Answer The Following Question.
1. How is food security ensured in India?
Ans: To ensure food availability for all sections of society, the Indian government has designed a food security system with two main components:
(a) Buffer Stock: Stock of food grains maintained by the government.
(b) Public Distribution System (PDS): Network of ration shops to distribute food at subsidized rates.
Food security in India is ensured through:
Availability of Food: Food production in the country and previous years’ saved stocks.
Accessibility of Food: Food reaches every citizen.
Affordability of Food: Individuals can afford safe and nutritious food.
2. Which are the people more prone to food insecurity?
Ans: Below Poverty Line (BPL) individuals often face food insecurity continuously.
Even better-off people may face food insecurity during calamities or disasters.
Social composition and economic status contribute:
Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and some sections of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are vulnerable due to poor land productivity.
People affected by natural disasters are also prone to food insecurity.
3. Which states are more food insecure in India?
Ans: The most food-insecure states in India include:
Eastern and southeastern Uttar Pradesh
Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal
Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra
4. Do you believe that the Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How?
Ans: Yes, the Green Revolution made India self-sufficient in food grains:
Introduced high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice.
Ensured food availability even during adverse weather.
Helped the government develop a robust food security system.
Thus, India has avoided famine and grown various crops across the country.
5. A section of people in India are still without food. Explain.
Ans: Despite increased food grain production, some people remain without food due to:
High prices of essential commodities.
Lack of affordability for poor families.
Unemployment leading to chronic hunger, especially in rural areas.
6. What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or calamity?
Ans: Food production decreases, leading to shortages.
Food prices rise significantly.
Regions affected by prolonged calamities become food-insecure.
7. Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger.
Seasonal Hunger | Chronic Hunger |
Occurs during specific times of the year, such as lean agricultural seasons. | Persistent hunger caused by inadequate diets in terms of quantity or quality. |
Linked to seasonal cycles of food growing and harvesting. | Affects poor people with very low incomes, preventing them from buying food for survival. |
8. What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government.
Ans: The government has launched various schemes for food security:
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY):
Launched in 2000 for the poorest families under the PDS.
Provided 25 kg of food grains per family at subsidized rates (₹2/kg wheat, ₹3/kg rice).
Expanded in 2003 to cover 50 lakh more families.
Annapurna Scheme (APS):
Launched in 2000 for senior citizens (65+ years) not covered under the National Old Age Pension Scheme.
Provides 10 kg of food grains free of cost.
9. Why is buffer stock created by the government?
Ans: To distribute food in food-deficit areas and to poorer sections at lower-than-market prices.
Helps mitigate food shortages during disasters, calamities, or adverse weather.
Aims to ensure food security across the nation.
10. Write notes on:
(a) Minimum Support Price (MSP):
Pre-announced price paid to farmers for their crops.
Ensures farmers are protected from price fluctuations.
(b) Buffer Stock:
Stock of food grains procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Used during calamities, disasters, or to support poor sections of society.
(c) Issue Price:
Subsidized price at which food grains from buffer stock are distributed to poor people through ration shops.
(d) Fair Price Shops:
Ration shops that sell food grains, sugar, and kerosene at subsidized prices.
Accessible to families with ration cards.
11. What are the problems in the functioning of ration shops?
Ans: Poor quality of food grains provided.
Malpractices by shopkeepers (e.g., supplying less than the allocated quantity).
Irregular opening of ration shops.
Incorrect record-keeping or fraudulent entries.
12. Write a note on the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items.
Ans: Cooperatives play a vital role in food security in India:
Tamil Nadu: Around 94% of fair-price shops are run by cooperatives.
Mother Dairy (Delhi): Supplies milk and vegetables at government-controlled prices.
Amul: Pioneered the White Revolution and supplies milk/milk products.
Academy of Development Science (ADS):
Established Grain Banks in Maharashtra.
Conducts training for NGOs on food security.
Through these initiatives, cooperatives complement the government’s efforts in ensuring food security.