Previous Year Question
An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in identified districts of the country. What are those crops?
Rice and wheat only
Rice, wheat and pulses
Rice, wheat, pulses and oilseeds
Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was launched in 2007-08. Its original three components were:
NFSM–Rice
NFSM–Wheat
NFSM–Pulses
The Mission was not concerned merely with increasing the production of rice, wheat and pulses. It sought sustainable production growth through:
Area expansion in districts having low productivity but high production potential.
Distribution of seeds of improved and high-yielding varieties.
Integrated nutrient management and integrated pest management.
Restoration of soil fertility.
Water-use-efficient equipment.
Farm machinery and resource-conservation technologies.
Demonstrations and cropping-system-based training for farmers.
Employment generation and strengthening the farm-level economy.
The original additional production targets by the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan were:
Rice: 10 million tonnes.
Wheat: 8 million tonnes.
Pulses: 2 million tonnes.
The total additional foodgrain-production target was therefore 20 million tonnes.
Oilseeds and vegetables were not included in the original three components of the Mission launched in 2007-08. Hence, options (c) and (d) are incorrect.
Current status (2026)
The scope of NFSM has changed over time:
2014-15: Coarse cereals and commercial crops were added.
2018-19: Shree Anna/millets were brought within its ambit.
2024-25: It was renamed the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM).
The Pulses Component was subsequently subsumed under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, and the Cotton Component under the Mission on Cotton Productivity.
The present NFSNM principally covers:
Rice and wheat.
Shree Anna/millets.
Coarse cereals—maize and barley.
Commercial crops—jute and sugarcane.
It is implemented in 28 states and two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The official programme for 2026-27 records approximately 8.24 lakh hectares of demonstrations, 5.17 lakh quintals of seed distribution and 4.91 lakh hectares of INM/IPM interventions.