But India is also home to a quarter of the world's hungry — about 230 million people — a World Food Program report said last month. More than 455 million Indians survive on $A1.80 a day or less, up from 420 million in 1981.

In a towering symbol of these two Indias, in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, a newtelecommunications antenna has been erected, meaning that while Ujala wastes away, there is perfect mobile phone reception and wireless internet access in her family's village.

India's progress in reducing child malnutrition has been slow. About 42 per cent of children under five are underweight, compared with just 7 per cent in China. Washington group the International Food Policy Research Institute says almost a fifth of the population is "food insecure".

In Ujala's state, about 60 per cent of children under five are malnourished. Almost one in 10 die before they reach the age of five. That ranks Madhya Pradesh alongside Chad and Ethiopia for child malnutrition, the institute says.

Ujala is typical of those forgotten in the drive for success. She was born into an ultra-poor rural family. Most days, her grandmother, Rechu Bhai, looks after her while her parents toil on farms for about 25 rupees (78 cents) a day.

Local social workers Prakash Michael and his wife Seema run an organisation called Spandan that tries to help the hungry families of Khandwa district. A report Spandan released last month found at least 12 children have died of hunger in the eight villages within Ujala's subdistrict over the past six months. Mr Michael fears Ujala will soon be added to the statistics.

"When the malnutrition gets acute like this, it looks like the body is starting to rot," he says.

Spandan's information forced officials to take notice. Many children were taken to special government rehabilitation centres set up to treat malnourished children.

But Mr Michael says the response has not been adequate. Ujala's grandmother says the baby was also taken to a centre but was turned away without explanation.

"The Government is in denial — they are saying children are not dying due to malnutrition," Mr Michael says. "They say they are dying due to seasonal illnesses."

The poor have traditionally been supported with a quota of free food but that has recently been cut by about 40 per cent. "The average consumption per person has fallen from nine kilograms per month to six to seven kilograms per month here," he says. "Food is getting out of reach of the poor. It is a very complicated situation and a lot of things need to be done … but the Government is not willing to accept this."

The problems in Khandwa are symptomatic of many parts of rural India. Research reveals that more than 1 million children die each year from the side-effects of malnutrition.

In nearby Dahinda, Sonai Narian is mourning the death of her two-month-old twins. "For two days their vomiting and diarrhoea would not stop," she says. "My girl died first and then my son died five days later. I'm still crying because I miss them so much."

Mr Michael is furious about their deaths. "We told the authorities that these children were in serious condition so they could take action, but they didn't," he says.

He has vowed to keep campaigning until the Government does its job. "Their policies are not working, their systems are not working and children are dying," he says.