(a) whether a recent survey undertaken by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has revealed a huge difference in nutritional intake of the poor and the rich, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether this gap is worse/wider in urban and rural areas of the country, if so, the details thereof, area/State/UT-wise;
(c) the reaction of the Government to the said survey/report; and
(d) the remedial measures taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government to bridge this nutritional gap?
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)
(a): As per the Report of Nutritional Intake in India, 2011-12 published under 68th round of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), it is observed:
# Among the bottom 5% of rural population ranked by Monthly per Capita Expenditure (MPCE), 57% of households had calorie intake below 2160 Kcal/consumer unit/day, which was only 2% for the top 5% wealth fractile of the population.
# Average protein intake per capita per day was seen to rise steadily with MPCE level in rural India from 43gm for the bottom 5% of population ranked by MPCE to 91gm for the top 5%, and in urban India from 44gm for the bottom 5% to about 87gm for the top 5%.
# Per capita fat intake was about 100g in the top fractile class of the urban sector and about 27gm in the lowest fractile class. In the rural sector the intake of the top fractile class was 92gm while that of the bottom class was 21gm.
(b): Average dietary energy intake per person per day was 2233 Kcal for rural India and 2206 Kcal for urban India. At the all-India level protein intake per person per day was 60.7gm in the rural sector and 60.3gm in the urban. Average fat intake for the country as a whole was about 46gm per person per day in the rural sector and 58gm in the urban sector. State-wise distribution is Annexed.
(c ) & (d): The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition in the country and is implementing several schemes/programmes under different Ministries/Departments through State Governments/UT Administrations, the details being as follows:
# Under multi-sectoral approach for accelerated action on the determinants of malnutrition in targeting nutrition in schemes/programmes of all the sectors. The schemes/ programmes include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), National Health Mission (NHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna (IGMSY) as direct targeted interventions. Besides, indirect Multi-sectoral interventions include Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), National Horticulture Mission, National Food Security Mission, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, National Rural Drinking Water Programme etc. All these schemes address one or other aspect of Nutrition.
# The specific interventions targeted towards the vulnerable groups include children below 6 years. The main schemes/programmes of Ministry of Women and Child Development which have a bearing on the nutritional status includes the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme which provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services.
# Under National Health Mission of Ministry of Health & FW, the remedial steps taken are as follows:
# Promotion of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices that include early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months of age and appropriate complementary feeding after 6 months of age.
# Management of malnutrition and common neonatal and childhood illnesses at community and facility level by training service providers in IMNCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses) training.
# Treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition at special units called the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), set up at public health facilities. Presently 891 such centres are functional all over the country.
# Specific program to prevent and combat micronutrient deficiencies of Vitamin A and Iron & Folic Acid (IFA) in under-five children, children of 5 to 10 years of age, and adolescents. National Iron Plus Initiative has been launched with provision for supervised and intermittent IFA supplementation to under-five children.
# Village Health and Nutrition Days and Mother and Child Protection Card are the joint initiative of the Ministries of Health & Family welfare and the Ministry of Woman and Child for addressing the nutrition concerns in children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.