Food security in India
Food security entails ensuring adequate food supply to people, especially those who are deprived of basic nutrition. Food security has been a major concern in India. According to UN-India, there are nearly 195 million undernourished people in India, which is a quarter of the world's hunger burden. Also, roughly 43% of children in India are chronically undernourished. [1] India ranks 74 out of 113 major countries in terms of food security index. Though the available nutritional standard is 100% of the requirement, India lags far behind in terms of quality protein intake at 20% which needs to be tackled by making available protein-rich food products such as eggs, meat, fish, chicken, etc. at affordable prices. [2]
Laws
In order to provide the Right to food to every citizen of the country, the Parliament of India, enacted a legislation in 2013 known as the National Food Security Act, 2013. Also called as the Right to Food Act, this Act seeks to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.33 billion population.[3] It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013. [4][5]
Schemes by government
Central Initiatives
- The Food Corporation of India(FCI) was established in 1965 for the purpose of procurement, storage and distribution of foodgrains. It has been playing a major role in the food security of India[6]
- The National Food Security Act,2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India. It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. In 2017-18, over Rs 1500 billion (7.6% of the government's total expenditure) have been allocated to provide food subsidies under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). [7]
- The NFSA 2013 also recognizes maternity entitlements. Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals. [8]
State Initiatives
- Karnataka has launched the 'Indira Canteen', which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner at a very low price. This idea was implemented by Siddaramaiah as CM so that no one in the state would go hungry and everyone would get healthy food. [9]
- Andhra Pradesh has supported the Nalabothu Foundation, which provides free meals to people in need by redistributing excess food from homes, restaurants, businesses, canteens, and gatherings. This scheme was brought to national attention by Prime Minister Modi. [10]
- Tamil Nadu has launched 'Amma Unavagam' (Mother's canteen), or more commonly known as Amma canteen. [11] The genesis of this program could be traced to the scheme proposed by Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute in 2012. [12]
- The State of UP in 2013 passed a food bill. Food that is going to be wasted from parties will be preserved and distributed to poor and needy people.
- The Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, 2012 law was enacted by the Chhattisgarh government. It was passed on 21 December 2012, by the State Assembly unopposed to ensure "access to adequate quantity of food and other requirements of good nutrition to the people of the State, at affordable prices, at all times to live a life of dignity.’’[13]
| Scheme | Year introduced | Coverage target group | Latest volume | Issue price (Rs per Kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public distribution system (PDS) | up to 1992 | universal | N/A | Wheat: 2.34
Rice: 2.89 |
| Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) | 1992 | Backward blocks | 20 kg of food grains. | Wheat: 2.80
Rice: 3.77 |
| Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) | 1997 | Poor and non-poor | 35 kg of food grains. | BPL – Wheat-4.15 Rice-5.65 |
| Antyodaya Anna Yojana | 2000 | poorest of the poor | 35 kg of food grains. | Wheat: 2.00
Rice: 3.00 |
| Annapurna Scheme | 2000 | Indigent senior citizens | 10 kg of food grains. | free |
| National Food Security Act, 2013 | 2013 | Priority households | 5 kg per person per month. | Wheat: 2.00
Rice: 3.00 coarse: 1.00 grains |
Challenges for India
In the country of India, food availability is not that reliable. Their population right now is 1.3 billion and by 2030, it is estimated that their population will increase to 1.5 billion. The challenge to produce more and more for the growing population is becoming increasingly hard for a country of its size and economic growth. Since the land in India is a shrinking resource for agriculture, the production rate for agriculture needs to be higher per unit of land and irrigation water. Over 60% of the Indian population depend on agriculture for their daily meals. India produces around 100 million tonnes of rice every year. Accessing food in India can be considered as not as easy as in Australia. It is really hard to get your hands on fresh fruit and vegetables. While there might be enough food for the whole population of India, many families and especially children in India don't have access to food because of financial problems. Thus, this is the cause of millions of malnourished children around India. The cultural knowledge in India allows them to have a very nutritional and balanced diet. Nearly the whole of the Indian population has rice at least once a day which allows them to have carbohydrates in their system. Since India is most commonly known for producing and exporting rice to other countries, their lifestyle will be mainly dominated by rice. [15]
Technological solutions
India needs to concentrate on methods to improve the availability and affordability of protein rich food products using the latest environmental friendly technology without the need of additional land and water. [16] Biogas or natural gas or methane produced from farm/agro/crop/domestic waste can also be used in addition to mined natural gas for producing protein rich cattle/fish/poultry/pet animal feed economically by cultivating Methylococcus capsulatus bacteria culture in a decentralized manner near to the rural/consumption areas with tiny land and water foot print. [17][18]
See also
References
- "Nutrition and Food Security - UN India". UN India. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- "India: Global Food Security Index". Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- "National Food Security Act" (PDF). PRS Legislative Research.
- "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- "Food Security Act To Be Implemented From July 5". BTVI.in. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- http://www.fci.gov.in. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Expenditure Budget, Union Budget 2017-18" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- The Gazette of India. "The National Food Security Act, 2013" (PDF).
- "Indira Canteen, Karnataka".
- "Nalabothu foundation".
- "Tamil Nadu's Amma canteen concept catches on in other states", Live Mint, 27 March 2017
- How Village Restaurants Could Change The Lives Of The Rural Poor
- "Chhattisgarh passes own food security bill - Hindustan Times". 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- economic survey of india. Ministry of Finance.
- Swaminathan, M.S.; Bhavani, R.V. (2013). "Food production & availability - Essential prerequisites for sustainable food security". The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 138 (3): 383–391. PMC 3818607. PMID 24135188.
- "Food made from natural gas will soon feed farm animals – and us". Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- "BioProtein Production" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- http://calysta.com/2016/11/new-venture-selects-cargills-tennessee-site-produce-calysta-feedkind-protein/
Further reading
Ramaswamy, S. (2017). Food Security in India. India: MJP Publishers.
External links
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/iess204.pdf
food corporation of India: https://fci.gov.in/
antyodaya anna yojana https://dfpd.gov.in/pds-aay.htm
Integrated Child Development Services, All India https://icds-wcd.nic.in
Integrated Child Development Services, Tamil Nadu https://icds.tn.nic.in/
Academy of Development Science, Maharashtra http://mahascience.org/