Recently, the Union government informed the Supreme Court (SC) that no starvation death has been reported by any state or Union territory (UT) in recent years.
Model Scheme
The court wants the center to create a model scheme and distribute it to all states and UTs for review.
The first task of the welfare state is to provide food to those who have died of hunger.
The Attorney General has agreed to submit to the federal government a court proposal to provide the state with an additional 2 percent of grain.
Statistics on malnutrition:
Deaths in children and adults are available in the country, but there are no official data on deaths from starvation.
According to the 2018 Food and Agriculture Report, India is home to 195.9 million of the world's 821 million malnourished people, accounting for about 24% of the world's hunger.
The prevalence of malnutrition in India is 14.8%, higher than the global and Asian averages.
Indian famine India's malnutrition is two to seven times higher than other BRICS member countries, according to a 2015 World Bank report.
The same results were shown in the 2021 report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Indicators on malnutrition:
Serious Levels: India, with a Global Hunger Report score of 27.5, has a serious level of hunger.
Behind neighbours: India is also behind most of its neighbors. Pakistan was 92nd, Nepal and Bangladesh 76th, and Sri Lanka 65th.
Decline in score: In fact, India's score at GHI has dropped by 10 points over the last 20 It fell from 38.8 in 2000 to 28.8 in 2021.
Bad indicator: Globally, India ranks worst in terms of "children's exhaustion" or "weight for height". His performance was worse than Djibouti and Somalia. Approximately 17.3% of children under the age of 5 in India were affected by stunting between 2016 and
Malnutrition: Percentage of the malnourished population (that is, the population with inadequate caloric intake).
COVID19 and nutrition:
Pandemics exacerbate malnutrition through reduced use of medical services, immunization, malnutrition treatment, and antenatal care, as well as food insecurity.
The effects of the pandemic on malnutrition in children have not yet been comprehensively measured due to barriers to the collection of anthropometric data, but estimates show significant effects.
Infant mortality is projected to increase as a result of a pandemic, primarily due to the indirect effects of COVID19. The COVID 19 pandemic has exacerbated food security, but the full extent of its impact is not yet fully understood.
Causes
Agricultural production: Agricultural production on small, limited farms is stagnant or declining due to factors such as low soil fertility, land fragmentation, and fluctuations in market prices of agricultural products.
Low income: The relative income of some of the population is declining. This negatively impacts the ability to buy the right food, especially when food prices rise.
Public Distribution System: The state's public distribution system is not working well or is not accessible to everyone.
Rural Unemployment: The debilitated rural livelihood sector and lack of non-agricultural income opportunities have contributed significantly to the increase in rural unemployment.
Way Forward
A flexible and agile approach that reflects local awareness, aspirations and concerns.
Focus on working in partnerships that connect local, national and international stakeholders with their diverse knowledge.
