MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(PROF. K.V. THOMAS)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE STARRED QUESTION NO. 176
DUE FOR ANSWER ON 08.03.2011 IN THE LOK SABHA
(a) to (d): International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has brought out
a Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report in October, 2010. In this report, India ranks
67th among 84 countries. The Index ranks countries on a 100-point scale, with 0
being the best score (no hunger) and 100 being the worst. While the GHI score for
India is 24.1, it is 24.2, 20.0 and 19.1 for countries in the region like Bangladesh,
Nepal and Pakistan respectively.
The GHI, 2010 is based on data from 2003 to 2008 and incorporates three
indicators, namely (i) proportion of undernourished as percentage of population
(2004-06 data); (ii) prevalence of under-weight in children under age of five
(latest year data in the period 2003-08 for which data are available) and
(iii) mortality rate of children under the age of five (2008 data). The GHI
Report attaches equal weight to all the three indicators and also does not
reflect impact of India’s latest economic performance.
In order to address the issue of food security, Government implements
several schemes/programmes in partnership with State Governments and UT
Administrations. Government implements Targeted Public Distribution System
(TPDS) under which foodgrains are allocated at subsidized prices to States/UTs
for 6.52 crore Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, including about 2.44 crore
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families @ 35kg per family per month. Allocation
of foodgrains for Above Poverty Line (APL) category families is also made at
subsidized prices depending upon their availability and past offtake.
Government also implements other welfare schemes like Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) scheme for pre-school children as well as pregnant &
nursing mothers, Mid-day-Meal (MDM) scheme for primary and upper primary school
children in the country, Annapoorna Scheme for indigent senior citizens, Village
Grain Bank Scheme, Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG), Emergency
Feeding Programme (EFP), etc. through State/UT Govenments.
During 2010-11, an amount of Rs. 59354.56 crore has been allocated as
food subsidy in budget of Department of Food & Public Distribution, Rs. 8856.88
crore have been released under ICDS scheme (upto 24.02.2011) by Women & Child
Development Ministry and Rs. 9348 crore have been made available as recurring
central assistance during the year 2010-11 in budget of Human Resource Development
Ministry for MDM scheme.
In addition to internal mechanisms for monitoring, independent agencies
are also engaged for monitoring and evaluation of these schemes for their
effective implementation.
