Nutrition indicators such as stunting and wasting are lagging development indicators. Critically analyse India's progress based on successive NFHS rounds.

Q. Nutrition indicators such as stunting and wasting are lagging development indicators. Critically analyse India's progress based on successive NFHS rounds. (15 marks, 250 words)

Stunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weight-for-height) reflect cumulative deprivation in maternal care, sanitation, and feeding — hence they respond slowly and "lag" behind income or scheme rollout. Successive NFHS rounds show real but uneven progress on both.

Why they are lagging indicators - Stunting captures chronic undernutrition built over the first 1,000 days; gains appear only after sustained intervention [1]. - Reductions trail behind faster metrics like institutional delivery (90.6%) and immunization (87.1%), which reflect immediate service delivery [1].

Trajectory of progress across rounds - Stunting fell from 35.5% (NFHS-5) to 29.3% (NFHS-6) — a ~17% relative decline, continuing the downward trend since NFHS-3 [1]. - Severe wasting dropped from 7.7% to 5.2%, a ~32% fall, aided by Poshan Abhiyaan and improved breastfeeding (within one hour: 41.8%→50.1%) [1]. - The 6.79-lakh-household, 715-district sample lends this evidence strong reliability [2].

Critical concerns - Nearly three in ten children remain stunted — India still carries a disproportionate share of the global burden. - Wasting has historically been sticky, reflecting acute food and health shocks that schemes address poorly. - Aggregate gains mask persistent inter-state, rural–urban, and socio-economic disparities.

The NFHS series confirms that nutrition responds to convergent, long-horizon action rather than budgets alone. Sustaining Mission Poshan 2.0, WASH, and maternal nutrition — aligned with SDG-2 and SDG-3 — is essential to convert slow gains into a durable demographic dividend.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. Union Health Ministry Releases National Family Health Survey – 6, PIB (2026) — stunting 35.5%→29.3%, severe wasting 7.7%→5.2%, immunization, institutional delivery, breastfeeding figures 2. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) 2023-24, IIPS — survey coverage of 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts