Social sector is an important sector for India’s economy and includes health, medical care, nutrition, education, water supply and sanitation, poverty alleviation, housing conditions, etc., all of which contribute significantly to human development. Amongst the above, one of the world’s greatest challenges is to secure sufficient and healthy food for all and to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner. In this context, the concept of food and nutrition security has evolved and risen to the top of the international development and policy agenda, requiring a broad and interdisciplinary perspective for a holistic understanding. Though India produces sufficient food to feed its growing population, yet access to food has been its Achilles Heel. This book makes an attempt to improve the nutritional and health status of the nation - not simply on humanitarian considerations, but also on pragmatic economic reasons as well and both these two disciplines must join forces in planning and implementation in order to achieve the objectives. It is fervently hoped that the transition from “food security” to “food and nutritional security” would help India in achieving the goals of Hunger Free India by 2030 through effective Food Safety Nets.

Dr. Sridhar Seetharaman is Advisor (Gender and Rural Development), Arupa Mission Research Foundation, Gurgaon, Haryana. He retired as Associate Professor, Centre for Women’s Development and Gender Studies at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad, Telangana. He has done considerable research on Entrepreneurial Development, Quality Management and Gender Justice. As Gender Budget Consultant, he assisted the Government of Nagaland in Engendering their State Plan. He had organised several training programmes on Total Quality Management, Gender Budgeting, Gender Audit and Gender Justice.  He handles sessions on Gender Budget, Gender Audit, Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment in Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, Telangana, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad, Telangana and Fiscal Policy Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka.  He is the recipient of Best Citizen of India Award, 2014 and the Champion of Children Award, 2014. Satyavani Gandham if a faculty member in Andhra Pradesh State Institute of Rural Development (APSIRD), Vijayawada. She oversees all the training modules/materials preparation and conduct of trainings for the elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayat Raj Institutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh. She started working at Panchayat Raj Institutions as a Junior Assistant. She was promoted to Executive Officer (Grade. I) in 2006 now called as Panchayat Secretary (GradeI). she later moved to the AMRAPARD i.e. present APSIRD as a faculty member in 2009.