Hunger in India

India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, has seen tremendous growth in the past two
decades. Gross Domestic Product has increased 4.5 times and per capita consumption has
increased 3 times. Similarly, food grain production has increased almost 2 times. However,
despite phenomenal industrial and economic growth and while India produces sufficient food to
feed its population, it is unable to provide access to food to a large number of people, especially
women and children.

State of Hunger in India

According to FAO estimates in ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2019'
report, 194.4 million people are undernourished in India. By this measure, 14.5% of the
population is undernourished in India. Also, 51.4% of women in reproductive age between 15 to
49 years are anaemic. Further according to the report 37.9% of the children aged under five in
India are stunted (too short for their age), while 20.8% suffer from wasting, meaning their weight
is too low for their height. Malnourished children have a higher risk of death from common
childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria. The Global Hunger Index 2018
ranks India at 103 out of 119 countries on the basis of three leading indicators -- the prevalence
of wasting and stunting in children under 5 years, under 5 child mortality rate, and the proportion
of undernourished in the population.

Food Loss & Food Waste

On the other hand, it is estimated that nearly one-third of the food produced in the world for
human consumption every year gets lost or wasted. 40 percent of the fruits and vegetables and
30 percent of cereals that are produced are lost due to inefficient supply chain management and
do not reach the consumer markets. While significant levels of food losses occur upstream, at
harvest and during post-harvest handling, a lot of food is lost or wasted during the distribution
and consumption stages. Some food is also wasted on the shelves and in the warehouses of
food businesses either due to excess production, the introduction of new products, labeling
errors, or due to shorter remaining shelf life. Such food could be saved by timely withdrawing it
from the distribution network, aggregating it and then redirecting it to the people in need.

Key facts about hunger in India

India is home to the largest undernourished population in the world
194.4 million people i.e. 14.5% of our population is undernourished
20.8% of children under 5 are underweight
37.9% of children under 5 years of age are stunted
51.4% of women in the reproductive age (15-49 years) are anaemic
Case Study: Feeding India - India’s Fight with Hunger

Assignment: The below questions can be used to guide the submission for the above case.

Direction: The below questions shall not limit your approach to the above case, feel free to
include or exclude certain points as needed.

1. Abstract
2. Why do you think the problem of hunger needs to be addressed?
3. Where would be the right start for the solution? What shall be the online or offline approach?
4. What will be the key benefits to India’s Economy?
5. How do you plan to create proper channels for the sustainability of the solutions proposed?
6. Growth Strategy
7. Revenue model from the solution(if any)

Submission: Feel free to use your own template Format:

PDF Max. No. of Slides: 10 Filename format: “Case_Teamname_Collegename”

Submission Process:
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Email to ​esummit@iitr.ac.in
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Team Name
Name of Members
College Name
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