The Hindu Business Line : Food for thought

The sharp rise in foodgrains oftake under the public distribution system (PDS) since 2002-03 may not necessarily mean that the poor have benefited from cheap supplies in a time of rising prices. According to a study of the PDS conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2004-05, 40 per cent of households below the poverty line do not have BPL cards. Only 29 per cent of poor urban households have BPL ration cards. What’s worse, of the top 5 per cent of the rural households in terms of consumption expenditure, 11 per cent have BPL cards. There cannot be more proof that attempts to ‘target’ PDS at the needy have failed, mainly because of two factors: first, processes to identify the poor have been based on questionable poverty estimates; and, second, correct identification also depends on the extent to which the poor are socially and politically empowered to enforce their rights.

Therefore, while the all-India estimate of leakages from the PDS is about a third, the figure is far less in the southern States, where literacy, education and deepening of democratic processes have made a difference. It is perhaps a result of poor identification that India remains in a state of nutritional emergency. According to the National Family Health Surveys, the proportion of anaemic children between six months and 36 months increased from 74 per cent in 1999 to 79 per cent in 2005. Clearly, the supply of grain and other essential commodities to at least half the population, as opposed to the poverty line number of 22 per cent, has to improve. The present allocation of 24 million tonnes of food-grains to about six crore BPL ration card-holders, or 300 million people, works out to less than seven kg per capita per month, whereas the poorest of the poor consume nine kg of cereals per month.

PDS reform cannot be put off any longer, with about 6 per cent of the population facing starvation at a time of rising food prices. A different approach to curtailing waste in food procurement and distribution is called for. It may be better to focus on the poorest districts while working out relief measures rather than trying to identify families. The Food Corporation of India should stop the transportation of grain and encourage decentralised procurement, while concentrating on keeping market prices stable and low. Restrictive clauses in the Essential Commodities Act on inter-State movement of food-grains should be done away with to enable States to procure their own mix of grains as per local preferences. In the final analysis, PDS can only provide succour if there is enough food to go around. A leaking PDS points to a crisis in food productivity.

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