Minimum Support Price (MSP) - This is the pre-announced price at which the government purchases foodgrains particularly, wheat and rice from the farmer in order to crate a buffer stock. This price is announced by the government every year before the sowing season to give incentive to the farmers to raise the production of the desired crop. The rising MSPs have raised the maintenance cost of procuring food grains by the government as well as induced farmers to divert land from production of coarse grains to the production of these crops.

Buffer Stock - It is the stock of food grains particularly, wheat and rice which the government procures through the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The FCI purchases these cereals directly from the farmers of those states where they are in surplus. The price of these commodities is much before the actual sowing season of these crops. The food grains thus purchased by the FCI are kept in big granaries and are called Buffer Stock. Maintaining buffer stock is a step taken by the government in order to ensure food security in the country. 

Issue Price - In order to help the poor strata of the society, the government provides them food grains from the buffer stock at a price much lower than the market price. This subsidized price is known as the Issue Price.

Fair Price Shops - The foodgrains procured by the government through FCI is distributed to the poor section of the society through ration shops. The Ration Shops are called Fair Price Shops because food grains are supplied to the poor through these shops at much reasonable and a fair price than the market price which is often high. Any family with a ration card can purchase stipulated amount of food grains, sugar, kerosene etc. every month from the nearby fair price shop.

There are various problem of the functioning of ration shops such as ;

→ Ration cards are issued only to those people who have their proper residential addresses. Hence a large number of homeless poor fail to get ration from these shops.
→ The owners of these shops sell ration in the open market at higher prices.
→ Sometimes shopkeepers make bogus entries in the ration cards.

The cooperatives are playing an important role in food security in India, especially in the southern and western parts of the country. The cooperative societies set up shops to sell goods to the poor people at lower prices. For example, out of all fair price shops operating in Tamil Nadu, nearly 94 percent are being run by the cooperatives. In Delhi, Mother Dairy is providing milk and vegetables to the consumers at controlled prices which are decided by the Delhi Government. Amul is another example in this regard. It has brought about the White Revolution in the country. There are many more cooperatives and NGOs also working intensively towards this direction.

1. Who released a special stamp entitled ‘Wheat Revolution’ in July 1968?

(A) Mahatma Gandhi
(B) Indira Gandhi
(C) Jawahar Lai Nehru
(D) Motilal Nehru

2. The price that is announced before the sowing season is called
(A) Issue price
(B) Fair price
(C) Market price
(D) Minimum support price.
 
3. Which organisation has facilitated a network of NGO’s for setting up grain banks in Maharashtra?

(A) Amul
(B) Mother Dairy
(C) Academy of Development Science
(D) Central Government

4. Seasonal hunger is commonly found in:

(A) Urban areas
(B) Rural area
(C) Tribal area
(D) All the above

5. Which of the following crops are related to Green revolution?

(A) Wheat, Rice
(B) Cotton, Bajra
(C) Maize, Rice
(D) Bajra, Wheat

6. The Mother Dairy is an important Cooperative in:

(A) Gujarat
(B) Punjab
(C) Haryana
(D) Delhi

7. F.C.I. stands for:

(A) Foreign Co-operation with India
(B) Food Corporation of India
(C) Fosilse Corporation of India
(D) Food Coming to India

8. Name the Cooperative that provides milk, vegetable and pulses at controlled rate decided by government of Delhi:

(A) Amul
(B) Kendriya Bhandar
(C) Mother Dairy
(D) None of these.

9. What does food security mean?

(A) Availability of food
(B) Accessibility of food
(C) Availability and accessibility of food to all at all times.
(D) Availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all at all the times.

10. Which among the following schemes was initiated for the poor in all areas S?

(A) TTPDS
(B) RPDS
(C) AAY
(D) All of these.

11. Buffer stock is the stock of foodgrains procured by the government through:

(A) IFCI
(B) FCI
(C) IDBI
(D) FICCI

12. Farmers are paid a pre-announced price by the government for their crops. It is called:

(A) Issue price
(B) Invested price
(C) Market price
(D) Minimum support price.

13. In which part of the country, grain banks have been set up the NGO’s?

(A) Gujarat
(B) Haryana
(C) Punjab
(D) Maharashtra.

14. Which one of these is not a valid reason for food security in India?

(A) Overpopulation
(B) Hoarding and black marketing
(C) Foodgrains stores are overflowing with foodgrains
(D) None of these.

15. When was the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme launched?

(A) In Jan, 1999
(B) In May, 2000
(C) In Dec. 2000
(D) In October, 2005.

16. In which state of India the famous cooperative AMUL is situated?

(A) Gujarat
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Delhi
(D) M P.

17. The minimum guaranteed price at which the government offers to purchase any quantity is known as;

(A) Procurement price
(B) Minimum Support Price
(C) Issue Price
(D) Market Price.

18. The price at which the government offers to sell foodgrains lower than the market price is known as?

(A) Procurement price
(B) Minimum support price
(C) Issue price
(D) Market price.

19. In which of the following states the most devastating famine of India in the year 1943 occurred?

(A) Bengal
(B) Orissa
(C) Bihar
(D) Uttar Pradesh.

Answer Key:

1. (B) 2. (D) 3. (C) 4. (B) 5. (A) 6. (D) 7. (B) 8. (C) 9. (D) 10. (A) 11. (B) 12. (D) 13. (D) 14. (C) 15. (C) 16. (A) 17. (B) 18. (C) 19. (A)

Odisha and Jammu Kashmir