An intractable problem

The recent IFRI report puts India 67th among 84 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Countries which are written off as failed states have done better than India in the survey. It may not be a true reflection of the success of those countries in implementing innovative programs to reduce malnutrition and hunger and could be a statistical aberration considering the size of India’s population.

Having said that our record in executing large scale social programs is a failure and we continue to search for answers. UID is being touted as a mechanism to track and ensure that the government benefits reach the real beneficiaries (however a recent report in TOI states that the AP government officials are favoring certain agencies for distributing the UID numbers and the whole tendering process is being questioned).

A host of programs NREGA, ICDS, MDM and a revamped PDS are failing to address the fundamental issue of freeing the citizen from hunger. The figures coming of the study of IFRI are alarming – 22% Undernourished population, 43.5% underweight children under 5 years and 6.9% under 5 mortality rate.

Amongst the BRIC countries Brazil, China and Russia are doing much better with Brazil coming out tops and has figures close to that of a developed country. There is no doubt that the Anti poverty schemes like “Bolsa Familia” in Brazil are having a positive impact on its society and is ushering a period of prosperity in that country. In India It is not the lack of food grains for distribution but the delivery mechanism that fails such social programs.

Unfortunately such programs in India continue to fail due to lax implementation, lack of political will and an apathetic bureaucracy.

The Union government’s draft Right to Food (Guarantee of Safety and Security) Act is a step in the right direction, it insists on “the physical, economic and social right of all citizens to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with an adequate diet necessary to lead an active and healthy life with dignity…” The proposed law offers a quantity of cereal at a modest cost each month to all those living under the poverty line. The governments recognition of Right to Food deserves credit but what is more important is to address the miserable functioning of the existing system and to rectify the discrepancies across States and the general non-transparency and confusion in the definition of the beneficiaries (the ambiguities in the understanding who the real beneficiaries are).For example in the state of AP it was found that number of BPL cards distributed were more than the total BPL families in the state.

Apart from the Right to Food itself Government should strengthen the NREGA and other employment generation programs to empower the men and women financially; this will generate adequate purchasing power for them and ensure Food security too.

India should rise to the challenge of eradicating hunger, such eradication should be supported by strong legislation, creating effective delivery mechanisms, excellent execution and tracking mechanisms. India’s aspiration of being a global super power and the respect we seek from the international community for recognition as one will require that we build a hunger free and healthy nation.