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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The missing egg in Indian children's diet

The missing egg in Indian children's diet

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published Published on Jan 23, 2019   modified Modified on Jan 23, 2019
-Livemint.com

Stoking religious sentiments while making policy decisions on food could end up harming India’s chance of reaping an enormous demographic dividend

Last week, after a gap of 13 years, the newly-elected Congress government in Chhattisgarh reintroduced eggs in mid-day meals served to school-going children. The decision followed a survey, which found regular meals fell short of the recommended calorie intake. At a time when food choices are being held hostage to religious tradition, the decision marks a refreshing policy change. More so in a state where 47% of the under-five children are malnourished and 53% are stunted, or they have lower height for their age. The decision of the Chhattisgarh government came a day after Jharkhand, which was witness to at least 17 hunger-related deaths in the past year, decided to reduce the number of eggs served in public childcare centres, also known as anganwadis, from three to two per week to adjust for rising costs.

Eggs are critical to child nutrition as they are safe, affordable and are an excellent source of nutrition, which children eat without a fuss. In addition, they cannot be adulterated and have a longer shelf life, making them a perfect choice for public programmes. Yet, in a country like India, where 36% of the under-five children are underweight, only 12 states serve eggs under various nutrition schemes. While Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu serve five eggs per week, states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where incidence of undernourishment is high, do not serve eggs at all, citing religious and cultural traditions. Such top-down political decisions often ignore social preferences, say, among tribes and the scheduled castes, who are mostly non-vegetarians. The macro data also shows that the majority of Indians consume animal protein in one form or another.

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Livemint.com, 20 January, 2019, https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/opinion-the-missing-egg-in-indian-children-s-diet-1547998622116.html


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