Govt rejects India's ranking on Global Hunger Index as 'flawed'
1 min read . Updated: 22 Jul 2022, 04:59 PM IST
Premium- The government has rejected India's 101 ranking among 116 nations on the Global Hunger Index, saying it is ‘flawed’ and does not show ‘true picture’
India has ranked 101 among the 116 countries on the Global Hunger Index, showing the level of hunger in the country as "serious". The Central government has, however, rejected India's ranking on Global Hunger Index, saying it was "flawed".
The Centre said that the ranking does not reflect India's true picture as it is a flawed measure of hunger. On a question posed by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Mahesh Sahoo, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said the index is not representative of the hunger prevalent in the country.
"Out of the four indicators -- Undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting and child wasting -- only one indicator, undernourishment, is directly related to hunger. And there is hardly any evidence that child mortality is an outcome of hunger, the ministry said.
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It also said, "Data used in Global Hunger Index report are sourced from international agencies which are not updated as per the latest data available in the country. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the data source agency for the indicator, 'Prevalence of Undernourishment', has relied on the opinion poll conducted telephonically, which has completely disregarded the government's economic response to Covid-19 of providing free foodgrains to 80 crore National Food Security Act beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, and given an unacceptable estimate for India for the triennium period 2018-2020."
The index also said that since 2000, India has made substantial progress, but there are still areas of concern, particularly regarding child nutrition.
India's GHI score has decreased from a 2000 GHI score of 38.8 points considered alarming to a 2021 GHI score of 27.5-considered serious. The proportion of undernourished in the population and the under-five child mortality rate is now at relatively low levels, it said.
On child wasting, the Global Hunger Index said, "At 17.3 percent-according to the latest data-India has the highest child wasting rate of all countries covered in the GHI. This rate is slightly higher than it was in 1998-1999, when it was 17.1 percent."
