How to Eat Healthy: ICMR's My Plate for the Day, Explained
ICMR-NIN's My Plate for the Day fills half the plate with vegetables and fruit, and the rest with cereals, pulses, dairy and nuts. For a 2,000 kcal day it suggests roughly 400 g of vegetables, 100 g of fruit, 250 g of cereals, 85 g of pulses, 300 ml of milk or curd, 35 g of nuts and seeds, and 27 g of fat.
- My Plate for the Day comes from ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024.
- Half of what you eat by volume should be vegetables and fruit, including green leafy vegetables.
- Cereals and millets should be at most about half your energy, not the bulk of every meal.
- Pulses, eggs or meat, plus milk or curd and nuts, supply the protein most Indian plates are short on.
- Keep salt under 5 g a day and added sugar low, per WHO and ICMR-NIN.
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What is ICMR's My Plate for the Day?
My Plate for the Day is the visual guide in ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, released in 2024. It shows how much of each food group an adult needs across a whole day, not one meal, using Indian foods and household measures.
It replaces the old idea of a plate dominated by rice or roti with a plate where vegetables and fruit take half, cereals take a smaller share, and protein foods are deliberate rather than an afterthought. A balanced diet chart for Indian adults turns this into meals.
How much of each food group should you eat in a day?
These amounts are for an adult on about 2,000 kcal a day; scale up or down with your energy needs.
| Food group | Amount per day | Easy household guide |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetables, including green leafy | about 400 g | Two to three katoris of sabzi plus salad |
| Fruits | about 100 g | One medium fruit |
| Cereals and millets | about 250 g (raw) | Roti, rice, millets across the day |
| Pulses, eggs, meat | about 85 g (raw) | Two to three katoris of dal or equivalent |
| Milk and curd | about 300 ml | One to two glasses or katoris |
| Nuts and seeds | about 35 g | A small handful |
| Fats and oils | about 27 g | About five to six teaspoons in total |
Figures are the approximate amounts given in ICMR-NIN's 2024 guidelines for a 2,000 kcal day.
Where do most Indian plates go wrong?
The most common gaps are too much cereal, too few vegetables, too little protein and too much oil, salt and sugar. Many vegetarian days land at 40–50 g of protein against a need of 0.83 g per kg of body weight, mostly because breakfast and snacks have almost none.
The vegetarian protein gap works through the arithmetic, and the fibre gap in a typical Indian day covers the vegetable side.
How do you turn My Plate into real meals?
You do not need to weigh food; use the plate shape at each meal.
- Breakfast: vegetable poha or besan chilla with curd, and a fruit.
- Lunch: half the plate sabzi and salad, a quarter dal, a quarter roti or rice.
- Snack: roasted chana or peanuts with fruit, or a glass of milk.
- Dinner: lighter than lunch, again half vegetables, with paneer, dal or eggs.
How to build a balanced vegetarian plate has more meal combinations.
What should you limit?
WHO recommends less than 5 g of salt a day and keeping free sugars well under 10% of energy, ideally under 5%. ICMR-NIN also advises limiting ultra-processed foods, fried snacks and sugary drinks, and choosing a mix of oils rather than one.
If weight loss is your aim, the same plate works with smaller cereal portions; foods that help you lose weight explains why.
Where KABO fits in
My Plate for the Day is built from ordinary Indian food, and that should stay the foundation. A shake is not one of its food groups.
Where it can help is the protein gap at breakfast, the meal most Indian plates fall shortest on. A KABO serving gives 23–25 g of plant protein, 26 vitamins and minerals and 4 g fibre in about 198 kcal.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the ICMR My Plate for the Day?
It is the daily food guide in ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024. It recommends that half of what you eat be vegetables and fruit, with the rest from cereals, pulses, dairy, nuts and a little fat.
How can I eat healthy on an Indian diet?
Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit, keep cereals to about a quarter, include dal, eggs, paneer or curd at every meal, add a handful of nuts, and limit salt, sugar and fried foods.
How many vegetables should I eat per day?
ICMR-NIN suggests about 400 g of vegetables a day for a 2,000 kcal diet, including green leafy vegetables. That is roughly two to three katoris of sabzi plus a salad.
How much dal should I eat daily?
About 85 g of raw pulses, eggs or meat a day for a 2,000 kcal diet, which works out to roughly two to three katoris of cooked dal or an equivalent.
How much oil should I use per day?
ICMR-NIN's plate allows about 27 g of fats and oils a day for a 2,000 kcal diet, around five to six teaspoons in total, ideally from a mix of oils.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 ("My Plate for the Day"). nin.res.in
- ICMR-NIN, Nutrient Requirements for Indians (RDA 2020). nin.res.in
- World Health Organization, Healthy diet fact sheet. who.int