Govt to introduce food bill in Parliament this year
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the government will introduce the proposed National Food Security Bill, that seeks to provide a legal guarantee for cheaper foodgrains to the poor, in Parliament this year.
February 28, 2011 / 22:43 IST
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the government will introduce the proposed National Food Security Bill, that seeks to provide a legal guarantee for cheaper foodgrains to the poor, in Parliament this year.
"The Bill will be introduced in Parliament during the course of this year," Mukherjee said in his Budget speech.The Centre is close to finalisation of the Bill after detailed consultations with all stakeholders, including states, he said."The country has carried for long enough the burden of hunger and malnutrition," he noted.Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in the Rajya Sabha that the government is trying to introduce the bill in the Budget session of Parliament."... we hope to bring to this session of Parliament the National Food Security Bill, which would give the people the right to food as the constitutional right," Singh had said.The Budget session of Parliament started on February 21 and would conclude on April 21 this year.The Bill aims to provide the poor a legal guarantee for cheaper rice and wheat and was a part of the Congress'' 2009 election manifesto.UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council (NAC) is working on a draft Bill. The NAC has proposed a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains for 75 per cent of the country''s total population.According to NAC''s proposal, the government should provide 35 kg of foodgrains a month to "priority households" at a subsidised rate of Rs 1 per kg for millet, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 3 for rice.For "general category" households, the NAC has suggested supplying 20 kg of foodgrains at a price not exceeding 50% of the prevailing minimum support price (Rs 5.50 a kg for wheat and Rs 7.70 per kg for rice now).After examining the NAC proposals, the Prime Minister''s panel, headed by PMEAC chief C Rangarajan, has raised concerns over availability of the foodgrain to implement the NAC proposal. The panel suggested providing legal guarantee to the poor on a priority basis.The projected requirement of foodgrains to implement NAC proposal is higher than the current average procurement of 50-54 million tonnes, Rangarajan had observed.The government supplies subsidised rice and wheat through ration shops to Rs 6.52 crore below poverty line families and Rs 11.5 crore above poverty families. But there are no legal guarantees for this at present. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
