Sreejita Basu, Surabhi Mittal, Sakshi Jain, Jigyasa Nawani, and Mini Varghese.

Published: January 16, 2025

Overview

Around the world, social safety net programs (SSNPs) are vital tools for protecting vulnerable populations from poverty and food insecurity. In India, these programs have evolved over decades, addressing employment, poverty alleviation and key social sectors such as health, nutrition and education. While India’s SSNPs have improved access to staple foods like rice and wheat, gaps exist in optimal nutrition provision. This policy brief identified the gaps in these programs and outlines opportunities to make them more nutrition-sensitive, enabling them to effectively address India’s triple burden of malnutrition — undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies.