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Major changes in Food Security Bill on the anvil, says Thomas by C Gouridasan Nair

The much-awaited National Food Security Bill will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament incorporating some major changes recommended by the National Advisory Council, chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas told The Hindu on Sunday that the council proposed coverage of the food security scheme from the present 45 per cent to an estimated 63 per cent of the population.

The NAC had recommended coverage of a higher proportion of the population with subsidised food than at present on the evidence that there were far more food-insecure families than those at present categorised as below the poverty line (BPL) families. Instead of the familiar BPL and above the poverty line (APL) categorisation, the Bill would divide the beneficiaries into ‘priority category' and ‘general category,' Prof. Thomas said.

The Bill, he said, would provide for individual food entitlement instead of household food entitlement. In the case of ‘priority' households, the food grain entitlement would be at the rate of 7 kg a person a month at a price not exceeding Rs.3, 2 or 1 a kg. In the case of ‘general category' households, it would be 3 kg a person a month at 50 per cent of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The Finance Ministry was of the view that the price for the general category should be equivalent to MSP, but Ms. Gandhi was particular that it should not be more than 50 per cent of the MSP, he said.

Prof. Thomas said that the Bill would have a provision for supply of nutritious food to the aged and the destitute and payment of Rs.1,000 a month for six months to pregnant and lactating women. This would place a burden of Rs.12,000 crore on the Central government annually. For provision of entitlements under the scheme, mother would be treated as head of the family.

The total additional burden on the exchequer for implementation of the proposed Act would come to Rs.3.5 lakh crore. Of this, Rs.1 lakh crore would be subsidy and the rest of the funds would be needed for revitalisation of agriculture, creation of modern storage facilities, and revamp of the public distribution system.

At present, the country meets 50 per cent of the demand for edible oils through imports and there is heavy wastage of food grains, fruits, and vegetables. While there is clear progress in plugging wastage of food grains, roughly 25 per cent to 30 per cent of fruits and vegetables were getting damaged on account of poor storage facilities, he said.