A decade after the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted, the Central government has revised the nutritional standards of meals at schools and anganwadis.

Ø  A decade after the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted, the Central government has revised the nutritional standards of meals at schools and anganwadis.

Ø  The revised nutritional standards has augmented the proportion of calories and protein, while also mandating the inclusion of micronutrients in them.

Ø  The amendment has been done on the recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee.

Ø  In its draft report, the inter-ministerial committee had recommended “urgent action”, citing the possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in worsening the “silent crisis” of undernutrition.

What are the revised nutritional standards?

Ø  The amendment has been made under Schedule-II of the NFS Act, which was notified on January 25.

Ø  Schedule-II of the Act fixes nutritional standards for nine groups, starting from children aged six months to one year and those in upper primary classes (VI-VIII).

Ø  Three new categories have been created for undernourished children aged between six months to six years.

Ø  The nutritional standards for some existing categories such as lower primary classes, and upper primary classes have been revised.

Ø  For instance, under the previous norms, every child in lower primary classes was entitled to get 450 kilocalories (kcal) and 12 gm protein with midday meals.

Ø  Now, the protein quantity has been hiked to 15-20 gms, while fat (18-21 gms) and carbohydrates (70 gms) are part of the mix as well.

Ø  Standards for micronutrients have also been fixed — calcium 170 mg, zinc 2 mg; iron 3.5 mg; dietary folate 50 micrograms, Vitamin A 100 micrograms; Vitamin B6 0.43 micrograms; Vitamin B12 0.66 micrograms.

About Mid-Day Meal Scheme -

Ø  The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started in India on 15th August 1995 as ‘National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)’.

Ø  It was renamed as !National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools" in October 2007, also known as the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.

Ø  Under the scheme, hot cooked meal per day is provided to all children (studying in Class I to VIII) enrolled in government schools, local body schools, government-aided schools, special training centres (STC), maktabs and madrasas supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

About the ‘National Food Security Act, 2013’ -

Ø  The NFSA, 2013 was notified to provide for food and nutritional security, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.

Salient features —

It provides a legal right to persons belonging to $eligible households” to receive food grains at subsidised price/central issue prices under the under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

The percentage of population covered under TPDS in rural and urban areas shall be calculated on the basis of Census of India.

State governments are tasked with identifying Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY - poorest of the poor) and priority households (PHH) beneficiaries within the TPDS-covered population.

Every person in the PHH category receives 5 kg of food grains per month at - rice at Rs 3/ kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Re 1/kg. Each AAY household gets 35 kg of food grains per month.

The Act covers up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidised food grains (overall 67% of the total population).

Special focus on the nutritional support to women and children —

Women — It provides meals to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the child birth.

Such women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefits of not less than 6,000.

Children — Up to 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional standards.

Food security allowance — In case of non-supply of entitled food grains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive food security allowance.

Grievance redressal mechanism — The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal mechanisms at the District and State levels.

The Prime Minister of India while addressing the first meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under India’s G20 Presidency expressed concern that “progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) seems to be slowing down”. The sheer population size of India means that realising SDGs at a global scale is intrinsically tied to the success of India.

Understanding SDGs -

Ø  The SDGs/Global Goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Ø  The SDGs framework sets targets for 231 unique indicators across 17 SDG goals related to economic development, social welfare, and environmental sustainability, to be met by 2030.

Ø  The 17 SDGs are integrated; they recognise that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Ø  Countries have committed to prioritise progress for those who are the farthest behind.

Ø  The creativity, technology, and financial resources from all of society are necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.

India's initiatives to meet SDGs -

Ø  India follows a holistic approach for achieving the SDGs by implementing a comprehensive array of schemes.

Ø  Current flagship policies and programmes of Government of India such as Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) have substantially contributed to India’s progress in this regard.

Ø  Namami Gange Mission - a key policy priority towards achieving SDG 6 was launched as a priority programme with a budget of 20,000 crores for the period 2015-2020.

Ø  India's progress so far in achieving its SDGs -

Positive trends -

Ø  India is ‘On-Target’ to meeting 14 of the 33 SDG indicators, including indicators for neonatal and under-five mortality, full vaccination, improved sanitation, and electricity access.

Ø  Indicators such as eliminating adolescent pregnancy, reducing multidimensional poverty, and women having bank accounts have improved across a vast majority of the districts between the years 2016 and 2021.

Concerning trends -

Ø  The national ‘On-Target’ designation does not apply equally across all districts.

Ø  While neonatal and under-five mortality are currently both ‘On-Target’ for the country, neonatal mortality for 286 districts and under-five mortality for 208 districts (out of 707 districts) are not on-target.

Ø  Similarly, significant progress on access to improved sanitation excludes 129 districts that are not on course to meet this SDG indicator.

Ø  Despite a national policy push for clean fuel for cooking (PM Ujjwala Yojana), more than two-thirds (479) of districts remain ‘Off-Target’.

Ø  Some 415 and 278 districts are ‘Off-Target’ for improved water and handwashing facilities, respectively.

Ø  No district in India has yet succeeded in eliminating the practice of girl child marriage before the legal age of 18 years. India needs to escalate as priorities other critical and related indicators such as teenage pregnancy (15-19 years) and partner violence (physical and sexual) which may be traced back to child marriage.

Ø  Despite the overall expansion of mobile phone access in India (93% of households), only 56% women own a mobile phone, with 567 districts remaining ‘Off-Target.’

How can India impart lessons from Covid-19 management to meet its SDGs?

Ø  India adopted an “optimisation” approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, focussing on resources necessary to succeed.

Ø  Strong and sustained political leadership supported by a responsive administrative structure at all levels, from national to the district level, was critical to the success both of India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme and its efficient rollout of a comprehensive relief package.

Ø  Existing digital infrastructure coupled with indigenous initiatives such as the Co-WIN data platform, and the Aarogya Setu application were key players in India’s Covid-19 management.

Ø  Following this example, India must put in place a coordinated, public data platform for population health management, by consolidating its different platforms into an integrated digital resource for district administrators, as well as State and national policy makers.

Ø  A targeted SDG strategy delivered at scale must be executed as was done during the pandemic; India’s COVID-19 relief package.

Ø  Creating a similar mission-oriented ethos that is assessment-oriented and which provides adequate support for accomplishing India’s district-level SDGs is now urgently needed.

Way forward -

Ø  India needs to innovate a new policy path in order to meet the aspirations of its people in the decade ahead.

Ø  To succeed in meeting its SDG targets, especially those related to health and well-being, basic quality infrastructure and gender equality, a similar concerted pioneering effort on the lines of

Ø  India’s Covid-19 management would be the need of the hour.

Conclusion –

There is considerable confidence in India becoming the third largest economy in the world over the next decade. However, translating this growth into progress on social and human development must be equally valued. In successfully delivering a real-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic, India has proved that it is possible to deliver at scale in such an ambitious and comprehensive manner. 

Recently, a 65-year-old woman in Srinagar was attacked by street dogs outside her home. Also sitting in front of her house is a garbage collection point. This incident, once again, highlighted the link between urban solid waste management and stray dog attacks in Indian cities.

What do dog bites have to do with poor waste management?

Carrying capacity of cities and population of dogs —

Ø  The carrying capacity — the ability of a city to support a species — is determined by the availability of food and shelter.

Ø  Free-ranging dogs, in the absence of these facilities, eventually get attracted towards exposed garbage dumping sites.

Ø  Dogs thus congregate around urban dumps, such as landfills or garbage dumps, due to feeding opportunities.

Waste generation in India —

Ø  Indian cities generate more than 1,50,000 metric tonnes of urban solid waste every day.

Ø  As per a 2021 United Nations Environment Program report, an estimated 931 million tonnes of food available to consumers ended up in households, restaurants, vendors and other food service retailers’ bins in 2019.

Ø  Ideally, all the waste collected should be transported to designated landfill sites.

Ø  However, estimates by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India show that only 75-80% of the total municipal waste is collected, and only 22-28% of it is processed.

Ø  The rest is dumped across cities.

Ø  A study found that garbage from bakeries, restaurants, and houses was the primary food source for free-roaming dogs.

Primary source of food and Nature of dog —

Ø  Stray dogs are fed around the urban dumps, such as landfills or garbage dumps.

Ø  As dog is a loyal animal, it develops an affinity towards these areas.

Ø  As a result, these dogs become territorial and aggressive about public spaces where they are fed.

What role does urbanisation and urban planning play?

Ø  In 2015, a study conducted in 10 Indian metro cities found a strong link between human population, the amount of municipal and food waste generated, and the number of stray dogs in the cities.

Ø  The report concluded that the present mode of urbanisation provides enough unconfined and unmanaged leftovers. This, in turn, end up aiding the proliferation of stray dogs.

Ø  Tepid animal birth control programmes and insufficient rescue centres, in conjunction with poor waste management, result in a proliferation of street animals in India.

Population of stray dogs in India -

Ø  As per the official 2019 livestock census, the stray dog population stood at 1.5 crore. However, independent estimates peg the number to be around 6.2 crore.

Ø  The number of dog bites has simultaneously doubled between 2012 and 2020 (although there is a paucity of data on dog bite deaths due to neglect in the management of rabies).

Ø  India also shoulders the highest rabies burden in the world, accounting for a third of global deaths caused due to the disease.

How has India managed human dog population so far?

Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme —

Ø  India’s response to the stray dog menace has relied upon the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.

Ø  Through this programme, municipal bodies trap, sterilise and release dogs to slow down the dog population.

Rabies control measures —

Ø  The second anchor is rabies control measures, including vaccination drives.

Ø  But implementation suffers from:

Ø  low awareness around the health implications of dog bites,

Ø  irregular supply of vaccines,

Ø  delay in seeking treatments, and

Ø  a lack of national policy.

Other informal measures —

Ø  Other informal measures include mass culling of dogs in States like Kerala or imposing bans on the entry of stray dogs in colonies or feeding them in public.

Ø  In November 2022, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that people interested in feeding strays should first formally adopt them and feed them in their own homes.

Ø  It directed the municipality to impose a fine of ₹200 on anyone found feeding dogs in public places.

Way forward -

As long as there is solid waste on streets, peaceful co-existence of humans and dogs will be a challenge.

In this context, experts believe that the responsible waste management is the only solution to this issue.

Ø  The Prime Minister of India addressed the 100th episode of his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast.

Ø  He emphasised the need for the preservation and promotion of education and culture which has been an ancient tradition of India. 

About Mann Ki Baat:

Ø  It is a program broadcasted on the All India Radio through which the Prime Minister of India, addresses the citizens of India.

Ø  The program is India’s “first visually enriched radio programme

Ø  The programme was officially launched on 3 October 2014.

Ø  The main objective of the program is to engage with citizens on day-to-day governance issues.

Ø  The Radio was chosen as the medium of the program due to its wide reach and an estimated 90% of the total Indian population can be reached through the medium.

As per the latest data, India has become Europe’s largest supplier of refined fuels this month.

Key points:

Ø  Europe’s reliance of Indian crude oil has significantly increased since the ban on Russian oil.

Ø  According to an analysis of data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, India’s exports of petroleum products to the EU increased by 20.4% year over year in April to January, reaching 11.6 million tonnes (DGCIS).

Ø  India’s refined product exports to the region increased sequentially for five consecutive months prior to the EU’s ban on Russian petroleum products starting on February 5, reaching 1.90 million tonnes in January, the highest monthly volume in the first ten months of the current fiscal.

Ø  Compared to the same period last year, the EU accounted for nearly 15% of India’s 79 million tonnes of total petroleum product exports.

Ø  Its share of India’s petroleum product exports increased from 16 to nearly 22 percent in the four months prior to the EU’s ban on Russian refined products.

What Does India’s Rising Petroleum Product Exports to the EU Mean?

Ø  From the standpoint of the world’s oil markets, suppliers like India assist in preserving a demand-supply balance and averting sharp price fluctuations.

Ø  Countries like India, a major oil refiner, are helping to close the gap by purchasing Russian oil on the one hand and increasing the supply of refined products to the EU on the other. The EU does not want to buy crude as well as refined fuels and products from Russia.

Ø  India is a significant refiner, with a capacity of about 250 million tonnes per year.

Ø  Despite being one of the biggest consumers of crude oil, India is a net exporter of petroleum products because its refining capacity exceeds domestic demand.

Ø  The West’s punitive action against Russia’s oil and gas sector benefits Indian refiners, especially export-oriented private sector players Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, because it enables them to buy Russian oil at a discount while earning robust margins on product supplies to Europe. As a result, even though the EU avoids purchasing oil and petroleum products directly from Moscow, some of it seems to be making its way to European.

Ø  Under the current conditions, India is now playing a more significant role in the supply map for refined products and crude oil around the world.

Petroleum products: What are they?

Ø  Materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries are known as petroleum products.

Ø  Petroleum products are intricate mixtures as opposed to petrochemicals, which are a collection of clearly defined, typically pure organic compounds.

Ø  The vast majority of oil is transformed into petroleum products, which include a variety of fuel classes.

Ø  The majority of oil products, such as different types of fuel oil and gasoline, are used as “energy carriers,” or transportation fuels.

Ø  These fuels include gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil, and heavier fuel oils, or they can be blended to produce those fuels.

Ø  Heavier (less volatile) fractions can also be used to create heavy oils such as lubricating, tar, paraffin wax, and asphalt.

Ø  Additional chemicals are produced by refineries, some of which are used in chemical reactions to create plastics and other practical materials.

Ø  Since sulfur-containing molecules in petroleum frequently make up a small percentage of the molecules, elemental sulphur is frequently produced as a petroleum product.

Ø  Hydrogen and carbon can both be produced as petroleum products in the form of petroleum coke.