The value of the food lost is up to 92,000 crore rupees.
A recent study by Ciphet has revealed shocking statistics that an enormous number of food is wasted in India every day.
India is the second largest producer of food in the world, after China.
However, although the country produces enough food to feed all of the world’s population twice, it equally wastes the amount to annually feed India’s largest state of Bihar for one year.
Government studies showed that a mighty 67 million tonnes wasted yearly is more than what Britain consumes in one year.
The value of the food lost is up to 92,000 crore rupees.
This affects the country’s economy greatly, making it one of the countries most alarming issues.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, up to 40% of the food produced in India is wasted.
In a country with such a high poverty number, the amount not used could fill the stomach of a large number of civilians.
This amount is nearly two-thirds of the of what the government needs to feed 600 million poor people in India, under the National Food Security Programme.
According to UNICEF, one-third of the most malnourished children in the world, are from India, with almost 50% of the countries children being underweight.
Previous 2012 statistics showed that 7 million children died due to malnutrition.
The most wastage is fruits, vegetables and pulses, which is 70% of the food wasted.
Over one million tomatoes and onions are lost on their way to shops and markets, while 5 million eggs are damaged or in a unsellable condition.
One of the biggest reasons for this wastage is because of the lack of quality storage and transportation and weather and pests.
Amit Vyas, an economist with GB Pant Institute said: “lower supplies raise inflation and hurt the economy by reducing farmers’ returns on investments.”
This means little income for small farmers and increased cost for customers.
Improved technology could feed the mouths of millions, with less food wasted.
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