India’s Growth, Persistent Hunger: What the Global Hunger Index 2026 Reveals

We proudly say that India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. At the same time, in the Global Hunger Index 2026, we stand at the hundredth position in a list of 122 countries. In this report, released on 14 October 2026, India’s score is 24.1, and the country falls in the “serious” category. India has been in this same category since 2012. Last year we were ranked 102nd among 123 countries, which means we have improved by two places this year. But this marginal change in rank is no reason to feel satisfied. Behind these figures are malnourished children, mothers exhausted by anaemia, and families in tribal hamlets struggling to get two square meals a day.

This index is published every year by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. Four indicators are used to measure hunger: the proportion of undernourished people in the population, stunting among children under five, low weight for height (wasting) among children of the same age group, and child mortality before the age of five. The score is calculated on a scale of zero to a hundred. The lower it is, the better the situation. The world’s average score is 18.1 and the South Asian average is 23.5. India’s score of 24.1 is worse than both averages. In other words, our condition is below the world average, and even within our own region it is not satisfactory.

In 2006, India’s score was around 37. It has now come down to 24.1. The proportion of undernourished people in the country was 18.4 percent in 2000. It has now come down to 9.8 percent. In the previous reference period, this proportion was 10.5 percent. Stunting among children, which stood at fifty percent in 2000, has come down to 29.3 percent. The mortality rate of children under five has fallen from 9.2 percent to 2.7 percent. This became possible because of the expansion of immunisation, institutional deliveries, maternal and child health services, and food grain distribution. But if we look beyond this success, about ten percent of the people in the country still do not get enough food, and nearly three out of every ten children are stunted for their age. Considering India’s population, these numbers run into crores.

The most worrying aspect of this report is the prevalence of child wasting, that is, low weight for height. It has risen from 16.9 percent in the previous reference period to 19 percent. This is the highest rate in South Asia. According to the report’s observation, this proportion has remained extremely high in India in every reference year. That means we have not made much progress on this front in the last two decades, and in fact the situation has worsened further this year. Wasting is considered a sign of acute malnutrition. Such children have weak immunity, fall ill repeatedly, and if they do not receive treatment in time, even their lives are at risk. That nearly one in every five children is in this condition is serious for the country.

A comparison with neighbouring countries makes the picture even clearer. Nepal ranks 72nd with a score of 14.5. Bangladesh stands at 84th with a score of 19.2. Both of these countries are in the “moderate” category. Sri Lanka is also in the moderate category. Pakistan is at 106th place with a score of 25.5, so it is behind us. Afghanistan’s situation is also worse than ours. In Bangladesh, stunting among children has come down from 54.9 percent in 2000 to 24 percent. The rate of wasting there is 12.9 percent, whereas in India it is 19 percent. A country that was once considered poorer than us has moved ahead of us on these measures. The emphasis placed on women’s health, sanitation, and community-level nutrition programmes is considered one of the reasons for this.

The Government of India has objected to this index every year. The argument is that three of the four indicators relate to children under five and do not represent the entire population. Questions are also raised about the methodology. No index is perfect, and these points may have some merit. But the high prevalence of wasting is not visible only in the global index. It has also been visible for a long time in India’s own National Family Health Surveys. That means the problem has not been created by number-crunching; it exists on the ground. Instead of spending energy arguing over the index’s methodology, it would be wiser to accept the reality in front of us and act on it.

Notably, there is no scarcity of food in the country today. Food grain production is at a record high. Under the National Food Security Act, more than 81 crore people receive free grain through the public distribution system. Schemes such as anganwadis, the midday meal, and the Poshan Abhiyaan run across the country. Analysts say that the expansion of grain production and the safety net was important in reducing undernourishment. Even so, child malnutrition persists. The reason is that filling the stomach and receiving nutrition are two different things. Rice, wheat, sorghum, and millet provide calories. But if nutritious foods such as pulses, vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk, and oilseeds are absent from the diet, children’s growth is stunted. Poor and rural families cannot afford such a diverse diet. The report has highlighted issues such as the quality of diets, the distribution of food within households, child-rearing practices, and the price of nutritious food.

Malnutrition often begins even before a child is born. If a mother has not received adequate nutrition, suffers from anaemia, was married at a young age, and did not get proper care during pregnancy, she gives birth to a low-birth-weight baby. That baby remains malnourished, and if it is a girl, she grows up and continues the same cycle. Many rural women toil in the fields, manage the household, and eat whatever is left after everyone else in the family has eaten. This picture does not change much even during pregnancy. That is why the question of child nutrition cannot be separated from women’s health, education, and decision-making power. Only if the nutrition of adolescent girls, marriage at the right age, check-ups during pregnancy, and guidance on breastfeeding are taken up together can this cycle be broken.

Behind the national average, much harsher conditions in many regions remain hidden. Rates of malnutrition appear higher in tribal hamlets, hilly and remote areas, forest-dependent villages, and among migrating families. Areas such as Melghat, Nandurbar, Gadchiroli, and Gondia in Maharashtra, as well as tribal-dominated belts in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, are examples of this. In these places, the problem is not only about food. There is also a lack of roads, health centres, clean water, and sanitation. Tubers, wild vegetables, mahua flowers, and traditional coarse grains obtained from the forest used to be part of the tribal diet. Restrictions on forest rights, changing agriculture, and the decline of traditional crops have reduced this diversity. Because of seasonal migration for employment, children do not receive anganwadi services, vaccinations, and nutritious meals regularly. Such areas need separate interventions suited to local needs. If traditional foods and coarse grains of those regions are included in nutrition programmes, they will be more effective. If women’s self-help groups are linked with the supplementary nutrition provided at anganwadis and with local food production, both nutrition and livelihoods can be achieved.

This year’s report has given one more warning. The report refers to the India Meteorological Department’s forecast of a 60 percent probability of below-average rainfall in the monsoon belt. This belt covers most of the country’s rain-fed farming area. If rainfall becomes erratic, production falls, farmers’ incomes decline, food prices rise, and poor families are the first to bear the brunt. The title of the report is “No Security Without Food Security.” Hunger is rising in the world because of conflict, climate change, economic instability, and inflation. Since 2018, the hunger situation has worsened further in 32 countries of the world. In these changing circumstances, it is essential to support rain-fed agriculture with irrigation, crop insurance, and climate-resilient seeds. If the cultivation of coarse grains is encouraged, it will strengthen both the food security of villages and the incomes of farmers.

The paradox between economic growth and hunger also needs to be looked at seriously. The country’s total income is growing, but the benefits do not reach everyone in equal measure. Workers in the unorganised sector, landless farm labourers, small and marginal farmers, women, and Dalit and tribal communities cannot afford nutritious food amid rising inflation. The yardstick of development cannot be economic growth alone. Whether every child gets adequate nutrition is equally important. A child who is malnourished today becomes a citizen of reduced capacity tomorrow. Their education remains incomplete, their income remains low, and the burden of illness grows. The country has to pay the price for this, generation after generation. Therefore, spending on nutrition is not an expense; it is the most profitable investment in the country’s future.

To find a way out, we must first focus on nutrition rather than merely distributing grain. The inclusion of pulses, eggs, milk, oilseeds, leafy vegetables, and coarse grains must be increased in the public distribution system and in the meals of anganwadis and schools. If locally grown food is given priority, costs will remain under control and local farmers will find a market. For the early identification and treatment of severely malnourished children, regular weight-and-height check-ups and, where necessary, treatment in nutrition rehabilitation centres must be implemented effectively. In this, anganwadi workers and ASHA workers are the most important link. They must be given proper honorariums, training, and equipment. Clean water, sanitation, and health services must also be added, because a child who suffers from repeated diarrhoea or infections does not get sufficient benefit from the food they eat. Social audits of schemes, the participation of gram sabhas, and reliable data will make it possible to check whether benefits reach the real beneficiaries. Voluntary organisations and community organisations have a valuable role in this work.

Hunger and malnutrition are not problems that can be ended by government schemes alone. Society must also take part. Avoiding food waste, promoting local and nutritious food, taking note of needy families in the neighbourhood, and participating in the work of schools and anganwadis are things we can do as citizens. The media too should not discuss the index for a few days after it is released and then stop. News about malnutrition should be presented throughout the year, along with the actual conditions in rural areas.

The Global Hunger Index 2026 tells us two things. First, India has made real progress over the last two decades. The score has come down from 37 to 24.1, stunting has declined, child mortality has fallen sharply, and undernourishment has been nearly halved. The second is that this progress has slowed, and the prevalence of child wasting has risen again. Reaching the hundredth position is not a moment for pride but a moment for introspection. Neighbours like Nepal and Bangladesh have shown that with the right policies and effective implementation, malnutrition can be overcome even with limited resources. India has the grain, the machinery, and the experience. What is needed is a move from filling stomachs to providing nutritious food, and from announcing schemes to delivering actual results. Ensuring that every child gets adequate and nourishing food is not a matter of charity; it is their right. Only if the government, society, and organisations come together to make this right a reality will the dream of a hunger-free and malnutrition-free India come true.