This has become an annual ritual. The Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) releases its Global Hunger Index, ranking countries in proportion to their population faced with hunger and under-nutrition. India ranks 97 among the 118 developing nations, faring worse than all its neighbours, except Pakistan.
In the first such index prepared in 2006, India had ranked 96 among 119 countries. This year, when the GDP growth rate is being claimed to be among the highest in the world, India has fared worse than where it stood 10 years ago.
I am not surprised. After the report is released, the media performs the ritual of diligently reporting about India’s abysmal ranking in hunger. It is then forgotten and picked up again when the next report is released. The same kind of editorials, the same kind of commentary pieces. Once the issue fades away, the media and policy makers forget about hunger and move on to better the economic growth prospects: more six-lane highways, more mega irrigation projects, more airports at mofussil towns, infrastructure projects, privatisation of forests
and natural resources.
Removing hunger has never been in the priority list. Every prime minister has talked of fighting hunger and poverty. Indira Gandhi had launched the Garibi Hatao programme. Manmohan Singh called malnourishment “a national shame”. An emotional Narendra Modi had dedicated his government to the poor when he first addressed the BJP parliamentary party meeting in the Central Hall. Yet, hunger has remained robustly sustainable. A fourth of the world’s estimated 800 million hungry live in India. India’s record in fighting hunger and child mortality is worse than that in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In public debates when the National Food Security Act was being discussed in 2013, I recall the strong opposition that came from mainline economists who only viewed the expenditure to feed 50 per cent poor in the urban and 75 per cent poor in rural areas to be nothing but wasteful costs. They had argued against the proposed outlay, saying it would only add to the country’s huge fiscal deficit. Whether it is the budgetary outlay for MGNREGS or agriculture, the effort has been to restrict it to bare minimum. Dismantling pivotal social security nets such as public sector education and health has added to rural and urban poverty.
Prime Minister Modi has a great opportunity to take the bull by the horns and launch a frontal attack on eliminating poverty and hunger. Knowing that all past efforts have failed, the monumental task would need a fresh and holistic approach. If the government can be seen making an effort on month-to-month basis on improving its Ease of Doing Business ranking, I see no reason why India’s ranking in the Global Hunger index cannot be turned upside down. All it requires is a strong political will.
hunger55@gmail.com
Devinder Sharma Agriculture specialist