Food Security

Food security refers to a state in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. It is one of the fundamental elements of human security and a core component of national development policy. Ensuring food security remains a major policy objective for India, given its vast population, diverse agro-climatic conditions, and historical experience of famines and food shortages.

Concept and Dimensions

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security has four key dimensions:

1. Availability: Ensuring adequate supply of food through domestic production, imports, or buffer stocks.
2. Accessibility: Ensuring that all individuals have sufficient resources to obtain appropriate food for a nutritious diet.
3. Utilisation: Ensuring proper biological use of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.
4. Stability: Ensuring that food availability, access, and utilisation remain consistent over time, without risk of periodic shortages or crises.

These dimensions are interrelated, meaning that food security can only be achieved when all four are simultaneously satisfied.

Historical Context of Food Security in India

At the time of Independence, India faced chronic food shortages, heavy dependence on imports, and widespread malnutrition. Food production was inadequate, and the country experienced frequent droughts and famine-like conditions.
Key historical milestones in India’s food security journey include:

• 1940s–1950s: Severe food deficits and import dependence under the PL-480 programme (import of wheat from the USA).
• 1960s: Launch of the Green Revolution, which transformed India from a food-deficient to a food-surplus nation through the adoption of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, irrigation expansion, and fertiliser use.
• 1970s–1990s: Strengthening of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and establishment of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to manage procurement, storage, and distribution.
• 1997: Introduction of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) to focus on households below the poverty line.
• 2013: Enactment of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), providing a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains for two-thirds of India’s population.

These policy developments have played a pivotal role in transforming India into a self-sufficient food economy.

Components of Food Security in India

India’s food security framework rests on three main pillars: procurement, buffer stock maintenance, and public distribution.

1. Procurement of Foodgrains

• The government procures wheat, rice, and coarse grains from farmers at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced annually by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• Procurement ensures remunerative prices for farmers and creates a central pool of foodgrains managed by the FCI.
• Major procurement states: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

2. Buffer Stock Maintenance

• The buffer stock policy ensures that adequate food reserves are maintained for meeting PDS requirements and for emergency relief operations.
• Buffer stocks are used to stabilise market prices and to provide for contingencies such as droughts or natural calamities.

3. Public Distribution System (PDS)

• The PDS is the largest food distribution network in the world, providing subsidised foodgrains to poor households through Fair Price Shops (FPS).
• National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 provides a legal right to food under the PDS, covering around 81 crore beneficiaries.
• Entitlements under NFSA:
  • Priority Households: 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month at subsidised prices (₹3/kg rice, ₹2/kg wheat, ₹1/kg coarse grains).
  • Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): 35 kg per family per month at the same rates.
• Reforms such as Aadhaar seeding, end-to-end computerisation, and the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme have improved efficiency and portability.

National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013

The NFSA is a landmark legislation that made access to food a legal entitlement rather than a welfare measure.
Key Provisions:

• Coverage of up to 75% of rural and 50% of urban population under subsidised foodgrains.
• Priority to women, designating the eldest woman in the household as the head for issuing ration cards.
• Nutritional Support: Free meals to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes.
• Grievance Redressal Mechanism: At state and district levels to ensure accountability.
• Food Security Allowance: In case of non-supply of foodgrains.

The NFSA thus integrates existing food and nutrition programmes under a comprehensive legal framework.

Supporting Programmes and Initiatives

In addition to PDS and NFSA, several other schemes contribute to food security:

• Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS): Provides cooked meals to schoolchildren to improve nutrition and promote school attendance.
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Offers supplementary nutrition to children under six years and to pregnant and lactating women.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): Launched during COVID-19 to provide free foodgrains to NFSA beneficiaries.
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): Provides food security to the poorest of the poor.
• Poshan Abhiyaan: Aims at improving nutritional outcomes and reducing malnutrition.
• Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF): Helps control price volatility in essential commodities such as pulses and onions.

Role of Technology in Food Security

Technological interventions have significantly improved transparency and efficiency in food management systems:

• Aadhaar-based authentication for ration card holders.
• Digitisation of PDS databases and online grievance redressal systems.
• GPS tracking of foodgrain movement and depot operations through Depot Online System (DOS).
• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) pilots for food subsidy reforms.
• Use of smart cards, biometric verification, and e-PoS devices at Fair Price Shops.

Challenges in Achieving Food Security

Despite substantial progress, several challenges persist:

1. Inefficient Targeting and Leakages: Inclusion and exclusion errors in identifying beneficiaries under TPDS.
2. Regional Imbalance in Procurement: Concentration of procurement in a few states leading to inequitable benefits.
3. High Fiscal Burden: Food subsidies account for a large share of government expenditure.
4. Storage and Transport Losses: Inadequate warehousing and logistics infrastructure.
5. Nutritional Insecurity: Calorie sufficiency has not always translated into balanced nutrition; malnutrition remains widespread.
6. Environmental Sustainability: Over-dependence on rice and wheat procurement has caused soil degradation and groundwater depletion.
7. Climate Change Impacts: Erratic rainfall and temperature fluctuations affect food production and availability.

Food Security and Nutrition

Food security extends beyond mere food availability to encompass nutritional security, which ensures access to a balanced diet rich in essential micronutrients. India faces the challenge of a “triple burden of malnutrition” — undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and rising obesity.
To address these issues, the government has initiated:

• Food Fortification: Addition of micronutrients to staples such as rice, salt, and edible oils.
• National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan): Integrating various schemes for maternal and child nutrition.
• Promotion of Millets: Declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets to encourage production and consumption of climate-resilient, nutrient-rich grains.

Global and National Indices

• Global Hunger Index (GHI): India’s performance remains moderate, reflecting persistent malnutrition challenges.
• State Food Security Index (FSSAI): Introduced in 2019 to encourage healthy competition among states for improving food safety and nutrition outcomes.

Recent Policy Developments

• Food Fortification and Diversification: Expanding procurement to include millets and pulses.
• Sustainable Food Systems Approach: Linking food security with environmental and economic sustainability.
• Integration with SDGs: India’s food security efforts contribute directly to Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger.
• Expansion of ONORC: Nationwide implementation enabling ration portability for migrant workers.

Way Forward

To achieve comprehensive and sustainable food security, India must focus on:

1. Diversification of Production: Encouraging pulses, millets, and oilseeds for nutritional balance.
2. Reforming PDS: Using technology to improve targeting and reduce leakages.
3. Enhancing Storage and Logistics Infrastructure: Expanding modern silos and cold chains.
4. Addressing Nutrition Gaps: Integrating food security with health and sanitation programmes.
5. Empowering Farmers: Promoting market reforms and crop insurance to enhance production security.
6. Sustainability Measures: Adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices.