India’s dietary habits continue to remain heavily skewed towards cereals, with large sections of the population falling short on the intake of proteins, vegetables and fruits recommended under national nutrition norms, according to a government-backed assessment based on household consumption data for 2022-23.
The analysis, which mapped household food consumption patterns against dietary benchmarks prescribed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), showed that cereal intake remains significantly above recommended levels across most states, even as consumption of pulses and vegetables lags sharply behind nutritional requirements.
