Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has lashed out at Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s dream project, namely the National Food Security Bill, which the government introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22.
Pawar went on record as saying that there are insufficient funds to implement the Food Security Bill in its present form. However, he said “This is not a question of [an] individual. This is a question of investment in agriculture.”
The bill, if it became law and was fully implemented, would cost the national exchequer Rs 1.1 lakh crore ($22 billion) annually in agriculture liabilities alone, but would provide subsidized food grain to more than 60 percent of the country’s population.
Pawar had opposed the bill at a meeting of the union cabinet in December, but it was passed without discussion when it was brought before the full cabinet a week later. As Sanjay Kumar noted here last month, the draft bill is set to offer “significant government subsidies for staples like rice and wheat for India’s poorest citizens, and effectively gives a legal right to food for roughly two-thirds of the country’s 1.2 billion people.”
The bill is the United Progressive Alliance government’s third major common man-centric project, and comes six years after it brought the Right to Information Act and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The bill vows that there will be hot mid-day meals provided for children up to 14 years of age, and Rs 6,000 ($121) for all pregnant and lactating women. As noted by NDTV, it also promises 75 percent of rural population and 50 percent of urban households the right to 7 kilograms of food grains per person per month, at Rs.3 per kg for rice, Rs.2 per kg for wheat and Rs.1 per kg for coarse grains to the beneficiaries.
The government is keen on fully implementing the food security program by 2014, in time for the next general election. It’s Gandhi’s dream project, and a potential game changer for the Congress at the next election.
However, a number of questions remain unanswered, including most importantly where the resources will come from to fund such a move, and how such vast quantities of food grains can be guaranteed. Ultimately, the future of the bill may depend on the government’s ability to answer a single question: how to pay for it.
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S. Muralidharan
A few answers have been found, they say, Rajeev ji. Re-auctioning of 2G spectrum would provide 60,000 crores as a windfall gain which they would pump into Food Security Bill. What if, nine companies, whose licences were scrapped by the Supreme Court in the recent verdict on 2G scam, would go to court to claim compensation. Congress, in order to face the next general election in 2014, would have to do something to put these scams in the back-burner by showing some measures that would benefit a large number of population. Food security bill could be the one that would give them some credibility.
With the way things are going, it is most likely that the next general election would be preponed. Sharad Pawar can rake in money for cricket, but not for populist measures like the one proposed by UPA-II.
S. Muralidharan
Executive Director, Knowledge Foundation, Noida
Siddharth
@Mazo-
Your comments are rationale!
fvzbapch yhexf va gru vagnejrof
Dear India, the path to economic progress is through creating more job opportunities for your citizens. Just look at your booming BPO industry. That’s your clue to bringing your country to prosperity.
Socialism– your taxes at work for those who don’t.
rajiv
More important than the cost, is the efficiency aspect. As already witnessed by another pet project of Sonia Gandhi (and thus, the UPA), NREGA is a colossal waste of resources and has led to unimaginable corruption. The government has nothing but high food inflation and scarcity of agricultural labor to show for all that money spent.
This food bill is just another ruse to sell the country away so that UPA can win the election, and make truck loads of money on the side to boot.
Anon 2
This sort of program should only exist to serve people in danger of imminent starvation, not for 2/3 of the population. It’s just going to end up flooding the market with cheap food which will hurt all the small farmers while wasting tonnes of money which could have been used much more efficiently to the greater benefit of the people for things such as infrastructure.
People will become dependent on this program and then get hurt when it can’t be sustained because of a drought or a number of other possible situations. People will also probably reproduce more because of the artificial increase in food supply only to get into a real tough spot when that supply goes back down to previous levels. In a country with a population of 1.2 billion and growing, this is not the way to go.
Manav
Unfortunately, 2/3 of India’s population IS in imminent danger of starvation. It’s appalling, but true.
Anon
So by this rationale people are more concerned with making money than feeding tens of millions of people?
Mazo
Government’s don’t exist to serve as soup kitchens so that citizens can bum around all day and expect food and shelter from the government.
A government’s duty is to provide opportunities for people to earn their own livelihood.
This kind of perverse welfare scheme is a huge drain on the Indian economy and a epic waste of resources that could be put to better use to build the necessary infrastructure like roads, ports and rail that would increase productivity and competitiveness in the Indian industry. Reducing waste and building more refrigeration storage units will also go a long way to optimize food production and perishable food management in India.
These kinds of nanny state welfare schemes serve only one purpose – to create opportunities for massive graft and to buy votes from the poor and the dumb electorate.
raidet
Absolutely. And decrease the surplus population.
Oliver
You sir are the worst kind of person.
Vaz
You mean the poor, dumb and hungry ellectorate?
Mazo
Nobody has the “right” to eat! You work – you eat. Simple rule. The government already provides 100 ruppees a day for people to just lay about 4-5 hours a day doing nothing under its “rural employment” scheme – which consequently has destroyed the agricultural work-base because most of these guys make 100 bucks for doing nothing and have tremendously jacked up their wages for doing “real” work causing huge inflation.
Plus who foots the bill for these kinds of charity ? The people who actually work 9 to 9 jobs pay taxes and feed their families. Socialism is perverse!
Miles
Ohhh how I dislike (underline and bold that previous word) you Mazo and not because your a total selfish (not nice word) but because that kind of idiotic thinking is why there are millions upon millions upon millions of people dying of starvation. That type of thinking is dangerous and should be fought.
“A government’s duty is to provide opportunities for people to earn their own livelihood.”
This would be true if corruption didn’t exist, overpopulation and bad policy making. Remember government shapes the playing field and all over the world it’s extremely one sided and not everyone has a fair chance…actually the majority do not. This is why you see government trying to take care of it’s people because they know if this continues they will lose their power by the old rising up thing…. you know what I am talking about.
Mazo
You are one of those liberal utopian types who likes to play Santa Claus with “other people’s” money. The government has collected taxes from people who work and try to improve their lives! Why would anybody work 6 hours a day in the sun if he can just stand in line and get free food ?
You don’t understand poverty clearly. Sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind! There is no starvation due to drought or due to lack of supplies. The only starvation is due to poverty and that is natural and healthy for any society as it motivates “productivity”!
Work = Eat. Simple Concept.
If I laze around all day I wouldn’t have food to eat either. What makes their “hunger” greater than mine ? OR is being poor some kind of “benediction” ??
Get over your holier-than-thou BS. India provides almost guaranteed employment and most of the work is unskilled. There are thousands of acres that are lying fallow because farmers can’t be bothered to work anymore. Why work when the government is going to feed you ?
These kinds of programs ruined Africa for a decade. Now greedy money grubbing politicians seek to sink India with this Socialist perversion as well! I pray it fails miserably.
Dasen
I don’t know why, but I think that if you were one of the starving you would have a different opinion.
Mazo
So ? If I’m starving am I entitled to free food ?? What kind of bizarre illogical concept is that ?
I’m thirsty for a beer now, can the government provide me free beer ?? Oh, I want one of those Belgian white beers – thank you!
Or do I get free stuff only if I’m poor ??
naresh
I believe that a perpetually hungry and under-nourished population is worse than one that isn’t in being able to:
a. give their best to improve their lifestyle and literacy
b. be able to make better voting decisions
Another highly necessary and important task to put an end to illegal cashflow into first-world countries (and Swiss bank accounts). This should also take care of not perversely widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
(Idealistic goal: switch from _income_ taxes to _wealth_ taxes)
Mazo
There is no “perpetually malnourished or hungry” population! This is a distorted myth perpetuated by shady NGOs and aid agencies to milk money from dumb Westerners who don’t know the truth.
Indian government warehouses and granaries are brimming with food. Indian farmers are having bumper crops and the Indian market has PLENTY of food – for those who have money! There is no drought or starvation induced by the lack of supply. The only starvation is due to poverty. Even the poor can get 3 meals a day simply by begging in any big city (and most do!) .
As it is the Indian government is offering almost universal employment – which has made inflation skyrocket. Now they want to go a step further and stop all pretense of getting any work done and hand out food for free with money they get from people who work 10 hours or more a day and are fleeced with taxes merely because they have the audacity to be productive members of society instead of living on the street standing in line at the Government free food line.
VioletaRoni
The government is put in place by the citizens for whatever purposes the people decide. The fact that money interests even factor into whether or not to feed the people is ridiculous. You want to create a better country and society? Feed the children and empower the women. A healthy society creates a healthy country. Common sense.
Mazo
The government is there to do what’s good for the “entire” country not what’s good for the people in power and what’s good for politics in an election year! Socialism is a sickness that ruins nations by playing Robin Hood to gain popularity with the illiterate, the lazy and the incompetent. Food is not a human right – it’s a privilege and a reward for work; always has been and always should be. Creating dependence on the government’s teat is sickening destruction of the productivity of this nation and a catastrophically reckless fiscal policy that will ruin India.
Of course money is an important consideration, it is to any sane person because money is a limited resource and using limited resources in the best possible way so that it produces greater long term prosperity should be the primary goal. Not opening another government teat for the lazy to suck on while the productive members of society are bled dry with taxes for the misfortune of working and not being poor!
Manav
Mazo, Why don’t you search for what employment opportunities exist in rural India before you come up with your ridiculous, downright offensive diatribe against lazy people. I have personally never found an argument more pernicious that the classic “we work and the poor mooch of us” formulation that you specialise in.
Malcntnt
A government’s duty varies depending on the people. Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs would take up all the food in the area and ration it to the people during times of famine. If a government wants to go out of its way and accomplish other duties such as the ones you listed, they first have to be a welfare state to better the people that will ultimately be the ones that do all the leg-work. After all, the first step in life is obtaining food even before shelter. Why do you think all of our ancestors first roamed the Earth hunting and gathering?
Mazo
Ancient Egyptian Pharos also used slave labor and forced many of their citizens to work to death or die for disobedience! Why have you conveniently forgotten that? Do you think the Egyptian Pharos could have dug the canals or built the major ports or the cities that made their civilization prosperous if the Pharos were busy supporting every bum on the street with his coffers??
The poverty of the under privileged is not the “fault” of those who were privileged enough to get an education or make something of themselves. People are responsible for themselves and if people continue to reproduce recklessly without having enough resources to support their family – guess what? Some of them will starve! Is the middle class Indian who has worked all his life to get to where he is while paying taxes through his nose responsible for that starving child or the decisions of some ignorant and illiterate family? Does this middle class Indian deserve to be penalized with greater taxes, higher inflation because of the lopsided schemes of socialism that is going to destroy the agricultural workforce ? Socialistic polices and the disease of the welfare state are the refuge of intellectually and morally bankrupt policy makers who want to pass off short term populism as progress and in turn “buy” votes.
derp
I dunno, seems like they got a lot of things going on that the GOP seems to love these days. Such as putting children out into the work force with virtually zero regulation over work place conditions and not providing them with a liveable wage.
Sensible
As there are a spectrum of government policies, there are too, a spectrum of people. Sure, there are some people that will wrongly take advantage of this situation, but look at the bigger picture – this could help feed millions of underprivileged people. Some people just don’t realize the time it takes to execute more sustainable policies, especially in a society burdened by a tremendous gap in its class structure. If India could wait and develop a more sustainable infrastructure to feed its hungry, that would be great. However, the fact is, millions will starve everyday in search for a more utopian approach. Despite all of the robust growth and good government intentions over the past decade, India still suffers from an embarrassingly high-rate of malnutrition (42.5%) and holds fourth of the world’s hungry. I’m surprised no one considers the effects of that on the economy. Or perhaps, some people just don’t care as the ones suffering are usually the ones living in the outskirts of their cities along with their garbage.
Mazo
Have you ever heard of the parable : “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life!” ?
The Indian government hasn’t. What’s worse, it’s taking money from those who can “fish” and feeding those who can’t in a perverse cycle towards ruination.
To compound and expedite this death spiral, the Indian government is doing this on “borrowed money” due to its massive fiscal deficit.
Being Charitable with borrowed money is a fool’s pass time! And unlike the fool who is held accountable for his actions, it will be the middle class Indians who pay taxes who will eventually have to “pay back” this borrowed money!
Blahblah
While I agree with your opinion that there will be massive graft and corruption if this bill is indeed passed, I will have to disagree that the resources are better invested in infrastructure, roads, ports.
A country’s most precious commodity is its citizens. Rather than entrenching existing graft by diverting resources into infrastructure so that corrupt middle-men, corrupt contractors, corrupt MNC’s and corrupt politicians can get cutbacks and avoid environmental constraints abroad, by putting money into supporting and sustaining the populace India will be empowering them.
Who will all the roads, etc. be serving if its citizens are malnourished and don’t live past 30. India has always been a country that stoops and grovels to attract foreign investment and that drools over foreign presence.
Its time we stopped developing for others sake and focused on our own people to give them the confidence to compete on the world stage.
s, thakur
just what China did in the last over half a century. Sunny
anon
Are you kidding me? Look at this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16809532
We’re spending $11bn (which could amount to half of what is needed here) on new fighter jets to improve an air force for a war that’ll never happen.
John L. Yoon
Wow, Mazo! Great job summarizing it up.
To put it bluntly, no one likes playing Devil’s advocate but in a world of unlimited demand and limited resources, a pragmatic approach is unavoidable.
Simply put, like Mazo said….Work=eat
This is how the world work- you either feed yourself or you die…cruel but it happens
Just to let everyone know, I would love to see a world where global hunger is ended but it won’t happen. Why?
Because while we lobby our governments to take care of the poor, we hypocrites in the Western world or even in Asia, eat three meals filled with nutritious, filling foods, buy $700 laptops and gaming systems and even shell out thousands on luxury goods like cognac and cigars. Are you willing to give that up?