Hunger Status Improved In India: Sofi Report

The hunger in India has decreased from 233.9 million in 2020-22 to 194.6 million by 2021-23 in India which implies that 39.3 million people have come out of hunger in India in one year, the latest report on State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) by Food and Agriculture Organisation has stated.

Niti Aayog's member Ramesh Chand on Tuesday said, “This can be attributed to improved data made available to UN agencies by India.” He added that with a reduction in hunger level, the goal of achieving zero hunger level by 2030 is likely to be achieved.

Earlier, the Sofi report, 2024 prepared by five agencies of the United Nations- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Unicef, World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organisation (WHO), had noted that incidence of hunger in India has increased during Covid-19 pandemic.

In response to the earlier Sofi report, a committee of the agriculture ministry headed by Chand stated that despite COVID-19, India’s foodgrain production was adversely impacted and has risen sharply during the last couple of years. The agriculture ministry also shared the recent household consumption expenditure survey, 2022-23 with the UN body which has revised its estimate on hunger in India.

As per a report in 2023, around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate to severe food insecurity due to various reasons. Over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, going without food for an entire day or more at times, the report further stated.