India @ 75 – Status of Food Security in India

Context: The overall food grain scenario in India has undergone a drastic transformation in the last 75 years.

Political independence, economic independence, and self-sufficiency in food grains

• Political independence does not have much meaning without economic independence.
• One of the important indicators of economic independence is self-sufficiency in food grain production.

Food grain scenario in India in the last 75 years

• The overall food grain scenario in India has undergone a drastic transformation in the last 75 years.
• India was a food-deficit country on the eve of Independence. It had to import food grains to feed its people.
• The situation became more acute during the 1960s. The imported food had to be sent to households within the shortest possible time. The situation was referred to