4% of India’s GDP is lost to Malnutrition

New Delhi : India loses about four per cent of GDP to malnutrition and the trend can be reversed by focusing “on production diversity as well as food fortification at a macro level”, a research paper revealed on Sunday. According to the joint paper published by industry lobby ASSOCHAM and consultancy EY, nearly four per cent of the nation’s GDP is lost due to different forms of malnutrition and that “women and children deserve a better deal in expenditure outlay”. The report outlined that the country hosts 50 per cent of the world’s under-nourished children. The paper quoted data from the National Family Health Survey-4 which showed that close to 60 per cent of children aged between six and 59 months are anaemic. “It is only about 10 per cent of the country’s total children who are receiving adequate diet,” stated the research report. Despite flagship government programmes, women and the girl child don not fare better