THE INDIAN cabinet yesterday deferred a decision on an ambitious food security law which sought to guarantee subsidised food grains to millions of poor people, a report said.
The cabinet would reopen talks next week on the proposed legislation.
“The discussion on the draft food bill remained inconclusive and the matter has been deferred for the next week,” the semi-official news agency quoted an unnamed federal minister as saying after a cabinet meeting yesterday.
The minister did not clarify reasons for deferring the bill, which the ruling Congress party-led government had originally planned to introduce in parliament`s ongoing session.
Indian inflation has hovered above nine per cent since last December, when there were demonstrations over the price of onions, a staple in Indian cooking.
Government data released last month showed food prices rose 11 per cent in October from a year earlier.
Under the current draft of the law, anyone living under an official poverty line would be guaranteed 7.0 kilograms (15.4 pounds) of subsidised grains per month.
The proposed scheme – which would add 1.1 trillion rupees ($22.3bn/£14.37bn) to the government’s annual subsidy bill – also seeks to provide cash payouts in case the government failed to dole out subsidised grains.
Some economists have warned about the cost of the proposed law, which would add to India’s already wide budget gap unless the government finds fresh sources of income.
The food security law is a key part of the Congress’s programme as it looks to cater to the rural poor who helped return it to power in 2009 national elections.
