Global Hunger Index India slips to 102nd

India trails at a miserable 102nd among 117 countries in the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released on October 15. The rank is significant because the country seems to have regressed from its 95th rank in 2010 and stands way below its neighbours and BRICS' peers. Alarmingly, India was the worst performer when it came to child wasting (age appropriate weight), clocking a dismal 20.8 percent. Among infants aged 6-23 months, merely 9.6 percent received the 'minimum acceptable diet'. The child stunting rate at 37.9 percent, was also termed 'very high'.

India tops global slavery index

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, released by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation on 31st May, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and children, are subject to some form of modern slavery in the world, compared to 35.8 million in 2014. The report said India has the highest absolute numbers of people trapped in slavery with 18.35 million slaves among its 1.3 billion population, while North Korea has the highest incidence (4.37 per cent of the population) and the weakest government response to deal with it.