Where does India stand today in terms of wheat and rice? While India’s population has grown by more than four times, from 330 million in 1947 to 1.35 billion in 2018, our wheat production increased by over 15 times (from about 6.5 MMT in 1950-51 to 99.7 MMT in 2017-18). India contributes about 13% to the world wheat production, next only to China with about 17% share. Rice production shot up by about 5.5 times (from 20.6 MMT in 1950-51 to 112.9 MMT in 2017-18), accounting for about 23% share in world rice production, next only to China with about 29% share. India is also the largest exporter of rice in the world with about 12.7 MMT (where Basmati is 4.06 MMT and Non-Basmati is 8.65 MMT), valued at $7.7 billion.
Notwithstanding foodgrain surpluses, India faces a complex challenge of nutritional security. FAO’s recent publication, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018, estimates that about 15% of the Indian population is undernourished. Further, ironically, 38.4% of Indian children aged below five years are stunted, while 21% suffer from wasting. That is, one in every four children is malnourished. Several factors ranging from poor diets, unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation, low levels of immunisation and education, especially that of women, contribute to this dismal situation. But latest innovations in bio-technologies towards bio-fortification of major staples with micro nutrients like vitamin A, zinc, iron, etc. can be game changers.These conjectures are made that india has to give attention towards nutrition security whereas the food security act 2013 has not delivered anything because the hunger gravity is the same which was earlier. I don't know whether the govt will be serious about food security and nutrition security both at the same time for which measures have to ne taken so that the hunger and the nutrition deficiency is wiped out.
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