Much of India is starving. So the government has come up with an ambitious plan to supply cheap food to 800 million of its poorest citizens.
As part of the Food Security Bill tabled by Sonia Gandhi's ruling Congress party in early July, the government wants to provide two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion people with 5 kilograms of grain – rice, wheat and millet – per month at prices well below market rates.
"We have people who still don't get food and there are children who are malnourished. We decided to bring this scheme so that every poor person gets food and no child sleeps without food," Gandhi said in launching the programme at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.
Critics have described the move as electioneering ahead of next year's general election. They also say the $23.9 billion annual cost of the measure is unaffordable.
Parliament is still debating the bill, and with the government battling some 260 amendments filed by opposition parties the outcome is uncertain. Whatever the result, five states controlled by the Congress party will press ahead with the plan.
The UN World Food Programme welcomes the move, says Michael Jensen, acting director in India. He thinks it is affordable. "The Indian government already spends around $14 billion per year on food distribution. Some say that may go up somewhat but I don't think it will be too much of a problem if food distribution is made more efficient."
However, he says the government has to make sure the food reaches the people who need it most. "Research suggests some 40 to 50 per cent of such aid is not reaching the intended beneficiaries," he says.
To this end, Jensen says the WFP wants India to computerise its food distribution records and use fingerprint recognition systems, alongside personal social security numbers, to identify recipients of food aid.
"Such efficiencies will make all this aid much less expensive and provide India with a more diverse food basket," he says.
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