IS FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA ACHIEVED?

🍎🇮🇳

Introduction 🚀

Genuine Happiness 😊: “Good food 🍲 is the foundation of genuine happiness 😄.” The Indian
Government 🇮🇳 is running the largest food security program 🍎 in the world. A statutory body
created by the Food Corporation of India Act of 1964 📜, the FCI was established for the “purchase,
storage, movement, transport, distribution and sale of food grains and other foodstuffs” 🌾📦🚚. For
India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 🌍 as well as economic and social
reforms 📈, it is essential to empower and safeguard the 67.7% of women and children in the country
by ensuring their healthy development 🌱 in a safe and secure environment . Of this number, women
make up for 48% and contribute 18% of the country’s GDP 📊; thus, much has to be done to solve the
difficulties they face 😓. The pandemic 😷 has further added to the economic and social woes for
women 💸 with 47 million women and girls having been pushed into extreme hunger 📉. India has a
social and legal obligation 🤝 to provide its citizens with a dignified existence ✨ by assuring their
access to food and nutritional security 🍎 by making a sufficient supply of high-quality food grains
available 🌾.

Key Points 📝

1. What is the Need of Ensuring Food Security 🤔🍎

1. Fundamental right ⚖️: India has a social and legal obligation 🤝 to provide its citizens with a
dignified existence ✨ by assuring their access to food and nutritional security 🍎 by making
a sufficient supply of high quality food grains available 🌾.
2. Addressing malnutrition 🍎: In order to address malnutrition issues 📉 and to promote women
empowerment 💪, child development 👶 and protection , the Budget 2022 💰 announced an
umbrella scheme ☂️under the Ministry of Women and Child Development to be implemented
in Mission mode 🚀:
○ Mission Poshan 2.0 🥦
○ Mission Shakti 💪
○ Mission Vatsalya 👶

2. Role of Food Corporation of India (FCI)

1. Statutory body : A statutory body created by the Food corporation of India Act of 1964 📜, the
FCI was established for the “purchase, storage, movement, transport, distribution and sale of
food grains and other foodstuffs” 🌾📦🚚.

3. Food Security in Rural and Urban Areas

1. The text details various government schemes that aim to provide subsidized food grains 🍚 to a
large population, particularly through the Public Distribution System (PDS) 🛒 and the Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) 🍚, benefiting both rural and urban beneficiaries
urban.
2. The mention of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) 👶 also points to efforts in rural areas 🏡 to ensure
nutritional security for children and women.
3. Mobile users 📱 are mentioned as being at least 30 times more in India 📈 compared to
broadband access, especially relevant in rural areas 🌾 where mobile internet is often the primary
access point for information.

4. PMGKAY and Mid Day Meal Schemes can be Highlighted 🍚🏫

4.1. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) 🍚✨

1. Scheme announcement 📢: In April 2020 , the Union government announced the Yojana 📜
under which an extra 5kg of free food grains 🍚 (wheat or rice) was providing per person, per
month 📅 to all families holding a ration card 💳 in addition to the NFSA entitlement ✅.
2. Increased entitlement ⬆️: Therefore, ration card holders 💳 were entitled to 10kg ration per
person 🍚.
3. Initial launch 🚀: It was initially launched for three months from April 2020 till June 2020
(Phase-I) and then extended several times.
4. Final phase 🔚: It is in its final, seventh phase now7️⃣77 and will end on 31st December, 2022 .
5. Coverage 👥: The scheme covered about 35 crore people 👥 over a span of 2 years .

4.2. Budget Allocations for Food Security Schemes 💰📊

1. Anganwadi upgrades : During the Financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26 , the Government of
India 🇮🇳 also approved upgrading 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) 👶 to Saksham
Anganwadi’s ✨ at a rate of 40,000 each year .
2. Mission Poshan 2.0 🥦: Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 🥦 under the Mission Poshan
2.0 🚀, brings together under one umbrella the ICDS 👶, POSHAN Abhiyaan 🍎, Scheme for
Adolescent girls 👧 and National Creche Scheme 👶, and has been allocated INR 20,554.31
crore 💰 of the total allocated INR 25,488.75 crores in 2023-24 .
3. National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) 📜: Under this, all priority category ration card
holders 💳 are entitled to 5kg of grain per person per month 🍚 and the Antyodaya category
cardholders 💳 to 35kg of grain 🍚.
4. Budget increase for NFSA ⬆️: This shows an increase of INR 267 crore 💰 from the INR
25,172.28 crore 💰 allocated in 2022-23 .
5. Disheartening budget 📉: The Union Budget 2023-24 💰 is disheartening with a merge 1.08
percent increased allocation 📉 for crucial social security programs for women and children
despite the challenges faced by them.
6. PM-Poshan allocation 💰: PM-Poshan 🏫 (renamed mid-day meal scheme) received an outlay of
INR 11,600 crore 💰 in 2023-24 . From INR 10,233 crore 💰 in 2022-23 . It was increased by 13%
⬆️but it decreased as to the revised estimates.
7. Mission Shakti decline 📉: The Budget for Mission Shakti 💪, which houses the Pradhan Mantri
Matru Vandana Yojana 🤰, Women helpline 📞, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao 👧, and other important
programmes for the protection of women , declined by 1.2% 📉 from INR 3,184.11 in 2022-23 to
INR 3143.96 crore in 2023-24 .
8. PMMVY underfunded 💸: The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) 🤰 has been
underfunded 💸 since it began in 2017 . As against the requirement of INR 14,000 crore 💰 as per
the National Food Security Act (NFSA) mandate 📜, the allocation/budget estimate for 2023-24
has been a scanty INR 2581.96 crore 📉.
9. Food subsidy cut 📉: The Food subsidy program 🍎 that ensures distribution of food grains at a
subsidized price 💸 through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) 🛒 has been
slashed by 32% 📉 in the 2023-24 budget 💰 to INR 1,97,350 crore 💰 from INR 2,06,831 crore
allocated 💰.

Concerns 😟

1. Complex malnutrition 🥦: Malnutrition 🥦 is a complex issue 🌐 with roots in a number of dietary,

health, and care-related variables that are in turn influenced by social, economic and political
variables.
2. Holistic funding needed 💰: Therefore, associated issues like food security 🍎, access to
healthcare services 🏥, sanitary conditions 🚽, and jobs 💼 must also receive adequate
funding 💰 and not be ignored.
3. Decline in programs 📉: The nutrition sensitive programs 🥦 like PM-Poshan 🏫, National
 Health Mission 🏥, Food subsidy 🍎, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme , and National Rural Drinking Water Mission 💧 have seen a decline from the
previous year’s revised budget (RE) 📉.
4. Fiscal conservation 💰: This unusual display of fiscal conservation by the Government has
both positives and negatives as follows:

Positives of Fiscal Conservation ✅💰

1. Rise in savings 💰: The free food grain distribution under PM-GKAY 🍚 has costed government
nearly $47 billion 💰, which is fiscally impractical. The government will save at least $20 billion 💰
over the next 12 months by ending PMGKAY 🚫, as they will only spend on one food scheme
(NFSA) 📜 instead of multiple programmes.
2. Mitigate inflation concerns 📉: The government was struggling to manage the wheat stockpile 🌾
but due to additional distribution of wheat under PMGKAY 🍚 and the prices in the local market
jumped to the record high 📈. Thus, discontinuing scheme means the government can now sell 2
to 3 million tons 📦 in the open market to stabilize prices.
3. Consumption of buffer to ease 🌾: A monthly ration of 10kg 🍚 (5kg each under NFSA 📜 and
PMGKAY 🍚) for 81.35cr persons 👥 translates into nearly 100 million tonnes (mt) 📦 or over a
third of India’s total cereal production 🌾. Termination of PMGKAY 🚫 had become inevitable as
buffer stocks of both wheat and rice 🌾 have depleted considerably in the last one year by 50%
and 45% 📉 respectively.
4. Factor of affordability 💰: It is unviable 🚫 to provide free food grains 🍚 to people who could
afford to pay with normalizing economic activity.
5. Egalitarian move 🤝: The recent free entitlement under NFSA 📜 amounts to roughly half of the
average monthly per capita cereal consumption 🍚 as per the last National Sample Survey
data for 2011-12 📊, which can be considered reasonable.

Negatives of Fiscal Conservation ❌💸

1. Fiscally unsustainable 💸: The union government bearing the entire cost of Rs. 2 lakh
crore 💰 to give rations free for the next 12 months , citing food security concerns 🍎 could put
immediate pressure on the public purse 👛. It also commits the government to a scheme that
makes it more difficult to achieve medium term fiscal consolidation targets 📊.
2. Unworkable post-pandemic plan 😷: The free food grain under NFSA 📜 implies that food
subsidy 🍎 will go up and will increase the fiscal burden 💸 compared with the pre pandemic
times, because: The selling prices of PDS grains have been reduced to zero 💸. The quantities
provided have been increased 📈.
3. Politically unviable : In the past, the government could reduce the budget deficit 📉 by raising the
prices at which food grains were distributed through PDS 🛒. However, now it will be difficult
for the government to go back to charging a subsidized price for food grains 💸, ever again
after making it free now.
4. Implications for agriculture policy 🌾📜: This announcement will have repercussions for overall
agriculture policy 🌾 as the government will be more constrained as far as raising the minimum
support price (MSP) 💰 is concerned. This is because raising the MSP 💰 could squeeze its
budget further 💸 as it will procure the grains at a higher price and then distribute them for free. If
the government does not raise the MSP 💰, the farmer’s income will fall in real terms 📉 and they
may decide to sell to the free market 🛒 rather than the government that could lead to a shortage
of food grain stock with government 📉.

Conclusion ✅

Addressing inadequacies 📈: Mission Poshan 2.0 🥦 will address inadequacies linked to nutrition 📉,
address issues associated with malnutrition 🥦, and promote nutrition awareness 🧠 and healthy eating
habits 🍎 for long-term health and well-being 💪. New generation anganwadis 👶: That have better
infrastructure and audio-visual aids 📺 powered by clean energy ⚡ and providing improved
environment 🌳 for early child development 👶. Poshan 2.0 🥦 seeks to optimize the quality and
delivery of food 🍎 under the supplementary nutrition program 🥦. Maternity benefits programs 🤰 for
women in the unorganized sector 🤝 should be recommended.