Food Insecurity In India
• Food Security
In order to provide an adequate food supply for individuals, particularly for those who lack basic nutrition, the term “food security” is used. In India, food security has been a big issue. Food Insecurity In India. A quarter of the world’s hungry people live in India, where the UN-India estimates that there are close to 195 million undernourished people. Additionally, 43% of Indian children suffer from chronic undernutrition. As of 2020, India is ranked 71st out of 113 large nations in the food security index.
India is far behind other countries in terms of quality protein intake, coming in at 20%, even though the nutritional standard is 100% of what is needed. Food Insecurity In India. This needs to be addressed by making protein-rich food products like soybeans, lentils, meat, eggs, dairy, etc. available at reasonable prices.
• Food Insecurity: A Look In The Issue
India, the nation having the largest food stock in the world (as of July 2021), does not require the government to maintain additional food stores; instead, it should effectively implement the existing rules that make it easier for food to be distributed to those in need. Food Insecurity In India.
• The Issues
1. Prevalence of undernourishment (PoU): is based on national consumption surveys of the countries that show the per-capita food supply.
These consumption surveys, however, are not updated frequently and are not available every year. Food Insecurity In India. Therefore, PoU lacks sufficient sensitivity to accurately detect recent changes like those brought on by the epidemic.
2. No recent surveys of Indian consumption: Most nations did not conduct consumption surveys because, despite the pandemic, the global food supply remained robust.
The Indian government has not conducted an official evaluation of food insecurity in the nation since the pandemic’s onset. Food Insecurity In India. In India, the PoU-measured increase in the prevalence of hunger from 14.3% in 2019 to 15.3% in 2020 is probably an underestimate.
The PMFSI estimates are currently the only relevant and trustworthy national-level estimates on the impact of the pandemic on food insecurity in India.
3. Socio-economic Misery: Despite being self-sufficient in the production of the main food commodities, India faces severe issues with hunger and food insecurity as a result of pervasive economic distress, high unemployment, and high levels of inequality.
The informal economy, where revenues are too low and uncertain, is where the majority of the poor rely. Food Insecurity In India. Over the past few years, unemployment rates have also increased significantly.
High (and variable) food costs, declining governmental investment, and the slowing economy have made working-class and peasant populations even more distressed. Food Insecurity In India. Families reliant on the informal economy do not always have access to sufficient and nourishing meals because of their poor and erratic incomes.
4. Denying the Situation: The Indian government has not only refrained from evaluating its own consumption and food security surveys, but it also does not support the release of polling data based on the Gallup World Poll.
5. Impact of Pandemic: According to PMSFI projections, 52 crores moderate to severely food insecure individuals lived in India in 2020 as a result of pandemic-related disruptions, up from an estimated 43 crore in 2019.
This food insecurity increased from roughly 31.6% in 2019 to 38.4% in 2021 in terms of prevalence rates.
In 2020, the already significant issues of unemployment, inflation, employment in the unorganized sector, and economic stagnation were made worse by a lack of preparation for the pandemic.
6. Inadequate Food Distribution Through PDS: Since the standard for classifying a household as BPL is arbitrary and changes from state to state, deserving recipients of the subsidy are disqualified on the grounds that they do not own any property that is below the poverty line (BPL).
• Some Possible Solutions
1. Regular Monitoring of Food Security: The country’s food security status needs to be regularly monitored by the government immediately in light of the country’s dramatic rise in food insecurity.
2. Combining Humanitarian and Developmental Policies: including humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding strategies where they are needed to stop families from trading in their little possessions for food.
3. Reducing the Cost of Nutritious Food: Making changes to supply chains to reduce the cost of nutritious foods, such as promoting the growth of biofortified crops or facilitating market access for farmers of fruits and vegetables.
4. Extending the Purpose of Food Security Programs: granting everyone access to the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) and Public Distribution System (PDS), at least throughout the pandemic
Millets, lentils, and oil can be included in the food basket along with a reinforced PDS.
The problem of concealed hunger may be addressed with the help of this.
Everyone should be able to purchase grain that has been subsidized by ration stores, regardless of whether they have a ration card or not.
With the government now holding close to 120 million tonnes of grain, better program implementation is all that is needed.
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