The most malnourished children in Gujarat-Maharashtra-Bihar, the government's response to the RTI reveals

- As on October 14, 2021, 17.76 lakh children in the country were severely malnourished and 15.46 lakh children were moderately malnourished.

New delhi date. Monday, November 08, 2021

The number of malnourished children in India is more than 3.3 million. More than half of them fall into the category of severely malnourished. Maharashtra, Bihar and Gujarat have the highest number of malnourished children. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has given these figures in response to an RTI.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development expressed concern that the Kovid epidemic could exacerbate the health and nutrition crisis among the poor. According to the ministry, as on October 14, 2021, 17.76 lakh children in the country were severely malnourished and 15.46 lakh children were moderately malnourished.

This figure of 33.23 lakh malnourished children has been taken from the nutrition tracker app of 34 states and union territories of the country. Between November 2020 and October 14, 2021, there was a 91 percent increase in the number of severely malnourished children compared to last year's figures. This number has increased from 9.27 lakh to 17.76 lakh.

Maharashtra has the highest number of malnourished children at 6.16 lakh and Bihar is second with 4.75 lakh malnourished children. While Gujarat ranks third with 3.20 lakh malnourished children.