A timeless debate rages on in intellectual circles about the precipitous downfall of venerable institutions like the judiciary, Parliament, the bureaucracy, the Press etc. For long, institutional rot has been chipping away at the foundations of our democracy; the beleaguered Supreme Court had its ADM Jabalpur moment way back in the nineteen seventies; even before passing the Farming Acts in a hurry, Parliament had often served as a rubber stamp for autocratic Prime Ministers or had been immobilised by disruptions; the media, now being accused of sycophancy, had crawled when it was asked to bend during the Emergency.

Institutions almost always decay from within. The Constitution had designed extremely robust institutions for the Republic, presuming that incumbents would always be men and women of sterling character, unimpeachable integrity and exceptional ability but manifold expansion of the size of Constitutional institutions has meant that not all appointees are of the requisite calibre. For example, in contrast to the jumbo cabinets of today, Jawaharlal Nehru’s first cabinet had only 17 ministers and the Supreme Court originally had only eight judges as against the thirty-four of today; there has been definitely a dilution in quality, since a large number of good men, acceptable to the political dispensation in power, may not be available at all times. Another reason for institutional decay is that contrary to Gandhiji’s exhortations, many undeserving persons join hallowed institutions, motivated not by a feeling of public service, but only by a desire to savour the loaves and fishes of office.

Disturbing as the fall of these mighty institutions is but the common man is more concerned about the performance of humdrum Government programmes and unglamorous institutions like anganwadis, which directly affect him. The National Family Health Survey 2019-20 (NFHS-5), that covered 17 states and 5 Union Territories, brings the failure of the Government and children’s nutrition providers into sharp focus. According to this Survey, malnutrition indicators among children (sub-optimal weight, stunting and wasting) have worsened since the time of the last National Family Health Survey, carried out in 2015-16 (NFHS-4).

The current Survey reveals that the proportion of underweight children has increased in Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Assam and Kerala since NFHS-4. Child wasting (low weight in relation to height) which is the result of acute undernutrition has increased in Telangana, Kerala, Bihar, Assam and J&K, since the time of NFHS- 4. Child stunting (low height visà- vis age), which is the result of chronic undernutrition, has increased in Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal since 2015-16. In absolute terms, the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), 2019 found that 35 per cent of children under five were stunted, 17 per cent were “wasted”, and 33 per cent were underweight.

Incidentally, Global Hunger Index 2020 ranked India at 94th place out of 107 countries in the prevalence of hunger, while we were at 102nd rank out of 117 countries in 2019. During the same period our rank in Ease of Doing Business rose from 77 to 63 (out of 190 countries), indicating the direction in which the priorities of the Government lay.

Spectacular progress was achieved in the field of child nutrition between the period covered by the National Family Health Survey 2005-06 and the National Family Health Survey 2015-16; the percentage of underweight children came down from 42.5 to 35.8 while stunting was reduced from 48 per cent to 38.4 per cent. One would have expected better results in National Family Health Survey 2019-20, with flagship government programmes for providing nutrition and health services to children POSHAN Abhiyan and Integrated Child Development Services in full swing, which were well-supplemented by other headline programmes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, providing an open defecation free atmosphere, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, providing access to clean cooking fuel and National Jal Jeevan Mission, providing clean drinking water. Probably, the parameters recorded in NFHS-5 could have been worse had NFHS-5 been undertaken not before but sometime after the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The nutritional status of children would be vastly improved by the allocation of sufficient funds for Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). The 12th Five Year Plan had allocated Rs 1,23,580 crore to ICDS. However, up to FY 2016-17, the last year of the 12th Five Year Plan, the Government had released only 63 per cent of the ICDS budget. Allocation for ICDS dropped by 10 per cent from Rs 15,502 crore in FY 2015-16 to Rs14,000 crore in FY 2016-17. Expenditure on the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) which was Rs 14,403 crore in FY 2015-16 decreased to Rs13,514 crore in FY 2016-17. Statistics of subsequent years are not strictly comparable, because the Government renamed and restructured the ICDS into the Umbrella ICDS in FY 2016-17, including three other sub-schemes within ICDS. The number of sub-schemes under Umbrella ICDS was further increased in 2017, with the re-establishment of the National Nutrition Mission and the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.

Suffice it to say that a sum of Rs 27,584 crore was allocated to Umbrella ICDS in Budget 2019 out of which only Rs 24,955 crore was spent. Currently, a sum of Rs.8 per day is provided for children, Rs 9.50 for pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls, and Rs 12 for severely malnourished children. The nutrition that can be had in this limited amount may well be imagined.

In addition to insufficient funds, another reason for the failure to provide adequate nutrition to poor children, is the poor implementation of ICDS and POSHAN Abhiyan. Anganwadis which were originally established as rural childcare centres under ICDS, primarily to combat child hunger and malnutrition have been entrusted with a host of other responsibilities ranging from providing contraceptive counselling and supply, nutrition education and supplementation, immunization, health check-up and referral services. Anganwadis are also used as depots for oral rehydration salts and basic medicines. Additionally, the new National Education Policy proposes that Anganwadis would shoulder the responsibility for pre-schooling of children between three to five years. Probably, Government planners have zeroed in on Anganwadi workers as unpaid labour to implement their ambitious schemes.

A casual visit to an Anganwadi would easily convince one that it is ill-equipped to handle the multifarious responsibilities thrust upon it. A typical Anganwadi operates out of a dilapidated building which has no functional toilet. Then, Anganwadis are generally manned by an Anganwadi Worker (AWW) assisted by an Anganwadi Helper (AWH); while the AWW is paid honorarium of Rs 4,500 per month the AWH is paid Rs 2,500 per month, without any dearness allowance or yearly increment. No particular qualifications are prescribed for AWWs and AWHs and most of them are barely literate.

Lack of training and a long list of duties without adequate remuneration reduces the effectiveness of Anganwadi staff. In light of these limitations, it is a moot question as to how the Anganwadi staff would buttress the educational foundation of pre-school children as envisaged by the NEP and also provide community health and nutrition services. Briefly put, a host of responsibilities, regardless of the physical and intellectual limitations of Anganwadi workers has made them lose focus on discharging their original responsibility under ICDS. Additionally, the predilection of Government departments to hold frequent meetings and their insistence on rigorous documentation eats into the time available to the staff.

Should the Government be serious about nutritional reforms, it would invest in the wellbeing of Anganwadis and their staff. Firstly, premises should be improved to make them hygienic and cheerful. Secondly, each Anganwadi should have four personnel; two to provide health related services and two to look after children and provide all regular services available in creches and pre-schools. It goes without saying that all Anganwadi staff should be adequately trained and remunerated. Investment in Anganwadis is an investment in the welfare of poor and disadvantaged; if they are run well, they would definitely help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of 2030.

“Child is the father of man” and “The battle of Waterloo was won in the playing fields of Eton” may be time-worn cliches but the importance of making the next generation healthy and strong cannot be overstated. Also, a duty to look after young children is cast upon the Government by Article 45 of the Constitution: “The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.”

Let us provide our children with adequate care and nutrition, otherwise, we would miss the chance of making the 21st century the Indian century.

The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax