February 8, 2023
Abir Ranjan Biswas’s Special Mention on February 8, 2023 in Rajya Sabha on the need to address the increasing malnutrition in the country
Sir, between 2019-21, 35.5 per cent of kids below the age of five years were stunted and 32.1 per cent were underweight. In the Human Capital Index, out of 174 countries, India’s position is 116. Lack of venture in health and education makes economic growth slow. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has clubbed all the schemes which include Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS), Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) and the National Creche Scheme (NCS). But the budgetary allocation for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan Schemes is only 0.5 per cent of the total Budget. India ranks 101 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index, 2021. According to National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data, the rural population of stunted children in India is 37 per cent and in urban areas, it is 30 per cent. The NFHS-5 survey also indicates that more than 57 per cent of women and over 67 per cent children suffer from anaemia. Therefore, there is a need to tackle these issues for mothers and children for holistic development of children during and after the pregnancy, and, hence reduce stunting with special emphasis on the marginalized sections. I urge the Government to look into this matter urgently as the issue of malnutrition is waiting to become an impending doom. Thank you.
