While some claim India is an emerging economic superpower, we still have a long way to go before achieving the kind of growth that goes beyond numbers, that translates into better lives for millions. Growth has been given priority over development, gross domestic product over gross national happiness. Take nutrition for example. The international food policy research institute (IFPRI), an international think tank, in its latest report draws a scary picture of malnutrition in the country (see a report here).

India is supposed to eradicate malnourishment by 2015 as per the millennium development goals (MDGs). If the pace of achievements on this front is any indication, the country would be more than 28 years behind the schedule from the rest of the major developing economies like China, Brazil and Thailand which are all set to achieve the target within stipulated time frame.

What is particularly disconcerting is the fact that the report’s prognosis is worse than diagnosis of the malaise. It points out that though the country has been facing the worst kind of nutritional insecurity, there is hardly any attempt to redress it. The study says at the current rate India will achieve nutrition security only in 2043.

Our growth-obsessed policymakers are not worried yet, they should note that the report says this will ultimately take a heavy toll on the growth rate itself. According to the research estimate, India will lose nearly three percent of growth rate on account of under-nutrition. This is apart from other ill effects like widening economic disparities and fueling social discontent.

But powers that be and their policy advisors are not worried. They did take note of the problem and addressed it the only way they can: by forming a committee. This one, called the prime minister’s national council on nutritional challenges, was set up in 2008 but it has met just once – in 2010.

Here is another indicator of their seriousness. The draft approach paper of the 12th five-year plan has altogether ignored the issue of hunger (though it does underline the need to achieve food security).

The national family health survey (NHFS) data says that rates of micronutrient deficiencies are extremely high, with almost 80 percent of children and 56 percent of women being anaemic. One in two Indian children is stunted and 40 percent children are underweight. There are a plethora of schemes and programmes like the integrated child development scheme, mid-day meals, reproductive and child health programme, and national rural health mission; but the way these are implemented at the ground level leaves much to be desired. As IFPRI has noted, “India has not made nutrition interventions effective at the ground level.”

Here is more from the report: “Even if India does direct nutrition interventions and scales-up implementation effectively, it will address only one-third of India’s under-nutrition burden.”
Thus, even the high-growth states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka face the same problem. Gujarat fares the worst in terms of overall hunger and malnutrition, according to the the recent human development index report of the planning commission. In Gujarat, 69.7 percent children below five years of age are anaemic and 44.6 percent malnourished.

This brings us to another issue: our data collection is not quite robust. The government has failed to update the child malnourishment figures. We are still using data on under-nutrition from health survey conducted six years ago. With outdated data, we are not sure if nutritional security will indeed come in 2043 either.