India's whole grain intake a fraction of recommended level: Report

Mumbai: Indians consume barely one-tenth of the daily whole grain intake recommended by health authorities.

The white paper, titled 'Opportunities with Whole Grains to Support Metabolic Health among Indians: Evidence Mapping', was released on Monday at a well-attended event organised by the Protein Foods and Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI) in collaboration with ITC, the Institute for Global Development (IGD), and Aravya, at the ITC Food Safety and Analytical Laboratory (ITCFSAN), MIDC Andheri, Mumbai.

The document, an expert-led evidence-mapping exercise, reveals that India's average daily consumption of whole grains stands at approximately 42 grams — just 10 per cent of the total daily grain intake of 432 grams — against the 125 grams per day recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN).

With over 20 millet varieties available domestically, India has the agronomic resources to bridge this gap.

What it lacks, the paper argues, is the policy will and public awareness to do so.

Non-communicable diseases — including obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions — are on a steep upward trajectory across India, driven in large part by dietary shifts away from fibre-rich, nutrient-dense whole grains toward refined alternatives.

The paper documents how mechanical removal of bran and germ during processing strips grains of vitamin B1, B6, folate, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, niacin, selenium, and iron — leaving populations calorically fed but nutritionally depleted.

Thee formal proceedings began with a welcome address by Dr. Shashank Bhalkar, Executive Director of PFNDAI, followed by a presentation on ITC's nutrition research and food fortification mission by Dr. Agatha Betsy.

Former Maharashtra Health Minister Dr Deepak Sawant argued that millets — ragi, bajra, kutki — viable in regions receiving as little as 20 centimetres of annual rainfall — represent the most scalable solution to converging crises of soil degradation, climate change, and nutritional deficiency.

He cited the Annapurna Trust near Bangalore — which provides seeds to farmers and guarantees procurement — as a replicable model.

He also stressed that nutrition communication must be delivered in local and regional languages, not just English, for outreach to be meaningful. "Only then will it reach the maximum people and our efforts will be fruitful," he said.

On both the white paper and broader policy action, Dr. Sawant was direct: publication is not impact. "Whatever your findings are, it should go to the government. Government should make changes in their schemes and use your findings to reach the last strata of society," he said, offering to personally facilitate engagement with the governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, and the Centre.

The white paper recommends fortified whole grain flours, digital recipe tools, community-based pilots, nutritionist counselling for women and vulnerable populations, and sustained research on whole grain effects across age groups — all pointing toward a policy shift that treats nutrition not as a welfare add-on, but as a public health imperative.