The government will enact a legislation to ensure subsidised wheat and rice to the poor, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a seminar titled Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern States. “We are committed to enacting a legislation on food security (called National Food Security Act). But to make it successful, we need to produce more, procure more and strengthen the delivery mechanism for making foodgrain accessible to the poor at affordable...
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Why you must read this censored chapter by Raman Kirpal
A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
More »The task of making the PDS work by Jean Dreze
The planned National Food Security Act represents a unique opportunity to achieve gains with respect to the public distribution system. However, the current draft is a non-starter. When I first visited Surguja district in Chhattisgarh nearly 10 years ago, it was one of those areas where the Public Distribution System (PDS) was virtually non-functional. I felt constrained to write, at that time, that “the whole system looks like it has been...
More »Shiva: Wrong Policies Behind Food Insecurity by Amit Agnihotri
Wrong policies of the government have been responsible for the prevalent food insecurity in the country, alleged activists. They also said the proposed National Food Security Act ignores the root causes of hunger and it deliberately leaves untouched the structural roots of the malnutrition crisis. Releasing a report on India’s food security scenario and the reasons behind it on Tuesday activist Vandana Shiva said following Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings on self-reliance together...
More »Ensuring food security
No one will deny that the least a democratic government can do for its people in a civilised society is to ensure access to food at a reasonable price. Ensuring food security is, therefore, a fundamental responsibility of the state. However, it is not clear if enacting a Food Security Bill is the best way to go about it. India has become a democracy of laws. On paper, every citizen...
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