Nutrition Smart Village Initiative

Nutrition Smart Village Initiative

A programme on “Nutrition Smart Village” will be initiated to strengthen the Poshan Abhiyan.

• It will be part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to commemorate the 75th year of Independence of India.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s call to adopt and transform 75 villages.
  • A total of 75 villages will be adopted by All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) centres and Indian Council of Agricultural Research -Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (ICAR-CIWA).
• Objective:
  
  • To promote nutritional awareness, education and behavioural change in rural areas involving farm women and school children.
  • Harnessing traditional knowledge through the local recipe to overcome malnutrition.
  • Implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture through homestead agriculture and Nutri-garden.
• Poshan Abhiyan:
  
  • About:
    
    • Also called National Nutrition Mission, was launched on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8^th March, 2018.
    • The Abhiyan targets to reduce Stunting, undernutrition, Anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
    • It also targets to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
  • Poshan 2.0:
    
    • Recently, the Ministry for Women and Child Development inaugurated Poshan 2.0 and urged all Aspirational Districts to establish a Poshan Vatika (nutrition garden) during the Nutrition Month (Poshan Mah) (from 1^st September, 2021).
• Scenario of Malnutrition in India:
  
  • Despite decades of investment to tackle this malaise, India’s child malnutrition rates are still one of the most alarming in the world.
    
    • The Global Hunger Index (2021) — which is calculated on the basis of total undernourishment of the population, child stunting, wasting and child mortality — places India at the 101^st spot among 116 countries.
  • The bane of child and maternal malnutrition is responsible for 15% of India’s total disease burden.
  • According to the data from the fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (2019-2021) from the 22 states surveyed so far, only 9 showed a decline in the number of stunted children, 10 in wasted children and six in underweight children.
  • Research suggests that USD 1 spent on nutritional interventions in India could generate USD (34.1 to 38.6) in public economic returns three times more than the global average.
  • Studies reveal that India loses up to 4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and up to 8% of its productivity due to child malnutrition.
• Other Related Government Initiatives:
  
  • Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan
  • Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN)
  • The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
  • Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)