Food Security in India – MCQs with Answers and Explanations
CBSE Class 9 – Social Science (Economics)
Chapter 4: Food Security in India
NCERT Based Chapter-Wise Study Material – Multiple Choice Questions
CBSE Board Examinations – Topic-wise MCQs with Answers & Explanations
Strictly as per NCERT Syllabus
Note: The following 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) with detailed explanations are designed strictly from
Economics: Understanding Economic Development – Chapter 4: Food Security in India.
They are ideal for CBSE Class 9 exam practice and concept clarity.
1. Overview of Food Security in India
Q1. Food security in India mainly aims to ensure that:
Correct Answer: (B)
Food security ensures that all people can obtain sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times.
Food security is not limited to farmers or urban areas. It covers the entire population.
The NCERT definition highlights availability, accessibility and affordability of food for every person.
Simply having stock in government godowns is not enough unless it reaches people in a nutritious and adequate form.
Q2. Which of the following is not a component of food security?
Correct Answer: (D)
Export of food grains is not a basic component of food security.
According to the chapter, food security consists of three main components:
availability (enough food is produced and stored), accessibility
(people can physically reach food) and affordability (people can buy it at reasonable prices).
Export may be done after ensuring domestic food security; it is not a core component.
Q3. A country is said to be food secure when:
Correct Answer: (B)
Food security exists when the country has sufficient food and can supply it to all sections of society.
Food security is about both production and distribution.
Merely importing food does not guarantee that poor or remote groups receive it.
The government must have mechanisms like buffer stock and PDS to ensure that everyone,
especially the vulnerable, has access to food.
2. What Is Food Security?
Q4. Which of the following best describes food security at the household level?
Correct Answer: (B)
Food security means regular access to sufficient and nutritious food for all members of the family.
The chapter explains that food security is achieved when people have regular and reliable access
to enough nutritious food. The quantity and quality of food matter. Simply storing more or eating fixed meals
without nutrition is not true food security.
Q5. Which situation indicates food insecurity?
Correct Answer: (B)
Skipping meals due to lack of income clearly shows food insecurity.
Food insecurity arises when people are unable to get enough food, especially in times of crisis.
The labourer’s family cannot afford meals in the lean season, indicating both lack of income and inadequate food access.
Q6. “Seasonal hunger” is more common among:
Correct Answer: (C)
Seasonal hunger is common among rural agricultural labourers.
Seasonal hunger occurs during certain months when agricultural work is not available,
such as before sowing or after harvest. Rural labourers have no regular jobs and
face food shortages in these periods, as explained in the NCERT chapter.
3. Why Food Security?
Q7. The need for food security becomes very high during:
Correct Answer: (B)
Natural calamities like drought and flood increase the need for food security.
During calamities, crops may be destroyed, prices rise and people lose income.
The chapter states that food security is crucial to prevent famine, starvation and large-scale hunger
in such emergencies. Government buffer stocks and PDS are especially important at these times.
Q8. Which historical event is an example of extreme food insecurity in India?
Correct Answer: (B)
The Bengal Famine of 1943 is cited as an example of extreme food insecurity.
In the Bengal Famine, lakhs of people died due to acute shortage of food.
This tragic event highlighted the importance of having a strong food security system in independent India
to avoid such disasters in the future.
Q9. Which factor can reduce food insecurity in the long run?
Correct Answer: (C)
Increasing agricultural productivity helps in reducing food insecurity.
Higher productivity means more food grains are produced per hectare.
The Green Revolution increased food availability and helped India become self-sufficient in food grains.
This reduced the chances of famine and chronic food shortages.
4. Who Are Food Insecure?
Q10. Which of the following groups is most likely to be food insecure in rural areas?
Correct Answer: (B)
Landless agricultural labourers are highly vulnerable to food insecurity.
They do not own land and depend entirely on wage labour for income.
Work is seasonal and uncertain, leading to irregular income and difficulty in purchasing food regularly,
as mentioned in the NCERT text.
Q11. In urban areas, which category is more prone to food insecurity?
Correct Answer: (C)
Workers in the informal sector are more prone to food insecurity.
Informal sector workers like rickshaw pullers, construction labourers and street vendors
have low, irregular incomes and no job security. A small shock, like illness, can sharply reduce income
and their ability to buy food, making them food insecure.
Q12. Socially disadvantaged groups facing discrimination are:
Correct Answer: (C)
Socially disadvantaged groups are often more vulnerable to food insecurity.
The chapter explains that some social groups suffer from discrimination and exclusion.
They have less access to education, land and jobs, so their incomes are low and unstable.
This makes it harder for them to secure sufficient food.
5. Food Security in India – Measures and Policies
Q13. Which major step helped India to become self-sufficient in food grain production?
Correct Answer: (B)
The Green Revolution helped India become self-sufficient in food grains.
The Green Revolution introduced HYV seeds, fertilizers, irrigation and modern techniques
mainly for wheat and rice. This increased production significantly in states like Punjab and Haryana,
strengthening India’s food security.
Q14. Which organisation is responsible for procuring and storing food grains for the government?
Correct Answer: (B)
FCI (Food Corporation of India) procures and stores food grains for the government.
FCI buys wheat and rice from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP) and stores them in large godowns.
These stocks are used for buffer stock and PDS, which are crucial elements of India’s food security system.
Q15. “Minimum Support Price” (MSP) is:
Correct Answer: (C)
MSP is the minimum price at which the government purchases crops from farmers.
MSP assures farmers that they will get a fixed minimum price for their produce even if market prices fall.
This encourages production of food grains and helps maintain regular supply for buffer stock and PDS.
6. What Is Buffer Stock?
Q16. Buffer stock is:
Correct Answer: (C)
Buffer stock refers to food grains procured and stored by the government through FCI.
The government buys wheat and rice from surplus farmers at MSP and stores them as buffer stock.
These stocks are used to ensure food security, check price rise and supply food through PDS,
especially during crises or poor harvest years.
Q17. One major objective of maintaining buffer stock is to:
Correct Answer: (C)
Buffer stock helps in stabilising prices and ensuring food security.
When there is shortage or hoarding by traders, the government releases grains from buffer stock.
This increases supply, controls price rise and makes food available to the poor at affordable rates,
thus supporting food security.
Q18. Buffer stock mainly consists of:
Correct Answer: (A)
Buffer stock mainly consists of wheat and rice.
The NCERT chapter clearly mentions that the government mainly procures and stores wheat and rice
as buffer stock, because these are staple food grains for the majority of the Indian population.
7. What Is the Public Distribution System (PDS)?
Q19. Public Distribution System (PDS) is a system of:
Correct Answer: (B)
PDS distributes essential commodities to the poor at subsidised prices.
Under PDS, fair price shops sell items like rice, wheat and sugar at prices lower than the market.
This helps poor and vulnerable families access food and is an important part of India’s food security system.
Q20. Ration shops are also known as:
Correct Answer: (A)
Ration shops are also called Fair Price Shops.
Fair Price Shops distribute goods at fair (subsidised) prices.
They are the retail outlets of PDS and usually exist in both rural and urban areas to serve poor households.
Q21. Which of the following is not generally sold through PDS?
Correct Answer: (D)
Mobile phones are not sold through PDS.
PDS mainly distributes essential food items like wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene oil.
Non-essential items like mobile phones are not part of this system.
8. Current Status of the Public Distribution System
Q22. One criticism of PDS is:
Correct Answer: (C)
One criticism is that grains are sometimes diverted to open markets by shopkeepers.
The chapter mentions issues like corruption, black-marketing and leakages in PDS.
Some fair price shop owners illegally sell a part of the stock in the open market at higher prices,
reducing the benefit to poor consumers.
Q23. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is meant for:
Correct Answer: (B)
Antyodaya Anna Yojana is meant for the poorest of the poor households.
Under AAY, identified poorest families receive food grains at a very low price through PDS.
This special scheme aims to provide a stronger food security cover to the most vulnerable sections of society.
Q24. Which of the following is a positive impact of PDS?
Correct Answer: (C)
PDS provides food grains at subsidised rates to the poor, which is a positive impact.
PDS helps in reducing poverty and hunger by making food affordable.
Though there are weaknesses, it is still considered an important part of India’s food security system.
9. Role of Cooperatives in Food Security
Q25. Cooperatives in the food sector mainly:
Correct Answer: (B)
Cooperatives provide food items at reasonable prices to their members and others.
Consumer cooperative stores purchase goods in bulk directly from producers or wholesalers
and sell them at lower margins. This reduces the role of middlemen and helps
consumers get food at fair prices, supporting food security.
Q26. In which Indian state cooperative societies set up grain banks in different areas?
Correct Answer: (C)
In Odisha, cooperative societies have set up grain banks in different areas.
The chapter gives examples of cooperatives playing a role in food security in states like
Odisha, where grain banks help people during times of shortage by lending grains and
ensuring they do not go hungry.
Q27. Which of the following is an example of a successful cooperative in the dairy sector?
Correct Answer: (B)
Amul is a famous example of a successful dairy cooperative.
Although mainly related to milk, Amul shows how cooperatives can improve income of producers
and supply nutritious food (milk and milk products) to consumers, indirectly strengthening food security.
10. Mixed Conceptual MCQs
Q28. A family is said to be food secure if:
Correct Answer: (B)
Regular access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food indicates food security.
The definition of food security emphasises both quantity and quality of food.
Eating only one type of food or irregular meals does not meet nutritional requirements.
Q29. Which of the following combinations is correct for pillars of India’s food security system?
Correct Answer: (A)
Buffer stock and PDS are considered the two main pillars of India’s food security system.
The NCERT chapter clearly states that the public distribution system (PDS) and buffer stock are
the two main components through which the government ensures food security in India.
Q30. Which of the following best summarises the aim of food security in India?
Correct Answer: (B)
The main aim is that no one goes hungry and everyone gets nutritious food.
Food security policies, including buffer stock, PDS and cooperatives, ultimately aim to ensure
that every citizen has access to sufficient and nutritious food at all times,
thereby removing hunger and undernutrition from the country.