Human-caused climate change made April's record-breaking heatwaves in Bangladesh, India, Laos, and Thailand at least 30 times more likely, according to an analysis conducted by a group of leading climate scientists. The study by World Weather Attribution also emphasises that the region's high vulnerability, known as a heatwave hotspot, exacerbated the impacts of the heatwave. During April, parts of south and southeast Asia faced an intense heatwave, reaching unprecedented temperatures exceeding 42...

S.V. Subramanian, Mayanka Ambade, Smriti Sharma, Akhil Kumar, Rockli Kim The extent of food deprivation and insecurity among infants and young children—a critical phase for children's current and future health and well-being—in India is unknown. We estimate the prevalence of food deprivation among infants and young children in India and describe its evolution over time at sub-national levels. Data from five National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) conducted in 1993, 1999, 2006, 2016...

National Law School of India University, Bengaluru What is the status of hunger and malnutrition in India? The year 2023 marks a decade since the enactment of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Act aims to provide food and nutritional security by ensuring access to quality food at affordable prices. However, despite 10 years of food security being a legal right and the availability of sufficient quantities of food grains, India...

A new study suggests that climate change-induced heatwaves in India can hinder or reverse the country’s progress in fulfilling the sustainable development goals (SDGs) Recurrent heatwaves have greater socio-economic impact in India than previously known. A study published in PLOS Climate suggested that heatwaves made more likely by climate change may impede India’s progress toward its sustainable development goals.  India has committed to achieve 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including...

IndiaSpend There are at least five estimates of the number of poor people in India, which put the number of poor in India between 34 million--equivalent to the population of Kerala--to 373 million--more than four times the population of West Bengal. This puts the number of the poor between 2.5% of the population to 29.5%, based on different estimates between 2014 and 2022. Economists have arrived at these estimates through various means, including projections...