India has high rates of malnutrition, with approximately 60 million children underweight. The document outlines four steps to address this issue: 1) providing food coupons to 80% of the population, 2) evaluating and empowering anganwadi centers, 3) establishing nationwide cooperative dairy and poultry farms, and 4) improving the mid-day meal scheme. These steps aim to directly provide nutrition, generate employment, increase incomes, and ensure quality of nutrition programs.

1. Manthan Topic: Reducing
malnutrition
INDIA’S SHAME: HUNGER
Four steps to reduce hunger and malnutrition
Team Details
College: Northern India Engineering College
Team Members:
Neeraj Kumar Tiwari
Sunny Singh
Sanjeev Kumar
Anuj Goyal
Deepak Kumar

2. India’s Losing War : Malnutrition
Rates of malnutrition among India’s children are almost five times more than
in China, and twice those in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Malnutrition Statistics
• Approximately 60 million (Half of Children)
children in India are underweight.
• 45% children are stunted.
• 20% children are wasted .
• 57% are Vitamin A deficient.
• anaemia affects 75% children below 5
years, 51% women of 15-59 years and
87% pregnant women.
• More than 70% women and kids have
serious nutritional deficiencies.
• 75% of adolescent mothers in India put on
only 5 kgs during pregnancy compared to
the word wide average of 10 kgs due to
malnourishment.
Reasons Of Malnutrition
• Malnutrition is a multidimensional
disease. It’s cause cannot be pinpointed.
The characteristic reasons of Malnutrition
are :
 Poverty.
 Unemployment.
 Lack of clean water and proper sanitation.
 Lack of Education.
 Lack of Nutritional Awareness.
 inefficiency, Leakage and Corruption in
Govt. Schemes like ICDS ( Anganwadi
Centers), Mid Day Meal, antyodaya anna
yojana etc.

3. Steps to be taken to eliminate hunger
and malnutrition
• Providing food coupons to 80% population.
• Evaluating and empowering anganwadi
centers.
• Establishing nationwide cooperative dairy and
poultry farms.
• Improvising mid day meal scheme.
Each step is being discussed one by one

4. Fixing The Different Dimension
Food Coupons
 Providing Free Non Transferrable Food Coupons to every family whose Income is less than the
poverty line defined by World Bank ( 1.25$ per day) in the name of Woman of the House.
 Monthly Coupon will be sent by the govt. to every identified poor using current postal
services.
 Multiple local retail stores and supermarkets will be allowed by govt. to sell sealed packets of
foods.
 Sealed packets of food will contain Rice, Flours, Pulses and Milk Powder/Eggs to provide
complete nutritional needs of a person.
 Head Woman of family will go to nearest shop and she will get food in exchange of food
coupon. Adhaar No. will be mentioned on her coupon. Half of the coupon will be retained by
the woman as the acknowledgement of receiving the food which she will give back to
postman . The half portion of the food stamp will by retained by the shop keeper which he will
give to any nationalise bank to get margin of profit on food products.
 The govt. will cut the middleman and take food directly from the farmers and after processing
and packaging, It will be supplied to the different Private shops and supermarkets.

5. Advantages of Food Coupons
over current PDS system
• Self Evaluating : On returning half coupon It will be assured that the benefits have
been reached to right people.
• Right Price to The farmers : Since 50% of money of selling price goes in pocket of
middle man. By cutting the middle man, the govt. can provide right price to
farmers for his products and free food to the poor at the same time.
• No New Infrastructure to be build Storage: Since there is huge shortage in storage
facilities in India. By allowing private shops and supermarkets to sell food for poor
people, the access food grains can be immediately released in the market.
• Woman Empowerment: By providing nutritional decision in the hand woman, The
status of woman will be raised in the house.

6. Integrated Child and Development Scheme
Evaluating and Empowering Anganwadi Centers
ICDS was launched in 1975 to provide nutritional food but it failed to complete its objectives.
The reasons of failure of ICDS:
• No Evaluation.
• No Recorded Data.
• Under Paid Anganwadi Workers.
• Only Few Govt. Buildings.
STEPS TO TAKEN :
• Monthly surveys by trained staff. Polio staff will be trained to evaluate anganwadi centers.
They will record the statistics related to the health of child and women.
• The recording sheets will be submitted to municipal authorities.
• High school and college going poor girls will be trained to basic nursing to volunteer in
anganwadi centers . They will get financial assistance in education and free nutritional
food in return.
• These high school and college going poor girls will also impart pre school education to
children and basic education to their uneducated mothers.
• Poor women having their own house will be given preference.
• Increasing the wages of experienced Anganwadi Workers.

7. Advantages Of Evaluation of ICDS
• No need for new staff: By using trained polio staff there is no need to recruit new staf.
• Preference for house owning women: There will be less spending in construction of new
buildings for running Anganwadi centers.
• Volunteers : Volunteering work for girl students in exchange of financial aid in education.
• Free Volunteers: Educated anganwadi workers will cost higher but girl volunteers will do it for
free.

8. Nationwide Cooperative Dairy & Poultry farms
• Cooperative dairy and poultry farms of farmers will be formed
with help of govt. Credit. ( In the steps of Amul)
• Women will be given preference for employment in dairy
farms.
• Small entrepreneurs will also be encouraged to open dairy
and poultry farms in rural as well as in urban areas.
• A dairy farm and a poultry farm will be opened with public-
private partnership on every 1000 persons.

9. Advantages
• It will increase employbility in rural as well as
urban areas and hence average income.
• By providing employment to women in dairy
farms, govt. will increase total income of
household as well as status of woman in
family.
• On providing loans to small entrepreneurs, the
govt. will promote self relience.

10. Improvising Mid Day Meal
Current Challenges
• No Evaluation
• No quality check
Solutions
• The meal will be not only for children but for whole staff of school.
• A reasonable amount will be deducted from the salary of every staff
of school.
• Govt. will provide loan to women to open restaurants which will
cook food for mid day meal.
• An auditing organization will be set up which will comprise
members from polio staff, civil society, and govt. teachers.
• Lottery Audit: Weekly audit of different restaurants and schools will
be take place on basis of lottery.

11. Advantages over current system
• By providing same food for whole school staff, the
quality of food can be malnourished.
• By providing loans to rural women to open
restaurants, the employbility of women will increase.
• With Lottery Audit, Surprise auditing of different
restaurants will take place and hence there will be
increase in efficiency in working of restaurant
workers and quality of food.
• The collected from the salaries of school staff will go
in funds for mid day meal scheme.

12. Refrences
• http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/05/13/helping-india-combat-persistently-high-
rates-of-malnutrition
• http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Nutrition
• “Anganwadi Workers Protest for Higher Wages.” The Hindu, October 4, 2011. Accessed January 27,
2012. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-
karnataka/article2510912.ece?css=print
• Kapur, Avani, and Anirvan Chowdhury. “Integrated Child Development Services, GOI 2011- 2012.”
Budget Briefs-Integrated Child Development Services. 3. no. 3 (2011). 1-6.
• UNICEF, “India: Background.” Last modified December 31, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2012.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_background.html.
• UNICEF, “The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).” Last modified 2011. Accessed January
27, 2012. http://www.unicef.org/india/media_2640.htm.
• The World Bank, “GDP per capita (current US$).” Last modified 2012. Accessed January 27, 2012.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD.
• The World Bank, “Mortality Rate, under-5 (per 1,000).” Last modified 2012. Accessed January 27,
2012.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT?page=4.http://www.thehindu.com/todays-
paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article2510912.ece. Accessed January 27, 2012.