Tackling malnutrition: Indian cabinet clears food subsidy plan

Parliament could pass bill early next year; critics say plan is populist, irresponsible.


Reuters December 19, 2011

NEW DEHLI: India’s cabinet agreed on Sunday to tackle widespread malnutrition with food subsidies for two-thirds of the country’s 1.2 billion population, a move that may shore up support for the government but carries risks for the faltering economy.

The bill will be sent to parliament next week, a senior minister who asked not to be named told Reuters.

“The food security bill is cleared,” the minister said.

The government’s Congress party-led coalition has a majority and the multi-billion dollar project has a good chance of being passed into law ahead of elections in the poor, politically important state of Uttar Pradesh early next year.

The new scheme aims to tackle rates of child malnutrition that are worse than in sub-Saharan Africa, but critics say slowing growth and a widening fiscal deficit in Asia’s third largest economy mean the timing of the bill is irresponsible.

“The economy may be in a bad shape but the fact is elections are coming,” D H Pai Panandikar, head of private economic think tank RPG Foundation, said, before the cabinet cleared the bill.

“Any policy they approve now will be aimed at extracting some political mileage. When you think what this means for public finances, you know the government is living for the day.”

The food security bill and other welfare orientated laws are backed by Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, who heads the party’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

The food ministry is assuming grain purchases at around 30 per cent of output for the new food bill, relying on increased yields and lower wastage to cover extra requirements and keeping exports on the agenda. But it is still not clear how 30 percent of all grain output could cover 810 million beneficiaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2011.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ