BELOW STARVATION LINE

India is ranked 65th among 84 vulnerable countries in the Global Hunger Index by the International Food Policy Research institute. Recently, three months ago I read about famine conditions are existed in Eastern part of India and starvation deaths also have reported. We have highest rate (46%) of malnutrition and underweight children, high maternal mortality and high malnutrition women among the world. The Government of India initiated to implement National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) was set up by the central government to outline the framework of this act. The National Food Security Act was formulated that each BPL (Below Poverty Line) family would get 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs.3 a kg and the budget estimate will be Rs. 43,000 crores. But the Supreme Court Commissioner on Food Security ordered that the government should provide 35 kg of food grain to the poor families. UPA Chairperson Ms. Sonia Gandhi also suggested the government to work out on 35 kgs of food grain for BPL families.

Now the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) are exercising the Mechanism with planning commission to redefine THE POOR FAMILIES (BPL).Planning commission is taking the consideration of various estimates. Suresh Tendulkar committee 2009 (National Development Council), which projects the poverty at total 37.2 percent and the estimate of 41.8% rural and 27.5% urban families (32 crores people and 8.7 crores people).The Tendulkar committee has set the criteria based on per capita consumption expenditure for defining the poor in rural India at Rs. 446 per month and for the poor in urban India at Rs 580 per month. The Rural Development Ministry's committee chaired by N C Saxena has estimated that 50% of Indian families are below poverty line. Arjun Sengupta committee by National Commission on Enterprise in Unorganized Sector claimed that 77 per cent of the population (or 836 million people) were able to spend not more than Rs 20 a day (or roughly 48 US cents).

Our Indian media is prompting that Bull is rising in share market and sensex is crossing the screen limits…then why 50% Indian families are below poverty line. The Forbes magazine has listed the 52 richest Indian people among the world. Sure we are proud of that…then what about the embarrassment situation of 77% Indian population who are unable to meet the expenditure of Rs.20 per day. In India, two powerful brothers who have given the gifts (Corporate Jet – 300 crores, Super Luxury Yacht-400crores) to their lovely wives on their birthdays. That’s great …but in other outlook of India, we are pity and heart wrenching about the poor Indian farmers who sold their wives to pay their farm loans [click CNN.com]. In USA a cow meet the expenditure of $2 per day, our committees are stating that more than 50% of our citizens are unable to spend not even .45 cents per day.... I can't compare my beloved citizens. Conclusion is that we are not in below poverty line we are in BELOW STARVATION LINE .anyhow, Food security is the basic welfare of the state and we wish no one should die with hunger.
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