Guwahati: Union Minister Smriti Irani had to face severe criticism from the opposition parties including the Congress for the comments she made on the Global Hunger Index in which India ranked 111th out of 125 countries.
Smriti Irani speaking of the index claimed that the methodology was flawed and claimed that it did not reflect the true picture of hunger and malnutrition in India.
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Slamming Irani for the comments, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that her statements were “appalling” adding that she was “an embarrassment” to the government.
Shrinate further added that the Global Hunger Index was “heavily based” on indicators like undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.
She also stressed that the four indicators also serve to evaluate progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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The Congress spokesperson further urged Smriti Irani to not trivialize the issue of hunger as she was in an influential position.
“And please don’t make a mockery of hunger – you are an extremely powerful and entitled woman, a minister in the Government of India for heaven’s sake! There are enough and more meals available on the flights you board and the places you visit,” she said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed Irani by saying that “if arrogance had a face, it would be Mantriji (Smriti Irani).”
Irani speaking at a FICCI event on the future role of women in India made comments on the Hunger Index.
The minister claimed that some indices, including the Global Hunger Index, do “not project the India story” deliberately.
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“How do they build that index? 3000 people from a country of 140 crore get a phone call from Gallup and they are asked, ‘Are you hungry’?” she said.
“Now trust me, I have left my house in Delhi in the morning at 4. I caught a flight at 5 to go to Kochi. I did a conclave there, and caught a flight at 5 o’clock to come to this programme. By the time I get to anything called food, it will be 10 o’clock. If you have called me anytime in the day today and asked are you hungry, I’ll say ‘Oh yes, I am'”, she claimed.
The Global Hunger Index is a tool developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels.
The index is calculated using four indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.
India has been ranked consistently low on the Global Hunger Index in recent years. In 2022, India ranked 101st out of 116 countries. The country’s ranking has worsened in recent years, due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the war in Ukraine.
The Indian government has rejected the findings of the Global Hunger Index, saying that it is based on a flawed methodology and does not reflect the true picture of hunger and malnutrition in India.