Question

Read the following text carefully and answer the given questions on the basis of the same and common understanding:

India urged the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to relax rules to allow the country to export food grains from its public stocks to the nations facing food crises. India can help, reduce food insecurity but there is hesitation on the part of the WTO, in relaxing its rules. India's Finance Minister said food, fuel and fertilizers are global public goods and ensuring access of these for developing and emerging economies is critical. She also shared India's experiences, including robust gains in agriculture production, citizen-centric, food security programmes and innovative delivery ‘mechanisms such as the 'One Nation one Ration Card’ Scheme.

1. State and discuss any two objectives of World Trade Organisation.
2. Name any two steps taken by India to strengthen food security.

Answer 1

1. 1. Promotes Free Trade: By removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, the WTO promotes commerce among member countries. It encourages competitiveness and unrestricted access to global markets. It also makes bilateral and multilateral commercial agreements possible.
   2. Ensures optimum utilisation of world resources: With free trade, competition, and open access to global markets, the market has grown from the local and national to the worldwide level. It has ensured the most efficient use of global resources through the exchange of products and services across borders.
2. 
   
   1. Minimum Support Price: MSP provides farmers the certainty that their produce will be acquired by the government at the specified price. Purchases of MSP from farmers are held as buffer inventories for the public distribution system and to fulfil urgent requirements during times of shortage and poor production.
   2. Public Distribution System: Buffer stocks are intended for the country's public distribution system. It entails distributing food grains at subsidized rates to BPL families through fair-price stores or ration depots, allowing the lower parts of society easy access to food grains.