The right to food is the right of every person.

The right to food is the right of every person. Every individual must have regular access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable food for an active and healthy life. At present, this is a major development in-challenge in India. We cannot feel proud of our achievements in different areas until this basic need of each individual is met. About 21 per cent of the population was undernourished in 1997. In 1999, over 53 per cent of the children under four were found to be malnourished. Today more than 85 per cent of pregnant women are anemic. Young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition.
      This is the height of the fact that about 26.1 per cent j tithe Indian population lives Below the Poverty Line (BPL), according to the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). Although malnutrition in India has fallen remarkably from 11.1 per cent to 6.4 per cent, this is due to increased consumption of milk, animal protein, fruit and vegetables. An estimate of the NSSO shows that per capita consumption of food grains has declined from 192 to 152 kg in rural areas and from 147 to 125 kg in the urban- areas.

According to recommendations of the National Institute of Nutrition, to achieve a minimum energy requirement of 2738 K calories/day/head, a balanced diet containing of at least 460 grams of cereals apart from pulses, vegetables, fruits and milk should be combined. Accordingly, the per capita requirement of cereals will be around 165.6 kg per head per annum. But the overage animal coreal consumption is horsing around 138.75 kg per head, moderately lower than the recommendations. Food Security is the scenario of the nutritional standards of the country’s population which is a serious cause for concern for all of us. This concern is compounded when we hear about the starvation deaths in some parts of the country. According to the UNICEF’s latest report released in Jan. 2008, India loses 5,753 children below five...