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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
SESSION 2020-21
CLASS-IX
ECONOMICS- CHAPTER-4 FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA
LESSON NOTES
SUB TOPIC-2
Who are Food- Insecure
In India, a large section of people suffers from food and nutrition insecurity.
People having little or no land, traditional artisans, providers of traditional
services, petty self-employed workers and destitute including beggars are the
worst affected groups.
In the urban areas, the food-insecure families are those who are generally
employed in ill-paid occupations and the casual labour market. These workers
are largely engaged in seasonal activities and are paid very low wages.
The social composition along with the inability to buy food also plays a role in
food insecurity. People of SC, ST and OBC communities who have either
poor land-base or very low land productivity are prone to food insecurity.
People affected by natural disasters, who migrate to other areas in search of
work, are among the most food-insecure people.
A large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under the
age of 5 years constitute an important segment of the food insecure
population.
Another aspect of food insecurity is hunger, which is not just an expression of
poverty, it brings about poverty. Hunger has chronic and seasonal
dimensions. Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate
in terms of quantity and/or quality. Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of
food growing and harvesting.
Since Independence, India has been aiming at self-sufficiency in food grains. After
Independence, Indian policymakers adopted all measures to achieve self-sufficiency
in food grains. In the field of agriculture, India adopted a new strategy, which resulted
in the ‘Green Revolution’.