Food Security Bill must be pushed sensibly: Amartya Sen
Addressing an auditorium brimming with at least 2,000 people at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen, at a panel discussion on ‘Hunger and Nutrition’, laid out his vision for why food security should get top priority in the country.
Outside the hallowed halls of IIT Delhi, the UPA’s National Food Security Bill is being debated publicly in states and the Standing Committee has just returned the draft Bill with its suggestions.
Sen said it was not just important to meet the needs of the malnourished Indian child “from the point of social justice but also to be able to generate long-term growth and development.”
He pointed out that “with one-third illiteracy, one-half without toilets, one-third with no electricity, 40 per cent of children being undernourished,” India needs to review if any increase in growth rate was at all sustainable
He spoke of the Asian growth model pioneered by Japan after the Meiji restoration in the 19th century and followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and finally China.
“This put the increase in capability of its people first in the form of the state providing health and education. This was understood nearly a century ago by Jamshedji Tata when Jamshedpur was established. But then the Asian growth model was forgotten.”
Amartya Sen said it was high time that India recommitted to developing human capabilities and discovering its broader connection with growth and social justice.
He was critical of “the idea of recommending China’s growth rate without the foggiest idea
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