Food insecurity can occur due to natural disasters reducing food production and increasing prices, making food unaffordable for some. Famine is characterized by widespread death and disease. India has experienced famines including the 1943 Bengal famine that killed millions. Chronic and seasonal hunger regularly affect vulnerable groups. The Public Distribution System was implemented to enhance food security by stabilizing prices and making food affordable through fair price shops. However, problems still exist with hunger in some areas and issues involving PDS such as leakage and poor quality grains.

2.  availability,
 accessibility and
 affordability of food to all people at all times.

3.  Enough food is available for all the persons
 All persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable
quality and
 There is no barrier on access to food.

4.  For the poor sections of the society
 Natural disasters or calamity like earthquake, drought,
flood, tsunami,
 Widespread crop failure due to drought

5. Drought takes place
Total
production of food
grains
Shortage of food in the
affected areas
Prices
Some people
cannot afford to buy food = Food
Insecurity

6.  If such calamity happens in a very wide spread area or
is stretched over a longer time period, it may cause a
situation of starvation.

7.  A massive starvation might take a turn of
famine.
 A Famine is characterized by
1.
widespread deaths and
2. epidemics

8.  Bengal Famine, 1943
-killed 1.5 million to 3 million
 The Bihar famine, 1966-7
- 2,353 deaths due to starvation reported
Starvation deaths have also been reported in:
 Kalahandi and Kashipur in Orissa
 Baran district of Rajasthan,
 Palamau district of Jharkhand
And many other remote areas during the recent years.

9. Worst Affected Groups:
 landless people
 traditional artisans
 traditional services providers
 petty self-employed workers
 Homeless, beggars etc.
 Families employed in ill-paid occupations
 casual labourers (seasonal activities+ very low wages)

10.  SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs (lower
castes among them) –having poor land-base or
very low land productivity
 Migrants ( as a result of natural disasters )
 Women and children

11.  Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar,
 Jharkhand,
 Orissa,
 West Bengal,
 Chattisgarh,
 parts of Madhya Pradesh and
 Maharasthra

12. Chronic
Hunger
Inadequate
diet for a
long time
Poor people
suffer from
chronic
hunger
Seasonal
Hunger
Due agricultural
activities-rural
regions & urban
areas- casual
labour
When a person
is unable to get
work for the
entire year

13. Green Revolution: Foodgrain Production
Highest
Growth
Punjab and
Haryana
Tamil Nadu
and Andhra
Pradesh
Low
Growth
Maharashtra,
Madhya
Pradesh
Bihar, Orissa
and the N-E
states

14. Buffer
Stock
Public
Distribution
System
Food
Security
System of
India

15. Farmers or
Producers
Grains
Fair Price
Shops
MSP
F.C.I
(maintain
s Buffer
Stocks)
Distributes
Grains
C.I.P
Allocates Grains
States
Central Issue Price

16.  PDS (initial Public Distribution System scheme)
 RPS (Revamped Public Distribution System)
 TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System)
Special Schemes:
 AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana)
 APS (Annapurna Scheme)

18.  Stabilizes prices of foodgrains
 Makes food available at affordable prices
 By supplying food from surplus regions of the country
to the deficit ones, it helps in combating hunger and
famine
 Prices set with poor households in mind
 Provides income security to farmers in certain regions

19.  Problem of Hunger still exists in many areas of India
 Foodstock in granaries often above specifed levels
 Deterioration in quality of stored foodgrains if kept for
longer time
 High storage costs
 Increase in MSP has led to shift from coarse grain to
rice and wheat production among the farmers
 Cultivation of rice has also led to environmental
degradation and fall in the water level

20.  Average consumption of PDS grain at the all




India level is very low
Malpractices on part of PDS dealers:
Diverting the grains to open market to get better
margin,
Selling poor quality grains at ration shops,
Irregular opening of the shops
Low Income families earning just above poverty
line have to pay APL rates which are almost equal
to open market rates – lower incentive to buy
from Fair Price Shops