On 15 February, 2013, Dogra Hall of IIT
Delhi was brimming with an enthusiastic crowd, comprising mostly young students
and teachers, to listen to India’s foremost thinker on hunger and malnutrition—Prof.
Amartya Sen. A panel discussion entitled Hunger and Nutrition: Time to Act
was organized there by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (IIT-D).
In her introduction, Dr.
Reetika Khera (IIT Delhi) informed that the Government is thinking of enacting
the National Food Security legislation. Life cycle approach to food security
has been considered under the new bill. (Nutrition during childhood and
adolescence influence a woman’s pre-conceptional nutritional status, which
subsequently influences the outcome of pregnancy and the health of her child).
Initially, in-kind transfers like PDS, MDMS and ICDS were considered under the
National Food Security Bill (NFSB) (Please check: Standing Committee Report on National Food Security Bill, 2011, Twenty Seventh Report (January, 2013),
Fifteenth Lok Sabha). Now
under the same bill there is provision for cash transfers.
Reetika explained
that the PDS is known for two reasons nowadays—a. It is corrupt and leaky; and
b. PDS suffers from inclusion and exclusion errors. However, PDS coverage is
less than what is required. In a survey of 9 states done during 2011, it was
found that in Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the PDS has been
functioning well. PDS revival could be seen in Himachal Pradesh and Odisha. PDS
leakages in Chhattisgarh have been brought down from 50 percent to 10 percent. (For
more on this, please check: Revival of the Public Distribution System: Evidence and Explanations -Reetika Khera (November, 2011), Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. XLVI, No. 44 & 45, Nov 5).
She said that the Standing Committee on NFSB has recommended provisioning of only
5kg of foodgrains per person, which is about half of what is required on an
average in a month according to the ICMR norms. She asked that it needs to be
seen whether individual entitlements are better than household entitlements.
Reetika asked whether the principle of monthly entitlements of 5kg of foodgrains
per person to only 67 per cent of the population (75 per cent in rural areas
and 50 per cent in urban areas) be followed uniformly across all the states and
UTs irrespective of their urban-rural population compositions.
Shyama Singh
(grassroots worker at NREGA Sahayata Kendra, Jharkhand) informed that 90
percent population in her state is poor. Out of 12 months in a year,
beneficiaries are not provided ration in 4 months. There exists low
purchase-to-entitlement ratio. Gram Sabha meetings are now regularly held to
monitor the working of NREGS and PDS. A lot of struggle took place in the past
for transparency in the NREGS due to which Lalit Mehta (2008) and Niyamat
Ansari (2010) lost their lives. These two social workers lost their lives since
they tried to expose corruption in the job scheme. Muster rolls are now
regularly presented before the Gram Sabha. There was a time when mates were
employed on behalf of contractors. But they have now been replaced following the
Panchayati Raj elections. Maintaining attendance sheet in NREGS work is a
crucial task for mates. Mates are now selected by the people and not from
contractors’ side.
Shyama Singh said
that wells are now being constructed in Palamu and Latehar districts, which are
benefitting the small farmers and irrigation. Due to dearth of technical
expertise, wells collapsed at many places earlier. But that problem has been
overcome. .
Shyama was positive
about the Right to Food legislation. In Jharkhand, people want ration instead
of cash transfers. This is because: a. Banking infrastructure is poor; b. Banks
are remotely situated; c. Poor people often have to stand in long queues to
avail banking services; and d. Cash transfer has not been linked to rate of
inflation. She suggested that godowns for storing foodgrains should be brought
under the ambit of panchayats. There should be social auditing of local PDS and
ICDS by an independent agency.
Referring to the NFSB,
Shantha Sinha (Chairperson National Commission for the Protection of Child
Rights) said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee has diluted the bill by replacing
children's entitlement with an additional allocation of 5 kg of food grains per
month for pregnant women under the PDS. In India, 46 percent of children are
malnourished. Nearly 48 percent of Indian children are stunted. Slums of Delhi
and Mumbai show the pathetic situation of children. Children die due to
malnutrition and hunger. At many places migrant labourers have asked for
anganwadi centres and access to food under the ICDS. People want their children
to be healthy. It is a welcome step that the Standing Committee on NFSB has
suggested that MDMS will be extended to children aged 16 years. The Supreme
Court orders on Right to Food and the states that followed those orders led to
the growth of anganwadi centres in the country. (ICDS is implemented through 12.41 lakh centres known as anganwadi centres (AWCs), each located in a habitation of 400-800 population).
The NFSB has, however, bypassed the ICDS and anganwadi centres. The Standing
Committee has also suggested restricting maternity benefits to the first two
children to ensure population stabilization. By denying food to children,
family planning measure is pushed through. The Committee is silent on support
for breastfeeding. Shantha Sinha emphasized that a legal framework on Right to
Food is a commitment from the State. A vibrant and inclusive NFSB will deepen
democracy. As opposed to Montek S Ahluwalia she said that ICDS is functioning
well and exclusive breastfeeding is practiced everywhere.
Montek S Ahluwalia
(Deputy Chairperson, Planning Commission) said that some of the things as facts
should be accepted. But given that the data on malnutrition dates back to
2005-06 (NFHS-3), he estimated malnutrition prevalence in the country to be
one-third of India’s child population rather than 46 percent as stated by
Shantha Sinha. (Please check my blog post: India’s nutrition and hunger data is too old).
Government policies have been sensitized to the issue of malnutrition. The rate
of decline in malnutrition has been slower than the rate of decline in poverty,
he said. Civil society has helped in taking up the issue of malnutrition. The criticism
of the Supreme Court is valid. However, universalization without quality (U
without Q) will not work. The ICDS is not working well may be because it is
under-funded, under-manned or maybe there are other factors. There is a need to
resolve the issue that how ICDS is affecting malnutrition. But inadequacy of
data is a problem. He said that there are too many low birth weight children
taking birth in India. Early marriage (due to social prejudice) when female
body is not prepared to give birth is the main reason behind low birth weight. (Nearly
47 percent Indian girls get married before age 18). Exclusive breast feeding
should be done in the first 6 months but a statute cannot guarantee this. In
many Indian families, early breast feeding is not considered clean. Instead of
ICDS, IEC-information, education and communication promoting good child
rearing is essential. Unfortunately exclusive breastfeeding is not practiced in
India. [Percentage of children receiving exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6
months of life is 46 percent (as per latest available data during 2006-2010)]. Poor
people emulate things, which are not healthy practices. Since most damage is
done to a child during the first 3 years since its birth, the ICDS should
concentrate on children below 3 years instead of children between 3 years and 6
years.
Montek S Ahluwalia informed
that immunization rate in India is worse than that in Bangladesh and China. [Vaccine
coverage in the case of DTP3 (third dose of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid and
pertussis vaccine) is 72 percent and in the case of measles is 74 percent in
2011]. Conditional cash transfer for child immunization could be suggested. He said
that family income has a role in ensuring food security.
Montek S Ahluwalia
said that the Government is committed to provide foodgrains to 67 percent of
its population in India. Institutional arrangement for the supply of foodgrains
require: a. Centre to transfer foodgrains to the states; and b. Centre to
transfer subsidy to the states. States vary in efficiency with which they run
PDS. Naming and shaming the poor performing states through monitoring and
evaluation is difficult due to the political nature of PDS. Fiscal deficit
issue should not be raised in the case of NFSB and an additional allocation of
Rs. 20000-Rs. 30000 crore can be made. (Presently India spends Rs. 70000 crore on food subsidy). Subsidies on diesel, which is presently
at Rs. 91000 crore has to be done away with.
Amartya Sen (Professor
of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University) said that those who oppose custom
duties on gold imports or taxes on fuel are organized but children are
unorganized. One needs to see whether the political parties are taking up the
right issues. Political parties should be sympathetic to issues of food
security and nutrition. He said that the extent of healthcare and nutrition
policies in India is appalling in India. Although India’s economic growth is
quite close to that of China, India has comparatively higher proportion of
malnourished children. India (Gini coefficient of 0.37) is less unequal than
China (Gini coefficient 0.474) [A Gini of zero denotes absolute equality, while
a value of 1 (or 100 on the percentile scale) means absolute inequality]. One
third of Indian families don’t have electricity connections. (Census 2011
finds that for 67.2 percent of Indian households the chief source of lighting
is electricity). Half the Indian families don’t have any toilet. (Census 2011 finds that for 53.1 percent of Indian households there is no latrine
within the premises). In China, the corresponding figure for no latrine is only
1 percent and in Bangladesh it is only 6 percent. On the basis of nature of
inequality in India, the nature of development can be determined. The
development model adopted by the country has not gone well beyond a certain extent.
Amartya Sen informed
that the Asian growth model pioneered by Japan after the Meiji restoration in
the 19th century and that was followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and
finally China emphasized on enhancing human capabilities. All these countries
placed immense faith on education and health. A multi-party system is also
essential for freedom of expression. Apart from liberty what is important are
equality and basic capabilities. Public reasoning has been considered important
by John Stuart Mill.
Amartya Sen said that
there is need for courage and reasoning and then the need to integrate the two.
He said that it is difficult to assess what is affecting malnutrition. But on
the basis of evidence, there is a need to see what modifications can be made in
the NFSB. Reason instead of passion should be used to decide whether cash or in-kind
transfer should be made. Food in kind has a greater impact on malnutrition
reduction rather than cash. If cash is given to women, it is difficult to
assess whether the money has been spent on children or something else. If there
are problems associated with identification even after Aadhaar enrollment, then
there is no basic difference between cash and in-kind transfers. He said that
public reasoning cannot be done without data or statistics. Since there is no
updated malnutrition related data, the principle of Urban-50% and Rural-75%
cannot be applied.
Amartya Sen informed
that China has done better in reducing child malnutrition. In China, minimum
wages have increased by 7 folds as compared to India. In Tamil Nadu the ICDS
has done well. The moral objective to be informed is essential.
Speaking on the NFSB,
Amartya said that the bill has watered down the directives of the Supreme Court
pertaining to food security and nutrition. The Standing Committee has further
weakened the bill by removing the entitlement under the ICDS. Gujarat’s growth
story has been overplayed since states like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Bihar
too displayed higher economic growth. For sustaining growth in the long-run,
there is need for an effective strategy in health, nutrition and educational
fronts. For India, it would be difficult to sustain economic growth with such
high levels of poverty and undernutrition. Jamshed ji Tata developed
Jamshedpur as a municipality and invested in education and health. He
understood the importance of these two factors in economic growth like in the
Asian growth model. Amartya Sen mentioned about the Bhore Committee Report on health (1946). Imitating Chinese growth path without knowing how China
invested in enhancing human capabilities is not a good idea, added Sen.
On the advantages of
a universal PDS over a targeted one, Amartya Sen said a. Universal schemes help
to avoid corruption; b. Presence of powerful and influential people who have a
stake in such programmes make such programmes relatively efficient; and c. Exclusion
is absent and citizens' right is ensured.
* While utmost care has been taken in good faith to summarize the main speakers’ views, these may not be exact quotes. Please check with the speakers for verbatim quotes.
