Food Security in India

It is not enough for a country to grow plenty of food. That food must actually reach every person, every day, at a price they can afford. This is the problem of food security. India has built a large system (buffer stocks, support prices and ration shops) to guarantee that no one goes hungry, especially in times of disaster. How this system works is a key economics topic.

Food security means that food is available to all people, at all times, in the quantity and quality they need for an active and healthy life. It rests on three pillars:

• Availability: enough food is produced in the country or imported.
• Accessibility: food is within the reach of every person.
• Affordability: people have enough money to buy adequate, safe and nutritious food.

Food security is threatened most during calamities (droughts, floods, earthquakes), which can cause famine if there is no system to fall back on. The poorest groups, such as landless labourers and casual workers, are the most food-insecure.

The first defence is the buffer stock, a reserve of food grain (mainly wheat and rice) built up by the government.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) buys grain from farmers at a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP). The MSP is announced before the sowing season. This encourages farmers to grow more, because they know their crop will be bought. The grain collected is stored as the buffer stock. The government distributes it in deficit areas and among the poor. It is also released during shortages and emergencies to keep prices stable.

The buffer-stock grain reaches the people through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Under the PDS, food grain is sold at low, subsidised prices through a vast network of ration shops (also called fair price shops). A family with a ration card can buy a fixed quantity of grain, sugar and kerosene each month at these shops. Special cards target the poorest households. The PDS is the main instrument that makes food affordable for the poor. It has, however, faced problems of leakage, poor quality and uneven coverage.

Over time the PDS became targeted. Different schemes serve different groups, each with a fixed quantity:

• Targeted PDS (TPDS): introduced to focus subsidies on the poor. Below Poverty Line (BPL) families were first given 25 kg of grain per family per month at less than half the economic cost. The entitlement was later raised to 35 kg per family per month, where it stands today.
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): covers the poorest of the poor. It gives 35 kg of grain per family per month at highly subsidised issue prices of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice.
• Annapurna Scheme: gives indigent senior citizens aged 65 and above, who are eligible for an old-age pension but do not receive one, 10 kg of grain per person per month free of cost.
• Welfare institutions: orphanages and similar institutions receive 15 kg of grain per person per month at BPL rates.
• Mid-day Meal Scheme: provides cooked meals to primary-school children in government and government-aided schools. It improves both nutrition and school attendance.

Alongside food schemes, the National Old Age Pension Scheme gave a central pension contribution of Rs 75 per month to destitute elderly persons at the time.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 turned food entitlements into a legal right. Its key provisions are:

• Coverage: the Act covers priority households and Antyodaya households, identified by the states. Coverage is not restricted to BPL families alone.
• Women as head of household: the eldest woman aged 18 or above in a household is treated as its head for the purpose of issuing ration cards.
• Maternity support: pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to maternity benefits and a free take-home ration. The nutritional norm during pregnancy and for six months after childbirth is higher than 1,600 kcal per day.

None of this would be possible without enough food being produced in the first place. After independence India suffered food shortages and had to import grain. The Green Revolution of the 1960s introduced high-yielding variety seeds, irrigation, fertilisers and modern methods. It dramatically raised the output of wheat and rice.

As a result, India became self-sufficient in food grains. It ended its dependence on imports. This also allowed it to build the buffer stock that underpins food security today. The challenge has now shifted. Producing enough food is no longer the main problem. Distributing it fairly and ensuring good nutrition for all is.

Production still needs a steady push. The National Food Security Mission (NFSM), launched in 2007, aims to raise food grain production through two routes: expanding the cultivated area and enhancing productivity in identified districts. At launch it targeted three crops: rice, wheat and pulses. Oilseeds and vegetables were not part of the original mission.