The Government of India ensured that over 80 crore fellow Indians get access to free ration in the midst of the pandemic.
It is our commitment that no Indian has to remain hungry: PM @narendramodi in the Lok Sabha
The Prime Minister of India tweeted this message. He made this claim in the Parliament, too. But his statement obfuscates the reality faced by millions of Indians who are facing severe hunger and starvation. Out of 116 countries, India ranks 101 in the Global Hunger Index, 2021. The lower the rank, the hungrier the nation. The countries that fare worse–such as Afghanistan, Somalia, and Nigeria–have worse economic conditions. Afghanistan’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) is $16 billion. Nigeria’s GDP is $440 billion, and Somalia’s GDP is $5.42 billion. India’s estimated GDP is $1.98 trillion. Then, why are so many people in India going hungry?
To compare, Pakistan’s GDP is estimated to be $280 billion. Yet Pakistan is at 92 on the World Hunger Index. Food grains in India have increased from 198 million to 269 million tonnes in the past 20 years. Despite that, India is 9 points lower than Pakistan. In 2016, Pakistan was lower in the ranking than India. Now, it has worked its way up. India is now the lowest-ranked in the whole of South Asia.
These are worrying numbers. There could be many reasons for it, including pandemic induced recession, improper utilisation of Mid-Day Meal funds, and the National Food Security Act being unable to cover the entirety of the poor.
Every Indian citizen is entitled to food. The National Food Security Act, passed in 2013, called the Right to Food Act, guarantees subsidised food to 50% of the urban population and 75% of the rural population. However, The National Food Security Act, which is supposed to provide food security to those who need it–isn’t able to do deliver.
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