India fares poorly on condition of children

The number of underweight Indian children under the age of five is dismal when compared with the other members of BRICS. India has reduced malnutrition, but here it is 13 times worse than Brazil, nine times worse than China and three times worse than South Africa.

Yet, Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) data when compared with data from National Family Health Survey 2 (1995-96) and National Health Survey 3 (2005-06) indicates a clear reduction in the percentage of children identified as malnourished. India's ranking among neighbours has improved; it is now next to Nepal, marginally better off with 29.1 per cent of children under the age of five underweight. The percentage of stunted children dropped from 51 per cent in 1999 to 38.7 per cent in 2013-14.

Similarly, the percentage of underweight children has come down from 42.7 per cent to 29.4 per cent over the period. The percentage of children who are wasted was 19.7 per cent in 1999-2000, which increased to 22.9 per cent in 2006-07. In 2013-14, the figure declined to 15.4 per cent.