New Delhi, July 5 : After more than 24 hours, the President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday signed the historic Food Security Ordinance that promises food for all people living below the poverty line at cheap rates.
The union cabinet on Wednesday had approved the food security ordinance. The ordinance has to be passed in both the houses of parliament within six months.
The Food Security Bill aims to provide subsidised food grain to around 67% of India's 1.2 billion people. Around 800 million people would thus get the subsidised food grain at an initial cost of around Rs1.3 lakh crore to the government.
Experts, however, say the Food Security Act will have an enormous impact on the cereals market and the farm economy and presents significant operational challenges. The Act will also impact government finances and widen the subsidy bill.
The cost is budgeted at around Rs 124,000 crore a year. Some estimates say to implement the Act in a sustainable and reliable manner can cost Rs 200,000 crore a year keeping in mind investment for stabilizing production, creating infrastructure for storage and railways and upgrading public distribution system as well as an expected increase in the minimum support price.
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