Starting with the question of food security in India, Prof. Swaminathan examines the paradoxical relationship between food production, stocks & the prevalence of malnourishment in India, with about 80% Indians being unable to afford a healthy diet (FAO 2020). {2/8}

Swaminathan (1996) finds that Indian government manages food security in four forms: - Public procurement through support prices - Role of State in holding buffer stocks and storage - Delivery through Public Distribution System - Interventions in trade and open market. {3/8}

Food availability is measured based on production, net imports, change in stocks, seed & feed, & waste. In 2022, grain production was 283.1 million tonnes with a net availability of 259.1 million tonnes. Around 18% was procured and 15% was distributed (DFPD & AGRICOOP). {4/8}

She examines the transition from a universal to a targeted Public Distribution System (PDS) due to liberalization and subsidy reduction in the 90s. She states that the National Food Security Act 2013 provided a “rights based justification of what was happening earlier”. {5/8}

Prof. Swaminathan argues for the universality of India's PDS pre-liberalisation as the welfare costs of exclusion errors outweigh the financial costs of inclusion errors (A Cornia & F Stewart, 1993). Empirically, she states, all studies find high rates of exclusion errors. {6/8}

She analyzes foodgrain distribution: in-kind vs cash, considering factors like population size, inflation adjustment, attainment level, market prices, and connection with producers & MSP. She emphasizes that grains act as a subsidy for consumers and producers. {7/8}

Prof. Swaminathan ends by calling for context-specific solutions to alleviate food insecurity through - universal or near-universal - unconditional transfers, or - cash and kind transfers in the form of food rations, school meals, cash doles, and employment programmes. {8/8}

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