Class 9 Economics SST Food security in India

Class 9 Economics SST Food security in India

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (1 MARK)

1.The most affected groups in rural areas facing food insecurity are:

(a) landless people                        (b) traditional artisans                
 (c) beggars                       (d) all the above

2. MSP is stand for:

(a) Minimum Support Price         (b) Maximum Support Price         (c) Marginal Support Price (d) None of these

3. Green Revolution of 1960s was associated with:

(a) use of HYV seeds                     (b) tree plantation programme  (c) fisheries development (d) None of these

4. P D S is associated with:

(a) fair price shops                        (b) cooperative stores                  (c) super bazars               (d) none of the above

5. Revamped Public Distribution System provides benefits to:

(a) cities                            (b) remote and backward areas                (c) self-help groups    (d) cooperative societies

6. White Revolution of the country is associated to:

(a) sugar                           (b) milk                                                          (c) paper                           (d) none of the above

7. Annapurna Scheme fulfills the food requirements of:

(a) indigent senior citizens           (b) children                     (c) pregnant ladies                        (d) young persons

8. Antyodaya cards are related to

(a) all poors                      (b) poorest of the poor                (c) persons below poverty line   (d) none of the above

9. Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Annapurna Scheme are linked with :

(a) Public distribution system     (b) mid-day meal            (c) special nutrition programme (d) none of the above

10. Under the Public Distribution System foodgrains given per family per month is:

(a) 40 kg                            (b) 35 kg                                          (c) 25 kg                                          (d) 20 kg

11. In which state more than 90% ration shops are run by cooperatives

(a) Andhra Pradesh        (b) Tamil Nadu                               (c) Orissa                                         (d) Bihar

12. The society which facilitated setting up of grain banks in different regions is :

(a) Amul (Gujarat)                                                      (b) Academy of Development Science (Maharashtra)

(c) Mother Dairy (Delhi)                                            (d) None of the above

13. NREGA provides:

(a) 200-days of assured work      (b) 100-days of assured work     (c) No assured work       (d) None of the above

14. Minimum Support Price is announced by the government to provide :

(a) incentives to farmers for raising production   (b) incentives to traders to earn maximum profit from farmers

(c) incentives to moneylenders to lend maximum to farmers                      (d) none of the above

15. Seasonal hunger mostly found in:

(a) urban areas                              (b) rural areas                                (c) metro cities                (d) both (a) and (b)

16.In which crop largest increase in production as a result of Green Revolution?

(a) wheat                                        (b) rice                                             (c) maize                           (d) none of the above

17. Main purpose of buffer stock is :

(a) to save food grains from pest attack                              (b) to stop price fluctuations

(c) to meet the crisis of low production                               (d) both (b) and (c)

18. Who is the nodal officer at district level?

(a) Commissioner                          (b) Superintendent of police       (c) District officer            (d) Collector

19.What is Food security means:

(a) availability of food                   (b) accessibility of food               (c) affordability of food (d) all the above

20. Massive starvation takes place due to:

(a) rise in the price of essential commodities                     (b) decline in production of foodgrains

(c) drought                                                                  (d) both (a) and (b)

21. Chronic hunger refers to :

(a) low income (b) inadequate quantity of food (c) inadequate quality of food (d) all the above

22. The most devastating famine occurred in India in 1943 in :

(a) Assam                                        (b) Bengal                         (c) Bihar                            (d) Orissa

23. In which of the following states do we find the largest number of food insecure people?

(a) Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa                                             (b) Bihar, Jharkhand and Gujarat

(c) Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamilnadu                          (d) Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka

24. In which state of India, Amul Dairy is situated?

(a) Rajasthan                                  (b) Gujarat                       (c) Karnataka                   (d) Bihar

25. Who released a special stamp entitled ‘Wheat Revolution’ in July 1968?

(a) Mahatma Gandhi                    (b) Indira Gandhi             (c) Jawaharlal Nehru      (d) Motilal Nehru

26. The price that is announced before the sowing season is called:

(a) Issue price                                 (b) Fair price                    (c) Market price              (d) Minimum support price

27. To whom the yellow card is issued?

(a) To shop keeper                        (b) To land lord's (c) To government employee   (d) People below the poverty line

28. Which are the special target groups in Antyodaya Anna Yojana?

(a) Poorest of the poor                 (b) Poor and non-poor  (c) Backward class          (d) None of these

29.  Food for Work Programme was launched in which of the following years?

(a) 2003 (b) 2001 (c) 2004 (d) 2005

30.  Kalahandi is situated in which of the following states?

(a) Orissa (b) Punjab (c) Rajasthan (d) Bihar

31. The Mother Dairy is an important cooperative in                          .

(a) Gujarat (b) Punjab (c) Haryana (d) Delhi

32. Women and children under the age of five are food insecure population due to :

(a) Malnutrition (b) Healthy diet (c) Fats (d) None of the above

33. F.C.I. stands for

(a) Foreign Co-operation with India (b) Food Corporation of India

(c) Fossils Corporation of India (d) Food Coming to India

34. Which among the following schemes was started in the year 2000 for the indigent senior citizens?

(a) PDS (b) NFWP (c) SGSY (d) APS

35. Name the cooperative that provides milk and vegetables controlled rate decided by the Government of Delhi:

(a) Amul (b) Kendriya Bhandar (c) Mother Dairy (d) None of these

36. Which among the following schemes was initiated for the poor in all areas?

(a) TPDS (b) RPDS (c) AAY (d) All of these

37. Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains procured by the government through

(a) IFCI (b) FCI (c) IDBI (d) FICCI

38. In which part of the country, grain banks have been set up by NGO's?

(a) Gujarat (b) Haryana (c) Punjab (d) Maharashtra

39. When was the Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme launched?

(a) In Jan 1999 (b) In May 2000 (c) In Dec 2000 (d) In October 2005

40. Percentage of seasonal as well as chronic hunger in India over the years has

(a) increased (b) decreased (c) remained constant (d) None of these

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS Key

1. (d), 2(a), 3(a), 4 (a), 5. (b), 6. (b), 7. (a), 8. (b), 9. (a), 10. (b), 11. (b), 12. (b), 13. (b), 14. (a) ,15. (b),16. (a), 17.(d), 18. (d), 19. (d), 20. (c),21. (d), 22. (b), 23. (a), 24. (b), 25. (b), 26. (d), 27. (d), 28. (a), 29. (c), 30. (a), 31. (d), 32. (a), 33. (b), 34. (d), 35. (c), 36. (d), 37. (b), 38. (d), 39. (c), 40. (b)

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (3 MARKS)

1.What are the essentials of food security system?

Ans. Essentials of Food Security System are the following:

1.  Increasing domestic production of food to meet its growing demand

2.  Food should be available in adequate quantity as well as to meet nutritional requirements

3.  Food should be available at reasonable prices

4.  Buffer stock of food should be maintained

2. Why is there need for self-sufficiency in food grains in India? 

Ans. Need for self-sufficiency in foodgrains arises from the following:

(i)     to feed growing population

(ii)   to fight against any natural calamity

(iii)  to reduce import of foodgrains

(iv) to control prices of foodgrains

3. How cooperatives are helpful in food security? 

Ans. Role of cooperatives in providing food security:

In many parts of India, the cooperative societies set up their own cooperatives to supply different items at cheaper rates. Following are the examples:

(i)  In Tamil Nadu 94% of ration shops are run by cooperatives.

(ii)In Delhi, the Mother Dairy is supplying milk and milk products like butter, ghee etc. to the people at much subsidised rates.

(iii)                 In Gujarat, Amul is doing the same job of supplying milk and milk products to people at much cheaper rates. It is being run by cooperatives. It has brought 'White Revolution' in India.

4.  Why is food security essential? How food security is affected during disaster?

Ans. Need of food security: The poorest section of the society might be food-insecure most of the times, while persons above poverty lines might also be food insecure when the country faces national disaster. Due to natural calamity, say drought, total production of foodgrain decreases. It creates a shortage of food in affected areas. Due to shortage of food, the prices go up. At higher prices, some people cannot buy food. So food security is essential.

5.  State three dimensions of food security? Ans. Three dimensions of food security:

(i)  Availability of food: There should be enough stocks of food items in the country through good production, through imports or previous year's stock stored in government godowns.

(ii)Accessibility of food: Food should be within the reach of everybody.

(iii)                 Affordability of food: The prices of different food articles should be such that every individual is able to buy them. The foodgrain items should be within the reach of the people.

6. Why has Public Distribution System been criticised? Explain any three reasons.

Ans. (i) Market ineffectiveness of PDS : Average consumption of PDS grain at all India level is only 1 kg per person per month. Average consumption figure in the states of Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh is only 300 gms, while in states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu this figure is 3-4 kg per person per month. As a result, the poor has to depend on markets rather than ration shops.

(ii)  With the introduction of three types of cards and three different prices for the same articles to the different people, the whole system of Public Distribution System has become much complicated.

(iii)PDS dealers malpractices: The ration shop dealers resort to malpractices. They divert the grains to the open market to get a better margin.

7.  What is the difference between chronic and seasonal hunger? Write any two.

Ans. Chronic Hunger: When diet is inadequate in terms of quantity or quality, it is called chronic hunger. Usually poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their low income and as a result their inability to buy food even for their survival. This type of hunger is more or less of a permanent nature and presents throughout the year.

Seasonal Hunger: Seasonal hunger persists only during a particular period of the season. It is linked with the cycles of food growing and harvesting. In rural areas, the seasonal hunger is prevalent because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities. The gap between the sowing season and the reaping season is marked by seasonal hunger.

8.  What steps have been taken by the Government of India to provide food security to the poor? Explain any three.

Ans. To provide food security to the poor following steps have been taken by the Government of India:

(i)  PDS:- Public Distribution System (PDS) was established for the distribution of food grains among poors.

(ii)ICDS:- Integrated Child Development Services were launched in 1975 to ensure nutrition among children of backward area.

(iii)                 FFW:- ‘Food for work’ was introduced in 1977-78 to provide employment opportunities for poors to ensure food security for them.

9. Why is buffer stock created by the government? Give any three reasons? Ans. Buffer stock is created due to following reasons:-

(i)  To distribute food grains in deficit areas.

(ii)To distribute food grains among the poorer strata of society at prices lower than market price.

(iii)                 To resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or during the periods of calamity.

Q.10.What are the major functions of the Food Corporation of India?

Ans. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has the following major functions:-

(i)  FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states where there is surplus production.

(ii)They announce Minimum Support Price (MSP) on which government buy the surplus from the farmers.

(iii)                 They keep the record and maintain the buffer stock.

 LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (5 MARKS)

Q.1.What is the difference between PDS and TPDS? Ans. Difference between PDS and TPDS:

·         The food procured by the FCI is distributed through fair price shops among the poor. This is called public distribution system. There was no discrimination between the poor and non poor under PDS.

·         Under the TPDS, the government has announced separate issue prices for people below poverty line (BPL) and for above poverty line (APL) families. In December 2000, two special schemes were launched to make the TPDS more focused and targeted towards the poor.

·         These were Antyodayo Anna Yojana (AAY) and the Annapurna Scheme (APS). The two schemes were linked with TPDS. Under the AAY, poor families were identified by the respective state rural development boards.

·         Twenty-five kilograms of foodgrains were made available to each eligible family at highly subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice.

·         This quantity has been raised from 25 to 35 kg with effect from April 2002.

Q.2. Explain briefly the measures undertaken by the government to increase the production and supply of foodgrains?

Ans. Government's measures to increase the production and supply of foodgrains

Main steps undertaken by the government in this regard are as follows :

(i) Land Reform Measures: Our government introduced several land reform measures soon after independence to increase domestic production of foodgrains. These measures included (i) abolition of intermediaries to transfer land to the actual tiller (ii) tenancy reforms to regulate rents paid by the tenants to the landlords (iii) imposition of ceiling on landholdings to procure surplus land for distribution among the landless.

(ii)  Provision of Institutional Credit. To provide cheap and adequate agricultural finance many institutional credit agencies were set up. The expansions of institutional credit to farmers were made especially through cooperatives and commercial banks. As a result, the importance of village moneylenders, who used to exploit the farmers by charging high rates of interest, has drastically declined. Initially, only four percent of the total agricultural credit was advanced by cooperatives and commercial banks in 1950-51. Now their percentage share rose to 89 percent in 2004-05.

(iii)New Agricultural Strategy. New agricultural strategy was introduced which resulted in the Green Revolution, especially in the production of wheat and rice. Total production of foodgrain has increased from

50.8 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 212.0 million tonnes in 2003-04.

Q.3. Point out the major defects of India’s food security system? 

Ans. Defects of India’s Food Security System:

The major flaws/drawbacks of food security system in India are as follows:

(i) Limited Benefit to the Poor. The poor has not benefited much from the PDS. They have depended to a great extent on the open market for most of the commodities. Ration cards are issued only to those households who have proper residential addresses. Hence, a large number of homeless poor could not be covered under the PDS.

(ii)                 eakages from PDS. Another defect of PDS relates to the problem of leakages of goods from PDS to open market. The shopkeepers who are running ration shops sell ration in the open market at higher prices instead of selling to ration card-holders at subsidised prices.

(iii)               Increase in Prices. The PDS has also failed to protect the poor against price rise. There have been frequent increases in procurement and issue prices. Moreover, excessive buffer stocks of foodgrains has reduced its quantity available in the open market. This has also put an upward pressure on the market prices of food grains.

(iv)                Rising Burden of Food Subsidy. PDS is highly subsidised in India. This has put a huge fiscal burden on the government. For example, food subsidy burden has risen from Rs 602 crore in 1980-81 to Rs 25,800 crore in 2003-04.

Q.4.Describe four main advantages of the Public Distribution System in India ? 

Ans. The main advantages of Public Distribution System are :-

(i)  It is the most effective instrument of government policy over the years in stabilising prices and making food available to consumers at affordable prices.

(ii)It averts widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from surplus regions of the country to the deficit ones.

(iii)                 It revises the prices of food grains in favour of poor household.

(iv)                The declaration of minimum support price and procurement has contributed to an increase in food grains production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.

Q.5. Describe Public Distribution System (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Government of India towards ensuring food security?

Ans. In the beginning, the coverage of PDS was universal with no discrimination between poor and non-poor. Then later on the policy was made more targeted.

Important Features of PDS

Name of Scheme	Year of introduction	Coverage target group	Full name
PDS	upto 1992	Universal	Public Distribution System
RDPS	1992	Backward block	Revamped Public Distribution System
TDPS	1997	Poor and noon poor	Targeted Public Distribution system
AAY	2000	Poorest of the poor	Antyodaya Anna Yojana
APS	2000	Indigent senior citizen	Anna Purana yojana

HOTS

Q.1. What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Ans. There are various problem of the functioning of ration shops such as;

1.  Ration cards are issued only to those people who have their proper residential addresses. Hence a large number of homeless poor fail to get ration from these shops.

2.  The owners of these shops sell ration in the open market at higher prices.

3. Sometimes shopkeepers make bogus entries in the ration cards.

Q.2.  Which are the people more prone to food insecurity? Explain?

Ans. The people worst affected by food insecurity in India are landless labourers, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services and destitutes including beggars. In the urban areas, the food insecure people are those whose working members are generally employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labour market. These workers are largely engaged in seasonal activities and are paid very low wages that just ensure bare survival.

Q.3.  Which are the people more prone to food insecurity? Ans. People more prone to food insecurity are:

(i)  Landless and small farmers

(ii)Traditional artisans

(iii)                 Providers of traditional services

(iv)                Petty self-employed persons and

(v)                  Beggars

Q.4. What has our government done to provide food security for the poor? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government?

Ans. Our government has undertaken a number of measures to provide food security for the poor. A brief account of these measures is given below :

1.  Maintenance of Buffer Stock. Our government maintains buffer stock of foodgrains through Food Corporation of India. The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in surplus states and stores in granaries.

2.  Public Distribution System (PDS). The food procured by the FCI is distributed among the poor through ration shops. Presently, there are about 4.6 lakh ration shops in the country.

3.  Nutritional Programmes. In order to provide nutritional security, our government has launched various schemes. Mid-day meal scheme for schoolchildren, scheme for supply of foodgrains to scheduled castes/scheduled tribes and special nutrition programmes for pregnant/nursing mothers are examples of such schemes. In 2000, two special schemes were launched. One, Antyodaya Anna Yojana and second, the Annapurna Schemes. The former relate to the poorest of the poor, while the latter targets indigent senior citizens. The functioning of these two schemes was linked with the PDS. Under AAY scheme, thirty-five kilograms of foodgrains are made available to each eligible family at a rate of Rs. 2 per kg for wheat and Rs. 3 per kg for rice. Under APS, 10 kilograms of food grains is made available to eligible persons free of cost.