Aaska Kol, a six-year-old girl, runs her fingers over the dregs of a watery potato gravy on her plate. The tribal Kol girl licks them clean and repeats the process longingly several times over.
This frugal lunch, accompanied by rice, is what the state offers her at the local anganwadi (government childcare centre) in this village in Madhya Pradesh state in its attempt to curb endemic child malnutrition.
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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 07, 2020, with the headline Kids' health held hostage by politics in Indian state's plan to give malnourished children eggs. Subscribe