Outlook Poshan Awards 2019: Need To Educate People About Nutrient Food, Says Naidu

Outlook Poshan is a platform that gives voice to an area that has been crying for public attention and space -- Nutrition. With India being home to one-third of the world's malnourished children, millions of young girls and women suffering from anaemia, and micronutrient deficiency and obesity creeping into urban homes, it is a problem of gigantic proportions that needs urgent attention.

Outlook Poshan Awards honours the efforts of those who have done path-breaking work in the field of nutrition and helped India battle the scourge of malnourishment.

Watch the second half of the Outlook Poshan  Awards here:

Here are all the live updates:

5:05 pm: Government alone cannot fight malnutrition. Well-meaning people, rich people should also be contributing more towards fullfilling their responsibilties, he says. 

4:56 pm: "Nutrition is essential for a healthy immune system, higher-order cognitive ability, empowerment of the present and future generations, and therefore, should be a top investment priority for the country," says Naidu. 

4:53 pm: There has been an increase in childhood wasting in the last 10 years (NFHS-3 and 4) from 19.8% to 21%. Rising Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) remain critical concerns," he says. 

4:49pm: "The latest Chandrayaan-2 mission speaks volumes of our scientific fervour and technological advancements.

"However, to keep India striding fast on its development trajectory, we need the people of the country -- its human capital -- to be stronger and healthier," says Naidu.

4:47 pm: Vice-President M Vinkaiah Naidu is currently speaking. "I am honoured to be here at this Outlook Poshan speakout event here and I congratulate them," says Naidu.

4:45 pm: The next award is in the category - Science and Technology - and the winner is National Institute of Nutrition, Govt of India, Hyderabad.

4:40 pm: The next award in the category of Policy and Governance goes to National Health Mission, Haryana.

4:37 pm: The next category is Urban nutrition institution and SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) has been honoured by the Vice-President. 

4:34 pm: Odisha Livelihoods Mission has won the Poshan award for Safe and Nutritious Food. 

4:24 pm: Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu has arrived. And before his speech, Outlook Editor-in-chief Ruben Banerjee will deliver a welcome address. 

4:20 PM: In a video message, Smriti Irani says, "Malnutrition is a challenge that we all need to meet."

4:16 pm: Vice-President of India Venkaiah Naidu is expected to arrive shortly at the Outlook Poshan Awards 2019.  Smriti Irani, the Minister for Women and Child Development, couldn't be here due to some last-minute contingency. 

4:09 pm: What people are growing and what they are eating is connected, saysDr Purvi Mehta.. 

4:05 pm: Undernutrition is the biggest challenge we are facing, says Alok Kumar.

4:03 pm: Among the malnourished Indians, the largest number happens to be in rural areas and agriculture sector, says Dr Purvi Mehta. 

4:00 pm: Anganwadi centres are the real centres of action, says Dr Rajan Sankar, Advisor-Nutrition, Tata Trusts.

3:58 pm: There is a need to change our language for nutrition, says Devjit Mittra, Vice President, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives. 

3:50 pm: Poshan Abhiyan is different from other programmes in following ways: 1) clear focus on outcomes 2) we tried to bring nutrition and food as separate things 3) community involvement 4) use of technology, says Alok Kumar.

3:45 pm: Alok Kumar, advisor Niti Aayog, speaks at the round table. "Malnutrition is right in our faces yet people don't even realise that it's a problem," says Kumar. 

3:44 pm: Poshan Round table begins: "How do we make Poshan a household word?"

3:31 pm: "India will lead from the front in furture," says Mr Kumar, adding Outlook India must be congratulated for their efforts in highlighting such an important issue. 

3:18 pm: Dr Rajesh Kumar, Outlook Poshan Awards Jury, Chair, starts speaking.  

3:18 pm: Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships AMESA, Reckitt Benckiser, is currently speaking at the Outlook Poshan Awards 2019.

3:14 pm: "Die eating, don't diet," says Sanjeev Kapoor. 

3:11pm: Moderation is the key to healthy life, says Sanjeev Kapoor, "We need to live modern life in a moderate way."

3:08 pm: "Discipline is a hard thing to follow," says Naveen Anand,  Senior Director - Marketing, South Asia - Oriflame.

3:04 pm: Sanjeev Kapoor says, "We are what we eat. We need influencers."

2:57 pm: Sanjeev Kapoor on stage. "How can we make nutrition our lifestyle?" the question Sanjeev Kapoor will be addressing. 

2:54pm:  Sanjeev Kapoor is here at the Outlook Poshan Awards 2019. He will soon be speaking on nutrition and how we can make it orur lifestyle. 

2:53pm: Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, CEO, AgNext says we should have technology and we should involve people acorss the value-chain to work in the area of nutrition. 

2:40pm: 

 2:35pm: In our next session, Kalpana Beesabathuni, Global Lead, Technology & Entrepreneurship, Sight and Life will be in conversation with Dr Yogesh Patil, Co-Founder and Director, Biosense, Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, CEO, AgNext, and Shantanu Pathak, Co-Founder, CareNx to discuss how new technology can address malnutrition.

1:40PM: Maternal literacy was one of the most important factors shaping people's behaviour towards malntrition. "So, we should prevent dropouts. We should send young women to schools," says Ananya Awasthi.

1:34PM: Poor nutrition is linked to poor coginitive abilities, says Ananya Awasthi. For better uptake of nutrition, can we curate stories of nutrition warriors, of people, of women and children helping the fight against malnutrition, she says. 

1:30PM: Ananya Awasthi, Assistant Director, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health- India Research Center speaks about the Pohan Jan Andolan at the Outlook Poshan Awards. 

1:17 pm: Shawn K Baker says nutrition needs multisector action, people say, and there is no better place than India where the idea can be put to use.

1:13 PM: Hisham Mundol, Executive Director, India and Child Protection, CIFF, says only 25% of women participate in economic activities. If we get them involved in economic activities by giving them primary education, thereby opening sectors to them.

1:04pm: Up Next: A session with Shawn K Baker, Director of Nutrition,  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Hisham Mundol, Executive Director, India and Child Protection, CIFF

1:00pm: Addressing malnutrition is not rocket science., all we need is more and better data, says Arjan de Wagt

 12:53pm: Addressing malnutrition in India is not incredibly difficult, says Arjan de Wagt

12:50pm: Arjan de Wagt, Chief - Nutrition Section, UNICEF India will tell us how better data can take nutrition to the next level

12:35pm: Basanta Kumar Kar, Country Director, Project Concern International India, and Transform Nutrition Champion, speaks on Swachh Shuposhit Bharat: Bringing the country back on track.

12:30pm:Climate change, MSP for paddy which led to changes in food habits, employment opportunities have been the main challenges in fight against malnutrition, says Dr. Manjeet Kaur Bal

12:22pm: Dr Manjit Kaur Bal, Team Leader, Chhattisgarh, Samerth Trust speaks on how livelihood affects nutrition

12:18pm: I am glad to announce that Chhattisgarh govt is taking the fight against malnutrition to the next level, says CM Bhupesh Baghel

12:10pm: We need to fight a long war against malnutrition, says Chhattisgarh CM

12:08pm: Today, due to the kind of politics happening in the country and the world, the issue of malnutrition has been left behind, says Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel

12:06pm: We should first aim at reducing poverty, says Chhattisgarh CM

12:04pm: I want to congratulate Outlook for raising the real questions. This is the reason we are here to talk about malnutrition, says Chattisgarh CM

12:01pm:  Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel delivers the inaugural address

11:57am: Indranil Roy, CEO, Outlook Group delivers welcome address.

11:56am: Heartening to see media playing a big role in the war against malnutrition, says Gaurav Jain,Senior Vice President, AMESA, Reckitt Benckiser Health

11:46m: Gaurav Jain,Senior Vice President, AMESA, Reckitt Benckiser Health talks about challenge, convergence and collaboration in nutrition.

11:45am: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has arrived. He is the inagural speaker at Outlook Poshan Awards 2019

11:36am: The root causes of malnutrition are invisible, orphan, unmeasured and voiceless, says Shawn K Baker, Director of Nutrition, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

11:28am: Outlook Poshan Awards 2019 will begin shortly.

10:24am: Outlook Poshan, the first of its kind initiative in the field of #nutrition by any media group, aims to bring about a transformative change in the nutrition sector and make those changes visible at the ground level.

The stage is set for Outlook Poshan Awards 2019. 

10:15am: The stage is set for Outlook Poshan Awards 2019

9:53am: To know the list of speakers and agenda, click here

9:50am: Honourable Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu is the Chief Guest at Outlook Poshan Awards 2019.