ABSTRACT
In spite of several national nutritional intervention programmes, India faces huge nutrition challenges as the prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition continues to be a major public health problem with an associated economic cost of 0.8 to 2.4 per cent of the GDP. Most vulnerable segments of the population are children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers (Arlappa et al., 2010), with estimates from the most recent National Family Health Survey (IIPS, 2007) indicating that about 46 per cent of the children under five years of age, particularly those living in rural areas (Rajaram et al., 2007), are moderately to severely underweight (thin for age), 38 per cent are moderately to severely stunted (short for age), and approximately 19 per cent are moderately to severely wasted (thin for height) (Kanjilal et al., 2010).
