India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2023. In the index, India has a score of 28.7, indicating a serious level of hunger, and stood lower than neighboring countries including Pakistan (102nd), Bangladesh (81st), Nepal (69th) and Sri Lanka (60th).
While the rate of undernourishment in India stood at 16.6 percent and under-five mortality at 3.1 percent, the prevalence of anemia in women aged between 15 and 24 years stood at 58.1 percent.
As per the index, India also has the highest child-wasting rate in the world at 18.7 percent, reflecting acute undernutrition. Wasting is measured based on children’s weight relative to their height.
Modi government termed it “erroneous and having malafide intent”.