The Cabinet on Friday approved the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), giving nod to a funding of over Rs 9,046 crore, till 2020, to combat malnutrition in the country.
According to the government, the policy aims at bringing down the incidence of undernutrition and low birth weight by 2 per cent every year, and reduce stunting from 38.4 per cent, as per the National Family Health Survey, to 25 per cent by 2022. Currently, 43 per cent of children under five years of age in India are underweight, while 48 per cent suffer from stunting due to undernutrition. The policy will affect over 10 crore beneficiaries, the government stated.
The policy is a part of the government's efforts to end malnutrition by 2022. Last week, in a high-level meeting, PM Narendra Modi called for a comprehensive movement to end malnutrition and said that with such high incidence of malnutrition, India's image of growth and development was tarnished.
The mission will first be rolled out in 315 districts this year, and will be extended to 235 more districts in 2018-19. The remaining districts will be covered in 2019-20. The Rs 9,046 crore budget will be funded in a 50:50 ratio, by the Centre and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
The policy will be implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Minsitry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and government think-tank NITI Aayog. A technical committee, formed by the NITI Aayog and comprising dieticians, doctors, and experts will decide on the delivery system, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said infection and malnutrition were deeply connected. "Since the incidence of stunting in India is high, we need inter-ministerial cooperation. The first 1,000 days of a child's life, including the nine months of pregnancy, are crucial," Jaitley said.
As part of the policy, there will be real-time monitoring of take-home rations and the updates of health parameters of beneficiaries through smartphones given to anganwadi workers. The Android smartphones will be given to over 10 lakh anganwadi workers. They will have an operating system version of 4.4 or above, which will support 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi connectivity, with a screen size of 5 inch, and a RAM of 1GB.
Ministry officials said the mission beneficiaries will need Aadhaar cards, and those without Aadhaar cards will be assisted by anganwadi workers, who will get Rs 500 as incentive. WCD officials said they were trying to ensure over 85 per cent enrollment by December 31, including that of six-month children. When pointed out that Aadhar guidelines prohibit children below five years of age, officials said their cards will be linked to their mothers'.
Policy goals
Aims at bringing down undernutrition and low birth weight by 2% per year
Reduce stunting from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022
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