With the deficient monsoon bringing to the forefront concerns about inadequate foodgrain production, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to work on the modalities of the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA).

The EGoM comprises Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Railway Minister Mamata Banerji, Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, and Rural Development Minister CP Joshi with the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission being a Special Invitee. The move comes on the back of the Food Ministry’s consultation with state governments on the proposed NFSA.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had, in his Budget speech, announced that the work on the Act, providing for 25 Kg of food grains to poor families at Rs 3 a Kg, had begun. Mukherjee had announced that the Government would soon put the draft Food Security Bill on the website of the Department for Food and Public Distribution for debate and consultation.

With states flagging the concerns regarding the identification of beneficiaries as well as the questions over the inclusion of the Above Poverty Line families covered under the Public Distribution System, the EGoM would particularly work on the above questions before giving final shape to the legislation.

The EGoM has also been entrusted with the responsibility of considering issues regarding procurement and management of foodgrains stocks, revision of Central Issue Prices of foodgrains, policies regarding import and export of food grains, and also matters regarding futures/options for wheat in the global commodity exchanges after assessing the demand-supply gap.

... contd.