Food Security Bill, The Game Changer

We are India, the 3^rd largest economy in the world in purchasing power parity terms. A country with 61 billionaires, a country which has been poster boy of the economic growth story in pre-recession period of 2008-09, and continues to hold strong in the uncertain economic situation at present. Our economic might and power of demographic dividend has been acknowledged in the most powerful and the remotest corners of the world. But just before we inflate our egos looking at these laurels, it would be prudent for us to know that we are also a country which has been called the ‘hunger capital’ of the world. One of the definitions of ‘Hunger’ as per the Oxford English Dictionary 1971 is, “the want or scarcity of food in a country.” The fact that we have been ranked 65 out of 79 countries (2012) on Global Hunger Index by International Food Policy Research Institute puts the need for Food Security for the citizens of our country in perspective.

What is the National Food Security Bill?

Honorable President Pranab Mukherjee signed an ordinance on Food Security on 5^th July, 13. The ordinance aims to provide food security to 2/3^rd population of the country, which would be close to 800 million people out of Indian’s 1.2 billion population. Let us look at a few details of the ordinance to understand the impact of this initiative.

It gives 75% of the population (90% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) a legalized entitlement to subsidized food grains. The beneficiary population has been further classified as priority households and general households.

1. The priority households (46% in rural areas and 28% in urban areas) will get a monthly entitlement of 35 Kg food grains with rice, wheat and coarse grains at Rs. 3, Rs. 2 and Re. 1 per kg respectively.
2. The general households (39% rural and 12% urban in phase 1 and 44% rural and 22% urban in final phase) will get a monthly entitlement of 20Kgs at a maximum price of 50% of the current Minimum Support price. (household defined as consisting of 5 members)

Special Focus on Women and Children

1. As per the act, during pregnancy and 6 months after child birth, a woman will get free meals and Rs. 6000 as maternity benefit.  
2. Children up to class 8^th will get one mid-day free meal per day and children suffering from malnutrition will also be entitled to free meals to meet the nutrition levels. This is a huge step considering the fact that about 30% of the world’s malnourished children are in India. 

The ‘Buzz’ about Food Security Bill

There have been ample commentaries on the issue of effectiveness and the intention behind passing this bill. ‘Vote bank politics’ and ‘scam’ are the words that have been associated with it with utmost contempt. The major concerns expressed about the bill have revolved around increase in fiscal deficit due to subsidies, leakages in Public distribution system (PDS), shortage of food grains, crowding out of private trade and methodology for identification of beneficiaries. There have also been some concerns expressed about weakening of the public morality as people will fake their financial status in order to receive benefits under the bill. The issue of public morality, or the lack of it, existed much before this bill was even conceived in the minds of the people who drafted it and will continue to haunt our society with or without the bill. Let us focus on the other concerns stated above. The estimated amount of subsidy as per the report of expert committee on National Food Security Bill, considering population figures to Oct 2011 to 2013 projections and 100% offtake (the highest possible estimate for population and offtake), a subsidy of Rs 85,584 crores and Rs 92,060 crores will be needed for Phase 1 and final phase respectively. This cost will sum up to close to 1% of the GDP compared to the power subsidy which is consumes close to 2% of our GDP. Power is essential, but it is definitely a lesser necessity than food. On a comparative basis, the food security comes cheaper to us. 

Acknowledging the deficiency in the PDS, the govt. has adequately proposed a lot of measures to tackle this problem. Door step delivery of food grains to the targeted public distribution system outlets, application of information and communication technology tools to ensure transparency in all transactions, use of ‘Aadhar’, for unique identification of beneficiaries are a few prominent features. These indicate not only the holistic view of the situation but also indicates the government’s endeavor to fix the existing loopholes in the system.

Shortage of food grains is seen as a formidable concern. The average procurement of wheat and rice stands at around 30% of the total production. The estimate of 56.35 million tonnes for Phase 1 and 57.61 million tonnes for final phase falls well within the average range of procurement. Moreover, this necessitates investment in increasing productivity and getting more land under agriculture which can in turn be beneficial to the economy.

The private trade industry have admitted that it is possible for them to co-exist with the provisions of the food security bill. Taking a long term view, the industry is confident that the surplus in food grains will continue for the next 10-15 years. 

The identification of beneficiaries is definitely a big challenge and there are no ready made solutions for that, but we can be rest assured that 75% of population coverage will ensure that almost nobody who is in dire need remains out of the ambit of the food security bill. 

While there are concerns, we need to objectively look at the merits and demerits of the Food Security Bill. In the state of Chhattisgarh, a recent survey conducted by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi has brought out the effectiveness of food related programs implemented in 2012. I am of the opinion that for a country where millions of people have to sleep empty stomach every night, food security should be the foremost priority. It is not only the responsibility of the government, but the responsibility of the society as a whole. The government is giving an impetus to this noble mission by investing money and other resources to it. Why should we cry foul? A view that is generally accepted in the Indian Judicial system is that you might let go off 10 people who are guilty than to punish 1 innocent man. Looking at that perspective, we should channelize our energy to save as many people as possible from the deadly clutches of hunger rather than wait for a utopian law or system which would uproot the problem of hunger and malnutrition in a single shot. Let’s be realistic, the progress of this implementation will be slow given the current systems, and it will not be extremely efficient either, but the improvements will happen only if we start at some point though. I am thoroughly convinced that this is time we start, our countrymen have lived and died ‘hungry’ long enough for us to wait any longer. The change of game starts 20^th Aug, 2013.

References

1. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/men-and-ideas/entry/food-security-bill-corruption-by-another-name?cp=2
2. http://www.tehelka.com/critics-cry-unaffordable-only-when-the-beneficiaries-are-the-poor/
3. http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-food-security-programme-and-private-players-can-coexist-user-industry-113071000696_1.html
4. http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-modest-food-security-bill-113071001005_1.html
5. http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/food-security-bill-a-game-changer-113070800849_1.html
6. http://eac.gov.in/reports/rep_NFSB.pdf
7. http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/01404/National_Food_Secu_1404268a.pdf
8. http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/national-food-security-ordinance-salient-points-113070500866_1.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India#Income_and_consumption
10. http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/food-security-bill-a-game-changer-113070800849_1.html
11. http://www.unicef.org/india/children_2356.htm