Food Security Bill Thread

This still doesn't mean that the direct cash transfer scheme should not be raised. The PDS as we know it have been a den of corruption and very inefficient as well. There are reports that recently with computerisation and RTI based social audits the PDS schemes have become more efficient but cash transfers is a scheme that can still be implemented for many other items in the long term other than just Food. It could apply to things like Petrol, Diesel e.t.c. all of which are currently subsidized by the Central govt. This way the market can dictate the prices and the poor get the cash difference based on surveys done on this account.

There are many other NAC proposals that have been modified and even shot down so if there is demand and debate on the this scheme, its possible to change the outlook here as well. The opposition should pick up this line of thought and talk about it. But it could be possible that they see PDS as a more viable form of where corruption can survive and not talk about PDS reform either.

ejazr: Sorry for the long delay in replying to you.

As far as Direct Cash Transfer goes, IMO in a small state like Delhi or Goa it should be tried out before being rejected out of hand.

Regarding PDS it is very well known the success that Chattisgarh has had with Digitizing records and most certainly it should also be tried in say a state like Kerela where the bureaucracy has been doing a fairly good job.

My main opposition is that we cannot just junk the old policies without trying to revamp them, and when there are small success stories. The food dole will also be full of corruption, if we believe otherwise than we shall be fooling ourselves.

The Govt. will have to dump one system. These two cannot survive together.

Now the nitty gritty for implementing the law is being looked into.

Tough to implement Food bill without revamping PDS: Pawar | Firstpost

Last part of second page and the full article.........Which ministry for Rahul? It may be the No 1 spending ministry | Firstpost.....

.....In 2012 – two years before the next election – NREGA is a bit under the weather, and the prospect of another farm loan waiver or huge increases in procurement prices will only stoke further inflation.

That leaves the Food Ministry, current held by KV Thomas of the Congress. Now consider how this may work best for Rahul Gandhi.

For 2014, Congress needs a vote winner. The Food Security Bill is the next big idea of the UPA, and the cabinet has just decided to cover 70 percent of the population under this Bill. It is UPA-2’s NREGA.

Giving food away for cheap in a drought or bad monsoon year is an angel’s job. Enter Rahul Gandhi. There is little downside to the ministry, provided it is given a carte blanche to spend money like water – which should not be a problem for Rahul Gandhi.

Add Rural Development and Tribal Affairs to this ministry and you would have a giant Social Welfare ministry of unprecedented proportions – with the biggest spending budgets in the country, bigger even than defence. It will truly be the largest welfare ministry in the world.

If this happens, and Rahul Gandhi becomes the Social Welfare Minister with cabinet rank and three junior ministers under him to handle food, rural development and tribal affairs, it will have the profile needed for a Crown Prince to make his mark. All he has to do is spend, reform, spend, and he can be projected as Messiah of the Poor.

These changes would mean cabinet reshuffles in three areas: Finance is already vacant – where the most likely choice could be P Chidambaram. His re-entry would both improve business confidence and ensure smart budget-making. But in case Sonia Gandhi wants a political hand, she could try Jairam Ramesh or Anand Sharma, both of whom covet this ministry.

Food, where KV Thomas is minister of state, need not see a change. But rural development would need a new minister of state to replace Jairam Ramesh, who is cabinet minister. If Chidambaram moves to finance, home would need a new incumbent.

The chances are either home or finance would go to a political heavyweight. If Chidambaram gets finance, home would go to a political loyalist – maybe someone like Digvijaya Singh. This means Anand Sharma could remain at commerce and industry.

The available big slots would be agriculture and external affairs, where SM Krishna hasn’t distinguished himself too much. Jairam Ramesh could be in line for one of these two. Pawar could either retain agriculture or opt for a third ministry – for his daughter Supriya Sule.

But we are assuming Rahul is going to get food and rural development. If he opts for only one of them, Ramesh could stay where he is.

But whatever Sonia and Rahul decide – Manmohan Singh will merely be told what they have in mind – one should expect an exciting merry-go-round in cabinet.

Double Post.

Another populist measure that will fail and increase the taxes to make it appear to work.

It is time graft and maladministration is brought under leash and then these money wastage, though noble, projects are unleashed.

Vote bank politics is not the answer.

And no one can live on the money that the Planning Commission trots out as OK for a healthy and vibrant life!

Will creaky PDS able to sustain Food Security Bill?

Entitlements for beneficiaries in Antodaya Anna Yojana under which 35 kg grains provided per family will be retained in the Bill


The union cabinet has cleared the much-awaited revised National Food Security Bill (NFSB) that seeks to provide legal entitlement of cheap grains to almost 67% of the India population or 82-84 crore people.

The Bill which has been billed as UPA-2’s most ambitious social security programme is now expected to tabled in Parliament by Friday or if not then surely in the second half of the Budget session.

The Bill will provide guaranteed 5 kilograms of rice, wheat or coarse cereals to all the identified beneficiaries at a flat rate of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 1 for coarse cereals.

There would not be any Above or Below Poverty Line demarcation but entitlements for beneficiaries under the Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) under which 35 kilograms of grains is provided per family will be retained in the Bill as well.

The Bill though an ambitious programme based its social security idea on the creaky Public Distribution Platform. The PDS is carried out nationwide with the help of over 5,00,000 ration shops.

However, the biggest drawback for the National Food Security Bill is that it relies heavily on the creaky Public Distribution System that has been blamed time and again for failing to deliver the goods because of massive pilferage, ration cards being made in the name of ineligible people and no actual benefit to the beneficiaries.

Infact, a study done by the Planning Commission in 2005 showed that 58% of the subsidized foodgrains issued from the central pool do not reach the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families because of identification errors, non-transparent operation and unethical practices in the implementation of TPDS.

In such a situation, pushing the National Food Security Bill could be disastrous. Experts like Chairman of Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) have strongly advocated shifting towards a system of direct transfer of subsidies in cash as against distributing cheap foodgrains to get more benefits.

However, food ministry said that the pilferage has come down and now is just around 10-15 percent of the total foodgrains allocated through PDS. It will come down further as digitization of database and issuance of biometric ration cards has been completed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh till December 2012

It is in progress in Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura. “The number of bogus ration cards has also been significantly reduced and pilferage will further come down as number of bogus ration cards is fully eliminated,” a senior food ministry official said.

He said moreover, the states will implement the provisions of the food bill only if their entire ration card database is digitized. The real picture will be cleared once actual implementation starts in select few states.

Will creaky PDS able to sustain Food Security Bill? | Business Standard