Question

assume that you are the food minister and prepare a program to eradicate poverty.
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Answer 1

Explanation:

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is one such programme. It looks to provide economically-disadvantaged people access to different financial services such as a basic savings account, insurance, credit as and when needed, pension and remittances. People who invest in this scheme can earn interest on the amount deposited by them, and have accidental insurance cover amounting to Rs. 1 lakh. The programme does not have a minimum amount that has to be always maintained.

Answer 2

Answer:

Food insecurity is both a cause and consequence of poverty. With the successful implementation of the green revolution, our country has achieved self-sufficiency in the production of food grains, fruits, vegetables and milk. Still, many people are hunger stricken in the country. Thus the poor sections must be given targeted benefits to eradicate poverty. Some such measures are:

• Purchasing power: Generally, the purchasing power of the poor will be lesser than that of the richer sections of the people. The rising prices will also reduce the purchasing power of the poor sections. The lack of purchasing power among the poorer sections is the basic reason behind the prevalence of hunger among them. Thus the constant inflating prices of the commodities, especially the necessities must be kept under control. This will positively influence the purchasing power of the poor sections.

• Food grain distribution: The Indian government has established the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to purchase and sell food grains and to ensure the maintenance of food security. The FCI procure food from the farmers by giving them the minimum support price and storing them as buffer stocks to ensure food security in the country. These grains are then scientifically stored in godowns and distributed among the public through the Public Distribution System (PDS). But the food grain distribution through PDS has many issues and shortcomings. All these shortcomings of PDS should be reduced to ensure more targeted food distribution.

• Storage: Mostly, the food grains procured by the FCI and stored as buffer stocks are destroyed and damaged by many factors including improper storage facilities and animal attacks. This results in the wastage of the majority of the food grains. More scientific storage facilities should be introduced to reduce this risk.