BPL paradox
India?s rotting foodgrains and still relatively high food inflation have gained lot of traction across different quarters in the recent past. Last week in an interesting directive, the Supreme Court ordered the government to distribute foodgrains free instead of letting it rot.
Following a rap on the knuckles by the SC, an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has apparently discussed an increase in the quantum of those considered below the poverty line (BPL) families from the current 6.52 crore to 7.71 crore. As an interim ad hoc measure, which will be revisited after 6 months, the EGoM ordered an additional release of 2.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat from the stocks.
The SC?s order bodes well towards bringing down food prices and strengthening the weak public distribution system. However, it misses out on the big picture i.e., the ad hoc nature of policymaking in our country. A recent report by the Citigroup presents a key component of this picture i.e., faltering determination of the number of poor. There is a vast discrepancy between the BPL households as estimated by the Planning Commission (65.2million) and the states (107 million). The NC Saxena Committee predicts that 50% of the population would be BPL on the basis of the calorie intake while the Tendulkar Committee pegs it at 80 million, which is in line with the National Advisory Council estimates. The report shows that in almost all the 9 states under consideration, barring Maharashtra and Bihar, the number of BPL ration cards issued has been greater than the total number of BPL households in the state.
Going forward, the report predicts that computerisation of PDS and thus implementation of UID can serve as an effective panacea.