Hunger & Nutrition (Social Justice).
Syllabus: UPSC Mains GS2: welfare schemes, vulnerable sections, health, education, poverty, hunger
Food security for UPSC: availability, access, absorption, NFSA 2013 entitlements, TPDS and One Nation One Ration Card, PMGKAY, buffer stocks, nutrition, PYQs.
A PIB backgrounder of 18 October 2026 puts the spotlight on Kufri Jamunia, a purple-fleshed potato bred by ICAR’s Central Potato Research Institute and released in 2024. It has nearly twice the Vitamin C of a common potato and several times more zinc and iron, along with antioxidants called anthocyanins. The idea is clever: instead of asking people to change what they eat, make the food they already eat more nutritious. That is biofortification.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Kufri Jamunia, CPRI, anthocyanins, biofortification vs fortification. · Mains GS-III: nutrition security; GS-II: hunger.
18 Oct 2026
On 17 October 2026 FSSAI explained a draft rule that would stop companies from adding sucrose (table sugar) or fructose (fruit sugar) to any product meant for babies up to six months old. The draft amends the Foods for Infant Nutrition Regulations, 2020, was published in the Gazette on 16 October, and is open for public comments for 60 days. The idea is simple: in the first six months a baby needs the right nutrients, not an early taste for sugar.
UPSC angle: Prelims: FSSAI, FSS Act 2006, infant nutrition regulations, IMS Act 1992. · Mains GS-II: child nutrition, preventive health and food regulation.
17 Oct 2026
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released NFHS-6 on 29 May 2026. Conducted in 2023-24 by MoHFW with IIPS Mumbai as nodal agency, it covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts. Child stunting fell from 35.5% (NFHS-5) to 29.3%. Institutional deliveries rose from 88.6% to 90.6%, and antenatal care coverage reached 95.9%.
UPSC angle: Prelims: NFHS indicators.
29 May 2026
ICMR and ICAR jointly launched SEHAT, Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation, on 11 May 2026. It is a national mission-mode programme to turn farm research into health gains. Its five priorities are biofortified crops, integrated farming systems, occupational health of farm workers, diet-based NCD prevention, and One Health preparedness.
UPSC angle: Prelims: biofortification.
11 May 2026
Poshan 2.0 is the main tool against stunting and anaemia, so learn its parts.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Poshan Tracker.
14 Apr 2026
India built FRK capacity for its own PDS. Exports show that capacity can find a second market.
UPSC angle: Prelims: rice fortification.
4 Nov 2025