India's world hunger ranking slips by three points, worse among BRICS countries

By Rajiv Shah
India has slipped in Global Hunger Index (GHI) by three points ranks – from 97th position to 100th among the 119 countries surveyed. Worked out by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), what should be of particular concern for the country’s policy makers is, it ranks worse among its competing countries.
Thus, among the BRICS countries, Brazil ranks 18th, Russia 22nd, China 29th and South Africa 55th.
Even among immediate neighbours, while Pakistan lags behind India with a 106th ranking, the other important neighbours rank much better than India -- Bangladesh 88th, Sri Lanka 84th, Myanmar 77th, Nepal 72nd.
The report says, “Given that three-quarters of South Asia’s population resides in India, the situation in that country strongly influences South Asia’s regional score. At 31.4 (on a scale of 100), India’s 2017 GHI score is at the high end of the serious category.”

It adds, “According to 2015–2016 survey data, more than a fifth (21 percent) of children in India suffer from wasting. Only three other countries in this year’s GHI -- Djibouti, Sri Lanka, and South Sudan -- have data or estimates showing child wasting above 20 percent in the latest period (2012-16).”

“Further”, the report states, “India’s child wasting rate has not substantially improved over the past 25 years”, adding, however, “The country has made progress in other areas: Its child stunting rate, while still relatively high at 38.4 percent, has decreased in each of the reference periods in this report, down from 61.9 percent in 1992.”

The report says, “India has implemented a ‘massive scale-up’ of two national programmes that address nutrition – the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Health Mission – but these have yet to achieve adequate coverage.”

Identifying “areas of concern”, the report says, these include:

the timely introduction of complementary foods for young children (that is, the transition away from exclusive breastfeeding), which declined from 52.7 percent to 42.7 percent between 2006 and 2016;
the share of children between 6 and 23 months old who receive an adequate diet—a mere 9.6 percent for the country; and
household access to improved sanitation facilities -- a likely factor in child health and nutrition-- which stood at 48.4 percent as of 2016.

India’s poor score, a slip by three ranks, has come about despite the fact the proportion of undernourished in the population in 1991-93 was 21.7%, and has been steadily going down – in 1999-2001 it was 17.2%, in 2007-09 it was 17.2%, and in 2014-16 it is 14.5.
Among other three parameters used for identifying GHI, the report finds that in the prevalence of stunting in children under five years, there is a sharp decline in India from 1990-94, which it was 61.9%, to 38.4% in 2012-16.
Even in the under-five mortality rate, there is a decline from 11.9% in 1992 to 4.8% in 2015.
However, as for the prevalence of wasting in children under five years, there is, however, no improvement. In fact, the percentage of wasting children has gone up from 20.0% in 1990-94 to 21.0% in 2012-16.

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog