Rights: Government think tank NITI Aayog has recommended reducing the coverage of population served under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 in order to save INR 47,229 crore in subsidies annually.
The recommendation is reportedly part of a discussion paper that has been circulated to concerned departments.
Under the Act—which presently covers 67 percent of the country’s total population—approximately 70.35 crore persons from priority households or those who hold ration cards, are entitled to five kilos of food grains per person per month, and each Antyodaya Anna Yojana household, covering approximately 9.01 crore persons, is entitled to 35 kilos of food grains per month.
The Planning Commission, which was replaced by the NITI Aayog in 2014, had determined the state-wise coverage ratio of the NFSA based on the rural and urban coverage ratio of 75:50. This was done using the National Sample Survey Household Consumption Expenditure coverage under food security law survey data for 2011-12. The coverage ratio has not been revised since the law came into effect on July 5th, 2013.
The NITI Aayog discussion paper estimates that if the rural-urban coverage ratio remains the same at 75:50, then updating the population numbers from Census 2011 to the present level (projected population in 2020) will expand the total number of people covered in the NFSA from the existing 81.35 crore to 89.52 crore.
On the other hand, if it is reduced to the recommended ratio of 60:40, the number of persons served will come down to 71.62 crore. Therefore, apart from reducing the coverage, the think tank has also recommended updating the population level which is currently based on Census 2011.
The paper suggests using the savings from the reduction in food subsidy for “other important areas of concern such as health and education, especially in the present pandemic time”.
Read this article on how improving crop insurance schemes for farmers can help achieve food security and reduce poverty in the country.