December 8, 2021
Sajda Ahmed asks a Question on the Government’s plans to improve the nutritional diversification of poor people
FULL TRANSCRIPT
The minimum nutritional requirement of an average individual is 2,400 kilocalories per day for rural areas and 2,100 kilocalories per day for urban areas. The food given by the Government to the poor people is not diversified. They eat more cereals compared to protein and fat. The result is that the per capita consumption might be touching the recommended calories but in the absence of proteins and essential fats, families are reporting higher malnutrition. The nation is suffering from hidden hunger. Therefore, calorie consumption cannot be the sole determinant of hunger.
My question is, to address the issue of hidden hunger, whether the Government proposes to strengthen and enlarge the food basket to include millets, pulses and fats in the PDS. I would also like to know the State-wise details.
