India, ranked 66 among 88 countries, shows that despite of economic growth, the hunger scenario of the country is worse than about 25 Sub-Saharan nations and worst among all countries of Asia, with only Bangladesh lagging behind it. Madhya Pradesh is the hungriest state in the country followed by Jharkhand and Bihar. According to the Global Hunger Index 2008, over 200 million Indians are unsure about accessing their daily bread. However, IFPRI reports that India has made notable progress in reducing hunger and child mortality and is very close on being on the track to reach the 2015 development goal target.
The slow progress in resolving the hunger crisis has been attributed to high population growth followed by slow income growth, high energy and bio-fuel prices followed by drastic change in science and technology, climate change, globalisation and urbanisation bringing changes in the pattern of food consumption, production and market. The current global financial crisis will further complicate the hunger scenario in the future by causing shortage of availability of capital for agriculture and related activities, resulting in further food shortage.
According to estimates, to reach the 2015 development goal, investment to the tune of $14 billion will be required annually. The Sub-Saharan countries will require $5 billion to be pumped into their economy annually. A complete restructuring of the methods of productivity and research, nutrition and social protection and market and trade could help in feeding millions of hungry mouths worldwide.
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