Availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all people at all times means food security. It is as essential for living as air for breathing. It is ensured if all the citizens of nation have enough nutritious food available which is directly linked to the production of food within the country, food imports and the previous years stock in government granaries, all persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality to meet their dietary needs and there is no barrier on access to food. On the other hand, food security can be disrupted when the country faces a natural disaster/calamity like earthquake, drought, flood, tsunami, widespread failure of crops causing famine etc. In this condition, the people living below the poverty line as well as the people above the poverty line suffers food insecurity. In India, although a large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity but the worst affected groups are landless or land poor households in rural areas and people employed in ill paid occupations and casual laborers engaged in seasonal activities in the urban areas. Economically backward states with low land production, tribal and remote areas, regions affected with natural disasters are more prone to food insecurity. Starvation and food insecurity continues to haunt the poor in our country.

 

The Green Revolution has made India a self-sufficient in food grains during the last 30 years because of a variety of crops grown all over the country. To ensure availability of food to all sections of societies, the Indian Government has carefully designed food security system. Buffer stock and public distribution system are the two components of this system. In these two systems Food Corporation of India (FCI) plays a pivotal role in purchasing food grains mainly wheat and rice from the farmers and stock them as a buffer stock which are then procured by the government and distributed through government regulated ration shops among the poorer section of the society. This is called Public Distribution System. Items in the ration shops are sold at a lower price than the market price. In addition to these, various poverty alleviation programs were also started which ensures the food security.