Developing nations not over-consuming: FM

Chidambaram rebutted charges that food costs are rising as developing countries are eating more.

Rebutting charges that food costs are rising as developing countries are eating more, India has said such countries still have high child malnutrition levels.

8220;An argument is made that large developing countries are over-consuming leading to increased food costs. Nothing could be further from the truth8230;Developing countries still need to battle chronic hunger,8221; Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in New York.

In India, in fact, this is a major issue and the Eleventh Five Year Plan aims at reduction in malnutrition among children of age group of 0-3 to half from its present levels, Chidambaram said at the round table on 8220;Poverty and Hunger8221; during the high-level event on the Millennium Development Goals here on September 25.

Earlier this year, US President George Bush had said prosperity in countries like India is good, but it triggers increased demand for better nutrition, which in turn leads to higher food prices.

Before that, US Secretary of State Condollezza Rice had aid that apparent improvement in the diets of people in India and China and consequent food export caps is among the causes of the current global food crisis.

The Finance Minister said last year has seen major changes in the global economy with very high food and oil prices and the disproportionate impact of climate change seriously jeopardising the gains against hunger, poverty and disease in many developing countries.

Chidambaram said though 8.9 per cent economic growth rate in India for the past four years has allowed the country to make considerable progress in the eradication of extreme poverty, it still has more than a quarter of its population surviving on less than a dollar a day.

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8220;In India, we recognise that economic growth must be socially inclusive and regionally balanced. We have taken major initiatives in agriculture and rural development, in industry and urban development, in infrastructure and services, and in education and healthcare, aimed at promoting inclusive growth,8221; he said.

A unique social safety net has been created through the NREG Act, which guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural family in India, he said adding that the country is investing huge sums in rural infrastructure through a massive rural development scheme, Bharat Nirman.

He said there is a need for a quantum leap in farm productivity, foodgrain output and farm incomes in the developing countries to prevent food shortages and continuing hunger particularly in these nations.

8220;We are confident that the world has enough resources and ability to cope with the crisis,8221; he said.

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The Finance Minister said in 1990 more than 1.2 billion people, 28 per cent of the population of developing nations, lived in extreme poverty, while this had been reduced to barely 980 million by 2004.