Representative image: Children eat their midday meal at an andganwadi in Ramanagara district, Karnataka. | Nayantara Narayanan
Government think tank NITI Aayog has recommended lowering the coverage of both rural and urban population under the National Food Security Act, 2013, to save up to Rs 47,229 crore annually,
The Indian Express reported on Sunday.
The recommendation, which is part of a discussion paper, suggests reducing the coverage to 60% from the current 75% of the rural population, and to 40% from the current 50% of the urban population, according to the report. Overall, the National Food Security Act currently covers 67% of the country’s total population.
Under the Act, each Antyodaya Anna Yojana household, which refer to the poorest sections of the country, are entitled to 35 kg of food grains per month. This policy covers approximately 2.37 crore households or 9.01 crore persons, as on February 1, 2021. Besides, nearly 70.35 crore persons fro
Union Minister Piyush Goyal has assured Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of reimbursing pending food subsidies worth Rs 4,832 crores Baghel on Friday met Union Food and Public Distribution Minister and reiterated his demand of increasing the permitted amount of 24 lakh metric tonnes of rice to be procured under the central pool in FCI to 40 lakh metric tonnes in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21. He also requested the Union minister to reimburse pending food subsidies for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 of Rs 5214.97 crore. In the interest of farmers of Chhattisgarh, the Centre should give permission for procurement of 40 lakh metric tonnes of rice in the Food Corporation of India at the earliest as 92 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured from 20.53 lakh farmers on the support price in Chhattisgarh in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21, as on 31 January 2021, under the decentralized procurement scheme, the Chief Minister said.
(Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Caritas Manila aims to provide food assistance to 3,000 indigent families or 15,000 individuals in 15 identified feeding centers in Metro Manila for six months as many poor families and children have been direly affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“These individuals have experienced a lack of food to eat for at least once in three months,” it said in a Facebook post.
To address hunger, Caritas Manila came up with different donation packages. For indigent families:1 Cavan of rice – P2,000;
Assorted fruits and vegetables – P500.
Donation packages to help prevent malnutrition of children are: Meal Subsidy – P1,800 (can feed one child for 120 days); Nutrition Kit – Php 200 (food keeper and tumbler); Grooming Kit – P400 (hygiene essentials); and Medical Assistance – P600 (medical consultation, food supplement subsidy).
While the usage of electronic modes to transfer the minimum support price (MSP) to farmers is to check diversion and avoid delays, the new system would not end the current practice of crop procurement through mandis and middle-men called Arthiyas, the ministry said.