Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University, Delhi – 110 007. Email: csekhar@iegindia.org
The report of the High Level Committee (HLC) to restructure the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has major implications for the future trajectory of food policy in the country. The Committee has made some important recommendations for improving the operational efficiency of the FCI. These recommendations, particularly the ones related to technology adoption and bulk handling in storage, should go a long way in improving the current situation of grain management. However, the Committee has left many important questions related to food policy and models of food distribution unanswered. Most importantly, the HLC has missed a major opportunity to highlight the importance of evolving a conceptual framework to define and measure food security in the country, which is crucial for a meaningful discourse on food security issues. The methodological errors in calculating leakages from PDS and the absence of discussion of alternative models of food management are the other major shortcomings of the report.
Food Corporation of India, food security, HLC report, cash transfers, supply chain management
