Poverty and Food Security in India: Problems and Policies

Removal of poverty and achieving food self sufficiency has been among the basic objectives of development planning in India right from 1951-52. Strategies to achieve these objectives, however, have differed widely. Policy shifts have also taken place in response to the experiences accumulated over time. Changes in approach have been particularly sharp since the mid-sixties and seventies. In retrospect, both our achievements and failures on poverty and food security fronts are glaring. Plenty and poverty, starvation and surplus co-exist. Four decades ago, the country could not produce enough to feed its 440 million population. Today it is able to feed itself without having to wait for the next shipload of PL480 wheat and the same associated with it. Persistence of poverty, hunger and starvation along with growing availability of food has rendered the rationale of both poverty alleviation and food self-sufficiency policies suspect and created a paradoxical situation. There is a consensus among policymakers, planners and economists that the problems of poverty, hunger and malnutrition have not been solved satisfactorily. It is also acknowledged that the persistence of these problems has the potential of undermining the very process of democratic governance. Policies and programmes have systematically failed with a huge opportunity cost. There is need for new answers to these questions. Available solutions have outlived their utility. Time has come to recast and redefine the agenda for poverty and food insecurity eradication. This is easier said than done. There is a need for a dispassionate debate, discussion and meaningful action. This challenging task cannot be solved by state intervention alone. It is against this backdrop that the present volume seeks to provide answers to some of the key questions. The main objective of the book is to add fresh insights to the theory and policy of poverty and food insecurity alleviation. How far we succeeded shall be reflected through the pages of this book.