Food security is unclear

There are concerns regarding the nation's food security as a
result of the reduction in the purchase of food grains
According to the official declaration, the nation has sufficient food grain stocks and there is no such thing as food insecurity. According
to the official report, the Government of India has enough food grain reserves in the central pool to satisfy the requirements of the
National Food Security Act (NFSA) and its other welfare programmes, as well as for the increased allocation of the Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). As of December 15, the central pool holds around 180 lakh tonnes of wheat and 111 lakh
tonnes of rice, according to a recent government announcement. There would be roughly 159 lakh tonnes of wheat and 104 lakh
tonnes of rice available on January 1, 2023. It's interesting that this news comes after Narendra Singh Tomar, the minister of
agriculture, made a declaration before the legislature that went in the opposite way. For the first time in over ten years, according to
the minister in the parliament, India's current wheat stocks are below the necessary threshold limit known as buffer rules. According to
Narendra Singh Tomar, the minister of agriculture, the nation's total centrally held food grain inventories as of December 1 was 30.5
million tonnes (wheat and rice together). He stated that the amount of rice stock was 11.5 million tonnes, while the amount of wheat
reserves was 19 million tonnes. The difference between the Minister's version and the official statement simply causes confusion
and casts doubt on the government's ability to address the nation's hunger and malnutrition problems. Nearly 195 million
people in India are undernourished, according to the UN. Additionally, 43% of Indian children suffer from chronic
undernutrition. As of 2022, India is ranked 68th out of 113 large nations in the food security index. Contrary to what the
government states, less wheat was purchased during the previous season as a result of reduced production. The situation
worsened and there were less foodgrains in the government godowns as a result of farmers selling their produce on the open
market for prices higher than MSP. In order to ensure an adequate supply of wheat in the central pool, the allocations under
the NFSA and PMGKAY have been modified in favour of rice. Extreme food insecurity now affects more individuals than ever
in the country, up from 20.3% in 2018–20 to 22.3% in 2019–21. Instead than circling statistics, the government should explain its
genuine position.