BBC News, 20
August 2013
The scheme aims to combat hunger, but has been called impractical and unaffordable |
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The Indian
government is to launch a programme to provide subsidised food to two thirds of
the population.
The food
security scheme aims to provide 5kg of cheap grain every month to nearly 800 million
poor people.
The launch
is going ahead even though the controversial Food Security Bill which maps out
this welfare scheme is yet to be approved by parliament.
Critics say
the scheme is a political move to win votes and will drain India's finances.
But India
accounts for a third of the world's poor and supporters say such assistance
will help reduce poverty and hunger.
The food
security programme will be officially launched in the capital, Delhi, by the
head of the governing Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, to coincide with the birth
anniversary of late prime minister and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi.
Four other
states, ruled by the Congress, will also launch the scheme on Tuesday.
Controversial
law
Earlier
this month, the government tabled the Food Security Bill in parliament and the
authorities plan to take it up in the lower house on Tuesday.
The
ambitious legislation, which will cost 1.3 trillion rupees ($23.9bn; £15.8bn) a
year, is being called one of the world's largest welfare schemes.
It proposes
to provide a kilo of rice at three rupees, wheat at two rupees and millet at
one rupee.
The measure
will apply to to 75% of Indians living in rural areas and 50% of the urban
population.
The bill
was an election promise made by the ruling Congress party and its
implementation is expected to help the party in general elections due next
year. But it has had a rocky journey through the legislative process.
Last month,
the cabinet passed the measure as an ordinance and President Pranab Mukherjee
signed it into law. The ordinance needed parliamentary approval within six
weeks of its first sitting for it to become law.
Opposition
parties criticised the government for passing the measure as an ordinance,
after failing to win parliamentary support. The government withdrew the
ordinance before tabling the bill in the parliament.
Despite
impressive economic growth in recent years, India still struggles to feed its
population and has more malnourished children than any other country in the
world.
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