The union ministries of food processing and food and consumer affairs are also examining the possibilities of distributing fortified rice and wheat flour through the public distribution system (PDS) in the country. Already the Haryana government has decided to launch a pilot project in Panchkula for distribution of fortified flour through PDS. The flour is being fortified with iron, floric acid and vitamins B2, B6 and B12.

The union ministry of food processing has asked the CFTRI, Mysore, for examining the possibilities of fortifying rice. The food ministry is examining the likely increase inquantum of subsidy for distributing fortified rice and flour through PDS.

Both the Food & Nutrition Bureau and Food & Nutrition Board under the Department of Women and Child Development have noted with concern that despite the country overcoming famines through `green revolution' and increasing production and procurement of foodgrains to a record level, the country has not attained food security at the household level. There are still seven per cent rural households and three per cent urban households that do not get even two square meals a day throughout the year.

Another point of equity is the intra-household food insecurity reflecting the inequitous distribution of food between men, women and children in the family. Various forms of malnutrition continue to afflict a vast majority of the population. The levels of child malnutrition are also unacceptably high.

According to the latest Unicef report, 33 per cent of infants in India are with low birth weight, 53 per cent of under-fives suffer frommoderate to severe underweight and 21 per cent of under-fives suffer from severe underweight. About 18 per cent of under-fives suffer from moderate to severe wasting diseases and 52 per cent of under-fives suffer from moderate to severe stunted growth. About nine per cent of children within the age group of 6-11 years suffer from goitre.

In this context, the Department of Women and Child Development has called for developing the nutritional standards of both the mother and child under the existing ICDS and school children under the mid-day meal scheme. It noted that the human development index for India was as low as 139 as per the UNDP report.

It noted that chronic energy deficiency (CED) among adults, protein energy malnutrition (PEM) among children and micro nutrient deficiencies continue to afflict a large percentage of the population. About 36.2 per cent female and 23.6 per cent males suffer from CED. Nearly 50 per cent of children still continue to be malnourished which is a very high figure ascompared to even southeast Asian countries. Blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is affecting growth and development of children besides increasing morbidity and mortality.

Nutritional anaemia is widely prevalent, particularly in high risk groups like pregnant women to the extent of 40 to 88 per cent, children below six years to the extant of 60 to 70 per cent and 50 per cent in case of adolescent girls. Nearly 30 per cent of all children born have low birth weight which is less than 2.5 kg perpetuating inter-generational cycle of malnutrition. Low birth weight and malnutrition in early childhood is resulting in diet related chronic disease in later life like diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardio-vascular diseases.

Low birth weight accounts for 50 per cent of infant mortality rate in India a third of which is due to moderate or severe maternal anaemia. Maternal mortality is as high as 350 per hundred thousand live births as compared to 24 per hundred thousands in developed countries. Infantmortality rate is unacceptably high at 72 per thousand live birth and child mortality rate as high as 115 per thousand.

No state in the country is free from iodine deficiency disorders. The prevalence of more than 10 per cent on an average of iodine deficiency disorders makes India as IDD endemic region according to WHO.

The department has suggested that as fortified quality foods are not available at cheaper rates, the traditional food items like coarse grains, sattu, khichadi, idli, dalia, matharies and laddoos needed to be eaten. The importance of fruits and vegetables in improving the nutrition of people cannot be over emphasised.

The task force of the horticulture division of the union agriculture ministry has already suggested increasing the production of several vitamin A-rich and beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables for consumption.