India, the world’s most populous country, suffers from widespread micronutrient deficiencies, with Vitamin D deficiency emerging as a silent epidemic. The ICRIER-ANVKA Foundation 2025 report titled “Roadmap to Address Vitamin D Deficiency in India” found that one in every five Indians are Vitamin D deficient. This deficiency affects all sections of the population, regardless of age, occupation or geography. Vitamin D deficiency poses a lifelong health risk with far-reaching consequences, including rickets in children, osteomalacia/osteoporosis in adults and poor foetal bone development during pregnancy.
This policy brief highlights the key role that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) can play as the nodal ministry in spearheading the national response to addressing Vitamin D deficiency and collaborating with other key ministries and departments to implement a unified and effective action plan which can lead to “Vitamin D Kuposhan Mukt Bharat”. The recommendations range from launching a nationwide awareness campaign, creating a multi-stakeholder platform to align ongoing efforts, including Vitamin D into existing healthcare programmes, leveraging national survey data for targeted interventions, and setting uniform guidelines for the testing and treatment for Vitamin D deficiency in India.
Timely and targeted action on Vitamin D deficiency will not only improve population health and life expectancy but also reduce healthcare costs, strengthen workforce productivity, and prevent long-term losses to economic growth.
