ICMR and NIN: research, requirements and guidelines
ICMR is India's apex body for medical research; its institute NIN, Hyderabad sets nutrient requirements, dietary guidelines and food composition tables, and runs national nutrition surveys.
ICMR
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, is India's apex body for planning, funding and carrying out biomedical research. It began in 1911 as the Indian Research Fund Association and was renamed ICMR in 1949. It works under the Department of Health Research of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through a network of institutes. In nutrition it appoints the expert groups that set Indian nutrient requirements and dietary guidelines, funds research on deficiency diseases, and advises national programmes.
History of NIN
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1918 | Beri-beri Enquiry Unit set up by Sir Robert McCarrison at the Pasteur Institute, Coonoor (Nilgiris) |
| 1925 | Grows into the Deficiency Diseases Enquiry |
| Late 1920s | Becomes the Nutrition Research Laboratories, with McCarrison as first director; W.R. Aykroyd succeeds him in 1935 |
| 1958 | Moves to Hyderabad |
| 1969 | Renamed the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at its golden jubilee |
Contributions of NIN
- Nutrient Requirements for Indians (latest 2020) and Dietary Guidelines for Indians (latest 2024), prepared by ICMR-NIN expert groups.
- Food composition tables: *Nutritive Value of Indian Foods* and the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT 2017).
- Surveys: runs the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB), which surveys diet and nutritional status in the states.
- Research behind programmes: large-dose vitamin A prophylaxis, iron supplementation in pregnancy, double fortified salt, and studies on lathyrism, fluorosis, pellagra and low-cost weaning foods.
- Training of doctors, nutritionists, ICDS and health staff; postgraduate teaching.
- Food and drug toxicology and food safety research; scientific advice for food standards.
Key features of the ICMR-NIN 2020 requirements
ICMR vs NIN
When a dietitian plans an anganwadi menu or a hostel diet, she takes nutrient values from NIN's IFCT 2017 and targets from the ICMR-NIN 2020 requirements: the two most-used tools in Indian nutrition work.
2 marks: “Who founded the institution that became NIN, and where?” Sir Robert McCarrison, in 1918, as the Beri-beri Enquiry Unit at Coonoor in the Nilgiris; it moved to Hyderabad in 1958.
5 marks: “Write a note on the National Institute of Nutrition.” History; contributions: requirements and guidelines, IFCT 2017, NNMB surveys, research behind programmes (vitamin A, double fortified salt), training, toxicology; its link to ICMR.
10 marks: “Discuss the role of ICMR and NIN in combating malnutrition in India.” ICMR history and role; NIN history table; contributions; key features of the 2020 requirements; NNMB; how programmes use their work.
NIN tells us what we need (Requirements 2020), what to eat (Dietary Guidelines 2024) and what food contains (IFCT 2017). 1918 Coonoor → 1958 Hyderabad → 1969 NIN.