Malnutrition in India is not merely a public health concern; it is also a challenge of social equity, human development and effective welfare governance. Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Show that malnutrition is rooted in inequality and affects human capability, and that tackling it is a test of welfare delivery, not just of health care.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Discuss malnutrition as a public health concern: its scale and forms
- Discuss it as a challenge of social equity, of human development and of welfare governance, each with evidence
Open with · Malnutrition — undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency and rising overweight — remains widespread in India despite food self-sufficiency.
Cover
- Scale: NFHS-5 (2019–21) shows about a third of children under five stunted and underweight, and anaemia among most children and women.
- Social equity: higher prevalence among Scheduled Tribes and Castes, the poorest households and rural areas; women often eat last and least.
- Human development: stunting impairs cognition, schooling and adult productivity, passing disadvantage across generations.
- Determinants beyond food: sanitation, safe water, maternal education, early marriage and care practices.
- Welfare governance: ICDS, PM POSHAN, Mission Poshan 2.0, fortified rice through PDS and the Poshan Tracker aim at convergence.
- Delivery gaps: weak anganwadi infrastructure, data quality, poor coordination across health, WCD and water departments.
Close with · A life-cycle, convergent approach focused on the first 1,000 days and on the most deprived groups is the way forward.
Add value (verified)
- NFHS-5 recorded modest improvement in child nutrition at the all-India level. Union Health Ministry releases NFHS-5 Phase II findings — PIB (24 Nov 2021) ↗“Stunting has declined from 38 per cent to 36 per cent, wasting from 21 per cent to 19 per cent and underweight from 36 per cent to 32 percent”
- Same NFHS-5 release: anaemia remains widespread — more than half of children and women (including pregnant women) are anaemic at the all-India level. Union Health Ministry releases NFHS-5 Phase II findings — PIB (24 Nov 2021) ↗“More than half of the children and women (including pregnant women)”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 224 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Despite food self-sufficiency, NFHS-5 (2019–21) found 36 per cent of children under five stunted, 32 per cent underweight and more than half of children and women anaemic: a burden that reaches far beyond clinics.
Public health concern
- Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency and rising overweight coexist; anaemia raises maternal and child mortality risk.
Social equity
- Prevalence is highest among Scheduled Tribes and Castes, the poorest households and rural areas; girls and women often eat last and least.
- Its determinants are social: unsafe water, poor sanitation, early marriage, low maternal education and weak care practices.
Human development
- Stunting in the first 1,000 days impairs cognition, schooling and adult earnings, passing disadvantage across generations.
- Nutrition is thus a capability question, the base on which investment in education and skills rests.
Welfare governance
- India has the instruments — ICDS, PM POSHAN, Mission Poshan 2.0, fortified rice through the PDS, the Poshan Tracker — but outcomes depend on convergence.
- Gaps: weak anganwadi infrastructure and staffing, patchy data quality, and poor coordination among health, women and child development, and water departments.
- The test is delivery at the last mile: whether the anganwadi worker, ASHA and school kitchen serve the same child together.
Tackling malnutrition needs a life-cycle, convergent approach centred on the first 1,000 days and the most deprived groups: a measure of governance quality as much as of health care.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.