Events

Panel Discussion on 'India’s Investment in Nutrition: States’ Role and Response' 28 February, 2017

India records one-third of the total chronically undernourished children across the globe. It is a matter of concern for all of us that 39 percent (i.e. 46.8 million) of India’s children below five years were ‘stunted’ as of 2013-14. Globally, there is a growing focus on Public Financing for Nutrition, and in India too, the focus on nutrition financing has been increasing.

India’s policy framework includes many proven nutrition interventions; but challenges in the domain of public financing of these interventions have affected their coverage. With the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, the autonomy of the State Governments in financing these interventions has increased. In such a context, given the intensity of the problem of under-nutrition in the country, it is now expected that both the Union and State Governments would prioritise their budgets towards nutrition interventions to a greater extent and enhance both coverage and quality of these interventions.

In this context, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and UNICEF India have studied State Budget outlays for nutrition interventions in India’s policy framework, for select States in recent years. Against this backdrop, there was a need to discuss what have been the priorities of the State Budgets and where the gaps and bottlenecks in public financing of nutrition lie. This programme was meant to initiate a nuanced discussion on some of these important aspects pertaining to nutrition financing in the country.