When India’s President Pranab Mukherjee signs the executive order on food security, passed by India’s Cabinet on Wednesday, nearly 70% of the country’s 1.2 billion people will have a legal right to subsidized food.
The law, which seeks to alleviate India’s chronic hunger and malnutrition problem, is a centerpiece of the Congress party’s bid to win re-election for a third term when India goes to the polls before May 2014.
To become permanent law, the executive order, known as an ordinance, must be ratified by both houses of Parliament within six weeks from the beginning of the next parliamentary session, which is expected to start in late July or early August.
Nearly all major political parties have expressed support for a food security law (Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party is a notable exception.) But the bill’s journey to this point has been far from smooth and even now it is far from over.
Brought to Parliament in May after several consultations and amendments, it was overshadowed by a political firestorm over alleged government corruption. In the last month, at least two attempts to pass the bill proved abortive.
Wednesday’s executive order marks a first step in a long process before the law’s benefits can reach India’s poor.
First it must get through Parliament to become permanent and may take a distinctly different shape after legislators discuss it. Congress’s political opponents, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, have already said they will demand changes.
“The bill is deeply flawed,” said Brinda Karat, a senior leader of the CPI(M). “The central government has given itself a right to determine how many poor there are in any given state.”
The current bill targets 75% of the rural population and 50% of urban dwellers. Ms. Karat’s party favors a universal right to food that excludes only income tax-paying Indians. Just under 3% of Indians pay income tax.
She slammed the government’s ordinance as “undemocratic,” and said it restricted the process of bringing amendments in Parliament as “a law is already in place and a framework has been set.”
Still, some changes may be made, as recent precedent shows.
In February, the government passed an ordinance to guarantee better protection of women from sex crimes. The final law passed by Parliament a few months later looked substantially different from the ordinance.
Any changes to the food bill are predicated on Parliament actually functioning. In recent years, opposition parties have disrupted legislative work protesting Congress’s economic reforms and demanding corruption probes.
It is possible – though not probable, observers say – that Parliament fails to vote on a permanent food law, causing the ordinance to lapse and taking the bill back to the starting blocks.
Questions also remain about how this large and complex program – the most ambitious food aid program ever attempted – will be implemented, and when the roll-out will begin.
“There is a lag between when a bill is passed and when it is implemented,” said Chakshu Rai, who works at PRS Legislative Research a New Delhi-based research group. “The nitty gritty of how it will work needs to be fleshed out through rules.”
The biggest question is, who will benefit from the bill? India’s state governments, which are responsible for implementing the law, must draw up lists of beneficiaries, for which the central government may lay down specific criteria.
“This is the most important step,” said Nikhil Dey, a social activist. “This will determine who is included in the program and who is excluded.”
Another question is how the food will be delivered to its intended beneficiaries. Under India’s existing food program, which covers fewer people than the new law, authorities funnel some 30 million tons of subsidized food grain annually through a distribution network beset with irregularities and glitches.
Critics point to grains rotting in warehouses, and say much subsidized food ends up being sold in markets rather than in fair price shops where ration card holders can access it.
For the new law to work, states will need to build more infrastructure and devise a mechanism to deliver food efficiently to India’s most needy.
Right now, the law appears mired in political opposition.
Nirmala Sitharaman, a spokesperson for the BJP, accused Congress of pushing the law in a hurry in order to reap electoral dividends. Congress has defended its move saying it feared opposition parties would once again disrupt Parliament. Observers say constant politicking on the law may detract from its implementation.
“You need to move on this law with a national mission spirit,” said Mr. Dey. “That won’t be possible if it is stuck in controversy.”
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