Showing posts with label National Food Security Bill. Show all posts

What the food bill does not consider:M S Swaminathan

The National Food Security Bill, passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, marks an important chapter in our struggle to end hunger through appropriate social protection. It is the world’s largest programme for achieving the goal of zero hunger.

Food security has several dimensions such as:

a) availability of food in the market, which is a function of production,

b) access to food which is a function of purchasing power and

c) absorption of food in the body which is a function of the availability of clean drinking water, sanitation, toilets, primary healthcare and nutritional literacy.

There are also three types of hunger, viz.

a) under-nutrition resulting from calorie deprivation

b) protein-hunger arising from inadequate consumption of protein-rich foods like pulses, milk, egg etc. and

c) hidden-hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet, such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12.

Right to Food Campaign, West Bengal on National Food Security Act

The UPA 2 Government has taken four years after it announced its intention to legislate a right to food to actually pass the National Food Security Act. This Bill has been brought forward at a time when there are 80 million tonnes of grains in the government godowns and increased public action highlighting widespread hunger. This was an opportune time to bring in a comprehensive Food Security Act which addressed issues of expanding production, decentralised procurement and storage and universal distribution along with special measures to reach out to the most vulnerable. However the government has missed this opportunity by passing a minimalistic Bill.

While almost every political party raised issues related to guarantee of income for farmers, assuring Minimum Support Price, universal coverage under the Public Distribution System(PDS), including pulses and oil in PDS, the necessity of 14 kgs of foodgrains, scrapping cash transfers, community kitchens, removal of contractors, the absurdity of the poverty lines, protecting small and marginal farmers during the debate in Parliament, unfortunately none of the amendments related to these got passed. The millions of poor and food insecure in the country who have been waiting for a comprehensive food Bill may get some small consolation from the fact that hunger, malnutrition and state’s obligation towards addressing this was discussed and debated in Parliament for many hours.

What we got

1.Acknowledgement of hunger and malnutrition and the question of food becomes a legal entitlement

2.Doubling of the coverage, from 36% to 67% in the PDS

3.Strengthening and expansion of the PDS, from a situation of it being dismantled to the fair price shop and the ration system being there to stay.

रोजी रोटी अधिकार अभियान ने खाद्य सुरछा अध्यादेश में संशोधन की मांग की.

राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरछा अध्यादेश में संशोधन की मांग को लेकर अलग अलग सगठनों से जुड़े और अनेक राज्यों से आये लगभग 800 लोगों ने जंतर मंतर,दिल्ली पर एक बड़े धरना प्रदर्शन में हिस्सा लिया। देश के विभिन्न राज्यों मध्य प्रदेश,राजस्थान,बिहार ,गुजरात,आसाम, जम्मू ,ओड़िशा ,महाराष्ट्र,पश्चिम बंगाल और दिल्ली से आये किसान,बाल अधिकार से जुड़े सामजिक कार्यकर्ता,नरेगा मजदूर,महिला,दलित और आदिवासी संगठनों के प्रतिनिधियों ने यह महसूस किया कि पिछले चार साल से एक व्यापक खाद्य सुरछा कानून के लिए किया जा रहा संघर्ष एक कानून का रूप ले रहा है.वे इस बात से उत्साहित थे कि खाद्य सुरछा अध्यादेश को आज लोक सभा में रख दिया गया.एक मजबूत खाद्य सुरछा कानून के लिए चर्चा और बहस का यह पहला कदम है

Press Note

More than eight hundred persons from several organisations affiliated to the Right to Food Campaign came to Jantar Mantar in Delhi to stage a dharna pressing for amendments in the National Food Security Ordinance, 2013. The activists who came from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Jammu, Maharashtra and Delhi were farmers, children’s rights activist, NREGA workers, Women, Dalit, tribal organisations representatives, felt that the four year struggle of bringing in a comprehensive food security law was culminating into a law a finally. They were heartened that the National Food Security Ordinance was tabled as a bill today in the Lok Sabha, this being the first step towards debating the law, in order to bring in suitable amendments for a strong food law.

The State Jana Mancha on National Food security Ordinance-2013 was held in Bhubaneswar from 1st to 2^nd August 2013. It was attended by 356 participants from 25 districts across Odisha, representing four networks and alliances working in the state. The Jana Mancha organised after five rounds of regional consultations during the month of July, 2013. The Jana Mancha had two plenary sessions and 4 parallel workshops, where the issues relating to right to food in Odisha in the wake of recent National Food Security Ordinance were discussed.

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.

Right to Food Campaign,Jharkhand Press coverage

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!

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.

Right to Food Campaign Yaatra,Jamshedpur

The Times of India

RANCHI: Activists of the Right to Food Campaign have decided to intensify public pressure to bring about logical changes in the proposed bill.

Expressing discontent over the inordinate delay in tabling the bill, adviser to the monitoring committee of the Supreme Court for food security scheme Balram, said they wanted the bill to be passed but with necessary amendments. "We have been campaigning for a holistic bill covering all aspects of people's basic right to fight against hunger and have no objection to the legislation as long as certain amendments are accepted by the government," he said

Right To Food Activist from Eastern and North Eastern Region ask for debate on NFSB at Kolkata

One hundred and two activist representing various organization and movements from Six States of Eastern and North Eastern Region met at Praggolaya in North 24 Parganas near Calcutta.

The Regional convention was one of the decisions taken by the National RTF Steering committee to oppose the intended ‘Ordinance’ on the National Food Security Bill 2013 and to take the movement further with the implementation plans if the bills is passed with needed amendments in the coming monsoon session of the Parliament.

Stunting a country

The Hindu

India’s paradox of fast economic growth across several years and chronic malnutrition in a significant section of the population is well known. It has vast numbers of stunted children whose nutritional status is so poor that infectious diseases increase the danger of death. About 34 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 are stunted in the country, according to a major review of global undernutrition by The Lancet. These adolescents, part of the post-liberalisation generation, have benefited the least from economic growth. Without active intervention to improve their access to appropriate food, the young women are bound to face complications during pregnancy and many are certain to deliver stunted babies, continuing the distressing cycle. What these insights underscore is the need for the political class to make the struggle against malnutrition a national priority. It is evident that in the absence of scaled-up programmes to build the health of the child and the teenager, and to provide opportunities for education and skill-building, India cannot really reap the so-called demographic dividend of a large young population. Neither can it substantially reduce its shameful levels of maternal and child mortality, attributable in good measure to lack of nutrients in the diet.

Tamilnadu lukewarm about Food Security Bill

The Hindu-Keshav

There are uncanny parallels between the history of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the course so far of the National Food Security Bill. Both legislations were drafted by the National Advisory Council, tabled in Parliament in a much diluted form, and substantially repaired in response to various agitations and recommendations (including those of a Parliamentary Standing Committee) before being put to vote. The revised version of the National Food Security Bill was recently cleared by the union cabinet and is expected to be discussed in Parliament before the end of the budget session. Like NREGA, the revised food bill is a compromise document that falls short of the initial vision behind it and yet upholds some important entitlements.

Photo by Zubair

Author: Sachin Kumar Jain

आप खुद ही सोच लीजिये क्या 165 ग्राम अनाज से भुखमरी और कुपोषण दूर होगा? पर भारत की सरकार ऐसा ही मानती है. खाद्य सुरक्षा में दालें और खाने का तेल शामिल नहीं है; क़ानून बन रहा है पर भ्रष्टाचार करने वालो के लिए इसमे लगभग खुली छूट है क्योंकि इसमे अपराध गैर-जमानती गंभीर अपराध नहीं है, फिर भले ही यह भूख-कुपोषण से मौत का कारण क्यों न बने; यह भूख से मुक्ति के बजाये कंपनियों के फायदे कमाने का बड़ा साधन बनेगा क्योंकि इसमे बच्चों के पोषण में ठेकेदारों के लिए खूब मौके दिए गए है. भ्रष्ट सरकार की मंशा सामने आ गयी है.