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HIGH CHILD MALNUTRITION IN INDIA
New Delhi, 18 October 2006
NEW DELHI, October 19 (INFA): India ranks 117th
out of the 119 countries of the world covered by the Global Herbal Index for
malnourished children. Overall, India
is ranked 96th out of the 119 countries covered by the index, which
has not painted a rosy picture.
What is worse is that India has a very poor record for
malnutrition in children as measured by their body weight. About 47.5 per cent of the children covered
by the index have been found underweight.
India’s condition is seen even worse than
that of individual sub-Saharan countries, according to the Washington-based
International Food Policy Institute (IFDRI).
Three aspects have been studied in the global index: child
malnutrition; child mortality and estimates of the proportion of the
calorie-deficient people.
The index has been calculated for 1981, 1992, 1997 and
2003. It is also found that about 21 per
cent of the population in India
is calorie-deficient.
Also, most Indian women eat last and the least, increasing
the chances of anaemia. About 83 per cent of women in India suffer
from iron deficiency. Not surprisingly,
therefore, one-third of the babies born in India have low birth weight.---INFA
NATIONAL POLICY FOR
GAS PIPELINES
NEW DELHI, October 19 (INFA): A National
policy is being worked out by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for the
development of natural gas pipelines and city or local natural gas distribution
networks.
A draft of the policy has already been discussed with various stakeholders, including the gas
industry group. The final policy is
expected to be announced soon.
The objective of the draft policy is to promote investment
from public as well as private sector in natural gas pipeline and city and
local natural gas distribution networks.
The policy aims at facilitating open access
for all players to the pipeline network on a non-discriminatory basis and
promoting competition among entities, thereby avoiding any consumer interest in
terms of gas availability and reasonable tariff. It is envisaged that the
policy would facilitate the laying of gas pipelines and city gas distribution
networks, which would help in making available natural gas, an environment
friendly fuel, to different parts of the country and in making this fuel
available to households across the
country.
The issues likely
to be included in the policy are: applicability, grant of authorization,
exclusivity, bid bond and performance bond, conditions under ROU acquisition,
unbundling of operation, gas grid connectivity, technical and HSE (health
safety and Environment) Standards, role of state governments. ---INFA
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