RTFC Update
Secretariat Right to Food Campaign
In the last month, the Right To Food Campaign and allied networks engaged on crucial issues on food security and entitlements for the citizens of the country. In this update we share with you the statements of various networks and organisations across the country as well as other social security nets related news and ground reports. Please share your suggestions and comments on rtfc...@gmail.com.
Right to Food Campaign Update
1. The Month-long Campaign by Young People’s Political Persecution and Resistance (NAPM Yuva Samvad), which started in July, concluded in August. The NAPM Yuva Samvad works to highlight the crucial role youth play in social transformative processes and spaces. The organization aims to mobilise the youth through regular interaction, cross-learning and facilitate solidarity between movements.
The link to the summary of the campaign can be found here: English/Hindi)
2. Madan Lokur’s article on Father Stan Swamy’s demise was published in the Wire on July 5th. The article highlighted the role of institutional injustice embedded in national law enforcement which led to Father Swamy’s early passing. He argues that Stan Swamy was virtually thrust a sentence of death without charges being framed against him and without a trial.
Hindi translation of Madan Lokur's article on Stan Swamy's death. The English version can be found here: English.
3. The RTFC statement titled ‘One nation one ration: will it provide adequate answers to India’s problems of starvation and nutrition?” was released to counter an article published in the newspaper Dainak Jagran. The statement asks the crucial questions on whether a revamping in the public distribution system scheme will be enough to solve the urgent problems of starvation and malnutrition in the country. It argues that these are severe repercussions of increasing inequality, scarcity and food insecurity. Changes in a scheme cannot be enough to battle these ills from a policy perspective.
The link to the RTFCs statement can be found here: एक देश एक राशन कार्ड योजना: भुखमरी और पोषण के सवाल। The Dainik Jagran article can be seen here: आर्टिकल
4. Adivasis from the Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh initiated externment proceedings against the district administration. The group has issued show cause notices for the violation of constitutional rights of adivasis and denial of fundamental rights.
The link to the press release can be found here: Press Release
Articles of interest:
COVID-19 Lockdown negatively impacted Women's nutrition in India: The nationwide lockdown in India in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on women's nutrition in the country, according to a study conducted by a group of researchers in the US. (Business Standard, July 30th 2021)
Compulsory food fortification is wasteful, ineffective and potentially harmful to human health. A new research paper, ‘Perspective: When the cure might become the malady: the layering of multiple interventions with mandatory micronutrient fortification of foods in India’, released today on July 30, claims that this intervention of food fortification is ‘wasteful, ineffective and potentially harmful’ to human health.(Gaon connection, July 30th 2021)
Fortification of PDS rice to stem nutrient deficiency unnecessary: The paper titled, ``When the cure might become the malady: The layering of multiple interventions with mandatory micronutrient fortification of foods in India”, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on July 28, 2021(Business Standard, July 31st 2021).
Concerned Citizens Ask FSSAI to not make Food Fortification mandatory: Individuals and organisations sent a letter to FSSAI saying that the chemical fortification of food is not a solution as nutrients do not work in isolation but need each other for optimal absorption (Newsclick, August 2 2021).
House panel seeks urban job scheme, cash transfers in Covid-like situation: The Standing Committee on Labour has recommended an MNREGS-like job guarantee scheme for them and cash transfer to informal workers during adverse conditions like Covid-19 (Indian Express, August 4 2021).
Govt. may not remember any oxygen shortage deaths but the public certainly does. The numbers on our publicly accessible database echo the story of the oxygen crisis that the public knows too well and shall not forget(The Wire, Sweta Dash, Aditi Priya, Ashish Gupta August 05 2021).
झारखण्ड राज्य खाद्य सुरक्षा योजना सर्वे: बरवाडीह के 41 फीसदी जरूरतमंद परिवारों का नाम राशन कार्ड नही (The News Sense. August 7 2021)
COVID महामारी के बीच कैसे अपनी लड़ाई लड़ रहा है UP का यह सुदूर पिछड़ा जिला (The Print Hindi, August 10th 2021)
Finance Ministry vetoed Rs.4,000 crore breakfast school plan: The plan to serve breakfast to children in government schools to address the malnutrition problem, has hit a wall with the finance ministry refusing approval, the Union education ministry has told a parliamentary panel (Economic times, August 10th 2021).
India needs to talk about 2nd gen steps against poverty: (Hindustan Times, August 11 2021)
PDS, National Food Security Act and Covid-19: The paper reflects the situation of post- NFSA and during Covid-19, based on primary surveys in Bihar, Odisha and Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Ideas for India, August 16 2021).
Pandemic lessons: Delhi's Quest to Universalise Food Security: Using publicly available data, government orders and insights from informal settlements, the article discusses the lessons from the Delhi government’s food relief efforts on universalising food security benefits (Economic and Political Weekly, August 14th 2021).
Is demand for free foodgrain under PMGKAY slowing? (August 14th 2021)
How cheap sugar is taking its toll on India: In the absence of any effective regulation on the labelling of packaged food items, households often end up consuming large quantities of sugar unknowingly, with children being its most vulnerable victims (Livemint, August 23rd 2021).
Rs. 935 crore misappropriated in NREGA schemes in the last four years, data shows: Over the last four years, Social Audit Units (SAU) under Rural Development Departments (RDD) across India have found financial misappropriation of Rs 935 crore under various schemes of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Only about Rs 12.5 crore of this amount — 1.34% — has been recovered so far, the data show (Indian Express, August 21st 2021).
TN to launch urban employment scheme: The Tamil Nadu government will implement an urban employment scheme on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) at a cost of ₹100 crore to improve the livelihood of urban poor, Minister for Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply K.N. Nehru said in the Assembly on Tuesday (The Hindu, August 24th 2021).
Eggs six days a week in meals for Anganwadi children: Children between three to six will now get one boiled egg along with meals at least six days a week at anganwadi centres across Jharkhand under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) of the Centre, the state cabinet decided on Tuesday (Telegraph India, August 25th 2021).
Don't chase the mirage of iron-fortified rice: Diversification of diet and improvement of environment is key to addressing India’s problem of anaemia. Layering fortification over existing iron supplement programmes won’t work (Indian Express, Anura kurpad, Harshpal Singh. August 26th 2021).
ओडिशा में हुई बारिश में भारी कमी, अब सूखे का डर सता रहा है। (Gaon Connection, August 27th 2021)
A simple Gardening idea helped women from 12 villages earn Rs 3 lakh during lockdown. : Coordinators of Prabhat Jal Sanrakshan Yojana—a project led by a non-government organisation (NGO) in the region—started providing guidance and basic training to women belonging to Mendki Tal village in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district to establish the community Poshan Vatika (Nutrition Garden) as a pilot project(the better India, August 31st 2021).
Still hanging fire on transparency: Courts need to go beyond appealing to the fictional conscience of our lawmakers (The Hindu, Amrita Johri, Anjali Bhardwaj August 31st).
India denying subsidised food grains to millions of its poor. Public distribution system based on the 2011 census excludes the country’s most vulnerable reeling under the pandemic. (AlJazeera, September 6 2021).
Indian Civil Society Organisation Hold Dialogue Opposing UN Food Security Summit. During the Dialogue, experts discussed the implications of the UN-Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) on the people of India, especially on the marginalised communities.
Two day India Counter Dialogue on the United Nations Food Systems Summit
Right to Food Campaign along with Jan Sarokar and Focus Global South organised a two day event. The Right to Food Campaign covered the Food and Nutrition session on 3rd September, 2021.
Janta Parliament: Response to the Monsoon Session 2021
Jan Sarokar organised Janta Parliament as a three day session from 9th-11th September. The Right to Food Campaign covered the food session on the second day of Janta Parliament.
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