NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science (Economics) Chapter 4 Food Security in India

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 9th

aglase .co

Class : 9th
Subject : Economics
Chapter : 4
Chapter Name : Food Security In India

Q1 Some people say that the Bengal famine happened because there was a shortage of rice.
Study the table and nd out whether you agree with the statement?

Answer. No, I do not agree that the Bengal famine happened due to a shortage of rice. From
the table, the availability was much higher than in 1941, although lower than 1942. However,
there can be a number of other causes like improper distribution, poor carryover stocks due to
less production in 1941, malnutrition or disease, etc.

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Q2 Which year shows a drastic decline in food availability?

Answer. The year showing a drastic decline in food availability is 1941.

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Q1 Why is agriculture a seasonal activity?

Answer. Agriculture has a sowing season and a harvesting season which is a very busy period
for farmers. Most of the work is done during these periods. When the plants are growing and
maturing no signi cant amount of work is there.

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Q2 Why is Ramu unemployed for about four months in a year?

Answer. Agriculture has a sowing and harvesting season which is a very busy period for
farmers and requires extra labour. So casual labourers like Ramu get employment during these
period for about eight months in a year.

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Q3 What does Ramu do when he is unemployed?

Answer. Ramu is a casual agricultural labourer and is only seasonally employed during sowing
and harvesting. During that period, he gets employment in bricklaying, or in construction
activities in the village

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Q4 Who are supplementing income in Ramu’s family?

Answer. Ramu’s wife Sunhari and his son Somu are supplementing the income in Ramu’s
family. Somu works for the Sarpanch by looking after the cattle and is paid ` 1,000 for his work
Sunhari also works as house cleaner and a casual labourer during the busy season.

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Q5 Why does Ramu face dif culty when he is unable to have work? • When is Ramu food
insecure?

Answer. Ramu is seasonally unemployed and does odd jobs to survive But Tome times he is
unable to get any work at all and during that period he faces dif culty in getting 2 square
meals for his family.

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Q6 When is Ramu food insecure?

Answer. Ramu who is a casual labourer in agriculture becomes seasonally unemployed and
does odd jobs during that period But Sometimes, he is unable to get any work at all and is
totally unemployed and faces poverty and is unable to buy food for his children. During this
period he is food insecure during the four months when he is unemployed.

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Q1 Does Ahmad have a regular income from rickshaw-pulling?

Answer. (i) Ahmad a rickshaw puller does not have a regular income from rickshaw pulling; his
earnings uctuate every day.
(ii) Sometimes, he gets enough earning to save some amount after buying his day to day
necessities. On other days he is barely able to earn enough to survive.

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Q2 How does the yellow card help Ahmad

Answer. (i) Ahmad has a yellow card which is a PDS card for below poverty line people. With
this card Ahmad gets suf cient quantity of wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene oil for his daily use
at rates below the market rates.
(ii) In this way, Ahmad is able to survive even with less income from Rickshaw pulling.

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Q1 Study Graph 4.1 and answer the following questions:

(a) In which year did our country cross the 200 Million tonne per year mark in foodgrain
production?
(b) In which decade did India experience the highest decadal increase in foodgrain
production?
(c) Is production increase consistent in India since 2000–01?

Answer. (a) In the years 2001-02 and 2003-04 our country crossed the 200 million tonnes per
year mark in food grain production.
(b) India experienced the highest decadal increase in food grain production between 1980-
1990.
(c) No the increase in food grain production did not remain consistent after 2000-01 because it
declined in 2002-03.

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Q1 Study the Graph 4.2 and answer the following questions:

(a) In which recent year foodgrain stock with the government was maximum?
(b) What is the minimum buffer stock norm for the FCI?
(c) Why were the FCI granaries over owing with foodgrains?

Answer. (a) In the years 2001-02 and 2003-04 our country crossed the 200 million tonnes per

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year mark in food grain production.
(b) India experienced the highest decadal increase in food grain production between 1980-
1990.
(c) No the increase in food grain production did not remain consistent after 2000-01 because it
declined in 2002-03.

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Q1 How is food security ensured in India?

Answer. Food security is ensured in India by
• Creation of buffer stock.
• Introduction of the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Running other special programmes like
(i) Food for work programme
(ii) Mid-day meal in schools
(iii) Integrated child development services

Q2 Which are the people more prone to food insecurity?

Answer. A large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity in India. The worst
affected are
• The landless people with little or no land to depend on.
• Traditional artisans.
• Providers of traditional services, petty self employed workers and destitutes, including
beggars.
• Urban casual labourers engaged in seasonal activities.
• The SCs, STs and some sections of OBCs.
• People affected by natural disasters

Q3 Which states are more food insecure in India?

Answer. The states of Uttar Pradesh (Eastern and South Eastern parts) Bihar, Jharkhand,
Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra account for the
majority of food insecure areas of the country.

Q4 Do you believe that green revolution has made India self-suf cient in food grains? How?

Answer. • Yes, the Green Revolution has made India self-suf cient in food grains.

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• India adopted a new strategy in agriculture in which HYV, insecticides and pesticides were
used which resulted in Green Revolution or great production of wheat and rice.
• The highest rate of growth was achieved in Punjab and Haryana where food grain production
jumped from 7.23 million tonnes In 1964-65 to an all time high of 30.33 million tonnes in
1995.
• The success of wheat was later replicated in rice production.

Q5 A section of people in India are still without food. Explain?

Answer. • Despite achieving self suf ciency in food grains as a result of the Green Revolution,
a section of people in India are still without food because of poverty. Thus, landless the
labourers, casual urban workers, SCS and STs who are below the poverty line nd it impossible
to get two square meals a day.
• The PDS is not functioning properly because the ration shop owners are diverting the grains
to the open market. Low quality grains are available at ration shops which often remain
unsold.
• Corruption in the PDS and extreme poverty are the t-vvo basic reasons that even today some
people are still without food in India.

Q6 What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or a calamity?

Answer. • When the country faces a national disaster/calamity like earthquake, drought. ood
or tsunami, there is widespread failure of crops. Standing crops are destroyed, leading to
shortage of food grains which results in price rise and hardship to all.
• If the crop is not destroyed, sometimes the transport system is affected and transportation of
foodgrains from the food surplus areas becomes impossible. This leads to shortage of
Foodgrains in other areas.

Q7 Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger?

Answer. Hunger has seasonal and chronic dimensions.
Seasonal Hunger Seasonal hunger is relates 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 labour.
• This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year, e.g., many
casual construction labourers during rainy season become unemployed.

Chronic Hunger
• Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate In terms of quantity and

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quality.
• Poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their very low income and in turn
inability to buy food even for survival.

Q8 What has our government done to provide food security to the poor? Discuss any two
schemes launched by the government?

Answer. To provide food security to the poor, the government has implemented the following
• Creating a buffer stock of foodgrains for distribution when and where needed.
• Public Distribution System for making available foodgrains to the poor at highly subsidised
rates. Besides these, a number of schemes have been launched. During the 1970s, the
following schemes were started
(i) Integrated Child Development Services
(ii) Food for Work Programme

In the year 2000, the following schemes were launched
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (My) This scheme is for the poorest of the poor. Under this scheme,
35 kg of food grains per month are made available to a family at Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3
per kg for rice.
• Annapurna Scheme (APS) This is meant for indigent senior citizens who are not having any
family to support them. Under this scheme, 10 kg of foodgrains per month are made available
to them free of cost.

Q9 Why buffer stock is created by the government?

Answer. Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains, namely wheat and rice, procured by the
government through Food Corporation of India (FCI). The FCI purchases wheat and rice from
the farmers in states where there is surplus production.
1. The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This is called the Minimum
Support .
2. The purchased food grains are stored in the granaries and called buffer stock. This is done
to distribute food grains in the de cit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price
lower than the market price, also known as issue price.
3. This also helps to resolve the shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or during
a period of calamity.

Q10 Write notes on:
(a) Minimum support price
(b) Buffer stock

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(c) Issue price
(d) Fair price shops

Answer. (a) Minimum Support Price
1. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states
where there is surplus production.
2. The farmers are paid pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum
Support Price (MSP).
3. The MSP is declared by the government every year before the sowing season to provide
incentives to the farmers for raising production of these crops.

(b) Buffer Stock
1. Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains namely wheat and rice procured by the government
through Food Corporation of India (FCI).
2. The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states where there is surplus
production and stores this grain in the granaries as butter stock.
3. This is done to distribute food grains in the de cit areas and among the poor strata of
society when there is shortage of foodgrains because of crop failure due to natural calamities.

(c) Issue Price
1. The FCI purchases foodgrains from the farmers in states with surplus food production and
stores it in granaries.
2. This is done to distribute food grains in the de cit areas and among the poor state of society
at a price lower than the market price which is also known as issue price.

(d) Fair Price Shops
1. The food procured by the Fel is distributed through government regulated ration shops
among the poorer sections of the society. This is called Public Distribution System (PDS).
2. Ration shops are now present in most localities villages, towns and cities.
3. Ration shops are also known as fair price shops.
4. These fair price shops keep stocks of foodgrains, sugar and kerosene oil. Here these items
are sold at a price, lower than the market price.

Q11 What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Answer. • The PDS dealers are sometimes found resorting to malpractices like diverting the
grains to open market for more pro t.
• Dealers sell poor quality grains at ration shops.
• Ration shops are opened at irregular time creating problems for the people.
• It is common to nd that ration shops regularly have unsold stocks of poor quality grains.

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Q12 Write a note on the role of cooperatives in providing food and related items?

Answer. • The co-operatives are also playing an important role in food security in India,
especially in the Southern and Western parts of the country.
• The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people.
• In Delhi, Mother Dairy is making progress in provision of milk and vegetables to the
consumers at controlled rates decided by the Government of Delhi.
Amul is another success story of co-operatives in milk and milk products from Gujarat. It has
brought about the white revolution in the country.
• These are a few example of many co-operatives running in different parts of the country
ensuring food security of different sections of society.

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