The free lunch that works

 Photo: Reuters

Indian Express: Dipa Sinha and Nikhil Dey

For a programme so vital to the health of India's children, the death of 22 children in Chapra is a nightmare that has come to life. It is unfortunate that it takes a heart-wrenching tragedy to wake up India's middle classes to the situation faced by the poor on a daily basis. Can this calamity shake us up enough to ensure that our future generations live a healthy life? The midday meal (MDM) is an irreplaceable and crucial programme with the potential to provide food and nutrition inputs to most deserving and vulnerable sections of our population. This disaster was certainly avoidable, and accountability must be fixed. But we cannot allow this to descend into a cynical political blamegame. Over 10 crore of our children need this meal in more ways than we can imagine. We owe it to them to act together, and immediately transform this programme into something that truly delivers and is regularly discussed for all the right reasons.

मध्यान्ह भोजन योजना को बचाईये

सचिन कुमार जैन

बिहार कई कारणों से भारतीय जीवन में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता रहा है. इस बार एक दुखद रूप में बिहार एक ऐसी योजना पर बहस का कारण बना, जिस पर देश आम तौर पर बहस करना छोटा काम समझता रहा है. बिहार के सारण जिले  धरमासती गंडामन गांव के नवसृजित प्राथमिक विधालय में मध्यान्ह भोजन योजना के तहत दिए गए भोजन में जहर मिला होने के कारण २७ बच्चों की मृत्यु हो गयी और शायद जब आप यह आलेख पढ़ रहे होंगे तब तक इस संख्या में कुछ बढौतरी होने की आशंका भी है. अखबारों, टी वी चैनलों और संवाद के हर मंच पर  मध्यान्ह भोजन योजना के बारे में जो चर्चा हो रही है, वह मुझे एक खतरनाक दिशा में जाती हुई लग रही है.

Right to Food Campaign,Jharkhand Press coverage

The Strange Calculus of Surjit Bhalla

Ruchi Gupta

Mr Bhalla has written an alarming piece in the Indian Expressestimating that the Food Security Bill in the first year alone will cost 3% of the GDP. His assertion is based on using the NSS consumption figures from 2011-12, and then calculating the factor by which the subsidy will increase with increased coverage, offtake and reduced price under the NFSB. He thus calculates that the subsidy will increase by a factor of 4.36. He then multiples the current food subsidy expenditure of Rs 72K crore by this factor of 4.36 to arrive at the alarming figure of Rs 314K crore!

UID:Threat of exclusion, and of surveillance

The aadhaar project has become the bane of average Indians, threatening their access to all manner of services. basic questions have sometimes been asked and almost never been answered, says 
Usha Ramanathan. who is  an academic activist and has researched the UID and its ramifications.

The Unique Identity (UID) project has been around for over four years. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was set up by an executive notification dated 28 January 2009 and came into its own after Mr Nandan Nilekani was appointed as chairperson in July 2009. Now it has, as some observers say, become an experiment being conducted on the entire  country.

राष्‍ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अध्‍यादेश के मुख्‍य बिंदु, पत्र सूचना कार्यालय,भारत सरकार

पत्र सूचना  कार्यालय,भारत सरकार

राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अध्‍यादेश एक ऐतिहासिक पहल है जिसके जरिए जनता को पोषण खाद्य और पोषण सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित की जा रही है। इसके जरिए लोगों को काफी मात्रा में अनाज वाजिब दरों पर पाने का अधिकार मिलेगा। खाद्य सुरक्षा विधेयक का खास जोर गरीब से गरीब व्‍यक्ति, महिलाओं और बच्‍चों की जरूरतें पूरी करने पर होगा। अगर लोगों को अनाज नहीं मिल पाया तो उन्‍हें खाद्य सुरक्षा भत्‍ता दिया जायेगा। इस विधेयक में शिकायत निवारण तंत्र की भी व्‍यवस्‍था है। अगर कोई जन सेवक या अधिकृत व्‍यक्ति इसका अनुपालन नहीं करेगा तो उसके खिलाफ शिकायत की सुनवाई हो सकेगी। इस विधेयक की अन्‍य खास बातें निम्‍नलिखित हैं-

The National Food Security Ordinance:Highlights

Press Information Bureau

The National Food Security Ordinance is a historic initiative for ensuring food and nutritional security to the people. It gives right to the people to receive adequate quantity of food grains at affordable prices. The Food Security Bill has special focus on the needs of poorest of the poor, women and children. In case of non-supply of foodgrains now people will get Food Security Allowance. The bill provides for grievance redressal mechanism and penalty for non compliance by public servant or authority. Other features of the Ordinance are as follows.