On March 25, the Indian government hastily imposed a national lockdown leading to restrictions of movement and exposing millions of migrant workers and daily wage laborers to the threat of hunger. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to escalate, so does the threat of a hunger crisis in India.  To tackle the massive demand amongst the most affected, the Indian government unveiled a US$22 billion package to provide food rations and cash transfers to about 80 crore people directly impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown.[1]

Government representatives maintain that there is more than enough food to feed the poor in case of a prolonged crisis. Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan claimed that the government has a surplus 435 lakh tonne of food grains, of which 272.19 lakh tonne is rice and 162.79 lakh tonne is wheat.[2] Additionally, government bodies have stated that warehouses were provided with 100 million tonnes of grains/food in comparison to the annual requirement of 50-60 million tonnes.[3]

The Central government introduced new measures through the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) as an immediate pandemic response to the current food security problem. The PMGKAY covers India’s Public Distribution System (PDS), under which more than 80 crores are entitled to 5 kgs of wheat, rice and grains each month. However, the larger problem remains that the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), which oversees the enormous PDS only covers the population under the National Census in 2011. As a result, this restriction is likely to exclude more than 10 crore people across the country.[4]

To combat the limitations of this restriction, several states have recognised the need to provide free or subsidised food to the marginalised and taken immediate measures to universalise their PDS system to avoid exclusion. States that have decided to universalise their PDS, will allow free grains to be provided to those that do not have ration cards (an essential identity document to avail PDS benefits). Uttar Pradesh (UP) was first to announce free ration for three months to all beneficiaries by removing requirements of ration cards and/or Aadhaar cards. Since the lockdown, the UP government claims to have created a national record by distributing food grains to almost 45% of the 3,55,00,000 card holders.[5] Jharkhand government also decided to universalise its PDS system including beneficiaries with cancelled ration cards, almost a staggering 7,50,000. Additionally, the Jharkhand government is also giving out two months ration allowance.[6] The Central government allocated additional grains to the Bihar government to cover 14 lakh people that fall outside of the ambit of NFSA and ensure all persons in need can receive benefits.[7] Other states temporarily removing these restrictions are Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

The Delhi Government expanded its ration scheme to include an additional 3 million migrant population, which makes the total population of those covered under the food security scheme to 11 million. The state claims to have distributed 7.5 kgs of free ration to 7.1 million people and 5 kgs ration for free to one million without ration cards already.[8] The state government started a process of issuing e-coupons to enable migrants and others without ration cards to access the PDS. However, the verification process for the e-coupons is highly complex and inaccessible for the poor as it requires smartphones and Aadhar numbers, which restricts access to those without Aadhar. The state had initially planned to set up community kitchens but decided to cancel such plans and provide food packets at night shelters.

Many states have come up with different plans depending on their ability to meet the food shortage demands.[9] The Punjab government is currently distributing its reserves for six months to meet rising demands, by distributing ration beyond the monthly quota of beneficiaries. Similarly, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have also announced distribution of three months ration in one-go. Additionally, Haryana will provide free ration to all BPL families and Tamil Nadu will give Rs. 1000 in addition to the ration to all ration cardholders.[10]

Kerala, on the other hand, has been a leader in controlling the pandemic and implementing inclusive distribution systems for the benefit of the vulnerable. The state instituted a community care plan for those with no means by creating 18,828 camps and 1,255 community kitchens. The government has been able to deliver over 2,80,000 food packets, free ration kits and commodities daily with the help of 2,50,000 volunteers reaching almost 3.69 crore families.[11] Since the closing of anganwadis, ASHA workers have reached out to 26,000 children registered under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).[12] As Kerala plans to open up its businesses, it has set an excellent example for the rest of the country towards implementation of effective measures for the best interests of its people.

Challenges ahead

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As per PMGKY, an additional 5 kg of wheat or rice per person and 1 kg of pulses per household will be provided free of cost for three months. Experts feel that three months is a short duration for families with limited means who would likely need support for at least 180 days, as the economic consequences of COVID-19 will take a long time to reverse.[13] Further, there is no guidance on the process of grinding wheat to get flour in the current lockdowns.[14]

Unless the state imposes monitoring measures to ensure effective fair and equal distribution, PDS outlets and fair price shops are likely to misappropriate the distribution of the grains for bribes. The Maharashtra Government recently imposed fines and revocation of licenses for those indulging in corrupt practices.[15] Some states like Manipur have reported improper distribution where households were only being given 2 kgs of grains instead of the allocated 5 kgs.[16]

While many state specific plans look good on paper, there is no clarity on the implementation or the logistics of these. As most states only include rice and wheat as ration, lack of other grains in the long run can also lead to large-scale malnourishment.

The biggest challenge continues to be the exclusion of over 100 million migrant workers spread across the country, who fall outside of the ambit of PMGKY or NFSA. As of now, the Central Government has not considered issuance of any specific guidelines that makes provisions for the inclusion of those excluded from the PDS during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many states continue to restrict access to non-ration cardholders, the states that have universalised access have put in place bureaucratic measures like temporary ration cards and e-registration making access an uphill task. Like many western countries that have implemented emergency COVID-19 specific legislation, the Indian government needs to consider execution of provisions that can ensure immediate, effective and equal benefits for all. With a migrant population that itself is larger than most countries, unless we tackle the food security threat at the earliest, we are heading towards a humanitarian crisis much worse than the pandemic.

Saurabh Malik is a public interest lawyer based in Toronto.