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.