GD Topic - Global Food and Hunger Crisis: India Ranks 105 at Global Hunger Index 2024

Candidates planning to get admission to top B-schools and pursue MBA programme must start preparing for the Group Discussion Round. Candidates are often asked to discuss topics related to current affairs, business trends, or abstract concepts. Read the below article for information on the Global Hunger Index and India's position at the Global Hunger Index 2024.

The global food and hunger crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Despite advancements in agriculture and food production, over 733 million people worldwide lack access to sufficient and nutritious food and suffer from chronic malnutrition. This crisis highlights the inequalities in food distribution and the vulnerabilities of global food systems.

Reasons for Food and Hunger Crisis

Many factors contribute to the ongoing food and hunger crisis. Let’s understand some of those reasons:

Conflict and Political Stability: Wars and conflicts affect food production and supply chains, leaving millions without access to food and other essential resources.
Climate Change: Extreme climate changes like floods and droughts reduce agricultural productivity, resulting in food shortages and hunger crises.
Population Growth: In countries like India, increasing population pressures strain food production and distribution systems.
Poor Agricultural Practices: Although agricultural techniques have been advanced, many countries still have inefficient farming techniques and inadequate infrastructure, hindering food production and storage.
Economic Inequality; Unequal wealth distribution is also a reason for the food and hunger crises as it limits the low-income population’s food access.
Pandemic: Global pandemics like COVID-19 disrupt the supply chain, increase unemployment, and give rise to poverty, leading to heightened food security.

What is the Global Hunger Index (GHI)?

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool that comprehensively measures and tracks hunger at global, regional, and national levels. GHI is a peer-reviewed report, published by Concern Worldwide and Welthunherlife annually. The Global Hunger Index scores countries on a 100-point scale, where 0 represents no hunger and 100 represents extreme hunger.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) evaluates the hunger levels of countries using four indicators:

Undernourishment: It includes the percentage of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient. It is measured based on the standard intake defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Child Wasting (low weight for height): This component includes the percentage of children under five with low weight for their height, and reflects acute undernutrition.
Child Stunting (low height for age): This component includes the percentage of children under five with low height for their age, and reflects chronic undernutrition.
Child Mortality: This component includes the percentage of children who die before their fifth birthday, and partly reflects a fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.

Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024

Global Hunger Index is a tool that reflects multiple dimensions of hunger over time. The motive behind the GHI report is to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger. It helps make comparisons between hunger levels of different countries and regions and makes areas with higher hunger levels aware of the situation, so they can make required efforts to eliminate hunger.

In 2024, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr-University Bochum joined the cooperation as an academic partner. From now on, the institute will calculate and develop the Index. For the 2024 GHI Report, data from 136 countries were assessed. However, due to a lack of sufficient data for nine countries, the report includes a ranking of 127 countries.

According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024:

51 countries fall under Low GHI Scores
27 countries fall under Moderate GHI Scores
36 countries fall under Serious GHI Score
6 countries fall under Alarming GHI Scores
0 countries fall under Extremely Alarming GHI Score

The Global Hunger Index 2024 Score for the world is 18.3, which is considered moderate. This score is slightly less than the GHI 2016 Score; i.e., 18.8. If we compare this data with that of the 2016 GHI Report, we can see little progress in hunger reduction since 2016. However, with 42 countries still experiencing alarming or serious hunger, the prospects of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 seem serious. Experts are also saying that if the pace remains the same, then low hunger at the global level may not be reached until 2160.

India’s Ranking on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024

India ranks 105^th out of the 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2024. On the severity level, India is at the Serious Level with a GHI Score of 27.3

As discussed above, the GHI score is calculated based on the four component indicators; undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. India scored 27.3 GHI Score based on the following percentage of these indicators:

These figures can be summarized as follows:

13.7% of India’s population is undernourished, reflecting a widespread lack of access to adequate food.
35.5% of children under the age of five are stunted, showcasing chronic undernutrition and its long-term impact on growth and development.
18.7% of children under five experience wasting, indicating acute malnutrition and severe health risks.
2.9% of children do not reach their fifth birthday, underscoring the tragic consequences of hunger and malnutrition.

In addition to India’s 2024 GHI indicators, check out the graph below for the change in the percentage of indicators from 2000 to 2008 to 2016 to 2024.

The above graph shows the following changes in the percentage of population:

Undernourishment: 18.3 (in 2000), 15.6 (in 2008), 11.5 (in 2016), and 13.7 (in 2004).
Child Wasting: 17.7 (in 2000), 20.0 (in 2008), 20.8 (in 2016), and 18.7 (in 2024).
Child Stunting: 51.0 (in 2000), 47.8 (in 2008), 37.9 (in 2016), and 35.5 (in 2024).
Child Mortality: 9.2 (in 2000), 6.5 (in 2008), 4.1 (in 2016), and 2.9 (in 2024)

These figures show a good drop in undernourishment, child stunting, and child mortality percentage. However, India needs more improvement when it comes to child wasting.

Despite the serious figures, India’s condition has gradually improved if we compare its GHI 2024 Score with the alarming score of 38.4 in 2000.

Causes of Hunger in India

India faces hunger due to several social, economic, and political factors. Some of the primary causes behind Hunger in India are:

Poverty: Despite economic growth, a substantial part of the population lives below the poverty line, limiting their access to adequate food.
Unemployment: India also faces a lack of stable employment opportunities which reduces household income, ultimately affecting an individual’s ability to purchase sufficient and nutritious food.
Inefficient Distribution System: The Public Distribution System (PDS) suffers from corruption, leakages, and inefficiency. This leads to a failure in delivering subsidized food to the needy.
Agricultural Challenges: Small and marginal farmers face less productivity due to lack of irrigation, market volatility, and improper modern techniques, which affects their income and food availability.
Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Erratic weather patterns, droughts, and floods disrupt agricultural productivity. These climatic changes and natural disasters result in food shortages and hunger.
Population Growth: Rapid population growth is also one of the major reasons for hunger in India. An increase in population, increases the demand for more food, straining resources and distribution systems.

Government Initiatives to Combat Hunger in India

The government of India has launched various initiatives to reduce the issue of hunger in the country. Here are some of the key government initiatives:

National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013: The NFSA Act was introduced in 2013 to provide subsidized food grains to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population under the Targeted Public Distribution System. This percentage sums up to two-thirds of the population. The act covers priority households and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families and focuses on women empowerment by mandating the eldest female of a family (above 18 years) as the head for issuing ration cards.
Public Distribution System (PDS): It is a food security system established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to distribute food and non-food items at subsidized rates to the poor people of India. The food is distributed through a network of fair-price shops.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), 1975: ICDS is an early childhood development programme launched by the Government of India in 1975 to address malnutrition, health, and development needs of young children, pregnant mothers, and nursing mothers. The services provided under this scheme include supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups and referrals, and preschool education.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS): This scheme was launched to provide free and nutritious meals to children in government and government-aided schools. The three major motives behind implementing the mid-day meal scheme are to improve school attendance, address child malnutrition and hunger, and encourage gender equality and social inclusion.
PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): It is a food security welfare scheme launched by the Government of India during COVID-19 to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Under this scheme, the government provided free food grains to the poor. It was initially launched during the pandemic; however, the government has extended it multiple times to address the ongoing hunger crises.
National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan), 2018: NNM 2018 is an initiative launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 8^th March 2018 to reduce malnutrition by improving nutritional outcomes among children, adolescents, and women.
Eat Right India Movement: This movement was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to promote safe, healthy, and sustainable diets. Under this movement, FSSAI tries to encourage fortification of food with essential micronutrients and promotes awareness among people about balanced diets and healthy eating habits.

Based on the above information on the Global Hunger Index and India’s Position at GHI 2024, candidates preparing for the Group Discussion Round for MBA Admissions can frame their viewpoints according to the topic related to the Global Hunger Index.