Lok Sabha Question No. 2733 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-05-10
Subject: Hunger Report
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: RAMCHARAN BOHARA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2733

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 th   MAY, 2016

## HUNGER REPORT

## 2733. SHRI RAM CHARAN BOHRA:

Will  the  Minister  of  CONSUMER  AFFAIRS,  FOOD  AND  PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the United Nations Annual Hunger  Report  pointing  out  that  India  is  home  to  the  highest  number  of hungry people in the world;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto indicating  the  number  of  people  reportedly  facing  hunger  in  the  country during the last three years, State-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  prepared  any  effective  action  plan  to check hunger and bring down the number of hungry people; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the time by which this problem is likely to be addressed by the Government?

## A N S W E R MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAM  VILAS PASWAN)

(a) and (b): Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  of  the  United  Nations (FAO)'s    Report  2015  "The  State  of  Food  Insecurity  in  the  World"  takes stock of progress made towards achieving the internationally established Millennium  Development  Goal  (MDG1)  and  World  Food  Summit  (WFS) hunger  targets.  In  this  report,  review  of  progress  has  been  made  since 1990 for every country and region as well as for the world as a whole.

As per the report, the number of undernourished people in India has been declined from 210.1 million in base year of 1990-92 to 194.6 in 201416,  a  change  of  7.4%.  Similarly,  proportion  of  undernourished  in  total population in India has also come down from 23.7 % in 1990-92 to 15.2% in 2014-16.  The report does not produce State-wise figures.

(c) & (d): The Government is implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA),  2013  to  provide  food  security  to  the  population.  So  far,  33 States/UTs  have  implemented  the  NFSA  Act,  2013.  The  Act  provides  for coverage  of  upto  75%  of  the  rural  and  50%  of  the  urban  population  to receive  highly  subsidized  foodgrains  under  Targeted  Public  Distribution System (TPDS). The Act also contains provisions for nutritional support to Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers or children below 14 years of age.

The Government of India has also accorded high priority to the issue of  hunger  and  malnutrition  in  the  country  and  is  implementing  several schemes/programmes  through  State  Governments/UT  Administrations  to improve  food  security  situation  in  the  country.  These  include  Targeted Public Distribution  System(TPDS),  Wheat  Based  Nutrition  Programme (WBNP) for providing Supplementary Nutrition, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme for pre-school children and pregnant and lactating mothers through the Ministry of Women and Child Development,  National  Rural  Health  Mission(NRHM)  through  Ministry  of Health  &  Family  Welfare,  Mid-Day-Meal  (MDM)  Scheme  for  primary  and upper primary children through Ministry of Human Resource Development, Annapurna  Scheme  for  the  senior  citizens,  Nutritional  Programme  for Adolescent Girls, Emergency Feeding Programme, etc.

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