Figure 2: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

• 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.