Eleventh Five Year Plan

Nutrition and Social Safety Net 149• NNMB of ICMR will be expanded to all States/UTsto assist in monitoring micronutrient deficienciesthrough existing programmes.• Existing Iron and Folic Acid SupplementationProgrammes under RCH (NRHM) to cover infantand young children, by providing IFA in syrup form,and adolescent girls (10–19 years) by providingweekly iron supplements with immediate effect.• Vitamin A Supplementation Programme to coverall children between nine months to five years ofage and existing low coverage to be brought to 90%by 2009.• Promotion of breastfeeding will be taken up forprevention of VAD.• The NIDDCP will balance between preventing theill-effects due to iodine deficiency and aggravationof other forms of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidismthat have been ignored until now. Multicausalityand regional diversity requires a range ofapproaches rather than a universal mono-solution.Based on this epidemiological understanding,the rational approach will be used to evolve adifferential strategy for regions above and below thethreshold levels.• Research will be encouraged regarding causes ofmicronutrient deficiencies, understanding thecomplex web of causality, preventive strategies, andhealth behaviour regarding diet need to be carriedout for a holistic view.• Studies will be undertaken for collection of evidenceregarding interaction amongst micronutrients,taste, smell, and shelf life of fortified foods, regionalvariations in deficiency, differing requirements ofindividuals, etc. before implementation of anymultiple micronutrient supplementation and foodfortification strategies.• Community and household level production offruits and vegetables will be promoted.• Public health measures like deworming of allchildren every six months will be undertakenthrough schools and ICDS.• Environmental sanitation and hygiene will bepromoted vigorously and safe drinking water to bemade universally accessible.• A vigorous awareness campaign in the form ofPoshan Jagriti Abhiyan will be launched utilizing allavailable channels of communication.• A high level inter-agency coordination mechanismwill be set up to enable policy directions to theconcerned sectors.4.2 SOCIAL SECURITYISSUES IN SOCIAL SECURITY FOR WORKERS4.2.1 In India, traditionally, the aspects of socialsecurity were taken care of by the set up of family/community. Rapid industrialization/urbanization thatbegan in the early twentieth century has largely ledto the collapse of the joint family set up, thus necessitatinginstitutionalized intervention in the form ofState-cum-society regulated social security arrangements.The need has been felt for social security arrangementsfor workers and their families to enablethem to deal with transient poverty/vulnerabilitycaused by shock/adversity. Social protection could beinstrumental in motivating the workers to workbetter and to increase productivity insofar as it wouldenable them to work free from domestic worries to agreat extent. Indisputably, the best strategy to improvethe condition of unorganized labour is to improve thedemand for labour. Employment is the best form ofsocial protection.4.2.2 Institutionalized social security was available inIndia before 1947 to only a handful of governmentemployees who had the benefit of retirement pensionor contributory provident fund together with othercomplementary support for them and their familymembers. Few of the industrial/commercial sectorestablishments had extended certain measures in thisregard on voluntary basis for their employees. Themajority of workers remained uncovered and wereleft to fend for themselves. The situation worsenedwith the weakening of family support system due tovarious social and economic factors. The need assumesgreater relevance with longer life span and the changingeconomic environment.4.2.3 The concept of social security is to provide asafety mechanism through series of public interveningagainst the economic and social distress that iscaused by the stoppage or substantial reduction ofearnings resulting from sickness, maternity, employmentinjury, occupational distress, unemployment,