India, with a population of over 1.3 billion(According to the 2011 census), has seen tremendous growth in the past two decades but India slipped to the 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th.
Hunger in India is a complex issue. It is widespread and the causes are different across various regions.
According to Food and Agriculture Report, 2018 stated that India houses 195.9 million of the 821 million undernourished people in the world, accounting for approximately 24% of the world’s hungry. The prevalence of undernourishment in India is 14.8%, higher than both the global and Asian average.
It had been reported in 2017 by the National Health Survey that approximately 19 crore people in the country were compelled to sleep on an empty stomach every night. Such is the sad state of affairs. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a UN body, 33 percent of the food produced worldwide never actually reaches the plates of those who need it. there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick.
The COVID-19 pandemic which has severely impacted economic growth and livelihoods is expected to increase the number of food insecure in the country.
Moreover, the most alarming figure revealed is that approximately 7000 Indians (4500 children) die every day and over 25Lakhs+ Indians die every year of chronic hunger and hunger-related diseases. It is estimated that a person dies because of hunger or hunger-related causes every 10 seconds and it is mainly the children who die most often.
Many governments take the initiative and non-government organizations are working toward solving this issue. A lot is yet to be done and I believe we will overcome this issue if only we unify and start doing something about it.