Sonia Gandhi has requested the federal government to finish the inhabitants census. She additional claimed that round 14 crore individuals within the nation are disadvantaged of their rightful advantages of free and subsidised meals grains underneath the meals safety legislation.
Gandhi stated that the beneficiaries underneath the Nationwide Meals Safety Act (NFSA) are being recognized based mostly on the 2011 caste census in her maiden Zero Hour intervention within the Rajya Sabha.
She stated, “For the primary time in unbiased India’s historical past, the decennial census has been delayed by greater than 4 years, regardless of initially being scheduled for 2021. There may be nonetheless no readability on when the census shall be carried out. Round 14 crore eligible Indians are thus being disadvantaged of their rightful advantages underneath the NFSA.”
The senior Congress chief talked about NFSA as a landmark initiative launched in September 2013 by UPA, which aimed to make sure meals and dietary safety for the nation’s 140 crore inhabitants. It additionally performed an vital function in defending tens of millions of susceptible households from hunger, notably throughout covid 19.
The Nationwide Meals Safety Act, 2013, offers for protection of as much as 75 per cent of the agricultural and as much as 50 per cent of the city inhabitants for receiving extremely subsidised foodgrains underneath the Focused Public Distribution System (TPDS), which, based on 2011 Census, involves about 81.35 crore.
At current, the federal government offers 5 kg of free foodgrains per individual per thirty days underneath the meals safety legislation. “It’s crucial that the federal government prioritises completion of the census as quickly as potential and ensures that every one deserving people obtain the advantages assured to them underneath the NFSA,” she stated.
“Meals safety is just not a privilege. It’s a elementary proper,” the previous Congress chief asserted.
The interval for distribution of free foodgrains underneath the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has been prolonged for 5 years from January 1, 2024.
(With PTI Inputs)
