Food Security Bill : Great Indian Populist Saga

As the Lok Sabha elections are round the corner, the alliance is expected to be introducing more and more populist schemes. one among was MNREGA which promised to give 100 days of employment, which came under scanner due to poor implementation and corrupt officials. Now the focus has been shift to Food Security Scheme, 2013, a pet programme for both Mrs. Gandhi and United Progressive alliance. Which aims to provide rice at rupees 2/kg and wheat at 3/kg. This bill has been considered as a face saver for tainted UPA. But questions have been asked on its implementation and storage of grains. The bill does not address basic infrastructural development including go downs and storage blocks. The project is expected to suck 1.25 lakh crore rupees from public treasury. How can development works carried out? From where will they find the requisite money? Why tonnes of grains are wasted each year in government go downs? Why UPA can't follow Chattisgarh model by strengthening Public Distribution System (PDS)?

Gujarat and Chattisgarh strengthen PDS and thus Below Poverty Line (BPL) families get rice at 2 rupees and wheat at rupees 3 respectively for last 10 years. The larger question arises when these states manages to give 35 Kilo grams, why FSB which gives 25 kilo grams be taken into value? States like Tamil Nadu give 20 Kilos of rice free per family, whats the need to implement another bill in the states which have surplus amount of natural resources and farming? In chattisgarh, Under Antyodaya scheme, 1 million household get 35Kgs of rice at 1 rupees per kg, while 1 million BPL families are give same quantity at 2 rupees. 2kgms of pulses and gram are also supplied through PDS. Interestingly, Iodised salts are also given to BPL and extremely poor classes. Thus the state managed to create its own model. before 7 years malnourishment rate was 54% and now it dropped to 38.8%, while the national capital has 49.2% and Bihar has 82%. On the other hand, In Gujarat, technology has been used to prevent smuggling of grains by unauthorized Ration cards. In the state, ration cards are granted only to those people having Election Photo Identity card.


The main problem with implementation of the scheme is the lack of fund, while India needs industrial growth it would be difficult to understand why govt. should spent another lakh crore for a populist scheme which could just fetch few rural votes. The same government when voted into power assured the country that they will track inflation within 100 days of occupying the office; they did fail to fulfil their promises. While spending these much money, it will affect the GDP figures and reduce the space for foreign investment; there by an inclusive growth will be impossible. The nation will suffer from serious problems like under-employment and un-employment. As the successive governments will find it hard to manage fund for this chaos, they will exclude few sectors and that move will haunt country’s prospective.

The move to introduce the bill may well affect PDS, now PDS is regarded as an institution without a clear mandate where 45% of grains go to the black market and middlemen. Qualities of grains are of prime concern and wasting of grains. With implementation FSB, commodities will find its way easy to the black market and farmers will have to pay for it. More suicides will rock the nation. Farmers may shift to other crops which may result in shortage of grains. If the bill gets implemented it will create another hundred heaps of waste grains. In economic terms, current account deficit and fiscal deficit will reach its top and well destruct the stock markets and the service sector. India’s current GDP is 4.8 and dollar-rupee indexes are of all time low. More subsidies will literally rotten the Indian Development Story and create a new political spectrum of new populist measures. It will be interesting to see hoe FICCI and CII responds to the FSB, as Corporate India will find it hard to get loans to elaborate their expansion.

Thus the sense of dismal is there everywhere, if the FSB gets implemented, forget about Indian development story but India’s malnourishment rates will settle, now, even when regarded as second most fast growing economy after china, India’s malnourishment rate is poorer than sub-Saharan countries. It’s a fact that when we have an inclusive development, GDP will increase, job rates will increase and here Human development Index will increase. It will also reduce poverty and malnourishment. But for political gain spending 1.25 lakh crore is unjustified. Thus India’s growth model will be hailed by the nations across the globe. But not with Food Security Bill but with improvement of existing systems including Public Distribution System. Stopping all its leakages and strict review of the system can improve its functions and the nation will get prosperous...........