Global Hunger Index Shows India Losing the War with Poverty

The Global Hunger Index 2016 shows a rather grim situation of India. The dreams and aspirations of becoming a “superpower” by 2025 seem far-fetched. The so-called fastest growing economy has ranked above only the war torn countries in Global Hunger Index. It describes India's hunger situation as "serious." On a 0-100 point scale with 100 being the absolute worst in hunger levels, India scored 28.5 - a marginal improvement of a quarter points since the turn of the century. There is a chronic lack of balanced food in India. About 15% of under-5 children are `wasted’ and 39% of them are ‘stunted’. Indian government’s apathy towards this alarming situation is abhorrent. On the one hand where there is no investment in the public health sector, on the other, there is introduction of FDI and ‘Big Food’. This is resulting in a double burden of malnutrition where the rich are getting obese and poor are becoming more undernourished. Its high time India tackles with this severe issue if the ‘Indian Dream’ is to be made true.