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Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
To improve both crop and human nutrition, India needs a paradigm shift
Who would have imagined that India, which lived from 'ship to mouth' with heavy dependence on food aid under the US PL-480 programme in the 1960s, would emerge as the world's largest rice exporter? In 2024-25 (FY25), India exported 20.2 million tonnes (MT) of rice in a global market of 61 MT. The country also runs the world's largest food distribution programme, the PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), which provides 5 kg of free rice or wheat per person per month to more than 800 million people. Yet, the Food Corporation of India holds about 57 MT of rice — the highest stock in 20 years and nearly four times the buffer norm of 13.54 million tonnes as of July 1, 2025. Poverty, too, has receded significantly. The extreme poverty head count (those earning less than $3/day at 2021 PPP) dropped from 27.1 per cent in 2011 to just 5.3 per cent in 2022. Notwithstanding these achievements, malnutrition amongst children remains a challenge. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5) (2019–21) reports that 35.5 per cent of children under five years of age are stunted, 32.1 per cent are underweight, and 19.3 per cent are wasted. Food security in India has evolved beyond merely ensuring caloric sufficiency; it must now encompass nutritional security as well. One critical, and often overlooked, factor here is the health of soils. Soil micronutrient deficiencies not only impair agricultural productivity but also degrade the nutritional quality of crops. Crops grown on nutrient-deficient soils often mirror those deficiencies, leading to a silent but pervasive form of malnutrition in humans. Take zinc. Its deficiency in soils translates into low zinc content in cereals like wheat and rice, which in turn is linked to childhood stunting — a condition that affects the physical development, long-term cognitive health, as well as the professional life of a person. Let us now turn to the status of Indian soils. Of more than 8.8 million soil samples tested under the Soil Health Card Scheme in 2024, less than 5 per cent have high or sufficient nitrogen (N), only 40 per cent have sufficient phosphate (P), 32 per cent have sufficient potash (K) and just 20 per cent are sufficient in soil organic carbon (SOC) (see graph). Importantly, SOC is a critical parameter defining the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil — these govern its holding capacity and nutrient use efficiency. There is also a debate as to how much SOC is considered sufficient. As per the Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISC), SOC in the range of 0.50- 0.75 per cent is adequate. But the World Food Laureate, Rattan Lal, who has worked on soil health throughout his career, prescribes that the carbon content in soils should be at least 1.5 to 2 per cent. Our soils also suffer from a deficiency of sulphur, as well as micronutrients like iron, zinc and boron. These deficiencies range from moderate to severe. It won't be an exaggeration to say that many parcels of Indian soils need to be immediately taken to an intensive care unit (ICU) to restore them to normal health so that they can produce nutritious food on a sustainable basis. We have also observed that in some parts of the country, nitrogen (N) is overused while phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are underused. For example, in Punjab, nitrogen use exceeds recommendations by 61 per cent, while potassium use is short by 89 per cent, and phosphorus use is short by 8 per cent. Telangana also mirrors this imbalance — it overuses N by 54 per cent but its use of K is 82 per cent less, and that of P is 13 per cent less. The situation is similar in several other states. The highly imbalanced use of N, P and K and the neglect of micronutrients leads to suboptimal agricultural productivity. Nationwide, the fertiliser-to-grain response ratio has declined significantly from 1:10 in the 1970s to a mere 1:2.7 in 2015. Moreover, the application of granular urea results in substantial nitrogen losses, with only 35-40 per cent of the nitrogen being absorbed by the crops. The remaining nitrogen is either released into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas that is 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide — or leaches into groundwater, contaminating it with nitrates and making it unsafe for consumption. So, in a way, the imbalanced use of N, P and K is also increasing the pollution, rather than increasing grain yields. Additionally, a significant portion of urea is diverted to non-agricultural uses and also finds its way to neighbouring countries. This needs to change. To restore soil health and improve both crop and human nutrition, India needs a paradigm shift — from indiscriminate use of fertilisers to tailored and science-based soil nutrition management. This calls for more precise and customised fertilisation strategies, which are informed by rigorous soil testing and aligned with the nutritional needs of different soils and crops. Only when soils receive the nutrients do they produce food that nourishes rather than merely fills stomachs. This is no longer just an agricultural issue; it is a public health imperative. Recognising the urgency of this challenge, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and OCP Nutricrops have committed to collaborating to improve soil health in India and beyond. OCP Nutricrops brings cutting-edge expertise in soil nutrition and fertiliser solutions aimed at addressing global challenges in sustainable food production. The collaboration aims to develop, implement, and scale region-specific, data-driven soil nutrition solutions that enhance crop productivity while improving their nutritional profile. Thus, to truly move from plate to plough — and back to plate — we must start by healing Mother Earth. Only then can we walk as a healthy nation. Gulati is distinguished professor at ICRIER, Vergutz is chief scientific officer at OCP Nutricrops, and Juneja is research fellow at ICRIER. Views are personal
India Gazette
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Congress's only job is to spread lies," Annapurna Devi slams Jairam Ramesh over technology remarks
New Delhi [India], June 24 (ANI): Union Minister Annapurna Devi hit back at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh for claiming that the Modi government is using technology to keep poor people away from welfare schemes. She said the government uses tools like Aadhaar, biometrics, and face recognition to ensure help reaches the right people quickly and without corruption. However, Jairam Ramesh claimed that these technologies are making it harder for pregnant women, tribals, and workers to get the benefits they deserve. In a post on X on Monday, Annapurna Devi wrote, 'The Modi government is ensuring transparency and inclusion in welfare schemes through technology. Congress's only job is to spread lies and misconceptions, and to hinder the effective implementation of our government's schemes. With the help of modern technologies like Facial Recognition System (FRS), Biometric and Aadhaar, the government today is successful in reaching the last line beneficiary.' Devi dismissed claims that technology is reducing access to welfare schemes, stating that the number of first-time beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) has actually increased, from 72.05 lakh in 2019-20 to a record 80.48 lakh in 2024-25, with over 27 lakh already registered in the first quarter of 2025-26. 'It is totally wrong to say that the use of technology has led to a decline in PMMVY beneficiaries. First-time beneficiaries in 2019-20: 72.05 lakh, increase to: 80.48 lakh in 2024-25 (highest ever number) and in the first quarter of 2025-26 itself: 27 lakh+ beneficiaries,' the post reads. She said over 10 crore farmers receive monthly DBT under PM-Kisan, and more than 20 crore families benefit from ration and financial aid under PMGKY. 'Today, over 10 crore farmers are receiving direct benefit transfers (DBT) every month through the PM-Kisan scheme, and more than 20 crore families are availing ration and financial support under the PMGKY. This is not the tenure of Congress, where if you gave Rs 1, only 15 paise would reach the beneficiary. This is the Modi Government, where if you give Rs 100, the full Rs 100 reaches the beneficiary,' the post further reads. Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had accused the Modi government of using technology to block poor and vulnerable people from getting welfare benefits. In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh wrote, 'The Modi government is systematically using technology to deprive the most deprived sections of the country of the rights they receive under social welfare schemes. First, Aadhaar was used as a weapon to exclude crores of workers from MNREGA. Acid attack survivors had to fight in court just to get their names added to Aadhaar. Tribals across the country are still deprived of their ration due to technical glitches. Now, pregnant women have been faced with yet another hurdle face recognition technology (FRT) has now been made mandatory to avail of the basic and legal rights under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).' He alleged that due to technical issues, the number of women receiving help under the PM Matru Vandana Yojana dropped from 96 lakh in 2019-20 to just 27 lakh in 2023-24. 'There is evidence around the world that techniques such as FRT discriminate on the basis of skin colour and class. Earlier, there has been evidence of failure and disruption of technologies such as Aadhaar based payment system (ABPS), National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app. The 365th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Child, Youth and Sports also mentioned how the implementation of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana disrupted the access of benefits to pregnant and lactating result of this was that the scheme under which 96 lakh women received payment in 2019-20, was reduced to just 27 lakh in 2023-24. The aim of Digital India should be empowerment and not snatching away rights. Speech is about inclusion, behavior is about exclusion - this should not be the case,' the post reads. (ANI)
