1. What are the major functions of the Food Corporation of India?
(i) Food Corporation of India purchases wheat and rice from farmers in states where there is surplus production.
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(ii) The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops.
(iii) FCI stores the purchased grains in granaries to create buffer stock.
(iv) FCI distributes foodgrains in the deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price.
2. Explain the measures adopted by the government of India to achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains.
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(i) Buffer stock: Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains namely wheat and rice procured by the government through Food Corporation of India. The minimum support price is declared by the government every year to provide incentives to the farmers for raising the production. The purchased foodgrains are stored in granaries,
(ii) Public distribution system (points to be explained): It is system focusing on the subsidized distribution of basic commodities to poor households through fair price shops nationwide.
3. Why is there a need for food security in India?
(i) over population
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(ii) Unequal production of foodgrains.
(iii) Corrupt administrative practices.
(iv) Hoarding and black marketing.
4. What is Public Distribution System? State three advantages of this system.
Public Distribution system:
Distribution of food procured by F.C.I, amongst the poor through government regulated ration shop.
(i) Proved an effective instrument to stabilise prices.
(ii) Make the availability of food at affordable prices.
(iii) Helped in supplying of food in areas where there was widespread hunger and famine conditions.
(iv) Continuous changes in prices of food goods under PDS have benefitted the poor household a lot.
5. Differentiate between chronic hunger and seasonal hunger.
Difference between chronic hunger and seasonal hunger:
Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity or quality. Poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their very low income and in turn inability to buy food even for survival.
Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities and in urban areas because of the casual labour. This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire area.
6. What is meant by Buffer stock? Why is it created?
Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains namely wheat and rice procured by the government through Food Corporation of India. The minimum support price is declared by the government every year to provide incentives to the farmers for raising the production. The purchased foodgrains are stored in granaries. Buffer stock is created:
(i) To distribute foodgrains in the deficit areas.
(ii) It is given to the poor people at a lower price.
(iii) To resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or calamity.
7. How does PDS ensure food security in India? Explain.
PDS ensures food security in the country in the following ways:
(i) PDS focuses on subsidized distribution of the basic commodities to poor households through the fair price shops.
(ii) The food procured by the FCI i.e. Food Corporation of India is distributed through government regulated ration shops among poorer sections of the society at price lower than the market price.
(iii) Any family with a ration card can buy stipulated quantities of grain, kerosene sugar etc. from the ration shops.
(iv) The most effective instrument of government policy to ensure food security.
8. ‘The PDS has proved to be the most effective instrument of govt, policy’. Give four points in favour of statement.
‘The PDS has proved to be the most effective instrument of govt, policy’:
(i) It helped in stabilizing prices and making food available to consumers at affordable prices.
(ii) Helped in averting widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from surplus regions of the country to the deficit ones.
(iii) Price has been under revision in favour of the poor households.
(iv) It has contributed to an increase in foodgrain production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.
9. What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Describe any two schemes launched by the government.
(i) Maintain buffer stock of foodgrain namely wheat and rice.
(ii) Public distribution system.
(iii) Antyodaya Anna Yojana for “poorest of the poor”.
(iv) Annapuran Scheme for “indigent senior citizens”.
Two programmes are:
Amtupdaya Anna Yojana was launched in December 2000. Here poor families are identified and 25 kgs of foodgrains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidised rate.
National Food for Work Programme:
Launched in Nov. 2004 in 150 most backward district of the country with the objective of intensifying the generation of supplementary wage employment. It is open to all rural poor.
10. Explain any five causes that made Public Distribution System so ineffective.
(i) In spite of over flowing granaries, there is widespread hunger prevalent in India.
(ii) PDS dealers resort to malpractices as diverting grains in the open market for better margin.
(iii) It is common to find ration shops closed for buyers.
(iv) Corruption, black marketing and improper distribution of grains are rampant in PDS.
(v) Selling of unsold poor quality grains are a major concern.
11. What efforts has our Government made to provide food security to poor? Explain any four efforts.
(i) Public Distribution System (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Government of India (GOI) towards ensuring food security.
(ii) In 1992, Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) was introduced in 1700 blocks in the country. The target was to provide the benefits of PDS to remote and backwards areas.
(iii) In 2000, two special Schemes were launched viz. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and the Anna Purna Scheme (APS) with special target groups of poorest of the poor and Indigent Senior Citizen respectively.
(iv) The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was introduced for the first time differential price policy was adopted for the poor and non-poor.
12. What are the problems of the functioning of the Ration shops? Describe any four of them.
Problems of the functioning of Ration shops are :
(i) Poor quality grains are sold at the ration shops.
(ii) Public Distribution System dealers sometimes resort to malpractices.
(iii) Public Distribution System dealers open the ration shop irregularly without considering the problems of BPL families.
(iv) Ration shops have unsold stocks of poor quality grains left.
13. Describe in five points your awareness about National Food for Work Programme.
National Food for Work Programme:
(i) It was launched in 2004.
(ii) It is hundred percent centrally sponsored schemes.
(iii) It is open to all rural poor in need of wage employment for manual unskilled work.
(iv) It was started in 150 most backward district of the country.
(v) In this, workers are provided with foodgrains or money in return for work.
14. Highlight the journey of rationing system of India in four points.
The journey of rationing system of India:
(i) It was introduced in India in 1940s,
(ii) It was revived in 1960s.
(iii) Three important programmes were introduced in 1970s, PDS, ICDS, FFW.
(iv) In 1990s it was enhanced by schemes of RPDS, TPDS, RATION, CARDS.
15. How does minimum support price helps in food security? Who are food insecure people?
Food insecure people are landless labour artisans, petty self employed, destitute, Bewggars in rural areas.
Minimum Support Price helps in Food security in following ways:
In urban areas casual labours, construction workers, people engaged in petty work.
The surplus wheat and rice is purchased by FCI from the farmers at a pre-announced price for their crops.
MSP is declared every year by the government before sowing season to provide incentive to the farmer for rising crops.
These foodgrains are stored in the granaries and distributed in deficit areas at a low price.
16. “PDS dealers are sometimes found resorting in malpractices”. Justify the statement.
(i) The quality of rationed articles issued to the poor is much less than require by them.
(ii) The ration shop dealers resort to malpractices.
(iii) Some ration shop dealers sell poor quality of grains at the ration shop.
(iv) Some dealers weigh less and cheat the illiterate customers.
(v) Still others open their shops irregularly so that the poor people could not draw their ration quota.
17. Write a note on the role of co-operatives in providing food and related items.
(i) Govt, alone cannot solve the problems of food security and needs support of cooperatives that play an important role in developing a social capital in rural areas.
(ii) In Tamil Nadu, around 94% of fair price shops are being run by the cooperatives.
(iii) Mother Dairy in Delhi and Amul are examples of the success of these cooperatives in ensuring food security to different section of the society.
(iv) A network of NGSs, grain bank and other cooperatives play an important role in influencing the government’s policy on food security e.g.in Maharashtra, ADS has facilitated a network of NGOs for setting up grain banks in different regions.
18. Explain how Green Revolution helped India to be self-sufficient in foodgrain production?
(i) It is a new strategy introduced in agriculture.
(ii) It introduced HYV seeds, fertilizers and irrigation.
(iii) The impressive strides of Green Revolution in agriculture was officially recorded by the releasing a stamp.
(iv) Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh recorded a significant increase.
19. Explain the three dimensions of food security.
Food Security:
Means availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all people at all times.
Food security has following dimensions:
(i) Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous year stock stored in the government granaries.
(ii) Accessibility of food means food within the reach of every person.
(iii) Affordability of food implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet once dietary needs.
20. Which are the people more prone to food insecurity? Explain.
(i) Landless people
(ii) Traditional artisans
(iii) Petty self-employed workers
(iv) Destitutes including beggars
(v) People employed in ill-paid occupations
(vi) SC, ST and some sections of the OBCs
(vii) People affected by natural disasters.
21. Describe briefly the measures adopted to achieve self sufficiency in foodgrains since independence.
(i) Adoption of Green Revolution in agriculture
(ii) Buffer stocks
(iii) Distribution of foodgrains through Government regulated shops among the poorer sections of the society.
22. What steps have been taken by the Government in India to provide food security to the poor? Explain any three.
(i) Maintained a buffer stock of foodgrains.
(ii) Establishing Public Distribution System.
(iii) Adopting Antyodaya Anna Yojana for poorest of the poor
(iv) Annapurna scheme for senior citizens
23. Explain the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items in different parts of the country?
(i) The cooperative societies set-up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people. 94% of fair price shops in Tamil Nadu are run by cooperatives.
(ii) In Delhi, Mother Dairy provides milk and vegetables to consumers at controlled rates decided by the government of Delhi.
(iii) Amul cooperative in Gujarat has brought white Revolution in the country. Thus cooperatives are ensuring food security to people.
24. Describe public distribution system (PDS) is the most important step taken by the government of India towards ensuring food security.
PDS is the most important step taken by the government of India towards ensuring food security because:
(i) The food procured by the FCI is distributed through government regulated ration shops among the poorer section of the society.
(ii) Later in 1992 Revamped Public Distribution System provided the benefits to remote and backward areas.
(iii) In 1997 TPDS adopted the principle of targeting poor in all areas.
(iv) PDS has been influential in averting widespread hunger.
25. Give three differences between Chronic Hunger and Seasonal Hunger.
Chronic Hunger:
Occurs which people lack the opportunity to earn enough money to be educated and gain skills to meet their basic needs.
Lack of resources to buy or grow food.
It continues for long and leads to death. Seasonal Hunger:
(i) Occurs in a community or society at only certain times of the year.
(ii) Occurs in communities where people are already food insecure
(iii) Pattern of hunger persists year after year.
26. ‘Hunger is an important aspect indicating food insecurity’. Give argument in favour of statement along with its dimensions.
(i) Hunger is not just an expression of poverty, it brings about poverty. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risk of future hunger.
(ii) Hunger has chronic and seasonal dimensions.
(iii) Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity or quality due to low income. Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting.
27. How does food security get affected during a calamaity? Explain.
Due to any natural calamity as drought, food, earthquake etc, total production of foodgrains decreases.
(i) It creates a shortage of food in the affected areas.
(ii) Due to shortage of food, the prices go up. Thus some people cannot afford to buy food at high prices.
(iii) If such calamity happens in a very widespread area or is stretched over a longer time period, it may cause a situation of starvation.
Or
Due to a natural calamity, say drought total production of foodgrains decreases. It creates a shortage of food in the affected areas. Due to shortage of food, the price goes up. At high prices, some people cannot afford to buy food. If such calamity happens in a very widespread area or is stretched over a long time period, it may cause a situation of starvation. A massive starvation might take a form of famine.
The poorest section of the society might be food insecure most of the times, while persons above the poverty line might also be food insecure when the country faces a natural calamity, like famine.
28. What are famines? Who were the most affected group of the devastating famine of Bengal?
Meaning of famine:
Widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food and loss of resistance due to weakening from starvation.
The most affected:
Agricultural labourers, fishermen, transport workers and casual labourers.
29. Food security essential in India, justify the statement.
Food security is essential because:
(i) The country faces National disaster as cyclone, Tsunami, earthquake and war.
(ii) Crop failure due to flood, drought.
(iii) These create shortage of foodgrains and the food prices go up.
(iv) This leads to starvation, chronic hunger. Hence food security is required.
30. How is food security ensured in India?
Food security is ensured by:
(i) Enough food is available for all.
(ii) All persons have capacity to buy food.
(iii) There is no barrier in access to food.
31. What is the public distribution system? Distribution system.
Public Distribution System: It is system focusing on the subsidized distribution of basic commodities to poor households through fair price shops nationwide.
Role:
(i) The food procured by the Food Corporation of India is distributed through government regulated ration shops among the poorer sections of the society at the price lower than the market price.
(ii) PDS has proved to be most effective instrument of government policy to ensure food security.
(iii) Any family with ration card can buy a stipulated amount of grains, kerosene, sugar, etc. every month from the nearby ration shop.