Food Security

Food security: When Food is enough, there is no barrier to access to food & all persons have the capacity to buy food.

• UN’s Committee on World Food Security: all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
• 1996, the World Food Summit: declared: “Food security at the individual, household, regional, national & global levels exists when people, at all times have physical & economic access to sufficient, safe & nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active & healthy life”
• 1996, FAO: “Poverty eradication is essential to improve access to food”.

Pillars of Food Security:

• Availability: Production within the country, food imports & the previous year’s stock stored in government Granaries.
• Accessibility: Within people’s reach. Amartya Sen(1980) added a new dimension to food security & emphasised the “access” to food through what he called the ‘entitlements‘ approach.
• Affordability: The individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe & nutritious food to meet dietary needs.
  • Calamity or in other situations, shortage of food occurs; Prices rise causes
  • Famine: When starvation leads to widespread deaths;
  • Epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food & loss of body resistance due to weakening from starvation.
• Utilization: proper biological use of food, requiring a diet providing sufficient energy and essential nutrients, potable water, and adequate sanitation.

Examples of the Great Famine

FAMINE OF BENGAL, 1943 killed 30 Lakh people in the province of Bengal. The great Chinese Famine, of 1959-62 killed 3.6 Crore people(5% of the total population).

Malnutrition in India:

• Worrying Details from GHI reports:
  • It ranked India 101(2021) among 116 countries.
  • The 2018 report found that one in three children in India has stunted growth,
  • More than 1/3rd of the world’s malnourished children live in India. 15% of the country’s population is undernourished.
  • India has the highest prevalence of wasted children under five years in the world.

 Global Hunger Index:

The GHI is calculated by taking into account four indicator parameters. They are:

1. Undernourished population (1/3rd weight),
2. Child wasting (1/6th weight),
3. Child stunting (1/6th weight) and
4. Infant mortality rate (1/3rd weight).

100-point scale: Zero (no hunger) to 100(worst).

Criticism of GHI:

• Highly biased towards children: 3 of 4 indicators apply to people under 5. 70% weightage to 29% population(India has larger proportion of under 5).
• Not standardized for Indians: Weight & height are not solely determined by good intake; but also by genetic factors, environment, and sanitation.
• Alternative methods are better: taking the incidence of hunger as a proportion of the population whose food intake provides less than its minimum energy requirements. It is still inconclusive how much is cut-off minimum energy required.

1. 1. FAO has an average norm of 1800kCal: This makes 30% of people hungry in India.
   2. ICMR specifies 2400 kCal for rural areas and 2100 kCal for Urban areas: 72% hungry.

Therefore, it might not be correct to take GHI as a measure of hunger in India.

Food Security in India

• Food Insecure People are mostly: Landless people, traditional artisans, petty self-employed workers & destitute.
  • Geographically: States of UP(eastern & South-eastern parts), Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of MP & Maharashtra.
  • Socially:
    • The SCs, STs & some sections of OBCs who have either poor land base or very low land productivity are prone to food insecurity.
    • A high incidence of malnutrition prevails among women. It puts even unborn babies at risk of malnutrition.
  • Attainment of food security involves eliminating Current Hunger & reducing risks of future hunger. It has two dimensions:
    • Chronic Hunger: Consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and/or quality.
      • Reasons: Low-income for a long time
    • Seasonal Hunger: Seasonal unemployment.
      • Prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities (related to the cycle of growing & harvesting) & in urban areas because of casual labour.
      • In urban areas because of casual labour. Eg: there is less work for casual construction labour during the rainy season.
    • The percentage of seasonal & chronic hunger has declined in India since independence. [not only absolute]

Challenges to Food Security:

• Climate change: climate change alters the pattern of monsoon and thus makes farmers vulnerable.
• Unsustainable use of land: SLASH AND BURN AGRICULTURE still practised in some pockets of India.
• Excessive use of fertilisers degrades the land.
• Excessive irrigation: water-guzzling crops are on more focus. It results in a high amount of salt collection on the surface of the land.
• Food wastage: Lack of proper infrastructure leads to food wastage
• Monoculture: monoculture is mainly responsible for half of the Indian women for anaemia, child stunting and wasting.
• Undernutrition: India has a 50% higher prevalence of under-nutrition compared to the world average
• Paradoxical situation: It is ironic that despite being a net exporter and food surplus country at the aggregate level, India has a 50% higher prevalence of undernutrition compared to the world average.

Structure of Indian Food Security Program:

Self Sufficiency of food Grain

Procurement & Buffer Stock:

FCI purchases wheat and rice from farmers on a pre-announced Minimum support price(MSP) declared every year before the sowing season. This is stored in granaries and forms buffer stock for future utilization.

• Presently, stocking norms comprise of:
  • Operational stocks: for meeting monthly distributional requirements under TPDS and OWS. There is a four-month requirement under it.
  • Buffer Stock: [technically Food security stocks/reserves]: Excess stock that piles up with distribution agencies. It is used for meeting the shortfall in procurement. The CCEA fixes the minimum buffer norms every quarter. The excess stock is exported from time to time.
• Food Stock available in the central government’s pool is the stock held by:
  • State Government Agencies (SGAs)
  • States which are taking part in the Decentralised Procurement Scheme
  • Food Corporation of India(FCI)

Public Distribution System (PDS)

The public distribution system is a government-sponsored chain of shops entrusted with the work of distributing basic food and non-food commodities to the needy sections of society at very cheap prices.

• Nodal Ministry –Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
• With a network of more than 4 lakh Fair Price Shops(FPS) claiming to distribute annually, commodities worth more than Rs 15,000 crore to about 16 crore families, the PDS in India is perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world.
• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Art 21: Right to Food
  • 39(a): Right adequate means of livelihood
  • 47: raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of the people
• Operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments.
  • Central Government via FCI = Procurement + Storage + Transportation + Allocation of food grains to the State Governments
    • The Central government sells it to states at central issue price(CIP) and is responsible for transporting the grains to godowns in each state.
  • Responsibility of the State Governments
• Operational responsibilities: All regions are divided into Food circles, with an adequate no. of Fair Price Shops.
• = Operational responsibilities+ State allocation+ Identification of eligible families + Issue of Ration Cards + supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs)
  • States bear the responsibility of transporting food grains from these godowns to each fair price shop (ration shop),
  • Beneficiary buys the food grains at the lower CIP. 
  • Many states further subsidise the price of food grains before selling them to beneficiaries.
• Commodities covered (Vary from state to state) –wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene, pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.

The operational stocks are distributed to poorer people on Issue Price. There are about 4.8L ration shops or fair price shops in the country.

• Issue Price: These commodities are sold to people at lower prices than the market price.
• Central Issue Price(CIP) is the price at which grains are released to the Public under the PDS scheme. The Central government hands over the grains to the state governments at CIP, it has no further role in running the PDS system.
• National Food Security Act(NFSA), 2013: to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices for people to live a life with dignity. [See Improvement in PDS]

History of PDS:

• In the wake of the high incidence of poverty levels, as reported by NSSO in the mid-1970s, 3 important food intervention programmes were introduced:
  • PDS,
  • Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS), 1975 on an experimental basis, and
  • Food-for-Work(FFW), 1977-78. National FFW was launched in 2004, in 150 most backward districts of the country to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment, for all poor who require wage employment & desire to do unskilled manual work.

Development of PDS over the years:

Scheme	Era	Beneficiaries	Amount or Ration	Cost	Comment
PDS	Upto 1992	Universal		Wheat@₹2.34/kg & Rice@2.89/kg
RPDS	1992	1700 Backward & remote blocks	20kg	W@2.80/kg & R@3.77/kg
TPDS	1997	Target: ‘poor in all areas’	35kg	BPL: W@2.50 & R@3.50 APL: W@4.50 & R@7.00	Differential price policy for 1st time: Poor & Non-poor
AAY	2000	The poorest of the poor (2.5 Crore families)	35kg (2002)	W@2.00 & R@3.00	Special Scheme
APS	2000	Indigent senior citizens	10 kg	Free	Special Scheme

* W: Wheat, R: Rice

Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY):

2 Crore poorest BPL families identified by respective state rural development departments through a BPL line survey.

• 35kg of grains were to be given;
• Still operational

National Food Security Act, 2013

It provides for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.

Coverage under NFSA

• Under Targeted PDS: 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population is covered which is 66% of our total population or 81.34 crores persons, or about 16 crore households
• 2 crore Poorest households:  are covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) get 35 Kgs/household;
• Other households get 5 kg of foodgrains/person/month at ₹3/2/1 for rice/wheat/coarse grains per kg respectively.

Nutritional support to women and children:

• Pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after childbirth will also be entitled to receive maternity benefits of not less than ₹6,000. This is covered under PM Matru Vandana Yojana(PMMVY).
• Children up to 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional standards. This is covered under the Mid-Day Meal+ ICDS.

It also includes provisions for:

• modernization of the PDS system
  • end-to-end computerization of the supply chain,
  • Door-step delivery under TPDS
  • Leveraging Aadhaar – already done.
  • Using cash transfers, food coupons & Other schemes.
• One-time hot meal for pregnant women and other measures to improve stockholding of grains to reduce corruption and pilferage.
• Food Security allowance: In case of non-supply of entitled food grains/meals to the beneficiary;
• Grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels. Separate provisions have also been made in the Act to ensure transparency and accountability.
• State Food Commission: 6 membered commission for monitoring and reviewing of implementation of this Act to be set up by the state government.
• “Assistance to States/UTs” component: Financial assistance under “Strengthening of PDS operations“, including transportation & handling of grains through the NFSS.

Shortcomings in the implementation of NFSA

• The Supreme Court, in 2017 criticised the Centre & States for the lacklustre implementation of the NFSA-2013. A casual approach was taken to the mandatory setting up of the State Food Commissions meant to monitor the implementation of the statute.
• Exclusion: state’s inability to identify the beneficiaries.
• Lack of universal maternity benefits: Lack of awareness about the scheme.
• Women empowerment: women only play a proxy role as benefits are enjoyed by the male head of the family.
• Universal PDS is a better model, as shown by Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.
• Leakage: around 40% to 50%.
• ‘one nation, one ration card’ Implementation of it is a big question.
• Narrow food basket: Due to poor implementation.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

NFSM was launched in 2007-08 to increase the production of rice, wheat and pulses through

• area expansion and productivity enhancement,
• restoring soil fertility and productivity,
• Creating employment opportunities and
• enhancing farm-level economy.

After NFSA: Coarse cereals were also included in the Mission from 2014-15.

Importance of PDS

• Ensuring Food and Nutritional Securityof the nation by strengthening Pillars of Food Security
• Stabilising food prices
• Maintain the buffer stock of food
• Redistribution of grains– from surplus regions of the country to deficient regions.
• Enhanced Food Grain Production– MSP assurance
• Stabilizing Farmers Income
• Crisis management:

However, given the increasing procurement and incidents of rotting food grains, the lack of adequate covered storage is bound to be a cause for concern.

The problem in PDS:

Administrative issues:

• Inadequate storage:A performance audit by the CAG has revealed a serious shortfall in the government’s storage capacity.
• Inability to sell the stocks: When ration shops are unable to sell, a massive stock of food grains piles up with the FCI.

1. Excess Buffer Stocks: The major reasons behind it are the oversupply of food grains, lack of coordination between stakeholders, open-ended procurement and no automatic liquidation rule.
2. Poor quality of food grains: Often the best quality of the procured food grain is diverted and poor quality is injected into the system; Thus sometimes the beneficiaries refuse to take the grains.
3. High carrying costs: Increased food grains procurement at enhanced MSP is the result of pressure exerted by leading food-grain-producing states such as Punjab, Haryana & AP.
4. Inefficient distribution: The average level of consumption of PDS grain in the all-India level is just 1kg/person/month. It is even lower in Bihar, Odisha & UP at less than 300gm/month;
   • Highest in Kerala, Karnataka, TN & HP in the range of 3-4kg/month.
   • In MP only 5% of the wheat & rice consumption of the poor are met through ration shops. Lower in UP & Bihar.
5. Leakage of food grains:(Transportation leakages + Black Marketing by FPS owners).
   • Indifference, Apathy –Non Responsiveness
   • Rampant corruption, Extortion by `Agents & Middlemen’-Weak Accountability
   • Loose Systems & Weak Integrity –Abuse of Discretion
   • Weak Civil Society –Low Demand for Good Governance
6. Identification of beneficiaries: large inclusion and exclusion errors.

Exclusion issues:

1. Poor Internet in remote areas was also flagged as an issue.
2. Exclusion due to authentication errors: people’s fingerprints not getting confirmed by the e-PoS device at the ration shop, iris scanners not being there as backup forcing people to spend on another trip to the shop.
3. Geographic inequality: In the Hindi belt —  ‘Bimaru’ states — as many as 40% of RC-holding households reported a denial of ration due to Aadhaar issues.
4. Cancellation of Ration cards upon discontinuation: around 3 crore ration cards have been cancelled because they could not be biometrically linked with Aadhaar (could be due to technical issues), denying the right to food. For example, a petition in SC – an 11-year-old girl died in Jharkhand due to starvation in 2017.
5. Discrimination: In rural areas there is still a prevalence of untouchability, and gender discrimination, leaving more than half of the poor people without government aid.

Environmentally unsustainable:  rapid groundwater depletion, deteriorating soil and water conditions from overuse of fertilisers.

Economic sustainability:

• Growing food subsidy bill – ES 2020-21: For this financial year (2020-21), the revised estimate of the subsidy has been put at about ₹4.23-lakh crore, excluding the extra-budgetary resource allocation of ₹84,636 crore due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Economic cost:  FCI’s “economic cost” of wheat sold through PDS is around Rs 30/kg and for rice around Rs 43/kg in 2021-22, whereas it is sold at Rs 2 and 3 respectively.
• The procurement issue: Open-ended Procurement i.e., all incoming grains accepted even if buffer stock is filled, creates a shortage in the open market.
• The burden on states: A planned increase in the CIPs of rice and wheat without a corresponding rise in the issue prices by the State governments would only increase the burden of States.
• Poverty: As per the Rangarajan group’s estimate in 2014, the share of the BPL population in 2011 was 29.5%. Whereas coverage under NFSA is 67%.

PDS Reforms

• Increasing CIP: The Economic Survey 2020-21: hinted at an increase in the Central Issue Price (CIP), which has remained at ₹2 per kg for wheat and ₹3 per kg for rice for years, though the NFSA, even in 2013, envisaged a price revision after three years. Precaution: Consult states first.
• Reducing coverage. Shanta Kumar committee in 2015 called for decreasing the quantum of coverage under the law, from the present 67% to around 40%.
• Multiple slab system: The existing arrangement of flat rates should be replaced with a slab system. Barring the needy, other beneficiaries can be made to pay a little more for a higher quantum of food grains.
• Diversification of procurement: pulses and coarse grains are to be covered under various provisions of NFSA, such as the Mid-day meal scheme.
• Give-up Option: For all ration cardholders, as done in the case of cooking gas cylinders.
• Role of cooperatives: For example, Tamil Nadu model – Out of all running FPS in TN 94% are run by cooperative societies. Others like Mother Dairy under the Delhi government and Amul are successful too.
• Aadhar linkage:addressing the problem of inclusion and exclusion errors. It can save around ₹30,000Cr according to a restructuring committee of FCI.
• Universalisation to Minimize Exclusion; Tamil Nadu implements a universal PDS.
• Trained and ethical Human resource: A separate cadre of government employees be established for this purpose and stationed at all the FPS.
• Technology for Quality Check: The use of upcoming technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things could be urgently adapted to eliminate the menace of adulteration and bad quality food grains, which is quite rampant.
  • Wadhwa Committee, appointed by the SC, found that certain states had implemented computerisation and other technology-based reforms to TPDS.
  • States such as Chhattisgarh and MP have implemented IT measures through the digitisation of ration cards, the use of GPS tracking of delivery, and the use of SMS-based monitoring by citizens.
  • Upgrading Technology like from GPS to Block Chain.

Other initiatives:

1. E-Grains: It is the IISFM (Integrated Information System for Food-grains Management for Food Corporation of India). It provides the online Stock Position of buffer and procurement by FCI. E-grains improve accountability and transparency in this operation.
2. e-PDS portal is intended to be a one-stop information for PDS. The portal aims to bring transparency by disseminating data, information, news etc., related to PDS.
   • The portal provides the following:
     • Information on policies related to PDS and Central and State schemes.
     • Price of PDS commodities
     • Allocation and offtake details
     • Storage capacity of National and state godowns
     • PDS stakeholders information – state and national level
     • PDS beneficiaries register and ration card information
     • Fair price shop details
     • Links to PDS-related websites of various States
   • One nation, one ration card initiative:
     • Public Distribution System Network (PDSN): a standard format for ration cards.
       • The Centre has asked state governments to follow a new pattern while issuing fresh ration cards.
       • Mera Ration App: Developed by GoI in collaboration with NIC.

4. Integrated Management of PDS (IM-PDS) in 2018
   • It aims to introduce nationwide portability of ration card holders under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), through the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’
   • It enables the migratory ration card beneficiaries to lift their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice in the country by using their existing ration card issued in their home State/UT after biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs.

OPPORTUNITIES that ONOR can serve:

• Easy access to food: it secures a person’s “Right to food”. Now people would be able to get their entitlement to food grains anywhere in the country. Geographical location should not cause hindrance to food security.
• Nationalization of ration cards: as India has faced rapid urbanisation, migrating labourers no longer require another ration card and face red-tapism.
• Reduction in hunger: this will help in achieving the 2nd Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
• Human development: if the labourers have food security across the country, they can work security in any state.
• Empowerment of workers: It can reduce social discrimination.
• The road towards digitalization: This can help the government monitor the working of the system on a day-to-day basis, which can give valuable data for future planning.

CHALLENGES

• Wastage of food: food may go to waste in major states from where the labourers have migrated.
• Rest of the family members: if a labourer migrates with the ration card, then how other family members will avail the benefits of it? This is unclear.
• Logistical issue: An FPS receives the monthly quota of products strictly in accordance with the number of people assigned to it. The ONORC, when fully operational, would disrupt this practice, as some FPSs may have to cater to more numbers of cards even as others cater to less.
• Lack of Data: There is no exact data on the mobility of poor households migrating to work, locating intra- and inter-state destinations and sectors employing the workers.
• Exclusion Error:With the increasing digitalisation of this PDS process, there has been a rise in exclusion errors in post-Aadhaar seeding. Many sections of society still don’t have Aadhar cards, and for many labourers, fingerprints keep changing.
• Federal issues: Tamil Nadu has opposed the proposal of the Centre, saying it would result in undesirable consequences and is against federalism since it is a state subject.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

Direct benefit transfer is a mechanism by which a subsidy is directly transferred to the account of the beneficiary. In India, the bank accounts are linked with Adhar and Mobile (known as JAM trinity – Jan-Dhan account, Aadhar and Mobile). This enables the government to verify the beneficiary accurately.

Advantages of DBT

• Plugs Leakage
• Nutritional Security and freedom of choice:They have the freedom to purchase food products as per their dietary needs and wants
• Will Reduce wastage: the amount of grain actually required for India’s buffer stock needs could be held in better-quality warehouses, eliminating waste and rotting.
• Will reduce fiscal deficit and food subsidy bills: by curbing expenditures earmarked for the PDS that are siphoned off through corruption, as well as avoiding substantially higher costs of transferring food rather than cash.
• Reduce Inventory Cost: FCI, CWC and state corporations pay huge costs for storing food grains, the inventory cost will be minimal in this system.
• Market Competition and Quality: With increased dependence on markets, the quality of food can be increased.
• Promotion of Value addition industries: Increased competition in the market can allow opportunity for the private players to enter the markets.
• Reduced disparity:Uniform procurement from all states(3-4%), stringent quality checks and direct benefit transfer to farmers instead of procurement.

Limitations of DBT:

• Not leakage proof:Inclusion errors such as fake beneficiaries can still exist.
• Weak Digital Infrastructure: According to a study Banks and CSCs were 6 km away for more than 20% of households which meant that they spent over 13 hours every month, on average, collecting their benefits.
• MSP a shield against Inflation: Due to MSP, high production is ensured. Once it is gone production of certain products might reduce.
• Stabilize farmers’ income: PDS requires the government to procure food from farmers.
• Far-Flung Areas:Once state machinery withdraws from maintaining its supply chain, the problem of accessibility, is due to poor private supply chain networks.
• Government-led promotion of certain crops: With the help of MSP the government can motivate the farmers to grow certain crops only.

Chhattisgarh Model of PDS

• Nutritional security with Diverse basket:The state provides pulse, gram, sugar, and iodized salt.
• Almost Universal: Around 80% of the people.
• First in the country:The state became the first state to provide ‘Right-to-Food’. Under the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, 2.32 crore people are reaping the benefits.
• Power to Consumer:
  • ‘Core PDS scheme‘, the ration shop owners are answerable to the consumers.
  • ‘Meri Marji’scheme – 2012: consumers can buy rations from the shops of their choice under the Core PDS system.
• De-Privatisation:Since 2004, Gram Panchayats, SHGs, Van Suraksha Samitis and other community institutions in charge of the ration shops.
• Optional Doorstep Delivery: grain is delivered by state agencies to the ration shop each month, instead of dealers having to lift their quotas from the nearest godown.
• Rigorous Monitoring: For instance, a system of “SMS alerts” was launched to inform interested citizens of grain movements, and all records about supplies, sales, timelines, etc.

Grievance Redressal: active helplines and FIRs have been lodged against corrupt middlemen.

FAQs related to Food Security