The proportion of malnourished children in under five age group in the country has reduced, the government today said while noting that it has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition.
Health Minister J P Nadda in a written reply in Lok Sabha said that the government has also taken note of a report which said India tops world hunger list with 194 million.
"As per National Family Health Survey-3 2005-06, the proportion of malnourished children in under five age group was 42.5 per cent and has reduced to 29.4 per cent as per Rapid Survey of Children in 2012-13," he said.
"Yes. As per the report, India tops world hunger list with 194 million," Nadda said to the question whether the government has taken note of the report titled "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015".
'He said that the government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition in the country and implementing several schems and programmes of different ministries through state government administrations.
Replying to another question, Minister of State for Health Shripad Naik said that as per the 68th round of Nutritional Intake in India 2011-12 of the National Statistical Organisation, average dietary energy intake per person per day was 2233 KCal for rural India and 2206 for urban India.
"All the major states had per capital rural/urban levels of calorie intake within 11 per cent (plus or minus) of all India rural and urban average," Naik said.
He said that at the all-India level, protein intake per person per day was 60.7 gms in the rural areas and 60.3 gms in the urban areas. The range of inter-state variation for major states was appreciably wider in rural sector where per capita intake per day varied from 52 gms (Chhattisgarh) to about 73 gms (Haryana) than in urban where it varies from 55 gms (Assam) to 69 gms (Haryana).
He said that in some poorer states, protien intake was markedly lower in rural sector than in urban like in Jharkhand.
"On the other hand, in states with highest level of protien intake -- Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab, it was the rural population and not the urban that had higher protien intake," Naik said.
