Attempt To Tarnish Country's Image? Here's Why India Rejected Global Hunger Index 2022 Report

The Global Hunger Index 2022, released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany, had ranked India at 107 out of 121 countries. At a position much behind its South Asia neighbours, India was categorised as being under a serious hunger crisis. Among the four indicators that were adopted to measure the hunger crisis, the child-wasting rate in India was said to be the highest across the world at 19.3 per cent.

The report was rejected by the Center with the claims that the index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues". Adding on to it, the government said that the ground reality is much different from what is being portrayed in the international data and that misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index.

An Effort To Taint India's Image

Responding to the data that was released by the international organisations, India rejected its findings saying that the index suffers from serious methodological issues. A report by the LiveMint said that the Central government is of the opinion that the ranking is a part of a consistent effort to taint India's image as "a nation that does not fulfil the food security and nutritional requirements of its population".

Talking about the indicators being used to study hunger levels, the government noted that three out of the four indicators used are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population.

As for the Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population, which happens to be a driving indicator in understanding hunger crises, it is analysed based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. Stating that the sample size and study is an "erroneous measure of hunger", the government shunned the report for being disconnected from ground reality.

Highlighting the government's efforts to ensure food security for the population, especially during the pandemic period, they stated that the organisation has deliberately ignored their efforts in ensuring food security. The Women and Child Development Ministry said that the matter was taken up with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) not to use estimates based on Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey module data as the 'statistical output of the same will not be based on merit'.

However, the report has stirred up a storm among the opposition leaders, who have called out the ruling government and have demanded them to take responsibility for its "failure".

Right Wing Bodies Demand Action Against Publishers Of Report

On October 16, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) termed the report "irresponsible" and urged the Union government to take action against its publishers for "defaming" the country.

Expressing their anguish against the report, the right-wing nationalist body claimed that the international organisations are spreading falsehoods about India's food security which is far from reality. In the issued statement, they said that the report is "not only faulty but also ridiculous not only from the point of view of data but also from the point of view of analysis and methodology".

Stating that "India is not only self-sufficient in food grains and other food products today, but it is also a net exporting country", SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan reflected on data regarding the total food grain production in India in the year 2021-22. He said that the Union government has been running the world's largest food security programme, which distributed free food, grains and pulses to more than 80 crore residents.

Calling out the organisation on repeated efforts to tarnish the country's image, SJM mentioned that the government had opposed the Global Hunger Index released last year as well and had questioned their data and methodology, but to no avail. A report by the Indian Express quoted Mahajan saying that the report is "completely unusable for academics" and alleged it being a political stunt to defame developing countries and their leadership.

Also Read: India Drops To 107th Position In Global Hunger Index, Improves In Two Other Indicators