\n(a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.
\n(b) Green revolution and social change.
\n(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Introduction:<\/span><\/h3>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2394\/2445946301_d294fed678_o.jpg\")
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Data from the latest\u00a0State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World<\/strong>\u00a0(SOFI) report show that India is the country with the largest population of food insecure people. The report released by several United Nations organisations show that the\u00a0prevalence of food insecurity increased by 3.8% points or 6.2 crore more people in India<\/strong>\u00a0between 2014 and 2019.<\/p>\nAuthoritative indicators:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- The annual SOFI report presents the\u00a0most authoritative evaluation of hunger and food insecurity in the world.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- SOFI presents\u00a0two key measures of food insecurity<\/strong>: Prevalence of Undernourishment\u00a0(PoU)<\/strong>\u00a0and Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity\u00a0(PMSFI).<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Both of these are\u00a0globally-accepted indicators of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong>\u00a0(SDG) Target 2.1 to end hunger and food insecurity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
1. Prevalence of Undernourishment<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- PoU is focused on estimating proportion of\u00a0population facing chronic deficiency of calories<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Estimates of PoU are based on\u00a0food balance sheets and national surveys<\/strong>\u00a0of consumption.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Given that consumption surveys are done infrequently in most countries, these estimates are often\u00a0based on outdated data<\/strong>\u00a0and are revised when better data become available.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- PMSFI is a more comprehensive measure of the\u00a0lack of access to adequate and nutritious food.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- It is based on\u00a0annual surveys that collect information on experiences of food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0(such as food shortages, skipping meals, and changing diet diversity because of a lack of resources).<\/li>\n
- It uses\u00a0Food Insecurity Experience Scale<\/strong>\u00a0(FIES), a gold standard in food security measurement developed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for estimating globally-comparable prevalence rates.<\/li>\n
- However, govt. of India\u00a0neither conducts official FIES surveys<\/strong>\u00a0nor accepts estimates based on FAO-GWP (Gallup World Poll) surveys.<\/li>\n
- Consequently, the estimates of\u00a0PMSFI for India are not published in SOFI.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.unicef-irc.org\/files\/upload\/images\/Prevalence_and_burden_graph_from_paper_fig4.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nCountry data:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- These estimates show that\u00a07.8% of India\u2019s population suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity in 2014-16<\/strong>, the proportion rose to 31.6% in 2017-19.<\/li>\n
- The number of food insecure people grew from\u00a042.65 crore in 2014-16 to 48.86 crore in 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- India accounted for the\u00a0highest global burden of food insecurity at 22% in 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- PMSFI fell by 0.5 % points in the rest of South Asia, but it increased in\u00a0India by 3.7% points during 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Concerns:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- India has not released the\u00a0latest National Sample Survey Office<\/strong>\u00a0(NSSO)\u00a0consumption expenditure survey data<\/strong>\u00a0for 2017-18.<\/li>\n
- As a result,\u00a0conventional measures of poverty and food consumption<\/strong>\u00a0are not available for recent years.<\/li>\n
- Because of a\u00a0lack of regular availability of consumption survey data<\/strong>, the FAO uses\u00a0supply-wise data on per capita food availability<\/strong>\u00a0to measure changes in average per capita calorie intake.<\/li>\n
- The approach has become\u00a0untenable for India<\/strong>\u00a0because of a\u00a0large and growing disparity<\/strong>\u00a0between supply-side data and data from the consumption surveys.<\/li>\n
- While the per capita\u00a0dietary energy supply in India increased by 3.8%<\/strong>\u00a0between 2011-13 and 2015-17, the leaked consumption survey data showed that\u00a0average consumption expenditure\u00a0<\/strong>(covering food and other expenses)\u00a0fell by 3.7%<\/strong>\u00a0between 2011-12 and 2017-18.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Causes of suffering:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- The significant rise in food insecurity is a\u00a0clear indicator of the overall economic distress<\/strong>\u00a0marked by a\u00a0deepening agrarian crisis<\/strong>,\u00a0falling investments<\/strong>\u00a0across sectors and\u00a0shrinking employment opportunities.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- As per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey data the\u00a0unemployment rates in the recent years have been higher than in last four decades.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- It is widely believed that\u00a0demonetisation<\/strong>\u00a0and introduction of the\u00a0Goods and Services Tax<\/strong>\u00a0were two prime causes of economic distress during this period.<\/li>\n
- A sudden imposition of an\u00a0unprecedented and prolonged lockdown<\/strong>\u00a0has brought renewed focus on the problems of hunger and food insecurity.<\/li>\n
- With a sudden loss of livelihoods, a\u00a0vast majority of India\u2019s poor are faced with increased food insecurity, hunger and starvation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Conclusion:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- Withholding of the consumption survey data by the government has meant\u00a0that SOFI continues to use outdated data for variability of food intake<\/strong>, making PoU estimates for India untenable. Further, the estimates of the PMSFI provide an\u00a0important baseline estimate for the situation before the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- It is critical for India to conduct a\u00a0National Survey on food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security of different sections of the population. A transparent survey is needed to\u00a0gauge the real situation of food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0and then implement measures to tackle it at the earliest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Indian](\"https:\/\/media.springernature.com\/original\/springer-static\/image\/chp%3A10.1007%2F978-3-030-14409-8_1\/MediaObjects\/460347_1_En_1_Fig1_HTML.png\")
<\/p>\n
For more such notes, Articles, News & Views Join our Telegram Channel.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\nAuthoritative indicators:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- The annual SOFI report presents the\u00a0most authoritative evaluation of hunger and food insecurity in the world.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- SOFI presents\u00a0two key measures of food insecurity<\/strong>: Prevalence of Undernourishment\u00a0(PoU)<\/strong>\u00a0and Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity\u00a0(PMSFI).<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Both of these are\u00a0globally-accepted indicators of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong>\u00a0(SDG) Target 2.1 to end hunger and food insecurity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
1. Prevalence of Undernourishment<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- PoU is focused on estimating proportion of\u00a0population facing chronic deficiency of calories<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Estimates of PoU are based on\u00a0food balance sheets and national surveys<\/strong>\u00a0of consumption.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Given that consumption surveys are done infrequently in most countries, these estimates are often\u00a0based on outdated data<\/strong>\u00a0and are revised when better data become available.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- PMSFI is a more comprehensive measure of the\u00a0lack of access to adequate and nutritious food.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- It is based on\u00a0annual surveys that collect information on experiences of food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0(such as food shortages, skipping meals, and changing diet diversity because of a lack of resources).<\/li>\n
- It uses\u00a0Food Insecurity Experience Scale<\/strong>\u00a0(FIES), a gold standard in food security measurement developed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for estimating globally-comparable prevalence rates.<\/li>\n
- However, govt. of India\u00a0neither conducts official FIES surveys<\/strong>\u00a0nor accepts estimates based on FAO-GWP (Gallup World Poll) surveys.<\/li>\n
- Consequently, the estimates of\u00a0PMSFI for India are not published in SOFI.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/h3>\nCountry data:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- These estimates show that\u00a07.8% of India\u2019s population suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity in 2014-16<\/strong>, the proportion rose to 31.6% in 2017-19.<\/li>\n
- The number of food insecure people grew from\u00a042.65 crore in 2014-16 to 48.86 crore in 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- India accounted for the\u00a0highest global burden of food insecurity at 22% in 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- PMSFI fell by 0.5 % points in the rest of South Asia, but it increased in\u00a0India by 3.7% points during 2017-19.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Concerns:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- India has not released the\u00a0latest National Sample Survey Office<\/strong>\u00a0(NSSO)\u00a0consumption expenditure survey data<\/strong>\u00a0for 2017-18.<\/li>\n
- As a result,\u00a0conventional measures of poverty and food consumption<\/strong>\u00a0are not available for recent years.<\/li>\n
- Because of a\u00a0lack of regular availability of consumption survey data<\/strong>, the FAO uses\u00a0supply-wise data on per capita food availability<\/strong>\u00a0to measure changes in average per capita calorie intake.<\/li>\n
- The approach has become\u00a0untenable for India<\/strong>\u00a0because of a\u00a0large and growing disparity<\/strong>\u00a0between supply-side data and data from the consumption surveys.<\/li>\n
- While the per capita\u00a0dietary energy supply in India increased by 3.8%<\/strong>\u00a0between 2011-13 and 2015-17, the leaked consumption survey data showed that\u00a0average consumption expenditure\u00a0<\/strong>(covering food and other expenses)\u00a0fell by 3.7%<\/strong>\u00a0between 2011-12 and 2017-18.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Causes of suffering:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- The significant rise in food insecurity is a\u00a0clear indicator of the overall economic distress<\/strong>\u00a0marked by a\u00a0deepening agrarian crisis<\/strong>,\u00a0falling investments<\/strong>\u00a0across sectors and\u00a0shrinking employment opportunities.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- As per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey data the\u00a0unemployment rates in the recent years have been higher than in last four decades.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- It is widely believed that\u00a0demonetisation<\/strong>\u00a0and introduction of the\u00a0Goods and Services Tax<\/strong>\u00a0were two prime causes of economic distress during this period.<\/li>\n
- A sudden imposition of an\u00a0unprecedented and prolonged lockdown<\/strong>\u00a0has brought renewed focus on the problems of hunger and food insecurity.<\/li>\n
- With a sudden loss of livelihoods, a\u00a0vast majority of India\u2019s poor are faced with increased food insecurity, hunger and starvation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Conclusion:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- Withholding of the consumption survey data by the government has meant\u00a0that SOFI continues to use outdated data for variability of food intake<\/strong>, making PoU estimates for India untenable. Further, the estimates of the PMSFI provide an\u00a0important baseline estimate for the situation before the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- It is critical for India to conduct a\u00a0National Survey on food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security of different sections of the population. A transparent survey is needed to\u00a0gauge the real situation of food insecurity<\/strong>\u00a0and then implement measures to tackle it at the earliest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
For more such notes, Articles, News & Views Join our Telegram Channel.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
1. Prevalence of Undernourishment<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n For more such notes, Articles, News & Views Join our Telegram Channel.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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<\/h3>\nCountry data:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Concerns:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Causes of suffering:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Conclusion:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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