shanta kumar committee

- Mrunal - http://mrunal.org -[GS3] Shanta Kumar report on FCI-restructuring, Buerstock, PDS & Food security & Direct Benet Transfer

Posted ByMrunalOn 12/02/2015 @ 2:00 pm In Economy | 44 CommentsWhat is Food security?1. Origin of FCI2. Timeline of Food management in India3. Disturbing Numbers: FCI and Food Mismanagement4. Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring

#1: Outsource procurement to State Governments1. #2: Procurement Payment reforms2. #3: Buer stock reforms3. #4: Storage reforms4. #5: Transport reforms5. #6: Direct cash transfer to Farmer6. #7: Direct cash transfer to Consumer7. #8: Curtail National Food security Act (NFSA)8. #9: Pink slips and VRS9.

5.

Criticism against Shanta Kumar report6. Appendix: FCI structure7. Mock Questions for CSAT8. What is Food security?

Food and agriculture organization (FAO) says Food security is made up of fourpillars viz. Availability, Aordability, Nutrition, and Stability.Food security Pillar What has India done to achieve it?

food should be available insucient quantity at alltimes and at all placesUnion: MSP, fertilizer subsidyStates: cheap canal water and electricityTogether, they encourage farmers to producemore grains.

Food should be aordableTo poor peopleThrough Targeted-PDS and National Food SecurityAct (NFSA), Government provides cheap grain topoor.

Food should be nutritiousto ensure healthydevelopment of body ofmind.

Through Mid-day meal, Food-security Act,Integrated-Child Development scheme (ICDS) andhalf dozen other schemes, Government ensuresnutritious food to children.In food prices and supplymust be stable. Otherwisepolitical and social unrest.

FCI keeps buer-stock of grains. It can be sold toopen market or distributed among people duringhigh ination, natural disaster etc.

Mrunal Summary: Shanta Kumar Report FCI refo... http://mrunal.org/2015/02/shanta-kumar-report-fc...

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Origin of FCIIn the 50s and 60s, India faced major shortage of grains.Our domestic wheat-production was very low. Our foreign exchange reservetoo was very low. We could not sustain wheat-import from global market fromour own. Therefore, we had to reply on American PL- 480 Food for peaceprogram. But the shipments were irregular.Finally Government decided to end this humiliation by focusing on self-suciency in food production.We imported high yielding seeds (HYV) of wheat from Mexico, distributedthem to farmers along with subsidized fertilizers.End result is known is Green revolution. You can read more about itsfeatures, phases and limitations in NCERT Class 11 Economy, page 24onwards.

Timeline of Food management in India1950s State Government begin enacting their Agricultural Produce MarketCommittee (APMC) Acts to protect farmers. But it fails to curb thenuisance of middlemen, hoarding and ination. For more click me1964 Food corporation Act passed. Subsequently FCI setup in 1965. FCI fallsunder Ministry of consumer aairs, food and public distribution.

1965Agricultural Prices Commission begins prescribing minimumsupport price (MSP) for staple food such as wheat and rice.FCI was ordered to buy grains from farmers, at this price, IF farmercouldnt sell his produce in open market.

1985

CACP: Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) underAgriculture ministry, recommends minimum support prices (MSP)based on certain economic criteria for 23 crops before each Rabiand Kharif Season.And for Sugar, Department of food and Public distribution decidesthe Fair and remunerative price (FRP).Thus 23 + 1 sugar = 24 agro-commodities covered under publicprocurement system.

1997Decentralized Procurement Scheme (DCP), introducedNow on behalf of FCI, the respective state governments themselveswill procure foodgrains from farmers and distribute them amongpoor beneciaries.In theory, this ought to reduce transport cost and leakages but veryfew states adopted it, that too for rice only.

1997 Targeted Public distribution system (TPDS)Two tier pricing structure: BPL and APL.


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State Governments decide BPL and APL based Planning commissionguidelines.2000 Antyoday Anna Yojana: 25 kg foodgrain per family at the rate of WheatRs.2 and Rice Rs.3 per kilo2003 Union Government drafts Model APMC Act, asks state governments toadopt it. Although many states yet to implement.2008

Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme under Department ofFood & Public Distribution (DFPD). Under this scheme, new godowns willbe constructed on PPP nance, FCI will hire private godown to storepublic-procured food grain for contractual period of 10 years.

2010Nutrient Based subsidy (NBS) regime.Under NBS, govt. gives subsidy based on weight of the dierentMacro/micro nutrient in the fertilizer to companies, so they designnew product mixes with micro-nutrients, according to soilrequirement in each region.Although #EPICFAIL Because Urea not covered in this system.

2010 A new statutory body- Warehouse Development and regulatory authorityunder consumer aairs ministry. It certies warehouses and resolvesdisputes related to Negotiable Warehousing Receipts (NWR)2013 National Food security Act passed. click me for more detailed article

Disturbing Numbers: FCI and Food Mismanagement


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23 Is the number of crops for which, CACP announces minimum supportprices (MSP). This includes even non-food crops such as cotton andjute. But

Only 6%Of Indian farmers could sell their produce to Governmentagencies.Other farmers are either unaware, or lack the access toMSP-system.Only the big farmers in north-western states have beneted fromthis MSP-procurement system.

40-60%Of PDS-grains are siphoned o to blackmarket, says NSSO report(2011)FCI transports 25 lakh gunny-bags every day so imagine thescam!Best States Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu;Most Bogus: Manipur, Diu-Daman, Delhi.

DoubleFor the last 4-5 years, FCI has stored double the grains thanprescribed buer limits. Result? (1) shortage in open market andthereby ination (2) rotten grains due to FCIs limited Storagecapacity.


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8-12% Was the food-ination in recent years, YET Government did not releasegrains from its FCI-warehouses to increase supply and curb ination.58% Of subsidized foodgrain doesnt reach BPL families. (Planningcommission, 2005)1.15lakh Cr. Is the ocial budget allotment for implementing food security act, tocover 67% of Indians (2014-15)YETonly 11

States have so far implemented food security act. Haryana, Delhi,Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra Chandigarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Other states aregiven time extension because theyre yet to even identify thebeneciaries.9 cr. Is the number of agriculture households in India. 3/4th of them noteven aware of MSP system. (NSSO, 2012)

Bottom line is, FCI has failed in all three objectives becauseObjective Why fail?1.Procurement Large number of farmers are out of the MSP regime.

2.Storage Large quantity of food grain either siphoned o or gets rotten3.Distribution Targeted PDS system has unacceptably high leakages.

In the light of these problems, Shanta Kumar Committee was setupShanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring

ChairmanShanta kumar- the ex-CM of Himachal Pradesh, Ex-Unionminister for Consumer aairs ministry and later ruralDevelopment ministry.Plus, 6 members whose names not important for exam.

Purpose How to Restructure FCI organization?How to reform public procurement, food storage anddistribution?Duration Setup in 2014-August, gave report in 2015-January.

Relevance

UPSC Mains examination:GS2 Paper: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of thepopulation by the Centre; Issues relating to poverty and hunger.GS3 Paper: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidiesand minimum support prices; Public Distribution System-objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buerstocks and food security.

hence this 15 page Ph.D article


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Lets check his recommendations one by one:


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#1: Outsource procurement to State GovernmentsShanta says FCI must not handle grain procurement for entire India

Avoid these areas Focus herePunjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, WestBengal, Assam

These state Governments already havesucient experience, manpower andinfrastructure to procure grains fortheir own PDS requirements.

In the States, Market rate arebelow MSP.Small Farmers are exploited.Their (Bogus) State governmentsare inept and lack infrastructure toprocure grains from the farmers ina transparent and ecient manner.

So FCI should simply hand overoperations To the stategovernments under decentralisedprocurement system.For short-term, give themtechnical training and arrangethem nance through ADB-IFCetc. international bodies.

FCI itself Procure grains from thestates, until the situation improves.

#2: Procurement Payment reformsPopularise Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System (NWRs). Encourage farmerto deposit his produce to an authorized-warehouse, get a receipt, and borrowagriculture loan for next crop-cycle, from banks and cooperatives, bypledging those receipts. Loan-Value of such receipts will be 80% of the MSP xquantity stored in warehouse.If market prices dip below MSP, government should only compensate farmerfor the losses incurred, but without procuring grain. i.e. let them store andsell it to private players later on when market recovers.If state government pays additional bonus over and above the MSP to itsfarmers (mainly for vote-bank politics) still FCI should not procure moregrain from that state, once buer stock quota is lled. [At present FCIindulging in open ended procurement i.e. all incoming grain is accepted,even if buer stock is lled.]FCI or third party must perform Quality check before accepting grains fromstate government agencies and farmers. Dont accept substandard grains.On FCI procurements, State government levy commission between 2% to15%. There should x uniform rate for entire India just 3%.


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#3: Buer stock reformsFCI is supposed to maintain buer stock of grains- to ward of anyemergency food-shortage situation during natural disaster, famine or war.But over the years, FCI has overcrossed buer stock norms- leading to rottengrain and shortage in open market. Observe following graph:

Why FCI did overcross Buer stock norms?Lack of coordination. While FCI is basically a keeper of grains. But howmuch grain should be stored as buer/backup for emergencies?- Consumerministry decides that.

1.

For vote bank politics, Union Government always increases MSP for wheatand rice each year. AND state governments too oer additional BONUS tofarmers above MSPs. Hence most farmers prefer to grow rice-wheat insteadof moving to vegetables and edible oils.

2.

Given this oversupply of what and rice- the Market forces will oer lowerprices to farmers. So, big farmers from rich states approach FCI and stateprocurement agencies.3.

Open ended procurement i.e. FCI doesnt have a quota in mind- whateverwheat/rice the farmers/state agencies supply to FCI- it purchases all of it.4. Ideally, FCI should sell-o the excess foodgrains, above the buer quota, toopen market- thatll increase retail-supply and stabilize prices.5.


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But there is no automatic-liquidation-rule. It all depends on Governmentsmood.6.

Results?Rotten wheat on one side+ food ination on other side=> Crores of rupeewasted by both Government and consumers.1. Government randomly bans export bans on wheat-rice during food ination,without nding the underlying reasons. This hurts our export competitivenessparticularly in rice- where India is worlds largest exporter.

2.

Shanta Kumars prescribed norms for Food-stockingTo implement Food security Act ~61MMTStrategic Reserve 5 MMT

Forex currency reserveSucient to import

3 MMT wheat2 MMT Rice.=total 5 MMT foodgrain

Whenever FCI has grains above buer norms, it should automatically sell excessstock in open market. a.k.a. Pro-Active Liquidation Policy.No harm in importing

Reduce import duty on wheat and rice.Instead of keeping excessive buer/backup storage, just store in moderatequantity. And as and when required, simply import rice and wheat from worldmarket.Same way, instead of transporting rice from Andhra Pradesh/Punjab to NorthEast, its cheaper to import rice from Myanmar to North East.#4: Storage reforms

FCI should gradually outsource grain-storage function to central warehousingcorporation (CWC), state warehousing corporation (SWC), and private sectorplayers- under Private Entrepreneur Guaranty (PEG) Scheme) on competitivebidding- give them contract to store FCI grains for 20 years.Dont store grain in Cover and plinth godowns. Convert them into Siloswith Mechanized / robotic assemblies, with help of private sector. MadhyaPradesh has already begun doing this.End to End computerization and Online tracking of entire system fromprocurement to retail distribution.North East and Jammu Kashmir state Governments must create storagecapacity that can last for 3 months. So, even sustain during bad weather,natural disaster and bandh-hartals, there is no shortage of food, even iftheyre cuto from rest of India.


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If grains are transported in containers, instead of gunny-bags, itll reducelosses, get faster-turn-around time at railways and waterways.Immediately after the procurement, give 6 months ration topoor-beneciaries, with cheap-grain bins for storage. Result? FCI will have tostore less grain in its godowns. Juntaa themselves will take care of storage.#5: Transport reforms

As far as possible, grain should be transported in containers. It should bepacked in gunny backs only at District HQ level- from where itll betransported to retail outletsStop labourers from using iron hooks to lift gunny bags. Provide bags withears to eliminate hook-requirement.As and where possible, use forklifts instead of manual labour.Improved night security at rail-points, because >85% of PDS Grain istransported through railways and maximum siphoning o occurs here.Construct silos at mandis, and provide rail connectivity to them.As and where possible, use inland water transport for moving wheat and rice.Example from Visakhapatnam to north-east and Kerala. Improve railconnectivity between such ports and their hinterlands.#6: Direct cash transfer to Farmer

Present system Shanta Says

Government adopted Nutrientbased subsidy system (NBS)But Urea kept out of this system.Result: Soil degradation inPunjab, Haryana, Rajasthan dueto excessive and mindless use ofcheap urea; even smuggling toneighboring countries

China gives direct cash subsidy tofarmer- according to per hectareowned. Then farmer free to choosecrop, fertilizer, pesticides as per hisrequirement.Shanta recommends India tooshould give Direct cash subsidy ofRs.5,000 to 10,000 per hectre tofarmers UID linked Jan-Dhanaccount.Then Farmer will judiciously use N,P and K fertilizers and even organicmanures, according to requirementsof his soil-crop requirements.Hell grow vegetables, pulses,non-cereals as per his businesswisdom and prevailing marketrates.

#7: Direct cash transfer to ConsumerGrain MSP FCIs Real Cost


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Rs./quintal (2014)Rice 1360 (common grade)1400 (A grade) Rs. 3,000/quintalWheat 1400 Rs. 2,200/quintal

Suppose, Government wants to ensure all poor families get Rice at Rs.3 /kg.

MSP-PDSregime

After considering procurement, storage, distribution andleakages- the cost of delivering 1 kg rice to poor family isRs.30. [because FCIs real cost of handling 1 quintal rice IsRs.3,000]And if Government sells it to them at Rs.3 /kg, then it means30 3 = 27 Rupees subsidy cost.NFSA wants to give rice at 3/kg but Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh and Chhattisgarh state government giving rice evenat cheaper rate. All such schemes need to be streamlined intoone.

Direct cashtransfer

Shanta Kumar saysGive Rs. 700/ month to Antyodaya familyGive Rs. 500/ month to Priority household.Then, Let them purchase whatever cereal and non-cerealfoods they wish to purchase from market.Governments subsidy burden will decline by 20-25% (30,000to 35,000 crores in absolute gure).The money thus saved, should be used in improving ruralinfrastructure.

How to implement Direct Cash transfer?First link Jan Dhan accounts with Adhar card UID numbers.Money be transferred to lady of the house under Direct Benet transfer(DBT)Amount should be linked with ination index.People will be given free choice to purchase whatever food they want- rice,wheat, milk, vegetables.First, begin this cash-transfer process in big cities with over 1 millionpopulation. Then to states with grain surplus.Complete this process within 2 to 3 years.J&K and North-east State governments should be given the option to eithercontinue physical grain distribution or adopt cash transfer.#8: Curtail National Food security Act (NFSA)

Food Security Act 2013prescribes Shanta Kumar observes


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Cover 67% of Indianpopulation (such that, 50%urban and 75% rural publiccovered)

Government doesnt have the nancialresources to cover so many people.At max we should guarantee food securityto only the bottom 40% poor.This target will comfortably cover all BPLfamilies and some of the Above povertyline families.State Government to identifythe beneciaries, distributegrains at subsidized rate andif they fail theyve to givemoney to the families.

So far only 11 states nished this process. Otherstates given time extension to implement NFSA.Antyodya households (AAY) the bottom strata of BPLpopulation will get 35 kggrain per family on monthlybasis, at following price:

Rice: Rs 3/kgWheat: Rs 2/kgCoarse Grain: Rs 1/kg

Yes continue that.

Priority households- thoseslightly better o thanAAY-BPL families- theyll getgrains at Rs 3/2/1/kg.

No. dont give so much subsidy. It should bejust 50% below MSP.At present the MSP for wheat is ~14 Rs/kgeach. So, sell it to priority households atRs.7 per kg. (either physical grain throughPDS shop, or transfer required subsidy intheir account to enable them buy it atmarket price. e.g. if market price is Rs. 30then 30-7=Rs.23 cash transfer in account)similar for rice and coarse grains.Otherwise, Governments subsidy expensewill become unsustainable.

Priority households get 5kggrain per person.

Under TDPS system, BPL families used toget 7 kg per person. So, Food security act isactually fooling them.Better give 7kg/per person to priorityhouseholds. And assuming average familysize is 5 members- thus each Priorityhousehold too will get 7 x 5=35 kg perfamily per month- just like Antyodayahouseholds.


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#9: Pink slips and VRSWorker Avg. monthly salary paid

FCIs top 350 babus Rs.4 lakhs per month!FCIs departmental laborer ~25,000 to 80,000/-Contractual Labour Hardly 10,000/-

Shanta Kumar recommendsFirst begin mechanization of operations- to reduce manual labourrequirements.Reduce the number of Zonal and regional oces. Keep direct touch withstate agencies via e-governance modules.Then give VRS to FCIs permanent sta.At top level, hire executives from private sector (instead of replyingGeneralist-IAS on deputation).As and where possible simply outsource or hire dailywage contractuallaborers.Result? Leaner and nimble FCI, low-cost of operations and higher economiesof scale.Criticism against Shanta Kumar report

Since Shanta Kumar criticized FCI, then someone must criticize Shanta Kumar tocomplete the Karma-Cycle. And who is more qualied to perform this religiousduty, than the columnists at theHindu newspaper? So lets begin:Angry tradeunion

Shanta recommends FCI to hire contractual sta, closeregional oces and give VRS to employees. Trade unionleaders dont like it. Not one bit.

Survey methodwrongShanta says only 6% farmers beneted from MSPprocurement regime and nearly 50% of the foodgrains aresiphoned o from PDS system (NSSO, 2011).But experts dispute the NSSO-survey methodology used inderiving these numbers. (Jean Dreze, EPW)

PrivatizationwrongIt is true that large number of farmers are not benetedfrom public procurement, but FCI has not openedbranches outside selected regions.So, instead of privatizing the operations, FCI should openmore oces at subdistrict level.

Poors left out Shanta wants to reduce the coverage of food security actfrom 67% population to only 40% population. heprescribes that priority households should not be given


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cheap grains at 1/2/3 rupees.Many poor families will be deprived of their basic right tofood.Instead of limiting the population under PDS, we shouldapproach universal PDS i.e. everyone rich or poor eligiblefor subsidised food grains.

Bowing toImperialMasters

Recall the WTO-Doha-round-10%-Food subsidy-peace-clause controversy. click for detailed articleIt seems Shanta Kumar has tailored his numbers to pacifythe food-subsidy quota requirements under WTOsagreement on Agriculture (AoA), and Modi-Obama deal toinnitely continue peace-clause was just an eyewash.

Farmer suicides

Given the UPAs trend of announcing bumper increases inMSP each year- large number of farmers growing rice andwheat.Modi did not increase MSP for wheat and ricesignicantly after assuming power.So, to cover those farmers losses and prevent anydistress sales and suicides, the state Governmentannounced higher bonus price above MSPs.Now Shanta recommends Modi not to do open endedprocurement from such states, above buer stock limits.This will catalyze distress sells and farmer suicides.

DBT idea is awed:USA too uses similar food stamp program, but many poors misuse thefoodstamps for purchasing liquor and even narcotic drugs.1. While food can be shared among family members, cash can be misused-Evenif cash transferred to lady of the house, there is no guarantee Indian husbandwont beat her up, loot the money and spend it on desi-liquor and gambling.

2.

Yes, Brazil Mexico and other Latin American nations use Conditional cashtransfers but not only as a Supplement and not replacement for theirpublic distribution system.3.

Such Free cash will increase bidi and gutka usage among rural men andwomen- every time they visit local kirana store. Sometimes even shopkeeperwill lure them saying he doesnt have chillar- so take this gukta pouch!(Counter argument: with Rupay card the chillar problem will vanish, andfamily can fulll use Rupay card every 45 days to claim accident insurance;Double-counter argument: banking penetration still low-many tribal familiesin remote areas will be left out for the lack of Jandhan account and outlets)

4.

In short, Cash transfers are likely to bring in their trail predatory commercial


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interests and exploitative elements, eager to sell alcohol, branded products, fakeinsurance policies, Saradha-like-ponzi schemes or other items that wouldcontribute very little to peoples nutrition or well-being. (Jean Dreze,Indianexpress )

Appendix: FCI: Present structure

Main body

Board of directors1. chairman of the board2. MD of Central warehousing corporation3. MD of FCI4. 3 directors to represent union ministries5. 6 directors

DailyreghtingMD of FCI from Delhi HQChiefs of 5 zonal ocesChiefs of 25 regional oces.

Manpower ~25,000 permanent sta and ~1 lakh contractual sta.Now lets check Shanta Kumars major recommendations one by one:

Mock Questions for CSATQ1: Consider following Pairs of Committee vs their ocial mandate:

Shanta Kumar: Restructuring of national food security act, Mid-day mealand other food distribution schemes.1. Usha Thorat: Granting licenses to small banks2. Nachiket Mor: Granting licenses to payment banks3. Which of them are correctly matched?


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Only 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. all of themd. Q2. Find correct statements

National food security act aims to cover 65% of Indian population.1. Shanta Kumar Committee recommends this NFSA-coverage be reduced to50% of Indian population only.2. Both A and B3. Neither A nor B4. Q3. Arrange following in the correct chronological order

FCI1. Target PDS system2. food security Act3. Nutrient Based subsidy (NBS)4. Answer choices

1234a. 1243b. 2143c. 4123d. Q4. Which of the followings are outside the purview of Agricultureministry?

FCI1. Minimum support prices to farmers2. Decentralized procurement system3. Answer choices

Only 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. all of themd. Q5. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) is administered by

Commerce ministrya. Finance ministryb. Consumer aairs ministryc. agriculture ministryd. Q6. Ocial mandate of FCI includes


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public procurement of foodgrains1. storage of foodgrains2. distribution of foodgrains3. Answer choices

Only 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. all of themd. Q7. Which of the following are recommended by Shanta Kumar Committeeon FCI restructuring

FCI alone should handle all procurement throughout India1. Create a separate autonomous body to perform quality checks on the grainsprocured by FCI2. FCIs contractual sta should be converted into full-time permanent sta.3. Answer choices

Only 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. None of themd. Q8. Which of the following are not recommended by Shanta KumarCommittee on FCI restructuring

Coverage of National food security act should be widened.1. Priority households under NFSA should be given more grain allotment2. Antyodaya households should be given grains at 50% below the MSP3. Answer choices

Only 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. None of themd. Q9. Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring has recommendedbuilding Strategic reserve of foodgrains. Under which

5MMT grains to be stored in physical forma. 5MMT grains-equivalent to be stored in forex currency formb. Both A and Bc. Neither A nor Bd. Q10. Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring has recommended


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which of the following measures?To provide livelihood to jute industrial workers, FCI must transport grains inonly in jute gunny bags right from procurement to retail distribution chain.a. To ensure employment to manual-laborers, FCI godowns should avoid usagesof forklifts and other mechanized instruments.b. Both A and Bc. Neither A nor Bd.

Q11. For cash transfer, which of the following are not recommended byShanta Kumar Committee?Farmers be given subsidy on per hectare basis.1. Direct benet transfer to PDS-Consumers must be rolled out rst in J&K andNorth-east where leakages are maximum2. Cash transfer should be made in the jandhan account of the patriarch of thefamily3.

Answer choicesOnly 1 and 2a. Only 2 and 3b. Only 1 and 3c. None of themd.

Descriptive Questions for mains examination:From the food-shortages of 1960s, India has moved into food-surpluses inpost-2010 period, but somehow the FCI-TPDS has not able to deliver on itsobjectives very eciently. Critically examine the reasons and suggestremedies.

1.

Since its inception, FCIs procurement and buer norm practices have beentonnage centric rather than farmer centric or poor centre. Discuss how ithas hurt Indian economy and people.2.

Shanta Kumar Committee has asked Government to reduce the coverage ofNFSA in the interest of scal consolidation. Justify your stand on thisrecommendation.3.

To prescribe direct cash transfer as the panacea for the ills of poverty andhunger, is an oversimplication of the problem. Elaborate.4. Decentralization and private sector participation is essential for ecientmanagement of procurement and public distribution system of ModernIndia. Elaborate.5.

Dene Food security and list the measures taken by Government of India toensure food security in India.6. (interview) Apart from what Shanta Kumar recommended, what othersuggestions would you make for reforming PDS system in India? What if wesimply privatize FCI?7.


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