Learn with NITISH KUMAR

■ Global Hunger Index (GHI), 2022: • India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index, 2022. India was in the 94th position in GHI 2020 and 101st in GHI 2021. • India ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99). Afghanistan (109) is the only country in South Asia that performs worse than India on the index. • GHI is jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. • It was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. • The 2022 edition marks the 17th edition of the GHI. • The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. □ Calculation: • Global Hunger Index scores are based on the values of four component indicators - Undernourishment, Child stunting, Child wasting and Child mortality. 1) Undernourishment : Share of the population with insufficient caloric intake. 2) Child Wasting : Share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition. 3) Child Stunting : Share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition. 4) Child Mortality : The mortality rate of children under the age of five. • Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. • Countries are divided into five categories of hunger on the basis of their score, a score less than 9.9 is considered ‘Low’, 10-19.9 is ‘Moderate’, 20-34.9 is ‘Serious’, 35-49.9 is ‘Alarming’, and above 50 is ‘Extremely alarming’. • India’s score of 29.1 places it in the ‘Serious’ category. □ India's performance: • India has been recording decreasing GHI scores over the years. In 2000, it recorded an ‘alarming’ score of 38.8, which reduced to 28.2 by 2014. The country has started recording higher scores since then. • India’s child wasting rate (low weight for height), at 19.3%, is worse than the levels recorded in 2014 (15.1%) and even 2000 (17.15%), and is the highest for any country in the world and drives up the region’s average owing to India’s large population. • Prevalence of undernourishment, which is a measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake, has also risen in the country from 14.6% in 2018-2020 to 16.3% in 2019-2021. This translates into 224.3 million people in India considered undernourished out of the total 828 million people undernourished globally. • India has shown improvement in the other two indicators - Child stunting has declined from 38.7% to 35.5% between 2014 and 2022 and Child mortality has also dropped from 4.6% to 3.3% in the same comparative period. • On the whole, India has shown a slight worsening with its GHI score increasing from 28.2 in 2014 to 29.1 in 2022. • Though the GHI is an annual report, the rankings are not comparable across different years. The GHI score for 2022 can only be compared with scores for 2000, 2007 and 2014. • Globally, progress against hunger has largely stagnated in recent years. The 2022 GHI score for the world is considered “Moderate”, but 18.2 in 2022 is only a slight improvement from 19.1 in 2014.

■ World Sloth Bear Day, October 12: • The International Union for Conservation of Nature has declared October 12 as 'World Sloth Bear Day'. • The first "World Sloth Bear Day" was observed on October 12, 2022. • The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is one of the eight bear species found across the globe. • The sloth bear is endemic to the Indian subcontinent continent with small populations in Nepal and Sri Lanka. • The sloth bear is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. • It is listed under Schedule I of the (Wildlife Protection) Act of India, 1972.

📰 Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to include menstrual hygiene Awarness, skill training: • Expanding the mandate of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ scheme, the Central government on Tuesday announced the inclusion of skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) options in its flagship programme. • The scheme will now also focus on increasing the enrolment of girls in secondary education, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects. • “The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has been revised, and it has a new and refreshing look. Some of the new aims we have for the scheme include ensuring 1% increment in enrolment at the secondary level and skilling of girls and women every year, raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene, and promulgating elimination of child marriages. These are the new elements being included in the scheme,” said Women and Child Development Secretary Indevar Pandey. □ About Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme: • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched on January 22, 2015. • It aims to address the issue of the declining child sex ratio image (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continnum. • It is a national initiative jointly run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development. 📰 Justice D.Y. Chandrachud named 50th Chief Justice of India: • Chief Justice Lalit’s recommendation to the government would start the process for appointment of Justice Chandrachud as the 50th Chief Justice of India. • If the government approval comes through, Justice Chandrachud would be the first second-generation Chief Justice of India. • His father, Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, was the 16th Chief Justice of India and one of the longest serving ones.