{"id":71623,"date":"2026-04-15T20:43:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71623"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:14:10","slug":"food-waste-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-04-2026\/food-waste-india","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Food Waste Paradox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy\/ Agriculture\/ Environment,&nbsp; GS2\/ Social Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the United Nations Environment Programme, India wastes <strong>78\u201380 million tonnes <\/strong>of food annually, <strong>valued at \u20b91.55 lakh crore<\/strong>, making it the <strong>second-largest<\/strong> food waste globally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Status of food wastage in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>As per UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024<\/strong>, the estimated food wastage in India in 2022 is 55 kg\/capita\/year in India, lower than the global average of 79 kg\/capita\/year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concern:<\/strong> India ranks <strong>102 out of 123<\/strong> countries in the <strong>Global Hunger Index 2025.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Around<strong> 12% <\/strong>of India\u2019s population is <strong>undernourished<\/strong>, which is approximately <strong>~170\u2013175 million<\/strong> people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Globally <strong>1.05 billion tonnes <\/strong>of food is wasted each year. Around <strong>60%<\/strong> of food waste occurs at the household level, followed by <strong>food services (28%)<\/strong> and <strong>retail (12%).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Drivers of Food Waste in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Post-Harvest Losses: <\/strong>Lack of scientific storage, grading, and packaging leads to significant losses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Storage Infrastructure: <\/strong>The absence of sufficient modern storage facilities leads to spoilage of food grains stored in traditional warehouses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supply Chain Inefficiencies: <\/strong>Inefficient logistics, multiple intermediaries, and delays in transportation contribute significantly to food spoilage.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>absence of integrated supply chains<\/strong> leads to mismatches between supply and demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Practices:<\/strong> Food wastage at weddings, social gatherings, and households is driven by over-preparation and lack of awareness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives to Reduce Food Waste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Food Security and Distribution: <\/strong>The <strong>Public Distribution System<\/strong> ensures the distribution of subsidised food grains to vulnerable populations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana<\/strong> has expanded food access during times of crisis and economic distress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF):<\/strong> Provides medium-to-long-term debt financing for post-harvest management projects, including warehouses, silos, and cold storage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana<\/strong> aimed at creating modern infrastructure for food processing and preservation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mega Food Parks:<\/strong> Clusters that link agricultural production to markets through high-tech supply chains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrated Cold Chain: <\/strong>Providing preservation facilities like refrigerated transport and cold storage to reduce spoilage of perishables.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operation Greens: <\/strong>Focused on stabilizing the supply and reducing waste of crops like Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Market Reforms: <\/strong>The <strong>e-NAM<\/strong> facilitates better price discovery and reduces inefficiencies in agricultural markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Challenges in Reducing Food Waste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India lacks a comprehensive national database to <strong>track food waste across sectors.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>cold chain infrastructure remains inadequate<\/strong>, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is <strong>no strong legal framework<\/strong> mandating the redistribution of surplus food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Behavioral and cultural factors<\/strong> continue to encourage food wastage in social settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Best Practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9edec\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"943\" height=\"502\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71624\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9edec; aspect-ratio:1.8785379830875673;width:523px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png 943w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89-768x409.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Food waste in India highlights <strong>systemic inefficiencies in production, distribution, and consumption<\/strong>, even as hunger persists.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Addressing this issue is essential for <strong>improving food security, resource efficiency, and sustainability.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is also critical for achieving <strong>SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) <\/strong>and <strong>SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)<\/strong>, making food waste reduction a key developmental priority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/food-worth-155-lakh-crore-wasted-annually\/article70860954.ece#:~:text=Beyond%20individual%20behaviour%2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> According to the United Nations Environment Programme, India wastes 78\u201380 million tonnes of food annually, valued at \u20b91.55 lakh crore, making it the second-largest food waste globally. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Status of food wastage in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> As per UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, the estimated food wastage in India in 2022 is 55 kg\/capita\/year in India, lower than the global average of 79 kg\/capita\/year. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Concern: India ranks 102 out of 123 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2025. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-04-2026\/food-waste-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71626,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71623\/revisions\/71626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}