What’s in the news?

• NITI Aayog and World Food Program has launched a report titled ‘Take Home Ration-Good Practices across the State/Union Territories’. The report was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman K. Bery in the presence of Member (Health) Dr. V.K. Paul and CEO Amitabh Kant.
• The report presents a set of good and innovative practices adopted in the implementation of the Take Home Ration value chain by the States and UTs. 
• Government of India provides Take Home Ration under the Supplementary Nutrition component of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) to fill the gap in nutrition among children as well as pregnant and lactating women (PLW).
• Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is essential to ensure that children are healthy and reach their full growth and development potential. After six months of age, complementary feeding is required to meet the infant’s nutritional needs. 
• There has been a lot of innovation in the field of THR in terms of production, distribution, quality control, monitoring, and use of technology. This report will create opportunities for cross-learning between States/UTs.
• As a way forward the report suggests that in order to realize the full potential of the THR, all components of this value chain need to function at optimum. 
• This requires building a robust system for procurement, supply chain management and monitoring that ensures complete transparency, standardized process, sustainability, full coverage, leverages local ties, foster a culture of collaboration and builds trust within a community. 
• These measures improve THR access in rural areas, produce THR with high nutrient value, enhance community ownership involving SHGs and promote income generating activities and female empowerment.

Reference

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1838311