Food Security Act

The newly launched National Food security Act promises to give 35kg of grain every month at Rs 3/kg to every poor family in the 200 poorest districts of the country. This is a laudable initiative. However like all other social welfare programs this is bound to score low in term of effectiveness due to the involvement of multiple layers before it reaches the beneficiary.

With a host of problems like identification of the beneficiaries, ensuring stocks reach the districts and taluks every month on time, vigilance on the private distributors to ensure there is no shifting of the supplies to the open market etc are real problems on the ground. To add to all this interference of local politicos and their influence on the distribution process is a hindrance.

Direct cash transfer programs underway in Mexico and Brazil branded as Oportunidades and Bolsa Familia are considered to be successful in reducing corruption, elimination of intervening bureaucracy and ensuring that the government subsidy reaches the beneficiary. Results show that Oportunidades and Bolsa Familia have increased school enrollment and contributed to healthy child development amongst other successes.

Government needs to partner with UID project and hasten the process of issuing identification cards for the real poor along with a bank account to the family. We need to put cash in the hands of the poor directly to ensure effectiveness of the Act.Else there are middle men, traders, bureaucrats and politicians waiting to take the food away from the plates of the poor.