CBSE Class 9 - Social Studies - Food Security In India (Q & A) - (#CBSENotes) (#CBSEClass9Notes)

Food Security Of India 

Q & A Based on Class 9 Chapter


Q 1: Why is food security essential?

Answer:
① When the country faces a disaster or calamity like earthquake, flood, drought, tsunami and there is a widespread failure of crops which causes famine, etc. All the sections of society have to face shortage of food. Hence, it is needed to ensure sufficient food.

Bengal Famine Of India
image source: wikiipedia

② A section of people in India still sleeps without food. They have no money to secure two square meals for their family members. Deaths due to starvation have also been reported. Thus food security is needed in a country to ensure food to all people at all times.


Q2: Name the year when a devastating famine occurred in India.

Answer: In 1943, famine of Bengal is the most devastated famine.




Q3: What is food security? What conditions should be fulfilled to ensure food security in a country like India?

OR

What are the dimensions of food security?

Answer: Food security does not mean to get two square meals only but something more than that. Thus, food security in a country is ensured only if the below said conditions are fulfilled.



① Availability of food: Food security involves physical availability of food to the entire population. It includes food production within the country, food imports and the previous year’s stock in government granaries.

② Accessibility of food: It means that food is within reach of every person.

③ Affordability for food: It means every person has enough money to buy the food which he or she needs.

④ Nutritious food: The food available should be not only sufficient but also safe and nutritious to meet one’s dietary needs.

⑤ Available at all times: A country may acquire self-sufficiency in food at a particular point of time, but the concept of food security is based on the long-term.


Q4: Define Green Revolution.

Answer: It is a programme under which High Yielding Varieties of wheat and rice seedlings are planted in the fields of poor farmers.


Q5: Why is agriculture a seasonal activity?

Answer: In agriculture, sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing can be done only in a particular season, while certain months do not provide much work to the people dependent on agriculture. That is why, agriculture is a seasonal activity.


Q6: How is food security affected during a calamity?

Answer: Food security is undoubtedly affected when a calamity or disaster like earthquake, flood, drought, tsunami, widespread failure of crops occurs which causes famine and food scarcity etc.

① If a disaster or calamity or say flood, occurs, total production and supply of foodgrains decreases. It creates a shortage of food in the affected areas.

② The shortage of food causes the price rise in foodgrains. At the high prices, poor people cannot afford to buy food.

③ The condition worsens and becomes more grave when such calamity happens in a very widespread area for a longer duration. It may cause a situation of starvation.

④ If this starvation is at mass level, it might take a turn to famine. A famine often leads to widespread deaths due to starvation.

⑤ The destructive epidemics also spread over the affected areas due to forced use of contaminated water, decaying food and loss of body resistance because of weakening due to starvation.

India’s poor population amounts to more than 300 million people, with almost 30 percent of India’s rural population living in poverty. 

Q7: Describe any three categories of people who are prone to food insecurity.

Answer: Following categories of people are often more prone to food security:

⑴ Landless people: People with very little or no land largely get affected when ever there is food scarcity.
⑵ Self employed workers, low income group people, the destitute and beggars.
⑶ Traditional artisans and most of the peasants having rural income
⑷ Casual labour and people working in ill paid jobs in cities and urban areas.


Q8:  What is seasonal hunger?

Answer:
⑴ Seasonal hunger refers to the state of becoming food insecure in a particular season. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities.

⑵ In urban areas, it exists because of the casual labour. For example, in the summer season, there is no work in the woollen textile industry. So, the labourers dependent on this industry suffer from this type of hunger.

Q9: Define malnutrition.

Answer: It is a state of not having enough food or not getting nutritious food.


Q10: What changes have been noticed in the Public Distribution System recently?

Answer:

1. In the beginning, this system was the same for all. There was no discrimination between the poor and non-poor.

2. But over the years, the policy of PDS has been revised to make it more efficient and targeted. Now different prices are taken for the same commodity from poor and non-poor.

Poor populations also face a lack of access to productive assets, financial resources, education, health care, and basic social services.

Q11: What are the functions of food corporation of India?

Answer: Following are the major functions of food corporation of India:

① Providing effective price support operation for the commodities.

② Safeguarding the interests of the farmers.

③ Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for PDS.


Q 12: Which two special schemes related to food security were launched in 2000? What were the objective of these schemes?

Answer: The two special schemes related to food security launched in 2000 were:
① Antyoda Anna Yojana (AAY) and
② Annapurna Scheme (APS).

These schemes have special target groups of ‘poorest of the poor’ and ‘indigent senior citizens’ respectively.


Q13: List the kinds of ration cards available?

Answer:
There are three kinds of ration cards:
⑴ Antyodaya cards for the poorest of the poor.
⑵ BPL cards for those below poverty line.
⑶ APL cards for all others.

Q 14: Describe the achievements of Public Distribution System (PDS).

Answer: 

① The PDS has proved to be the most effective instrument of government policy in stabilising prices and making food available to poor consumers at affordable prices.

② It played a significant  role in avoiding widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from the surplus areas to the deficit areas.

③ Generally, prices have been revised in favour of poor families.

④ The Public Distribution System including the minimum support price and procurement has contributed to an increase in foodgrain production and provided income security to farmers.


Q 15: Name any six co-operative societies of the country.

Answer:
(1) Mother Diary, Delhi.
(2) Amul, Anand, Gujarat.
(3) Sudha, Bihar
(4) Paras, Uttar Pradesh
(5) Academy of Development Science (A.D.S), Maharashtra.
(6) Delhi Co-operative Bank, Delhi