food security annotation by prerna
prerna_srigyanAnnotation of
This article reports that 200 million people were left out of the only food relief measure for COVID-19 by the government of India. Under the National Food Security Act 2013, 800 million beneficiaries of India's Public Distribution System were to receive additional 5 kilos of grain for COVID-19 lockdown. But according to a press release by the government, 200 million were left out in April. The issue is not of availability, but distribution from godowns. Delhi and Punjab have only distributed 1% of grain mandated so far. The article also notes that even the number of 800 million is not enough. The NFSA is based on the 2011 census, after which India has added 150 million people