The Right to Food in India

The Food Security Scenario in South Asia

Country Food

Production Food Exports Food Imports Food Balance

Bangladesh 26,924 1.6 2,827 -4,601

India 1,74,655 9,490 56 23,826

Nepal 5,839 11 39 57

Pakistan 24,936 2,966 288 3,818

Sri Lanka 1,938 9.8 1,307 252

Source: FAO, 2004. Figures in thousand metric tones for 2002

Some Indicators for Child Wellbeing and malnutrition in South Asia

  Bangla-desh

India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Immunization(% of children under 3 years who have not

received the stated vaccine)BCGDTP3MCVPol3

5152315

27364430

15202720

20353335

1343

Child undernutrition(% of children with the stated condition)

UnderweightStuntingWasting

484313

464616

485110

383713

291414

Infant and child mortality(per 1,000 live births)

Infant mortality rate

Under-five mortality rate

56

77

62

85

59

76

80

101

12

14

India’s Annual Growth Rate

Year GDP Per capita income

1951-79 3.6 1.3

1980-91 5.6 3.5

1992-06 6.5 4.7

Population, GDP and Foodgrain Production

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2006

Population

GDP

FoodgrainProduction

Growth of GDP in India

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

annual increase 5.1 6.2 7.0 7.3 7.5 5.1 6.5 6.1 4.4 5.6 4.4 8.5 7.5 8.4

1992-93

1993-94

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

Worrying issues• News of starvation deaths & farmers’ suicides from

many states• Stagnant agricultural production, and falling food

availability• Unemployment has increased from 4 to 8% in ten

years• Regional disparities are increasing • IMR stagnating around 60 per 1000, it is 46 in

Bangladesh• Immunisation coverage fell from 60 to 40% in 5 yrs• More than 50% women are anemic• 46% children are malnourished • Declining child sex ratio during 1991-2001 • There is no will to improve administration in poor

states

Index number of Agricultural Production

Index annual rate of growth

1981-82 100

4.4%

1990-91 148

2.8%

1996-97 176

0.2%

2004-05 179

165

175

185

195

205

215

Foodgrain Production (million tonnes)

Series1 199.4 192.3 203.6 209.8 196.8 211.9 174.2 210.8

1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Foodgrain exports in million tonnes

Total exports 4.685 12.385 10.308 0.753 28.131

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Total

% of Work Force dependent on Agriculture

Percentage below poverty line

1973 56

1987 39

1994 35

1999 26?

2004 28

Poverty

n u m b er o f p o o r p eo p le in m illio n s

2 4 7 2 3 9 2 3 42 0 1

2 3 6

5 3 6 5 7 0

6 7

7 8

0

3 5 0

1 9 7 1 1 9 8 1 1 9 9 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 6

Urb a n

Ru ra l

Social groups 1993-94 1999-2000

  Percentage Share in Percentage Share in

  Total Rural Population

Below Poverty

Line

Total Rural Population

Below Poverty

Line

Scheduled tribes

10.8 48.8 10.5 48.0

Scheduled castes

21.1 45.7 20.4 38.4

Others 68.1 28.3 69.1 23.2

All households 100.0 34.2 100.0 28.9

There should be no food insecurity in India

Both GDP and foodgrain production have risen faster than the growth in population over the last 50 years

And yet chronic hunger and starvation persist in large

sections of the population. There has been a declining calorie consumption especially in the bottom 30% of the population.

Net availability of foodgrains per capita per day in gms

400

420

440

460

480

500

1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

Source: Report of Committee on Long Term Grain Policy, 2002

India has the largest food schemes in the World

• Entitlement Feeding Programmes– ICDS (All Children under six, Pregnant and lactating mother)– MDMS (All Primary School children)

• Food Subsidy Programmes– Targeted Public Distribution System (35 kgs/ month of subsidised food grains – Annapurna (10 kgs of free food grain for destitute poor)

• Employment Programmes– National Rural Employment Scheme (100 days of employment at minimum

wages)

• Social Safety Net Programmes– National Old Age Pension Scheme (Monthly pension to BPL)– National Family Benefit Scheme (Compensation in case of death of bread winner

to BPL families)

The Right to Food Case

• PUCL petition on hunger in Rajasthan in the Supreme Court in 2001

• Emergence of the Right to Food Campaign• Key Issues:

– Making the Right to Food a Fundamental Right– Converting all existing schemes into entitlements– Tackling large scale malnutrition and chronic hunger– Securing employment as a fundamental right linked to the Right

to Food

• Longest continuing mandamus on the Right to Food in the World– 51 Interim Orders so far; more than 500 affidavits; nearly 70

Interim Applications

Highlights of Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food

• Converted all food and employment schemes into legal entitlements

• Universalised food entitlement programmes for children (ICDS for children under six and Mid Day Meal Scheme for all primary school children)

• Instituted the independent mechanism of Commissioners to the Supreme Court to monitor all food and employment programmes

• Prevented the reduction of the “poverty line” from 36% to 26%

• Hauled up Government periodically by serving notice of contempt of court on senior most Government functionaries (Chief Secretaries)

Office of the Commissioners to the Supreme Court (Writ 196/ 2001)• Appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor all

food schemes in the Country• Mandate extends to:

– Entitlement Feeding Programmes• MDMS, ICDS

– Employment Programmes• NREGS, SGRY I & II, NFFWP, RSVY

– Food Subsidy Programme• TPDS, Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Annapurna Yojana

– Social Security Programmes• Pensions (NOAPS, NMBS, NFBS)

How does the Office of the Commissioners function?

• Honorary positions; work supported by funds mandated by the Supreme Court

• Works through a secretariat (Delhi) and a network of Advisers across India

• Make policy recommendations through:– Rigorous participatory research– Articulating alternative demands of State policy– Participating in policy bodies such as Planning

Commission Steering Groups

How does the Office of the Commissioners function? (cont’d.)

• Monitors programmes– Through analysis of macro-data– Addressing complaints at the micro-level

• Holds the State accountable by:– Regular engagement with the GoI and State

Governments– Joint Commission of Enquiries– Regular reports on non-compliance to the

Supreme Court

Impact so far

• Universalisation of MDMS (120 million children get school meals) and ICDS (Government would need to double the ICDS centres to 1.4 million centres covering 60 million children under the age of six)

• Managed to restrict the lowering of BPL quotas by GoI from 36% to 26%

• Increase in off-take of subsidised food-grains through the targeted public distribution system

• Increased budgetary allocation for ICDS, Old Age Pensions (3 times the amount)

• Passage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which guarantees 100 days of employment a year (at minimum wages)

Impact so far (cont’d.)

• Provided Civil Society an anchor to engage/ confront the State and created spaces for civil society to engage in food/ employment programmes

• Brought the discourse on food rights to the centre-stage of governance in the States and GoI

• Has been largely effective in provision of gratuitous relief (Tea Garden Workers in West Bengal).

• Created the environment for the passage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Off-take of BPL/ AAY Food Grains

• Figure 3.1: Percentage off-take of BPL/AAY food grains from 2001-02 to 2004-05

81.9%

73.7%

64.2%59.2%

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

Perc

en

tag

e o

ffta

ke

Source: Various issues of Monthly food grain bulletin, Department of food and public distribution, GoI

Some Challenges that we face

• Attempting reforms in an era of overall weakening governance and state commitment to social sectors

• Has powers (including filing contempt charges against Chief Secretaries) which are best used by not being exercised

• Operates in the domain of judicial activism• Challenge of individual redressal versus

systemic policy engagement• Has proved to be marginally effective in harder

areas of governance reforms