The ‘2021 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World’ report’ estimates that around 2.37 billion people did not have access to adequate food during 2020, which is approximately 1/3rd of the global population. The report also estimates that around 720-811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020. COVID-19 pandemic had a severe global impact and continues to affect various walks of life. The measures taken by countries to control the spread of infection through lockdowns, quarantines, curfews, etc. have caused a disruption to human & economic activities. Loss of lives & livelihoods, an increase of financial burden, etc. are a direct result of the impact on the economy, that has further pushed marginalized communities into poverty & hunger. The ‘2020 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the Word’ report estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic could push an additional 83 million -132 million into chronic hunger in 2020. The ‘2021 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World’ report (SOFI 2021) released on 12 July 2021, provides details on the impact of COVID-19 on food security in the world based on real-time global COVID-19 experience in 2020. In this story, we look at the trends related to ‘Global Food Security & Nutrition’, the initiatives taken by various countries to handle challenges of food security during the pandemic, with a focus on India. Around 118 million more people are undernourished in 2020 The SOFI 2021 report estimates that around 2.37 billion people did not have access to adequate food during 2020. This is approximately 1/3 of the global population. There is an increase of 320 million people in 2020 alone, who did not have access to adequate food during the year. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is yet to be fully quantified, SOFI-2021 estimates that around 720-811 million people in the world have faced hunger in 2020. Considering the middle of the projected range it is around 768 million people. In other words, 118 million more people faced hunger in 2020 compared to 2019. (161 million if the upper limit is considered). Since 2018, there has been a gradual increase in the number of people facing hunger, but the increase is steep in 2020. The Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) has increased to 9.9 % compared to 8.4 % in 2019. PoU is the percentage of the population whose consumption falls below MDER (Minimum Dietary Energy Requirement). PoU is one of the indicators for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2.1.1). The estimated steep increase in PoU in 2020 may influence the progress towards achieving the SDG target of ending hunger by 2030. While the impact is spread across the regions, around 100 million more are affected by hunger in Asia & Africa in 2020 The increase in the number of people who faced hunger in 2020 is across all the regions around the globe. For the first time since the FIES (Food Insecurity Experience Scale) Data is available i.e., 2014, ‘Food Insecurity’ has increased in North America & Europe. These two continents have most of the developed countries in the world. The rise of Food insecurity in even these continents is a reflection of the hunger situation influenced by COVID-19. Around half of the undernourished population of the world in 2020 are in Asia, while Africa accounts for 1/3rd of the undernourished population in the world. It is estimated that Latin America & Caribbean region has around 60 million of the undernourished population in the world. However, in terms of the proportion of the population, Africa has a higher proportion of its population facing hunger in 2020. While there is a slight increase in the absolute numbers, the stability of PoU in North America, Europe & Oceania indicates their economic stability in providing Food security even during a global pandemic. While on the other end, the steep increase in Africa & Latin America shows the vulnerability of the population living in such impoverished & poor countries. The concerning factor in the case of Africa is the increase in the ‘Severe’ food insecurity category in 2020. The ‘Food Insecurity’ is categorized as ‘Moderate’ & ‘Severe’. In the case of Asia, the increase in Food Security is mostly in the case of ‘Moderate’ whereas, in Africa, those at a severe level of Food insecurity increased from 21.9% to 25.9%. Latin America has seen an increase in both levels during 2020. Various factors influenced the rise in ‘Food Insecurity’, now exacerbated by COVID-19 SOFI-2021 report observes that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key factor driving the increase in food insecurity across the globe. However, this increase cannot only be attributed to the pandemic since there are other factors also which are at play.