Subject: Social Justice

The persistent challenge of hunger in India, despite being a food surplus nation, highlights the complex interplay between food availability and human development. The NFHS-5 (2019-21) data showing decline in stunting from 48% to 35.5% and underweight from 42.5% to 32.1% indicates that food availability alone is not the core issue.

Multi-dimensional Nature of Hunger

• Food Security vs. Nutritional Security: While India has achieved food security through PDS and record foodgrain production, nutritional outcomes remain suboptimal due to poor dietary diversity and feeding practices.
• Social Determinants: Issues like gender discrimination, lack of education, and poor sanitation significantly impact nutrition outcomes beyond food availability.
• Economic Access: Despite sufficient food stocks, economic barriers prevent many from accessing nutritious food, highlighting the importance of livelihood security.

Human Development Gaps

• Health Infrastructure: Despite an 18% CAGR in health expenditure (rising to Rs 6.1 lakh crore in FY25), primary healthcare facilities remain inadequate in many regions.
• Educational Challenges: Though education spending grew at 12% CAGR (Rs 9.2 lakh crore in FY25), nutritional awareness and health education remain limited.
• WASH Infrastructure: Poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water contribute to malnutrition through repeated infections and poor nutrient absorption.

Policy Implementation Challenges

• Fragmented Approach: Multiple schemes like ICDS, MDM, and NFSA operate in silos, reducing their collective impact.
• Governance Issues: Weak monitoring, leakages, and poor targeting affect the effectiveness of nutrition interventions.
• Resource Allocation: Despite increased social sector spending (26.2% of total expenditure in FY25), the quality of spending remains a concern.

Way Forward

• Convergence Approach: Integration of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions across departments.
• Community Participation: Strengthening local institutions and community monitoring through SHGs and Village Health Committees.
• Life-cycle Approach: Focus on first 1000 days, adolescent nutrition, and maternal health.

The focus on food availability alone overshadows the critical role of human development policies in addressing hunger. Success stories like Kerala's social development model demonstrate that comprehensive human development approaches are essential for improving nutritional outcomes. The way forward lies in strengthening POSHAN Abhiyaan's multi-sectoral approach while ensuring effective implementation of human development policies.