NEW DELHI: After a prod by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the Cabinet on Sunday cleared the National Food Security Bill at a specially convened meeting to table it in Parliament this week.
The bill, meant to provide subsidized foodgrains to people, brought to the Cabinet by food and public distribution minister K V Thomas, was approved without a hitch in a meeting that lasted under an hour.
The bill, which the UPA will table in Parliament in the hope of gaining some political dividend in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections, seeks to cover 75% of the rural population and 50% of urban population in the country. Initial estimates suggest that the food subsidy bill could be upwards of Rs 1 lakh crore.
A minimum of 46% of the rural population and 28% urban population will get 7 kg of foodgrains per month per person. Rice would be provided at Rs 3 a kg, wheat at Rs 2 and coarse grains at Rs 1 a kg.
The rest of the targeted population would get 3 kg of grains per person per month at half the minimum support price offered to farmers by government during procurement. Existing nutrition and select social security schemes would also be brought under the legislation as an entitlement.
After having ensured clearance for a bill seen as the Congress president's pet project and a key element in the party's strategy for 2014 general elections, Thomas said, "With this, we fulfill our commitment to the people of India made first in the Congress manifesto in 2009."
Thomas met PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday just ahead of the Cabinet meeting and explained in detail the proposals as well as responses that had been elicited from various states. Thomas explained the financial ramifications of the bill to the PM as well as the foodgrain requirements and storage capacities that would need to be built up in the coming days. The inclusion of existing social security and nutrition schemes under the bill was also discussed with the PM with the cabinet secretary and V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the PMO.
The fact that Congress wants the bill tabled as soon as possible was evident when minutes of the Cabinet meeting and the final decision were communicated within minutes of the meeting's end.
The total number of beneficiaries to be covered by the bill would depend upon the results of the delayed Socio-Economic and Caste Census currently underway. While the government had moved closer to the recommendations of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, it has left the door open to play with the absolute numbers through the use of 'deprivation parameters' in the census data.
Manohar Mattu's Blog
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Cabinet clears Food Security Bill, to be tabled in Parliament this week
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
RSS-Anna links go back a long way, says RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat
KOLKATA: Laying speculation to rest, RSS Sar-Sanghchalak Mohanrao Bhagwat said that his organization and Anna Hazare go back a long way. If Bhagwat is to be believed, it was the RSS that urged Anna to go in for a movement against corruption but the organization never took active part in it.
"If the RSS is asked by Anna to join the movement, we shall do so. But, no such request has come in as yet. However, we are not stopping RSS members from participating in Anna's movement. The links between Anna and the RSS go back a long way. It was the RSS that highlighted Anna's developmental programmes for villages. We even got Anna to help us in our village development programmes. It was during these interactions that the RSS suggested to him to go in for a movement against corruption. I was supposed to meet Anna in June but both of us got held up elsewhere," the RSS chief said during an informal interaction with journalists in Kolkata on Wednesday.
According to Bhagwat, the RSS also spoke to Baba Ramdev on starting a movement against corruption. "We can't force him to join hands with Anna but we did urge Baba Ramdev to be part of the movement. The RSS, as an organization, believes in creating better individuals who would lead corruption-free lives. This would finally give birth to a corruption-free nation. However, for the time being, any movement against corruption in the government is good," he said.
The RSS chief believes that India is on her way to becoming the 'country of his dreams' where there will be a clear divide between religion and politics. According to him, the internal security system - particularly the Maoists - will not pose any problem if the situation is handled properly.
"I am from the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. I know for sure that the Maoists have no mass base. They have simply spread a network of terror. No change can take place in this manner. It is the poor people whose lives are getting grinded between the Maoists and the security forces. The Maoist problem can be sorted out in 2-3 years. I believe that the 'India of my dreams' will become a reality in 30 years. After all, awareness has gone up significantly and the younger generation is looking up to core values," Bhagwat said.
Hailing the loss of the CPM in West Bengal as the return of 'freedom' for the people, Bhagwat refused to comment on the activities of the new government in the state. He claimed that he was in Kolkata for better networking. He did not sound too happy with the Centre's directions to a filmmaker, not to depict pro-Tibet posters and the Tibetan flag in his film, so as not to hurt Chinese sentiments.
"What is wrong if a few Indian films depict such scenes? After all, a Chinese politician can come to India and ask a journalist to 'shut up' when asked about the wrong depiction of territory on a map. India should certainly have friendly relations with neighbours but should not them to dictate terms," Bhagwat said.
"If the RSS is asked by Anna to join the movement, we shall do so. But, no such request has come in as yet. However, we are not stopping RSS members from participating in Anna's movement. The links between Anna and the RSS go back a long way. It was the RSS that highlighted Anna's developmental programmes for villages. We even got Anna to help us in our village development programmes. It was during these interactions that the RSS suggested to him to go in for a movement against corruption. I was supposed to meet Anna in June but both of us got held up elsewhere," the RSS chief said during an informal interaction with journalists in Kolkata on Wednesday.
According to Bhagwat, the RSS also spoke to Baba Ramdev on starting a movement against corruption. "We can't force him to join hands with Anna but we did urge Baba Ramdev to be part of the movement. The RSS, as an organization, believes in creating better individuals who would lead corruption-free lives. This would finally give birth to a corruption-free nation. However, for the time being, any movement against corruption in the government is good," he said.
The RSS chief believes that India is on her way to becoming the 'country of his dreams' where there will be a clear divide between religion and politics. According to him, the internal security system - particularly the Maoists - will not pose any problem if the situation is handled properly.
"I am from the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. I know for sure that the Maoists have no mass base. They have simply spread a network of terror. No change can take place in this manner. It is the poor people whose lives are getting grinded between the Maoists and the security forces. The Maoist problem can be sorted out in 2-3 years. I believe that the 'India of my dreams' will become a reality in 30 years. After all, awareness has gone up significantly and the younger generation is looking up to core values," Bhagwat said.
Hailing the loss of the CPM in West Bengal as the return of 'freedom' for the people, Bhagwat refused to comment on the activities of the new government in the state. He claimed that he was in Kolkata for better networking. He did not sound too happy with the Centre's directions to a filmmaker, not to depict pro-Tibet posters and the Tibetan flag in his film, so as not to hurt Chinese sentiments.
"What is wrong if a few Indian films depict such scenes? After all, a Chinese politician can come to India and ask a journalist to 'shut up' when asked about the wrong depiction of territory on a map. India should certainly have friendly relations with neighbours but should not them to dictate terms," Bhagwat said.
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