In the 1970s, the policy makers started thinking that the income and employment of the poor can be raised through the creation of additional assets and by means of work generation.Thus, one of the noted programme initiated in the above direction was 'Food for work. It is given the status of Specific Poverty Alleviation Programme.
National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) was launched in February 2001 for five months but was further extended. It aims at promoting food security through wage employment in the drought affected rural areas in eight states-Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan.