Malnourished India!
Worse than the coronavirus, the country is facing a more severe health threat in the form of malnutrition. There is a saying that children are the future of India.
By witnessing how today’s children are growing, we can understand how tomorrow’s India could turn out to be. Malnutrition is not a contagious disease but is a mother of several diseases. A vaccine can be discovered for the coronavirus but it is impossible to find a cure for malnutrition that the coronavirus has created in this country.
The only way to address this problem is to provide nutritious food. Malnutrition starts affecting a child right in the womb of the mother. It is impractical to expect a healthy baby when the mother struggles with malnutrition and lack of adequate nurturance.
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey of 2019-2020 was released earlier this month and the survey spanned 17 states and five Union Territories. According to this survey, the number of children below five years whose growth has been stunted has increased in several states including progressive states such as Kerala and Goa and several Union Territories.
North Eastern states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura, where traditionally the consumption of nutritious food has been encouraging, have also shown an increase in the number of children with stunted growth. Most of the states have registered a significant increase in the number of malnourished children.
Ladakh that has been centrally administered has seen an increase in malnourished children from 9.3 per cent to 17.3 per cent. The number of malnourished children has increased significantly in Bihar and Assam as well. In Nagaland alone, malnourished children has increased from 11.3 per cent to 19.10 per cent. Children’s stunted growth and malnutrition is a very serious malaise. The reasons for these health malaises need to be investigated and action must be taken to stop this dangerous trend.
At the same time, it is worrying that it has not been possible to control the problem of anemia that is growing. Even now, the number of people suffering from anemia is high in several states and in many of them, this problem has seen an increase, especially in children (between six and nine months), mothers, and women in the age group of 15 years to 49 years. Among children, youth, women, and the aged, the problem of anemia leaves an impact on both mental and physical growth, learning abilities, physical activities, and earning capabilities. To sum it up, the problem of anemia reduces the quality of human resources.
Another dangerous trend is that in many states, the number of infants below 24 months who have access to and consumed adequate and healthy diet has reduced by less than 20 per cent. Only in Kerala, Meghalaya, Ladakh, West Bengal, Sikkim, and Goa, about 20 per cent to 30 per cent children had adequate diet. But in Gujarat, only 5.9 per cent of children had access to adequate diet. While the provision of nutritious food supplements is reducing under the comprehensive child development programme, moderately priced nutritious food supplements are also not available in the market. If this problem is not mitigated, it is impossible to address the problems of low body weight, stunted growth, and malnutrition in children.
Compared to urban areas, the numbers are worse for rural areas. A multitude of reasons including poverty, unemployment, and perhaps demonetization, and its impact on the economy could be responsible for this pathetic state in rural areas. Demonetization saw an impact on jobs, salaries, and expenditure in rural areas over the following two years.
The problem of malnutrition that has impacted large numbers of people in India including children and the elderly does not kill the affected directly neither is it an epidemic. On the contrary, the problem of malnutrition results in long term exhaustion, stunted physical growth, and poor emotional growth. The report has divided districts into those with very poor development indicators, poor distribution systems, and minimum income. But if the government is sincere in its efforts to address the issues of malnutrition and low body weight, it should review and redesign its programmes such as ICDS and mid-day meal scheme. Only then can it obtain expected results.
Post lockdown, several reports have revealed that the problem of hunger has become worse. In this situation, the priority of the government should be on providing nutritious food. But by implementing the law against cow slaughter, the government is trying to snatch nutritious food from the poor. In the North Eastern states, beef is the main food in rural areas.
The poor have direct connection with the leather industry and the meat industry. The government’s decisions of promulgating these laws have a direct impact on this section society. And if the government’s decisions continue in this manner, it will not be surprising if India reaches the top position of being the most malnourished country in the world.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
