Food Security in India

• Meaning and Definition

  • Definition by FAO (availability, accessibility, and affordability)
  • Importance: Survival, health, and national development during calamities

• Why Food Security?

  • Need during droughts, floods, famine, and earthquake
  • Prevention of widespread hunger and starvation
  • Protection against economic shocks and crop failures

• Dimensions of Food Security

  • Availability: Production + imports + previous stock
  • Accessibility: Food within reach of every person
  • Affordability: Ability to buy safe and nutritious food

• Who are Food Insecure?

  • Rural areas: Landless laborers, traditional artisans, petty self-employed
  • Urban areas: Workers in casual labor market, low-paid jobs
  • Socially disadvantaged: SC, ST, and some sections of OBCs
  • Victims of natural disasters and migrated people
  • Hunger dimensions: Chronic hunger vs. Seasonal hunger

• Food Security in India (Green Revolution & After)

  • Shift towards self-sufficiency since the Green Revolution (1960s)
  • Role of Buffer Stock maintained by FCI (Food Corporation of India)
  • MSP (Minimum Support Price) as an incentive for farmers
  • Issues: Excessive food grain storage, rotting, and pest damage

• Public Distribution System (PDS)

  • Backbone of India's food security policy
  • Ration Shops (Fair Price Shops) distributing essential commodities
  • Categorization of cards: AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) and BPL/APL cards
  • Current status: Shift from universal to targeted PDS (TPDS)

• Current Status & Schemes

  • National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013
  • Mid-Day Meal Scheme for school children
  • Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
  • Employment generation schemes contributing to food security (MGNREGA)

• Role of Cooperatives

  • PDS cooperatives in southern and western India (e.g., Mother Dairy in Delhi, Amul in Gujarat)
  • Grain banks set up by NGOs (e.g., Academy of Development Science in Maharashtra)