Have you ever closely watched ants foraging for food in the kitchen with remarkable ingenuity, teamwork and dedication? They meticulously g...
Have you ever closely watched ants foraging for food in the kitchen with remarkable ingenuity, teamwork and dedication? They meticulously gather food – crumbs and grains of sugar – to re-distribute to the entire colony. In addition, they store excess morsels to tide over future shortages. Bees are equally industrious. Why can’t humans learn from insects?
In theory, the National Food Security Act, passed in 2013, was designed on similar principles – to systematically procure and store seasonal harvests from farmers and guarantee re-distribution to households each month.
However, the final version of the law did not ensure universal coverage of all Indians nor did it guarantee a minimum support price to farmers for their crops. Instead, the legal guarantee extended to only 5 kg of foodgrains at subsidised prices to 75% of Indians in rural areas and 50% in urban areas.
Vast exclusions
In March 2020, to withstand the fury of the pandemic, the government announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana to provide an additional 5 kg of free foodgrain to the same 800 million Indians who already benefit from the food law. It has been extended till Diwali and is undoubtedly welcome. But it exacerbates rather than mitigates inequality. Millions of...
