-Moneycontrol.com The development comes amid growing evidence that Indian kids, even those from affluent backgrounds, have much lower values for height and weight against WHO standards. One expert warned that nearly 30% of Indian children under 5 are malnourished and by using the new standards, the government may show that to be just 15-20% The Indian government, for the first time, has initiated moves to develop country-specific growth standards for children amid...

-Down to Earth The annual rise of material price came after a pause of 2 years because of the pandemic The Centre has increased allocations for materials cost for mid-day meals at schools by 9.6 per cent, after two unprecedented years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure, however, is insufficient to protect against rising inflation, stakeholders and experts complained. In absolute figures, the hike translates to a measly 48 paise for a primary...

-The Hindu Since NFHS-1, Madhya Pradesh has been struggling to tackle the problem Ever since a confidential report by the Madhya Pradesh Accountant-General came to light, about “large scale fraud/misappropriation etc. in the identification of beneficiaries, production, transportation, distribution and quality control of THR [Take Home Ration]”, the government has been facing severe criticism from the Opposition and activists. Last month, ahead of the translocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National...

-Scroll.in Less than half the malnourished children admitted at the district’s nutrition rehabilitation centres since 2021 have gained the targeted weight. Chandni Patle placed Bau Pawara, a feeble-looking 17-month-old baby, on an electronic weighing machine. The child, with bony limbs, was quiet and inactive – unusual for toddlers his age. It was early September, and this was his fourth check-up in two months at the nutrition rehabilitation centre in Dhadgaon, in Maharashtra’s...

-NDTV.com The Madhya Pradesh Accountant General found large-scale fraud and irregularities in the ambitious free food scheme for girls and women. Bhopal: From ration transport trucks that were found to be motorcycles to wild exaggeration of the number of beneficiaries, the Madhya Pradesh government's nutrition programme for children has been nobbled by eye-popping levels of corruption, at the risk of leaving them malnourished and costing taxpayers crores of rupees, the state's own...