Sonia Gandhi wants to make sure that no one goes hungry in the country. But many in the government don't seem to have an appetite for the plan
An economic superpower but a nutritional weakling. That’s how the Institute of Development Studies in the UK described India.
The Congress Party under Sonia Gandhi is trying to push through the National Food Security Act (NFSA), a law that guarantees food security to every citizen. But, the government needs to balance welfare economics with fiscal prudence. In a concept note prepared by the nodal Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the government has reduced the scope of the Act by guaranteeing food to only the poorest citizens, cutting the quantum of subsidised grain and passing primary (including administrative) responsibility largely to the states. The ministry proposed to reset the number of below poverty line or BPL families eligible for entitlements from 6.52 crore (based on 1993-1994 estimates) to 5.91 crore (2004-2005 estimate). It wanted states to toe the line too.
The note wanted to disallow states from expanding the list of beneficiaries, even if the additional cost was borne by them. It noted rather grimly that some states had expanded BPL lists and provided food grains at prices lower than public distribution system issue price. Therefore, it proposed “built-in penal provisions against such states.” The reaction to the note was strong.
The strongest protest came from the Congress president herself. In sharp contrast to the government proposal to abolish special nutritional welfare schemes like Mid-day Meal Scheme, Gandhi’s advisors proposed to expand their scope.
Yet, the administration prevailed over the Party, at least for now. At one stroke, the government chose to narrow the scope of entitlements — and also reduce the quota of food grains.
International experts do not agree with the Indian approach. Ulrich Koester, professor of agricultural economics at Kiel University in Germany says a rights-based approach is not the best idea.
No country in the world has gone this far to adopt a rights-based approach on this scale. As the legislation passes through its birth pangs, the world is closely watching this experiment. Peter Timmer, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Development Studies, emeritus, Harvard University, says it is not possible for a country to have sustained economic development without first establishing reliable food security at the macro level.
(This story appears in the 04 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)