On the Issues with NFSA – The National Food Security Act has been starved of key support

Source: This post on the Issues with NFSA has been created based on the article “The National Food Security Act has been starved of key support” published in Live Mint on 17^th November 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 Agriculture – Public Distribution System – objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; Issues of food security.
GS Paper 2 Social Justice – Issues relating to hunger.

News: This article discusses the issues with the current style of implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) as just a free-ration scheme.

A detailed article on India’s Public Distribution System can be read here.

The National Food Security Act, 2013 came in the backdrop of India’s slow performance on the nutritional front, despite rapid economic growth. It laid down the framework for a comprehensive food-security system aimed at improving nutrition and access to food.

According to the author, the Public Distribution System was an important part of it, however, the main reason behind the NFSA was to move beyond the limited nature of the PDS.

What is the PMGKAY Scheme?

PMGKAY is a free food grain scheme that covers over 57% of India’s population.

Under PMGKAY, started in April 2020 in the wake of the COVID pandemic, each beneficiary got free 5 kg of food grain per month, in addition to the PDS scheme (an extra 5 kg of food grain per month supplied at a subsidised price).

Recently, the Hon’ble PM announced an extension of the PMGKAY scheme for another five years.

Read more on PMGKAY here and the recent PMGKAY Extension here.

What are the issues in the implementation of the NFSA currently?

According to the author, there are various issues with the NFSA in its current form:

1. Cereal-centric Policy: The excessive focus on rice and wheat goes against the stated objective of the Act, which mandates an expansion of the food basket to include pulses, edible oil and other nutritious food.
   It has contributed to a skewed production structure, whereby India is a large importer of pulses and edible oil, though self-sufficient in rice and wheat.
2. Has become a Political Instrument: It has become a political instrument (example: the latest extension of PMGKAY). It has come at the cost of dilution of several provisions in the original law.
3. Exclusion of Beneficaries: Beneficiary coverage remains fixed at 2011 census levels, excluding more than 100 million beneficiaries.
4. Limited Maternity Benefits: As against a provision of maternity benefits for all pregnant women, the scheme has been restricted to only 1 childbirth. The amount has remained frozen at Rs. 6,000 per delivery, with no increase in the last decade.
5. Limited Hikes for Child-related Provisions: Both the Integrated Child Development Scheme and the Mid-Day-Meal scheme have seen insignificant hikes.
6. Regionally Skewed Distribution: Unlike the Act’s provision for the decentralization and expansion of public procurement, it remains largely concentrated, such as in the states like Puniab and Haryana.
7. Environmental Consequences: The environmental consequences of paddy cultivation have led to declining water tables, and pollution due to stubble burning.

Reducing the Act to a free PDS scheme may help the majority of our population gain access to free food, vielding political dividends, but it should not come at the cost of implementing key provisions of the NFSA – that of providing a framework for improving nutritional and food security.

Question for practice:

Critically analyse the effectiveness of NFSA in addressing food security in India.