Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Question Answers - Economics

Q1: What are the dimensions of food security?
Ans: Food security has the following dimensions:

• Availability of food: This means there is sufficient food produced within the country, plus food imported when needed, and stocks held in government granaries from previous years to meet demand.
• Accessibility: This means food is physically and socially within reach of every person - there are no barriers to obtain it in markets or through distribution systems.
• Affordability: This implies that an individual or household has enough income or purchasing power to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs.

Q2: How is food security affected during a calamity?
Ans:

• During a natural calamity such as an earthquake, drought or flood, crops may fail over a wide area, causing local or regional famine-like conditions.
• A fall in total production of food grains creates shortages in the affected areas.
• Shortages push up food prices. When prices rise sharply, many poor people cannot afford to buy enough food. If the calamity affects a large area or lasts a long time, this can lead to severe hunger and even starvation.
• Calamities also disrupt transport and markets, making distribution difficult and worsening access for vulnerable groups.

Q3: 'Even today, there are several places in different parts of the country which are still food in-secure". Support the statement.
Ans: Although the Bengal famine of the 1940s has not been repeated on that scale, pockets of food insecurity persist in India. Examples include:

• Kalahandi and Kashipur in Odisha, where famine-like conditions have existed for many years and where starvation deaths have been reported.
• Reports of starvation deaths have also emerged from Baran district of Rajasthan, Palamau district of Jharkhand and other remote areas in recent years.

These examples show that national averages can hide local deprivation. Persistent food insecurity in such pockets indicates the need for targeted interventions and better delivery of food and services to vulnerable regions and populations.

Q4: Who are food insecure? Describe in brief.
Ans:

• Landless people who have little or no land to cultivate, traditional artisans and providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and beggars are among the worst affected groups.
• In urban areas, those engaged in casual labour or seasonal work are more prone to food insecurity because their incomes are irregular.
• Socially disadvantaged groups such as many SCs, STs and some sections of OBCs often have a weak land base or low land productivity and are therefore vulnerable.
• People affected by natural disasters who are forced to migrate in search of work become highly food insecure.
• Pregnant and nursing mothers and children under five years of age form an important and vulnerable segment of the food insecure population because of their special nutritional needs.

Q5: What is Antyodaya Anna Yojana? Mention its role in ensuring food security in the country.
Ans: The Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is an important poverty-alleviation programme started by the central government in December 2000. Its role in ensuring food security includes the following:

• Under this scheme, one crore of the poorest families among those below the poverty line (BPL) covered under the targeted public distribution system were identified for special support.
• Each eligible family was provided with 25 kg of food grains at highly subsidised rates - ₹2 per kg for wheat and ₹3 per kg for rice. This entitlement was increased from 25 kg to 35 kg with effect from April 2002.
• The scheme was expanded twice, by adding 50 lakh BPL families in June 2003 and again in August 2004. After these expansions, a total of 2 crore families were covered under AAY.

Q6: What is the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana?
Ans:

• The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) is a scheme launched by the Government of India to provide gainful employment for the rural poor.
• It was launched on 25 September 2001 by merging the Employment Assurance Scheme and the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana.
• The programme is self-targeting in nature and aims to provide both employment and additional food to rural households living below the poverty line. By increasing incomes through employment, the scheme contributes to improving food security among the rural poor.

Q7: Why is buffer stock created by the government?
Ans:

• The main objective of creating a buffer stock is to distribute food grains to deficit areas and to poor sections of society at prices lower than the prevailing market price.
• Buffer stocks help to manage shortages during adverse weather conditions or other emergencies and ensure supply during calamities.
• They also protect farmers from sharp price fluctuations: the government buys crops at a pre-announced price (declared before the sowing season), which provides an incentive to farmers and reduces their risk from market volatility.

Q8: What is rationing? When was it introduced in India? Why?
Ans:

• Rationing refers to the controlled distribution of scarce goods and resources by the government. It restricts how much of a particular resource people are allowed to buy or consume during a specified period.
• In India, rationing was first introduced during the 1940s in the context of the Bengal famine. The system was revived during the 1960s in response to acute food shortages before the Green Revolution.

Because of widespread poverty reported by the NSSO in the mid-1970s, three important food intervention programmes were introduced or strengthened:

• Public Distribution System (PDS) for food grains, which was strengthened to improve access.
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), introduced in 1975 on an experimental basis to support young children and mothers.
• Food-For-Work (FFW), introduced in 1977-78, which provided food in exchange for work and aimed to create assets while securing food for the poor.

Q9: Why has the public distribution system been criticised? Give reasons.
Ans:

The Public Distribution System (PDS) was created to distribute food to poorer sections through fair price shops and thereby ensure food security. In recent years, several problems have led to criticism of the system:

• PDS dealers have sometimes indulged in malpractices such as diverting grains to the open market to obtain higher profits, selling poor-quality grains at ration shops and operating shops irregularly.
• Earlier, every family - poor and non-poor - had a ration card with fixed quotas and could buy subsidised items. This broad coverage helped many low-income families.
• With the introduction of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), three types of cards and different price categories emerged. Many families who are just above the poverty line receive little or no subsidy and therefore gain little from ration shops.
• The price faced by Above Poverty Line (APL) families is often close to the open market price, so they have little incentive to purchase from ration shops; this reduces the system's reach and effectiveness.