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In an effort to shed its image of ‘government for riches’ and feed the hungry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to step up the allocation for <keyword id="131290" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Food-Security-Act">National Food Security Act</keyword> (NFSA) like never before. 
 
As per reports, Modi government is likely to announce Rs 130,000 crore for NFSA, which is much more than what was earmarked for this year’s budget at Rs 124,419 crore. 
 
The allocation, which will come into effect from April 1, will benefit over 70 crore people across 27 states and Union Territories. 
 
Also, with more allocation, Modi yet again is riding on UPA’s schemes as the NFSA was launched during the Congress-led government’s regime. 
 
The NDA government has earlier used Aadhaar and MGNREGA schemes to its benefits. 
 
"What we are looking at is ending hunger and ensuring that every citizen of the country has two meals a day. The PM is looking at this as entitlement of the poor," a top government official told ET on condition of anonymity. 
 
Recently, Modi had slammed ideological opposition in few quarters to all kind of subsidies, saying his government would rationalise subsidies and target them at the needy. 
 
Modi personally took cognizance of the NFSA’s implementation and also asked about the progress in different states. 
 
People covered under the NFSA get coarse grain at Rs 1 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 a kg and rice at Rs 3 a kg. 
 
Still, Modi government has a long way to go as the scheme is not implemented in many states, which invited wrath of the Apex Court. 
Nine states and Union Territories are still to implement the Act. 
 
To implement the scheme, the government is riding on digitisation led by National Informatics Centre. 
 
"The entire process of grains moving from godowns to shops to the beneficiary is captured online. Even the electronic receipts given to beneficiaries and closing balance of shops are up for public scrutiny. This data and automation of process has also made the allocation of foodgrain and their release to district administration easier," one official told ET. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Budget 2016: Modi government is going to pump a whooping Rs 130,000 crore in National Food Security Act

<ul><li>Enough foodgrain stock is lying in godowns of state governments which they can lift from Friday onwards for free distribution to 8 crore <keyword id="64839" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Migrants">migrants</keyword> who do not have ration cards to avail such supplies, Union Food Minister <keyword id="973" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ram-Vilas-Paswan">Ram Vilas Paswan</keyword> said.</li><li>The state-run <keyword id="6354672" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-corporation-of-india">Food Corporation of India</keyword> (FCI), which is the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, has been directed to make necessary arrangements for this purpose, he said.</li><li>About Rs 3,500 crore will be spent for this intervention by the centre.</li></ul>Enough foodgrain stock is lying in godowns of state governments which they can lift from Friday onwards for free distribution to 8 crore migrants who do not have ration cards to avail such supplies, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said. Paswan hailed the government's decision to distribute free 5 kg rice or wheat per person and 1 kg chana per family to migrants for the next two months, as part of the second tranche of the economic stimulus package to help those affected due to the COVID-19 lockdown. "There is adequate stock of foodgrains lying with state godowns. Our ministry is fully prepared to supply ration to 8 crore migrants. These additional 10 per cent poor do not have ration cards, but will get the benefit of free dry ration," Paswan told after the announcement. The state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), which is the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, has been directed to make necessary arrangements for this purpose, he said. "Once the order is issued, states can immediately lift from tomorrow the grains from godowns and start distribution to migrants through the Public Distribution System (PDS)," Paswan said. For instance in Bihar, over 14 lakh poor who are not yet covered under the <keyword id="128143" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Food-Security">National Food Security</keyword> Act (NFSA) or any state ration card scheme will benefit, he explained. Likewise across the country, there are around 40 lakh poor whom the states have not yet identified for coverage under the NFSA, the minister said. "They all will be benefited." Paswan also mentioned that it is the responsibility of the state governments now to identify the poor migrants and ensure free supplies reach them. States can send the details of migrant beneficiaries to the central government later, he added. About Rs 3,500 crore will be spent for this intervention by the centre. Currently, the FCI has a foodgrain stock of over 671 lakh tonnes, of which rice is 271 lakh tonnes and wheat 400 lakh tonnes, as per official data. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/nirmala-sitharaman-says-mnrega-job-seekers-have-surged-in-april/articleshow/75740367.cms">Job seekers under MGNREGA has jumped 50% as migrant workers forced to return home are desperate for livelihood</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/from-minimum-wages-for-all-to-social-security-for-gig-workers-these-are-the-broad-outlines-of-upcoming-labour-reforms-in-india/articleshow/75733790.cms">From minimum wages for all to social security for gig workers ⁠— these are the broad outlines of upcoming ‘labour reforms’ in India</a>

India's Food Minister says there is enough grain stock to feed migrants for free for 2 months

One of the biggest challenges of today’s world is <keyword id="118345" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Food-security">food security</keyword>. According to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, food security is achieved when the world population has physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences. However, millions of people across the globe do not have access to safe and adequate sources of food which can provide them with much-needed nourishment. 
 The <keyword id="397960" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Food-and-Agriculture-Organisation">Food and Agriculture Organisation</keyword> (FAO) and the <keyword id="49053" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Food-Programme">World Food Programme</keyword> reported in 2009 that for the first time since 1970, more than one billion people are hungry or undernourished worldwide. Furthermore, the world population will most definitely not stop growing and will demand even more food in the near future. 
 
An important element of food security is the development of agriculture. Otherwise, how would the world meet its food requirements? Nevertheless, the world has long neglected this industry. 
 
Food Crisis And Neglect Of Agriculture 
Food security has been an issue since the beginning of mankind. Humans have always been concerned with finding better and improved ways to produce food. Agriculture was a discovery that allowed man to have a stable source of food. It also allowed man to locate himself in a single place instead of moving around chasing the herds of animals, which in turn, allowed further development and specialisation of agricultural techniques and agriculture in general. 
 
Unfortunately, with developments such as the industrial revolution, agriculture, which has always been a pinnacle in the process of securing food for man, started to become a neglected industry in favour of more advanced forms of businesses. Today, many countries in the world have deficient agricultural policies to support farmers, whether small or large. 
 
Globalization has also contributed in part to the abandonment of agriculture in favour of more profitable businesses. When developed countries with resources to produce cheap food started entering the markets of countries with more deficient technology and higher food prices, local farmers were driven out of business since they could not compete with the cheaper food sold by the developed countries. 
 
Today, the world is facing a critical time in terms of food security. The recent food crisis and economic recession of 2008-2009 have driven millions of people into poverty. According to a 2010 report on food security and agricultural development by the UN Secretary General, several factors converged to make 2009 a particularly damaging year for people at risk of food insecurity: 
 
● The food crisis had pushed the prices of basic goods beyond the reach of millions of poor people. 
● The price increases forced many poor families to make compromises, such as replacing more nutritious food with food that is less nutritious, selling productive assets, withdrawing children from school, forgoing health care or education, or simply eating less. 
 
Possible Solutions 
Efforts have been made to address this enormous issue. One of the most ambitious projects of the international community is the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Back in 2000, the countries of the world committed themselves to certain concrete goals to address the major issues of the planet. The first one of these MDGs establishes that the world has committed itself to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The concrete goal is to be able to halve the number of people living in hunger by the year 2015. 
 These kinds of concrete commitments help focus efforts throughout the world. However, it has not been enough. The <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword> itself reports that due to the crisis in 2008- 2009, the progress to end hunger in most regions suffered enormous setbacks. In various parts of the Africa, thousands of people have died and millions more are at risk due to one of the biggest and most severe food crisis in history. Caused by the worst drought that the region has seen in 60 years and decades of civil conflict, many inhabitants of countries such as Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia face serious threats to their lives due to shortage of food and the high prices of basic commodities. 
 
The international community has taken action and implemented various mechanisms to combat the effects of climate change. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification seeks to establish plans of action to combat this phenomenon, which greatly affects agriculture and food production. Additionally, the issue of desertification and drought has been included in other important documents such as the Agenda 21, which includes the most pressing environmental issues of the world. 
 
This is one of the most important principles that resulted from the 2009 World Summit on Food Security: it is part of the “twin-track” approach to tackle the problem: 
 
● Direct action to immediately tackle hunger for the most vulnerable 
● Medium- and long-term sustainable agricultural, food security, nutrition and rural development programmes to eliminate the root causes of hunger and poverty. 
 This is a task that must be addressed at all levels. Countries need to work on implementing adequate national policies to develop agriculture as well as securing food for their population. The <keyword id="429631" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="International-Fund-for-Agricultural-Development">International Fund for Agricultural Development</keyword>, for example, allocates money and resources to finance agricultural development projects throughout the world, especially benefiting the small farmers and the poor. On the other hand, the World Food Program delivers and distributes food to areas and regions struck by different crisis whether man-made or natural. 
 
However, the challenges not only come from the current shortage of food for the current population of our planet. Seeing the rates at which the world population is growing, efforts also need to be put to create long-term solutions which can also feed the people of the future. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation food production will have to increase by 70% to feed a population of nine billion by 2050. In order to intensify food production by that much, immense effort will have to go into new, better and more intensive ways of producing our food. 
 
Food security and agricultural development are important issues. Unless action is taken to secure adequate amounts of food for the population of the world and to improve the defective agricultural system in the world, over one billion people would be at risk of dying.

Agricultural Development And Food Security: The Challenges Ahead

The number of undernourished people in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> has declined in the last 15 years to 224.3 million in 2019-2021, according to a UN report, which also said that there are more obese adults and anaemic women in the <keyword id="6354507" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="world" source="Orion">world</keyword>'s second most populous country. The <keyword id="5004571" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="state-of-food-security-and-nutrition" source="Orion">State of Food Security and Nutrition</keyword> in the World 2022 report, issued on Wednesday by UN agencies <keyword id="397960" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="food-and-agriculture-organisation" source="Orion">Food and Agriculture Organisation</keyword> (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, <keyword id="49053" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-food-programme" source="Orion">World Food Programme</keyword> (WFP) and the <keyword id="6356311" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organisation" source="Orion">World Health Organisation</keyword> (WHO), said that the number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report said that in India, the number of undernourished people declined to 224.3 million in 2019 21 from 247.8 million in 2004-06. It said that the number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted declined to 36.1 million in 2020 from 52.3 million in 2012, the number of children under five years of age who are overweight declined to 2.2 million in 2020 from three million in 2012. However, the number of obese adults in India, which has a population of over 1.38 billion, grew to 34.3 million in 2016 from 25.2 million in 2012 and the number of women aged 15 to 49 years affected by anaemia also grew to 187.3 million in 2019 from 171.5 million in 2012. The report added that the number of children up to 5 months of age exclusively breastfed touched 14 million in 2020 from 11.2 million in 2012. In percentage terms, the prevalence of undernourishment in the total population in India stood at 21.6 per cent in 2004-06 and declined to 16.3 per cent in 2019-21, the prevalence of stunting in children under 5 years of age declined to 30.9 per cent in 2020 from 41.7 per cent in 2012 and the prevalence of overweight children under five years of age was 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 2.4 per cent in 2012. The prevalence of obesity in India's adult population increased to 3.9 per cent in 2016 from 3.1 per cent in 2012 and anaemic women aged 15 to 49 years declined marginally from 53.2 per cent in 2012 to 53 per cent in 2019. The report also noted that in India, people who were unable to afford a healthy diet touched 973.3 million in 2020 or nearly 70.5 per cent, up from 948.6 million in 2019 (69.4 per cent). In 2017, about a billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in India and this number has declined to 966.6 million in 2018. The report noted that subsidies to consumers provided in Lower- Income Countries and Middle-Income Countries most often take the form of in-kind or cash transfers under the social protection programmes. India and Indonesia, for example, provide substantial subsidies to final consumers under the Targeted Public Distribution System for grains in India, and the food assistance programme (BPNT) based on electronic vouchers for rice, in Indonesia, it said. The most prominent example of a (Lower-middle-income countries) LMIC is India, where the food and agricultural policy has historically focused on protecting consumers by ensuring affordable food prices, through export restrictions (on wheat, non-basmati rice, and milk, among others) and through marketing regulations around pricing and public procurement, public food stockholding and distribution of a vast range of agricultural commodities, it said. As such, farmers have constantly faced price disincentives in aggregate terms (negative NRPs). Input subsidies and expenditure on general services such as in R&amp;D and infrastructure have been widely used as a means of compensating them for the price disincentives generated by trade and market measures, and for boosting production and self-sufficiency in the country, it added. The report noted that after remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021, to 9.8 per cent of the world population. This compares with 8 per cent in 2019 and 9.3 per cent in 2020. World hunger rose in 2021, with around 2.3 billion people facing moderate or severe difficulty obtaining enough to eat -- and that was before the Ukraine war, which has sparked increases in the cost of grain, fertiliser and energy, according to the report. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World paints a grim picture, based on 2021 data, saying the statistics should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms , it explained. It warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine, is disrupting supply chains and further affecting prices of grain, fertiliser and energy resulting in more price increases in the first half of 2022. At the same time, they said, more frequent and extreme climate events are also disrupting supply chains, especially in low-income countries. Ukraine and Russia together produced almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil, while Russia and its ally Belarus are the world's No. 2 and 3 producers of potash, a key ingredient of fertiliser. Nearly 924 million people (11.7 per cent of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years. The gender gap in food insecurity continued to rise in 2021 --- 31.9 per cent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6 per cent of men --- a gap of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 3 percentage points in 2020. Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it. An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children's risk of death by up to 12 times. Furthermore, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight. This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities, the heads of the five UN agencies wrote in this year's Foreword. The issue at stake is not whether adversities will continue to occur or not, but how we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks, it added. (By Yoshita Singh <keyword id="6355833" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="united-nations" source="Orion">United Nations</keyword>) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/golden-girl-p-t-usha-becomes-the-eighth-keralite-to-be-honoured-with-a-rajya-sabha-nomination/articleshow/92716060.cms">Golden girl P.T. Usha becomes the eighth Keralite to be honoured with a Rajya Sabha nomination</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbis-moves-to-boost-forex-inflows-could-have-an-impact-on-domestic-borrowing-rates/articleshow/92715761.cms">RBI's moves to boost forex inflows could have an impact on domestic borrowing rates</a>

India has fewer undernourished people now but obesity and anaemia are on the rise

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image">Reuters</div></div><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> has wrapped up its Economic Work Conference (EWC), an annual meeting in which policymakers assess the current state of the economy and set the tone for the next year's macroeconomic policy.
The closed-door meeting highlighted six key tasks for Beijing in 2014.
Policymakers made food safety their top priority. Cutting China's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-excess-capacity-problem-2013-6#ixzz2nc4e0ZkL">excess capacity</a> was the second priority. Here are all six from Bank of America's Ting Lu:
<ol>
<li>Increase national food security and safety.</li>
<li>Improve industry structures, develop new growth drivers, and cut excess capacity.</li>
<li>Control and tackle local government debt risks.</li>
<li>Promote balanced growth in different regions.</li>
<li>Improve social welfare with focus on providing jobs to college graduates and workers laid off in industries with excess capacity and increasing supply of social housing.</li>
<li>Raising the level of openness by speeding up talks on free trade zones and investment treaties.</li>
</ol>
Ting sees two reasons that food security became the top priority for policymakers. First, 10% of food consumed in China in 2012, was imported and domestic food contamination worries continued to rise. Second, local governments taking advantage of the push for urbanization exacerbated land grabs.
"Our understanding is that by emphasizing food security, the CPC will take a more cautious approach in drafting and implementing land reforms," writes Ting in a note to clients.
The last two days of the conference were spent discussing the urbanization strategy, though not a lot was said on the subject in the EWC's communique. 
No growth target was announced either, but this will most likely be revealed during the People's Congress in March.

Here Are China's Six Top Priorities For 2014

New Delhi, Apr 2 () India has used the peace clause of the WTO to provide excess support measures to rice farmers for marketing year 2018-19 in order to meet the domestic food security needs of its poor population.Under the Peace Clause, WTO members refrain from challenging any breach in prescribed subsidy ceiling given by a developing nation at the dispute settlement forum of the Geneva-based organisation.Subsidies over and above the prescribed ceiling are seen as trade distorting. The limit is fixed at 10 per cent of the value of food production for developing countries like India.In a notification, India has informed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the value of its rice production was USD 43.67 billion in 2018-19 and for that it provided subsidies worth USD 5 billion, which is in access of prescribed 10 per cent ceiling."India's breach of commitment for rice, a traditional staple food crop under a provision of the Agreement on Agriculture arises from support provided in pursuance of public stockholding programmes for food security purposes, which were in existence as of the date of the Bali Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes," the notification said.It said that the country's public stockholding programmes for food security purposes (covering rice and a number of other commodities) have been consistently reported to the WTO.The stocks under the programme are acquired and released in order to meet the domestic food security needs of India's poor and vulnerable population, and not to impede commercial trade or food security of others, the notification said."For these reasons, the breach of the limits for rice is covered by the peace clause set out in the Bali Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes and the General Council Decision," it added.Before the harvest during each Rabi / Kharif crop season, India announces the minimum support prices (MSP) for procurement on the basis of the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which along with other factors, takes into consideration the cost of various agricultural inputs and a reasonable margin for farmers for their produce.The Centre and state governments, through their agencies such as Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of India (NAFED) and others, procure foodgrains from farmers at the MSP in order to meet the overall demand of different welfare schemes. RR BALBAL

Used peace clause to provide excess support to rice farmers: India to WTO

New Delhi, Jan 31 () There is a need to address the rising food subsidy bill, and the government needs to "revisit" the subsidised rates at which foodgrains are distributed through ration shops, the Economic Survey said on Friday.
 Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at highly subsidised rates of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse grains through Public Distribution System (PDS) as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
 "With a large share of poor people, maintaining food security is still a challenge. The rates fixed under the NFSA initially for a period of three years have not been revised since 2013, resulting in burgeoning food subsidy. The rates under NFSA and the coverage need to be revisited," the Survey said.
 The food subsidy bill has increased from Rs 1,13,171.2 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,71,127.5 crore in 2018-19, it said adding that the reasons for widening of the food subsidy have been many.
 While the economic cost has increased, the central issue price (the rate at which grains are sold in ration shops) for NFSA beneficiaries has not been revised from Rs 200 per quintal in case of wheat and Rs 300 per quintal in the case of rice.
 The acquisition and distribution costs of foodgrains for the central pool together constitute the economic cost. The difference between the per-quintal economic cost and the per-quintal Central Issue Price (CIP) gives the quantum of food subsidy.
 "While the interests of the vulnerable sections of the population need to be safeguarded, for sustainability of food security operations, the issue of burgeoning food subsidy bill needs to be addressed," the Survey added.
 The NFSA has been implemented in all states and Union territories. However, in Chandigarh, Puducherry and urban areas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the NFSA is being implemented in cash transfer mode, under which food subsidy is being transferred into the bank accounts of beneficiaries who then have a choice to buy foodgrains from open market.
 During the financial year 2019-20, the government allocated 603.88 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to states and UTs under the NFSA and other welfare schemes as on December 2019.
 Under the NFSA, the government supplies 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains to each person per month to over 81 crore people through 5 lakh ration shops in the country. LUX HRS

Address rising food bill, revisit PDS rates: Survey

By Yoshita Singh United Nations, Apr 22 () The UN food relief agency has warned that the world is on the brink of a "hunger pandemic" and could face multiple famines of biblical proportions within few months if nations don't act now to avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade due to COVID-19, which continues to spread unabated. The novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last, has so far infected over 2,565,290 people and claimed more than 177,770 lives."While dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic," David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said at a virtual session of the UN Security Council on the 'Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Protecting Civilians Affected by Conflict-Induced Hunger' on Tuesday."There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that if we don't prepare and act now -- to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade -- we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months," he said.Beasley said with COVID-19, the world not only faces a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe. Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the spectre of famine a very real and dangerous possibility, he noted. Beasley said 821 million people go to bed chronically hungry every night all over the world. A further 135 million people are facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. "But now the World Food Programme analysis shows that due to coronavirus, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. That's a total of 265 million people," he said.Noting that the global spread of COVID-19 this year has sparked "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War-II", Beasley pointed to deepening crises, more frequent natural disasters and changing weather patterns, saying, "We're already facing a perfect storm."WFP currently offers a lifeline to nearly 100 million people -- up from about 80 million just a few years ago. "If we can't reach these people with the life-saving assistance they need, our analysis shows that 300,000 people could starve to death every single day over a three-month period. This does not include the increase of starvation due to COVID-19," Beasley said.He called on the Security Council to "act now" and "lead the way", saying the world needs peace first and foremost to deal with the challenges.Beasley asked that all involved in the fighting provide "swift and unimpeded" humanitarian access to vulnerable communities and for coordinated action to support life-saving assistance, along with USD 350 million in new funding, to set up a network of logistics hubs to keep worldwide humanitarian supply chains moving. He stressed, "We do not have time on our side, so let's act wisely – and let's act fast." Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Qu Dongyu, in the conference highlighted how the newly released 2020 Global Report on Food Crises report clearly links conflict and rising levels of acute food insecurity.Against the backdrop of 135 million people in 55 countries experiencing acute food insecurity in 2019, nearly 60 per cent of whom lived in conflict or instability, Qu cited Yemen as the nation that is facing the world's worst food and malnutrition crisis this year.The number of acutely food-insecure people in Yemen is "expected to exceed 17 million", he said.The FAO chief also drew a connection between livelihood interventions and peace processes, spelling out that "coherent actions are needed among humanitarian, development and peace actors to address the root causes of acute food insecurity". Stressing that "the forecasts for food security in 2020 look bleak", he underscored the importance of early warning and quick action to pre-empt food insecurity caused by conflicts.While conflicts, extreme weather, desert locusts, economic shocks and now COVID-19, are likely to "push more people into acute food insecurity", Qu said there is a ray of hope and "by closely monitoring the evolution of these shocks, we can rapidly intervene to mitigate their impacts""Noting that widespread conflict and instability lead to food insecurity and reducing or preventing conflict reduces and prevents hunger, the FAO chief said, "We have mobilised our organizations in ways not seen since the foundation of the UN." YAS SCYSCY

World could face multiple famines of biblical proportions due to COVID-19: UN body

New Delhi, Mar 25 () To ensure sufficient supply during the lockdown, the government on Thursday decided to increase monthly quota of subsidized foodgrains by 2 kg to 7kg per person through ration shops for 80 crore beneficiaries.A decision in this regard was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi."The government has decided to provide 7 kg per person of foodgrains to 80 crore people under the Public Distribution System (PDS), which the world's largest food security system," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told media after the meeting.The cost of wheat is Rs 27/kg, which will be provided at a subsidised rate of Rs 2 kg, while the cost of rice is about Rs 32/kg but will be supplied at Rs 3/kg through ration shops, he said.All states have been asked to take foodgrains from the Centre in advance for distribution through the PDS, he added.Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the government is supplying 5 kg of foodgrains per month to over 80 crore people at a highly subsidised price.The decision to allocate additional foodgrains through the PDS has been taken as state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) is saddled with wheat and rice stock. With some foodgrains stock kept in open space, the FCI is under pressure to clear stock before monsoon. LUX BALBAL

Cabinet nod for supply of 2kg extra subsidised foodgrains via ration shops

International credit rating agency <keyword id="6462970" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Moodys">Moody's</keyword> Investor Service has said that the reforms that were recommended in <keyword id="146885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="food-subsidy">food subsidy</keyword> will reduce inflation and fiscal deficit in India. 
 
"We expect the recommendations to prompt policies that will improve the efficiency of India's food supply chain, a credit positive because it will reduce inflationary pressures and the government's fiscal deficit, two key constraints on the sovereign's credit quality," as per Moody's Sovereign Risk Group. 
 
It is pertinent to mention here that a government-appointed panel had recommended reforms in food subsidy and its distribution system on January 21. The recommended reforms include decentralisation of grain procurement, providing food and fertiliser subsidies through direct cash transfer scheme and lowering the population to be covered under the National Food Security Act to 40% of the total population from 67% at present. 
 According to the rating agency, the consumer price index (<keyword id="6355865" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CPI">CPI</keyword>) inflation has been around 9% on an average over the last five years. 
 
“The loss of grain stocks through inefficiency or corruption has raised costs and lowered the socio-economic benefits of the system,” said Moody's. 
 Moody’s expressed hope that more transparency and efficiency will help in curbing <keyword id="67286" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Food-inflation">food inflation</keyword> in the country.

You Searched For "National Food Security" and got 10 results

Budget 2016: Modi government is going to pump a whooping Rs 130,000 crore in National Food Security Act

BI India Bureau

India's Food Minister says there is enough grain stock to feed migrants for free for 2 months

PTI

Agricultural Development And Food Security: The Challenges Ahead

Anant Mishra

India has fewer undernourished people now but obesity and anaemia are on the rise

PTI

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