Parliament Watch: Global Hunger Index not a valid measure; 6,667 FCRA licenses cancelled in last 5 years

Parliament on Wednesday saw replies to questions on topics ranging from atrocities against Dalits in the country to cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against legislators. .One answer, by Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, even denied the validity of the Global Hunger Index..In the Rajya Sabha, Kerala MP P Santhosh Kumar asked the Ministry of Women & Child Development whether the government was planning to intervene to improve the status of child nutrition in the country considering India's continuous decline on the Global Hunger Index (GHI).Smriti Irani claimed that GHI does not reflect India's true picture as it is a flawed measure of 'Hunger'. The Minister said that the Index should not be taken at face value, as it is neither appropriate nor representative of the hunger prevalent in the country."Out of its four indicators, only one indicator, i.e., undernourishment, is directly related to hunger. The two indicators, namely, Stunting and Wasting are outcomes of complex interactions of various other factors like sanitation, genetics, environment and utilisation of food intake apart from hunger which is taken as the causative/outcome factor for stunting and wasting in the GHI," the answer read..TMC Lok Sabha MP Mala Roy asked how many cases were registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against MLAs and MPs during the last five years. The response stated that a total of 56 such cases were registered during the said time period.The table below reflects the conviction rate in such cases over the years:.The following information was shared regarding State-wise numbers..Instead of party-wise numbers, only names of political parties to which the MLAs and MPs in question belonged were provided..To a question in the Rajya Sabha by Indian National Congress (INC) MP from Maharashtra Imran Pratapgarhi, it was revealed that in the past 4 years, 189,945 cases of atrocities against Dalits were registered across the country. 2021 saw the registration of 50,900 cases.It was further revealed that out of the 189,945 cases registered, trials have been completed in 42,292 cases, with 14,321 convictions..On a question by Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha MP PV Midhun Reddy, it was revealed that across State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions in the country, 4,87,416 cases have been filed. Out of these, 3,76,138 have been disposed of while 1,11,278 are pending.Across District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions, 19,21,765 cases have been filed. 14,92,203 have been disposed of while 4,29,562 are pending..In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha by INC MPs Digvijaya Singh and Dr Amee Yajnik, it was revealed that from 2017-2021, 6,677 licenses under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act were cancelled across the country.Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu saw the most cancellations at 635, 734 and 755 respectively..To a question in the Lok Sabha on cybercrimes against women, it was revealed that 35,220 cases were registered between 2018-2021.Most of the crimes (5,587) were registered for cyber pornography or hosting or publishing obscene sexual materials.