• Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.
• It is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment.
• Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
• It also means lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level.

a. Public Distribution System (PDS) was established for the distribution of food grains among poor.

b. Presently, there are about 4.6 lakh ration shops in the country.

c. Ration shops also known as Fair Price Shops keep stock of food grains, sugar, kerosene oil for cooking. These items are sold to people at a price lower than the market price.

d. In the beginning the coverage of PDS was universal with no discrimination between the poor and non-poor.

e. Over the years, the policy related to PDS has been revised to make it more efficient and target oriented.

f. It is the most effective instrument of government policy over the years in stabilizing prices and making food available to consumers at affordable prices.

g. It averts widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from surplus regions of the country to the deficit ones.

h. It revises the prices of food grains in favor of poor household.

i. The declaration of minimum support price and procurement has contributed to an increase in food grains production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.

Food security is when people are able to afford and secure sufficient and nutritious food for their family.

The dimensions of food security are:

Availability of food: It is the food production within the country including food imports and previous year stock of food in government granaries.
Accessibility: This means food within the reach of every person.
Affordability: This means whether the individual has enough money to buy sufficient and nutritious food

A famine is characterised by widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food and loss of body resistance due to weakening from starvation.
This occurs due to a severe shortage of food resulting from crop failure or other calamity, which increases the price of food dramatically, making it not affordable to, the weaker sections of the population.

Right to freedom means absence of interference in our affairs by other- be it other individuals or the government.

The rights that are mention under right to freedom are:-

1.Freedom of speech and expression, on which the State can impose reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

2.Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms on which the State can impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order and the sovereignty and integrity of India.

3.The Freedom to form associations or unions or co-operative societies on which the State can impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order, morality and the sovereignty and integrity of India.

4.Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India though reasonable restrictions can be imposed on this right in the interest of the general public. for example, restrictions may be imposed on movement and travelling, so as to control epidemics.

5.Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, subject to reasonable restrictions by the State in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the scheduled tribes because certain safeguards as are envisaged here seem to be justified to protect indigenous and tribal peoples from exploitation and coercion.[16] Article 370 restricts citizens from other Indian states and Kashmiri women who marry men from other states from purchasing land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.

6.Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business on which the State may impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of the general public. Thus, there is no right to carry on a business which is dangerous or immoral. Also, professional or technical qualifications may be prescribed for practicing any profession or carrying on any trade.

In India, like most other democracies in the world, some rights are mentioned in the Constitution. These rights are fundamental to our life and therefore they are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights. There are six Fundamental Rights: 
(i) Right to Equality 
(ii) Right to Freedom 
(iii) Right to Freedom of Religion 
(iv) Right against Exploitation 
(v) Right to Constitutional Remedies 
(vi) Cultural and Educational Rights 
Fundamental Rights are an important basic feature of the Indian Constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution talks about securing for all its citizens' equality, liberty and justice. Fundamental Rights put this promise into effect. They create a feeling of security amongst the minorities in the country. They keep a check on the government.

(i) In our country, the Parliament consists of two Houses - the Council of States, popularly known as the Rajya Sabha and the House of the People, known as the Lok Sabha. 
(ii) The President of India is a part of the Parliament, although he is not the member of either House. That is why all laws made in the Houses come into force only after they receive the assent of the President. 
(iii) Our Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states. But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power.

The merits of electoral competition are:

1. Without competition, the election would become meaningless. If there are no competitors, then there would be assurance of winning the election by the single party. The competition in election holds the contestants accountable.

2. The competition in the election also increases the voter’s knowledge of the representation.

3. The competition keeps the political leaders motivated to work for the upliftment of the society and country.

4. Winning in an election also acts as a reward for the leaders who work for the people. The one who works efficiently is reflected by the citizens.

5. This competition compels the leaders to raise the issues of people as this would increase their popularity and helps them in winning the election.

India has all the major physical features of the Earth, i.e., mountains, plains, deserts, plateaus and islands. The different regions of the country have different soil types. Though India has an essentially monsoon-type of climate, there exists great variations in humidity and temperature across the country. Even the rains brought by the monsoon winds are unevenly distributed. Hence, each factor responsible for the type of flora and fauna in an area, namely land, soil, temperature, humidity and precipitation, are variable across the length and breadth of the country. As a result, the flora and fauna found in India is diverse and rich.

On the basis of the availability of water, tropical deciduous forests are divided into - 
Moist deciduous, and
Dry deciduous
The moist deciduous forests are found in areas having rainfall between 200 and 100 cm. As such these forests exist in the north-eastern states, along the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkahnd, West Orissa and Chhattisgrah and on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. These forests are a storehouse of trees like teak, bamboos, sal, shisham, sandalwood, khair, kusum etc. The dry deciduous forests are found in areas having rainfall between 100 cm and 70 cm. These forests are found in the rainier parts of the peninsular plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Trees like teak, sal, peepal and neem are found in these forests.

• Forests are renewable resources and play a major role in enhancing the quality of the environment.
• They modify the local climate and control soil erosion.
• They regulate the flow of streams and support a variety of industries like the rubber industry.
• Forests also provide a livelihood for many communities.
• They also offer panoramic or scenic view for recreation.
• They control the wind force and temperature and cause rainfall.
• They provide humus to the soil and shelter to wildlife