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Govt. of India, National Advisory Council , A phased programme, Meet in October, 2010
What is food insecurity & how it may be eliminated for poor people and children,
programmes to insulate pregnant and nursing mothers, infants in the age group of zero to three, and other disadvantaged citizens, from hunger and malnutrition. Such special nutrition support programmes may need annually about 10 million tonnes of food grains.
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NAC takes a holistic approach to the issue, with broad concerns about the nutritional needs of the most vulnerable, suggesting 8 different entitlements for them apart from the PDS., such as comprehensive nutrition support schemes for infants, pre-school children, school children, welfare hostel students, adolescent girls, pregnant women, street children, the homeless, the aged, the infirm, the differently abled, those living with leprosy, TB, HIV/AIDS etc., together with community kitchens and feeding the destitute.
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The NAC has proposed a phased programme of implementation of the goal of universal public distribution system. This will start with either one-fourth of the districts or blocks in 2011-12 and cover the whole country by 2015, on lines similar to that adopted for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP).
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This will provide time to develop infrastructure such as grain storage facilities and Village Knowledge Centres and the issue of Household Entitlements Passbooks.
The NAC is developing inputs for the proposed Food Security Act covering legal entitlements and enabling provisions based on the principle of common but differentiated entitlements, taking into account the unmet needs of the underprivileged.
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* The Sonia Gandhi-led NAC may finalise the
Food Security Bill in New Delhi on September 24. P. C. Dep. Chair Montek Singh Ahluwalia and officials from Ministries concerned, Women and Child Development Secretary, will be present to try and help bridge the differences between the NAC and the Commission / Ministries. security the position also of the Campaign for Food Security Ms. Gandhi pointed out that the poor might wonder why the rich were being given the same entitlements. The view that there be a system of two prices and differential entitlements was conceded.
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Ms. Gandhi underlined the importance of taking the government's opinion on board. Since then, key members of the NAC's Working Group on Food Security, including Harsh Mander, Jean Dreze and N.C. Saxena, have had detailed discussions on the issue with Mr. Ahluwalia and
worked out so that those living below the poverty line (BPL)
at the enhanced Tendulkar Committee report's figure of about 42 per cent can be given 35 kg of food grains, with rice at Rs.3 a kg and wheat at Rs.2 a kg.
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At the NAC meeting on September 24, a decision may be taken on how much the rest of the population will get 25 kg of food grains as promised in the Congress manifesto and in the President's address last year, or enhanced entitlement of 35 kg, and at what price. The government is pushing for status quo, while the NAC would like it to be increased to 35 kg; however, the price, sources said, at which the food grains will be made available to the non-BPL population is likely to be pegged at 75 per cent of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). However, while this part of the Bill looks headed for a consensus, the more significant part relating to securing the nutritional requirements of those at the bottom of the economic ladder, and which has huge financial implications, will also have to be sorted out.
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At the August 30 meeting, Mr. Mander, who heads the Working Group on Food Security, had listed eight entitlements apart from an inclusive and enhanced Public Distribution System. These included schemes for children such as Integrated Child Development Services and maternal nutrition, community kitchens for those suffering from tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS, homeless children and destitute people and old age pensions. It is in this context that officials from the Ministries that deal with these subjects are expected to attend the meetings.
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The Fifth meeting of the National Advisory Council was chaired by Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 24th September, 2010 at 2 Motilal Nehru Place, New Delhi. Members who attended the meeting were Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, MP, Dr. Ram Dayal Munda, MP, Prof. Narendra Jadhav, Prof. Pramod Tandon, Dr. Jean Dreze, Ms. Aruna Roy, Ms Anu Aga, Shri N.C. Saxena, Dr. A.K. Shiva Kumar, Shri Deep Joshi, Ms. Farah Naqvi, Shri Harsh Mander and Ms. Mirai Chatterjee. A presentation was made by Shri Harsh Mander, convenor of the Working Group on the framework of proposed Right to Food Security Bill detailing the Working Groups proposal.
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Components of Food Security What is food insecurity & how it may be eliminated for poor people and children, Early childcare, ICDS, Pre-primary education, Targeted / Universal Public Distribution System, Agri -ministers Views, M S Swaminathan, Amartya K Sen,
The focus on accelerated food grains production on a sustainable basis and Universal Public Distribution System, plus free trade in grains would
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prepare and consume food to avail a nutritious diet. normal physical and mental health and are able to maintain it with our diet.
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*Food supplementation to address special needs
of
* the vulnerable groups,
ICDS.
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*the necessary macro-and micro-nutrients, *safe drinking water, *sanitation, environmental hygiene, primary healthcare
and
* Child
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*Although India has become self sufficient in food
grains production, the ever increasing population of the country is a major cause of concern in
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* Stunting (deficiency in
height for age)
* Wasting (deficiency in
weight for height)
* Underweight (that is
deficient in weight for age - a composite measure of stunting and wasting).
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among the highest levels of child undernutrition has been rightly termed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a "national shame".
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India continues to lose 6 % of our newborns before their first birthday; 50 % of our toddlers to malnutrition and a whole generation to poor health, low skills and poverty.
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*It is a major national programme that addresses the
needs of children under the age of six years.
be addressed in isolation
from those of its mother, the programme also extends to adolescent girls, pregnant women and nursing
mothers.
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*Over the last two decades the
ICDS coverage has progressively increased. As of March 2002, 5652 projects have been sanctioned; there are more than 5 lakh anganwadis in the country. ICDS rose from 5.7 million children of
up to March 2002.
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ask girls to stay back leaving them free to play run and go to school. women are treated as citizens with rights and receive the support they need during this time of motherhood and early childcare, thus enabling them to participate in work and life.
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* Nutrition indicators like under weight in pre-school children,
stunting, wasting of these children, prevalence of low birth
weight, anemia in pregnant women, adolescent girls and children under three years, poor breast feeding and complementary feeding rates pose a major challenge.
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FROM CRECHE TO NURSURY
TO KG/UG
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Pre-primary Education is offered to children in both urban and rural areas.
In urban areas, where sufficient children are available within a reasonable radius, separate Nursery Schools or departments are provided. (continued)
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*Otherwise nursery classes are attached to Junior
Basic or Primary Schools.
provided free of cost.
to give young children social experience rather than formal instruction. System, though Pre-primary education in India is not a fundamental right and thus a very low percentage of children receive preschool educational facilities.
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In India these services are called Integrated Child Development Services and Anganwadis. Indian pre- primary schools have different provisions. These kindergartens are divided into two stages - lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG). LKG class comprises children from 3 to 4 years of age, and the UKG class comprises children 4 to 5 years of age. The completion of preprimary schools sends the children to primary schools.
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development, and
smoothen their socialization (social
development) process.
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In the formal education system, Preprimary Education is considered to be an integral part of regular schools.
Pre primary education also extends to Kindergartens, crches and Montessori schools. In these sections of schools, these special
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become a member of a society through the process of socialization in which language plays a very important role. concerned, "love is the language and play is the method," love should also be expressed in a human language, in addition to other parental or caregivers' loving behavior, including nonverbal behavior.
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the pre-school environment, and is, kind of, substituted by an institutional arrangement of a learning environment in which teacher and other children come to play a part. get exposed to the rain and shine of the community that surrounds it.
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natural if it is done in the mother tongue of the child. when the initial socialization is done in a non-mother tongue of the child, language symbolism gets more complicated and the child begins to feel uneasy.
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the families which have very little exposure or competence in English face this barrier.
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The Indian government lays emphasis to primary education up to the age of fourteen years (referred to as Elementary Education in India.) It has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. Both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions. 80% of all recognized schools at the Elementary Stage are government run/supported, making it the largest provider of education in the Country.
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However, due to shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor level of teacher training. Education has also been made free for children for six to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.
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Costs of procuring, storing & distributing food grains at low cost and hence TPDS /PDS alternates.
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* Two arguments 1. 2.
mark the opposition to an universal system (whether in the PDS or other sectors like health ) There is no money for the huge subsidy. We may not have enough grain for an universal system when successive draught years happen, and high input costs of agriculture may bring down production. Non- government-orgs too should play a substantial role.
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*We do not follow the
policy of artificially keeping the prices low any more.62 % of Indias population is dependent on agriculture. Do we want them to remain poor? Prices have been fixed considering the input costs so that farming becomes viable. This has led to an increase in the income of farmers, he said.
the States for buying only the food grains at the lowest price slab earmarked for the Antyodaya population and leaving the rest untouched. I call up the Ministers and their secretaries, asking them to take away the food grains. But they are not interested.
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he said the Govt. had taken project to build warehouses. It was also hiring private warehouses. been reduced substantially, and this year it was just 0.02 % of the total produce.
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His stated vision is to rid the world of hunger and poverty; Dr. Swaminathan is an advocate of moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity, which he calls an "evergreen revolution"
That food originates from efficient and environmentally benign production technologies that conserve and enhance the natural resource base of crops, animal husbandry, forestry, inland and marine fisheries
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*Adequate food availability is necessary both for
stabilizing prices and ensuring the operation of an
effective PDS. There is therefore no time to relax on the food production front.
investment in irrigation, power supply, rural roads, cold storages, storage facilities and food processing units. By extending the benefits of technological transformation and institutional reform to more areas and farming systems, India 77 can become a leader in world agriculture.
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Amartya Spake
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The Kolkata Group, an independent initiative inspired and chaired by Amartya Sen, has demanded that the Right to Food Act be made non-discriminatory and universal to cover legal food entitlements for all Indians. The Eighth Kolkata Group Workshop (February 2010), has argued for creating durable legal entitlements that guarantee the right to food for all in the country. Sen stressed the need for the firm recognition of the right to food, and comprehensive legislation to guarantee everyone the right.
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A Right to Food Act covering enforceable food entitlements should be nondiscriminatory and universal. Entitlements guaranteed by the Act should include food grains from the Public Distribution System (PDS), school meals, nutrition services for children below the age of six years, social security provision, and allied programmes
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Other arguments and facts
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The Right to Food Campaign, civil society and economists like Jean Dreze, point out several facts. The poverty estimates of about 40 per cent given by the Tendulkar Committee to determine the number of poor who will receive subsidized food under the forthcoming National Food Security Act is inadequate to our current situation of hunger, starvation and malnutrition. Others that have submitted their reports are the National Committee for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) set up by the Government of India, that estimates that 77 % of our population have an income of less than Rs.20 per day in 2004-05; the Saxena Committee set up by the Ministry of Rural Development that says that 50 % of our population should be considered below the poverty line.
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The paucity of resources can no longer be an excuse for keeping our people hungry. It is more a case of having the right priorities, and a moral deficit. The NCEUS report appointed by the government points out that the safety net can be provided within the available resources and capacity of the government. If a universal subsidy can work in Tamil Nadu state and PDS can work in Kerela state why can't it be made to work elsewhere?
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India wants to reach the moon but the question is whether it can reach its own starving children. Who cares if the Commonwealth of the Games is so uncommonly unequal. According to Harsh Mander, a Food Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court, about ten homeless die every day in Delhi. Says Mander That so many people die each day at our doorstep, close to the centers of power, is a reminder how scarce is 91 compassion in our public life.
At present, the government supplies 27.4 million tonne of rice and wheat for PDS, which costs it Rs 56,000 crore (in 2010-11). It estimates to have 50 million tonne of grain in its storage facilities at the worst point of the year.
Back of the envelope calculations show the first year of NFSA, when one-fourth of the blocks or districts get almost universal coverage and special nutrition schemes are launched, would require around 50 million tonne of grain. The subsidy bill will go up by around Rs 20,000 crore.
But even so, the increase of fiscal subsidy might require only a political decision; supply of grain, on the other hand, is a governance issue that the NAC will have to fight and push hard.
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The government has announced a 'second green revolution' through the non-irrigated lands, but the agricultural ministry's past record does not inspire confidence. To assure itself that the NFSA does not come undone in future years, the NAC will need to set the course for this second 'revolution' and push the government to procure more. The latter is beset with macroeconomic concerns of how increased government purchase will hit prices and inflation.
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For India, with nearly fifty per cent children underweight, to make freedom from hunger a legal right is a golden dream that needs hard work to realize it. It involves besides an universal PDS, many interventions & entitlements like Child nutrition, Social security, Health care and even Proper rights. Framing National Food Security Act requires creative work, public debate and political commitment.
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* That was less than it was half a century ago. * In 1955-58 it was 440 grams. * Take pulses separately and the fall is 50 %.
Around 35 grams in 2005-08 from nearly 70 grams in 1955-58.
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The Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures food grains from the farmers at the government announced minimum support price (MSP). The MSP should ideally be at a level where the procurement by FCI and the offtake from it are balanced. The responsibility for procuring and stocking of food grains lies with the FCI and for distribution with the public distribution system (PDS). To reduce the fiscal deficit, the government has sought to curtail the food subsidy bill by raising the issue price of food grains (to APL people) and linking it to the economic cost at which the FCI supplies food grains to the PDS. The economic cost comprises the cost of procurement, that is, MSP, storage, transportation and administration and is high.
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*The proposal
by the Planning Commission, that the Tendulkar committee figures for those living below the poverty line be the cut off for providing food grains at Rs 3 per kg, could now get greater weightage.
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