Millions of Indians could be on the brink of starvation, warn food policy experts. AsiaNewsNetwork
A study which interviewed over 11,000 Indian migrant workers found that over half of them had food supplies for less than one day, and nearly three in four said they would run out of food in two days.
Mr Jean Dreze, a development economist who has worked on poverty in India for decades, wrote in the Indian Express: “How would you feel if a family were to let its weakest members starve, even as the house’s granary is full to the brim? That is what is happening in India today.” On the ground though, much of the food rations have not reached their intended recipients. In many regions, food ration shops are giving less than the stipulated amounts, or turning people away for lack of IDs or because there’s no grain left.Economists and activists also say more than 100 million Indians entitled to cheap grain may be excluded, as the government’s count of who is eligible for subsidized food-grain is based on outdated census figures.
Mr Rajendran Narayanan, a volunteer with the Stranded Workers Action Network, said: “The woefully inadequate measures offer additional grains only to those who are already covered under the food security law. “Giving away some of the existing stock, at a time of national emergency, makes perfect sense; any sensible public accounting system should not portray it as inordinately costly,” they said.
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