Management Issues in Food Security Bill

Group 3 Shailu Richa Nilesh Sholan Franky

Index
Definition of Food Security Components of Food Security Food Security Bill of India Management Issues in Food Security Bill Recommendations

Definition
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past several decades

Components of Food Security

The Centre works with the following five components of Food Security:
Availability - sufficient food for all people at all times Accessibility - physical and economic access to food for all at all times Adequacy - access to food that is nutritious and safe, and produced in environmentally sustainable ways Acceptability - access to culturally acceptable food, which is produced and obtained in ways that do not compromise people's dignity, self-respect or human rights Agency - the policies and processes that enable the achievement of food security

National Food Security Bill of India

National Food Security Bill a legislation aimed at shoring up the UPA's support base in Parliament. The "landmark social legislation" will guarantee grain at extremely cheap rates to more than half of the population. Food minister KV Thomas, said that it would ensure that all Indians "live a life with dignity".

NFS- Agenda
The bill marks a shift in approach to the problem of food security from the current welfare paradigm to a rights-based approach. The proposed legislation confers eligible beneficiaries the legal right to receive grain at highly subsidised prices.

NFS- Definitions
General Households
General Households shall mean those households identified by the State government as being in the general group based on the identification criteria notified by the Central Government for the grant of food grains at rates given in Section 24 of this Act;

Priority Households
Priority Households shall mean those households identified by the State Government as being in the priority group based on the identification criteria notified by the Central Government for the grant of food grains at rates given in Section 23 of this Act

NFS- The Key Points

The bill brings under its purview 63.5% of the country's population 75% of rural households and 50% of urban households. The bill classifies all entitled households as "general" and "priority".

NFS- Key Points

"priority - 46% of rural households and 28% of urban households Every person belonging to a "priority household" will be provided with
7kg of grain per month, comprising rice, wheat and coarse grain. Rice will be provided at Rs 3, wheat at Rs 2 and coarse grain at Rs 1 per kg.

Others belonging to the "general category" would be entitled

to not less than 3kg of grain per month at a rate not exceeding 50% of the minimum support price.

Other key points

The proposed law entitles every pregnant woman and lactating mother to meal free of cost during pregnancy and six months after childbirth. It assures "free or affordable" meals for destitute, homeless and "disaster-affected" people as well as those "living in starvation". In case of children in the age group of six months to six years, appropriate meal would be provided free of cost to meet nutritional standards. As part of women empowerment, the bill says women would be head of the household for the purpose of issue of ration cards.

Management Issues in NFS Bill

1. Limited the area of Security of Food up to supply of subsidized food grains and cooked food.
There is no information or appropriate plan for increase in production plan. The Act is only a small part of the problem. It fails to identify the gravity of the situation with regards to available land, production capacity , water and other resources needed for production

Management Issues in NFS Bill

2. Why is it always the Below the poverty issue and under- privileged issue.
The differentiation of under-privileged with APL causes unrest and does not serve the sole purpose of food security to all.

Total monthly requirements for a five member family ICMR norms

Family member Monthly requirement of cereals (kg.)
14.4 10.8 5 9
5

Monthly requirement of pulses (kg.)

Man doing moderate work Woman doing moderate work. 1-6 year old child 7 to 12 year old child Elderly person / third child Total

Monthly requirement of oils (grams) 2.7 1050

900 675 750 675 4050

2.25 1.1 1.8 1.8 9.65

9 48.2

Management Issues in NFS Bill

Govt is providing only food grains and no oil or pulses The government also holds with it the right to change the prices and quantities at any point of time.
Priority group Food Entitlement Price Seven Kg. of food grains (rice, wheat or nutritional cereals) per person/month Not exceeding 3/2/1/ per Kg. General group Three Kg. of food grain/ person/month Not exceeding 50 % of MSP.

Management Issues in NFS Bill

3. Production, storage and distribution
The government has failed to analyse the growing demand of food grains and consumption rate. The production of food such high quantity food without proper storage and distribution network in place, this Act is complete waste of resources.

The NFS bill says that

the Centre and State should strive to re-vitalise the agriculture in their states and incentivise the decentralized procurement

Management Issues in NFS Bill

4. The protection for food for infants and pregnant woman and lactating mothers
The food being given to them is for Rs 1000 per month which is being provided everyday for 6 months. The inflation amount has not been considered accurately.

Management Issues in NFS Bill

5. After the Act is enforced, no person can revert back to the subsidies supplied by the State Government for the period of 10 years.

Recommendations
1. Proper plan for production, storage and distribution must be done in order to make it more effective.
1. Local production, storage and distribution must be done by the State Government, instead of taking the stock from the Centre. 2. Procurement from nearby states could be done in case of shortage in supply.

Recommendations
2. The price index of inflation must be taken more accurately in to consideration in terms of food being supplied to infants, lactating mothers and pregnant women. 3. Only supply of cereals are not enough for fulfilling the nutritional needs of a normal man, hence, the quantity of subsidy needs to be updated.

Recommendations
4. Instead of playing politics by restricting the people to buy only subsidies by the Central Government and not the State, the option must stay open for beneficiaries to decide when to leave the subsidy provided by the Centre.

Conclusion
Food Security Act is trying to cover more people of the country, however, it looks more like taking control of the entire subsidy for leveraging the image of the Central Govt. The entire Act speaks about centralising the entire Food Security but then speaks about giving incentives to the State Govt for decentralising the distribution. We wonder, when interest of the people will be first priority for the Government.

References
1. 2. 3. 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_security http://www.ryerson.ca/foodsecurity/ http://nac.nic.in/foodsecurity/nfsb_final.pdf http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/ 2011-12-23/news/30550903_1_food-subsidynational-food-security-bill-grain 5. http://wcd.nic.in/research/nti1947/6.%20Cons umption%20expenditure.pdf

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