Procurement of wheat is in full swing in the north western states of India. By June end, public agencies are likely to end up with food grain stocks of about 40 to 42 million tonnes, the highest ever witnessed in the history of this country. This stock should be more than sufficient to ensure that the country's "food security" is not endangered even if India faces two consecutive droughts. But strangely enough, while the grannaries over flow, there is still widespread hunger in the country even without a drought. The estimates of poverty are being debated, but broadly one-third of India seems to remain underfed. And this co-existence of grain surpluses with large scale hunger should make any serious policy maker think and examine the existing policy mix with a view to ensure faster economic growth and reduction in poverty.

India's food grains stock has been satisfactory over the past few years.