In the context of India food security system, which of the following is a key component that involves maintaining large government held stocks of food grains to ensure stability of supply and prices?

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to the economics and social studies area of general knowledge. The food security system in India aims to ensure that the population has reliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Understanding its main components is important for exams that cover development, poverty reduction, and public distribution policies.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The question asks for a component of the food security system in India.
- The options include buffer stock, minimum support price, fair price shops, and mid day meals, along with food coupons as an additional distractor.
- We assume the term component refers to a structural part of the system as described in school level curricula and government descriptions.

Concept / Approach:
The food security system in India traditionally has two central pillars: buffer stock and the public distribution system. Buffer stock is the quantity of food grains that the government procures and stores to meet emergencies, stabilise prices, and supply the public distribution system. While minimum support price helps farmers by guaranteeing procurement rates, it is more of a price policy tool. Mid day meals are a nutrition programme for school children, and fair price shops are retail outlets under the public distribution system rather than the whole component itself.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall standard textbook definitions. The food security system is described as consisting mainly of buffer stock and public distribution system. Step 2: Understand that buffer stock refers to large warehouses and storage maintained by agencies like the Food Corporation of India. Step 3: Notice that minimum support price is a policy mechanism to support farmers, not a physical or institutional component of food security. Step 4: Recognise that fair price shops are part of the public distribution system but the question usually expects the broader term buffer stock as one of the pillar components. Step 5: Conclude that buffer stock is the best answer in line with exam oriented definitions.

Verification / Alternative Check:
Another way is to check which term directly implies storage of food grains. Buffer stock clearly does so, while minimum support price is about procurement rates, and mid day meals are about cooked food served in schools. Government documents and school textbooks list buffer stock as the central mechanism through which the state maintains food reserves to manage scarcity and price spikes.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Minimum support price helps farmers by assuring a minimum rate at which the government will buy crops, but it is not itself a structural component like buffer stock or public distribution system.
Fair price shops are outlets through which grains from buffer stock are distributed. They are a part of the public distribution system, but the question focuses on the high level component described in theory, not on individual shop units.
Mid day meals are a food based welfare programme for school children and are not a core structural element of the national food security architecture as defined in textbook diagrams.
Food coupons appear in some international systems but are not typically described as one of the main components of India food security system in standard curricula.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to select minimum support price because it is often discussed in the same chapters as food security. However, minimum support price primarily concerns farm income and procurement decisions rather than food distribution itself. Another confusion arises between fair price shops and the entire public distribution system. To answer correctly, always think of the broad pillars, which are buffer stock and public distribution, rather than sub elements.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is Buffer stock, a key component of India food security system that involves government storage of food grains to stabilise supply and prices.