FOOD SECURITY BILL

"There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread" -Charles Dickens.

So hungry are some people that the minute details of their bones can be easily seen as there is absolute absence of any muscles between the bones and their pale skin. They are even denied the minimum bare necessity of life. Two square meals would sound sumptuous meals to them but alas!

Even after sixty-five years of independence the stark reality is that 20 crore people go hungry every day in our country. This is outright violation of the most important fundamental right- The Right to Life. Hence the need to guarantee and secure this basic right to food which was long overdue has seen a dawn with the passing of Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Food Security Bill provides legal entitlement of cheaper food grains to 67% of the country's population. It ensures the provision of 5 kilograms of rice at Rs. 3, or wheat at Rs. 2 or coarse grains at Re. 1 per kg every month to approximately 82 crore people of India. This scheme will cover 75% of rural population and 50% of the urban population. The cost of scheme is a whopping 1.3 lakh crore rupees but all concerns about a burgeoning current account deficit and falling growth was in abeyance while the vote in favour of the bill was concluded on August 26, 2013 in the Lok Sabha.

This bill is a ray of hope for the millions of deprived and destitute who go hungry every day. Whatever question may be raised by the Opposition regarding the timing of the bill tabled, the benefits are tremendously philanthropic and humanitarian. Certain existing schemes like Antyodaya Anna Yojana (for the poorest of the poor), cheap food to 32 crore people under BPL, ICDS (for kids below 6 years) etc will be subsumed under this humungous project.

Termed as 'game changer' by UPA-2, this bill has sarcastically been termed as Vote Security Bill and ridiculed as a farce and eye wash as on one hand the Government stated that 21% of India's population is below poverty line while on the other hand this scheme will cover 67% of the population. Apart from this, this scheme will push up the Government's spending which will increase the current account deficit not desirable in the present situation of economic slump. There are also other concerns that India's procurement for the scheme will push up world's food prices in case of drought and under-production. There are certain other grey areas and missing links. States will have to identify beneficiaries. This can create problems as exclusion criteria are not clear. Centre is to share transmission and commission cost which needs to be worked out. 20% to 35% possible leakage in PDS needs to be plugged and storage capacity must be improved.

Food Security Bill may be called a small step by the Government but a giant leap towards mankind with its benign objective of wiping out hunger as well as the tears. It is for the people who are less fortunate, condemned to hunger and malnutrition. The end result of this bill is sure to bring a faint smile on the lips of a starving child, the innocent smile which would relieve the conscience of those rolling in riches, at least a little.