Lok Sabha Question No. 1231 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Global Hunger Index
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Kalyan Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1231

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026

## GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

## 1231.  Shri. KALYAN BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) whether India has a serious level of hunger with a score of 25.8 in the 2025 global hunger index;
- (b) if so, whether it is also a fact that in post covid arena India has dropped from 97 in 2016 to 102 rank in 2025 global hunger index:
- (c) whether inspite  of  making  goal  of  zero  hunger  by  2030  prevalence  of  anaemia  has been reported at 57.0 percent in women (15-49 years), 59.1 percent in adolescent girls, 52.2 percent in pregnant women in National Health Survey-5, if so, the details thereof, and
- (d) the details of the action being taken for the protection and development of children belonging  to  Other  Backward  Classes  (OBC)  which  has  highest  minimum  dietary diversity failure (79%), Scheduled Castes (77.2%) and Scheduled Tribes (76%) which resulted in child undernourishment, stunting and mortality among such children?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (d): An index claimed to be Global Hunger Index is published by 3 non-government organizations  (viz.,  Welt  Hunger  Hilfe  of  Germany,  Concern  Worldwide  of  Ireland  and Institute  for  International  Law  of  Peace  and  Armed  Conflict  of  Germany).  It  is  a  flawed measure  of  'Hunger'  and  does  not  reflect  India's  true  position.  Three  out  of  four  of  its constituent indicators are actually related to health and nourishment levels of children. They cannot  be  projected  to  reflect  prevalence  of  hunger  in  the  overall  population.  Only  one indicator, prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), is directly related to hunger, and even this indicator suffers from  significant methodological  and  data  limitations.  Owing  to  the probabilistic nature of its estimation and uncertainties in underlying parameters, the precision of PoU estimates is generally low. Two indicators (viz., stunting and wasting) are not measures of  hunger,  but  outcomes  of  multiple  complex  factors  including  sanitation,  environmental conditions,  disease  burden,  maternal  health,  genetics,  and  food  utilisation.  Similarly,  the indicator Under Five Mortality Rate, is influenced by a wide set of determinants such as access to healthcare, immunisation coverage, sanitation and hygiene, safe drinking water, and overall socio-economic conditions. In view of these shortcomings, the methodology adopted by GHI

is  flawed  and,  the  so-called  rankings  cannot  be  taken  to  reflect  hunger  level  in  the  overall population.

Targeted  Public  Distribution  System  governed  under  National  Food  Security  Act,  2013 (NFSA) is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State/UT Governments. Union Government has laid down a robust mechanism to seamlessly distribute the food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) beneficiaries through Fair Price Shops in all the State/UTs. As on 1 st  Feb 2026, PMGKAY has a coverage of total 79.44 Cr beneficiaries who are receiving free food grains every month.

Secondly,  Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  (PM  POSHAN)  Scheme  is  one  of  the foremost rights based Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in partnership with the States and Union Territories (UTs) for providing one hot cooked and nutritious meal to all children studying in all Bal Vatikas (just before class-I) and classes I to VIII of all Government and Government-aided schools. The Scheme covers about 11 crore children in around 10.35 lakh schools in all the States/ UTs. The overall responsibility for providing hot cooked and nutritious meal  to  the  eligible  children  lies  with  the  State  Governments  and  Union  Territory  (UT) Administrations. There is a provision of 5% of total recurring budget as the flexi component to be used by the States/UTs as per their requirement. It may be used for setting up of School Nutrition Gardens and provision of Supplementary Nutrition interventions viz., Chikki, Eggs, Milk, Fruits and additional food items etc. in identified districts. The States and Union Territory Administrations  are  encouraged  to  decide  menu  suitable  to  the  local  conditions  within  the prescribed  nutrition  and  food  norms  and  to  procure  locally  grown  food  items  like  millets, vegetables, condiments etc.

Various rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health &  Family  Welfare  since  1992-93  have  shown  improvement  in  malnutrition  indicators  in children across India. Details of these indicators for children since NFHS-1 to NFHS-5 and Poshan Tracker are given below:

| NFHS Survey                                  |   Underweight |   %Wasting |   %Stunting% |
|----------------------------------------------|---------------|------------|--------------|
| NFHS-1 (1992-93)*                            |          53.4 |       17.5 |         52   |
| NFHS-2 (1998-99)**                           |          47   |       15.5 |         45.5 |
| NFHS-3 (2005-6)***                           |          42.5 |       19.8 |         48   |
| NFHS-4 (2015-16)***                          |          35.8 |       21   |         38.4 |
| NFHS-5 (2019-21)***                          |          32.1 |       19.3 |         35.5 |
| Poshan Tracker (as on 31st December 2025)*** |          13   |        4   |         31   |

To address the challenge of malnutrition, Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years, in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0).  It  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Mission,  where  the  responsibility  for  implementation  of various  activities  lies  with  the  States  and  UTs.  This  Mission  is  a  universal  self-selecting umbrella scheme open to all eligible beneficiaries, i.e., Children under 6 years of age (including children  belonging  to  Other  Backward  Classes,  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes), pregnant women, lactating mothers till 6 months after childbirth and adolescent girls (14-18 years of age) in Northeastern States and Aspirational Districts of the country. The Mission is being implemented across the country, including tribal and remote areas. Further, to effectively address  the  issue,  a  multi-sectoral  approach  encompassing  the  dimensions  of  food,  health, water, sanitation and education is essential, and this is being addressed through cross-cutting convergence among more than 18 Ministries and Departments.

Under this Mission, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls (14-18 years) in accordance with nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013. These norms have been revised in January 2023. The revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet diversity and  recommend  provision of quality protein, healthy fats and 7 essential micronutrients (Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Dietary Folate, Vitamin-A, Vitamin-B6 and Vitamin B12).  Fortified  rice  is  being  supplied  under  supplementary  nutrition  programme  to  meet  the requirement of micro-nutrients among women and children. Greater emphasis is laid on the use of millets at least once a week for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take-Home ration at Anganwadi centers (AWCs).

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy to educate people on nutritional aspects as adoption of healthy eating habits requires sustained efforts for behavioural change. State and UTs are conducting and reporting regular sensitisation activities under Jan Andolans during Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas celebrated in the months of September and March-April respectively. Community Based Events (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional practices and all Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two Community Based Events every month.

The  PM  JANMAN  Mission  launched  by  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  aims  for  targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing in 18 States and a UT. This Mission focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development. As on date, a total of 2500 AWCs have been approved for construction under PM JANMAN across the country. Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched Dharti Aaba Janjati Gram Unnat Abhiyan (DAJGUA) aimed at improving the socio-economic  condition  of  tribal  communities  by  adopting  saturation  coverage  of  tribal families in tribal majority areas and aspirational block ST villages.

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