Food Security in India – Very Short Answer Type Questions
Class: 9
Subject: Social Science (Economics)
Chapter 4: Food Security in India
CBSE Class 9 Social Science – Chapter Wise Study Materials Based on NCERT
Economics: Understanding Economic Development – Very Short Answer Type Questions & Answers
Designed strictly as per the NCERT syllabus and suitable for CBSE Class 9 Board Examination pattern – ideal for quick practice and last-minute revision.
These 50 very short answer type questions from Class 9 Economics Chapter 4: Food Security in India
are arranged topic-wise exactly as in the NCERT textbook – Overview, Food Security, Food Insecurity, Buffer Stock,
Public Distribution System and the Role of Cooperatives – to help you revise systematically for CBSE exams.
Very Short Answer Questions – Topic-wise
Topic 1: Overview of Food Security in India
Q1.What is the main theme of the chapter “Food Security in India”?
Answer: The chapter explains how India ensures availability, accessibility and affordability of food for all through different government measures.
Q2.What is meant by food security in simple words?
Answer: Food security means that every person has enough safe and nutritious food to live a healthy and active life at all times.
Q3.Which organisation mainly looks after food security at the national level in India?
Answer: Food security at the national level is mainly looked after by the Government of India through agencies like the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Q4.Name any two important instruments of food security in India.
Answer: Buffer stock and Public Distribution System (PDS) are two important instruments of food security in India.
Q5.Which sector, apart from the government, helps in food security at the local level?
Answer: Cooperatives play an important role in helping food security at the local level.
Topic 2: What is Food Security?
Q6.State the three main dimensions of food security.
Answer: The three dimensions of food security are availability of food, accessibility of food and affordability of food.
Q7.What is meant by “availability of food”?
Answer: Availability of food means that enough food is physically present in the country through production, stocks or imports.
Q8.What is meant by “accessibility of food”?
Answer: Accessibility of food means that all people can physically reach food, for example through nearby markets or shops.
Q9.What is meant by “affordability of food”?
Answer: Affordability of food means that people have enough income to buy food at reasonable prices throughout the year.
Q10.When is a country said to have achieved food security?
Answer: A country has food security when all its people have reliable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times.
Q11.What happens if any one dimension of food security is missing?
Answer: If any one dimension is missing, people can become food insecure even if food is available in the country.
Q12.Which type of hunger is directly linked to food insecurity – chronic or seasonal?
Answer: Both chronic and seasonal hunger are linked to food insecurity, but chronic hunger is directly related to long-term lack of food.
Topic 3: Why Food Security?
Q13.Why is food security essential for a country?
Answer: Food security is essential to prevent hunger and famine and to ensure a healthy, productive population.
Q14.Give one reason why food security is important for economic development.
Answer: Well-fed and healthy people can work better and contribute more to the economic development of the country.
Q15.How does food security help in maintaining social peace?
Answer: Food security reduces hunger and desperation, which in turn helps to avoid social unrest and conflicts.
Q16.What is chronic hunger?
Answer: Chronic hunger is a situation where people regularly do not get enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs for a long period.
Q17.What is seasonal hunger?
Answer: Seasonal hunger occurs at certain times of the year, usually when there is no work or less income, such as between sowing and harvesting seasons.
Q18.Which is more commonly seen among agricultural labourers – chronic or seasonal hunger?
Answer: Seasonal hunger is more commonly seen among agricultural labourers due to lack of work during lean seasons.
Topic 4: Who Are Food Insecure?
Q19.What is meant by food insecurity?
Answer: Food insecurity means that people do not have regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for a healthy life.
Q20.Name any two social groups in India that are more likely to be food insecure.
Answer: Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are more likely to be food insecure in India.
Q21.Which type of farmers are more vulnerable to food insecurity?
Answer: Small and marginal farmers with very small landholdings are more vulnerable to food insecurity.
Q22.Mention any one category of urban people who often face food insecurity.
Answer: Casual labourers in construction or other informal activities in urban areas often face food insecurity.
Q23.Within a poor family, which members are most likely to be food insecure?
Answer: Within poor families, women, children and elderly people are most likely to be food insecure.
Q24.Name any two states where a large number of people are food insecure.
Answer: States like Bihar and Odisha (and some others) have a large number of food-insecure people.
Q25.How is poverty related to food insecurity?
Answer: Poor people have low incomes and cannot afford enough food, so poverty and food insecurity are closely linked.
Topic 5: Food Security in India
Q26.Which revolution made India self-sufficient in food grains?
Answer: The Green Revolution made India largely self-sufficient in food grain production, especially in wheat and rice.
Q27.Name any two major food grains produced in India.
Answer: Wheat and rice are two major food grains produced in India in large quantities.
Q28.Why is self-sufficiency in food grains important for food security?
Answer: Self-sufficiency ensures that a country can meet its food needs internally and is not fully dependent on imports during crises.
Q29.Name the government agency that buys grains from farmers for buffer stock.
Answer: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) buys grains from farmers for creating buffer stock.
Q30.Which policy assures farmers a fixed price for their crops?
Answer: The Minimum Support Price (MSP) policy assures farmers a fixed price for their crops.
Q31.How does the government help the poor to buy food grains?
Answer: The government provides food grains at subsidised prices through the Public Distribution System (PDS) to help the poor buy food.
Q32.Name any one poverty alleviation programme that indirectly improves food security.
Answer: Programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) indirectly improve food security by giving wage employment.
Q33.What is the basic aim of all food security measures in India?
Answer: The basic aim is to ensure that no one in the country goes hungry and everyone gets sufficient food throughout the year.
Topic 6: What is Buffer Stock?
Q34.What is buffer stock?
Answer: Buffer stock is the stock of food grains, mainly wheat and rice, maintained by the government to meet emergencies and supply the PDS.
Q35.Name the agency responsible for maintaining buffer stock in India.
Answer: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is responsible for maintaining buffer stock in India.
Q36.Why does the government purchase food grains at MSP?
Answer: The government purchases food grains at MSP to support farmers and to build buffer stocks for food security.
Q37.How does buffer stock help during a bad harvest?
Answer: During a bad harvest, the government releases grains from buffer stock to ensure availability and to control price rise.
Q38.How is buffer stock useful for price stability?
Answer: By releasing or withholding stocks, the government can prevent extreme fluctuations in food grain prices in the market.
Q39.From where does the government mainly procure food grains for buffer stock?
Answer: The government mainly procures food grains from farmers in surplus-producing states at the Minimum Support Price.
Topic 7: What is the Public Distribution System (PDS)?
Q40.What is the Public Distribution System?
Answer: The Public Distribution System is the system through which the government distributes food grains and some essential items to people at subsidised prices.
Q41.What are fair price shops?
Answer: Fair price shops or ration shops are government-authorised shops that sell food grains and other essential items at prices lower than the market price.
Q42.Name any two commodities commonly supplied through PDS.
Answer: Wheat and rice are two major commodities commonly supplied through the Public Distribution System.
Q43.What is a ration card?
Answer: A ration card is an official document that allows a household to purchase food grains and other items from fair price shops at subsidised rates.
Q44.Name the scheme started for the poorest of the poor families under PDS.
Answer: Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is the scheme started for the poorest of the poor families under PDS.
Q45.How does PDS support food security?
Answer: PDS supports food security by making food grains available to poor households at affordable, subsidised prices.
Topic 8: Current Status of the Public Distribution System
Q46.Mention any one positive impact of PDS.
Answer: PDS has helped to prevent famines and widespread hunger even in years of poor harvest in India.
Q47.Mention any one major drawback of PDS.
Answer: A major drawback is leakage of grains, where food meant for the poor is diverted to the open market by corrupt officials or shopkeepers.
Q48.What is meant by “targeted PDS”?
Answer: Targeted PDS means that subsidised food grains are given mainly to identified poor households instead of the entire population.
Topic 9: Role of Cooperatives in Food Security
Q49.How do cooperatives help in food security?
Answer: Cooperatives run fair price shops and consumer stores that sell food grains and essential items at reasonable prices, helping poor people get food.
Q50.Mention any one way in which cooperatives support farmers.
Answer: Some cooperatives support farmers by providing inputs like seeds and fertilisers and by helping them to market their produce at better prices.