WHY IN NEWS?

India is ranked at 71^st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 of 113 countries.

• Earlier, India was ranked 101^st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021.

About the Index:

• Developed by:
  • The GFS Index was designed and constructed by London-based Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
  • The 2021 GFSI is the tenth edition of the index. It is published every year.
• Calculation:
  • It measures the underlying drivers of food security based on the following factors:
    • Affordability
    • Availability
    • Quality and Safety
    • Natural Resources and Resilience
  • It considers 58 unique food security indicators including income and economic inequality – calling attention to systemic gaps and actions needed to accelerate progress toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
• Findings of the Report (India and World):
  • Top Rankers:
    • Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.
  • India’s Rank:
    • Overall Position: India held 71^stposition with an overall score of 57.2 points on the GFS Index 2021 of 113 countries
    • In Comparison to Neighbouring Countries: It fared better than Pakistan (75^thposition), Sri Lanka (77^th Position), Nepal (79^th position) and Bangladesh (84^th position). But the country was way behind China (34^th position).
      • However, over the past 10 years, India’s incremental gains in overall food security score were lagging behind that of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
        • India’s score improved only by 2.7 points to 57.2 in 2021 from 54.5 in 2012 when compared with Pakistan by 9 points (to 54.7 in 2021 from 45.7 in 2012).
      • Pakistan scored better than India in the food affordability category and Sri Lanka was even better. On the remaining 3 factors, India scored better than Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
    • Concerns:
      • Global food security has decreased for the second year in a row after seven years of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030.
      • While countries have made significant strides toward addressing food insecurity in the past ten years, food systems remain vulnerable to economic, climatic, and geopolitical shocks.
    • Suggestions:
      • Action is imperative at all levels–local, national, and global–to end hunger and malnourishment and ensure food security for all.
      • To meet these present and emerging future challenges requires that investments in food security are sustained – from innovation in climate-resilient crop yields to investing in programs to assist the most vulnerable.