Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra best in implementing National Food Security Act, first-ever state rankings show

Women farmers work in a paddy field. (Representative image: Reuters)

Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh lead the nation in implementing the crucial National Food Security Act (NFSA), the inaugural state ranking index for NFSA implementation has shown.

The new rankings were launched on Tuesday by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) at the national conference of food ministers of states and union territories on Food and Nutrition Security of India.

They reveal that some states and union territories significantly lag others in terms of the coverage, beneficiary satisfaction, digitization, and overall system efficiency of their Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

Among the special category states (the North-Eastern states, Himalayan states, and the Island states), Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim obtained the top positions. Gujarat and the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu formed the rest of the top 5.

The NFSA ensures food security for two-thirds of India’s population. It distributes highly subsidised foodgrains every month to nearly 80 crore people but remains far from uniform in the country. The state ranking index aims to benchmark the implementation of the country’s food security measures at a state level.

DFPD has said the development and release of this Index will be a routine annual exercise. It will comprehensively capture both quantitative and qualitative aspects while calculating the scores for each state.

Speaking on the occasion, Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said the TPDS has continued to evolve over the years. "Now the provisions of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), enacted in 2013, govern the TPDS. Ever since the enactment of NFSA, food security in India has advanced from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach," he said.

"Our government has worked tirelessly to maintain transparency in implementing the NFSA and eliminate foodgrain leakages and diversion during the distribution process," he added.

The government feels the index will offer a platform to consolidate lessons and best practices, create transparency in the system to publish reliable and standard data in the public domain for citizens which can then be used by global and Indian agencies for their research and analysis. Currently, most agencies rely on third-party data, proxy data, or assumptions for their research and indexes.

State focus

Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Jharkhand completed the top 10 states in the rankings. Goa came last among major states, while Ladakh was the worst performer among union territories.

The index is expected to help create a framework to benchmark the implementation of the country’s food security measures at a state level. At the same time, there will be special exceptions for hilly terrains and the North East region given the unique challenges these areas face, the DFPD said.

NFSA has special provisions for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children between six months and 14 years. These include hot, nutritious meals in schools and Aanganwadi centres and cash transfers for pregnant women and lactating mothers to provide additional nutritional benefits and compensate for wage loss.

Absent ministers

Goyal also came down hard on states from which food ministers did not join the summit. He told the state officials present in their place to go back and tell their state government's that the Centre has noted the absence of their ministers.

"All the ministers could not join us (despite allowing video conferencing), and there are some states who are totally unrepresented. I would like the media to note this," Goyal said. Ministers from states including Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland were absent.

"If this is the interest towards food and nutrition security, I think it reflects very poorly," Goyal said, asking the Consumer Affairs Ministry and his office to also note this down. "For all you know, I may not have time when you may have a problem and seek to meet me. We will have the same approach that you are showing us. It's a very unfortunate situation," he stressed.