Affordability of nutritious diets in rural India

Affordability of nutritious diets in rural India
Author: Raghunathan, Kalyani
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 54
Release: 2020-03-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Malnutrition is endemic in India. In 2015-16 some 38% of preschool children were stunted and 21% were wasted, while more than half of Indian mothers and children were anemic. There are many posited explanations for the high rates of malnutrition in India, but surprisingly few discuss the role of Indian diets, particularly the affordability of nutritious diets given low wages and the significant structural problems facing India’s agricultural sector. This study was undertaken to address knowledge gaps around the affordability of nutritious diets in rural India. To do so we used nationally representative rural price and wage data to estimate the least cost means of satisfying India-specific dietary recommendations, referred to as the Cost of a Recommended Diet (CoRD), and assess the affordability of this diet relative to male and female wages for unskilled laborers. Although we find that dietary costs increased substantially over 2001-2011 for both men and women, rural wage rates increased more rapidly, implying that nutritious diets became substantially more affordable over time. However, in absolute terms nutritious diets in 2011 were still expensive relative to unskilled wages, constituting approximately 50-60% of male and about 70-80% of female daily wages, and were often even higher relative to minimum wages earned from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Since many poor households have significant numbers of dependents and substantial non-food expenditure requirements, it follows that nutritious diets are often highly unaffordable for the rural poor; we estimate that 45-64% of the rural poor cannot afford a nutritious diet that meets India’s national food-based dietary guidelines. Our results point to the need to more closely monitor food prices through a nutritional lens, and to shift India’s existing food policies away from their heavy bias towards cereals. Achieving nutritional security in India requires a much more holistic focus on improving the affordability of the full range of nutritious food groups and ensuring that economic growth results in sustained income growth for the poor.

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India
Author: Prabhu Pingali
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2019-05-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030144097

This open access book examines the interactions between India’s economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a “Food Systems Approach (FSA).” The Indian growth story is a paradoxical one. Despite economic progress over the past two decades, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition problems persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity along with micro-nutrient deficiency portend to a future public health crisis. This book explores various challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through diversified production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater individual capability to access a balanced diet contributing to an increase in overall productivity. The authors bring together the latest data and scientific evidence from the country to map out the current state of food systems and nutrition outcomes. They place India within the context of other developing country experiences and highlight India’s status as an outlier in terms of the persistence of high levels of stunting while following global trends in obesity. This book discusses the policy and institutional interventions needed for promoting a nutrition-sensitive food system and the multi-sectoral strategies needed for simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in India.

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security
Author: Rukhsana
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2021-04-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030693333

This volume provides an interdisciplinary collection of studies that cover the trends and issues related to agricultural productivity and availability, food and nutrition security, and sustainability in India. The book discusses a broad range of vital issues concerning the production and consumption of food during the era of climate change, and has been prepared to generate awareness of these issues in a large agricultural economy to shed light on new perspectives and solutions to achieve sustainable food production and security in India. The book is organized into three major sections: Climate and Agricultural Productivity for Availability, Changes and Trends in Cropping Patterns and Food Security, and Food and Nutrition Security for Sustainable Development. The book will be of interest to students, researchers, policymakers, and other inquisitive readers interested in different aspects of agriculture, food and nutrition security, and sustainable development.

Child, Adolescent and Woman Nutrition in India

Child, Adolescent and Woman Nutrition in India
Author: Sheila C. Vir
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 667
Release: 2023-10-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1003848028

In the last decade, addressing the persistent problem of maternal, infant, young child and adolescent malnutrition in India has gained significant attention. With the well-established serious implications of malnutrition on mortality and morbidity; mental health and cognitive development; activity and productivity and overall economic development, today there is an unprecedented political commitment to improving the grave woman and child nutrition scenario in the country. POSHAN ABHIYAAN (Nutrition Mission) was launched in a Mission mode by the Honourable Prime Minister of India on March 8, 2018, followed by measures for an effective implementation of an integrated nutrition strategy through POSHAN 2.0 in 2022. The book with 15 chapters tracks the history of evolvement of public nutrition policies and strategies, presents an update on the nutrition scenario, analyses the experiences and synthesises emerging lessons in the prevention and control of malnutrition. Additionally, the book includes chapters with details of each of the various government systems such as Health, ICDS, NRLM, PDS, Education/MDM, Water-Sanitation that provide lead in mainstreaming nutrition actions that directly or indirectly impact on accelerating the improvement of the nutrition situation of women, adolescents and children. The book is intended to be an indispensable reference for teachers and students of nutrition, community medicine, public health and development as well as professionals involved in the formulation and implementation of the nutrition policies and programmes. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

Nutritive Value of Indian Foods

Nutritive Value of Indian Foods
Author: C. Gopalan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2014
Genre: Cooking
ISBN:

This hand book provides detailed information on the nutrient composition of a wide range of common Indian foods available in different parts of India. It also includes a write-up on the basic aspects of human nutrition. The nutrient composition covers 600 foods, both familiar and less familiar. Only those foods with confirmed scientific names have been included. Besides English, names of the foods in several Indian languages are also given for easy identification by the user. The data on nutrient composition of foods given in this book are entirely based on Indian work, mostly carried out at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, and other research Institutes and University laboratories.An attempt has been made to give a simple account of current concepts of nutritional principles, nutritional chemistry of major food groups and nutritional deficiency diseases, prevalent in the country. This book should be useful to the lay public as well as to the health professionals. Uptodate information on nutritional requirement and Recommended Dietary Allowances and Guidelines for formulation of nutritionally adequate diets are also given, for the benefit of professionals and informed public.

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8)

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8)
Author: Donald A. P. Bundy
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 977
Release: 2017-11-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1464804397

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.

Undernutrition and Public Policy in India

Undernutrition and Public Policy in India
Author: Sonalde Desai
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2015-12-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317358430

Despite substantial economic growth, India has one of the highest undernutrition rates in the world; it is home to almost 40 per cent of the world’s stunted children. This volume assesses the status and causes of undernutrition in the country, and examines the effectiveness of policies designed to address undernutrition. The essays tackle wide-ranging themes and challenging issues including nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); maternal, neonatal and child health; Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS); Public Distribution System (PDS); crop procurement; and National Food Security Act 2013. With contributions from leading academic researchers, policymakers, as well as civil society representatives, this volume will be indispensable to scholars, teachers and students of public policy, development economics, development sociology, and Indian economy. It will also be useful to government institutions, think tanks and NGOs.

Indian Superfoods

Indian Superfoods
Author: Rujuta Diwekar
Publisher: Juggernaut Books
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2016
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 8193237234

Forget about acacia seeds and goji berries. The secret foods for health, vitality and weight loss lie in our own kitchens and backyards. Top nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar talks you through the ten Indian superfoods that will completely transform you

Globalization of Food Systems in Developing Countries

Globalization of Food Systems in Developing Countries
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2004
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789251052280

Includes papers and case studies presented at a FAO workshop held in Rome, Italy from 8 to 10 October 2003

Revitalizing Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes

Revitalizing Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes
Author: Ashok Gulati
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2021-03-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811593353

This open access book provides an evidence-based roadmap for revitalising Indian agriculture while ensuring that the growth process is efficient, inclusive, and sustainable, and results in sustained growth of farmers’ incomes. The book, instead of looking for global best practices and evaluating them to assess the possibility of replicating these domestically, looks inward at the best practices and experiences within Indian states, to answer questions such as -- how the agricultural growth process can be speeded up and made more inclusive, and financially viable; are there any best practices that can be studied and replicated to bring about faster growth in agriculture; does the prior hypothesis that rapid agricultural growth can alleviate poverty faster, reduce malnutrition, and augment farmers’ incomes stand? To answer these questions, the book follows four broad threads -- i) Linkage between agricultural performance, poverty and malnutrition; ii) Analysing the historical growth performance of agricultural sector in selected Indian states; iii) Will higher agricultural GDP necessarily result in higher incomes for farmers; iv) Analysing the current agricultural policy environment to evaluate its efficiency and efficacy, and consolidate all analysis to create a roadmap. These are discussed in 12 chapters, which provide a building block for the concluding chapter that presents a roadmap for revitalising Indian agriculture while ensuring growth in farmers’ incomes.