Inter-Ministerial Panel on Nutrition

About the Panel:

The inter-ministerial panel, that recently made recommendations to improve nutrition in India, is composed of officials and scientists from:

• • Ministry of Food
  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • Ministry of Education
  • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  • Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

What are the observations on the state of nutrition?

• The panel report drew attention to the National Family Health Survey-5 findings. The survey had documented an increase in rates of child undernourishment, wasting and stunting in most of the states.
• The survey had also noted an increase in anaemia among pregnant women and women of reproductive age. Among children (upto 5 years old), prevalence of anaemia has increased from 59% to 65%.
• At the same time, there is an increase in prevalence of obesity among children of all age groups.
• This indicates unhealthy heating habits and micronutrient deficiency in the diet.
• This trend plagues India despite the National Food Security Act being in place since 2013 and the states recording rapid economic growth.
• Currently, the persistent levels of under-nourishment is the single biggest public health issue in the country, according to the panel report.
• The panel says that this silent crisis is likely to be aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the current provisions for nutritional security?

• The National Food Security Act provides nutritional standards for state-run food safety programs under its Schedule II.
• Some of these food programs include:

1. 1. Mid-day Meal Scheme
   2. PM Poshan– covering government and government-aided school students- at levels of lower primary classes and upper primary classes.
   3. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme– covering children (between 6 months and 6 years) and pregnant/lactating mothers.

• The Act quantifies nutrition per meal in terms of calories and protein content.
• When it comes to supplementary provision, the cost is borne by the states and the UTs.
• 13 states and 3 UTs serve eggs as part of ‘additional food items’ in mid-day meals. This is of differing frequencies- ranging from once a month to 5 days/ week.
• Inclusion of eggs face opposition from many religious groups and even from certain Chief Ministers.

What are the panel’s recommendations?

• The panel has called for legal backing for provision of protein-rich food items (such as eggs, nuts and legumes) as part of government food safety programs, being implemented in schools and anganwadis. This would mean a revision of Schedule II of NFSA.
• It has also called for legal backing for micronutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, folate, iron, calcium and zinc – instead of a purely calorie-centric approach.
• For those who don’t consume eggs, the report suggests doubling the quantity of nuts and seeds.
• It has recommended new standards of kilocalories and protein per meal.

Changes:

Costs:

• The panel has worked out the cost implications of the recommendations to be 9.6 INR/ meal (excluding milk and fruits) for lower primary classes. The current cooking cost is Rs 4.97.
• Similarly, for upper primary classes, a meal would cost Rs 12.1, while the current cooking cost is Rs 7.45.

Lower Primary Classes:

Component	Current Norms	Proposed Norms
Food grains	100 g	70 g (cereals and millets)
Pulses	20 g	25 g (pulses and legumes)
Vegetables	50 g (including leafy vegetables)	75 g (including 50 g leafy vegetables)
Oil/ fat	5 g	10 g
Nuts and seeds		10 g
Eggs		50 g
Accounts for:	450 kilocalories 12 g protein	450 kilocalories 15-20 g protein 170 mg calcium 2 mg zinc 3.5   mg iron 50 microgram folate 100 microgram vitamin A

 

• In addition to this, 150 g milk and 100 g fruits have been suggested.

Upper Primary Classes:

Component	Current Norms	Proposed Norms
Food grains	150 g	100 g (cereals and millets)
Pulses	30 g	35 g (pulses and legumes)
Vegetables	75 g (including leafy vegetables)	100 g (including 50 g leafy vegetables)
Oil/ fat	7.5 g	10 g
Nuts and seeds		15 g
Eggs		50 g
Accounts for:	700 kilocalories 20 g protein	700 kilocalories 22-25 g protein 270 mg calcium 4         mg zinc 5.5 mg iron 75 microgram folate 145 microgram vitamin A

 

• In addition to this, the panel suggested 200 g milk and 100 g fruits.

Pregnant and Lactating Mothers:

Component	Current Norms	Proposed Norms
Kilocalories	600 kcal	600 kcal
Protein	18-20 g	22-25 g
Calcium		335 mg
Zinc		4 mg
Iron		7 mg
Folate		160 micrograms
Vitamin A		240 microgram

 

Anganwadi Children:

6 month- 3 years old:

Component	Current Norms	Proposed Norms
Kilocalories	500 kcal	400 kcal
Protein	12-15 g	15-20 g
Calcium		135 mg
Zinc		1 mg
Iron		2 mg
Folate		35 micrograms
Vitamin A		60 microgram

 

3-6 years old:

Component	Current Norms	Proposed Norms
Kilocalories	500 kcal	400 kcal
Protein	12-15 g	15-20 g
Calcium		150 mg
Zinc		1.5 mg
Iron		3 mg
Folate		40 micrograms
Vitamin A		80 microgram

Conclusion:

The NFSA has been in force for over 9 years now. Yet, it has managed to achieve only marginal improvements in the Indian population’s nutritional status. The tweaks proposed by the panel could help improve the situation.