The Famine Enquiry Commission of 1880 led by Sir Richard Strachey is associated with which
policy shift ?

Correct option is A

The correct answer is (A) Increased government responsibility for food relief

Explanation:

• The Strachey Commission was appointed by Lord Lytton following the Great Famine of 1876–78.
• It marked a shift by recommending that the state has a duty to provide relief to the able-bodied through work and to the destitute through alms.
• It laid the foundation for the Famine Code (1883), which defined protocols for state intervention during food shortages.
• The commission advocated for a systematic relief mechanism rather than ad-hoc charity.

• Commission Chairman: Sir Richard Strachey.
• Viceroy at the time: Lord Lytton.
• Key recommendation: Famine relief should be handled by the provincial governments.
• A Famine Insurance Fund was created following these recommendations.

• Free market mechanisms – Earlier British policy (Laissez-faire) relied on the market, but the 1880 commission signaled a shift toward state intervention.
• Universal PDS – This is a post-independence policy development, not associated with the 1880s.
• Infrastructure development – While railways helped, the primary policy shift of this commission was regarding the 'systematization of state relief'.