A Tale of Two Cities The 24th November, 2014 issue of India Today names 27 Indian tycoons ( captains of industry ) in its 50 High and Mighty Power List, 2014 . One of them is worth Rs.1.4 lac crores ( 23.6 billion dollars ), another owns two private jets ( his net worth has not been mentioned ), another has an empire close to Rs. 1 lac crores, another heads a 40 billion dollar group, another owns a company with revenues of Rs. 77, 400 crores ( 12.9 billion dollars ) in fiscal 2014, etc, etc. The other side of the picture, which is not mentioned, is this : According to World Bank estimates, India ranks very high among the countries having malnourished children. A UNICEF report states that one third of the worlds malnourished children live in India. Malnutrition is more common in India than in sub-Saharan Africa. 45% Indian children are underweight due to malnutrition. Many of these are severely malnourished. 50% childhood deaths are due to malnutrition. A Global Hunger Index ( GHI ) Report, 2011 ranks India high among the countries having a hunger situation. Malnutrition in childhood has serious, long term consequences, because it impedes motor, sensory, cognitive and social and emotional development of a child. Malnourished children are less likely to perform well in school, are at greater risk of disease, and are more likely to die an early death. The UNICEF Report also says that anaemia affects 74% Indian children under the age of 3 years, and more than 90% adolescent girls and 50% women. Iodine deficiency, which reduces learning ability, is widespread in India, because fewer than half the Indian households use iodized salt. Vitamin A deficiency, which causes blindness, and increases morbidity and mortality among small children, is also common in India. I am not going into the other issues of unemployment, healthcare, price rise, housing, etc, facing the nation, and have limited myself to the problem of malnutrition It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the summer of hope, it is the winter of discontent ( Charles Dickens : A Tale of Two Cities ).
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 02:07:59 +0000
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