India’s decline in calorie intake is accompanied by a sharp decline in protein and micronutrient intake, indicating a shrinking food basket and deteriorating diet quality, which is attributed to policy failures.
Author
Anjana Thampi, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O. P. Jindal Global University, New Delhi, India
Summary
The reduction in calorie intake in India during the two decades after economic liberalisation till 2009-10 has inspired divergent interpretations. While some characterised it as increasing impoverishment, others cited reduction in calorie requirement due to increasing mechanisation and reduction in hard labour as possible reasons. The latter interpretation becomes suspect as this chapter demonstrates that the intakes of protein and key micronutrients, whose requirements do not vary by level of physical activity, have also declined sharply.
With decline in average intakes, deficiency of not only calories but of protein and other micronutrients also increased. Moreover, those who are calorie deficient increasingly became deficient in other nutrients as well. This indicated a shrinking food basket and a deteriorating diet quality. India’s persistently poor nutritional/anthropometric indicators and their deterioration in the recent times, despite modest improvement in disease environment and that in tackling infectious diseases and epidemics, is attributable to the failure of policy to ensure adequate healthy diet for all. The expansion of the PDS in both reach and scope is suggested as a corrective action.
Published in: Development, Transformations and the Human Condition: Essays in Honour of Jayati Ghosh
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