Despite a staggering annual expenditure of ₹2,500 crore on providing milk, food, and take-home rations, Gujarat ranks third in the country in terms of malnutrition.

In the last ten years, the government has provided approximately ₹12,000 crore worth of milk to tribal women and children under the ‘Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana’, yet over 3.23 lakh children in the state continue to suffer from malnutrition.

Under the milk scheme, children aged six months to six years in anganwadi centres receive 100 ml of fortified flavoured milk five days a week, while pregnant and nursing mothers receive 200 ml twice a week.

According to a recent report tabled in the Lok Sabha, 39.73% of children in the state under the age of five are malnourished, making it one in every four children.

Gujarat’s numbers were worse than Tripura, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

Under ‘Mission Poshan 2.0’, Gujarat has been allotted a fund of ₹2,879.30 crore in the last three years. Out of this, only ₹1,310.23 crore have been utilised.

The Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE), based on the Household Consumer Expenditure Survey (HCES), is used to measure the standard of living in a country.

The latest report suggests that Gujarat ranks among the worst states in this category.

States like Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Goa have a higher MPCE compared to Gujarat.

Gujarat’s urban MPCE is estimated at ₹6,683, and its rural MPCE is only ₹3,820.

Telangana ranks first in urban MPCE with ₹8,251, placing Gujarat at the 10th position. In rural MPCE, Kerala ranks first with ₹5,960, and Gujarat stands at the 13th position.

Gujarat’s rural MPCE is even lower than the national average.

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One in four children in Gujarat malnourished; worse than Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh