Part of: Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions
Context The Supreme Court recently questioned the Union Government’s commitment to run community kitchens across the country to reduce hunger.
It said that the first job of a welfare state was to ensure that people did not starve to death.
Key takeaways
The court observed that the Government’s progress was slow in framing a national policy to run community kitchens in consultation with the State Governments.
The SC has given the Government three weeks as a last opportunity to hold a meeting and frame a policy.
Perils of starvation
Starvation deaths continue to impinge upon the right to life and dignity of the social fabric.
A “radical” new measure like community kitchens needed to be set up across the country to feed the poor and the hungry.
No statistics for starvation
While there are statistics available for malnutrition deaths in children and adults in the country, there is no official data available for death of persons owing to starvation.
Food and Agriculture Report 2018 stated that India houses 195.9 million of the 821 million undernourished people in the world which accounts for approximately 24% of the world’s hungry.
Prevalence of undernourishment in India is 14.8%, higher than both the global and Asian average.
Community kitchens in various states
Tamil Nadu’s Amma Unavagam was a huge success by involving peers in self-help groups and employing the poor to serve hygienic food to eradicate the gnawing problem of hunger on the streets.
