Rising Sensex and rising hunger

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively tracking hunger in various nations of the world. India cuts a sorry figure in the GHI figures published recently for the year 2022. Its hunger index of 29.1 is considered ‘serious’ on the global severity scale. India ranked at a low 107 out of 121 nations surveyed around the globe. Nations faring worse than India include Zambia (ranked at 108), Taliban-controlled Afghanistan (109), war-torn Timor-Leste (110) and Yemen (121), Saharan Desert nations Niger (115) and Chad (117), Central African Republic (120), West African nation of Guinea-Bissau (111) and the Caribbean nation of Haiti (116) which has been one of the most corruption-infested nations.

Most of India’s South Asian neighbours fare far better. Sri Lanka, which has had civil war and a major political crisis, is ranked at 64 i.e., miles ahead of India. The junta-controlled Myanmar ranks 71, again ahead of us. Nepal is at 81th while Bangladesh is at rank 84 and Pakistan – a failed state beset with political turmoil – is ranked 99, i.e., five places ahead of India.

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What is striking is the progress made by our neighbouring nations from Y2K. Tracking the GHI for the years 2000, 2014 and 2022 we notice that Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka have made remarkable progress towards reducing hunger. Bangladesh reduced its Hunger Index from 33.9 in the year 2000 to 26.3 in 2014 and further to 19.6 in 2022. Myanmar performed even better at progressively reducing hunger; its GHI figure was 39.9 in 2000, 17.9 in 2014 and 15.6 in 2022. Nepal’s GHI figures for years 2000, 2014 and 2022 are 37.0, 21.2 and 19.1, respectively.

This has not been the case with India. Its GHI figures for the corresponding years are 38.8, 28.2 and 29.1, which means hunger in India increased during the years 2014 to 2022.

However, during the same period (year 2000 to 2022), the Sensex, ie., an important stock market index in India, showed huge gains from 3604 in the year 2000 to 15,644 in the year 2007 to 27,957 in 2014 to a whopping 57,919 in the current year until date.

The Sensex has risen by 16 times, roughly speaking. While it may not be the exact indicator of the wealth of the owners of corporate investors, it does show that a small segment of the people of India have profited significantly.

India’s GDP has grown remarkably during the last 20 years. But, the growth appears to have been highly iniquitous. In fact, the very few at the top of the economic pyramid have benefitted tremendously, while large numbers at the bottom have received very little of the gains with a large proportion of them remaining hungry and deprived.

The above phenomenon seems to have little to do with the political party in control at the Centre. There have been both UPA and BJP governance during this period.

To view the inequity from another facet, one may compare the number of dollar-billionaires in India in the year 2000 and the subsequent years. The year 2000 had only 9 such billionaires, 2008 had 27, 2014 had 100, while by 2022 the number had exploded to 221.

While these are ball-park figures, a Forbes report says that, after the US and China, India has the world’s highest number of billionaires. While the number of billionaires in the world grew by 5.7 times (during 2000-2022), the number of Indian billionaires grew by a whopping 25 times. The dollar-billionaires of India are collectively worth approximately $1 trillion according to one estimate. While it is laudable that the Indian government is speaking about making the country a $5 trillion economy by 2025-26, it is essential bridge the huge gap between the rich and the poor.

Hunger affects the children the most. Malnutrition has drastic ramifications for the future generation of Indians. Malnutrition of mothers results in high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality. As per the UNICEF 2020 figures, in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), India ranked 137 out of 194 nations of the world.

While one should be proud that Indian entrepreneurs are becoming billionaires, it is disturbing that a very large number of Indians still lack basic nutrition. There is a fundamental problem in economic redistribution since several decades that needs to be addressed.

(The writer is a former professor, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore)