Abstract

Nutritional initiatives have immense potential to transform national economies and significantly improve individual lives. These initiatives require meticulous planning, effective implementation, adequate human resources, and a continuous supply of provisions, among other factors. While these programs are not always inexpensive, it is essential for state-run institutions to ensure they remain adequately funded, operate efficiently, and are constantly assessed. Karnataka, a pioneer in decentralization, has made considerable economic progress. However, its health and nutrition indicators lag behind other southern Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Karnataka introduced a policy on children affirming its commitment to their holistic development, with a strong focus on nutrition. The policy includes schemes aimed at improving the nutrition levels of pregnant women, lactating mothers, Anganwadi, and school children.

This report analyzes patterns and trends in public expenditure on nutrition in Karnataka over five years (2012-13 to 2017-18). It examines various nutrition-related expenditures and assesses whether efforts from multiple agencies have led to increased allocations for children’s nutrition in the state. The report concludes that while the estimates of nutrition expenditure on children do not indicate towards the adequacy of data, they definitely pave the way for further research and analysis. Paucity of data for district-level analysis makes it difficult for correlating expenditure at district level with that of child development indicators. The analysis undertaken for estimating nutrition expenditure pointed towards certain inconsistencies in spending, where schemes targeting similar groups had large variation in unit cost despite the fact that the targeted groups were largely similar.

CBPS. (2017). Public expenditure on child nutrition in Karnataka. Bengaluru: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies.