Daily Editorial Analysis for 18th November 2022

Weighing in on PMGKAY, the free grains scheme

GS Paper: 2- Government Policies and interventions

Important for

Prelims exam: Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)

Context

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a scheme to distribute free foodgrains to the poor, has now been extended for another three months.

About Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)

• As part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), PMGKAY was implemented by the central government during the pandemic-induced lockdown to aid the underprivileged in their struggle against COVID-19.
• The programme aimed to give each person covered by the National Food Security Act 2013 an additional 5 kg of free grains (rice or wheat), on top of the 5 kg of food grains that were already distributed at a reduced rate through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
• This is in addition to the standard monthly limit set forth by the NFSA, which is 35 kg for AAY per family and 5 kilogramme for PHH per individual. Even Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) beneficiaries are covered by the PMGKAY.
• At first, 80 crore ration card holders were covered for a three-month period (both Antyodaya Anna Yojana or AAY Households and Priority Households or PHH). After that, it was continually extended.
• The Ministry of Finance is its nodal Ministry.
• Any migratory worker or beneficiary of the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) programme may take advantage of the free ration through portability at one of the nation’s almost 5 lakh Fair Price Shops.

Status of food security in the world

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) report, The Hunger Hotspots Outlook (2022-23), over 205 million people across 45 countries will require emergency food assistance in order to survive.

Hunger in India

• India performs worse than every other nation in South Asia, with the exception of war-torn Afghanistan, according to the recently released Global Hunger Index 2021–22, which ranks 107 out of 121 nations.
• A technique for fully measuring and monitoring hunger at the international, regional, and national levels is the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide published it.
• Undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality are the four component indicators on which the Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores are based. The GHI score is determined using a 100-point scale, with zero representing the best result (no hunger), and 100 representing the worst.
• India falls behind Bangladesh (84), Pakistan (84), Nepal (81), and Sri Lanka (64). (99). The only South Asian nation that ranks lower than India on the index is Afghanistan (109).
• India has the highest child wasting rate (low weight for height), at 19.3%, which is worse than the levels seen in 2014 (15.1%) and even 2000 (17.15%). Because of India’s enormous population, this rate raises the average for the region.

India’s G20 Presidency and Food Security

• A historic chance for India to discuss its successful transition from a food-deficit to a food-surplus nation and to address the growing challenges of food security for building resilient and equitable food systems is presented by the G20 presidency.
• The G20 ministers agreed in 2021 through the Matera Declaration that reducing poverty, ensuring food security, and implementing sustainable food systems are essential to eradicating hunger.
• The National Food Security Act of 2013, which supports the targeted public distribution system, the mid-day meal program, and the Integrated Child Development Services, is one of India’s greatest contributions to food equity. India’s food safety nets currently cover more than a billion people.

Extending PMGKAY: Reasons and Criticisms:

• This is unexpected for a variety of reasons. Freebies were hotly contested before to the most recent extension, which was made in late September 2022.
• There were rumours in June that the Center’s Expenditure Department did not support it due to a lack of funding. Additionally, it was of the opinion that such a plan was no longer necessary “in non-pandemic times”. This needs to be viewed in light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict’s detrimental effects on the global food and energy sectors, which have been ongoing since February 2022.
• Even more unexpected is the government’s justification: it intended to assist the 80 crore or more impoverished and vulnerable people throughout the festival season from October to December. When the programme was abandoned between December 2020 and April 2021—another crucial holiday season—no similar concern was taken.
• Approximately 3.91 lakh crore will be spent altogether on the PMGKAY. The extension of the programme, according to opponents of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, is being done in preparation for the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, respectively.
• Both policymakers and scientists agree that the programme improved public health and food security during the pandemic. The programme has earned praise from a variety of groups, including the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Public Distribution and the authors of a working paper published by the IMF in April 2022 titled “Pandemic, Poverty, and Inequality: Evidence from India.” The working paper came to the conclusion that a significant portion of the pandemic shock was absorbed by the social safety net provided by the development of India’s food subsidy programme.

Way forward

• The central government should order a study and release the results. The Center ought to take into consideration offering 1 kg of pulses to States on a regular basis for free or at least at steep discount; much like it did in the early months of the pandemic.
• The proposed study should serve as the foundation for updating the database of people with food-drawing cards, critically examining the data using PDS technological tools like Aadhaar, automating fair price shops, and collecting the biometric information of beneficiaries. The Center and States can use this database to determine whether or not the PHHs, which total nearly 71 crore, can be reduced in size.
• Rules on quota for rice or wheat can be altered appropriately to keep the financial allotment under control.
• Given the ongoing issue of diversion from the Public Distribution System, it is acceptable to offer foodgrains gratis during the pandemic, but the federal and State authorities need to consider whether the programme should continue (PDS).
• Government should choose whether to permanently add the provisions under NFSA or to withdraw the new scheme rather than continuing to extend the PMGKAY programme by three months at a time.

UN Food Systems Summit’s 5 Action Points

• Additionally, there is a chance to move quickly on the procedures and commitments established through the groundbreaking UN Food Systems Summit, hosted by the G20 leadership, in order to transform the world’s food systems and meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The summit produced a framework with five distinct action tracks as its core:
• Ensure that everyone has access to healthy food and
• Shift to sustainable consumption patterns
• Advance equitable livelihoods
• Boost nature positive production
• Develop resistance to stress, shocks, and vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

• This year’s World Food Day (October 16) has been a reminder to ensure that the most vulnerable The elimination of the problem of diversion of foodgrains has to be taken up with renewed vigour as, after all, farmers toil hard in the fields to produce the grains and many deserving persons remain outside the food security net.
• People within our communities have easy access to safe and nutritious food. Without food and nutrition security for all, there can be no peace and no prosperity.