India Ranks 102 Out of 117 Countries In Global Hunger Index & Not Even 10% Infants Are 'Properly Fed'

India has been ranked 102 out of 117 countries in terms of severity of hunger, according to the Global Hunger Index 2019.

With a score of 30.3, India suffers from a level of hunger that is serious, the GHI report noted.

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India is the lowest-ranked among South Asian countries and among Brics nations. This is a huge slip for the country which was ranked 93 in the index in 2015.

The report particularly highlights how the young and vulnerable of India are facing the heat of hunger.

It said that when it comes to infants aged six months to 23 months, only 9.6 percent of them in India are fed a "minimum acceptable diet". This means that less than 10 percent of the infants in India are properly fed.

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The child wasting rate in India stands at 20.8 percent which, according to the index, is the highest wasting rate of any country studied for the GHI report. The child stunting rate, at 37.9 percent, has also been termed as very high.

"Because of its large population, India's GHI indicator values have an outsized impact on the indicator values for the region. India's child wasting rate is extremely high at 20.8% - the highest wasting rate of any country in this report," stated the report on the index.

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The report also mentions the central government¡¯s Swachh Bharat program, saying open defecation is being practiced despite the construction of new toilets and it highly jeopardises the population¡¯s and children¡¯s health. ¡°Even with new latrine construction, however, open defecation is still practiced. This situation jeopardises the population¡¯s health and consequently, children¡¯s growth and development as their ability to absorb nutrients is compromised,¡± the report reads.

However, it has also noted that India has demonstrated an improvement in other indicators constituting the index: The under-5 mortality rate, the prevalence of stunting among children, and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food.

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale, with 0 being the best score (no hunger) and 100 being the worst. Values less than 10 reflect low hunger, values from 20 to 34.9 indicate serious hunger; values from 35 to 49.9 are alarming, and values of 50 or more are extremely alarming.