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NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics chapter 4 – Food Security in India

Back Exercise

1. How is food security ensured in India?

Answer:

To ensure the availability of food to all sections of the society the Indian government carefully designed food security system, which is composed of two components: (a) buffer stock and (b) public distribution system. Food security is ensured in India in the following ways:

1. Availability of Food – food produced in the country and the previous year stocks saved by the Government
2. Accessibility of Food – food reaches to every citizen of the country
3. Affordability of Food – every individual should have the money to afford food which is safe and nutritious

Question 2.
Which are the people more prone to food insecurity?
Answer:
The people more prone to food insecurity are:

1. Landless people with little or no land to depend on.
2. Traditional artisans
3. Providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutes, including beggars
4. Urban casual labourers engaged in seasonal activities.
5. The SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs.
6. People affected by natural disasters.

Question 3.
Which states are more food insecure in India?
Answer:
The economically backward states with high incidence of poverty are more food insecure in India. The states of Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra account for the largest number of food insecure people in the country.

Question 4.
Do you believe that Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How?
Answer:
Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains. The country has avoided famines even during adverse weather conditions since the advent of the Green Revolution in the early 1960s. A variety of crops being grown all over the country is an outcome of the Green Revolution.

Question 5.
A section of people in India is still without food. Explain.
Answer:
Despite achieving self-sufficiency in food grains, as a result of Green Revolution, a section of people in India are still without food because of poverty. Thus, the landless labourers, casual urban workers, SCs and STs who are below the poverty line find it impossible to get two square meals a day.

The Public Distribution System is not functioning properly because the ration shops owners are diverting the grains to the open market. Low quality grains are available at ration shops which often remain unsold.
Corruption in the Public Distribution System and extreme poverty are the two basic reasons of why some people are still without food in India.

Question 6.
What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or a calamity?
Answer:
When there is a disaster or a calamity, the production of food grains decreases in the affected areas. This in turn creates a shortage of food in the area. Due to food shortage, the prices go up. The raised prices of food affects the capacity of many people to buy the same. When a calamity occurs in a very widespread area or is stretched over a long period of time, it may cause a situation of starvation. Massive starvation can take the form of famine.

Question 7.
Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger.
Answer:
Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting whereas chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity or quality.

People suffer from seasonal hunger in rural areas because of seasonal nature of agricultural activities and because of causal labour in the urban areas whereas poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of very low income and thereby inability to buy food even for bare survival.

Question 8.
What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government.
Answer:
The government has designed the food security system carefully to ensure availability of food to all sections of the society. The system is composed of two componfents, i.e.,

1.  Buffer Stock
2. Public Distribution System (PDS)

In addition to the above, the government has launched several Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAPs) that comprise a component of food security. Some of these programmes are Mid-day Meals, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Food For Work (FFW).
The two schemes launched by the government in this direction are:

1. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY). This scheme was launched in December 2000. Under this scheme, one crore of the poorer among the BPL families, to be covered by the Public Distribution System, were identified. Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each of the – eligible family at a highly subsidised rate. After about two years, the quantity was enhanced from twenty-five kg to thirty-five kg. In June 2003 and August 2004, an additional fifty lakh families were added to this scheme twice. In this way, about two crore families have been brought under the AAY.
2. Annapurna Scheme (APS). It was launched in 2,000 with special target group of ‘indigent senior citizens’. The functioning of scheme was linked with existing network of the PDS. Under this scheme, 10 kg of food grains were made available to them free of cost.

Question 9.
Why buffer stock is created by the government?
Answer:
Buffer stock is created by the government to ensure availability of food to all the sections of the society. It helps to resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or during the periods of calamity.

Question 10.
Write notes on:
(a) Minimum Support Price
(b) Buffer Stock
(c) Issue Price
(d) Fair Price Shops
Answer:

1. Minimum Support Price. This is the pre-announced price at which the government purchases food grains particularly, wheat and rice, from the farmers to create a buffer stock. This price is announced by the government every year before the sowing season as an incentive to the farmers to raise the production of the desired crop. The rising MSPs have raised the maintenance cost of procuring food grains by the government as well as induced farmers to divert land from production of coarse grains to the production of these crops.
2. Buffer Stock. It is the stock of food grains, particularly wheat and rice, which the government procures through the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The FCI purchases these cereals directly from the farmers of those states where they are in surplus. The price of these commodities are announced much before the actual sowing season of these crops. The food grains thus purchased by the FCI are kept in big granaries and called ‘Buffer Stock’.
3. Issue Price. In order to help the poor strata of the society, the government provides them food grains from the buffer stock at a price much lower than the market price. This subsidised price is known as the ‘Issue Price’.
4. Fair Price Shops. The food grains procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India are distributed among the poorer sections of the society through ration shops. These are called ‘Fair Price Shops’ because food grains are supplied to the poor through these shops at a price lower than the market price, which is often high.

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