The Caloric Decline: Rural India's Nutritional Crisis

Economist Utsa Patnaik highlights a nutritional crisis in India's rural areas, where over 80% of the population consumes less than 2,200 calories a day due to neo-liberal policies. Patnaik critiques the undermining of statistical data by recent policies and highlights flawed international agreements affecting agriculture.

Noted economist Utsa Patnaik has raised concerns over a severe nutritional crisis affecting rural India. She revealed that over 80% of the rural population is consuming less than the recommended 2,200 calories per day, a situation exacerbated by neo-liberal policies from the early 1990s.

Patnaik, speaking at the P Sundarayya memorial lecture, criticized the reliability of current nutritional data and condemned government claims of declining poverty as false. She expressed doubts about the effective reach of pandemic food distribution programs amid an eroded statistical system.

Highlighting international influences, Patnaik questioned the legitimacy of the WTO's agricultural agreements, accusing developed countries of protecting their farmers while forcing unfair terms on developing nations. She emphasized discrepancies in subsidy policies and trade rules, which disadvantage smaller economies like India.

(With inputs from agencies.)