON‘s devotee network, a volunteer explains

why onion and garlic are not considered favourable. Citing an email from leader

Janananda Goswami Maharaj, the blogger explains that onion and garlic have the

potential to ―adversely affect one‘s consciousness‖. As ingredients, they are in the

―lower modes of nature,‖ and are associated with passion, ignorance, lethargy, lack of

focus and confusion.

https://www.thehindu.com/society/why-are-karnatakas-schoolchildren-unhappy-with-

the-mid-day-

meal/article27378176.ece?Utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign

=Newsletter

27. Odisha Government Has Decided To Distribute One Kg Of Ragi At Rs 1

The Odisha government has decided to distribute one kg of ragi at Rs 1 as a pilot

project through the public distribution system (PDS) to improve nutritional

consumption in the state.

Every PDS cardholder will get one kg of ragi at Rs 1 in Gajapati, Kalahandi,

Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada and Rayagada districts in July. In the

Malkangiri district, cardholders will be supplied two KGs of ragi.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/odisha-to-provide-1-kg-ragi-at-

rs-1-via-pds-shops-

119061001027_1.html?Fbclid=iwar0y5ktmumjlmrpjosxq4bbkel4ztqoqnqjhu2hx36ejz

4q9wmf3yg-mqhw (10th

June 2019)

28. Chhattisgarh Cm Bhupesh Baghel Announces Free Nutritious Food, Access To

Medical Facilities For Tribals

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday announced that tribals

living in the forest regions of Bastar would soon get free nutritious food through gram

panchayats and access to medical facilities.

The announcement comes in the wake of the death of over 100 children in Bihar's

Muzaffarpur district due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).

Bhupesh Baghel said the state government would be launching two new schemes for

tribals, related to malnutrition and healthcare facilities. These schemes will play a

pivotal role in improving the health status of tribals.

The state government will provide nutritious food to the forest dwellers to combat

malnutrition and, as part of another scheme, tribals will have mobile healthcare

facilities in weekly markets.

These schemes will soon be launched from Bastar region as a "pilot project." Bastar is

considered to be the worst Naxal-affected region in Chhattisgarh.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bhupesh-baghel-announces-free-nutritious-

food-access-to-medical-facilities-for-tribals-1551894-2019-06-19 (19th

June 2019)

29. UP Chief Secretary Gets Notice After Schoolchildren Seen Eating Roti-Salt

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh

chief secretary after taking cognisance of the salt and rotis served to children in their

midday meal at a government-run primary school in Mirzapur, according to a

statement. The commission has sought a detailed report in the matter within four

weeks, the statement said. The notice served by the rights panel comes in the

backdrop of children being served salt and rotis in their midday meal at a state-run

primary school in Mirzapur, a video of which went viral on social media on Thursday.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/up-chief-secretary-gets-notice-after-schoolchildren-

seen-eating-roti-salt-2090706 (26th August 2019)

30. Why Karnataka Needs To Go Back To The School-Based Kitchen Model For

Mid-Day Meals

The discord surrounding mid-day meals (MDM) in Karnataka has to factor in the

opinions and preferences of several stakeholders: parents, teachers, administrators and

government officials, and not to forget the students who eat these meals. In

Karnataka, more than 8.7 lakh students at over 5,500 schools are supplied mid-day

meals by 68 NGOs. Within Bengaluru urban, NGOs provide meals to 2,072 schools –

and most of them cook their food in centralised kitchens.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-karnataka-needs-go-back-school-based-

kitchen-model-mid-day-meals-107640 (By Dr Sylvia Karpagam – 22nd

August 2019)

31. Government Mulls Cutting Anna Bhagya Quota

The B S Yediyurappa administration is looking to cut supply of free rice under the

Congress‘ populist Anna Bhagya scheme, which is among several expenditure-

pruning measures proposed to mobilise funds to give farmers additional incentives

under the M-KISAN scheme. Yediyurappa has announced that the government will

give Rs 4,000 yearly to over 34 lakh farmers, in addition to Rs 6,000 they will receive

under the PM-KISAN scheme. For this, the government needs Rs 2,200 crore.

https://www.deccanherald.com/state/govt-mulls-cutting-anna-bhagya-quota-

754884.html (By Bharath Joshi - 17th

August 2019)

32. Open Letter to Scientists of National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad – Mid-

day Meals scheme - Akshaya Patra Foundation

A group of organizations, activists, academicians, lawyers, doctors, journalists and

researchers, have sent an open letter to scientists of the National Institute of Nutrition

(NIN), asking it to withdraw its report submitted to Government of Karnataka

regarding the appropriateness of the food being supplied by Akshaya Patra

Foundation (APF) as part of Mid-day Meals scheme.

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/top-bengaluru-stories/activists-slam-clean-chit-to-

akshaya-patra-midday-meals-733409.html (12th

May 2019)

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/activists-challenge-report-certifying-akshaya-

patra-mid-day-meal-food-be-standards-101673 (Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran - 12th

May 2019)

https://www.counterview.net/2019/05/top-govt-of-india-institute-told-to.html (12th

May 2019) (By Archana Nathan – 31st May 2019)

33. Online Monitoring Of Mid-Day Meal: SC Imposes Fine On 6 States

The Supreme Court on Tuesday slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on states of Andhra

Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir for failing

to create an online link to monitor implementation of mid-day meal schemes in

government-run schools. A fine of Rs 2 lakh has also been imposed on Delhi for

failing to do so.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur and comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and

Justice Hemant Gupta also took on the state governments for not complying with the

directions of the top court on the issue yet.

The bench asked the states to deposit the amount with the Supreme Court Legal

Services Authority within four weeks. The petition has claimed that children receive

free, cooked lunch every day in over 12 lakh government-run and aided schools

across the country; however, there is a constant risk of food poisoning and related

health hazards due to a lack of mid-day meal infrastructure and proper monitoring of

the scheme.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/online-monitoring-of-mid-day-

meal-sc-imposes-fine-on-6-states-118120400619_1.html (4th

December 2018)

CASTE, CULTURE AND FOOD

34. Children Have The Right To Eat Eggs, Onions And Garlic

It is unfortunate that the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, also fell

into this trap of biased concerns. Rather than condemning this kind of politicisation of

food, NIN has said keeping onions and garlic out of food would not affect the

nutritional value of food. Surely, the NIN acknowledges that the food we eat is as

much about its taste, appearance, memories, nostalgia and familiarity as it is about the

calories, proteins, fats and micronutrients that it gives us. It must be recognised that it

is as much the right of children to have eggs, onions, garlic as it is for families which

do not want these items included in their children‘s food. It is ultimately a question of

the right to choose what one eats and who controls the food system. The best way to

enforce the right to choose will be only when the system is decentralized and it is

based on broad guiding principles, yet has the flexibility to ensure that every child is

included.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/food/children-have-the-right-to-eat-eggs-

onions-and-garlic-65268 (By Dipa Sinha – 25th

June 2019)

35. Dalit Identity And Food – Memories Of Trauma On A Plate

There is no singular, homogeneous category called ―Dalit food‖ because the Dalit

community is itself so regionally and ethnically diverse. But what is common

throughout Dalit history is the denial of a right as basic as that to food and water.

Dalit cuisine is not common, not ―trending‖, not even acknowledged in mainstream

discourse – precisely because this is the oldest way caste has been practised by those

in power: as a tool of silencing and invisibility.

Dalit ―cuisine‖ developed across the country as a mode of survival, born from

economic necessity and the need to adapt. Dirt, pollution, water and the segregation of

wells are now widely-known indicators of caste in India, but the ways in which food

hierarchies were structured for Dalits still remain in the shadows, although the

consequences are fairly straightforward. A majority of Dalits are non-vegetarian.

Hindu caste hierarchy puts pure vegetarian Brahmins at the top, non-beef-eating non

vegetarians in the middle, and beef-eaters at the absolute bottom. A recent national

survey found that over 70% of people that eat beef are from the Scheduled Castes

(SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), 21% are from other backward castes and only 7%

belong to upper castes.

https://homegrown.co.in/article/803216/dalit-identity-and-food-memories-of-trauma-

on-a-plate (21st November 2018)

36. Forest Food Ensures Nutritional Security Of Odisha’s Tribes

―For the tribal communities, forest is not just a source of food, but it‘s also a part of

their identity,‖ Debjeet Sarangi of the Living Farms told, ―Tribes such as the Kondhs‘

way of life is respectful of others including nature and recognizes diversity in its

different manifestations.‖ The tribal community‘s relationship with the forest is one of

belonging rather than ownership.

Community forest management is good for the health of the forests. When local users

have long-term rights to harvest from the forests, they are more likely to monitor and

sanction those who break the rules, resulting in better forest conditions, according to

Nobel laureate economist, the late Elinor Ostrom, who advocated for common rights

over land and forest.

The study conducted by Living Farms corroborates the theory. According to the

study, ecosystem of the forest is likely to be much improved in terms of number of

tree species, density and food availability, when managed by the communities.

―Forest gives us food, fodder, firewood and everything we require‖.

https://www.villagesquare.in/2017/12/11/forest-food-ensures-nutritional-security-

odishas-tribes/ (By Basudev Mahapatra – 11th

December 2017)

37. Upper Castes Pressure Dalit Woman Cook To Leave TN School, SC Panel

Summons Officials

A Dalit woman was prevented from cooking for students of a school in Tamil Nadu as

part of the noon meal scheme and shifted under pressure from members of an upper

caste, prompting the National Commission for Scheduled Castes to summon senior

officials of Tirupur district.

Some upper caste Hindus belonging to the Gounder community protested against her

posting as she was a Dalit, police said. Parents of children of Gounder caste also

exerted pressure on the authorities concerned to transfer her, they said.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has, meanwhile, summoned senior

district officials over the incident. In its letters to the Tirupur collector, superintendent

of police and chief education officer, the commission has asked them to appear before

vice-chairman of the panel L Murugan in New Delhi on July 30 to explain why the

Dalit woman was made to suffer ―caste humiliation‖.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/upper-castes-pressure-dalit-woman-cook-to-

leave-tn-school-sc-panel-summons-officials-1818665.html (20th July 2018)

38. Group Of Citizens Asks Centre To Terminate Contract To ISKCON-Run NGO

For Mid-Day Meals

A group of citizens from across the country has written to the Ministry of Human

Resource Development expressing concerns over the mid-day meals provided by

Akshaya Patra Foundation, which has refused to include onions, garlic and eggs in the

meal saying it can only provide a satvik diet – a diet based on Ayurveda and yoga

literature. The foundation had courted controversy last week for refusing to sign a

memorandum for 2018-2019 following a directive by the Karnataka government to

include onions and garlic in the meals.

The Right to Food Campaign and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan have demanded that the

contracts given to Akshaya Patra for supply of mid-day meal be terminated and that

eggs be supplied in all schools to the children of communities that are accustomed to

eating them. ―Religious diktats cannot supersede the application of established

principles of the right to food to mid-day meal schemes‖.

https://scroll.in/latest/905573/karnataka-group-of-citizens-asks-centre-to-terminate-

contract-to-iskcon-run-ngo-for-mid-day-meals (13th

December 2018)

39. UP Students Refuse Mid-Day Meal Prepared By 'Lower' Caste Cook, School

Throws Food After Protest

Students of a primary school in Uttar Pradesh‘s Sitapur district refused to eat the mid-

day meal prepared by a cook from a Scheduled Caste, following which the food was

discarded.

The incident took place in Sitapur‘s Palharia village, which is dominated by Yadavs

and Brahmins. As the word spread that a ‗lower‘ caste woman was cooking the meal,

parents gathered at the school and protested against her appointment.

The woman cook, who belonged to the Arakh caste, was temporarily filling in for the

regular cook, a Yadav. School principal Manoj Kumar said he tried to make the

parents see reason but they refused to listen.

Condemning the incident, former IPS officer and social activist SR Darapuri sought

an inquiry. He said boycotting the cook violated an order of the Uttar Pradesh

government that was issued as per the direction of the Supreme Court. The order

sought that people from socially backward castes be hired as cooks to eradicate the

concept of caste-based discrimination from children‘s minds.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/up-students-refuse-mid-day-meal-prepared-by-

lower-caste-cook-school-throws-out-food-after-protest-1871653.html (8th

September

2018)

40. Angry Parents Protest Appointment Of Dalit Woman Cook In Tamil Nadu

School, Three Booked

Three people were arrested for allegedly objecting to the appointment of a Dalit

woman as cook in a government school in Salem district, months after another woman

faced a similar opposition in nearby Tirupur, police said on Sunday. They also sought

a replacement and reportedly threatened to withdraw their wards from the school.

Subsequently, the headmaster of the school alerted the block development officer,

who convinced them and the cook continued to work there.

However, cases were filed against six people, including the headmaster under the

SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and three of them were arrested on Sunday.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/angry-parents-protest-appointment-of-dalit-

woman-cook-in-tamil-nadu-school-three-booked-1908743.html (14th

October 2018)

41. ‘Political’ Science: A Critique of NIN and CFTRI Reports on Inclusion of Onion

and Garlic in Mid-day Meals

Several reports in the media had highlighted the violations of prescribed menu by

Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) in supply of food under Mid-day Meals (MDM)

scheme in Karnataka, by refusing to use onion and garlic in the food. Instead of

standing up to the imposition of religious agenda in a public scheme, Government of

Karnataka, has gone along and asked for the menu submitted by APF to be reviewed

by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Central Food Technological Research

Institute (CFTRI). Based on the reports submitted by the NIN and CFTRI, the GoK

has gone ahead with signing a contract with Akshaya Patra Foundation for the year

2018-19 – in spite of APF‘s refusal to follow prescribed norms. The observations

made and conclusions reached in these reports have provided an easy excuse to

Government of Karnataka to look the other way even as APF deprives children

studying in government schools of tasty and nutritious food because of its religious

beliefs. Given the serious impact on policy decision-making that these reports have

had, their lack of scientific rigour raises disturbing questions about their credibility

and independence.

https://aharanammahakku.home.blog/2019/04/28/government/ (By Siddharth K Joshi

– 28th

April 2019)

42. Why Removing Onion, Garlic From Mid-Day Meals In Karnataka Could Lead

To More School Dropouts

In November 2018, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education had directed

the APF to use onion and garlic in food preparations but they had refused to follow

recommended nutritional guidelines because it stated that its religious beliefs

contradicted the guidelines. Now, the government has yielded to the foundation's

demands and backtracked in including the two ingredients.

This move by the state government has not been well received by public health

experts and activists, who feel that they should terminate the contract with the

foundation. "The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) had done a

study in 2015 and they found that onion and garlic increase the bio-accessibility of

iron and zinc. Iron deficiency is a huge problem in India, it's almost present among 60

to 80% of children in the country. What's happening everywhere is the pushing of iron

tablets. But that can't be a long-term solution to the problem. The more important and

larger issue is about the taste of the meals. When children eat food that is tasty they

tend to eat more, anyone can understand that we don't need to be researchers or

experts to find that out. What's happening with the Akshaya Patra food is it's very

bland, it's very monotonous, it's the same thing day in and day out. According to

MHRD norms, the lower primary children are supposed to consume food that

provides 450 kcal energy and 12 grams of protein, while it will differ based on their

age for upper primary classes. The problem is they are consuming way less than what

has been asked to provide to them.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2019/mar/19/why-removing-

onion-garlic-from-mid-day-meals-in-karnataka-could-lead-to-more-school-dropouts-

1953125.html (By Shreesha Ghosh – 19th

March 2019)

43. National Institute Of Nutrition Stands By Its Report On No Onion, Garlic In Its

Meals

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) said on Tuesday that it stands by its findings

certifying mid-day meals without onion and garlic provided by the Akshaya Patra

Foundation (APF) in Karnataka schools as compliant with nutritional norms laid

down by the State government.

On the issue of onion and garlic missing from meals, the Director wrote, ―looking at

each vegetable or compound in isolation and implicating it to the overall nutritional

quality of composite meal is not justifiable. NIN has no hesitation in saying that most

vegetables/fruits improve bio-availability of micronutrients and hence can be used

interchangeably‖.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/national-institute-of-nutrition-stands-by-its-

report-on-no-onion-garlic-in-its-meals/article27141630.ece (15th

May 2019)

44. Activists want onion, garlic in midday meals

The controversy over onion and garlic missing from the midday meal supplied by

Akshay Patra Foundation to schoolchildren has escalated with the NGOs, activists,

doctors and researchers alleging that the denial of the ingredients is tantamount to

imposing religious belief on the students studying in the school.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/actvists-want-onion-garlic-in-

midday-meals/articleshow/69191503.cms?From=mdr (By Nithya Mandyam – 6th

May

2019)

45. Akshaya Patra And The Mysterious Vanishing Of Onion And Garlic For School

Kids

The controversy around food provided by NGO Akshaya Patra under the school mid-

day meal scheme is only gaining steam. The opinions between the warring factions go

as far on the one end as accusing the NGO of highhandedness — by providing only

non-onion and non-garlic food — that is 'almost Brahminical' in character, and, on the

other end, hailing it for providing clean and hygienic food to around 1.8 million

children across 15,000 schools spread over 12 states. It is the second time in less than

six months that the foundation has run into rough weather on this front. In December

2018, the Karnataka State Food Commission conducted a survey of government

schools and found that onion and garlic were absent from the meals served at schools

where Akshaya Patra was the providing agency. The panel urged for them to be

included in order to make meals tastier and more nutritious.

https://www.dailyo.in/politics/akshaya-patra-foundation-midday-meals-controversy-

no-onion-no-garlic-meals-ayurveda-diet/story/1/31051.html (By Rajeshwari Ganesan

- 10th

June 2019)

46. Akshaypatra controversy over midday meal: Food is about health, not religion

Food served to children in school should be decided by health experts and dieticians,

not religious groups. In any case, onions and garlic are avoided by Jains and not by

Hindus.

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/akshay-patra-controversy-over-midday-

meal-food-is-about-health-not-religion (By Sujata Anandan - 9th

June 2019)

47. Why Is the National Institute of Nutrition Okay With Akshaya Patra’s Veg

Fascism?

When the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) endorsed the Akshaya

Patra Foundation‘s refusal to serve onions and garlic in the mid-day meals it provides

to schoolchildren, it didn‘t include an important caveat: Dr Subba Rao M.

Gavaravarapu, a deputy director at the institute, was a member of Akshaya Patra‘s

consultative council.

The controversy around the NIN report, and Dr Gavaravarapu‘s connection to Akshay

Patra, a closely-held privately-run religious outfit, reveals the outsized influence that a

little-known state-funded institute has over the lives and diets of millions of Indians.

A minority culture like vegetarianism permeates into nutrition policy as a

combination of casteism and communalism,‖ said Balmurli Natrajan, Professor of

Anthropology at William Patterson University, New Jersey.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/national-institute-of-nutrition-meat-akshaya-

patra_in_5d1a0cc5e4b03d61163f2a36?Ncid=tweetlnkinhpmg00000001 (By Nikhila

Henry – 2nd

July 2019)

HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION IN INDIA

48. India’s Hunger Problem Is Worse Than North Korea’s: Global Hunger Index

Report

India has a ‗serious‘ hunger problem and ranks 100 among 119 developing countries,

lagging behind countries such as North Korea and Iraq according to the global hunger

index report of 2017. With a global hunger index (GHI) score of 31.4, India is at the

high end of the ―serious" category, the report said, adding, and ―given that three

quarters of South Asia‘s population reside in India, the situation in that country

strongly influences South Asia‘s regional score‖. More than one-fifth of Indian

children under five weigh too little for their height and over a third are too short for

their age, IFPRI said in a statement.

https://www.livemint.com/Politics/JS3kPSIqoUSRt9QC5JbpTI/Indias-hunger-

problem-is-worse-than-North-Koreas-global-h.html (13th

October 2017)

49. Hunger Is A Shame

The State of Food Security and Nutrition Report (UNICEF, 2017) states that 190

million people in India are undernourished. When the IFPRI holds a mirror to our

face, it is not enough to deny the warts. Hunger in India is an ugly wart. The

government of the day has an obligation. This obligation does not have to be of a

bullet train or the ‗tallest‘ statue but to propose a comprehensive solution to eliminate

hunger and implement it.

https://scroll.in/article/854587/no-aadhaar-no-food-ration-11-stories-that-show-the-

jharkhand-child-death-was-not-an-aberration (By Reetika Khera - 20th

October 2017)

50. Hungry India: Are We Angry Enough?

One key reason for children being undernourished in the country is that often their

mothers are undernourished. In India, one in five women are underweight. Women

who are themselves undernourished or get pregnant at an early age are at greater risk

of delivering low birth-weight babies, who are nutritionally disadvantaged from the

very beginning.

The low status of women in India makes things worse. Women with low or no

education and with no say in decision-making in their families often fail to ensure

adequate diets for their children even when there is adequate food at home. States and

districts which have many illiterate women and women who have been married off

early have large numbers of undernourished children.

Food is not the only reason for undernourishment. Lack of sanitation contributes to

the spread of infectious diseases.

https://www.asianage.com/opinion/oped/191017/hungry-india-are-we-angry-

enough.html (By Patralekha Chatterjee - 19th

October 2019)

51. Lack of a National Nutrition Policy Means Our Children’s Tomorrow Could Die

Today

It is time the government came out with a national policy on nutrition, which is

evidence based, with that last child at the heart of it. If we fail to evolve a consensus,

our children‘s tomorrow could die today.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/lack-of-a-national-nutrition-policy-means-

our-children-s-tomorrow-could-die-today/story-ejeozxq9p3q8hqxg6ohipn.html (By

Neerja Chowdhury - 22nd

October 2017)

52. Why Are We Unable To Mitigate Hunger When We Are Producing More Food

Than Ever?

Despite the fact that India‘s score in the Global Hunger Index has fallen to 31.1 from

38.8 between 2000 and 2018, the issue of hunger is often relegated to the background.

India's rank in the Global Hunger Index has also fallen to 103 (ranked out of 119

countries). In terms of policy, hunger, as an issue, is not dealt with directly, and with

urgency. Instead, it is kept under the larger purview of economic development which

expects that wealth will percolate to solve the problem of hunger and as recent studies

suggested that rather than being a matter of choice, the poor have been increasingly

forced to spend more on non-food essential items such as education, healthcare,

transportation, fuel and lighting. The share of monthly expenditure devoted to these

items has increased at such a pace that it has absorbed all the increase in real income

over the past three decades. This has led to a ―food budget squeeze‖, which has meant

relatively stagnant real food expenditure over the last two decades and which is one of

the reasons because of which hunger is not being able to get mitigated.

https://www.epw.in/engage/article/why-are-we-unable-mitigate-hunger-when-we-are-

producing-more-food-than-

ever?0=ip_login_no_cache%3d8c6d6fa2ac1f05dada26e8c523f68a19 (29th

November

2018)

53. Why Hunger Around The World Is Rising Again

World hunger rose for the third straight year in 2017, jeopardizing the progress made

to end the scourge of food insecurity that affects vast swathes of the planet. While

scientific advancement has ensured great leaps in food production, the causes behind

the latest spurt in global hunger are conflict and climate change

With increasing global wealth one may assume that hunger has been declining over

the years. That, however, is not true. Income inequality is increasing and, hence,

despite an increase in overall wealth for certain people, the ability to access food has

decreased. And not just income inequality, but conflicts, adverse climate and

worsened economic conditions, too, have increased the number of undernourished

people in some regions.

The number of undernourished people has declined in China, India, Nepal and Sri

Lanka but has increased in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, India

still accounts for the world‘s largest population of undernourished people and is home

to about one in every five undernourished persons.

The food security report points to the role of climate variability and extremes in

fuelling global hunger. It says that the number of extreme climate-related disasters has

doubled since the early 1990s, with an average of 213 of these events occurring every

year during 1990–2016.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/learning-with-the-times-why-hunger-

around-the-world-is-rising-again/articleshow/65836452.cms (17th

September 2018)

54. Malnutrition In India: Narendra Modi And Rahul Gandhi’s Constituencies Are

Among The Worst Affected

The study shows that 72 of the 543 parliamentary constituencies fall in the top two

quintiles, that is 20%, according to the prevalence of child malnutrition indicators –

stunting, low weight for age, wasting and anaemia. Of these, 12 constituencies are in

Jharkhand, 19 in Madhya Pradesh, 10 in Karnataka, eight in Uttar Pradesh and six in

Rajasthan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh fares worse

on malnutrition indicators than the constituencies of many of his ministers from North

India. For children under five, Varanasi has a stunting prevalence of 43.1%, higher

than the national average of 35.9%, and ranking 124 from the bottom.

Data by political constituency on development indicators can improve accountability,

but it is better if these data consider the performance of development programmes

than an indicator such as child growth, which takes time to change.

https://scroll.in/article/917492/malnutrition-in-india-narendra-modi-and-rahul-

gandhis-constituencies-are-among-the-worst-affected (By Alison Saldanha and

Karthik Madhavapeddi – 24th

March 2019)

55. For A Malnutrition-Free India

Despite programme commitments since 1975, such as creating Integrated Child

Development Services and national coverage of the mid-day meal scheme, India

continues to grapple with a high rate of undernutrition. Improving nutrition and

managing stunting continue to be big challenges, and they can be addressed only with

an inter-sectoral strategy.

India has unacceptably high levels of stunting, despite marginal improvement over the

years. In 2015-16, 38.4% of children below five years were stunted and 35.8% were

underweight. India ranks 158 out of 195 countries on the human capital index. Lack

of investment in health and education leads to slower economic growth.

The aim of the National Nutrition Strategy of 2017 is to achieve a malnutrition-free

India by 2022. The plan is to reduce stunting prevalence in children (0-3 years) by

about three percentage points per year by 2022 from NFHS-4 levels, and achieve a

one-third reduction in anaemia in children, adolescents and women of reproductive

age.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/for-a-malnutrition-free-

india/article26984216.ece (By Shoba Suri – 30th

April 2019)

56. Malnutrition In India Worse Than Sub-Saharan Africa

Malnourishment in parts of the country is worse than that of Sub-Saharan Africa, an

official said on Saturday. Atheeq described malnutrition as a social problem.

―Malnutrition begins in the womb,‖ he said, explaining that if a pregnant woman is

anaemic, the baby is also born anaemic. Nearly 70% of women in India are anaemic,

Atheeq added. Uma said that cultural norms are at the heart of malnutrition, including

sanitary practices of families. Atheeq said that despite the government having

constructed 75 lakh toilets in the state as part of the Swachh Bharat Scheme, nearly

20% are not being used. ―Open-air defecation leaches faecal matter into the soil, and

if babies happen to crawl around near drains, the resulting germs and infection by

worms interferes with their ability to absorb vital nutrients‖.

https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/malnutrition-in-india-

worse-than-sub-saharan-africa-731071.html (By Akhil Kadidal – 28th

April 2019)

57. Teenage Pregnancies Increase Chance Of Child Malnutrition By 10 Per Cent:

Study

Despite child marriage being illegal, 31 per cent married women in India give birth

while they are still minors and their babies are 10 per cent more likely to be

malnourished than those born to adults, a new study by the International Food Policy

Research Institute (IFPRI) has found.

Data from the National Family Health Survey-4 (NHFS-4) shows that 38.4 per cent

babies in India are stunted. The country has an annual birth cohort of about 26 million

babies.

Compared to adult mothers, teenagers were shorter, more likely to be underweight

and anaemic and less likely to have access to health services. They also had poorer

complementary feeding practices, lower education, lesser bargaining power and lived

in poorer households with poorer sanitation, it said. The authors identified prevention

of early marriage as a necessity to bring down the malnutrition burden.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/teenage-pregnancies-increase-chance-of-child-

malnutrition-by-10-per-cent-study-5732063/ (By Abantika Ghosh – 17th

March 2019)

58. Prevalence Of Undernourishment In Indian States

Prevalence of undernourishment, a measure developed by the Food and Agriculture

Organization, is a key indicator for global hunger and food insecurity targets. The

FAO has developed a sound conceptual model for estimating the prevalence of dietary

energy deficiency. However, the estimation methodology of the prevalence of

undernourishment has been a subject of much debate. Important modifications are

suggested in the estimation of the distribution of average calorie intake and average

minimum dietary energy requirements. Using the latest available data and the revised

methodology, it is shown that about 472 million people in India, a staggering 39% of

the population, were undernourished in 2011–12.

https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/15/special-articles/prevalence-undernourishment-

indian-states.html?0=ip_login_no_cache%3d25398254eb465b8bd52d243914e414d5

(By Vikas Rawal, Vaishali Bansal and Prachi Bansal – 13th

April 2019)

59. 31.4% Of Indian Children Will Be Stunted By 2022: Report

Almost one in three Indian children under five years will still be stunted by 2022

going by current trends, according to an analysis of the country‘s food and nutrition

security released on Tuesday. Over the last decade, child stunting — which is a

measure of chronic malnutrition — has reduced at a rate of about 1% per year, the

slowest decline among emerging economies. At this rate, 31.4% of children will still

be stunted by the 2022 deadline. India must double its rate of progress to reach the

target of 25% by that time, says the report.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/314-of-indian-children-will-be-stunted-by-

2022-

report/article28138523.ece?Utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaig

n=Newsletter (25th

June 2019)

60. Most States Won't Meet Poshan Abhiyaan Targets To Curb Child Malnutrition:

Study

Terming the targets framed by the Centre to tackle malnutrition and stunting under

Poshan Abhiyaan ‗aspirational‘, a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research

(ICMR) estimated that many Indian states are running behind and may not be able to

achieve them.

The study presented trends and estimates of disease burden caused due to child and

maternal malnutrition in India between 1990 and 2017. Some of the states, which

have reported the worst cases include Rajasthan, Bihar.

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/71191206.cms?Utm_source=contentofin

terest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (By Aanchal Bansal – 18th

September 2019)

61. The X Factor: Teenage Pregnancies Are Large Silent Contributors To

Childhood Malnutrition In India

India has an enormous problem of malnourishment, being home to almost 25% of the

world‘s malnourished children. A new study shows that child marriages and underage

pregnancies are making a sizeable contribution to this problem, drawing a clear

correlation to undernutrition of children born to adolescent mothers.

Researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute analysed data

relating to more than 60,000 first time mothers across the country from the National

Family Health Survey. The study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent

Health, found that 25% of the respondents first gave birth during adolescence. The

children born to adolescent mothers were shorter for their age and had lower weights

for height than children born to adult mothers.

https://scroll.in/pulse/925374/the-x-factor-teenage-pregnancies-are-large-silent-

contributors-to-childhood-malnutrition-in-india (By Nayantara Narayanan – 10th

July

2019)

62. Poor Prefer Subsidized Grains Over Cash Dole, Finds Jharkhand Audit

Close to 97% of the 8,370 respondents surveyed in Jharkhand‘s Nagri block said they

prefer in-kind food subsidies due to the hardships faced while withdrawing cash and

accessing ―rations" (subsidised food), a social audit by the state‘s rural development

department showed.

Results of the social audit are significant as no state government has opted for DBT of

food subsidy yet; and the centre has implemented the cash transfer scheme in Union

territories of Chandigarh, Puducherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Jharkhand, among the poorest states in India, has been in the news due to alleged

starvation deaths. Reports compiled by the Right to Food campaign, Jharkhand, show

that from September last year till June, the state witnessed 12 hunger-related deaths.

In seven cases, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication failures contributed to

starvation.

https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ofql90uh0pyfl5b5g3yjgp/Poor-prefer-subsidized-

grains-over-cash-dole-finds-Jharkhan.html (By Sayantan Bera - 22nd

June 2018)

63. Inside Jharkhand's Singhbhum, The Worst Constituency In India

In Jharkhand, malnutrition is still an alien concept, and the lack of drinking water,

ration or electricity supersedes the need for healthcare. Nearly 67% children in

Singhbhum are underweight, the highest in India. More than half are stunted and a

third suffer from wasting.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/inside-jharkhand-s-singhbhum-the-worst-

constituency-in-india-1553561625193.html (By Ashwaq Masoodi – 26th

March 2019)

64. Investigating The Hunger Index

According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report of 2016, the developing world

has made significant progress in reducing hunger since 2000 (von Grember et al

2016). Around 30% of this reduction is found in developed countries. The report also

indicates that this progress is not equally distributed across regional, national, and

subnational levels. Huge disparity can be observed among and between countries. The

GHI is found to be the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In this article the situation of Karnataka has been discussed. It is clear from the

analysis that north Karnataka in general and Hyderabad–Karnataka in particular have

higher levels of hunger as compared to the south Karnataka region. Furthermore, it

has been found that a higher level of hunger is observed among people who have

lower literacy rates, human development, and per capita income, face gender

discrimination, and are dependent on agriculture more than other citizens. Districts

like Kalaburagi, Yadgir, and Raichur need to be treated differently with regard to the

implementation of various schemes with adequate resource allocation to mitigate the

problems associated with higher hunger levels.

https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/15/commentary/investigating-hunger-index.html

(By S.V. Hanagodimath and V.B. Annigeri – 13th

April 2019)

65. Child Nutrition In Muzaffarpur Worse Than Most African Countries

Muzaffarpur has hogged national and international headlines for something its

residents would wish never happened. More than 100 children have died due to acute

encephalitis syndrome (AES) in the past fortnight and many more are feared infected.

Caught unaware and grossly underprepared for this outbreak, the state and central

governments have now launched an all-out effort to control it, even as children

continue to be brought to hospitals.

While the central and state health teams are battling the encephalitis outbreak in

Muzaffarpur, official data suggest that the Bihar government has been indifferent

towards improving child nutrition and healthcare in this district, thus making the

district a petri dish cultivating the present tragedy.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/muzaffarpur-bihar-encephalitis-deaths-child-

nutrition-worse-than-africa-1551833-2019-06-19 (By Mukesh Rawat - 19th

June

2019)

66. Malnutrition, Still A Malaise In Karnataka

A 2018 report by the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, which compiled

country-wide data, shows that 26% of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

beneficiaries in the state are malnourished. Despite higher spending between 2015 and

2017, the state ranks fourth in malnutrition levels, only behind Maharashtra, Bihar

and Assam, and is at par with Uttar Pradesh. ICDS, a central government programme

launched in 1975, aims to address the nutritional and early-learning needs of children

under the ICDS have failed to make a positive impact. Even worse, the state

government is yet to utilise the funds released in the last two years under the Union

government‘s nutrition scheme, Poshan Abhiyaan.

https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/insight/malnutrition-still-a-malaise-in-

karnataka-756782.html (By Anitha Pailoor - 25th

August 2019)

67. 20% Of Hyderabad's Elderly Suffer From Anaemia

As the NIN study pointed out that a majority of the nutritional anaemia was due to

Vitamin B12 deficiency, what food can be had to improve the vitamin levels? Dr

Suryanarayana Palla, Scientist at the National Institute of Nutrition and one of the

authors of the study said, ―Only food from animal sources can provide Vitamin B12

like milk, eggs and meat.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2019/aug/10/20-of-hyderabads-

elderly-suffer-from-anaemia-2016773.html (10th

August 2019)

68. Karnataka's Adolescents Have Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Nearly half of Karnataka's adolescents have Vitamin B12 deficiency according to a

new study commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The first

national micronutrient survey with comprehensive nutritional assessment from birth

to adolescence titled Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey was released.

According to this survey, 46% of children between 10 and 19 years in Karnataka have

a deficiency of Vitamin B12. In India, an average of 31% of children in this age group

have this deficiency, found the survey. This, even as the state has a lower percentage

of children with iron and Vitamin D deficiency compared to the national average.

https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnatakas-adolescents-have-vit-b12-deficiency-

survey-759361.html (By Reshma Ravishankar - 5th

September 2019)

ADHAAR AND FOOD SECURITY

69. Adhaar And The Denial Of Social Security

The historical judgment by the Supreme Court on Privacy as a fundamental right will

hopefully stop the government from employing intrusive means of profiling people in

the name of Aadhaar. An equally important issue is how Aadhaar has become a tool

in the hands of the state to exclude people from accessing even basic entitlements and

services. The shocking incident of a 11 year old girl in Jharkhand who starved to

death as her family did not have an Aadhaar linked ration card is a wake-up call for

the entire nation.

Despite repeated court orders, Aadhaar has been linked to every aspect of people‘s

lives from school admissions, scholarships, insurance policies, to open Bank Account,

PF, LPG, to even monthly rations, TB and HIV drugs, disaster relief and death

certificates.

https://clpr.org.in/blog/public-hearing-on-26th-oct-on-aadhaar-related-denial-of-

social-security/ (30th

October 2017)

70. Not Sure If Aadhaar Is Best Model To Accord Benefits Says Supreme Court

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, hearing a

clutch of petitions challenging Aadhaar and its enabling 2016 law, was told by the

counsel for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that the 12 digit

national identifier brought citizens face to face with the service providers for getting

the benefits.

"We are not sure if that is the best model. The individual should not be a supplicant.

The State should go to him and give him benefits," the bench, also comprising

Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, said.

The bench observed that the UIDAI says Aadhaar is a means for identification, but the

"only caveat to that is that there should be no exclusion".

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/not-sure-if-aadhaar-is-best-model-to-accord-

benefits-says-supreme-court-1840073?Pfrom=home-lateststories (19th

April 2018)

71. Ill Fares Aadhaar

Despite some thoughtful lines, the recent Supreme Court judgment

on Aadhaar perpetuates double standards in the way Aadhaar is imposed on the poor

and the privileged. The middle class is largely off the hook, except for the compulsory

linkage with PAN cards. The poor, however, are left where they were — exposed to

the ordeal of Aadhaar seeding and authentication for every social benefit, however

tiny.

The majority opinion, it seems, was swayed by claims that Aadhaar empowers the

poor (whatever that means), and that exclusion problems are little more than

anecdotes.

Https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/privacy-surveillance-pan-card-ill-

fares-aadhaar-link-5381698/ (By Jean Drèze – 2nd

October 2018)

72. Linking Aadhaar With PDS Has Left Some Of India's Most Marginalised

Hungry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has over the last few years been vocal about his dream

of a ‗New India‘ and the ‗revolution‘ of Aadhaar. Subscribing to this privileged

worldview, the majority judgement authored by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri upheld that

linking of Aadhaar with welfare schemes for administering subsidies for the poor was

a ‗legitimate exercise‘.

To the worries of massive exclusion, and anxieties of a considerable population of

underprivileged lives being adversely affected by such a serious decision, the

judgment was explicitly disempowering, as it stated, ―Lot of people who will benefit

due to inclusion cannot be denied due to exclusion of few; can‘t throw baby out

with bathwater.‖

The challenges created by the imposition of Aadhar are immense and manifold,

especially for the poor. The right to life, which essentially ensures the right to a

dignified life, and is the foundation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, has been

trampled on extensively

https://thewire.in/rights/aadhaar-welfare-scheme-jharkhand (By Abhinash Sash

Choudhary – 27th

November 2018)

73. Has Aadhaar Improved Welfare Delivery?

Aadhaar, the brainchild of the United Progressive Alliance, has flourished under the

Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA-II). After coming to

power, the NDA-II not only retained Aadhaar but also ramped up enrolment.

Aadhaar-seeding is just one component of the NDA-II‘s broader vision for welfare

programme delivery. Alongside mass Aadhaar enrolment, the NDA-II has invested

heavily in bank accounts through the Jan Dhan Yojana.

Alongside privacy and security concerns with Aadhaar, the issue of exclusion has

emerged as the biggest Aadhaar controversy. Several media reports and studies have

highlighted how mandatory Aadhaar has prevented genuine beneficiaries accessing

important welfare programmes, including the PDS.

For Aadhaar to enjoy similar success in different programmes, the same authors argue

that policymakers should focus more on beneficiary experience and the context in

which programmes operate in.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/has-aadhaar-improved-welfare-delivery-

1555861461316.html (By Vishnu Padmanabhan – 21st April 2019)

74. No Aadhaar, No Food Rations: 11 Stories That Show The Jharkhand Child

Death Was No Aberration

The Unique Identification Authority of India, the nodal agency that issues Aadhaar

numbers and maintains its database that contains the fingerprints and iris scans of 116

crore Indian residents, said that the Aadhaar Act made it clear that no one will be

denied food rations if they did not possess an Aadhaar number. Across states, the poor

are struggling to authenticate themselves by scanning their fingerprints each time they

go to the ration shop. In many cases, their fingerprints are too worn out to register on

the fingerprint scanning machines. The internet connection fails. The result is that

they are unable to access the food grains they are legally entitled to under the NFSA.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/hunger-is-a-shame-ifpri-food-

policy-research-starvation-death-hunger-nfsa-food-security-4900521/ (By P.

Chidambaram – 22nd

October 2017)

75. Don’t Deny Food Grain To Non Aadhar Beneficiaries

The Union government has instructed the States not to deny the public distribution

system (PDS) benefits to anyone who does not have Aadhaar or has not linked his

ration card to the number and warned of strict action on violation of the directive.

The Centre also asked the State governments not to delete eligible households from

the list of beneficiaries for non-possession of Aadhaar.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dont-deny-pds-foodgrains-to-non-aadhaar-

beneficiaries-centre-tells-states/article19924966.ece?Homepage=true (26th

October

2017)

76. Karnataka Cabinet Approves Bill Making Aadhaar Compulsory To Avail

Subsidies

The Karnataka Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Central legislation that allows

government departments to make Aadhaar a must for citizens to avail subsidies and

other services, PTI reported.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to begin the final hearing

into petitions challenging the legality of the government‘s Aadhaar programme on

January 17. The court is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of

Aadhaar based on privacy concerns. In a landmark ruling in August 2017, the

Supreme Court had declared privacy a fundamental right protected under Article 21 of

the Constitution. This was seen as a major blow to the Centre‘s push for Aadhaar.

With the privacy question out of the way, the court resumed hearing the petitions in

the last week of November.

https://scroll.in/latest/863641/karnataka-cabinet-approves-bill-making-aadhaar-

compulsory-to-avail-subsidies (3rd

January 2018)

77. Maharashtra Makes Aadhaar Must For Free Nutrition Schemes

Maharashtra WCD stated: ―If a beneficiary is found with no registered Aadhaar

number or has not followed the procedure to apply for Aadhaar, and continues to avail

the scheme, the Child Development Project Officer will be held responsible.

The Aadhaar linkage will cover a number of schemes, including the BJP‘s flagship

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Aahar Yojana, started in 2015, for pregnant and lactating

mothers to improve maternal health. Malnourished children registered for six meals a

day for 40 days in Village Child Development Centre will also be covered. While the

WCD has instructed district officials to start the Aadhaar linkage from April 1, district

officials said the process is yet to take off.

―The intention of these social schemes is to reduce malnutrition. If a malnourished

child has no Aadhaar card, he will be deprived of food. Malnourishment figures will

increase‖.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-makes-aadhaar-must-for-

free-nutrition-schemes-5135415/ (By Tabassum Barnagarwala – 13th

April 2018)

78. Refusing to Learn From Tragedy, Jharkhand Demands Aadhaar for Rations

On February 5, the Jharkhand government made it mandatory to link Aadhaar with

ration cards in order for a household to receive its ration under the public distribution

system (PDS).

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), every eligible household is entitled to

5 kgs of grain for each member registered on the card every month at nominal prices

(35 kgs per household for Antyodaya cardholders).

According to official figures on the state‘s food department website, the Aadhaar of

68.8 lakh out of 2.62 crore registered in the PDS are yet to be linked with family

ration cards. Going by the experience of the last few years, the government‘s decision

to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory could lead to widespread denial of grain

entitlements and Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA) mandatory for

availing ration in PDS which has been compulsory most Jharkhand ration shops for

the last two years. It is also fairly common for ration dealers to deny cardholders grain

entitlements of their family members who‘s Aadhaar are not linked with the ration

card. There is little doubt then that this exclusion will further worsen after the state

government‘s decision.

https://thewire.in/government/refusing-to-learn-from-experience-jharkhand-makes-

aadhaar-mandatory-for-ration (By Siraj Dutta - 8th

February 2019)

79. Adivasis Describe How Aadhaar Is A Barrier To Accessing Food, Pensions

The government recognises Adivasis such as the Parhaiya and 70 other communities

as particularly vulnerable tribal groups because of their precarious economic

condition and dwindling populations. These communities are also entitled to

Antyodaya ration cards meant for the ―poorest of the poor‖, which entitles them to 35

kg of rice at Re 1 per kg every month under the National Food Security Act. But they

continue to face dire hunger and malnutrition.

The survey also showed that though the government has aggressively pushed Aadhaar

as a way of streamlining welfare schemes and improving access to social security by

providing everyone with an identity document, ground reality was different. It found

that Aadhaar, in fact, acted as a barrier to accessing social schemes. For instance, the

survey found that 42% of Parhaiya families surveyed faced problems due to Aadhaar

in the form of data entry errors, network glitches and biometric authentication

failures.

In October 2017, the Union food ministry issued a notification that no eligible

beneficiary‘s name may be deleted from the ration database if they did not possess an

Aadhaar number or failed to link it. In its judgment in the Aadhaar case in September,

the Supreme Court had also reiterated that no eligible person could be denied their

social security entitlements for not having an Aadhaar or not linking it.

But worryingly, things have not changed at all on the ground. There is no mechanism

in place to ensure that genuine beneficiaries got their entitlements if a biometric

mismatch occurred because of poor internet connectivity, data entry errors, or if the

beneficiary simply had a cut on their fingers.

https://scroll.in/article/905587/at-jharkhand-public-hearing-adivasis-say-they-

struggle-to-access-rations-pensions (By Anumeha Yadav - 14th

December 2018)

80. Did Aadhaar Glitches Cause Half Of 14 Recent Jharkhand Starvation Deaths?

In October 2017, the Jharkhand government claimed that Aadhaar is not mandatory

for collecting food grain under PDS. However, district administrations in the state

continue to adhere to the mandatory Aadhaar-ration card rule, according to RTF

activists. This happened in Birhor‘s case as well. ―Whatever the food minister or

others may have told the media, the Jharkhand government never retracted it in rural

and urban areas, lack of infrastructure is a big problem. You need specialist doctors,

paediatricians, nutritionists and public health experts to deal with such cases.‖

Severely malnourished children in state-run malnutrition treatment centres in

Jharkhand showed poor recovery, most demonstrated poor weight gain, and a high

number of illnesses were reported post- discharge, and malnourishment at an early

age can have long-term consequences, affecting an individual‘s motor, sensory,

cognitive, social and emotional development.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/aadhaar/2018/08/11/did-aadhaar-glitches-cause-

half-of-14-recent-jharkhand-starvation-deaths (By Devanik Saha – 11th

August 2018)

STARVATION DEATHS

81. Starvation Deaths

Over the past year, at least 20 persons have succumbed to starvation across the

country: 12 in Jharkhand, three in Karnataka, three in Uttar Pradesh and two in

Odisha. The deceased range from 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari to 67-year-old

Etwariya Devi. All the victims were either from the Dalit, Adivasi, Other Backward

Class (OBC) or Muslim communities. In at least 11 cases, Aadhaar-related failures

directly contributed to starvation. In all the cases, the victims‘ intake of food

drastically reduced due to disruptions in access to subsidized food grains, and social

security pensions.

As immediate measures, the right to food campaign demands the following:

(i) Criminal proceedings against officials and functionaries whose lapses have led to

the starvation deaths.

(ii) Strict implementation of all social and economic legislations and Supreme Court

orders.

(iii) Universalization of the public distribution system (PDS) and social security

pensions.

(iv) Amendment of the National Food Security Act to make subsidized pulses and

edible oil legal guarantees under the PDS, and mandatory inclusion of eggs in midday

meals; and anganwadis extended to holiday periods.

(v) Delinking of Aadhaar from all public services.

https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/28/letters/starvation-deaths.html (14th

July 2018)

82. Fault Lines Of Marginalised People Exposed

The starvation deaths in the national capital have come as a shock to the country. It

exposes the fault lines of marginalised people who had migrated from other parts of

the country to Delhi for livelihood. One immediate step which should be taken should

be to replace the use of Aadhaar with smart cards in the PDS instead of that, the

government is arm-twisting the states that are reluctant to adopt Aadhaar's disruptive

technology. In the longer term, we need to beef up social spending: universalise

and/or existing programmes (e.g., introduce nutritious items as dals and edible oil like

Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh) and introduce new programmes such as Amma

canteens across all states.

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/fault-lines-marginalised-683824.html

(Interview with Reetika Khera – 26th

July 2018)

83. Who Is Accountable For Starvation Deaths?

The distressing news of three young girls dying of starvation in the heart of New

Delhi raises a number of questions; not only on the failure of the state to protect its

citizens from hunger 70 years after independence but also on the development model

that India seems to be following. Mansi, Shikha and Parul, aged eight, four and two,

respectively, were declared brought dead at the hospital on 24 July. The post-mortem

reports apparently revealed that these were starvation deaths. Their father is missing,

and the mother is in a mentally unstable condition and has now been admitted in a

hospital. It is a paradox to note that India has moved into consumer capitalism from

industrial capitalism.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) includes provisions for subsidised grains

from the public distribution system (PDS), school meals for school going children,

maternity entitlements and supplementary nutrition for young children

through anganwadi centres. In this particular instance, the eldest girl should have

been attending school (guaranteed under the Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act) and getting a regular mid-day meal, and the other two

children should have been getting supplementary nutrition from an anganwadi centre.

A fact-finding report prepared by the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan revealed that

while these services were available in the area, the girls and their parents did not have

access to any of these in the months preceding their deaths.

While there is a need to improve the system of entitlements provided by the state,

there is also a need to introspect how it is that despite over two decades of high

economic growth the country is faced with a situation where people are dying of

hunger and starvation. The deep-rooted inequity in the current economic model

which, while benefiting a few, is resulting in many being deprived of basic livelihood

security and dignified employment opportunities, needs to be acknowledged.

https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/31/editorials/who-accountable-starvation-

deaths.html?0=ip_login_no_cache%3Df16a69e9975a3913d326a570c8943ab1 (4th

August 2018)

84. Starvation Deaths In Andhra: Two Children Die After Eating Mud For Food

Two-year-old Vennela passed away in Anantapur district on Sunday, because of

malnutrition and starvation. Unable to tolerate hunger, the child reportedly ate soil,

which led to her death. Referring to Vennela‘s death, the report says, ―This baby was

also utterly neglected by Nagamani and her mother. Subsequently, the baby‘s health

deteriorated in a few days and even in that condition also, neither Nagamani nor her

mother informed the local ANM or Health Worker or took the baby to the local

hospital for immediate medical treatment.‖

Https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/starvation-deaths-andhra-two-children-die-

after-eating-mud-food-101187 (By Jahnavi Reddy - 4th

May 2019)

85. AP Child Starvation Deaths: Administration Responsible, Not Parents, Says

Fact-Finding Team

Two-year-old Vennela passed away on April 28, while her three-year-old cousin

Santhosh died about 6 months before that. Both the children had reportedly eaten mud

out of hunger, which led to their deaths.

Kadiri Revenue Divisional Officer T Ajaya Kumar had conducted an inquiry into the

incident. The inquiry report held Santhosh‘s parents Nagaveni and Mahesh

responsible for the deaths, claiming that it was a case of ‗child abuse and cruelty

against children‘. The report also listed the remedial measures to be taken by officials

to support the surviving members of the family.

But according to members of a fact-finding team from the Human Rights Forum

(HRF), the deaths of the children were the result of lack of proper monitoring of

welfare schemes in the district.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ap-child-starvation-deaths-administration-

responsible-not-parents-says-fact-finding-team (By Jahnavi Reddy – 26th

May 2019)

86. Ground Zero | Bihar AES Deaths: A Hundred Deaths, And No Answers

A paediatrician and private practitioner who has been working in the city since 1984,

insists that the spike in AES cases and in fatalities is a result of malnourished children

suffering brain damage after eating litchis, particularly unripe or overripe ones. In a

2014 paper, Shah and virologist T. Jacob John had argued that the children in Shah‘s

clinic in Muzaffarpur were found to have extremely low blood sugar levels and signs

of brain damage. While viral or bacterial infections that cause encephalitis (an

inflammation of brain cells due to an infection) were well known in Muzaffarpur and

neighbouring districts, many of them were taking sick and dying due to

encephalopathy (brain damage, in this case, due to an environmental toxin). In 2016, a

detailed investigation, published in The Lancet Global Health by the National Centre

for Disease Control, India, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

found ―confirmation‖ that litchis contained a chemical called methylene cyclopropyl

glycine (MCPG). These are naturally occurring toxins that cause hypoglycaemia and

metabolic derangement in children.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-hundred-deaths-and-no-

answers/article28102769.ece?Homepage=true (By Jacob Koshy – 22nd

June 2019)

87. Denied Food Because She Did Not Have Aadhaar-Linked Ration Card,

Jharkhand Girl Dies Of Starvation

An eleven year old girl named Santosi Kumari died due to hunger in Jharkhand

because her family‘s Adhaar card was not linked to the ration card and they were

denied ration for 6 months. Santoshi and her family had been turned away many times

when they went to ask for ration.

Due to lack of employment Santoshi‘s father was unemployed and was suffering from

mental illness.

Her mother and 20 year old elder sister offered to cut grass for people and earned Rs.

80-90 per week.

Santoshi had a blackout due to hunger and when taken to the hospital, the doctor

asked her parents to feed her as her body was shutting down due to hunger. She died

asking for rice.

https://scroll.in/article/854225/denied-food-because-she-did-not-have-aadhaar-linked-

ration-card-jharkhand-girl-dies-of-starvation (By Aarefa Johari - 16th

October 2017)

WOMEN AND WORK

88. How Labour Conditions At Construction Sites Are Leading To Higher Rates Of

Child Malnutrition

The construction sector in India is one of the largest employers of labour in the

country, and about 10% of the workers are women. The sector is heavily dependent

on migrant workers, many of whom come to the city with their children.

While the sector provides employment opportunities to migrant households, it has

serious implications for the health and educational outcomes of children. Despite the

vast number of children at construction sites, there have been no systematic efforts to

enumerate them, and as a result their nutritional and health experiences remain

grossly undocumented and unaddressed.

https://scroll.in/article/938248/how-labour-conditions-at-construction-sites-are-

leading-to-higher-rates-of-child-malnutrition (By Divya Ravindranath - 27th

September 2019)

89. How Much Is A Woman's Labour Worth?

There are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day

meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them

women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300

students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs

1,250 per month which means there has been a lot of discrimination happening with

the women here and they are getting paid less than what it should be.

https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages (By Neha Dixit – 2nd

April 2019)

90. Women In India Pay The Price For Cashew Nut Demand As Vegan Diets Rise

As vegetarian and vegan diets increase in the UK – whether for health, environmental

or animal rights reasons – shoppers are said to be hovering up nuts, eating 17,000

tonnes in 2016, a huge 35 per cent increase compared to 2012. But according to the

Daily Mail, there is a human cost to producing the millions of cashews needed, which

are predominantly shelled by hand in India, Brazil, Mozambique and Vietnam.

Some 500,000 people work in India‘s cashew nut industry – nearly all women – who

are paid as little as £2 a day for the arduous labour with no contracts, no guarantee of

steady income and no pension or holiday pay. Many of the women were not given

gloves and those that were chose not to wear them as it slowed their work down –

they are paid by volume.

The British Retail Consortium said supermarkets have ‗robust safety and welfare

standards‘ to support suppliers and ‗are conscious of the problems that exist in parts

of India‘s cashew industry‘. British companies will only work with suppliers who

provide decent working conditions, a spokesman said.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/04/women-india-pay-price-cashew-nut-demand-vegan-

diets-rise-9110415/ (By Zoe Drewett – 4th

April 2019)

STATUS OF FOOD SECURITY

91. Ration Shop Closed? Get Heard Within 2 Hours

The end-to-end computerisation of PDS will come with the provision of cashless

payment, which is proposed to be Aadhaar-enabled. The food and civil supplies

department of Delhi government has decided to make the ration distribution system

more people-friendly. Complaints about ration shops found closed during working

hours, refusal or releasing lesser than the stipulated amount will now have to be

resolved within two hours after being reported on the helpline of the public

distribution system.

Delay beyond two hours will trigger the accountability mechanism and the complaint

will be escalated to the level of assistant commissioner who will have to provide a

solution within a day. Further delay will put the matter under the scrutiny of the

assistant commissioner's seniors.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/ration-shop-closed-get-heard-within-2-

hours/articleshow/61192866.cms (By Ambika Pandit - 24th

October 2017)

92. Tracking The Implementation Of NFSA, 2013: Focus On Southern States

The Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India organised a one-day

consultation on ―Tracking the implementation of NFSA, 2013: Focus on Southern

States‖ on 4th

September 2017. The primary objective of this consultation was to

discuss the status of implementation of NFSA and articulate key challenges. Further,

the objectives included sharing of information regarding the challenges and shortfalls

in rule-making in each state; opening up the discourse on rulemaking under NFSA to

various stakeholders for deliberation; facilitating strategizing for engaging with

implementation of NFSA and role of various stakeholders and identifying ways for

enhancing the food security discourse through further research initiatives and

collaboration.

The Consultation encompassed four important sessions, which focused on varied

aspects of the Act and its implementation. Thirty-five participants from Bengaluru as

well as other parts of the country were present at the Consultation.

https://ccl.nls.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Tracking-the-implementation-of-

NFSA-and-status-of-state-rules-focus-on-southern-states-1.pdf

93. How DBT Is Causing Tremendous Inconvenience and Why Most People Are

Unhappy With It

A survey, coordinated by well-known academic Jean Drèze and researcher Nazar

Khalid, has found an overwhelming popular opposition to the direct bank transfer

(DBT) experiment in Jharkhand.

Glitches in the system have deprived people of nearly half of their food rations in the

last four months. When they do get their rations, people spend 12 hours collecting

them, on average. Most people are opposed to the new system.

https://counterview.org/2018/02/24/how-dbt-is-causing-tremendous-inconvenience-

and-why-most-people-are-unhappy-with-it/ (24th

February 2018)

94. Food Security And Nutrition In The World: Improvements And Setbacks

The 2019 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) released

yesterday, in NY, paints a dire situation of global inequalities. The number of persons

facing hunger has again increased, and is now at around 821 million persons

worldwide; however with the new inclusion of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale

(FIES) indicator and an assessment of moderate food insecurity, we have more

thorough figures that show that some 2 billion people face food insecurity globally.

This rise is deeply concerning, but not surprising. In a global climate of human rights

regression and growing corporate power- increasing inequalities and food insecurity is

inevitable. It is clear that all governments need to step up their policies and programs

to address the structural causes of hunger. Yet the attention to human rights based

strategies and solutions are limited at best.

https://www.fian.org/en/news/article/sofi-2019-first-reactions-improvements-and-

setbacks-2183 (By Emily Mattheisen – 16th

July 2019)

NUTRITION RELATED

95. Cabinet Approves National Nutrition Mission to Address Needs of Children,

Pregnant Women

The Ministry for Women and Child Development said the government was committed

to ensure that adequate nutrition was available to every child, pregnant woman and

lactating mother and to eliminate malnutrition and stunting.

The mission results will be visible within a year, if the government remains on the

right track, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi told reporters

after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Ministry said it had actively leveraged on technology to address malnutrition,

including development of software and its implementation in 50,000 anganwadis.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/cabinet-approves-national-nutrition-mission-to-

address-needs-of-children-pregnant-women-1592291.html (1st December 2017)

96. Agriculture, Food Security and the Poor: A Case for Revamp of WTO Rules

That Unjustly Favour Rich Countries

In the on-going Buenos Aires WTO summit, India has expressed "deep

disappointment" over the decision of a "major member country" to renege on its

commitment for a permanent solution to the public food stockholding issue at the

ongoing ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

India's attempts to find a permanent solution to the food stockpile issue at the 11th

edition of the ministerial conference (MC11), has hit a roadblock as the US refused to

engage, threatening a successful conclusion of the four-day conference.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/agriculture-food-security-and-

the-poor-a-case-for-revamp-of-wto-rules-that-unjustly-favour-rich-countries/ (By

Ajay Srivastava – 14th

December 2017)

97. Health Ministry Eats Its Words, Deletes Tweet After Social Media Outrage Over

Use Of 'Fat Shaming' Image

In an embarrassment for the government, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

(MoHFW) on Monday removed a tweet that asked people "What's your choice?"

based on a photo that displayed two women — one overweight, depicting non-veg

and processed food items and the other lean with fruits and vegetables.

Twitterati immediately slammed the tweet, some calling it "stupidity at its highest"

while others "fat shaming".

https://www.firstpost.com/india/health-ministry-eats-its-words-deletes-tweet-after-

social-media-outrage-over-use-of-fat-shaming-image-4442787.html (23rd

April 2018)

98. 10% Quota For EWS In General Category: Government Should Revise Poverty

Line, Ensure All Poor Come Under The Ambit

The latest bill that has granted 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker

sections (EWS) among the upper castes raises many critical questions on its method

of ‗eligibility‘.

So those who endorse the reservation for the economically weaker class must revise

the poverty line in the country and ensure that all poor are eligible for reservation and

subsidies. All parties agree that Rs 8,00,000 to be the benchmark while the

structurally excluded poor have to limit their income to Rs 4,860/ in Rural and Rs

7,035 in urban to get the support of social security. This is injustice.

There is no fool proof method to identify the poor. It is the responsibility of the ruling

party and those who support the bill to explain how the method of assessing income

limit is estimated.

https://www.firstpost.com/business/10-quota-for-ews-in-general-category-govt-

should-revise-poverty-line-ensure-all-poor-come-under-the-ambit-5872741.html (By

S. Mohammed Irshad – 11th

January 2019)

99. Protesters Demand Food Security, Minimum Wage Of Rs 18k For All

Thousands of farmers and workers started their Kisan-Mazdoor Sangharsh rally

Wednesday morning from Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. The demands of the

protesters were effective implementation of labour laws, minimum wage, more

employment, and recognition of one crore Anganwadi and ASHA workers as a

workforce. Also in attendance were those who participated in the Kisan March in

Maharashtra in March this year to demand a loan waiver and proper minimum support

price for farmers.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kisan-mazdoor-farmer-protest-rally-live-

updates-delhi-5340284/ (5th

September 2018)

100. Adding Egg Or Milk Can Reduce Stunting In Young Children: Study

About 38% of children in India below the age of five years are stunted. Research

suggests that the reason for this is that young children consume mainly cereal-based

food, which lacks quality protein that can be well digested and is limited in the

content of certain essential amino acids such as lysine.

They found that mung bean, which is a legume and is considered to be a high-quality

protein source, is not as well digested and absorbed as other high-quality food

proteins such as egg.

Stunting happens early before children turn three. While consuming quality protein

that contains adequate amounts of digestible essential amino acids does help in

reducing the risk of stunting, it cannot completely prevent it.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/adding-egg-or-milk-can-reduce-stunting-in-

young-children-study/article26714568.ece (By R. Prasad – 2nd

April 2019)

101. A Separate Ministry Of Food Security And Nutrition Is Key For A

Nutrition Revolution To Succeed

India needs to fight on all fronts for a Nutrition Revolution to succeed – through focus

on the first 1,000 days of the child (from the womb to the first two years), combating

rampant anaemia among women and children, focus on bio-fortification of crops, and

most importantly setting up a separate Ministry of Food Security and Nutrition.

Right nutrition during the first 1,000-day window has a profound impact on a child‘s

ability to grow, learn and thrive. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 has a

clear mandate for ‗Food and Nutrition Security in a Life Cycle Approach‘. The Act

prescribes key food and nutrition entitlements like Targeted Public Distribution

System (TPDS), Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal

(MDM) programmes in the states.

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/a-separate-ministry-of-food-security-

and-nutrition-is-key-for-a-nutrition-revolution-to-

succeed/330635?Fbclid=iwar31zsi2v-

SDH_Xk1pgnB1jdEmXKLEBTCQ_dlyiatf75dcgdvcln89oa5ba (By Basanta Kumar

Kar – 20th

May 2019)

102. Draft National Education Policy Proposes Formal Education From Age

Of Three

Indian children could soon enter the formal education system at the age of three, with

the draft National Education Policy projecting an expansion of the Right to Education

Act to cover the three years of preschool before Class 1.

The draft policy also wants early childhood education to be overseen and regulated by

the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) as part of the school system,

rather than the private pre-schools and anganwadis that currently cater to the 3-to-6

years age group.

This could result in an upheaval in the anganwadi system which has been overseen by

the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) for more than four decades.

https://www.thehindu.com/education/draft-national-education-policy-proposes-

formal-education-from-age-of-

three/article27706234.ece?Utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign

=Newsletter (By Priscilla Jebaraj – 9th

June 2019)

103. Rethinking Effective Nutrition Convergence

The National Nutrition Mission has explicitly recognised the multi-sectoral nature of

the challenge of malnutrition and has made ―convergence‖ one of its key pillars.

However, it does not yet have sharp operational clarity on how stakeholders can

ensure that multiple programmes reach the same mother–child in the first 1,000-day

period. The article illustrates how data on co-coverage of interventions can be used to

plan for and assess the success of efforts to strengthen convergence.

Https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/24/commentary/rethinking-effective-nutrition-

convergence.html (By Purnima Menon, Rasmi Avula, Shinjini Pandey, Samuel Scott,

Alok Kumar – 15th

June 2019)

104. ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ Scheme From July 1, 2020

‗One Nation One Ration Card‘ scheme, which will allow portability of food security

benefits, will be available across the country from July 1, 2020. This means poor

migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in

the country, so long as their ration cards are linked to Aadhaar.

All the States have been given one more year to use point of sale (PoS) machines in

the ration shops and implement the scheme, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told

journalists on Saturday. Already, 77% % of the ration shops across the country have

PoS machines and more than 85% of people covered under the National Food

Security Act (NFSA) have their cards linked to Aadhaar, he said.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-gives-1-year-deadline-to-states-for-

rolling-out-one-nation-one-ration-card/article28227599.ece (By Priscilla Jebaraj –

29th

June 2019)

105. One Nation, One Ration Card: Government Launches Pilot Project

Beneficiaries in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh can now buy their quota of ration

from Public Distribution System (PDS), or ration shops, in either state. Similar would

be the case in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,

Punjab, Rajasthan and Tripura are currently testing intra-portability of ration card,

which means beneficiaries can lift their quota of ration from any PDS outlet within a

state.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/one-nation-one-ration-card-govt-launches-

pilot-project-5893493/ (10th

August 2019)

106. Statement By Doctors On Public Health And Health Care In Jammu And

Kashmir

Group of doctors concerned about the public health and healthcare situation in Jammu

and Kashmir. The Government of India has cut off communication from the 4th

of

August 2019 including internet, landlines, mobiles, cable television etc. People have

found it difficult to access basic health care and emergency services.

We request that Indian professional bodies of Medicine, Surgery, Gynaecology &

Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Critical Care, Chest medicine, HIV, Tuberculosis, Psychiatry

etc. Co-ordinate with the government to put together teams of doctors to understand

and address current issues in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that there are no gaps in

service provision. It is unfortunate that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has

only put out a statement to critique the Lancet article instead of putting together a

team of doctors, paramedics etc. To address any possible health crisis and make

recommendations for preventive, curative and rehabilitative measures.

https://arogyarakshana.wordpress.com/2019/08/22/statement-by-doctors-on-public-

health-and-health-care-in-jammu-and-kashmir/ (22nd

August 2019)

107. Supreme Court To Study Plea For Food For All

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea that starvation deaths continue to eat

into the right to life and dignity of social fabric and a ―radical‖ new measure like

community kitchens need to be set up across the country to feed the poor and the

hungry.

A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana issued notice on Monday to the government on

the petition filed jointly by activists. The petition said State-funded community

kitchens was not a novel concept in the country. They pointed out how Tamil Nadu's

Amma Unavagam had become a roaring success by involving peers in self-help

groups, employing the poor to serve hygienic food to eradicate the gnawing problem

of hunger on the streets.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-to-study-plea-for-food-for-

all/article29322271.ece (3rd

September 2019)

108. All District Headquarters To Have Indira Canteens In Three Months

U.T. Khader, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, has said that all district

headquarters will have Indira Canteens to supply subsidised food within three months

in the State.

He criticized Prime Minister‘s Ujwala Yojana and that that it is creating

discrimination as only a few selected people are being allotted the LPG around

10Lakh houses are benefitting whereas 20 Lakh avail no benefit.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/all-district-headquarters-to-have-

indira-canteens-in-three-months/article19821080.ece (7th

October 2017)

109. Kiran Bedi Links Distribution Of Free Rice To Sanitation, Then Backs

Off

Puducherry lieutenant-governor Kiran Bedi‘s snap decision to stop the distribution of

free rice to the poor in villages that have not become open defecation-free and

continue to have garbage and plastic strewn around may have been an attempt to

incentivize hygienic practices. But it did not go down well with food rights activists

who termed the move ―wrong, illegal and inhumane‖, saying it would only punish and

deprive the marginalized sections further.

By Saturday night, the former police officer-turned-BJP politician was forced to

change course and withdraw her order – widely attacked as arbitrary and anti-poor.

In a statement, Bedi said the intention of her direction was ―not to deny any poor

persons their entitlement‖. She claimed that she had ―already sanctioned and directed

to provide quality food grains to needy families‖ and that the department was in the

process of procurement and distribution.

https://thewire.in/rights/kiran-bedi-distribution-free-rice-puducherry-sanitation (By

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar – 28th

April 2018)

110. Karnataka State Food Commission Inspects NRC

Two members of the Karnataka State Food Commission on Friday visited the

Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) on the premises of children‘s wing of

Cheluvamba Hospital here to address malnutrition in children below six years of age.

When the commission members visited NRC, there were about six children availing

treatment. Health Department sources said the members sought details on the

malnourished children and asked why fewer children were admitted. They asked

whether the mothers of malnourished children were suitably getting the daily

incentive.

Sources said the district has about 192 malnourished children as per the report of the

Child Development Department.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/karnataka-state-food-

commission-inspects-

nrc/article26343949.ece?Fbclid=iwar2fz8nyeomtlltikz7kgi1zbbxra3zq2auytk1an45va

ij92rfcaiqpvpe (22nd

February 2019)

111. How Telangana Is Improving Maternal Mortality And Bringing Down C-

Sections

Telangana has been under pressure to act on maternal mortality ever since the

last National Family Health Survey in 2014-15‘ was released, The survey showed that

even though institutional deliveries in the state were among the highest in the country

at 92%, most births took place in private hospitals and only about 30% of births took

place in public facilities. More alarmingly, the rate of caesarean sections in Telangana

– 74.5% in the private sector and 40.3% in the public sector – was the highest in the

country. Experts correlated the high caesarean sections with more women giving birth

in private hospitals.

In 2017, Telangana undertook a wide range of reforms towards the dual goals of

reducing the number of Caesarean sections and reducing maternal mortality. Since the

implementation of these reforms, the state government says that public institutional

deliveries have risen from just over 30% to nearly 50%.

Another crucial part of Telangana‘s maternal health reforms is the introduction of an

ambulance service or the Amma Vodi programme to help women in tribal and remote

areas who go into labour to get to a health facility in time. The programme offers a

free pickup and drop for pregnant women going for antenatal check-ups, deliveries

and immunisation. The programme is backed by a call centre that provides 24-hour

service on a toll-free number.

https://scroll.in/pulse/916941/how-telangana-is-improving-maternal-mortality-and-

bringing-down-c-sections (By Sunanina Kumar – 18th

March 2019)

112. Economist Jean Drèze, Two Others, Let Off After Being Detained Briefly

By Jharkhand Police

Noted development economist and activist Jean Drèze and two others were on

Thursday detained in Bishunpura, Jharkhand, by police for organising a meeting on

Right to Food. Drèze was part of the National Advisory Council, at the time of the

Congress-led UPA. He was detained in Garhwa, in Jharkhand, for holding a meeting

"without permission", police said. Harsh Mangla, Deputy Commissioner of Police,

Garwah, told Outlook that Drèze and the two others detained, Vivek and Anuj, have

been let off. "There were no arrests. They have been let off. They were detained for

holding a meeting without permission," Mangla said.

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/economist-jean-dreze-two-others-

detained-in-jharkhand-report/327694n (28th

March 2019)

113. Climate Change And Seasonal Floods: Potential Long-Term Nutritional

Consequences For Children In Kerala, India

The increasing flood risks are alarming, especially their impact on vulnerable

populations with low coping and adaptive capacities. In particular, floods can have

long-run impacts on health which in turn deteriorate human capital, a key driver of

sustainable development. Using the example of the recent floods in Kerala, India, this

paper discusses the potential impact of floods on childhood development and present

immediate measures to reverse the potential damage.

During the monsoon season this year, India experienced a particularly high amount of

rainfall. The data from India Meteorological Department show that from 1 June to 20

August 2018, the amount of rainfall in Kerala increased by 40% compared with the

normal trend. The heavy rainfall on 8 August 2018 pressured Indian states in the

south to open many dams due to the fear of water overflow. The discharge of excess

water from the water reservoirs across Kerala state and its neighbouring states

resulted in the worst flood in Kerala since 1924. As a result of prolonged heavy

downpour and a series of unprecedented floods, it is estimated that over 483 people

lost their lives and over 1.4 million being displaced from their homes.

In particular, the potential long-run impact of floods on children is worrying.

Disruptions in food supply and contaminated water leading to diarrheal illness make

children under 5 years of age the most susceptible to undernutrition. With almost

three quarters of its population relying on agriculture for their livelihood, floods can

destroy crop and livestock production threatening India‘s household food security.

Although it is too early to gauge the health impacts of the current Kerala floods, the

results imply that childhood undernutrition, especially the chronic one is likely to be

heightened in the floods aftermath. It is still not too late to implement actions to

reverse the course of this negative health consequence of floods. Nutritional, water

and sanitation interventions should be particularly directed to households with

pregnant women and infants, poor and middle-wealth households and mothers who

are not literate.

https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/2/e001215 (By Raya Muttarak and Anna Dimitrova)

114. How Let's Feed Bengaluru Is Tackling Hunger And Starvation, One

Homecooked Meal At A Time

Harshil Mittal, 26, started the Let‘s Feed Bengaluru initiative in 2015 to provide

meals to the underprivileged; today, aided by 4,000 donors and volunteers, the

organisation collects and distributes homecooked food to lakhs of people in five

cities.

He believes distributing food to those in need gives him an opportunity to serve

people who are lesser privileged than him, and a sense of self-satisfaction. ―Everyone

deserves to live a life without starvation and illness. Providing nourishing meals is

one of the best ways to give them a chance to live that life.

https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2019/03/lets-feed-bengaluru-food-drive-nhdbvgauw

(By Roshni Balaji – 18th

March 2019)