Exercise:
Q1. How is food security ensured in India?
Answer: The food security in India is ensured by -
(i) To make buffer stock and
(ii) To supply food by the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Q2. Which are the people more prone to food insecurity?
Answer: A large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity in India they are as follows-
(i) The worst affected groups are landless or land poor households in rural areas
(ii) People employed in ill paid occupations
(iii) Casual labourers engaged in seasonal activities (traditional artisans) in the urban areas.
(iv) Petty selfemployed persons and
(v) Beggars
Q3. Which states are more food insecure in India?
Answer: The following states are more food insecure in India:
(i) Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts),
(ii) Bihar,
(iii) Jharkhand,
(iv) Orissa,
(v) West Bengal,
(vi) Chattisgarh,
(vii) The parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharasthra etc.
Q4. Do you believe that green revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How?
Answer : Yes, It is fact that India has become self-sufficient in food grain after green revolution. After independence, Indian policy makers adopted all measures to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains. India
adopted a new strategy in agriculture, which resulted in the ‘Green
Revolution’ especially in the production of wheat and rice. The highest rate of growth was achieved in Punjab and Haryana, where foodgrain production jumped from 7.23 million tonnes in 1964–65 to reach an all-time high of 30.33 million tonnes in 1995–96. Production in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and the northeastern states continued to
stagger.
Q5. A section of people in India are still without food. Explain?
Answer: A large section of people are still without food. The following reasons for these sections are -
(i) The social composition along with the inability to buy food also plays a role in food insecurity.
(ii) The SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs (lower castes among
them) who have either poor land-base or very low land productivity are prone to food insecurity.
(iii) The people affected by natural disasters, who have to migrate to
other areas in search of work, are also among the most food insecure people.
(iv) A large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under the age of 5 years constitute an important segment of the food insecure population.
(v) Economically backward states with high incidence of poverty, tribal and remote areas, regions more prone to natural disasters etc.
Q6. What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or a calamity?
Answer: When there is a disaster or a calamity in a area, the food supply is affected by following ways:
(i) There breaks the contacts between affected area and supply area.
(ii) There is shortage of food grains in affected area.
(iii) Due to price rising food supply are also affected.
(iv) The total production decreases due to calamity.
(v) If the disaster persists for a long time, then a situation of starvation/hunger (भुखमरी) arises.
Q7. Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger?
Answer:
Seasonal Hunger:
(i) It arises from the decline in agricultural productions.
(ii) Arising from not getting work all year long.
(iii) Such type of hunder is caused by disasters like dryness and floods.
Chronic hunger:
(i) If there is less income than usual, such type of hunger persists.
(ii) They are unable to buy food grains.
(iii) Such hunger arises from inadequate food dose.
Q8. What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government?
Answer: To provide food security to the poor following steps have been taken by the Government of India:
(i) Public Distribution System (PDS) : Public Distribution System (PDS) was established for the distribution of food grains among poors. It works throgh the Ration shops.
(ii) Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) : Integrated Child Development Services were launched in 1975 to ensure nutrition among children of backward area.
(iii) Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) : This scheme is introduced in 2000 for the people who is the poorest of the poor, in which government provides 35 kg of food grains like wheat at Rs. 2.00 per/kg and rice at 3.00 per/kg.
Q9. Why is a buffer stock created by the government?
Answer: Buffer stock is the stock of food grains, which is stored grains specially wheat and rice from farmers. Government creates buffer stock for the following reasons:
(i) To ensue food security for all.
(ii) To distribute grains at lower cost than the market value to the poorest family and helpless and landless people.
(iii) To supply grains during disaster and calamities.
Q10. Write notes on:
(a) Minimum support price
(b) Buffer stock
(c) Issue price
(d) Fair price shops
Q11. What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?
Answer: There are various problem of the functioning of ration shops such as;
1. Ration cards are issued only to those people who have their proper residential addresses. Hence a large number of homeless poor fail to get ration from these shops.
2. The owners of these shops sell ration in the open market at higher prices.
3. Sometimes shopkeepers make bogus entries in the ration cards.
4. Ration shop's owner have to keep the accounts of the each transactions.
5. Ration shops have to take care of everything of consumers.
6. License can be canceled if any consumer complaint against him on verified.
Q12. Write a note on the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items.
Answer: There are following role of co-operatives in providing food and related items:
(i) The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people.
(ii) They also ensure food security for the various people of society.
(iii) They also helps in the networks of the non-government organisation to establishment of grain Bank.
(iv) They also provides foods and vegetables on the controlled prices. For example Mother dairy and Safal etc.
