step taken by government to maintain food security
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The GoI has taken major steps to ensure adequate availability of food stocks in the country. The remedial steps include banning of exports and imposition of stock limits on major food items. IN A written reply of Akhilesh Prashad Singh, minister of state (MoS) for agriculture, consumer affairs, food and public distribution in the Lok Sabha, it is mentioned that in fiscal steps there is reduction of tariffs to zero for rice, wheat, pulses, edible oils and maize. There also is some reduction of tariff in hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils, butter and ghee.
In major administrative steps like banning of export of non-basmati rice, wheat, major edible oils, major pulses; imposition of stock limits on rice, wheat, edible oils and oil seeds; periodic enhancements in minimum support price (MSP) for rice and wheat; using minimum export price (MEP) to regulate exports of onion and basmati rice; maintaining central issue prices (CIP) for rice and wheat and measures taken by forward markets commission (FMC), the government seems determined to make sure that the food security in the country remains sacrosanct.
Steps taken by the government in this regard include medium term strategy initiative to increase production through investment of Rs 30,000 crores for improving productivity in agriculture and allied sectors through National Food Security Mission (NFSM) targeted to increase production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10 million tonnes, eight million tonnes and two million tonnes, respectively, by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan and Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, it was stated.