On the 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, cleanliness drives were officially organised across the country so as to promote Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. A few days before 2nd October, the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), released a report that attempts to connect the dots between sanitation and nutritional status of children. Please click here to access the survey report from NIN.   On...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The prevalence of low body weight, stunting and wasting is "significantly higher" among children from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, according to a government survey that nutrition experts say underscores challenges that demand solutions beyond just the availability of more food. The survey, carried out this year, has documented 39 per cent stunting (impaired growth with possible long-term impacts) among boys below five years from Dalit households...

-The New Indian Express NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to invest an additional Rs 12,000 crore in next three years for the nutrition of pregnant and lactating women and children in the age group of 0-6 years as the cabinet Wednesday approved an increase of cost norms for supplementary nutrition provided in anganwadis and for adolescent girls. As per the new norms, for children below 6 years, the money has been...

-Hindustan Times Women don’t have enough power within households to insist that the cash provided be used for nutritional needs. The THR system is a way to ensure that they at least get some essential nutrition. The decision to do away with take-home rations (THR) in aanganwadis for infants under three and pregnant and lactating mothers, and to replace the scheme with cash transfers is not a good idea. The initial impetus...

-Livemint.com Greater fiscal autonomy has not yet translated into higher spending on nutrition by states Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Sadly, hunger and undernutrition continue to plague our country. India’s record in addressing undernutrition is abysmal. With a stunting rate of 38.4%, India accounts for about a third of the world’s stunted...