--Congress lauds Food Security scheme, Delhi and Haryana to launch it on August 20NEW DELHI, 13 JULY 2013 - The Congress Party on Saturday rubbished media reports that it is going to use the Food Security ordinance as a trump card in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, saying the UPA Government at the Centre has come up with various schemes in the social sector and for the nation's welfare during its nine-year ruleSpeaking to the media after the conclusion of the meeting chaired by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi of Congress Chief Ministers and PCC chiefs, the communications department chief of the party Ajay Maken said: "I have said it earlier also that during our nine-year rule we have brought several measures, be it MNREGA, loan waivers scheme for farmers and right to information. So, this is a step ahead in that direction. It should not be seen in isolation. We have brought several schemes in the social sector and for the people of the country during our nine-year-rule."
The party chief ministers and PCC chiefs discussed the steps for implementation of the Food Security scheme. Haryana and Delhi indicated that the scheme could be implemented from August 20.
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OPINION PIECES:-
1. Food Bill: Is a rights-based approach feasible? Yes
By: Sudha Narayanan
12 JULY 2013: The rights-based approach of the Food Security Bill is eminently feasible, provided it is combined with credible provisions for ensuring accountability. Fiscal feasibility is not currently a pressing concern as the total cost of the Bill is only around 1 per cent of the GDP and only an additional 4 million tonnes of grain are required compared to current procurement. I will dwell instead on other aspects.
Where social barriers and structures of power prevent people from accessing the most fundamental of human needs, as in many parts of India, legal entitlements give people something to fight for. The Right to Information Act (2005) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) have demonstrated that collective action can galvanise around these legal entitlements and empower people to make demands on the state, for what are anyway expressly the state's constitutional responsibilities. Often, these are small initiatives that work locally but make all the difference to the lives of people who might have little recourse to alternatives.
When Dalit and tribal women in UP's Sitapur and MP's Badwani districts get unemployment allowance in the MGNREGS or a corrupt official gets sacked (in Bihar) or is asked to return money embezzled through petty corruption – post-office officials in Pakur (Jharkhand), panchayat officials in Surguja (Chhattisgarh) or Boudh (Odisha) – these demonstrate the power of legal entitlements to dislodge entrenched systemic failures.
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Full Article: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/food-bill-is-a-rightsbased-approach-feasible-yes/article4909057.ece
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2. Food Bill: Is a rights-based approach feasible? No
By: Harish Damodaran12 JULY 2013: Entitlement to food security confers a right that is more specific and far-reaching than what is in MGNREGA or the Right to Education (RTE) legislations.The MGNREGA does not promise anyone the right to a job. It merely guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a year, provided the person concerned is willing to do unskilled manual labour.
The RTE, likewise, only casts an obligation on the Government to ensure formal schooling and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 years age group. But there are no binding conditions in respect of quality. And since over 90 per cent of habitations in India have primary schools within one kilometre distance, the RTE doesn't really present insurmountable challenges.
This is not so with the National Food Security Ordinance, which provides legal entitlement to a monthly quota of 5 kg of wheat or rice per person at Rs 2 and Rs 3/kg to two-thirds of the country's population. It is a right that is much more tangible and practically exercisable by most people.
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Full Article: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/food-bill-is-a-rightsbased-approach-feasible-no/article4909054.ece
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'Food security is good, but what about food safety?'
VARANASI, 15 JULY 2013: While the National Food Security Bill (now an ordinance) has been widely debated by political parties and experts, a professor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) wants to draw attention of policy makers towards proper implementation of Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) 2006.
"Why only Food Security Bill is in agenda of political parties, why is the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 not being highlighted," wondered Anand Chaudhary, associate professor at the faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Chaudhary.
High drama is on in political circle regarding food security bill that ensures cheap grain for one-third population of the country. Congress is adamant for the bill as game changer and other political parties are considering it as vote bank politics. "As an academician and university teacher, may I ask these policy makers about some facts. Who will take care of implementation of FSSA, which was made to ensure service to the masses (poor as well as prosperous), regarding food available in market, either readymade, ready to eat or raw form," he said. Why policy makers are not ensuring the best services to commoner by strict implementation of provisions of FSSA 2006 amended in 2008, 2010 and 2012 for better services to every section of society. Why they are eyeing only vote bank that may be an easy target?
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Full Article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Food-security-is-good-but-what-about-food-safety/articleshow/21077404.cms……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Rice, wheat worth Rs. 2,050 crore wasted in 3 yrs in govt godowns
By: Sandeep Pai (Hindustani Times)NEW DELHI, 14 JULY 2013 - As millions of Indians surviving on less that R20 a day starve, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) lost rice and wheat worth R2,050 crore in transit and storage in the last three years, HT has come to know under the right to information act.According to the government-owned agency, 11,07,638.8 metric tonnes (MT) of foodgrains in its godowns have been lost to wastage or pilferage since 2010. The math works out to almost Rs. 700 crore a year in grains that could otherwise feed at least 10 million hungry people for a few weeks.
This has wider implications, most specifically for the Centre's food security law. The FCI is the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of grains across the country and would be instrumental in implementing the welfare scheme.
According to Tariq Anwar, union minister of state for agriculture and food processing, 30% of food grains supplied through the public distribution system (PDS) is lost every year.
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