Government flagged concerns with Welthungerhilfe on accuracy of data on India's hunger level: Tomar

The government has flagged its concerns with German organisation Welthungerhilfe on "appropriateness, accuracy and representativeness of data" used to calculate the level of hunger in India, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament on Friday.

Tomar, during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, said the Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report 2020 -- published jointly by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe -- has given a score of 27.2 for India and ranked the country at 94 out of 107.

Whereas in the GHI Report 2019, India had scored 30.3 and was ranked 102 out of 117.

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"This shows improvement towards reducing hunger in the country as the GHI score has reduced from 30.3 to 27.2 during the period 2019 to 2020," the minister said.

However, the government has "raised concerns of the country with Welthungerhilfe regarding appropriateness, accuracy and representativeness of data used for calculation of the level of hunger in India," he said.

Tomar mentioned that the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) conducted in 2017-28 showed an improvement in indicators -- wasting, stunting and undernutrition -- when compared to data enumerated from National Family Survey 4 (NFHS-4) in 2015-16.

These three indicators are used at the national level for measurement of the prevalence of undernourishment, he added.

The minister also highlighted several measures, including Mission Poshan, National Food Security Act, among others, that are being taken to address hunger and malnutrition in the country.