Short Abstract
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South Asia, despite its rapid development, has the highest number of malnourished children globally. Over 30% of stunted children are found in Asia alone. India, ranked 94 out of 107 countries in the 2020 Global Hunger Index, lags behind its neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Despite policy interventions, undernutrition remains a grave issue in India. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have a higher proportion of undernourished children. This study analyzes child undernutrition in Southern Rajasthan using three rounds of NFHS data (2005-06 to 2019-21). The region characterized by unproductive land tracts and water scarcity is part of India's mass deprivation group of the central states in terms of stunting which also happens to share a major proportion of the tribal population of India.