Chapter 4: Food Security in India

Ration shops, also known as Fair Price Shops, keep stock of food grains, sugar, and kerosene for cooking. These items are sold to people at a price lower than the market price. However, there are problems with the functioning of the ration shops:

1. The quality of food provided to poor people is less than the expected quality of food grains.
2. The ration shop deals indulge in malpractices and do not provide the poor people with the entire quantity they deserve.
3. Some ration shops are not opened regularly, and this causes discomfort to the poor.
4. The ration shopkeepers even update wrong entries in the name of the poor people.

Along with the government, cooperatives also play an important role in ensuring food security in India, especially in the southern and western parts of the country. The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low-priced goods to the poor. Out of all fair-price shops running in Tamil Nadu, around 94 per cent are being run by cooperatives. Mother Dairy, in Delhi, is involved in providing milk and vegetables at controlled rates decided by the government. Amul, responsible for the White Revolution in India, is a cooperative involved in providing milk and milk products. The Academy of Development Science (ADS) in Maharashtra has been involved in the setting up of Grain Banks in different regions. It organises training and capacity-building programmes on food security for NGOs. Its efforts are also directed towards influencing the government’s policy on food security. Thus, through these examples, it can be seen that cooperatives are playing an active role in the distribution of food and related items.