DATA STORY: The cost of a meal in India and around the world

In 2013, Congress leader Raj Babbar made a statement that a hearty meal in Mumbai could be bought for Rs 12. His colleague Rasheed Masood followed it up by claiming that one could get a meal for Rs 5 in Delhi. Both leaders, then in power, were heavily criticised by the opposition and general public at that time.

Babbar, it seems, may not have been too off the mark. A recent report by the food-assistance branch of the United Nations, World Food Programme states that the ‘true cost’ of a plate of meal in India is Rs 13.50.

However, not all countries are so lucky. Food can be a luxury in underdeveloped or conflict-stricken countries. For example, a plate of meal would cost 155 percent of the average daily income of a South Sudanese person. Similarly, in Syria, it would cost 115% of the average daily income of the war-torn country.

No wonder, in 2016, 795 million people were hungry. It is expected that the number (yet to be revealed) would be worse for 2017.

India: Is the picture so simple?

The report says a simple 600-kilocalorie meal would cost 4.5% of average daily income in India. Given India’s per capita income at Rs 1.12 lakh (World Bank, 2016), the cost of preparing the meal comes at Rs 13.50.

A simple plate of food consists of pulses, a local carbohydrate – such as rice, bread, maize meal – vegetable oil, tomatoes, onions and water.

Rs 13.50-a-meal could sound affordable to many of us. The actual picture, however, may not be so simple. Counting the income disparity and India’s position in Global Hunger Index, it becomes clearer that food could be far from the reach of millions in the country.

According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), 14.5% of Indian population or 190.7 million people are undernourished. By this measure, India is home to the largest undernourished population in the world.

The World Hunger Index puts India at 100^th position out of 119 countries i.e. in bottom 20, which is not an improvement from the previous reports. Despite the reservations expressed by NITI Aayog about the ranking, India’s position behind countries like Bangladesh and North Korea raises more questions on successes of governments at present and in the past for hunger eradication.

Income disparity in the country is also a factor in determining who goes to sleep with a full belly. A World Bank data for 2011 states that 21% of the population in India was living under $1.90 a day. India is by far the country with the largest number of people living under the international $1.90-a-day poverty line, 224 million, more than 2.5 times as many as the 86 million in Nigeria, which has the second-largest population of the poor worldwide, Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016 report by World Bank points out.

The condition in rural areas doesn't improve as about 216 million people are below poverty line, according to NITI Aayog data. Though the number is based on Tendulkar committee report which pegs a daily expenditure of Rs 27.20 in rural areas as the poverty line. That is, these people are spending (or earning) less than Rs 27.20 per day.

Just putting the numbers in perspective, around 216 million people in rural India can just afford two-time simple meals — Rs 13.50 per meal — from what they earn, that too assuming that all of them are at least at the poverty line. The total number of people, including the urban poor, below the Tendulkar poverty line, is 270 million, as per the latest government data.

That said, it is not that the situation has not improved. Compared to 1993-94, the poverty headcount has more than halved from 45.3% to 21.9%. In seven years, from 2003-04 to 2011-12, 138 million people crossed the Tendulkar poverty line. That means 13.8 crore less poor people.