Food Security in India Class 9 Extra Questions Economics Chapter 4

Food Security in India Class 9 Extra Questions Social Science Economics Chapter 4

Extra Questions for Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 4 Food Security in India

Food Security in India Class 9 Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Which government organisation buys foodgrains from the farmers and supplies to the fair price shops?
Answer:
Food Corporation of India (FCI)

Question 2.
The system under which the food procured by the FCI is distributed through government regulated shops among the poorest strata of the society is
Answer:
Public Distribution System (PDS)

Question 3.
The price at which the government purchase the foodgrains (wheat and rice) through FCI from the farmers in states where there is surplus production is
Answer:
Minimum Support Price

Question 4.
The stock of foodgrains, namely wheat and rice, procured by the government through the food corporation of India is _______ .
Answer:
Buffer Stock

Question 5.
The price at which foodgrains are distributed in the deficit areas and among the poor strata of the society.
Answer:
Issue Price

Question 6.
Public Distribution System is associated with _______ .
Answer:
Fair Price Shop

Question 7.
A special stamp was released by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, in July 1968. It was entitled as _______ .
Answer:
Wheat Revolution

Question 8.
Why are foodgrains procured by the Food Corporation of India?
Answer:
The foodgrains are procured by the Food Corporation of India to provide minimum support price to the farmers.

Question 9.
List down the dimensions of food security.
Answer:
Following are the dimensions of food security :

• Availability of food,
• Accessibility of food,
• Affordability of food.

Question 10.
What does MSP refer to?
Answer:
Minimum Support Price

Question 11.
Which was the most devastating famine faced by India?
Answer:
The Famine of Bengal 1943.

Question 12.
Name two states where largest number of food insecure people live.
Answer:
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Maharashtra, (any two)

Question 13.
When is Minimum Support Price declared by the government?
Answer:
Every year before the sowing reason.

Question 14.
What is the objective of AD§?
Answer:
ADS stands for Academy of Development Science which facilitates a network of NGOs for setting up grain banks in different regions.

Question 15.
What is the full Form of ICDS?
Answer:
Integrated Child Development Services.

Question 16.
How is food security affected during a calamity?
Answer:
Due to a calamity, the total production of foodgrains decreases.

Question 17.
Antyodaya card is meant for _______ .
Answer:
The people who are living below the poverty line.

Question 18.
What do you mean by a famine?
Answer:
Famine is characterised by widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food and loss of body resistance due to weakening from starvation.

Question 19.
Name two places in Odisha where famine-like conditions have been existing for many years.
Answer:
Kalahandi and Kashipur.

Question 20.
To whom the yellow card is issued?
Answer:
People below the poverty line.

Question 21.
Name two co-operative societies working in different parts of the country.
Answer:
Mother Dairy Delhi and Amul in Gujarat.

Question 22.
Which revolution was adopted in July 1968?
Answer:
Green Revolution.

Question 23.
What do you understand by ‘seasonal hunger’?
Answer:
Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities and in urban areas because of casual labourers.

Question 24.
Describe the National Food Security Act, 2013.
Answer:
The National Food Security Act, 2013 provides for food and nutritional security life at affordable prices and enables people to live a life with dignity. Under this Act, 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population have been categorised as eligible households for food security.

Question 25.
Who can buy the foodgrains and other commodities from these ration shops?
Answer:
Any family which is below the poverty line gets a ration card. A ration card can buy them a stipulated amount of certain essential commodities like foodgrains or kerosene, every month from a nearby ration shop.

Question 26.
When was rationing system introduced in India?
Answer:
The rationing system was introduced in India in 1940s after the occurrence of disastrous Bengal famine.

Question 27.
Name food intervention programmes introduced by the Indian government after the NSSO report.
Answer:

• Public Distribution System (PDS)—for food grains.
• Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS)—introduced in 1975.
• Food-for-Work (FFW)—introduced in 1977-78.

Question 28.
How has Minimum Support Price (MSP) supported the farmers?
Answer:
The Minimum Support price and procurement has contributed to an increase in foodgrain production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.

Question 29.
Name some of the essential commodities kept by ration shops or Fair Price Shops.
Answer:
Ration shops or Fair Price Shop keeps stock of foodgrains, sugar, and kerosene oil for cooking.

Question 30.
How do employment programmes contribute to food security?
Answer:
Employment programmes greatly contribute to food security by increasing the income of the poor.

Food Security in India Class 9 Extra Questions Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Why do we need food security?
Answer:
Food security is needed because :

• The poorest section of the society might be food insecure most of the times.
• People above the poverty line might also be food insecure when the country faces a national disaster or calamity like earthquake, drought, flood, tsunami, etc.
• There can also be a widespread failure of crops causing famine, etc.

Question 2.
Describe the role of FCI.
Answer:
The role of Food Corporation of India is as follows : The food corporation of India was set-up in 1965. It performs the following functions on behalf of the government:

• The food procured by the FCI fixed by the government. These prices are known as Procurement Prices or Minimum Support Prices. It maintain a price stability of foodgrains.
• It distributes the food grains at subsidised prices among the ration card-holders through government regulated ration shops (also known as Fair Price Shops). The subsidised prices are known as issue prices. The subsidised prices (issue prices) are also fixed by the government.

Question 3.
Why do we need self-sufficiency in foodgrains?
Answer:
Due to the following reasons, there is a need for self-sufficiency in foodgrains :

• To feed rising population.
• To control prices of foodgrains.
• To reduce imports of foodgrains.
• To fight against natural disaster such as droughts, floods, cyclone, etc.

Question 4.
What are the essentials of food security system?
Answer:
The essentials of food security System are as follows :

• Increasing domestic production of food to meet its growing demand.
• Food should be available in adequate quantity.
• Food should be able to meet nutritional requirements.
• Food should be available at reasonable prices.
• Buffer stock of food should be maintained.

Question 5.
What do you mean by food security?
Answer:
Food security means availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all the citizens of the country at all times. The poor households are more vulnerable to food insecurity whenever there is a problem of production or distribution of food crops.

Government maintains food security through various agencies such as Public Distribution System (PDS) and vigilance and action at times, when this security is threatened.

Question 6.
What is the importance of rationing?
Answer:
The importance of rationing is :

• We need rationing to reduce the wastage and for the maximum utilization of the articles. In India, the rationing concept was introduced in the 1940s after the Bengal famine.
• The rationing system was revived in the wake of an acute food shortage during the 1960s, prior to the Green Revolution. During the times of emergency or natural calamities, rationing helps to overcome the crisis.

Question 7.
What are the major objectives of Academy of Development Science in Maharashtra?
Or
Write a short note on ADS Grain Banks.
Answer:
ADS has facilitated a network of NGOs for setting up grains banks in different regions. ADS organises training and capacity building programmes on food security for NGOs.

Grain Banks are now slowly taking shape in different parts of Maharashtra. ADS efforts to set up Grain Banks, to facilitate replication through other NGOs and to influence the governments policy on food security are thus paying rich dividends. The ADS Grain Bank programme is acknowledged as a successful and innovative food security intervention.

Question 8.
What are the three dimensions of food security?
Answer:
The three dimensions of food security are :

• Availability of food: Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and previous years’ stock stored in the government granaries.
• Affordability of food: Affordability implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet one’s dietary needs.
• Accessibility of food: Accessibility means food is within reach of every person.

Question 9.
What were the effects of Famine of Bengal in 1943?
Answer:
The most devastating famine that occurred in India was the Famine of Bengal in 1943. This famine killed thirty lakh people in the province of Bengal. Nothing like the Bengal Famine has ever happened in India again.

During the famine, the families left their villages. The agricultural labourers, fishermen, transport workers and the other casual labourers were affected the most by dramatically increasing price of rice. They were the ones who died in this famine.

Question 10.
Explain any two important food intervention introduced after the report given by the NSSO?
Answer:
The two important food intervention programmes which were introduced after the report given by the NSSO are :

• Public Distribution System (PDS) for food grains (in existence earlier but strengthened thereafter) is the major step taken by the Government of India towards ensuring food security.
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was introduced in 1975 on an experimental basis.

Question 11.
How does PDS ensure food security in India? Explain.
Answer:
PDS or Public Distribution System distribute the food grains by the help of ration shops among the poorer sections of the society.

Ration shops, also known as Fair Price Shops, keep the stock of foodgrains, sugar and kerosene oil for cooking. These items are sold to people at a price lower than the market price. Any family with a ration card can buy a stipulated amount of these items (e.g., 35 kg of grains, 5 litres of kerosene, 5 kgs of sugar, etc.) every month from the nearby ration shop. PDS keeps on revising the prices in favour of urban poors.

Question 12.
What is the Public Distribution System? What are the objectives of PDS?
Answer:
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures food at pre-announced prices. The government distributes food grains to the poorer strata of the society through ration shops at subsidised prices fixed by the government. This is called the Public Distribution System.
The objectives of the PDS are :

• To provide essential goods at subsidised prices to the consumers.
• To control prices of essential commodities.

Question 13.
What do you know about Poverty Alleviation Programmes?
Answer:
Over the years, several new programmes have been launched and some have been restructured with the growing experience of administering the programmes. At present, there are several Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAPs), mostly in rural areas, which have an explicit food component also. While some of the programmes such as PDS, mid-day meals, etc. are exclusively food security programmes, most of the PAPs also enhance food security. Employment programmes greatly contribute to food security by increasing the income of the poor.

Question 14.
What do you mean by hunger? What are the different dimensions of hunger?
Answer:
Hunger is one of the aspects that indicate food insecurity. Hunger is not just an expression of poverty, it brings about poverty. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risks of future hunger.
There are two dimensions of hunger chronic hunger and seasonal hunger.

• Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and/or quality.
• Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting.

Question 15.
What are the consequences of the excessive reserves of foodgrains in India?
Answer:
The consequences of excessive reserves of foodgrains in India are as follows :

• There is wastage and deterioration in grain quality.
• Excess reserves have led to high carrying costs.
• It has led to the decline in the quantity of foodgrains available to the consumers in the market.

Question 16.
Which groups are the worst affected by food security in India?
Answer:
The worst affected groups are landless people with little or no land to depend upon, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutes including beggars.

In the urban areas, the food insecure families are those whose working members are generally employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labour market.

Food Security in India Class 9 Extra Questions Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
“India is aiming at Self-sufficiency in Foodgrains since Independence.” Elaborate.
Answer:
After Independence, many measures were adopted to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains. India adopted a new strategy in agriculture, which resulted in ‘Green Revolution’, to increase the production of wheat and rice.

The highest rate of growth was achieved in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, which was 44.01 and 30.21 million tonnes in 2015-16. The total foodgrain production was 252.22 million tonnes in 2015-16.

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recorded a significant production in field of wheat which was 26.87 and 17.69 million tonnes in 2015-16, respectively. West Bengal and UB on the other hand, recorded significant production of rice which was 15.75 and 12.51 million tonnes in 2015-16 respectively.

India has become self-sufficient in foodgrains during the last 30 years because of a variety of crops grown all over the country. The availability of foodgrains (even in adverse weather conditions or otherwise) at the country level has been ensured further with a carefully designed food security system by the government.

Question 2.
Discuss the role of Indian government in food security.
Answer:
The role of Indian government in food security are :

• The Government of India gave the responsibility for procuring and stocking of foodgrains to FCI and for distribution the responsibility is given to the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• The government is committed to announce a minimum support price for wheat and paddy and of quantities that could not fetch even such minimum prices in the market. The resultant stocks were to be utilized for maintaining distribution through the PDS and a portion of these were used to create and maintain buffer stocks. In fact, if stocks happened to be inadequate for maintaining a certain level of distribution through PDS, the government had to resort to imports to honour its charge to PDS consumers. The FCI procures foodgrains from the farmers at the government announced Minimum Support Price (MSP).
• Farmers are provided subsidies on agriculture inputs such as fertilizers, power and water.
• The biggest achievement of the Indian food policy, and operational stock holding has been the avoidance of famine-like conditions.
• It was with the basic objective of curbing consumption and ensuring an equitable distribution of available food supplies, especially in the deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society.
• The Government of India has introduced the scheme of minimum assured price of foodgrains which are announced well before the commencement of the crop seasons, after taking into account the cost of production / inter-crop price parity, market prices and other relevant factors.