Can India Be A Global Food Bowl?

India has the ability to become the world's largest food producer, but feeding the globe while ensuring food security to its 1.4 billion people is not going to be an easy task.

-  Joe C. Mathew

IN APRIL, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.S. President Joe Biden that if World Trade Organization permits, India can supply food grain to the world, which is facing serious shortages due to war between leading wheat producers Russia and Ukraine. Days later, commerce minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “Egypt approves India as supplier. Modi government steps in as the world looks for reliable alternative sources for steady food supply. Our farmers have ensured our granaries overflow and we are ready to serve the world.” Soon, his ministry announced plans to send trade delegations to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon to explore possibilities of exporting wheat amid rising global demand.

However, on May 13, in an apparent reversal of stand, India announced restrictions on wheat exports. Goyal had an explanation for that too. “PM Narendra Modi’s pro-people decision on wheat export ban is welltimed to control prices and avert hoarding,” he tweeted, ruling out any crisis as “India has sufficient stock to feed its people and also assist its neighbours and vulnerable nations.”

The apparent volte-face raises several questions. Why did India offer to open its granaries for the world if it was unsure about having sufficient domestic supplies? Why did government announce restrictions just when the exports were in a takeoff phase? Will this impact the image India desires to build—that of a reliable source of food to the world?