Global Hunger Index | India slips to 102nd, scores lower than Pakistan, Nepal & North Korea

India trails at a miserable 102nd among 117 countries in the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released on October 15.

The rank is significant because the country seems to have regressed from its 95th rank in 2010 and stands way below its neighbours and BRICS' peers.

Alarmingly, India was the worst performer when it came to child wasting (age appropriate weight), clocking a dismal 20.8 percent. Among infants aged 6-23 months, merely 9.6 percent received the 'minimum acceptable diet'. The child stunting rate at 37.9 percent, was also termed 'very high'.

India's neighbours, Sri Lanka (66), Myanmar (69), Nepal (73), Bangladesh (88) and Pakistan (94) fared better on the annual index, which calculates the levels of hunger using four indicators – undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.

Among BRICS countries, Brazil stood at 18, Russia at 22, China at 25 and South Africa at 60. China, is now in the low severity category, while Sri Lanka is within the moderate severity level. Even North Korea was at 92nd.

In a thin silver lining, the country improved its performance on indicators such as the under-five mortality rate, prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food.