Finance Ministry to decide on additional grant for food security by year-end

Additional allocation for the Centre’s ambitious Food Security Act will be decided during pre-budget meetings to be held before this year-end, Finance Ministry has said.

The Ministry has already made allocation of Rs 10,000 crore as additional provision for national food security in its budget for 2013-14. This grant is in addition to Rs 80,000 crore for food subsidy for the current fiscal.

“Additional allocation for National Food Security Act during the current as well as next financial year will be decided during the pre-budget meetings to be held between October to December, 2013,” the Finance Ministry said in reply to an RTI query dated October 9.

The Ministry was asked about its proposal or decision to provide additional allocation to meet the expenses under the National Food Security Act.

The Finance Ministry said it has not received any demand for additional allocation from any central government ministry so far.

“Information on demands for extra budgetary allocation has not been received so far from any of the central ministries or departments,” it said in the reply.

Parliament had on September 2 given its nod to Food Security Bill, considered biggest programme in the world to fight hunger, which seeks to provide highly subsidised foodgrains to the country’s two-third population.

The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 7. It was passed by the lower house on August 26. After getting assent from President Pranab Mukherjee, the National Food Security Act was notified on September 12.

The food security law, which has been described by the ruling Congress as a “game changer” and slammed by the Opposition as a “gimmick” before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, guarantees 5 kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1 respectively.

“Food security is as much a basic human right as the right to education or the right to health care. The National Food Security Bill is a promise of the UPA Government.

“I sincerely hope that Parliament will pass the Bill as early as possible. Hon’ble Members will be happy to know that I have set apart Rs 10,000 crore, over and above the normal provision for food subsidy, towards the incremental cost that is likely under the Act,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said while presenting budget for 2013-14.