NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 4 Food Security in India

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 4 Food Security in India are a great way to enrich knowledge and make lessons for learners more exciting. With the help of NCERT Solutions, you can improve your problem-solving skills and understanding of the concepts. These solutions offer clear and concise explanations for all the questions in NCERT textbook. Having a strong foundation will help you reach your goals faster and with less effort.

Class 9 Economics NCERT Solutions provide a great foundation for your future goals. With clear and concise explanations, they provide you with the necessary tools to achieve success. The solutions are designed to help you understand the material, and they provide you with a solid foundation on which to build your future success.

Chapter 4 Food Security in India Class 9 Economics NCERT Solutions

1. How is food security ensured in India?

Solution

In India, food security is ensured through its two components:

Buffer Stock: Foodgrains are distributed at lower prices to underprivileged sections of society during times of food scarcity in affected areas, also solving the issue of food scarcity during bad weather.

Public Distribution System: Public Distribution System (PDS) distributes the food bought by FCI through ration shops regulated by the government.

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

Solution

The people more prone to food insecurity are:

(i) The Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and some sections of the OBC’s who either have low land-base or poor land productivity face food insecurity.
(ii) The groups that have lost their ability to earn or produced due to natural disasters and who migrate from one place to another in search of livelihood are also among the most food insecure people.
(iii) A large proportion of food insecure population constitutes of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under the age of 5 years.

3. Which states are more food insecure in India?

Solution

The states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are more food-insecure in India.

4. Do you believe that green revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How?

Solution

Yes, Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in foodgrains in the following ways:

(i) Increase in Production: Green Revolution has increased the production of various crops manifold. The production of foodgrains was just 7.23 million tonnes in 1964-65, which has increased to 218 million tonnes in 2009-10.
(ii) Control over Imports: After Independence, India was dependent on other countries for its foodgrain requirements. But now, our imports of foodgrains are negligible.
(iii) Overflowing Buffer Stocks: The minimum buffer norms for FCI are 65.3 million tonnes in 2014. However, after the success of green revolution, the stock is much more than the minimum norms.

5. A section of people in India are still without food. Explain?

Solution

Different sections of society face food security challenges because they either have low land bases or poor land productivity. Natural disasters especially affect people who are unable to earn or produce and who migrate from one place to another in search of employment. Food insecurity primarily affects rural women. The majority of food insecure population is made up of pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as children under five years of age.

6. What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or calamity?

Solution

Food supplies are adversely affected by natural calamities or disasters. A natural calamity, say drought, produces less food grains, thus decreasing food supplies.

7. Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger?

Solution

Seasonal hunger is caused by the seasonal nature of work. For example, agriculture in India is a seasonal occupation. Farm labourers are not working during some months of the year, so poor people are unable to buy food during off-season.

Chronic hunger occurs in people with very low incomes who are unable to buy food. Landless labourers, for instance, earn very little for food.

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

Solution

The government has launched various schemes such as buffer stock, PDS, Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Annapurna Scheme for providing food security to the poor.

(i) Public Distribution System (PDS): Government regulated ration shops disseminate the foodgrains obtained by the FCI among the underprivileged section of the society. This system is known as PDS. Public Distribution System scheme was initiated in 1992.

(ii) Antyodaya Anna Yojana: This scheme was launched in 2000 for the poorest of the poor by providing foodgrains up to 35 kg at lowest rates. Wheat and rice are provided at the rate of 2 and 3 per kg respectively.

9. Why buffer stock is created by the government?

Solution

In order to protect the interests of both farmers and consumers, the government creates buffer stocks of foodgrains. The government protects farmers’ interests by guaranteeing a minimum price for their crops. This is called a ‘minimum support price’. Providing the procured food at subsidised rates protects the consumer interests. This is done through fair price shops.

10. Write notes on:

Solution

(i) Minimum Support Price: Wheat and rice is bought from the farmers at pre-announced prices by the FCI. Such price is called Minimum Support Price or MSP.

(ii) Buffer Stock: It is the stock of foodgrains obtained through the FCI, mainly wheat and rice by the government. Issue Price: The price, lower than the market price, at which the foodgrains are distributed in the areas facing shortage and among the poor section of the society is known as Issue Price.

(iv) Fair Price Shops: Fair price shops are the ration shops that stock foodgrains, sugar and kerosene oil and sell the same on prices lower than the market price.

11. What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Solution

There are various problem of the functioning of ration shops such as:

• PDS dealers sometimes engage in ill practices such as black-marketing, selling poor-quality grains at ration shops, and opening shops irregularly.
• 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.
• The owners of these shops sell ration in the open market at higher prices. Sometimes shopkeepers make bogus entries in the ration cards.

12. Write a note on the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items.

Solution

The cooperatives are playing a significant role in ensuring food security in India. Cooperatives run almost 94 per cent of all fair price shops in Tamil Nadu. In Delhi, Mother Dairy is taking steps for providing milk as well as vegetables to the consumers at rates set by the Government of Delhi. In Gujarat, Amul has started the White Revolution in India by bringing forward milk and milk products.