ABSTRACT During the past decade, considerable research efforts have sought to explain India’s “calorie consumption paradox”, namely, the coexistence of a decline in average per capita calorie intake in rural India alongside increased material living standards. Evidence from the most recent (68th) round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), released in 2014, however, indicates increases in calorie intake, notably among poorer income quintiles. This paper argues that the turnaround in these data is linked to the improved performance of pro-poor social protection measures. Analysis of data suggests a close association between states that have made the greatest improvements in social policy delivery systems, and increased calorie intake for the poorest quintile of rural populations. This conclusion supports wider international evidence on the importance of social protection strengthening for nutrition-sensitive economic growth.

中文翻译：

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解释印度农村最近卡路里摄入量的增加：加强社会政策的作用

摘要 在过去十年中，大量研究努力试图解释印度的“卡路里消耗悖论”，即印度农村人均卡路里摄入量下降与物质生活水平提高并存。然而，2014 年发布的最新（第 68 轮）全国抽样调查 (NSS) 的证据表明，卡路里摄入量增加，尤其是在收入较低的五分之一人群中。本文认为，这些数据的转变与扶贫社会保护措施的绩效改善有关。数据分析表明，在社会政策实施系统方面做出最大改进的州与最贫困的五分之一农村人口的卡路里摄入量增加之间存在密切关联。