Lok Sabha Question No. 2511 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-03
Subject: Hunger Rate
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

## MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER  AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC  DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIG DISTRIBUTIOI{

## GOVERNMEIiIT  OF IiIDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 25{{ TO BE ANSWERED  ON 3RD AUGUST, 2O2I

## HUNGER  RATE

## 25{{. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

Will the Minister of

DISTRIBUTION  SITSI}irdI  gr8iil, GONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLTC qtcq  3itr Er+dfrfr ffilrur d+ be preased  to statei

- (a) the hunger rate of lndia in the past six years;
- (b)
- whether there has been an increased  or decreased in this rate, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the measures the Government  has taken to tackle this the fact that lndia ranks lowly under  ..severe[  hunger category  in the Globa! Hunger lndex of 2O2O?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF RUR'TL DEVELOPMENT  AND coNsuMER AFFAIRS, FOOD &  pUBLtC  DTSTRIBUTTON

(sADHVr NIRANJAN JYOTI)

- (a) & (b): As per information  avaatable in the public domain

(trttps:tlwww.globalhu ),  Indiars ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 20{5, 2tJ161 2017r 2O1\ 2O1g and ZO2O brought out by Goncern Worldwide  and Welthungerlrilfe  was 8O, 97, {OO, l03, {02 and 94 respectively.  As per GHI Reports, the composite GHI scores of lndia have improved from 38.9 in 2OOO to 27.2 in 2O2O. Thrrs, the country has shown consistent improvement  over the years.

- (c):  The Govemment of lndia accords high priority to the issue of hunger and has been providing  foodgraans at highly subsidlzed  prices to the targeted population  through state Governments/unaon  Territory Administrations  under National Food Security Act (NFSA),  2013 and Other Wetfare Schemes (OWS). NFSA provides for coverage of upto 75o/o ol the rural population and upto 5oolo of the urban poputation  for receiv-ng foodgrains under Targeted  public Distribution  system  (TPDS)  @ Rs 11213 per kg'for coarsegrains/wheaurice respectively.  ldentification of beneficiaries  unrder the Act is under two categories. households  covered under Antyodayir Anna  yojana  (AAy) and PrioritXr  Households  (PHH). PrioriQr Households  are entifled to receive  5 Kg per person  per month and AAY households  are entifled  to receive  35 Kg of foodgrains  per household per month. At present,  the Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs  covering about 79.5{ crore persons  to get h:ghly subsid:zed  foodgrains.  The coverage under the Act is substantialty high to ensure that all the vulnerabte and needy sections of the society get its benefit'

The Act also contains provisions  for nutritional  support to pregnant women and lactating mothers and children upto {4 years of age. One of the guiding principles  of the Act is its life cycle approach wherein special provisions  have been made for pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group  of 6 months to 14 years, by entifling them to receive nutritious  meal free of cost through a widespread  network of lntegrated child Development  services (lcDS) centres, called Anganwadi Gentres under IGDS scheme  and atso through schools under Mid.Day Meal (MDM)  scheme.

During the year 2O2O-21, the Governme4t allocated  a quantity of 94837 lakh MT of foodgrains to the states/UTs under NFSA, other welfare schemes (ows), allocations due to  naturat calamities and festivals, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyaan Anna  yojana  and Atmanirbhar Bharat. During the current year i,e. 2O2L-22, the Government  of India has so far alloeated 860.63 lakh MT of foodgrains under NFSA, ow$ and  pradhan Mantr: Garib Kalyaan .Anna Yoiana and other. additional allocations. The scheme of End'to-End Gomputerization of the  pDS  has ensured rightful targeting of the beneficiaries atl over the country.

The implementation  of NFSA through the.,  public  Distribution System (PDs)  is a joint responsibility  of the Gentrat and state Governments/UT Administrations. The , state Governments/ur..  Administrations are responsible for the identification of beneficiaries and distribution of foodgrains to them. Government  of India has issued advisories  to all states/UTs  to review their lists of beneficiaries under NFSA, launch.specia! drives to identifxr and cover the weakest sections,of the.society under  pDS and issue ration cards to them.

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