Lok Sabha Question No. 1399 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-11
Subject: Global Hunger Index-2019
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Anumula Revanth Reddy, Manne Srinivas Reddy

## illlNtsTRY  oF coNsuMER AFFAIRS, FOOD &  pUBLtC  DtSTRtBUTtOil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD A]{D PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1399 TO BE ANSWERED  ON 11th FEBRUARY, 2O2O

## GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX.2O{g

## {399. SHRI ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY: SHRI MANI{E SRINIVAS REDDY:

Will the Minister of  GOII|SUMER AFFAIRS,  FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION  strtfrdI Trril, Er6-{r gk  srfofia, futr{q d* be pleased to state:

- whether it is a fact that in the Global Hunger lndex-2o{9,  lndia ranks a lowly {O2 out of 117 nations categorized  as a nation with serious levels of hunger, if so, whether lndiats ranking has slipped dramatically since 2014
- (a) and if so, the reasons therefoq
- (b)  whether it is also a fact that lndia ranked lower than Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and China in the Global Hunger lndex, if so, the facts thereof and the reasons for failure of the Government mechanism in providlng 2 square meals to the citizens of the countryl
- (c) whether it is a fact that the lndex placed lndia among the countries that have serious levels of hunger, if so, the details thereoft
- (d)  the reasons that people with hunger in lndia have gone up from 785 million in 2OO5 to822 million in 2O{5; and
- (e) whether the Government  has any plan to enhance lndiats ranking in Global Hunger lndex to achieve zero hunger by 2O3O as per Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MTNISTRY OF CONSUMER  AFFAIRS,  FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(sHRr DANVE RAOSAHEB DADARAO)

(a) to (c): Yes Sir. As per infiormation available in the public domain (https://wrmr.concern.net/insishts/slobal-hunger-index-2o{9), lndia's ranking in the Global Hunger lndex (GHI) 20l9,brought out by Goncern World Wide is 'tO2. lndiats ranking in the Global Hunger lndex (GHl) 2lD14 was 55. As per GHI Report 2O{9 of Goncern World Wide, the composite  GHI scores of lndia have improved from 38.8 in 2OOO to 3O.3 ln 2O{9. Thus, the country has shown consistent improyement  over the years. Pakistan is ranked 94, Sri Lanka is ranked 66, l{epal is ranked 73 and Ghina is ranked 25.

...........21'

(d) & (e): The Government of lndia accords high priority to the issue of hunger and has been providing  foodgrains  at highly subsidized  prices to the targeted population through State  Governments/Union  Territory Administrations  under National  Food Seeurity Act (NFSAI, 21013 and Other Welfare  Schemes (OWS).

NFSA provides  for coverage of about 8{3 million beneficiaries  with provision for upto 75Vo of the rural population  and upto 5Oo/o of the urban population  for receiving foodgrains  under Targeted Public Distribution $ystem (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population of the country for  receiving foodgrains  @ Rs  11213 per  kg  for  nutricereals/wheaUrice  respectively.  ldentification  of beneficiaries  under the Act is under two categories- households covered under Antyodaya Anna Yofana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH), within the coyerage determined for the State/UT. While Priority Households  are entitled to receive 5 kg per person per month, AAY households,  which constitute the poorest of the poor, continue to receive 35 Kg of foodgrains per household per month, At present, the Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs covering about 8O crore persons to get highly subsidized foodgrains. The coverage under the Act is substantially  high to ensure that all the vulnerable and needy sections of the society get its benefit. The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children. Pregnant women, Iactating motherc and children upto {4 yeans of age are entitled to nutritious  meals, free of cost, as per the prescribed nutritional standards. ln case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries  will receive food security allowance. The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels. The implementation of  NFSA through the Public Distribution  System (PDS) is a joint responsibitity  of the Gentral and State Governments/UT Administrations, and  the State  Governments/UT Administrations are responsible  for the identification of beneficiaries under the ilFSA.

During the year 2018-19, the Government  allocated a quantity of 612.18|akh MT of foodgrains to the States/UTs under NFSA, Other Welfare Schemes and allocations  due to natural calamities  and festivals. During the current year i.e. 2O{9-2O, the Government of India has so far allocated 603.95 lakh MT of foodgrains under NFSA, OWS and additional allocations. The scheme of End-to-End Gomputerization  of the PDS has ensured rightful targeting of the beneficiaries all oyer the country.

Further, Government  of lndia has issued advisories to all States/UTs to ldentifil and cover the weakest sections of the society under PDS and launch special drives to issue ration cards to them. Advisories have been issued to all State/UTs that no beneficiary/household  shall be deleted from the list of eligible beneficiaries/households  only on the grounds of not possessing Aadhaar and shall also not be denied subsidized foodgrains or cash transfer of food subsidy under NFSA due to non-availability of Aadhaar or failure of biometric  authentieation.  ****