ABSTRACT
Undernutrition features large on the national agenda. Nonetheless, absence of credible and regularly collected data makes it impossible to ascertain current status of undernutrition in India or to monitor the progress in reducing it. India has the following three major sources of data on nutrition: The District Level Health Survey (DLHS-IV) was carried out for only selected states but offers the latest data on undernutrition with large samples. DLHS-IV was carried out in all but nine large north-central states where Annual Health Survey (AHS) is conducted by Registrar General of India. Periodic surveys conducted by National Nutrition Monitoring Board (NNMB) covering anthropometric outcomes and dietary intake for rural areas. Some of the special surveys with anthropometric data include the Hunger and Malnutrition (HUNGaMA) survey in rural areas of 100 poorest districts of seven states carried out by the Nandi Foundation for children and India Human Development Surveys (IHDSs) of about 42,000 households.
