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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | PM turns to plan panel for food law solution by Deepshikha Sikarwar

PM turns to plan panel for food law solution by Deepshikha Sikarwar

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published Published on Apr 4, 2011   modified Modified on Apr 4, 2011
Prime minister Manmohan Singh has enlisted the Planning Commission's support to reconcile varying views on the proposed food security legislation .

Singh has asked the commission to suggest the best possible framework for the Food Security Act after several members of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) objected to the suggestion of a government panel to restrict coverage of the ambitious scheme.

The proposed legislation seeks to provide legal guarantee of subsidized foodgrains to the poor. "The idea is to find the best possible formulation for delivery of this ambitious programme promised by the government," a senior government official told ET.

The plan panel's views, however, have only been sought informally. "A final view on the legislation will be taken by the empowered group of ministers," another government official said.

The NAC had proposed legal subsidized food entitlements for nearly 75% of the country's population covering both the 'priority' (below the poverty line) and 'general' (above the poverty line) households by 2013-14. But an expert group, headed by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan, had rejected the recommendations.

The Rangarajan Committee said the scale suggested by the NAC required massive procurement of foodgrains, a large distribution network and a big boost in government subsidy, which were not feasible at the current level of grain production and procurement.

It said if the government followed NAC's formula, its foodgrain procurement would go up to 73.98 million tonnes (mt) a year. The panel said the government would be able to procure only 56.35mt of grain in 2011-12 and 57.61mt in 2013-14 at the current level of production and procurement.

It also said the government's food subsidy burden would rise to 92,060 crore by 2013-14 as against 79,930 crore estimated by the NAC. The Rangarajan panel favoured subsidised foodgrains for the priority category but rejected the entitlement for the general category.

Several NAC members had strongly criticized the committee's view. "The Rangarajan Committee report is another move away from the vision of a comprehensive Food Security Act," NAC member Jean Dreze had said in an article written for ET.

Weeks after the committee submitted its recommendations, the NAC released a part of the draft Food Security Act for public debate. The government is now trying to find a balanced solution, which can be implemented to fulfill its promise of giving legal entitlement for food.

There is also a view in some sections of the government that the proposed law should look at food security in a more holistic manner in terms of nutrition rather than just cereals. A survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2004-05 had indicated higher consumption of cereals in states such as Madhya Pradesh and Orissa and lower consumption in states such as Kerala.


The Economic Times, 4 April, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/pm-turns-to-plan-panel-for-food-law-solution/articleshow/7860312.cms


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