What are the salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013 ? How has the Food Security Bill helped in eliminating hunger and malnutrition in India ?
Approach · directive: “what / how has”
What it asks · State the salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013 and assess how far it has reduced hunger and malnutrition.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- State the salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013
- Assess how far the Act has helped in eliminating hunger and malnutrition: gains and limits
Open with · The Act turned food from a welfare scheme into a legal right, moving the public distribution system away from poverty-line targeting.
Cover
- Coverage: 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population, about two-thirds of the country, have a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains.
- Entitlements: 5 kg per person monthly at Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 3 per kg for coarse grains, wheat, rice; 35 kg per Antyodaya household.
- Nutrition rights: meals and a maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000 for pregnant and lactating women (section 4); age-appropriate meals for children up to 14 years (section 5).
- Empowerment and delivery: eldest woman is head of household for ration cards; grievance redress through District Grievance Redressal Officers and State Food Commissions; PDS transparency.
- Gains: legal right beyond discretion, wider PDS reach, ePoS and One Nation One Ration Card for portability, and free pandemic grains under PMGKAY.
- Limits: NFHS-5 (2019-21) shows only a modest fall in child stunting (38.4 to 35.5 per cent), little progress on wasting and a rise in child anaemia (58.6 to 67.1 per cent); the focus on cereals neglects diet diversity.
- Gaps: coverage still rests on Census 2011, so exclusion errors, leakages, weak anganwadi delivery and poor implementation of maternity entitlements limit results.
Close with · The Act secured food access as a legal right; ending malnutrition needs better diets, health services, sanitation and women's education beyond grain.
Add value (verified)
- The Department of Food and Public Distribution's own summary confirms the coverage and the two beneficiary categories, and that coverage rests on Census 2011 population estimates. Salient Features of NFSA, NFSA Portal (Department of Food and Public Distribution) ↗“The Act provides coverage for nearly 2/3 rd of the country's total population, basis Census 2011 population estimates. 75% of Rural and 50% of Urban population is entitled to receive highly subsidised foodgrains under two categories of beneficiaries”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 266 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
The National Food Security Act, 2013 converted food security from a welfare scheme into a legal entitlement, covering nearly two-thirds of the population on Census 2011 estimates.
Salient features
- Coverage: 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population, in two categories: Antyodaya households and priority households.
- Entitlement: 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month at Rs 3 for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Re 1 for coarse grains; 35 kg per Antyodaya household.
- Nutrition rights: pregnant women and lactating mothers get meals and a maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000 (section 4); children up to 14 years get age-appropriate meals through anganwadis and schools (section 5).
- Women's empowerment: the eldest woman of the household is its head for issuing ration cards.
- Accountability: District Grievance Redressal Officers, State Food Commissions and transparency in the public distribution system.
Gains against hunger
- A justiciable right replaced discretionary coverage, widening and cheapening access to grain for the poor.
- ePoS authentication and One Nation One Ration Card let migrants draw rations anywhere; free grain under PMGKAY during the pandemic prevented hunger.
Limits on malnutrition
- NFHS-5 (2019-21) shows child stunting down only from 38.4% to 35.5%, little progress on wasting and child anaemia up from 58.6% to 67.1%.
- The Act is cereal-centric: it secures calories, not protein, micronutrients or diet diversity.
- Coverage still rests on Census 2011, so exclusion errors persist; leakages, weak anganwadi delivery and patchy maternity benefits limit results.
The Act has largely secured access to grain as a right; ending malnutrition needs diverse diets, health services, sanitation and women's education beyond the ration shop.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify). UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.