GS Paper 2 10 marks · 150w 9 min Medium
Hunger and poverty are the biggest challenges for good governance in India still today. Evaluate how far successive governments have progressed in dealing with these humongous problems. Suggest measures for improvement.
Subtopic: Governance · poverty and hunger alleviation
How to structure your answer
Introduction (hunger and poverty as the first test of governance) → progress: poverty decline, food-security architecture, safety nets → persisting deficits: GHI ranking, NFHS-5 malnutrition, leakages → measures: PDS diversification, nutrition convergence, better targeting → Conclusion: from food security to nutrition security
Detailed model answer
198 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction
Freedom from hunger and destitution is the first test of good governance; India's record shows substantial progress shadowed by stubborn nutritional deficits.
Progress by Successive Governments
- Poverty: NITI Aayog's index shows multidimensional poverty fell from 24.85% (2015-16) to 14.96% (2019-21), with about 13.5 crore people exiting poverty; extreme income poverty is now estimated in low single digits.
- Food availability: from ship-to-mouth dependence to foodgrain output above 330 million tonnes; the National Food Security Act, 2013 legally entitles about 81 crore people to subsidised grain, supplemented by free grain under PMGKAY.
- Safety nets: MGNREGA's wage floor, PDS with One Nation One Ration Card portability, PM POSHAN school meals and ICDS/POSHAN Abhiyan for mothers and children.
Persisting Deficits
- The Global Hunger Index 2024 placed India 105th of 127 ('serious'); NFHS-5 recorded 35.5% child stunting, 19.3% wasting and anaemia in 57% of women aged 15-49.
- A calorie-centric PDS neglects protein and micronutrients; leakages, exclusion errors and regional concentration of deprivation persist.
Measures for Improvement
- Diversify the PDS with millets and pulses; make agriculture nutrition-sensitive.
- Deepen maternal-child health services, women's education and sanitation-nutrition convergence.
- Update beneficiary data, institutionalise social audits and build urban safety nets.
Conclusion
Governance has carried India from famine to food surplus; the unfinished agenda is moving from feeding people to nourishing them.
What an examiner expects to see
- Progress on poverty: NITI Aayog MPI fell from 24.85% (2015-16) to 14.96% (2019-21); about 13.5 crore people exited multidimensional poverty
- Food-security architecture: NFSA 2013 covers about 81 crore beneficiaries; PMGKAY added free foodgrains; output above 330 million tonnes
- Safety nets: MGNREGA, PDS with ONORC portability, PM POSHAN, ICDS and POSHAN Abhiyan
- Persisting hunger: GHI 2024 rank 105/127 ('serious'); NFHS-5 — 35.5% stunting, 19.3% wasting, 57% women anaemic
- Structural weaknesses: calorie-centric PDS, leakages and exclusion errors, regional concentration of deprivation
- Way forward: millets and pulses in PDS, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, maternal-child convergence, social audits, urban safety nets
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- NITI Aayog National MPI: poverty down from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21
- Global Hunger Index 2024: India ranked 105 of 127 countries
- NFHS-5 (2019-21): 35.5% of under-five children stunted
- NFSA 2013 covering roughly 81 crore people; PMGKAY free-grain extension
- One Nation One Ration Card enabling migrant ration portability
Terminology to weave into the answer
multidimensional povertyGlobal Hunger IndexNational Food Security ActPOSHAN Abhiyannutrition securityOne Nation One Ration Card