{"id":58434,"date":"2025-11-04T19:39:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T14:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=58434"},"modified":"2025-11-06T12:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:42:52","slug":"shift-food-to-nutrition-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-11-2025\/shift-food-to-nutrition-security","title":{"rendered":"Need for Shift from Food Security to Nutrition Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the inaugural session of the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 PM Modi urged the scientific community to <strong>focus on moving from food security to nutrition security.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Status of Food Security in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the <strong>Third Advance Estimates for 2024-25, <\/strong>India has achieved record foodgrain production of <strong>353.96 million tonnes,<\/strong> including <strong>117.51 million tonnes <\/strong>of wheat and 149.07 million tonnes of rice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013<\/strong> ensures subsidised foodgrains to about <strong>81.35 crore beneficiaries<\/strong>, covering 75% of rural and 50% of urban populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of July 2025, the<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-11-2024\/equity-infusion-for-food-corporation-of-india\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-11-2024\/equity-infusion-for-food-corporation-of-india\">Food Corporation of India (FCI)<\/a> <\/strong>and state agencies have a total of <strong>917.83 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT)<\/strong> of covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) storage capacity for central pool grains.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However food security does not ensure nutritional security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Parameter<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Food Security<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Nutrition Security<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Focus<\/strong><\/td><td>Calorie sufficiency<\/td><td>Adequate intake of macro &amp; micronutrients<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Goal<\/strong><\/td><td>Prevent hunger<\/td><td>Ensure physical and cognitive well-being<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Indicators<\/strong><\/td><td>Grain availability, PDS coverage<\/td><td>Anaemia, stunting, obesity, diet diversity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Approach<\/strong><\/td><td>Quantity-driven<\/td><td>Quality- and diversity-driven<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Policy Orientation<\/strong><\/td><td>Cereal-centric (rice &amp; wheat)<\/td><td>Crop &amp; diet diversification<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Main Schemes<\/strong><\/td><td>PDS, NFSA, Mid-Day Meal<\/td><td>Poshan Abhiyaan, ICDS, Food Fortification Mission<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Measurement Metric<\/strong><\/td><td>Food availability per capita<\/td><td>Nutrition outcomes and diet diversity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Sustainability Aspect<\/strong><\/td><td>Short-term relief<\/td><td>Long-term health &amp; sustainability<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need to focus towards Nutrition Security&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Persistent Child Malnutrition: <\/strong>According to NFHS-5 (2019\u201321);\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>35.5% of children under five are stunted (low height-for-age).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>19.3% are wasted (low weight-for-height).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>32.1% are underweight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maternal and Women\u2019s Nutrition: <\/strong>The proportion of malnourished women (BMI &lt; 18.5) declined modestly from 22.9% to 18.7%, but anemia among women (15\u201349 years) remains alarmingly high at 57% (NFHS-5).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Micronutrient Deficiencies: <\/strong>India faces widespread deficiencies of iron, vitamin A, zinc, and iodine.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) found that over 50% of preschool children suffer from vitamin A or iron deficiency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Such \u201c<strong>hidden hunger\u201d<\/strong> persists even in food-secure households that depend heavily on cereal-based diets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic and Social Impact:<\/strong> Malnutrition limits human capital development, reducing productivity, increasing healthcare costs, and perpetuating the cycle of poverty, thereby affecting national development goals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Policy Initiatives Toward Nutrition Security<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission):<\/strong> Launched in 2018, it aims to reduce stunting, undernutrition, and anemia through convergence across ministries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The revamped Mission POSHAN 2.0 <\/strong>integrates the Supplementary Nutrition Programme and Poshan Tracker App for real-time monitoring of children and women\u2019s nutrition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fortification of Foods:<\/strong> The Government has mandated the distribution of fortified rice through the PDS, ICDS, and Mid-Day Meal schemes by 2028.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fortification of edible oil, milk, and salt continues under FSSAI\u2019s Food Fortification Initiative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9d3bf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"587\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Need-for-Shift-from-Food-Security-to-Nutrition-Security.webp\" alt=\"Need for Shift from Food Security to Nutrition Security\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-58472\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9d3bf; width:497px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Need-for-Shift-from-Food-Security-to-Nutrition-Security.webp 587w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Need-for-Shift-from-Food-Security-to-Nutrition-Security-300x220.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) <\/strong>provides supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, and health education through Anganwadi centres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anaemia Mukt Bharat (2018) <\/strong>targets reduction of anaemia among children, adolescents, and women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agricultural and Food System Diversification:<\/strong> Promotion of millets and pulses to enhance dietary diversity, aligned with the success of the International Year of Millets 2023.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Research on biofortified crops<\/strong> (iron-rich bajra, zinc-rich wheat, protein-enriched maize) by ICAR to address hidden hunger.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enhance Dietary Diversity: <\/strong>Expand the PDS basket to include pulses, millets, and edible oils.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on the First 1,000 Days: <\/strong>Strengthen maternal and child health services with emphasis on antenatal nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Address Underlying Determinants:<\/strong> Improve sanitation, safe drinking water, and women\u2019s education, all of which significantly influence nutrition outcomes.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Empower women<\/strong> through self-help groups (SHGs) and community mobilisation for dietary awareness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data-Driven Governance:<\/strong> Use tools like Poshan Tracker, NFHS, and Health Management Information System (HMIS) for district-level targeting.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focus on outcomes such as stunting reduction, not just input delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/agriculture\/use-science-for-improving-agriculture-pm-modi-says-at-estic\/article70237526.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">At the inaugural session of the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 PM Modi urged the scientific community to focus on moving from food security to nutrition security.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Status of Food Security in India<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">According to the Third Advance Estimates for 2024-25, India has achieved record foodgrain production of 353.96 million tonnes, including 117.51 million tonnes of wheat and 149.07 million tonnes of rice.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 ensures subsidised foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries, covering 75% of rural and 50% of urban populations.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">As of July 2025, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have a total of 917.83 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) storage capacity for central pool grains.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">However food security does not ensure nutritional security.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-11-2025\/shift-food-to-nutrition-security\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58434"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58493,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58434\/revisions\/58493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}