India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, sustains nearly 17 percent of the global population on just about 2.4 percent of the world’s geographical area and has recorded a remarkable increase in food grain production—from 82 million tonnes (MT) in 1960–61 to nearly 357.7 MT in 2024–25. The country is now the world’s largest exporter of rice, shipping 20.2 MT in FY2025 out of a global trade of 61 MT. Simultaneously, India operates the world’s largest food distribution programme, the PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), providing 5 kg of free rice or wheat per person per month to over 800 million people. As a result, public food stocks are at historic highs, with the Food Corporation of India holding about 57 MT of rice—nearly four times the buffer norm as of July 1, 2025. These gains have coincided with a sharp decline in poverty, with the extreme poverty headcount falling from 27.1 percent in 2011 to 5.3 percent in 2022. Yet, despite surplus food availability and expanded access, malnutrition—particularly among children—remains a persistent challenge. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019–21) reports that 35.5 percent of children under five are stunted, 32.1 percent underweight, and 19.3 percent wasted. These outcomes underscore that food security in India can no longer be defined solely in terms of caloric adequacy; it must also address nutritional quality.
A critical but often overlooked determinant of nutritional security is soil health. Deficiencies of micronutrients in soils not only constrain crop productivity but also reduce the nutrient density of food. Crops grown on depleted soils frequently reflect these deficiencies, giving rise to a silent and widespread form of malnutrition. Zinc deficiency offers a clear example: low zinc availability in soils leads to reduced zinc content in staple cereals such as wheat and rice, which is strongly associated with childhood stunting and long-term impairments in physical and cognitive development.
Restoring soil health is therefore central to improving both crop health and human nutrition. This policy brief calls for a paradigm shift anchored in 3 P’s – Policy, Products, and Practices. The policy switch towards rational pricing of fertilisers and targeted support to farmers can catalyse the development and adoption of precise, customised, and site-specific fertilisation solutions, underpinned by rigorous R&D, soil diagnostics, and crop-specific nutrient requirements. These products, when complemented by appropriate agronomic practices can restore soil biological, chemical, and physical health. Only when soils are adequately nourished can they consistently produce food that sustains health rather than merely alleviates hunger. Ensuring healthy soils is therefore not just an agricultural priority, but a public health imperative critical to India’s long-term development.
