Syllabus: GS3/Food Security
Context
- Recently, ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026’ (SOFI 2026) highlights a significant decline in hunger and the unaffordability of healthy diets worldwide.
- For India, the report provides an important opportunity to evaluate the performance of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 and the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the context of changing socioeconomic conditions.
Major Findings of the UN SOFI 2026 Report
- The SOFI 2026 report was produced jointly by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP) and WHO.
- Improved Affordability of Healthy Diets: The report estimates that the share of Indians unable to afford a healthy diet declined from 59.8% (2017) to 35.5% (2025).
- That’s a decrease from 759 million to 589 million individuals.
- In this period, some 170 million people were pushed below the affordability level.
- It is a reflection of increasing household spending power and continued economic expansion.
- Decreased Poverty: The actual per capita income of India increased by around 78%during 2013-14 to 2025-26. Poverty reduced from about 22% at the time of implementation of NFSA to approximately 5% in 2022-23.
- Hence, only a small percentage of current PDS participants are considered to be below the poverty line, suggesting that the system has become more universal than poverty-targeted.
- Slow Declining of Hunger: The share of undernourished people fell from 13% in 2013-14 to 9.8% in 2023-25.
- While encouraging, the pace remains modest, suggesting that free cereals alone cannot eliminate hunger or malnutrition.
India’s Food Security Framework
- India has one of the world’s largest food security programmes, anchored by the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, which made access to subsidised food grains a legal entitlement.
- NFSA supports 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population (based on the 2011 Census), and provides 5 kg of food grains per person per month at subsidised rates, with Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families getting 35 kg per month.
- These benefits have been supplied free of cost since 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
- Today, the Public Distribution System (PDS) is the world’s largest food-based social protection programme, providing about 55 million tonnes of food grains to almost 800 million individuals each year.
- Food subsidies in 2025-26 stood at ₹2.28 trillion, or more than 4% of the Union Government’s spending, reaffirming India’s strong commitment to food security.
Issues with the Existing System
- Wide Coverage: Even after a substantial decline in poverty and better affordability of food, almost two-thirds of India’s population still get free food grains.
- Rising Fiscal Burden: Food subsidy has more than quadrupled from 2019-20 on account of increase in procurement cost and higher economic cost incurred by Food Corporation of India (FCI), prompting worries over budgetary sustainability.
- Calorie-Centric Approach: PDS largely distributes cereals like rice and wheat, although India’s nutrition problems are more about lack of proteins, micronutrients and dietary diversity.
- Persistent problems such as anaemia among women, child stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence necessitate nutrition-specific interventions.
Government Initiatives & Efforts Supporting Nutrition
- Nutrition Support National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013: Legal right to receive food grains at subsidised rates.
- PMGKAY: Free food grains to all NFSA beneficiaries.
- POSHAN Abhiyaan: A convergence based mission to decrease stunting, wasting and anemia.
- Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0: Boosting supplementary nutrition and early childcare care.
- PM POSHAN Yojana (Mid-Day Meal): School-based Child Nutrition Support
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Extra food for pregnant women, breastfeeding moms and youngsters.
- Food Fortification Initiatives: Providing fortified rice through government assistance initiatives to address micronutrient deficits.
- Mission Poshan Tracker and Anaemia Mukt Bharat: Digital surveillance and targeted interventions for maternal and child nutrition.
Suggested Reforms
- Rationalise PDS coverage gradually by linking beneficiaries to those truly unable to buy a decent food. Current estimates indicate that coverage may be cut back to 570 million or so, with huge fiscal savings.
- Diversify the food basket to include nutrient-rich foods such as pulses and, when possible, fortified foods and edible oils.
- Redirect savings to fight hidden hunger, especially nutritional deficits in women and children.
- Link PDS reforms with health, sanitation and behavioural change projects to improve nutrition outcomes, not just availability of food.
Way Forward: Towards Nutrition Security
- Rationalise Beneficiary Coverage: Focus gradually on the population that cannot afford healthy food, estimated to be roughly 35.5% of the population.
- It could help cut subsidy spending and ensure that support reaches the most vulnerable.
- Expand the Food Basket: The savings from improved targeting can be used to provide protein-rich and nutrient-dense foods such as pulses, millets and fortified foods, especially to the nutritionally fragile households.
- Tackle Hidden Hunger: The persisting difficulties of anaemia, stunting, wasting and underweight among women and children need to be addressed by strengthening Government efforts like POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat, Mission Poshan 2.0 and the PM-POSHAN Scheme.
- Improve Dynamic Targeting: The identification of beneficiaries should be updated frequently, utilising socio-economic datasets, instead of relying on the 2011 Census, so that the support is in line with current circumstances.
| Daily Mains Practice Question [Q] The Public Distribution System (PDS) has played a pivotal role in ensuring food security in India. However, changing socioeconomic conditions call for a shift from food security to nutrition security. Examine. |
