Urban Kashmir loses 6 meals a month per person, says govt report

July 10, 2025 by News Desk

In urban areas of Jammu Kashmir, the average number of meals consumed per person per month has dropped from 77 in 2022–23 to 71 in 2023–24, according to the recently released Nutritional Intake in India (August 2022 – July 2024) report by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. This significant fall, almost one-and-a-half meals per week which highlights a worrying trend in the region’s nutritional and food security landscape.

The data, accessed by The Kashmiriyat, further shows that calorie consumption has weakened in the region’s urban sector. The share of urban households with high calorie intake (≥2790 Kcal per consumer unit per day) declined from 36.5% in 2022–23 to 36.5% in 2023–24, showing stagnation, while those consuming lower levels (below 1860 Kcal) increased from 5.8% to 7.6%. In rural areas, however, the share of households in the highest calorie intake bracket rose from 38.7% to 38.7%, remaining static, with a small increase in the <1860 Kcal group from 5.8% to 5.8%, suggesting that the rural sector did not experience any marked improvement either.

In terms of food expenditure, urban households in Jammu Kashmir spent 43.2% of their consumption budget on food in 2023–24, slightly up from 42.3% the previous year. The percentage of total calories sourced from cereals also rose marginally from 44.8% to 45.0% in urban areas, possibly indicating a return to cheaper staples amid inflation or other stressors. Rural households spent more — 51.8% of their budget on food in 2023–24, up from 49.2% the previous year — and saw an increase in calories from cereals, from 48.7% to 49.2%.

Protein intake showed mixed results. In urban areas, per capita daily protein intake decreased slightly from 70.4 grams to 69.3 grams, while per consumer unit it dipped from 77.5 grams to 77.1 grams. In contrast, rural areas witnessed a rise in per capita intake from 68.4 grams to 70.9 grams and per consumer unit from 73.6 grams to 76.1 grams, indicating a modest improvement in dietary quality for rural residents.

Fat consumption tells a similar story. Urban per capita fat intake decreased slightly from 74.4 grams to 73.4 grams, and per consumer unit from 82.0 grams to 81.8 grams. Rural Jammu Kashmir saw an increase in both indicators, per capita fat intake rose from 68.2 grams to 70.2 grams, and per consumer unit from 73.4 grams to 75.3 grams, further underscoring the relative improvement in rural dietary consumption compared to urban areas.

Overall, the nutritional data reflects a complex picture: while rural Jammu Kashmir shows slight improvement in protein and fat intake, urban areas are witnessing a drop in meals and stagnation in calorie adequacy, pointing to widening disparities and emerging vulnerabilities in urban food security.