FOOD : THE MOST BASIC NEED

As per the Supreme Court of India

Basic needs of man have traditionally been

accepted to the three - food, clothing and shelter. The right to life is guaranteed in any civilized society. That would take within its sweep the right to food, the right to clothing, the right to decent environment and a reasonable accommodation to live in.
Shantistar Builders vs. Narayan Khimalal Totame, Civil Appeal No. 2598 of 1989, decided Jan. 31, 1990. Supreme Court of India, at sec. 9.

Right to food in India

Indian Constitution of 1950
Article 47 articulates the right to food and its

relationship to health:
The state shall regard the raising of the level of

nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the

improvement of public health as among its primary

duties.

Draft Right to Food Act (June 2009):

It is imperative to create and enforce legal
entitlements and obligations to ensure that every

person is assured physical, economic and social

access to adequate food with dignity as is necessary to lead an active and healthy life.

Some Government Programmes related to Food Security

PDS- The Public distribution System evolved as a

system of management of scarcity and for distribution of food grains at affordable prices. ICDS The Integrated Child Development Services to improve the nutritional and health status of preschool children in the age-group of 0-6 years NREGA- The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, a law with a guarantee of 100 days of unskilled manual work per household per year

But still many people are suffering from hunger, or are malnourished
842 million in 1990/92 832 million in 1995/97 848 million in

2003/2005 860 million in 2004/2006

923 million in

2007/2008 963 million in 2008/2009

Policy: Think again India

India has more people suffering from hunger about 200 million more than any other country in the world. On the 2008 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 66out of 88 countries. India has some of the highest rates of child malnutrition and mortality in the world. Indias rice yields are less than half those of China and have increased little over the last decade. Agriculture now accounts for 84% of total water use in India

source: www.usaid.gov

Policy: Think again India

India has more people suffering from hunger

about 200 million more than any other country in the world. On the 2008 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 66out of 88 countries. India has some of the highest rates of child malnutrition and mortality in the world. Indias rice yields are less than half those of China and have increased little over the last decade. Agriculture now accounts for 84% of total water use in India

Are these measures enough??

Where are the flaws?

Challenges Encountered
Is our Public distribution system effective enough. If

not what are the ways to make it effective?

The NREGS an intentional win- win situation is

turned down to a new way of corruption?

The ICDS (a premier scheme against food

insecurity) is not even able to use the funds allocated it . Where are we heading to?

Can India win the battle against hunger?

How drought affects food security

Drought takes place
Total production of food grains Shortage of food in the affected areas Prices Some people cannot afford to buy food = Food Insecurity

Hunger, another aspect of Food Insecurity

Chronic Hunger

Inadequate diet for a long time Poor people suffer from chronic hunger

Hunger

Seasonal

Due agricultural activities-rural regions & urban areas- casual labour When a person is unable to get work for the entire year

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Indias attempts at attaining Food Security

Green Revolution: Foodgrain Production

Highest Growth
Punjab and Haryana

Low Growth
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh

Bihar, Orissa and the N-E states

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Indias Food Security System

Buffer Stock

Public Distributi on System

Food Security System of India

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How the Public Distribution System works:

Farmers or Producer s
Grains MSP Allocates

Fair Price Shops

C.I.P

Distribute s Grains

F.C.I Grains (maintai ns Buffer Stocks)

States

Central Issue Price

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Government schemes
PDS (initial Public Distribution System

scheme) RPS (Revamped Public Distribution System) TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System)

Special Schemes: AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) APS (Annapurna Scheme)

Benefits from the PDS:

Stabilizes prices of food grains Makes food available at affordable prices By supplying food from surplus regions of

the country to the deficit ones, it helps in combating hunger and famine Prices set with poor households in mind Provides income security to farmers in certain regions

Access to Food is a legal right, need to do more

The monsoon and the market are two major

determinants of the fate of farmers. Insulate them from the adverse impact of climate change and price volatility. Punjab farmers help feed many parts of India because of the marketing of the wheat and rice they produce. Even in situation when adequate food is available, large number of people are not able to gain access to it- cannot encash their entitlement.

PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION LIVING BELOW POVERTY LINE

Household food security is a function not only of

availability of food but also of the purchasing power

available with each household. It has now been well

established that at the global level availability of

food is not a problem. Even at our national level,

availability of foodgrains is not the real problem; it is

prevailing poverty amongst a large number of

household that comes in the way of achieving household food security.

There may be abundance of food but it is no

help to the poor households if it has no access to that. "There is no assurance of deliverance from hunger unless those charged with the tasks of governing him (the

poor) take conscious and deliberate steps to

channel that abundance in his direction so that he can absorb the little he needs".

It will, therefore, be worthwhile to see as to what is the status of poverty in India that impairs the purchasing power, which ultimately results in food-insecure households and what programmes have been launched to combat it.

Lack of access or lack of purchasing power: Deprivation

due to non-entitlement or "the inability of certain people to

command food through the legal means available in the

society, including the use of production possibilities, trade opportunities, entitlement vis-a-vis the State and other methods of acquiring food

In India, large scale unemployment is a great

aggravating factor and in conjunction with

rapidly growing population, severely impairs

the purchasing power of a large number of

households or forces the families to acquire purchasing power at a certain social cost like

child labour.

The National Food Security Bill, 2013: Grants right

to subsidised food grain to 67 percent of India's 1.2 billion people. Seventy five percent of rural and 50 percent of the urban population entitled to five kg foodgrains per month at Rs 3, Rs 2, Re 1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains, respectively.

The work of identification of eligible households has been left to the States. - Pregnant women and lactating mothers entitled to nutritious meals and maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000 for six months.
- The central government will provide funds to states in case of short supply of foodgrain. - The current foodgrain allocation of the states will be protected by the central government.

The state governments will provide food security allowance to the beneficiaries in case of non-supply of foodgrain.
- Public distribution system to be reformed.

- The eldest woman in the household, 18 years or above, will be the head of the household for the issue of the ration card.
- There will be state and district level redress mechanisms. The bill provides for penalty for non-compliance by public servants