PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
INDIA
ENABLING FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA
The Parliament of India passed the National Food Security Bill, 2013 to provide a statutory basis for a framework assuring food security to all. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 26 August 2013 and the Rajya Sabha on 2 September 2013 and received Presidential assent on 10 October 2013.
Considered as the government’s biggest programme to fight hunger, the Bill sought to provide highly subsidized food grains to about two-third of India’s population and make food security a right instead of a welfare measure. The Bill, 2013 put special focus on the needs of the poorest people, women and children. It addressed the issue of food security in a life cycle approach, providing separate entitlements for pregnant women and children from six months to 14 years, along with entitlements to a much larger population to receive subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The Bill covers 75 per cent of the rural and 50 per cent of the urban population, with a uniform entitlement of five kg per person per month. While the Central Government would determine the percentage coverage under the TPDS in rural and urban areas of each State, the State Government would identify households within the coverage determined for each State. The Act also contained provisions for nutritional support to pregnant women and lactating mothers.
334 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four Prof. K.V. Thomas
Free meals would be given during pregnancy and six months thereafter and maternity benefit of no less than Rs 6,000 in such installments as prescribed by the Central Government. Children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years would be entitled to meals under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes. The eldest woman of the household of 18 years age or above was to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards. There was also a provision for food security allowance to entitled beneficiaries in case of non- supply of entitled food grains or meals. The Central Government would provide assistance to the State Governments in meeting the expenditure incurred by them on intra-State movement. On 13 August 2013, Shri
Prabodh Panda (CPI) moved a Statutory Resolution for disapproval of the National Food Security Ordinance, 2013 promulgated by the President
on 5 July 2013. The Minister of State of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas moved the motion for consideration of the Bill. Moving his motion, the Minister said the government with the passing of the Act, would fulfill its promise to provide food security. The government had accepted most of the recommendations made by the Departmentally Related Standing Committee on Food, and Consumer Affairs, which had thoroughly examined the initial Food Security Bill. As the discussion remained inconclusive, the matter was again taken up on 26 August 2013. The Minister informed the House that the census of 2011 population would form the basis for deciding the number of persons to be covered under the Bill. He was confident that the Bill would encourage more accountability and transparency
Shri Prabodh Panda, MP
in the entire public distribution system (PDS) system. One of the
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