In order to bring down the incidences of malnutrition in the country, the Women and Child Development Ministry has revised nutritional and feeding norms for the supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme. To bridge the gap between the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and the average dietary intake (ADI) amongst children aged between six months and three years, food supplements consisting of 500 calories of energy and 12-15 gm of protein are going to be provided under the supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) on a per day per child basis. Earlier, the same age group of children was provided with a food supplement of 300 calories of energy along with 8-10 gm of protein.

The norms for SNP had been fixed since the inception of the scheme in 1975. However, as an official in the ministry said: “These calorific norms were not adequately meeting the gap between the RDA and ADI, which meant that the desired impact was not taking place.”

The existing pattern of the take-home rations (THR) has also seen a change. The ministry has asked the states that instead of the current practice of only giving either dry or raw rations (wheat and rice) the THR should also be given in the form of sweet “micronutrient fortified food,” which must not be cooked. According to official surveys, it’s been often seen that the entire family and not just the child was consuming the THR. “It should be checked if the food is exclusively being consumed by the child. The THR, therefore, should be palatable to the child,” said the official.

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