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<ul><li>The number of children with <keyword id="14094" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="anaemia" source="Orion">anaemia</keyword> has increased from 58% in 2015-16 to 67% in 2019-21 in India, says the State of Inequality report.</li><li>92.5% of children in Ladakh suffer from this health condition.</li><li>India has the highest percentage of anaemia as compared to other countries in the South Asian region.</li></ul>India is facing yet another health emergency and it’s affecting our children - aneamia. The number of children facing this condition caused by iron deficiency has increased from 58% in 2015-16 to 67% in 2019-21, says the State of Inequality report released by Dr Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The cold desert of Ladakh situated in difficult terrain fares the worst - as 92.5% of its children suffer from this health condition. Gujarat comes next with 78% - and this percentage has been growing in the state. The report said that it can be handled by giving importance to nutritional deficiency and ensure that poverty or discrimination isn’t causing it. “Every household should be empowered enough that the Cost of Recommended Diet (CoRD24) is not more than 16% of their household consumption expenditure,” the report said. <div type="image" title="States with highest percentage of anaemic women" msid="91659659" hostid="261"></div> Aneamia is a health condition wherein the body lacks healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen, causing fatigue and a weak immune system. It makes an individual more prone to infections - and in children, it affects their physical and cognitive development. This is majorly caused due to iron and folic acid deficiency. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Anaemia is going down in tribal-dominated areas" comment="subhead" text="Anaemia is going down in tribal-dominated areas">Anaemia is going down in tribal-dominated areas</cmsannotation> As many as 59% of adolescent girls and 57% of women of reproductive age suffer from it, in India. It is much lower for adolescent boys and men at 31% and 25%, respectively. Bihar has the highest percentage of <keyword id="1059161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anaemic-women" source="Orion">anaemic women</keyword> at 76%, as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS) - 5. This percentage has also been growing. Ladakh and Gujarat come next with more than 60% of their women suffering from it. The condition has been declining in tribal-dominated areas like Madhya Pradesh, Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli and Daman &amp; Diu, Nagaland, Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands — probably due to focussed attention and interventions. Andaman and Nicobar Islands showed the biggest decline of 8%, while Himachal Pradesh also saw a similar decline. The number of pregnant women suffering from aneamia across India however went up to 52% from 50% earlier. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India has the highest prevalence of anaemia in South Asia" comment="subhead" text="India has the highest prevalence of anaemia in South Asia">India has the highest prevalence of anaemia in South Asia</cmsannotation> Among the developing countries, India has the highest percentage of anaemia as compared to other countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh in the South Asian region. As per WHO estimates, Indian cases of the condition are much higher than the global average of 39.8% for children and 36.5% for pregnant women. However, the highest has been observed in Nigeria with 55% – and India with 52% isn’t too far behind. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/heatwave-has-turned-acs-from-a-luxury-to-a-necessity-but-margins-remain-muted-for-the-players/articleshow/91655568.cms">Heatwave has turned ACs from a luxury to a necessity — but margins remain muted for the players</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tvs-new-iqube-electric-scooter-comparison-with-ather-450x-and-ola-s1-pro/articleshow/91657740.cms">TVS launches new iQube electric scooter in India – here’s how it fares against the Ather 450X and Ola S1 Pro</a>

Almost all —  92% — of Ladakh children suffer from anaemia and the rest of the country isn’t faring any better either

Workers of this women-majority industry suffer from <keyword id="53500" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TB" source="Orion">TB</keyword>, respiratory issues and allergies, but earn far less than the <keyword id="85252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="MINIMUM-WAGES" source="Orion">minimum wages</keyword> due to the lack of execution of government directives. Kashmeera Biwi (50) has a persistent cough and cold, but it comes as no surprise considering that she rolls beedis all day long. "There is little we can do about it. This is our livelihood," says Biwi exasperatedly. A resident of Railway Colony in Murshidabad district's Farakka, she has been involved in beedi-rolling for decades. A mother of five, Biwi is the main earning member of her family. Her elder daughter is married, and her younger one Bobby Khatoon (19) is in college. She helps out her mother during her free time. Biwi's husband is unemployed, while all her sons run their own mobile shops. Almost all the women in Farakka, except those working as domestic helpers, are part of the beedi industry. "Even women from well-off families join in because the presence of a personal income gives them a sense of self-reliance," says Biwi's son <keyword id="2505316" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="babar-sheikh" source="Orion">Babar Sheikh</keyword> (28). In the shadow of tuberculosis Dr Mosiur Rahaman, Block Medical Officer of Health at the Farakka Block Primary Health Centre, says tuberculosis (TB) cases are high in Farakka and beedi-making is to blame. "Our hospital tests 200 to 250 suspected TB patients every month, of which 30 to 40 are confirmed," Dr Rahman tells 101Reporters. This suggests that around 20 per cent of patients test positive for TB, every month. A paediatrician by specialisation, he elaborates: "We get a lot of cases of children suffering from allergies and shortness of breath. Pregnant women get exposed to harmful ingredients while at work, which in turn leave a lasting impact on the foetuses." Various studies show that occupational tobacco leads to a higher risk of decreased birth weight. Dr Sadia Nourin from the same hospital adds, "Tobacco contains dangerous components such as nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, ammonia, radioactive elements, and benzene, which are considered responsible for cancer." The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 also paints a grim picture. The report finds 72.1 per cent of children in the six to 59 months group in Murshidabad district anaemic. Also, 78 per cent of non-pregnant and 66.7 per cent of pregnant women in the 15-49 age bracket are anaemic. These figures are significantly higher than the NFHS-4 data. According to research conducted five years ago on the health condition of 103 women beedi workers in Kalyani of Nadia district, each woman rolls beedis for five hours a day, and most of them complain of asthma, anaemia, dizziness, breathlessness, palpitation, cough, sneezing and sore throat. Two-thirds have symptoms of high blood pressure, too. The average age of these workers is 38.69, with a third under the age of 20. An article in the International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Studies quotes the 2015 estimate of the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, which states there are 64 lakh beedi workers in India. The study on 120 women beedi workers found that 78.3 per cent suffered from headaches, back pain and knee pain. An average of 23.3 per cent had asthma and 28.3 per cent had respiratory complications. To make matters worse, beedi workers do not understand the need to mask up. "Even during the pandemic, they wore masks only because they feared fines," says Babar <keyword id="4395977" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sheikh" source="Orion">Sheikh</keyword>. When asked if she would wear a mask, Vandana (25) says, "I will think about it if the government makes it mandatory." Abysmal wages Beedis are manufactured on a large scale in Murshidabad district of West Bengal and the adjoining Pakur district of Jharkhand. Noimuddin Momin, (50) claims 70 per cent of people in Farakka are associated with the industry and adds that "no union for beedi workers operates here." However, Murshidabad District <keyword id="14907655" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="beedi-mazdoor" source="Orion">Beedi Mazdoor</keyword> and Porter Union is active in the district. According to the 2011 Census, Farakka block had a population of 2.74 lakh, with the current estimate at 3.5 lakh. As it is on the Ganga's banks, men were into fishing mostly. However, the dwindling catch rendered it unprofitable. An NTPC power plant employs some men in the locality. Phoolo Rai (55) says the current market rate for rolling is Rs 175 per 1,000 beedis. However, most workers can roll only up to 600 beedis. So, they cannot earn more than Rs 80 per day. Indu <keyword id="1360075" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="basak" source="Orion">Basak</keyword> (33) says she manages to earn Rs 100 to Rs 150 a day with her elder daughter's contribution. "This money is essential to keep the family fed and clothed," adds Basak, whose household comprises her e-rickshaw driver husband, a son aged 15, and two daughters aged 13 and 10. "We waited for four years for the implementation of minimum wages, but in vain," says Md Azad, president, Murshidabad District Beedi Mazdoor and Porter Union. "Last year, we reached an agreement with factory owners, whereby it was decided that the minimum wage would be Rs 267.44 per 1,000 beedis. Yet, workers are getting only around Rs 175. "As per the law, factories should pay minimum wages to both contractual and full-time workers. We are aware that workers are being paid less in many places, but we cannot act unless there is an official complaint," explains Bidhan Chandra Mandal, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Berhampore. Momin, a beedi worker earlier, is a munshi to Dhiman Saha, a factory owner in the locality. Being a munshi is the highest promotion a worker can expect. But even this post does not provide social security or fixed working hours. Saha supplies beedis to factories in Aurangabad, Dhulian, Kaliachak, and Jangipur, from where they are sold under company labels. Tendu leaves for beedis come from Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra, while tobacco is from Gujarat. Locally available threads are used to bind beedis. According to the figures from a state government survey, West Bengal has 20 lakh beedi workers. "The Centre campaigns for tobacco eradication, but no alternative employment has been offered to these workers, who plan to protest at all block offices and district magistrate's office on September 8," informs Azad. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mistrys-funeral-on-tuesday-familys-moving-tribute-omits-tata-stint-lead/articleshow/94018009.cms">Mistry's funeral on Tuesday, family's moving tribute omits Tata stint (Lead)</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/dreamfolks-services-beats-grey-market-expectations-lists-at-a-55-premium/articleshow/94017839.cms">DreamFolks Services beats grey market expectations, lists at a 55% premium</a>

Female beedi rollers from Farakka suffer from TB and 'lower-than-minimum' wages

The number of undernourished people in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> has declined in the last 15 years to 224.3 million in 2019-2021, according to a UN report, which also said that there are more obese adults and anaemic women in the <keyword id="6354507" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="world" source="Orion">world</keyword>'s second most populous country. The <keyword id="5004571" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="state-of-food-security-and-nutrition" source="Orion">State of Food Security and Nutrition</keyword> in the World 2022 report, issued on Wednesday by UN agencies <keyword id="397960" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="food-and-agriculture-organisation" source="Orion">Food and Agriculture Organisation</keyword> (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, <keyword id="49053" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-food-programme" source="Orion">World Food Programme</keyword> (WFP) and the <keyword id="6356311" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organisation" source="Orion">World Health Organisation</keyword> (WHO), said that the number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report said that in India, the number of undernourished people declined to 224.3 million in 2019 21 from 247.8 million in 2004-06. It said that the number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted declined to 36.1 million in 2020 from 52.3 million in 2012, the number of children under five years of age who are overweight declined to 2.2 million in 2020 from three million in 2012. However, the number of obese adults in India, which has a population of over 1.38 billion, grew to 34.3 million in 2016 from 25.2 million in 2012 and the number of women aged 15 to 49 years affected by anaemia also grew to 187.3 million in 2019 from 171.5 million in 2012. The report added that the number of children up to 5 months of age exclusively breastfed touched 14 million in 2020 from 11.2 million in 2012. In percentage terms, the prevalence of undernourishment in the total population in India stood at 21.6 per cent in 2004-06 and declined to 16.3 per cent in 2019-21, the prevalence of stunting in children under 5 years of age declined to 30.9 per cent in 2020 from 41.7 per cent in 2012 and the prevalence of overweight children under five years of age was 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 2.4 per cent in 2012. The prevalence of obesity in India's adult population increased to 3.9 per cent in 2016 from 3.1 per cent in 2012 and anaemic women aged 15 to 49 years declined marginally from 53.2 per cent in 2012 to 53 per cent in 2019. The report also noted that in India, people who were unable to afford a healthy diet touched 973.3 million in 2020 or nearly 70.5 per cent, up from 948.6 million in 2019 (69.4 per cent). In 2017, about a billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in India and this number has declined to 966.6 million in 2018. The report noted that subsidies to consumers provided in Lower- Income Countries and Middle-Income Countries most often take the form of in-kind or cash transfers under the social protection programmes. India and Indonesia, for example, provide substantial subsidies to final consumers under the Targeted Public Distribution System for grains in India, and the food assistance programme (BPNT) based on electronic vouchers for rice, in Indonesia, it said. The most prominent example of a (Lower-middle-income countries) LMIC is India, where the food and agricultural policy has historically focused on protecting consumers by ensuring affordable food prices, through export restrictions (on wheat, non-basmati rice, and milk, among others) and through marketing regulations around pricing and public procurement, public food stockholding and distribution of a vast range of agricultural commodities, it said. As such, farmers have constantly faced price disincentives in aggregate terms (negative NRPs). Input subsidies and expenditure on general services such as in R&amp;D and infrastructure have been widely used as a means of compensating them for the price disincentives generated by trade and market measures, and for boosting production and self-sufficiency in the country, it added. The report noted that after remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021, to 9.8 per cent of the world population. This compares with 8 per cent in 2019 and 9.3 per cent in 2020. World hunger rose in 2021, with around 2.3 billion people facing moderate or severe difficulty obtaining enough to eat -- and that was before the Ukraine war, which has sparked increases in the cost of grain, fertiliser and energy, according to the report. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World paints a grim picture, based on 2021 data, saying the statistics should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms , it explained. It warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine, is disrupting supply chains and further affecting prices of grain, fertiliser and energy resulting in more price increases in the first half of 2022. At the same time, they said, more frequent and extreme climate events are also disrupting supply chains, especially in low-income countries. Ukraine and Russia together produced almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil, while Russia and its ally Belarus are the world's No. 2 and 3 producers of potash, a key ingredient of fertiliser. Nearly 924 million people (11.7 per cent of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years. The gender gap in food insecurity continued to rise in 2021 --- 31.9 per cent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6 per cent of men --- a gap of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 3 percentage points in 2020. Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it. An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children's risk of death by up to 12 times. Furthermore, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight. This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities, the heads of the five UN agencies wrote in this year's Foreword. The issue at stake is not whether adversities will continue to occur or not, but how we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks, it added. (By Yoshita Singh <keyword id="6355833" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="united-nations" source="Orion">United Nations</keyword>) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/golden-girl-p-t-usha-becomes-the-eighth-keralite-to-be-honoured-with-a-rajya-sabha-nomination/articleshow/92716060.cms">Golden girl P.T. Usha becomes the eighth Keralite to be honoured with a Rajya Sabha nomination</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbis-moves-to-boost-forex-inflows-could-have-an-impact-on-domestic-borrowing-rates/articleshow/92715761.cms">RBI's moves to boost forex inflows could have an impact on domestic borrowing rates</a>

India has fewer undernourished people now but obesity and anaemia are on the rise

New Delhi, Dec 12 () Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said there is a need to re-look at public policies for small, medium and solo entrepreneurs so that highest standards of services reach them and they also get access to cheaper credit.
 He also said women need to be given special attention on nutrition and education, as these are important for them to become successful entrepreneurs.
 "I think there is a huge need for financial sector reforms, re-calibration..there is a huge supply bottleneck of credit in the financial system for small, medium and solo enterprises," Kumar said at an event here.
 He said that often, it happens that these people borrow money at a high cost of 3 per cent per month and there is a need to see what can be done in this area using technology.
 "We need to see how to create the culture of bringing angel investors for these small enterprises, how to bring technology...we have to see what could be public policy steps to ensure that the small, medium and solo enterprises have access to the highest and most-developed forms of services that they need. We need to focus on our policy," Kumar said.
 Services such as access to credit, technology, market and information are readily available to the formal sector but not to the informal sector, he said.
 "At the moment, there is nothing like that (access of services to the informal sector). As pointed out in the last economic census, we had 6 million economic units and 50 per cent of those are small, very small in the informal sector without any access to anything in the formal sector and, therefore, they employ only 13 per cent of the total employable," Kumar said.
 He added that it is good to dream about the fact that 50 per cent of the gross domestic product would come from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) but at the moment, we are too far away,"
 He said the Indian entrepreneurs are the best in the world but they face lack of services that a developed state can provide.
 Talking about women entrepreneurs, Kumar said the ground reality is that there are women who are undernourished and it is even higher in case of female child.
 "This is the ground reality, which if we don't tackle now, I think all our dreams will come crashing down because anaemic women, anaemic mothers, undernourished children don't become entrepreneurs, they simply are fighting to survive," he said.
 "We have to take that into account and think that 3-4 per cent of our children are undernourished."
 The Niti Aayog vice-chairman also said there is mentality to think that women cannot become successful entrepreneurs.
 "Therefore, we need to start off with two or three major things if we want to achieve what we want. One, I think we need to do whatever we can to end the situation of women undernourishment, and along with that, we need to focus on women education," he said.
 "Unless you do those two things, I think rest of the things will not matter and women education is actually in a worse situation," he added. KPM HRS

Need to re-look at public policies for service access to MSMEs, solo entrepreneurs: Niti Aayog chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the global food situation wherein "more than 820 million people do not have enough to eat" while one billion tonnes of food is wasted every year. In his message on '<keyword id="59209" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Food-Day">World Food Day</keyword>', which was released here on Thursday by the UN India, he said, "It is unacceptable that hunger is on the rise at a time when the world wastes more than one billion tonnes of food every year." Two billion men, women, and children are overweight or obese. Unhealthy diets present an enormous risk of disease and death, Guterres said, adding that "it is time to change how we produce and consume, including to reduce greenhouse emissions". World Food Day marked call for zero hunger "for a world where nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere". Transforming food systems is crucial for delivering all the sustainable development goals (SDG) and "that is why I hope to convene a 'Food Systems Summit in 2021' as part of a decade of action to deliver SDG. As a human family, a world free of hunger is our imperative, he said. Climate emergency was an increasing threat to food, the UN Secretary General warned. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report, India has the world's largest undernourished population with 194.4 million (14.5 per cent). About 20.8 per cent children under the age of five years are underweight. Similarly, 37.9 per cent of children in that age group are stunted. As high as 51.4 per cent of Indian women in the reproductive age of 15-49 years are anaemic, the report claimed. JBL KJ

UN Secy says 820 million people go hungry as billion tonnes of food is wasted

Cancer is an unnatural growth of cells that wrecks the healthy environment of the body. The complications associated with it is not because of the disease, but due to the delayed diagnosis as the symptoms are mostly unclear at times. India has recorded a 333 per cent increase in online consultations with oncologists between January and December 2020, as per Practo's latest insights report. Of the total online consultations, 40 per cent came from non-metro cities while 60 per cent from metro cities. Non-metros recorded a steep 932 per cent increase in the number of online consultations, while the metro cities grew by 410 per cent. The findings indicated increased awareness about the disease and improved access to cancer specialists online, especially in non-metro cities - from 5 per cent in 2018 and 20 per cent in 2019 to 40 per cent in 2020. Meanwhile, a new observation was made in 2020 - the top searched queries were different in different parts of the country. People in non-metro cities enquired more about types of cancer such as bladder, thyroid, ovaries, and anal. In metro cities, on the other hand, the majority of queries revolved around more common types of cancer (like blood, breast, cervical, and oral). On <keyword id="104309" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Cancer-Day">World Cancer Day</keyword> marked across the globe on February 4 every year, Oncologist at Practo shares a list of commonly ignored symptoms, which could be warning signs of cancer. Cancers are painless when they start and so they get ignored by the patient and doctors alike. Anaemia: Tiredness in cancer is usually due anaemia (lack of blood) and deficiency of nutrition. The cancer drains most of nutrients from the body in its race to grow rapidly. Also there is bleeding from cancer tissue that makes one anaemic. Blood while passing stool: Very often, this is due to piles or similar causes. However, colon cancer and rectum cancer can also cause this. If a person happens to find blood in stool, it is wise to do colonoscopy to look inside of the colon. Cancer of colon can cause change in bowel habit (like alternating constipation and diarrhoea) Blood in urine: This always requires further tests. Cancer of the kidney or urinary bladder or prostate can result in blood in urine. The worst part is this bleeding can be irregular. This infrequency makes patients ignore this symptom. Even one episode of blood in urine needs through examination. Bleeding in between periods (women): Any bleeding that does not follow the usual pattern of menstrual period is a warning sign. Cancer of the uterus or cervix can cause these kinds of symptoms. Patients with cervical cancer also bleed after sexual intercourse. A patch or wound inside mouth: Oral or mouth cancers are common in India. These cancers start as a patch or wound and progress over months. If diagnosed early they can be treated effectively. Lump or swelling: Cancers of breast and limb begin as painless lumps or swellings and progress over months. Any newly appearing lumps or swellings should be thoroughly examined. Loss of weight without trying: A sudden weight loss when you are not dieting needs investigations. As cancer consumes most of the nutrition that you take, you tend to lose it. Loss of appetite and bloating food: This could be because of obstruction to bowel or because of a cancer secreting its toxic substances. Thorough examination is needed to reach a diagnosis. Lymph node enlargement: Lymph nodes are present everywhere in the body and function as filters. Most of the time they enlarge due to infections. The cancer cells also get filtered in these nodes and are trapped. They grow in these nodes and the nodes enlarge because of this growth. Trouble swallowing or vomiting after taking food are both warning signs of a cancer in the digestive tract. These need to be evaluated with endoscopic tests to identify the cause. Some patients have only persistent heartburns which are misdiagnosed as gastritis and treated only for months before correct diagnosis reveals itself. Pain is the last feature of cancer. Do not wait for it. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/new-citizenship-law-pulls-india-down-in-the-democracy-rankings-and-2021-is-not-looking-better/articleshow/80671194.cms">New citizenship law pulls India down in the democracy rankings — and 2021 is not looking better</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/bank-unions-strongly-oppose-divestment-bad-bank-and-fdi-in-insurance-with-threats-to-go-on-strike/articleshow/80668430.cms">Bank unions strongly oppose divestment, a bad bank and threaten to strike</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/budget-2021-22-prioritises-gaganyaan-indias-human-spaceflight-mission-over-all-others-heres-why/articleshow/80663272.cms">Budget 2021-22 prioritises Gaganyaan, India’s human spaceflight mission, over all others — here’s why</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-ratan-tata-and-anand-mahindra-might-come-together-for-indias-new-national-hydrogen-mission/articleshow/80645570.cms">Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, and Anand Mahindra might come together for India’s new National Hydrogen Mission</a>

World Cancer Day —  Ten warnings signs that could indicate an unnatural growth of cells

<keyword id="6355812" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yoga" source="Orion">Yoga</keyword> has the power to heal both physical as well as mental issues. Since we are now living the new normal where strength and well-being are necessary to survive, it's equally important to eat the right balance of food for overall healthy and happy living. Yoga principal of Ahimsa is commitment to protecting nature by choosing wholesome foods. What we eat, not only influences our physical wellbeing, but also our emotions and thoughts. Yoga does not dissect food into proteins, carbohydrates, or fats, instead it classifies them according to the effect they have on the body and mind, into three types - satva, rajas and tamas, points out Sheryl Salis, Registered Dietician, Naturopath and Certified Diabetes Educator. Tamasic food is the kind of food which makes us lethargic or sluggish, while Rajasic food is that which brings about activity or restlessness, whereas, Sattvic food is the kind which makes you feel light, energetic and enthusiastic, Salis says. "Not just the right kind of food, it is vital to eat the proper quantity of food at the right time. We might eat the right kind of food in the right quantity but if we are irregular with our timings then the whole system is disturbed, and the natural rhythm of the body is hampered. Listening to some soothing music or chanting while cooking and eating can help retain the Prana (life force energy) in the food." The expert lists down five food items that one should include in yoga diet to help you improve your lifestyle: Make healthier choices; add green boasters like Moringa Green teas and Green coffees to your routine Everyone is either a chai or a coffee lover and is guilty of sipping onto too many cuppas every day. Even though we love our hot beverages, they have their own positives and negatives. Switching these with a healthier alternative like Moringa Green tea gives you all the benefits of green tea with the nourishment of green booster Moringa. It is filled with vitamins, minerals and antioxidant properties which help build strength and boosted immunity. It also helps maintain bone &amp; joint health, regulate metabolism and aid in weight management thus bringing you much closer to your desired weight and health goals. For the ones who cannot get enough of coffee, enjoy the healthy benefits of three times the regular antioxidants and boosted immunity with tasty Green coffee. Green coffee is unlike regular coffee beans since they are not roasted which helps them retain three times the antioxidant potential which is lost during the roasting process otherwise. Dill leaves They are green foods that are not only good stress busters but also boost your immunity. Dill leaves are especially great for women as it stimulates and regulates menstrual flow and helps with the spasmodic menstrual pain in young girls. Women who face absence of menstruation due to being exposed to cold or are anaemic can benefit from including dill leaves in their diet too. Ladies can use the same after childbirth to increase the quantum of their breast milk. Cauliflower stem Everyone loves cauliflower and when talking about foods to aid yoga, cauliflower is a veggie whose stem is quite overlooked and not fully used. The stem of cauliflower is often neglected but is nutritious. Cauliflower stalks are higher in fibre, calcium and vitamin C. Thus, chop those stems and boil them in a pressure cooker to use it with other vegetables, make tasty soups, or sautée them with the vegetable itself for healthy meals. Amla As we all know fruits are loaded with nutrients like vitamins, minerals etc. that are important for a good over-all health and well-being. The Indian Gooseberry or more commonly known as Amla is one such fruit that is highly underrated but has a lot to offer. Amla contains the highest vitamin C content (600mg/100 g) amongst the citrus fruits which helps in boosting our body's immunity that in turn helps fight infections. Amla is one of the most versatile fruits since it can be eaten as dried amla too along with fresh amla. It has the same nutritional value as fresh ones and therefore can be stored and eaten all year as a fruit, fresh juice or powder. So go ahead and add this tangy fruit to your food and drink diet and enjoy the added immunity boost to your body. Barley Barley is a great superfood that contains essential vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of dietary fibre and in particular soluble fibre. This is so because unlike many grains which contain fibre only in the outer bran layer, barley contains fibre throughout the entire kernel. So whether you are consuming barley in its whole grain form or a processed barley product, its dietary fibres which include beta-glucan soluble fibre, is available in the products which have a positive impact in improving blood glucose levels and aids in weight loss. Not only barley grains but barley water is also useful as it is said to help with kidney stones.

International Yoga Day 2022: 5 foods to include in your yoga diet

<ul><li>India slipped ten places in the <keyword id="2040615" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Competitiveness-Index">Global Competitiveness Index</keyword>, ranking at 68.</li><li>The country’s ICT technology innovation capacity is growing but isn’t backed by investment in human capital.</li><li>India’s overall score is relatively stable but countries ranked near India demonstrated more growth.</li></ul>Getting more people online has been the goal of the current Indian government since its rise to power. Fall in the price of 3G and 4G data has also made it more affordable for people to connect to the internet. Despite these strides, India fell 10 places in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf">Global Competitiveness Index</a>, ranking at 68. India’s slip in the rankings is only partially because of the fall in its score — a drop of 0.7 points. The report notes that a greater factor may have been because other countries — which were previously ranked lower on the Global Competitiveness Index — have shown faster improvement, especially when it comes to the adoption of information and technology. India has improved significantly since 2017, but information and communication technology (ICT) continues to remain a challenge due to underlying factors like women participation in the workforce and weak workers’ policies. India and other emerging economies are also showing signs of stagnation and slowdown since their growth has largely been ‘anaemic’ — or unequal. India’s mixed results More ICT means more innovation, according to the WEF. In order to deal with the growth of their innovation capacity, emerging economies — like China, India and Brazil — need to strengthen their skills and labour market. Technological integration is good on paper. But, without human capital investment, it remains largely inadequate. India performed well in terms of innovation, ranking 35th in the world. But, it falls short when it comes to other foundational enablers of competitiveness on the Global Competitiveness Index. The one thing that does work in India’s favour is its market size. Even its financial sector ranks better than most other countries despite the high delinquency rate — that’s not to say that the banking system has not weakened. On the other hand, India ranks as low as 107th when it comes to skills, and is at 101th in terms of product market efficiency. The country’s labour market needs transformation in order to protect its workers and also encourage female participation in the world place — which is abysmally low at a rank of 128 — according to the WEF. This is also reflected the level of inequality in India. Income share of the top 10% in the country is higher than levels seen in the US, China and even Russia. India’s progress was good — Others were better The East Asia and Pacific region is the most competitive in the world. Countries like Singapore, Japan and Taiwan lead the charge on the rest of the world. In fact, Singapore holds the highest rank on the Global Competitive Index. But India lags woefully behind, according to the WEF. Countries ranked near India all show small, but significant improvements in their score. Vietnam, for instance, is ranked 67 and moved up 10 places in the index showing 3.5 points of improvement. Azerbaijan made an even greater jump of 11 places even though its competitive score only increased by 2.7 points to rank at 58. Turkey was able to maintain its rank at 61 but only because its performance improved by 0.5 points. One of the reasons for its improved competitiveness is the diffusion of the Internet across the country. Turkey’s also has more women participating in the workforce and has strengthened workers’ rights. Colombia, 57th on the Global Competitive Index, moved up three places brushing up its score by 1.1 points. India vs BRICS Among the BRICS nations, China is the best performer, maintaining its 28th position and outranking the Russian Federation at 43. That’s 40 places and 14 points ahead of India on the Global Competitive Index. China’s performance is almost at par with OECD standards. In fact, its ICT adoption outperforms all 25 of the OECD countries. South Africa, also moved up 7 places in the Global Competitive Index with a score improvement of 1.7 points ranking at 60. The only BRICS nation to rank lower than India is Brazil at 71. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-is-as-prepared-as-us-or-australia-to-welcome-the-5g-era/articleshow/71499916.cms" style="">India is as prepared as US or Australia to welcome the 5G era</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/digital-india-mckinsey-report-analysis-of-indias-digital-economy/articleshow/68686474.cms" style="">India is digitising fast but the pace is leaving many behind</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-schools-to-get-digital-boards/articleshow/68099142.cms" style="">From blackboards to digital boards: India infuses ₹90 billion to modernise classrooms</a>

India falls 10 places in Global Competitive Index as others race ahead in technology

Mumbai, May 14 () The poor in general, and those suffering from malnutrition among them, are at higher risks of contracting coronavirus infection, highlighting the weakness of the food and health systems across the world and more so in India, says a report.The Global Nutrition Report 2020 comes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic spreading at a much faster clip in the country, leaving over 78,000 infected and killing over 2,500. Tens of thousands of poor and daily wagers are on transit in most daring conditions across the country where public transport is still patchy, it said.The report notes that one in nine of the world's population or a whopping 820 million are hungry wherein India alone is the single largest contributor as most of them cannot access or afford healthy food, while one in three is overweight or obese.Ironically, the report said, both the under-fed poor/undernourished and the over-fed or the obese are at risks with the latter facing 10 times more risk from the deadly virus infection.It further said that following the spread of the pandemic, millions of households in formerly food-secure regions of the world have fallen into severe food insecurity, while in India various media reports say tens of millions of the migrant workers and their poor families face starvation as the lockdown lingers. The report also warns that the levels of hunger and malnutrition could double within the space of just a few weeks.Accordingly, the report calls for an overhaul of the world's food and health systems to tackle malnutrition, which has become a threat-multiplier given the coronavirus pandemic and its infectious grip over the poor which is now the leading cause of ill-health and deaths globally.The report says most of the poor across the world cannot access or afford healthy food primarily because of agricultural systems that favour calories over nutrition on one hand and on the other the ubiquity and low cost of highly processed foods."An increasing number of countries have the double burden of malnutrition, obesity and other diet-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer," notes the report.Venkatesh Mannar, a special adviser on nutrition to the Tata Trusts and the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, two of the organisations that has funded the report, told that "the COVID-19 has exposed the deep inequality of our food system, wherein both under-nutrition and over-nutrition as visible from abject poverty and obesity have come to the fore."And both of these segments of the people are at higher risk to COVID-19 infections. In fact, the obese are 10 more at risk to COVID infection and fatality than the rest of the populations," says Mannar.Asked whether most of the close to 3 lakh dead or the 4.3 million infected with the virus are poor and obese, he answered in the affirmative saying many studies have established that the obese are among largest of the dead.This is also evident from the fact that a vast majority of the dead are from the richest nations like the US, Britain, France, Italy and Spain and the least from Africa. At over 83,300 dead, nearly a fifth of the total casualties are in the US alone.On the peculiar condition of India where a third of its 136 crore are poor, Mannar said the bigger problem in the country is not poverty now as the number of the poor and the malnourished is coming down, but over-nutrition as the rate with which the number of the obese is rising much faster.As the world's leading report on the state of global nutrition, Global Nutrition Report 2020 underlines the need to address food inequity to end malnutrition in all its forms as food and health inequity are the major causes for malnutrition -– both under-nutrition and over-nutrition or overweight/ obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases.On the risk of more coronavirus infections among the poor and under-/over-nourished, the report says, "undernourished have weaker immune systems, and are at greater risk of severe illness due to the pandemic. At the same time, poor metabolic health, including obesity and diabetes, is strongly linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes including the risk of death".Stressing that good nutrition is an essential part of an individual's defence against the virus, the report says nutritional resilience is a key element of a society's readiness to combat the pandemic threat."Focussing on nutritional well-being provides opportunities for establishing synergies between public health and equity, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And the COVID-19 exposes the vulnerability and weaknesses of our already fragile food systems which is already stressed by increasing climate extremes," says the report.On India, the report notes that the country has had some success in reducing the number of underweight children and adolescents."Between 2000 and 2016, these rates declined from 66 to 58.1 per cent for boys and from 54.2 to 50.1 per cent for girls. But is still high compared to the average of 35.6 per cent for boys and 31.8 per cent for girls in Asia.Additionally, 37.9 per cent Indian children under-5 being stunted and 20.8 per cent wasted, compared to the Asia average of 22.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent, respectively, says the report.While diet-related illness continue to be an issue, with one in two women of reproductive age being anaemic, rates of overweight and obesity continue to rise, affecting almost one-fifth of adults with 21.6 per cent females and 17.8 per cent men being obese.Also, India is home to largest number of within-country malnutrition inequalities based on communities at the sub-national level, with UP having over 40 per cent children stunted on average and at 50.7 per cent among the poor. The same applies for overweight/obesity, where there are nearly double as many obese adult females than there are males -- 5.1 per cent against 2.7 per cent, the report said. BEN MKJ

Poor facing more risks from coronavirus due to malnutrition: Report

In the list of annual honours, released by the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> this year, you will find the name of Dr Balram Bhargava from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He has been awarded the Padma Shri. 
 
Every year, thousands of students aspiring for a career in medicine have AIIMS at the top of their priority list. Studying there is almost a sure-fire guarantee to a glittering career in medicine and often a pathway to the foreign shores. 
 
However, Dr Bhargava and others are now focusing on the concept of frugal innovation (now the subject of academic books) and using it to create a new family of low-cost, high-impact medical devices right here in India. 
 In Dr Bhargava’s case, his team is developing a chest compression device that helps treat cases of sudden cardiac arrest. Funded by the <keyword id="232223" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Wellcome-Trust">Wellcome Trust</keyword> of the UK, the device is currently in prototype stage. But given the increasing cost of production in the West, it is quite likely that mass-scale production (as and when it begins) will only start in countries like India and China. 
 Dr Bhargava is no stranger to innovation or foreign collaborations, though. Earlier, he had established the Center for Excellence for Stem Cell Studies where a lot of work has been done to cater to the patients suffering from dilated <keyword id="836702" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="cardiomyopathy">cardiomyopathy</keyword> – a world’s first in terms of treatment. He is also an executive director with the Stanford-India Biodesign Program, a joint venture between Stanford University, AIIMS and the IIT-Delhi, designed to promote medical innovations through shared expertise. 
 
That’s just one model of innovation, driven by a multi-agency collaboration approach. Going the garage start-up route is Mumbai-based medical devices firm Biosense, which last year secured $500,000 in seed funding from multiple investors. Its first product is ToucHb – a device that can screen for anaemia without using a needle to draw blood from the patient. In a country where nearly 52% of women are anaemic and childbirth problems due to this condition often turn out to serious, such devices can literally save lives. 
 
Since then, the company has introduced a smartphone-based diagnostic system called uChek that does urine analysis. This analysis can be used to treat a variety of ailments, including the 60 million or so Indians suffering from diabetes. Another device to test sugar levels, using the blood drawn from a patient, has also been rolled out recently. It is called SüChek. 
 
Ironically, India has not been a stranger to innovations in terms of health technology. The introduction of the now world-renowned Jaipur Foot almost four decades ago has amply proved what creative solutions, applied to Indian conditions, could do to benefit the world. However, the non-profit model behind such innovations has also exposed the weakness of this approach. 
 Companies like <keyword id="2243396" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="GE-Medical">GE Medical</keyword> and <keyword id="327914" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Philips-Healthcare">Philips Healthcare</keyword>, which have leveraged India’s pool of skilled human resources, have reaped the big bucks by successfully commercialising technology at an industrial scale. However, the vast majority of Indians still cannot leverage the benefits of their expensive products. 
 What India needs is a marriage of frugal innovation techniques, relevant to Indian needs, with a Western-style focus on scale and profitability. Start-ups like Forus Health, founded by Dr Shyam Vasudeva Rao, former head of technology at <keyword id="49855" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="philips">Philips</keyword> Healthcare’s India operations, might just be what the doctor ordered. 
 
India has a shockingly disproportionate number of visually impaired people, 12 million at the last count. In fact, one-fourth of the world’s visually challenged population lives in this country. Worse still, 80% of these people could have retained their eyesight, had they had timely medical attention. In a country with a 1:60,000 doctor-patient ratio, it is easy to understand where the problem lies. 
 
Forus’ solution called 3nethra is an ophthalmology device that is both portable and inexpensive, making it ideal for rural areas where the bulk of these cases occur. As highly trained ophthalmologists are in short supply in those areas, the device supports telemedicine interventions and provides automated reports for up to five common eyesight ailments. 
 
That India is unable to provide high quality healthcare to millions is not a unique issue. This is exactly why China has been an early adopter of 3nethra, giving some indication of the global market for such innovations. 
 
With such a compelling business proposition, Forus has no dearth of investors. Top VC firms like Accel Partners and IDG Ventures have backed the Bangalore-based company, and a Series B round of investment was also completed earlier this year. 
 
Such innovations, while costing a fraction of the competition, are cutting-edge ones; so low-cost innovations should not necessarily be interpreted as low-tech. In addition, it not only showcases India as a low-cost manufacturing destination but also as a premier location for high-end research, design and product development. 
 
Now, with the right addition of entrepreneurial dosage, India’s health sector may go from strength to strength. 
 
Image: Thinkstock

Low-cost Innovation May Transform India’s Healthcare Industry

India has emerged as the world’s fastest growing economy. However, Asia’s third largest economy just ranked 97th among 118 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released by the <keyword id="108578" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Food-Policy-Research-Institute">International Food Policy Research Institute</keyword> (<keyword id="6557928" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ifpri">IFPRI</keyword>). This puts the country behind even <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>, <keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword>, <keyword id="6355112" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iraq">Iraq</keyword>, and <keyword id="6354767" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nigeria">Nigeria</keyword> in the hunger map. 
 
India’s policy addressing hunger and malnutrition in all age groups has a feast of questions and a famine of answers. India’s hunger, being worse than any sub-Saharan country, needs crisis management and a long term vision. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Excise-duty-in-cigarette-hiked-Tobacco-farmers-in-india-are-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/articleshow/56872791.cms">ALSO READ: Excise duty in cigarette hiked. Tobacco farmers in India are struggling to make ends meet</a> 
 Be it <keyword id="4227644" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="manohar-das">Manohar Das</keyword> of <keyword id="4227647" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tewri">Tewri</keyword> village in <keyword id="6360371" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jharkhand">Jharkhand</keyword>, who works in hundred days of wage-employment or <keyword id="4227646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="shib-baksha">Shib Baksha</keyword> of <keyword id="4227645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="amlasol">Amlasol</keyword> village in <keyword id="61773" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="West-Midnapore">West Midnapore</keyword> district of <keyword id="6357783" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="West-Bengal">West Bengal</keyword>, who works as contract labour at nearby village, the thin line that connects them is the ignorance about ‘<keyword id="2209492" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Sarkar">Modi Sarkar</keyword>’. The only thing they understand by the government is getting staples at Rs 2/kg and free goodies. However, staples alone can’t fulfill nutritional needs, as a result they end up with stunted growth and other diseases. Not everyone is as lucky as them. Their neighbours, unable to procure <keyword id="49514" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="bpl">BPL</keyword> (below poverty level) identity cards and Ration Cards aren’t entitled to these basic facilities and have to starve most of the days. Only feast they can think of is ant eggs roast during the scorching summer months. 
 
 
 
India’s overall GDP growth is expected to end at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Excise-duty-in-cigarette-hiked-Tobacco-farmers-in-india-are-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/articleshow/56872791.cms">7.1% this financial year</a>, as compared to 4.6% two years back. While food still counts as the basic requirement of human existence, India is a country that not only produces enough, but ironically, there is never enough for its ever growing population to eat. Funnily, while millions go hungry, for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Excise-duty-in-cigarette-hiked-Tobacco-farmers-in-india-are-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/articleshow/56872791.cms">India storage of surplus food</a> has always been a problem. 
 
 
 
India’s hunger-management disaster 
While development in many sectors is acknowledged, what is lesser known is that India has also made considerable progress on many social fronts, such as fertility decline, expansion of schooling and bridging the gender gap in education, especially at the primary and lower secondary levels. However, there is one <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Excise-duty-in-cigarette-hiked-Tobacco-farmers-in-india-are-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/articleshow/56872791.cms">area of human development</a>, where India has been a disaster: tackling hunger and malnutrition. 
 
Child malnutrition rates in India are extraordinarily high- among the highest in the world, with nearly one-half of all children under 3 years of age being either underweight or stunted. Indeed, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Excise-duty-in-cigarette-hiked-Tobacco-farmers-in-india-are-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/articleshow/56872791.cms">child malnutrition rates </a>are higher in India than in many countries of sub-Saharan <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword>, even though income levels are significantly higher and levels of infant and child mortality are lower in India. 
 
 
 
Pediatric malnutrition Prevalence of child malnutrition in India has remained stubbornly high even after nearly a half-century of respectable agricultural productivity growth and two decades of post-reform economic growth and prosperity in the country. Adding more support to the view that child malnutrition is weakly correlated with income is the finding that among children of mothers with 10 or more years of schooling as well as mothers from the top income quintile, around one-quarter are underweight. Even in a relatively prosperous and dynamic state like <keyword id="6354766" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gujarat">Gujarat</keyword>, child malnutrition rates have been stagnant over the past decade. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-indepay-is-making-rural-india-cashless/articleshow/57232771.cms">ALSO READ: HOW INDEPAY IS MAKING RURAL INDIA CASHLESS</a> 
 The <keyword id="121300" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Family-Health-Survey">National Family Health Survey</keyword> (NFHS) found that a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-indepay-is-making-rural-india-cashless/articleshow/57232771.cms">significant number of adults</a> in India suffer from malnutrition. Almost 58 per cent of pregnant women aged 15-49 were found to be anaemic. The Global Food Security Index also revealed that Indians lack adequate quantities of iron, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-indepay-is-making-rural-india-cashless/articleshow/57232771.cms">Vitamin A and protein in their diets</a>. 
 
 
 
“Half of the children who die before five years of age have malnutrion as a cause in their pathogenesis. If we look at proportion of weight at birth, 23 per cent of children weigh less than 2.5 kg, which is below normal. This low birth weight has its reason in the womb, which is where they are malnourished already before being born. Low birth weight increases over time and so by the time they are three-years-old, half the children are malnourished. Because of poor sanitation we have widespread <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-indepay-is-making-rural-india-cashless/articleshow/57232771.cms">faecal oral contamination</a>. Water and food sources have high degrees of contamination and it results in diarrhoea and other gastro intestinal illnesses, which increases the child mortality rate,” said renowned public health specialist and activist Dr <keyword id="43944" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Binayak-Sen">Binayak Sen</keyword>. 
 
 
 
State of famine 
In 1943, three million people died in the infamous <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841">Bengal famine</a>. There was no shortage of grain in <keyword id="6356978" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengal">Bengal</keyword> at that time, yet people had nothing to eat. Interpreting the Famine of 1943,<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841"> Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen </a>suggested that the reason for it was the breakdown of the social arrangement in distributing food. To put the matter in a world context, every three seconds somewhere around the world, a child dies of causes related to avoidable malnutrition. "In those three seconds, the world armaments industry spends 120,000 USD in order to keep the system responsible safely in place,” Binayak Sen told <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword>. 
 
 
 
Ignorant policies that do the most harm Skyrocketing prices of daily food items spell more woe for the people, who are already paying "too much" to survive. International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (<keyword id="1367836" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IFAD">IFAD</keyword>) Rural Poverty Report-2011 states, “While international food prices have declined since mid-2008, they are still substantially higher than prior to the price surge, and they are likely to remain at 2010 levels or higher for the next decade.” The report has suggested that about 100 million of world’s rural and urban people have to remain hungry. 
 “It will remain high, the era of cheap food is over," said <keyword id="669006" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Richard-Mahapatra">Richard Mahapatra</keyword>, managing editor of Down to <keyword id="6359982" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="earth">Earth</keyword>. "This is because productivity of agriculture is low and thus impacts production. This is the supply side issue. Also the rainfed areas that contribute a signifcant amount of foodgrain is not getting the policy focus. Even though the new second Green <keyword id="24385" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="revolution">Revolution</keyword> is aimed at that, it seems to be flawed. Now, the demand side. Demand is increasing but we don't have robust distribution mechanism. So, it creates further price rise. Also, there is huge diversion of agricultural lands to other uses. Combined with low productivity, less lands and absence of distribution mechanism, we are set for high price rise.” 
 Due to the PDS (<keyword id="89442" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Public-distribution-system">Public Distribution System</keyword>) and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841">public wage programmes</a> starvation deaths have definitely come down, he contended. Often we call cheap food grain programmes as populist. They are indeed popular as poor find them useful and their starvation is avoided with this entitlement. 
 
 
 
Adult malnutrition 
“Roughly 33-35 per cent of the entire Indian population have a BMI below 18.5, which is indicative of calorie malnutrition. They aren't getting enough food to eat. More than one-third of India is on a chronic basis not getting proper food to eat. Low BMI is also restricting people’s immunity,” said Binayak Sen. 
 “Without addressing nutritional status, there can be no adequate development. Food Security Act does nothing for betterment of nutritional status of the poeple as such. <keyword id="250148" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Bill">The Bill</keyword> is like 'something is better than nothing'. Five kilos of wheat per person per month make two chapattis per day. With two chapatis the nutritional question isn’t answered. This terrible nutritional deficit is yielding polarization in society,” he added. 
 
Urban malnutrition 
In villages, people stay in close bond with each other, who can be approached for help in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841">times of crisis</a>. Migrating people in cities start living in slums and ghettos, where they have to live with people unknown and untrustworthy. Moreover, people fight here to make ends meet, which actually leads to self-centric attitude. 
 
Red corridor hunger 
“People who are in chronic situation and stable famine are able to withstand only because of their access to natural resources like land, water and forest," opined Binayak Sen. "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841">Access to this resources was unrestricted</a>. Designating the common properties as commodities that can be owned by corporates is restricting poeple’s right to access and in a way right to live. Any form of resistance is labelled as insurgency. First they try civil ways and then take recourse in military measures. People have to confront. Application of eminent domain needs to be questioned. Under 5th schedule, govt has to ensure people’s access to natural resources but there is not a single instances of government intervening.” 
 
“They have mapped it as red corridor but poeple’s deprivation hasn't been mapped yet," said Sen. 
 
"We need to relook at the arm forces and UAPA laws. Whole discourse in election has become restricted to attitudes to development. Development is about accessing resources. Nobody is saying there are vital issues involved. What is going to happen to the poeple whose right has been denied? State will not be thwarted in its course. There needs to be a contestaion in the level of people. They need to raise the issue.” 
 
Business Insider’s Take 
Agriculture contributes around 16 per cent to<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=%22Suchayan%20Mandal%22&amp;author=Suchayan-Mandal-479239841"> India’s GDP</a>; it is coming down over the years. But still 60 per cent people depend on this. What does this mean? Is it that it is reliable as a source of livelihood or people don't have any other source thus depend on agriculture? In both the cases, shifting people out of agriculture is going to be a tough challenge. Industries or the service sectors have their own limitation and can't absorb such a huge number of people. Strategically, this will be a blunder as we kill out food self-sufficiency.

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Almost all — 92% — of Ladakh children suffer from anaemia and the rest of the country isn’t faring any better either

Vaamanaa Sethi

Female beedi rollers from Farakka suffer from TB and 'lower-than-minimum' wages

IANS

India has fewer undernourished people now but obesity and anaemia are on the rise

PTI

Need to re-look at public policies for service access to MSMEs, solo entrepreneurs: Niti Aayog chief

PTI

UN Secy says 820 million people go hungry as billion tonnes of food is wasted

PTI

World Cancer Day — Ten warnings signs that could indicate an unnatural growth of cells

IANS

International Yoga Day 2022: 5 foods to include in your yoga diet

IANS

India falls 10 places in Global Competitive Index as others race ahead in technology

Prabhjote Gill

Poor facing more risks from coronavirus due to malnutrition: Report

PTI

Low-cost Innovation May Transform India’s Healthcare Industry

Preetam Kaushik

BI Investigation: India’s food nightmare is killing millions of children across the country every day

Suchayan Mandal

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