Budget That Fails To Address The Hunger Pandemic

Context: The Union Budget does not include any significant measures to address the widespread silent emergency of hunger and food insecurity.

State of Hunger and Food Insecurity

• Worsening child malnutrition levels:
  • As per the partial National Family Health Survey-5 child malnutrition levels in 2019 were higher than in 2016 in most States.
  • Reason: fall in incomes witnessed by most poor and working-class households
• Food intake still not back to pre¬lockdown levels as per the surveys conducted by Hunger Watch and the Azim Premji University.
  • Even before COVID-19, nutritious diets for most Indians were unaffordable.

Budget fails to address Hunger Pandemic due to poor budgetary support in following areas

• Nutrition schemes: reduced budgetary allocation for following schemes which support direct nutrition programmes-
  • Anganwadi services: budget estimate (? 20,532.4 crores) was less than the projected demand of ?24,810 crores.
    • Anganwadi services are now part of ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 0’ which has an allocated budget of ?20,105 crores.
  • National nutrition mission (Poshan): revised estimates for 2020-21 being only ?600 crores compared to a Budget estimate of ?3,700 crore.
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (a cash transfer of ?5,000 for pregnant women) the revised estimate is ?1,300 core compared to the Budget estimate of ?2,500 crore.
    • This scheme is now part of Samarthya, along with Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Mahila Shakti Kendra with reduced allocation compared to last year
  • Mid¬day meal scheme allocation for 2021 is ?11,500 crore which is lower than revised estimate of ?12,900 crores for 2020-21.
• Social protection programmes: such as old age, widow and disability pensions, which could also contribute to better nutrition, also do not see any increase compared to last year.
• Migrant workers: other than setting up a portal there is no announcement of any special measures.
  • The One Nation, One Ration scheme announced earlier has not taken off yet.
• Food subsidy: increased by 3 times but does not reflect the higher distribution of subsidised grains.
  • It includes payback to Food Corporation of India (FCI) arrears rather than forcing FCI to take loans.
  • Also there is no provision for an expanded or universal PDS
• Health spending: allocation for health this year being lower than the revised estimate for 2020¬21 (?74,602 crore versus ?82,445 crore).

Conclusion: The budget misses the mark in terms of ensuring the ‘bare necessities’ for all and addressing hunger or providing a demand stimulus.