Food Security in India: Policies and Options

Abstract

Introduction The Economic reforms since 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies, with an average annual GDP growth rate of about 7 per cent for the past two decades. In terms of output, the agricultural sector accounts for about 15.7 per cent of GDP while the service and industrial sectors contribute 56.5 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. However, India still suffers from high levels of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and malnutrition. About 50 per cent of the world's hungry live in India and around 35 per cent (350 million) are considered food insecure, consuming less than 80 per cent of minimum energy requirements. After the Green Revolution in mid-1960s, India has made tremendous progress with respect to food security and self sufficiency. It has emerged as one of the leading producers of rice, wheat, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk and other commodities. In the last couple of decades, certain changes have been observed in the agricultural sector. With huge population pressure, although the foodgrain production has more than quadrupled, the per capita foodgrain availability had remained a cause of concern. The sector has also seen an imbalance at the macro level with declining share of agriculture in GDP but the population dependence on this sector for livelihood still remains as high as 60 per cent. This implies that a declining per capita income of the population of this sector has further implication on the food and nutrition security of the population in the agricultural sector.