Increased dependence on the Public Distribution Scheme

The recent NSSO survey results of the PDS and other sources of household consumption, done in with over a lakh households in 7428 villages and 5263 blocks across the country shows an increased dependence of households on the PDS. Some of the salient points in the survey are
a) Rice purchase under PDS had increased to 23.5% in rural areas ( compared to 13% in 2004-05) and to 18% in urban areas (compared to 11% in 2004-05)
b) Wheat / Aatta purchase had increased to 14.6% in rural areas ( compared to 7.3% in 2004-05) and to 9% in urban areas (compared to 3.8% in 2004-05)
c) Sugar purchase had increased to 14.7 % and 10.3% in rural and urban areas ( compared to 10.3% and 6.6% respectively in 2004-05)

And 39% of rural households and 20.5% of urban households depend on the PDS. While some of us would possibly become happy and think that the figures show an increase in the efficiency of the PDS, the results are disturbing considering that , this dependance is because,

a) Survey results show a reduction in levels of employment. The labour force fell from 496.4 M in 2005 to 487.6 M in 2011. Of the employable population, 9.8 % is unemployed, clearly indicating that growth is not leading to increased employment.

b) Food prices have grown manifold in the last few years. Rice price had increased from about 12,890 per MT in 04-05 to 32,320 per MT now ( reaching a peak of about 42,500 per MT in 2008), for a 10 year period the increase is around 222 %. Sugar prices have gone up by around 177%.

These can then only mean that they are signs of growing distress at the lower strata of the population. Possible reasons why we have not seen any major upheaval till now could be the combination of the MNREGS and the PD System. But these cannot be long term solutions. A major rethink on the structure of the economic growth model is needed, with a clear focus on making it truly inclusive - and unless that is firmly in place, any move to cut down subsidies would result in major social upheavals. The doubt is whether, given their firm western schooling, people at the helm have the willingness and capability to come out with economic models for growth that suits this country and its citizens who have become more dependent on subsidies for survival.

Getting priorities right

UNICEF data shows 48% of India's children under five suffer from malnutrition, that is some 60.8 million children. Both in percentage terms and in absolute terms it compares poorly with neighboring countries like China ( 15%),Bangladesh ( 43%) , Pakistan (42%)and African countries like Nigeria (41%), Tanzania ( 44%) and Congo ( 46%). Only Ethiopia seems to be worse off at 51%. And this when the GDP has more than doubled since 1991. What development are we talking about ?

Lets look at another piece of information. Between 1997 and 2007, the Parliamentary Committee found that 1.83 lakh tonnes of wheat, 6.33 lakh tonnes of rice, 2.20 lakh tonnes of paddy and 111 lakh tonnes of maize rotted due to either lack of storage facilities or poor maintenance of stocks in the existing facilities. And against a buffer norm of 31.9 Million tonnes, FCI was having a stock of 57.8 Million tonnes. With such a poor track record why maintain excess stock ? So the point is not about availability . The point is about willingness to feed people. What kind of Government are we having ??

And the third piece of information is this. An amount of Rs 28054 Crores has been spent to host the Common Wealth Games in Delhi. And we know the quality of the infrastructure created with this money.

The basic question is this : Is this the infrastructure that India needs now ? Cant the tax payers money be better spent in creating adequate storage facilities for grains or in distributing food at affordable price to the needy rather than let it rot...What national pride are we talking of when we have our children suffering for want of proper and adequate food ? When will we get our priorities right ?????