1. What is food security?

Food security is the availability, accessibility, and affordability of food to all people at all times.

2. How is food security ensured in a country?

Food security is ensured in a country only if enough food is available for all people, all persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality, and there is no barrier to access to food.

3. Why is food security important?

Food security is important due to overpopulation, reduction in net sown area under cereals, hoarding and black marketing, reduction of land under cultivation, corrupt administrative practices, and natural calamities.

5. Who is food-insecure?

In India, the worst affected groups are landless people, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers, destitute, SCs, STs, and some sections of the OBCs.

7. What is hunger?

Hunger is the inability to acquire sufficient food to meet basic needs, leading to chronic and seasonal dimensions.

8. How is hunger related to poverty?

Hunger brings about poverty and is not just an expression of poverty. The attainment of food security involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risk of future hunger.

9. What is seasonal hunger?

Seasonal hunger is related to the cycle of food growing and harvesting, where off-season food grain prices become high or there can be a shortage of food grains.

10. What is India's goal in terms of food production?

India's goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains since independence.

12. What is the role of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in food security?

The Public Distribution System (PDS) plays a vital role in food security by providing food grains to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society at subsidized rates.

13. What are the challenges faced by the PDS?

The challenges faced by the PDS include leakages, diversions, and corruption, leading to inadequate distribution of food grains to the targeted population.

16. What is the objective of the National Food for Work Programme?

The objective of the National Food for Work Programme is to generate supplementary wage employment in the 150 most backward districts of the country.