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Nearly half of India’s at-home protein intake now comes from cereals such as rice, wheat, suji, and maida, according to a new, independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The study analyses Indian dietary trends based on the latest 2023-24 NSSO Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) dataset.
While Indians consume an adequate average of 55.6 g of protein per day at home, the study finds that cereals alone supply nearly 50 per cent of this protein despite their low-quality amino acid profile and poor digestibility. This contribution of cereals to protein intake is far above the NIN-recommended 32 per cent, crowding out higher-quality protein sources such as pulses, dairy and eggs/fish/meat. Protein supports the body’s growth, repair, and immune function. The CEEW study further finds under-consumption across major food groups, such as vegetables, fruits, and pulses, and overuse in cooking oil, salt, and sugar intake.
Apoorve Khandelwal, Fellow, CEEW, said, “This study spotlights a silent crisis in India’s food system: over-reliance on low-quality proteins, excess calories from cereals and oils, and stark under-consumption of diverse, nutrient-rich foods. In a week, a person in the poorest decile consumes just 2-3 glasses of milk and fruits equivalent to just 2 bananas, compared to 8-9 glasses and 8–10 bananas for those in the richest decile. These consumption gaps mirror broader inequities in access to balanced diets. At the same time, the country’s heavy dependence on a narrow crop base for nutrition and income reduces its climate resilience. Diversification, from fork to farm, must be a national priority.”
India’s protein intake has grown only slightly over the past decade, but is still adequate. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation of India, average daily per-capita protein intake rose from 60.7 g to 61.8 g in rural areas and 60.3 g to 63.4 g in urban areas between 2011–12 and 2023–24.
Yet, CEEW analysis reveals that behind these averages lies deep inequality: the richest 10 per cent of the Indian population consumes 1.5 times more protein at home than the poorest, and also accesses far more animal-based sources. For example, milk intake among the poorest 10 per cent of the rural population is only about one-third of the recommended level, whereas it exceeds 110 per cent of the recommendation among the richest. A similar trend appears for eggs, fish, and meat: the poorest households meet only 38 per cent of the RDA, while the richest exceed it at 123 per cent. Despite their importance, pulses such as arhar, moong, and masur, now contribute just 11 per cent of India’s protein intake—far short of the 19 per cent recommended—and are underconsumed in every state.
India’s diet remains heavily skewed toward cereals and cooking oils, with both contributing to significant nutritional imbalance. Nearly three-fourths of all carbohydrates come from cereals, and direct cereal intake continues to be 1.5 times the RDA, reinforced by the widespread availability of subsidised rice and wheat through the PDS in lower-expenditure deciles. Coarse grains such as jowar, bajra, and ragi have seen the steepest at-home decline—nearly a 40 per cent drop in per capita consumption in a decade—resulting in Indians meeting barely 15 per cent of the recommended intake.
At the same time, the proportion of households consuming more than 1.5 times the recommended fat intake has more than doubled in the last decade, with higher-expenditure households consuming almost twice as much fat as lower-expenditure groups.
Fibre intake in India has improved modestly over the past decade, rising from 28.4 g to 31.5 g per person per day, close to the recommended 32.7 g. Yet the bulk of fibre continues to come from cereals rather than from more fibre-dense foods such as pulses, fruits, nuts, and diverse vegetables. Consumption of green leafy vegetables remains critically low, both among vegetarians and non-vegetarians. This undermines digestive health, gut microbiota balance, and long-term disease prevention.
Indians consume around 11 g of salt per day, more than double the WHO’s recommended limit of 5 g. While at-home cooking accounts for over 7 g of this intake, the remainder comes from processed and served foods, mirroring rising dependence on convenience and packaged products.
Suhani Gupta, Research Analyst, CEEW, said, “While coarse grains and pulses offer superior nutrition and environmental benefits, they remain significantly under-consumed and under-provisioned in major food programmes, such as the Public Distribution System, which continue to be dominated by rice and wheat. At the same time, our study shows that high-expenditure households consume nearly twice as much fat as the poorest, signalling a growing double burden of malnutrition. Addressing this requires differentiated approaches: strengthening access and demand for diverse, nutrient-rich foods, particularly for low-expenditure groups, while moderating excess and reformulating processed food environments for affluent groups.”
The CEEW study recommends that at the systems level, reforming major public food programmes—including the PDS, PM POSHAN, and Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0—is essential to shift away from cereal-dominant provisioning and expand access to coarse grains, pulses, milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Delivering this transformation requires coordinated action across governments, markets, and civil society: aligning procurement with regional nutritious foods, embedding behaviour-change efforts in schools and community platforms, incentivising formulation of healthier food offerings by the private sector, and leveraging media and digital influencers to reshape dietary preferences. With stronger convergence and visibility, India can move beyond mere calorie sufficiency towards more balanced, diverse, and sustainable diets that improve long-term public health.