Large sections of poor in the country are unlikely to get benefitted from the extension of food grains scheme. Comment (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
· When the law NFSA was enacted in 2013, subsidised food grains were made available to only two-thirds of Indians. Since then, the number of excluded have swelled. Economists estimate that 100 million names have not been updated in NFSA lists. Further, the process of selection of beneficiaries has always been fraught with targeting errors.
· Some states such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha have universalised or expanded PDS coverage with their own funds.
· But under the PM’s Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, none of the non-NFSA beneficiaries across states will receive double entitlements. Further, when the pandemic struck, the poorest states with the highest levels of malnutrition Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had amongst the largest and most deprived populations.
· In such a scenario, the concept of One Nation One Ration Card is largely meaningless. Its portability depends on Aadhaar. But after the pandemic, several states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa and Haryana have discontinued biometric authentication at ration shops, to prevent the spread of the infection from the glass sensor.
· The PM has not yet extended cash transfers in Jan Dhan bank accounts of 200 million women. So families who relied on these modest Rs 500 deposits in the last three months are likely to be deprived of liquidity.
· However, the FM only provided a one-time grant of Rs 1,000 to 32 million National Social Assistance Programme pensioners. Not only have their pensions stagnated in the last decade, but 80 per cent of the elderly, differently-abled and widows are excluded from these central pensions.
· There is a compelling need to increase the guaranteed employment to 200 days per year for all households nationwide and boost wages of those who are forced to live on wages less than the minimum wages stipulated for unskilled agricultural workers.
· With widespread hunger and an unprecedented economic recession, the country cannot afford shortcuts. Expansion and universalisation of the PDS, pensions, cash grants and employment guarantee schemes in both urban and rural areas are essential to tide through these difficult times.
Soni Kumari 4 years
Please review sir
IAS Parliament 4 years
Need better understanding. Information about NFSA is not needed, factor contributing to food security is not needed. Try to focus on the criticisms with data to support it. Keep Writing.
aswin 4 years
please review
IAS Parliament 4 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
Shuklaji 4 years
Please review
IAS Parliament 4 years
Try to interconnect the criticisms and bring coherence in the answer. Keep Writing.
Tokyo 4 years
IAS Parliament 4 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
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