NITI Aayog & World Food Program Launches Report- ‘Take Home Ration: Good Practices across the State/Union Territories’

Today, NITI Aayog and the World Food Program released a report titled 'Take Home Ration-Good Practices Across States/Union Territories.' Suman K. Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, released the report in the presence of Member (Health) Dr. V.K. Paul and CEO Amitabh Kant.

The launch was also attended by Indevar Pandey, Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Senior Advisor Rajib Sen, and Eric Kenefick, Deputy Country Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. The report presents a set of good and innovative practices used by the states and UTs in the implementation of the Take Home Ration value chain.

To fill the nutritional gap among children as well as pregnant and lactating women (PLW), the Government of India provides Take Home Ration through the Supplementary Nutrition component of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman K. Bery stated on the occasion, "There is a need to further strengthen THR programme to achieve nutritional targets in a time-bound manner." This good practice document compiles and collates innovations in THR programmes from various states and union territories. A catalogue of good practices was created by reviewing aspects of production, formulation, distribution, labelling, packaging, monitoring, quality assurance, and social and behavioural change. This document will assist state governments and union territories in implementing best practices in their THR programmes."

"There is a need to develop and maintain the highest standards for ensuring quality in THR, where the entire THR value chain must ensure quality, transparency, and efficiency," said NITI Aayog member Dr. V.K. Paul. Several good practices at the state/UT level have been identified and documented in this report, which will serve as a guidebook for policymakers and administrators in strengthening their Take-Home Ration system.

"Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is essential to ensure that children are healthy and reach their full growth and development potential," said CEO Amitabh Kant. After six months of age, complementary feeding is required to meet the nutritional needs of the infant. In the field of THR, there has been a lot of innovation in terms of production, distribution, quality control, monitoring, and technology use. This report will provide opportunities for cross-learning among states and territories.

According to the report, in order to realise the full potential of the THR, all components of this value chain must function optimally. This necessitates the development of a strong procurement, supply chain management, and monitoring system that ensures complete transparency, standardised processes, sustainability, full coverage, leverages local ties, fosters a collaborative culture, and fosters trust within a community. These measures increase access to THR in rural areas, produce THR with high nutrient value, increase community ownership through SHGs, and promote income-generating activities and female empowerment.