The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that due to "comprehensive policies and steps" taken by both Central and state governments, there have been no starvation deaths in recent times, even during the Covid pandemic, but the court remained unconvinced. The apex court pressed Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to be crystal clear, if he is making a statement that there are no starvation deaths in the country now, and also sought data to establish this claim.

In an affidavit, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution said: "Indeed, thanks to the progress made by the nation since independence and the comprehensive policies and steps taken by both state and Central governments, there have been no starvation deaths in the country in recent times, even during adverse situations like the pandemic."