Food security in India: A public policy approach

The objective of the paper is twofold; first, to understand food security in its various dimensions at the conceptual level, second, taking the landscape of India to provide a descriptive account of state interventions in the arena of food security through the prism of public policy. Food security is broadly understood as the availability, affordability and accessibility of the food to everyone across the spectrum of society. In the development discourse, food and food security has been held as a crucial variable concerning the overall holistic development and well being of the people. The paper is structured in such a way that it begins with conceptualizing food security and outlines its ‘four pillars’. In doing so the paper also briefly touches upon the notions of food insecurity and food sovereignty. Subsequently, the paper provides an overview of the state of food security in India. Thereupon taking the public policy approach, the paper outlines major state interventions in India aimed towards achieving and ensuring inclusive food security to its citizen. Towards the ed of the paper, the conclusion summarises the key findings. The paper strongly argues that the welfare, democratic nation-state like India has been actively engaged in realizing the cherished goal of a ‘hunger-free’ India.