Global Hunger Index 2025

1. Introduction

The Global Hunger Index 2025 is an annual international index that measures the severity of hunger and undernutrition across countries. Published jointly by Concern Worldwide (Ireland) and Welthungerhilfe (Germany), the index provides a multidimensional assessment of hunger by examining indicators related to undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and under-five mortality. It serves as an important tool for assessing progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – Zero Hunger and for identifying countries requiring urgent policy interventions.

For India, the Global Hunger Index 2025 has become an important indicator for evaluating the effectiveness of food security and nutrition programmes. Although India has made significant progress in reducing poverty and improving access to food through initiatives such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and POSHAN Abhiyaan, concerns regarding child malnutrition, maternal nutrition, and regional disparities continue to affect its performance. At the same time, the methodology and findings of the GHI have remained a subject of debate, with the Government of India questioning the index’s approach and interpretation.

The Global Hunger Index 2025 India assessment is therefore important for understanding both India’s progress and the continuing challenges related to hunger and nutrition.

2. Methodology of the Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index 2025 measures hunger using four indicators, reflecting food availability, nutritional status, and child survival.

Meaning of the Indicators

• Undernourishment: Percentage of the population with insufficient calorie intake.
• Child Wasting: Percentage of children under five with low weight for height, indicating acute undernutrition.
• Child Stunting: Percentage of children under five with low height for age, indicating chronic undernutrition.
• Under-Five Mortality: Probability of a child dying before the age of five, reflecting the combined effects of poor nutrition and inadequate healthcare.

GHI Severity Scale

The methodology of the Global Hunger Index 2025 therefore combines population-level undernourishment with child nutrition and survival indicators to provide a multidimensional assessment of hunger.

3. Key Findings of the Global Hunger Index 2025

• Global hunger remains a major challenge as per Global Hunger Index 2025, with many countries continuing to experience serious, alarming, or extremely alarming levels of hunger.
• The Global Hunger Index 2025 identifies armed conflicts, climate change, economic shocks, inflation, and forced displacement as the major drivers of global hunger and food insecurity.
• It highlights that child malnutrition, particularly wasting and stunting, continues to be a major obstacle to achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).
• The Global Hunger Index 2025 calls for resilient food systems, improved nutrition programmes, climate-resilient agriculture, and stronger social protection measures to combat hunger.
• It emphasises that achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 requires greater international cooperation, increased public investment, and targeted interventions for vulnerable populations.

These findings of the Global Hunger Index 2025 underline the need for integrated policies addressing food security, nutrition, healthcare, climate vulnerability, and social protection.

4. India’s Performance in the Global Hunger Index

India continues to face significant challenges in the Global Hunger Index 2025 despite making considerable progress in food production, poverty reduction, and implementation of large-scale food security programmes. According to the Global Hunger Index 2025, India ranks 102nd out of 123 countries with a GHI score of 25.8, placing it in the “Serious” category of hunger. Although India’s score has improved over the years, its ranking remains relatively low due to persistent nutritional challenges, particularly among children and women.

India’s performance in Global Hunger Index 2025 is assessed using four key indicators. The prevalence of undernourishment stands at 12.0%, indicating that a significant proportion of the population still does not receive adequate dietary energy. Child wasting, at 18.7%, remains one of the highest in the world and reflects acute undernutrition among children under five years of age. Child stunting affects 32.9% of children under five, indicating chronic malnutrition caused by prolonged nutritional deficiencies. The under-five mortality rate is 2.8%, reflecting improvements in child healthcare but also highlighting the continued impact of malnutrition and inadequate healthcare services.

India has, however, recorded significant progress over the past two decades. According to the GHI, the country’s score has improved from 38.1 in 2000 to 25.8 in 2025, reflecting better access to food, healthcare, sanitation, and nutrition services. Government initiatives such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA), POSHAN Abhiyaan, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), PM POSHAN, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Swachh Bharat Mission have contributed to improvements in nutrition and child health outcomes.

Despite these gains, several structural challenges continue to affect India’s performance in Global Hunger Index 2025. High levels of child wasting, maternal malnutrition, anaemia among women and children, regional disparities, poor dietary diversity, and the adverse impacts of climate change continue to hinder faster progress. Addressing these issues will require a comprehensive approach that combines food security with nutrition security, quality healthcare, sanitation, women’s empowerment, and behavioural change.

The India Rank in Global Hunger Index 2025 highlights the continuing gap between improvements in food security and the nutritional outcomes that determine overall hunger levels.

5. Causes of Hunger and Malnutrition in India

Poverty and Economic Inequality

Poverty and economic inequality remain among the principal causes of hunger and malnutrition in India. Although India has made remarkable progress in reducing multidimensional poverty, a significant section of the population continues to struggle to access adequate, nutritious, and diversified food. According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2025, about 12.0% of India’s population remains undernourished, indicating that millions still do not receive sufficient dietary energy. Low and irregular incomes, unemployment, inflation in food prices, and unequal distribution of resources further reduce the purchasing power of poor households, forcing them to compromise on the quality and quantity of food. Vulnerable groups such as landless labourers, migrant workers, urban poor, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and women-headed households are disproportionately affected. Therefore, sustained economic growth must be complemented by inclusive development, social protection, and equitable access to nutritious food to effectively combat hunger.

Child and Maternal Malnutrition

Child and maternal malnutrition continues to be the most significant factor affecting India’s performance in the Global Hunger Index 2025. According to the GHI 2025, 18.7% of Indian children under five suffer from wasting, one of the highest rates globally, while 32.9% are affected by stunting, reflecting chronic undernutrition. Poor maternal nutrition, anaemia, inadequate antenatal care, low birth weight, and suboptimal breastfeeding practices significantly influence the nutritional status of children. According to NFHS-5 (2019–21), 57% of women aged 15–49 years and 67.1% of children aged 6–59 months are anaemic, highlighting the widespread burden of micronutrient deficiencies. Addressing child malnutrition therefore requires a life-cycle approach, focusing on maternal health, early childhood nutrition, food fortification, immunisation, and improved access to quality healthcare and sanitation.

Food Insecurity and Poor Dietary Diversity

Although India has achieved food self-sufficiency in the production of cereals, ensuring nutrition security remains a major challenge. A large section of the population continues to consume diets dominated by cereals, with inadequate intake of proteins, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk, and micronutrient-rich foods. Such poor dietary diversity contributes to undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and poor child growth. Rising food prices, limited purchasing power, and unequal access to nutritious food further aggravate food insecurity, particularly among low-income households. Therefore, improving dietary diversity through nutrition-sensitive agriculture, food fortification, and awareness about balanced diets is essential for reducing hunger and malnutrition thus increasing rank in Global Hunger Index 2025.

Poor Healthcare, Sanitation and Drinking Water

Poor access to healthcare, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) significantly contributes to malnutrition in India. Frequent infections such as diarrhoea, intestinal diseases, and poor maternal health reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, particularly among children. Despite improvements under the Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission, gaps in sanitation and healthcare services persist in several rural and underserved regions. Limited access to quality maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, and nutrition counselling further worsens nutritional outcomes. Strengthening the integration of healthcare, sanitation, and nutrition interventions is therefore critical for improving India’s performance on hunger and child nutrition indicators.

Regional and Social Disparities

Hunger and malnutrition in India are not uniformly distributed and exhibit significant regional and social disparities. States such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha continue to report relatively higher levels of child malnutrition and undernutrition than the national average. Similarly, vulnerable groups including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), migrant workers, and economically weaker sections are disproportionately affected due to poverty, inadequate healthcare, poor education, and limited access to welfare services. Reducing these disparities requires region-specific interventions, improved governance, and better targeting of nutrition programmes.

Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

Climate change has emerged as a major challenge to food and nutrition security in India. Increasing frequency of droughts, floods, heatwaves, and erratic monsoon rainfall adversely affects agricultural productivity, food availability, and rural livelihoods. Small and marginal farmers are particularly vulnerable, as crop failures and declining incomes reduce household access to nutritious food. Climate-induced disruptions in food supply chains also contribute to food price inflation, affecting poor consumers the most. Therefore, promoting climate-resilient agriculture, efficient water management, crop diversification, and sustainable farming practices is essential for ensuring long-term food and nutrition security.

These interconnected causes explain why improving India’s position in the Global Hunger Index India 2025 requires addressing both food availability and broader nutritional, social, economic, and environmental factors.

6. Government Initiatives to Address Hunger and Malnutrition

• National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013: Provides legal entitlement to subsidised food grains to nearly 81.35 crore beneficiaries through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
• Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): Ensures distribution of essential food grains at subsidised prices to economically vulnerable households.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): Provides free food grains to NFSA beneficiaries, strengthening food security for poor households.
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Delivers supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check-ups, preschool education, and referral services to children below six years, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through Anganwadi Centres.
• Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0: Integrated nutrition programme aimed at improving nutritional outcomes through strengthened Anganwadi services, supplementary nutrition, and growth monitoring.
• POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission): Launched in 2018 to reduce stunting, wasting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight through a convergence-based approach.
• PM POSHAN Scheme (Mid-Day Meal Scheme): Provides nutritious cooked meals to school children to improve nutrition, enrolment, attendance, and learning outcomes.
• Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB): Focuses on reducing anaemia among children, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through Iron-Folic Acid supplementation and awareness campaigns.
• Mission Indradhanush: Expands immunisation coverage to protect children and pregnant women from vaccine-preventable diseases that contribute to poor nutritional outcomes.
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Provides maternity benefits and income support to pregnant and lactating women to improve maternal nutrition and healthcare.
• National Health Mission (NHM): Strengthens maternal and child healthcare, institutional deliveries, nutrition counselling, and primary healthcare services.
• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): Ensures access to safe drinking water, reducing water-borne diseases and improving nutritional outcomes.
• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): Promotes sanitation, toilet construction, and hygiene, thereby reducing infections that contribute to child malnutrition.
• Eat Right India Movement (FSSAI): Promotes safe, healthy, and nutritious food habits through public awareness and food safety initiatives.
• Food Fortification Programme: Encourages fortification of rice, wheat flour, edible oil, milk, and salt with essential micronutrients to combat hidden hunger and micronutrient deficiencies.
• National Creche Scheme (Palna): Provides daycare, nutrition, and early childhood care for children of working mothers, supporting child development and nutrition.
• Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP): Focuses on improving nutrition, health, education, and basic infrastructure in India’s most underdeveloped districts through data-driven governance.
• National Nutrition Strategy: Provides a comprehensive policy framework for achieving a malnutrition-free India through multi-sectoral convergence and community participation.

These initiatives form the major government response to hunger and malnutrition and are important for understanding India Hunger Index 2025 in the context of food security and nutrition policy.

7. India’s Stand on the Global Hunger Index

• The Government of India has consistently rejected the Global Hunger Index (GHI) rankings, describing them as an inaccurate reflection of the country’s hunger situation.
• India argues that the methodology is scientifically flawed, as it assigns two-thirds of the total weight to indicators related to children (child wasting, child stunting, and under-five mortality), which, according to the government, do not represent the nutritional status of the entire population.
• The government has also questioned the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) indicator, stating that it is based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates and opinion-based models rather than direct household surveys.
• According to the Government, the GHI fails to adequately capture the impact of large-scale food security programmes such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), POSHAN Abhiyaan, and PM POSHAN Scheme.
• Supporters of the GHI argue that the index relies on internationally accepted data from agencies such as the FAO, UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank, and measures nutrition outcomes rather than merely food availability.
• They also contend that child wasting and stunting are globally recognised indicators of nutritional deprivation and are closely linked to long-term human development.
• A balanced assessment suggests that while the GHI has certain methodological limitations, it draws attention to persistent challenges such as child malnutrition, maternal nutrition, anaemia, and regional disparities, which require sustained policy attention.

Understanding this debate is important for Global Hunger Index UPSC preparation because it involves issues of methodology, data reliability, nutrition outcomes, and the effectiveness of government welfare programmes.

8. Challenges in Addressing Hunger and Malnutrition

• High Child Malnutrition: India continues to record high levels of child wasting and stunting, indicating persistent acute and chronic undernutrition.
• Maternal Undernutrition and Anaemia: Poor maternal health, widespread anaemia, and low birth weight continue to adversely affect child nutrition and overall human development.
• Poor Dietary Diversity: Dependence on cereal-based diets and inadequate consumption of proteins, fruits, vegetables, and micronutrient-rich foods contribute to hidden hunger.
• Regional and Social Inequalities: Hunger and malnutrition remain concentrated in economically weaker states, rural areas, tribal regions, and among vulnerable communities such as SCs, STs, and migrant workers.
• Weak Implementation of Welfare Schemes: Leakages, exclusion errors, inadequate monitoring, and variations in implementation across states reduce the effectiveness of nutrition programmes.
• Climate Change and Food Insecurity: Frequent droughts, floods, heatwaves, and erratic rainfall affect agricultural production, food availability, and household nutrition.
• Inadequate Healthcare, Water and Sanitation: Poor access to quality healthcare, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene increases disease burden and reduces nutrient absorption, especially among children.
• Limited Nutrition Awareness: Lack of awareness regarding balanced diets, breastfeeding practices, complementary feeding, and micronutrient intake continues to affect nutritional outcomes.

Addressing these challenges is essential for improving India’s performance in the Global Hunger Index 2025 and achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).

9. Way Forward

• Strengthen Nutrition-Sensitive Policies: Shift the focus from food security to nutrition security by ensuring access to balanced and diversified diets.
• Improve Maternal and Child Nutrition: Expand coverage of POSHAN Abhiyaan, ICDS, PMMVY, and Anaemia Mukt Bharat to reduce stunting, wasting, and anaemia.
• Enhance Dietary Diversity: Promote the consumption of millets, pulses, fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, and fortified foods through nutrition awareness programmes.
• Strengthen Healthcare and WASH Infrastructure: Improve access to quality healthcare, immunisation, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene to reduce nutrition-related diseases.
• Promote Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Encourage crop diversification, climate-resilient farming, efficient irrigation, and sustainable agricultural practices to ensure long-term food security.
• Improve Governance and Monitoring: Leverage digital technology, real-time nutrition monitoring, and social audits to enhance transparency and effective implementation of welfare schemes.
• Reduce Regional Disparities: Prioritise high-burden districts and vulnerable communities through targeted interventions and greater convergence among Central and State government schemes.
• Increase Community Participation: Strengthen the role of Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and civil society organisations in nutrition awareness and service delivery.

These measures can help improve India’s nutritional outcomes and strengthen its position in the Global Hunger Index 2025, while supporting the broader objective of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030.

10. Recent Developments (Updated till 2025–26)

• The Global Hunger Index 2025 places India at 102nd out of 123 countries with a score of 25.8, categorising the country’s hunger situation as “Serious.”
• The report highlights conflict, climate change, economic shocks, inflation, and food insecurity as the major global drivers of hunger and malnutrition.
• India has continued to strengthen food and nutrition security through the implementation of Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, expansion of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and the fortification of rice distributed through government welfare schemes.
• The Government of India has reiterated its objection to the Global Hunger Index 2025 methodology, arguing that it does not adequately reflect the impact of India’s large-scale food security and nutrition programmes and relies on estimation-based indicators.
• India continues to prioritise the achievement of SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by strengthening nutrition interventions, improving maternal and child health, promoting food fortification, and enhancing convergence among nutrition-related schemes.

These developments remain important for understanding the Global Hunger Index 2025 India situation and India’s ongoing efforts to improve food and nutrition security.

10. Conclusion

The Global Hunger Index 2025 serves as an important tool for assessing hunger and nutritional outcomes by measuring multiple dimensions of undernutrition rather than food availability alone. While India has made significant progress in improving food security through initiatives such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA), POSHAN Abhiyaan, PM POSHAN, and PMGKAY, challenges relating to child malnutrition, maternal health, dietary diversity, and regional disparities continue to affect its performance.

Going forward, India must adopt a nutrition-sensitive and multi-sectoral approach that integrates food security, healthcare, sanitation, women’s empowerment, climate-resilient agriculture, and effective governance. Sustained policy interventions and better implementation of welfare schemes will be crucial for achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and ensuring that economic growth translates into improved nutritional outcomes for all sections of society.

The Global Hunger Index India 2025 debate also highlights the importance of using reliable data and a balanced assessment of both nutritional challenges and the impact of government interventions.

BPSC Mains Practice Questions

Q1. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures hunger through a multidimensional approach rather than food availability alone. Explain the methodology of the Global Hunger Index 2025 and critically evaluate India’s performance. Also discuss the factors responsible for India’s low ranking.

Q2. Despite achieving food self-sufficiency, India continues to face significant challenges of hunger and malnutrition. Discuss the major causes of hunger and malnutrition in India. Examine the steps taken by the Government to address these challenges and suggest suitable measures for achieving Sustainable Development Goal-2 (Zero Hunger).

The India Rank in Global Hunger Index 2025 and the continuing challenges of child malnutrition, maternal nutrition, dietary diversity and regional disparities should be incorporated while addressing these questions.

Learn More from the Global Hunger Index (GHI)

For the official Global Hunger Index 2025 report, methodology, country rankings and supporting data, refer to the official Global Hunger Index website published by Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe and IFHV.