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Q3. Write a note on food and nutrition security.
Ans. Due to lack of purchasing power, increasing debt, massive unemployment, natural disasters
(such as droughts and floods), and other factors, starvation remains a tangible and imminent threat to
millions of people across the country. Food and nutrition security have been a major developmental
objective in post-independent India. There is no universally accepted definition of food security.
However, most definitions focus on a secure access to sufficient and affordable nutritious food.
India achieved self-sufficiency in food grains in the 1970s and has sustained it since then. But the
achievement of food grain security at the national level did not benefit the poorest of the poor and the
level of chronic food insecurity is still high. Today, India ranks 94th out of 119 countries in the Global
Hunger Index. 43% of Indian children and 40 % of women are malnourished. 50% of child deaths are
due to malnutrition. In the mid2000s, more than half of adult women in India were anemic, and a
third of all adults (men and women) were underweight (Lakshmanan, 2010). According to the
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (Arjun Sengupta Report) 77% of
Indians live on less than Rs 20 a day (NCEUS Report, 2009). In recent years, there has been a shift in
policy focus towards household food security and per capita food energy intake is used as a measure of
food security. The government has been implementing a wide range of nutrition intervention
programmes for achieving food security at the household and individual levels, including the Public
Distribution System (PDS), a range of food-for-work and other wage employment programmes as well
as those that directly benefit women and children. In addition, schemes such as The National Rural
Drinking Water Programmer (NRDWP) ensures adequate supply of water in rural areas for drinking,
cooking and other domestic needs on a sustainable basis. There are eight major schemes /
programmes of the central government in this regard, details of which are given in Table B of this
Unit. In a significant interim order dated 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court issued directions
pertaining to 8 food-related schemes sponsored by the central government. Briefly, the order directs
the Union and State governments to implement these schemes fully as per official guidelines. This, in
effect, converts the benefits of these schemes into legal entitlements.
The most important challenge is to increase the energy intake of the bottom 30% of the population.
The food gap can be met from the existing food grain stocks in the medium term and by increasing
their purchasing power in the long run through increasing job opportunities. There is also a need to
improve the efficiency of the various food schemes initiated by the government and make it more
available and freer of corruption and urban bias.
Landmark Judgment on Right to Food: In April 2001, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL,
Rajasthan) filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking legal enforcement of the right to food, by
arguing that the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution included the
right to food. This petition was filed at a time when the country’s food stocks reached unprecedented
levels (60 million tons in Food Corporation of India’s god owns) which was 40 million tons above the
buffer stock of 20 million tons required. Yet, nationwide, there were reports of people dying of
starvation. The petition addressed varied issues such as inadequate drought relief, chronic hunger,
severe undernutrition, implementation of food-related schemes, starvation deaths, the breakdown of
the Public Distribution System (PDS) as well as general issues of transparency and accountability. In
response to this petition, the Supreme Court issued orders from time to time on various aspects of the
right to food.
The court affirmed that the right to food was an integral part of right to life with dignity guaranteed by
Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It directed that all the PDS shops, if closed, were to be re-
opened within one week. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) was ordered to ensure that food grains
do not get wasted. The states were given the responsibility of implementation of government schemes
including the Employment Assurance Scheme, which may have been replaced by a Sampurna Gramin
Yojana, Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Scheme, National Benefit Maternity
Scheme for pregnant women BPL, National Old Age Pension Scheme for destitute persons of over 65
years, Annapurna Scheme, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, National Family Benefit Scheme and Public
Distribution Scheme for BPL and APL families. Such orders can be useful for action in order to hold
the state accountable, for providing food and nutrition security to the most underprivileged
communities. For instance, if starvation deaths are reported in a particular area, or if there is no food
in the ration shops, or if the State Government fails to provide cooked mid-day meals in primary
schools, the Supreme Court orders can be used to demand prompt action from the concerned
authorities.
National Food Security Act, 2011: The Indian government introduced the National Food Security
Bill. This was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011, but was referred to the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food which is presently considered the provisions of the Bill
and the varied criticisms to it. The Act promises subsidized food security to over 63 per cent of the
country’s population.