Infants In India Would Not Go Hungry If Money From Bank Frauds Is Recovered And Used To Fight Malnourishment
The health allocation for 2018-19 was Rs 54,667 crore while it was at Rs 48,878 crore the year before it.
India is ranked 102 of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019, behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh and more than 90 per cent of all children between 6 and 23 months of age are not fed a "minimum acceptable diet".
BCCL/ FILE
These were shocking statistics put out by Global Hunger Index last week that painted a complete opposite picture of a ¡®New India¡¯ in the making but the situation could very well be reversed if all the money that has been plundered over the last couple of months in the form of financial scams could be recovered and used in the direction.
Wondering how?
As per RBI data, the Indian banking system has so far detected at least Rs 71,500 crore worth of frauds in financial year 2018-19 alone. This whopping amount is actually more than the Rs 63,538 crore health allocation in the budget for 2019-2020.
Depositors of crisis hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank display placards and photographs of depositors whom they say have lost lives following the crisis during a protest over the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) curbs on the bank, outside a court in Mumbai. AP Photo
There are two sides to the apathy of malnourished children as well as the overall health sector in India. While the budget for health has been abysmally low as public sector hospitals on which most rural households depend get their funds from the government whereas the government is losing more and more money in the form of bank frauds.
The health allocation for 2018-19 was Rs 54,667 crore while it was at Rs 48,878 crore the year before it. Even as there has been no significant increase in the allocation for the health sector, there is a rising tide of financial and banking scams that has had its toll on India¡¯s economy.
Overall, at least 3,766 incidents of frauds were detected this year, which is a 15 per cent increase from last year.
As we know, a happy country is a healthy country but to achieve that we need to overcome the grim picture that has been pointed out by the global hunger index. At the same time, we should be aware that the vast majority of the Indian population are still poor and cannot even afford daily meals.
BCCL/ FILE
The infants not only require special care but also proper nourishment. In many rural households these are more than a distant dream, which is why UN bodies such as the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is running campaigns in several parts of the country to provide healthy food to mothers and their newborn.
Several state governments are also running these programmes and have been helpful to many families. However, budgetary allocations and insufficient funds prevent them from achieving their full potential.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government had promised to put the priorities of the Indian people above all and had sought to punish financial scamsters. Of course, in several cases such as the ongoing PMC Bank turmoil in Mumbai, the depositors who are unable to withdraw their hard-earned money from the bank require immediate help and support but in the long run, what better way to recover these huge amounts of money and utilise them to feed our infants.
Time to think, perhaps!
