Understanding child nutrition : comparative study of effectiveness of state's nutritional interventions in preventing undernutrition among children of migrant and non-migrant families

Abstract

Maternal and child nutrition as a field of study has always intrigued me. Despite of the fact that the Government of India and state governments have issued several schemes and have spent reasonably to tackle undernutrition, the National Family and Health Survey highlights that the nutritional indicators still reflect the dire lived realities of women and children in the country.

My introduction to the said sector came before I joined National Law School of India University when I interned at a government organization. As a student at NLS, pursuing Masters in Public Policy, I got to pursue the enquiries on maternal and child care from the perspective of inter-state migration. I thank the institution for giving me the opportunity to undertake this topic for my dissertation.

A good teacher is like a lamp who lightens the path ahead in anticipation of opportunities and threats and letting the student make the decision. Such has been the role played by my guide Dr. Akhila Vasan. I am grateful to her for all the time and effort that she has put in along with me. Dr. Vasan’s door was always open whenever I encountered any issue with my dissertation. I thank her for playing such a pivotal role in my endeavour by lending her time and vast knowledge that she possesses in the field of public health.

I would also like to extend a vote of thanks to Prof. S. Pellissery for helping me refining my research questions and Prof. S. Sarkar for providing her valuable inputs to improve my methodology.

This dissertation would not have been possible without Indus Action who offered me an internship that helped me finalize my topic and choose the sites for primary research. I would like to specially mention Meenu didi from Indus Action who accompanied me on my field visits.

Lastly I would like to thank my friends, especially Mr. Adtya Shrey on helping me with parts of my literature review and my family who have supported me all through the years. Gursimer Singh Gulati