Food security is necessary even in surplus food production years.

Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).

Assertion (A): Food security is necessary even in surplus food production years.

Reason (R): Starvation can still occur due to unequal distribution and lack of accessibility.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
2. B. (A) is false, but (R) is true
3. C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
4. D. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A) (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Key Points

• Assertion is true. Food security is necessary even in years of surplus production — a national surplus does not guarantee that every household is fed.
• Reason is true. Starvation can still occur because of unequal distribution and lack of accessibility — people may be unable to reach or afford food even when it exists in plenty.
• (R) explains (A) directly: it is *because* availability alone does not ensure access that food security remains necessary in surplus years. Hence option (d).

Additional Information

• This is precisely Amartya Sen's insight on famines: they arise from a failure of entitlements — the loss of a person's ability to command food — rather than from an absolute shortage of food. His study of the Bengal Famine of 1943 showed food availability had not collapsed.
• India's food security system rests on buffer stocks procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at the Minimum Support Price, distributed through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and fair price shops.
• The National Food Security Act, 2013 covers about two-thirds of the population — 75% rural and 50% urban — with subsidised grain, and includes maternity benefit and entitlements under the Mid-Day Meal (PM POSHAN) and ICDS schemes.
• One Nation One Ration Card addresses accessibility for migrant workers through portability of entitlements.