ABSTRACT
India’s performance in combating hunger and malnutrition has been abysmal. The recent NFHS-5 survey presents a grim picture of child malnutrition. The situation is compounded by the huge nutrition imbalances in the population. More worryingly, nutrition indicators have shown very slow improvement. Households, especially the poor, have the twin problems of calorie deficits and incorrect dietary choices. Poor households do not always eat more when their income rises as there are other competing pressures besides food. The government’s response to the high levels of malnutrition has been an extensive public distribution system (PDS). However, the PDS is ineffective and riddled with corruption and leakages, and food subsidy budgets have been skyrocketing. There are more cost-effective ways to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity, through strengthening POSHAN Abhiyan, effective communication programmes and community engagement. PDS reform through the restoration of universal coverage but with higher prices for non-poor households would be cost-effective. Savings in food subsidies can be re-deployed for income transfer to poor households. Finally, multi-pronged and cross-sectoral interventions are needed to address malnutrition and hunger.
