Poverty and Food Security Challenges in India

The Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains. In India, after Green Revolution, production of many crops has increased many times. The production of wheat was just 88 lakh tones in 1955-56.Now it has crossed 718 lakh tones.  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 tons in 1964-65 to an all time high of 30.33 million tons in 1995. The success of wheat was later replicated in rice production.  

The poverty line in India is income based. The poverty line was originally fixed in terms of income or food requirements in 1978. It was stipulated that the calorie standard for a typical individual in rural areas were 2400 calorie and was 2100 calorie in urban areas. Then the cost of the grains that fulfill this normative standard was calculated. This cost was the poverty line.

The World Bank definition of poverty line for countries like India is 1.25 $ per day, that is 365 $ per year. The government of India has defined the poverty line in rural areas as Rs 276 per month and in urban areas as Rs 296. 

Agriculture has been an essential industry for nearly all major economies in the world. These countries use agriculture to drive international trade and create jobs. In the United States, agriculture is one of the most export dependent sectors of the economy with one-third of US agricultural production exported annually. Developing countries have realized the importance of creating economic growth through agricultural production and exports. With an increasing global population, agriculture has provided emerging economies opportunities for growth and integration into the global economic picture.

The Planning Commission of India established the calorie requirement for rural areas at 2400 calories per person per day, while for urban areas it is 2100 calories.

West Bengal is often cited in economic studies for its success in poverty reduction, which is largely attributed to the implementation of land reform measures.

India was one of the first countries in the world to initiate a state-sponsored family planning programme in 1952.

Chronic hunger is a consequence of persistent poverty, where individuals have very low incomes that prevent them from purchasing sufficient food on a regular basis.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana was launched in December 2000. Under this scheme one crore of the poorer among the BPL families, covered by the Public Distribution System (PDS) were identified. Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each of the eligible family at a highly subsidised rate.

Seasonal Hunger- Seasonal hunger persists only during a particular part of the season. It is linked with the cycles of food growing and harvesting. In the rural areas the seasonal hunger is prevalent because of the seasonal  nature of agricultural activities.

Food For Work (FFW) programme was launched in November 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country. The main objective of this scheme is to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment. This scheme is open to all rural poor who are willing to do unskilled labour. In return of the work, the workers are supplies food grains or money as they like.

• The focus of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is on “poor in all areas” and TPDS involves issue of 10 Kg of food grains per family per month for the population Below Poverty Line (BPL) at specially subsidized prices.
• On 1st January, 1992, the Government of India launched a new scheme to revamp the public distribution system (PDS). Under this scheme, the Government has identified 1775 blocks falling in drought prone desert, integrated tribal development project areas and certain designated hill areas.
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is a Government of India sponsored scheme to provide highly subsidised food to millions of the poorest families. It was launched by the [NDA] government on 25 December 2000 and first implemented in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Malnutrition or malnourishment is a condition that results from eating a diet in which nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems. It may involve calories, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals. Not enough nutrients are called undernutrition or undernourishment while too much is called overnutrition. Malnutrition is often used specifically to refer to undernutrition where there are not enough calories, protein, or micronutrients. If undernutrition occurs during pregnancy, or before two years of age, it may result in permanent problems with physical and mental development. Extreme undernourishment, known as starvation, may have symptoms that include: a short height, thin body, very poor energy levels, and swollen legs and abdomen. People also often get infections and are frequently cold. The symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies depend on the micronutrient that is lacking.

Excessive hunger is also associated with Hyperthyroidism and Grave's disease, an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid. The thyroid functions to increase the metabolic rate, so an overactive thyroid shows symptoms of hyperactivity, insomnia, or constant hunger that is unsatisfied by eating.

The calorie requirement in rural areas in India has been fixed at 2400 calories per person per day  while in urban areas it is 2100 calories, based on the engagement in physical work. 27.1% population in rural areas as per the Economic Survey 2002–03, consume less than the required calorie standard.

In politics, humanitarian aid, and social science, hunger is a condition in which a person, for a sustained period, is unable to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs. Hunger is not just painful to bear, it is also destructive.

The national calorie standard for poverty line estimation in India is 2400 kcal per day for rural areas and 2100 kcal per day for urban areas.

Destitution also known as Absolute poverty is the poverty so extreme that one lacks the means to provide for oneself. It refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care, education and information. Absolute poverty occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources which is measured in terms of calories or nutrition to support a minimum level of physical health. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.