(a) whether the percentage of households getting two square meals a day has
increased over the year;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State/UTwise including the criteria/parameters worked
out for the purpose;
(c) whether various social organisations have submitted memoranda in this regard in
view of the rationality of criteria/ parameters fixed by the Government; and
(d) if so, the detail thereof and the action taken/proposed to be taken by the
Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS AND PLANNING (SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA)
(a) & (b) The NSS Consumer Expenditure Surveys, conducted quinquenially by the
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, provides estimates of household consumer expenditure and its
distribution at the National and State levels. Based on these surveys, as indicated in the
NSS Report No.547 on the “Perceived Adequacy of Food Consumption in Indian
Households†(February 2013), the percentage of households that have reported getting
two square meals a day throughout the year has increased from about 97.4% in 2004-05
to 98.9% in 2009-10 in rural India and from about 99.4% in 2004-05 to 99.6% in urban
India. These estimates are based on the interviews of the representative sample of
households which, inter alia, include questions pertaining to food adequacy throughout
the year. The State-wise distribution of these estimates, separately for rural and urban
households, in 17 major States of India (with a population of 20 million or more as per
Census 2001), based on data extracted from respective NSS reports for the years 2004-05
and 2009-10 is given in the Annexure.
(c) & (d) Planning Commission has not received any representations from social
organisations regarding rationality of criteria/ parameters fixed by the Government in
ascertaining these estimates.