NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics, Chapter 1: Food Security in India

Class 9 is the first stepping stone for a student in the competitive world. With the introduction of the CBSE Board Exam for class 10 a few years back, this has become an important gateway for a student. Based on the results of class 9th a student selects his future stream of Science, Commerce or Arts suiting his interest.

Takshila Learning is providing NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics as per the latest syllabus by CBSE. Class 9 is the building block for the CBSE Class 10 Board Exams, not only for your exams but also for your higher studies and career. Economics is the most essential subject and the knowledge in this field opens up wider career opportunities for the students.

Below you can find the NCERT solution for Class 9th Economics. You can get a Solution for the all-important question of “Class 9 Economics, Chapter 1: Food Security in India

Question1: How is food security ensured in India?

Answer: Since the advent of the green revolution in the early -70s, the country has avoided famine even during adverse weather conditions.

The availability of foodgrains (even in adverse weather conditions or otherwise) at the country level has furtherbeen ensured with a carefully designed food security system by the government. This system has two components:

• Buffer stock
• Public distribution system
• Running other programs like the mid-day mill program, integrated child development services.

A buffer stock is a system or scheme which buys and stores stocks at times of good harvests to prevent prices falling below a target range (or price level) and releases stocks during bad harvests to prevent prices rising above a target range (or price level). It is the stock of food grains (usually wheat and rice) procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India. The purchased food grains are stored in granaries. A buffer stock of food grains is created by the government to distribute the procured food grains in the food-deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price. A buffer stock helps resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or periods of calamity.

The public distribution system (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Indian government towards ensuring food security.The food grains supplied by the ration shops are not enough to meet the consumption needs of the poor. Mother Dairy and Amul are two examples of cooperatives involved in ensuring food security.

Question2: Which are the people more prone to food insecurity?

Answer: A large section of people suffers from food and nutrition insecurity in India. The worst affected groups areas follows:

(i) Landless and land-poor households, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers, and destitute including beggars (in the rural areas)

(ii) People employed in ill-paid occupations and casual laborers engaged in seasonal activities (in the urban areas)

(iii) People belonging to the backward sections of society, namely SCs, STs, and OBCs

(iv) People belonging to economically-backward states with high incidence of poverty, tribal and remote areas, and regions more prone to natural disasters

(v) People affected by natural disasters who have to migrate to other areas in search of work

(vi) A large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers, and children under the age of 5 years

Question3: Which states are more food insecure in India?

Answer: The food insecure people are disproportionately large in some regions of the country. The economically-backward states with a high incidence of poverty are more food insecure in India. The states of Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra account for the largest number of food-insecure people in the country.

Question4: Do you believe that the Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How? 

Answer: The Green Revolution introduced the Indian farmer to the cultivation of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds. The HYVs (coupled with chemical fertilizers and pesticides) led to a growth in the productivity of food grains (especially wheat and rice)in thereby helping India attain self-sufficiency in food grains. The highest rate of growth was achieved in Punjab and Haryana, where foodgrain production jumped from 7.23 million tonnes in 1964-1965 to reach an all-time high of 30.33 million tonnes in 1995-96. Production in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, and the northeastern state continued to stagger. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, recorded a significant increase in rice yield.

Question5: A section of people in India are still without food. Explain.

Answer: A large section of people in India suffers from food and nutrition insecurity. This group of ‘the food insecure’ includes landless agricultural laborers and small farmers, casual laborers in the urban areas, people belonging to the backward social sections such as the SCs, STs, and OBCs, people belonging to the backward regions, migrants, and a large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers, and children under the age of five years.

The government has played a key role in ensuring food security for the poorest sections of society through various schemes such as the public distribution system, mid-day meals, food-for-work, and rural employment guarantee.

Three dimensions of food security: Food security is ensured by ensuring food availability, accessibility, and affordability

The public distribution system (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Indian government towards ensuring food security.The food grains supplied by the ration shops are not enough to meet the consumption needs of the poor. Mother Dairy and Amul are two examples of cooperatives involved in ensuring food security.

Question6: What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or a calamity?

Answer: The production of food grains decreases in the affected area. This in turn creates a shortage of food in the area. When there is a disaster or a calamity, Due to the food shortage, the prices go up. The raised prices of food materials affect the capacity of many people to buy the same. When the calamity occurs in a very wide area or is stretched over a long period, it may cause a situation of starvation. Massive starvation can take the form of famine.

Question7: Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger.

Answer: 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 labor (e.g., there is less work for casual construction labor during the rainy season). This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year.

Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and/or quality. Poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their very low income and in turn, the inability to buy food even for survival.

Question8: What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government?

Answer: The government has also come up with severalpoverty-alleviation and food-intervention programs that enhance food security.For example, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana and the National Food for Work Programme.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana

(i) Launched in December 2000, it caters to the families below the poverty level.

(ii) Under this scheme, one crore of the poorest among the BPL families covered under the targeted public distribution system was identified.

(iii) Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidized rate (Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice)

(iv) The number of food grains was enhanced from 25 to 35 kgs with effect from April 2002.

(v)The scheme was expanded twice to include a greater number of BPL families. By August 2004, 2 crore families were covered under this scheme.

National Food for Work Programme

(i) Launched in November 2004, it caters to 150 most backward districts of the country.

(ii) Its objective is to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment.

(iii) Any rural poor in need of wage employment and having the desire to do manual unskilled work can avail of this program.

(iv) It is a 100 percent Centrally-sponsored scheme. The food grains are provided to the States free of cost. (v) The district collector is entrusted with the overall responsibility of planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and supervision.

Question9: Why is a buffer stock created by the government?

Answer: Buffer stock is a stock of foodgrains, namely wheat and rice procured by the government through the food-corporation of India. A buffer stock of food grains is created by the government to distribute the procured food grains in the food-deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price. A buffer stock helps resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or periods of calamity.

Question10: Write notes on:

• Minimum support price
• Buffer stock
• Issue price
• Fair-price shops

Answer:

• MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP):Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). MSP is price fixed by the Government of India to protect the producer – farmers – against excessive fall in price during bumper production years. The minimum support prices are a guaranteed price for their produce from the Government. The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution. In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due to bumper production and glut in the market, government agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.

• BUFFER STOCK: A buffer stock is a system or scheme which buys and stores stocks at times of good harvests to prevent prices falling below a target range (or price level), and releases stocks during bad harvests to prevent prices rising above a target range (or price level).It is the stock of food grains (usually wheat and rice) procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India. The purchased food grains are stored in granaries. A buffer stock of food grains is created by the government to distribute the procured food grains in the food-deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price. A buffer stock helps resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or periods of calamity.
• ISSUE PRICE: The food grains procured and stored by the government are distributed in food-deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price. This price is known as the issue price.
• FAIR PRICE SHOPS: The food procured by the Food Corporation of India is distributed through government-regulated ration shops. The prices at which food materials are sold at these ration shops are lower than the market prices. The low pricing is to benefit the poorer strata of society. This is why these shops are called fair-price shops. Fair-price shops keep stock of food grains, sugar, and kerosene oil. Any family with a ration card can buy a stipulated amount of these items every month from the nearby ration shop.

Question11: What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Answer: There have been several problems related to the functioning of ration shops. The public distribution system (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Indian government towards ensuring food security.The food grains supplied by the ration shops are not enough to meet the consumption needs of the poor.

Most public-distribution-system faces malpractices like diverting food grains to open market to make profits, selling poor quality grains at ration shops, the irregular opening of the shops, etc. In the public distribution system, there are three kinds of ration cards.Antyodaya cards (for the poorest of the poor), BPL cards (for those below the poverty line), and APL cards (for all others). Prices of the food materials are fixed accordingly. Any family above the poverty line gets a very little discount at the ration shop.The public distribution system has faced severe criticism on several grounds. Instances of hunger are prevalent despite overflowing granaries. FCI go-downs are overflowing with grains, with some rotting away and being eaten by rats.

Question12: Write a note on the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items.

Answer: The cooperatives are also playing an important role in ensuring food security in India, especially in the southern and western parts of the country. The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low-priced goods to the poor. For Example, Out of all fairprice shops running in Tamil Nadu, around 94 percent are being run by cooperatives. In Delhi, Mother Dairy is involved in providing milk and vegetables at controlled rates decided by the government.

Amul is another success story of cooperatives in milk and milk products from Gujarat. It has broughtanother White Revolution in India. These are the few examples of much more cooperative running in different parts of the country ensuring food security of different sections of society.

Academy of Development Science (ADS) in Maharashtra has been involved in the setting up of Grain Banks in different regions. It organizes training and capacity-building programs on food security for NGOs. Its efforts are also directed towards influencing the government’s policy on food security. Thus, through these examples, it can be seen that cooperative is playing an active role in the distribution of food and related items.

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