The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is published by three non-governmental organisations: Welt Hunger Hilfe (Germany), Concern Worldwide (Ireland) and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (Germany). However, the GHI does not ‘does not bring out India’s actual position’ on hunger, Savitri Thakur, Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, told the Rajya Sabha.
GHI is a flawed measure, as three of its four indicators — stunting, wasting and under-five mortality rate — are related to child health and nutrition and cannot be projected to reflect prevalence of hunger in the overall population, the minister stated. In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, India was ranked 105th out of 127 countries, an improvement from its 111th position out of 125 countries in 2023.
The government prioritises the safety, security and empowerment of women, including those in rural areas, Thakur told the Rajya Sabha. To achieve this, a multi-pronged approach has been adopted to support women’s welfare across all stages of life, ensuring their educational, social, economic and political empowerment.
This ‘women-led development’ is essential for achieving the goal of a developed India, or Viksit Bharat, by 2047, the minister said. Under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission, nearly 102.9 million women are connected to approximately 9.17 million self-help groups, which are transforming the socio-economic landscape of rural India, she added.
The National Institute of Wind Energy has estimated India’s wind power potential to be approximately 1,164 gigawatt (GW) at 150 metres above ground level, Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy and Power, informed the Lok Sabha. As of February 28, 2025, about 48.58 GW of wind power capacity has been installed.
In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement at 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working towards achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, including wind energy, he said.
Furthermore, the Central Electricity Authority’s Report on Optimal Generation Capacity Mix for 2029-30 (Version 2.0) estimated that India’s installed wind energy capacity will reach 99,895 megawatts by 2029-30, Naik added.
In line with the PM’s announcement at COP26, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working towards achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, Naik told the Lok Sabha.
As of February 28, 2025, India’s installed non-fossil power capacity stands at 222.86 GW, comprising 102.57 GW of solar power, 48.59 GW of wind power, 11.45 GW of bio-power, 52.07 GW of hydro power and 8.18 GW of nuclear power, the minister said.
The share of non-fossil energy in India’s total installed electricity capacity has increased from 31.53 per cent in 2014 to 47.37 per cent at present, Naik added.
India has sufficient domestic coal reserves to support the country’s energy security, with coal accounting for 55 per cent of the nation’s energy needs, G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Coal and Mines, told the Lok Sabha. According to the Geological Survey of India, as of April 1, 2024, India’s coal and lignite resources stand at 389.42 billion tonnes and 47.29 billion tonnes, respectively.
No tidal energy has been generated in India over the past decade, Naik told the Lok Sabha. However, in December 2014, the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, in collaboration with the Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), conducted a study titled Tidal & Wave Energy in India: Survey on the Potential & Proposition of a Roadmap. According to the study, India has an estimated tidal energy potential of 12,455 MW.
In 2021, the Government of India introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to assess poverty based on overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards across 12 indicators, Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation, informed the Lok Sabha.
The index measures both the proportion of people living in poverty and the extent of their deprivation. The second edition of the index was released in 2023. According to the National MPI Report 2023, published by central policy think tank NITI Aayog, the proportion of the population in multidimensional poverty declined from 24.85 per cent in 2015-16 to 14.96 per cent in 2019-21, meaning that approximately 135.5 million people escaped poverty during this period, the minister said.
The steepest decline was observed in rural areas, where the percentage of multidimensionally poor individuals fell from 32.59 per cent in 2015-16 to 19.28 per cent in 2019-21, Rao added.