State food provisioning in India had been regarded as an instrument of social policy since independence. In 2001, however, following a series of starvation deaths in several states, a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court served as the catalyst for extensive debates regarding the recognition of the right to food as a basic right in India.
This process resulted in the passage of the National Food Security Act in 2013. The Right to Food Debates lays out the principal arguments offered in the years leading up to the final act by academics, policymakers and government officials, and prominent civil society groups such as the Right to Food Campaign.
Each chapter in the volume concerns a major debate relevant to the food security bill. They also include extensive discussions of the draft bill formulated in 2011 by the National Advisory Council, a body of experts that advised the then government on social policies and the rights of disadvantaged groups.
A rigorous presentation on debates surrounding whether and how to legislate access to food,, this volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers in development studies, NGOs, and research organisations in India and other developing countries.
Harsh Mander is Director, Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi.
Ashwin Parulkar is Senior Researcher, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.
Ankita Aggarwal is Coordinator, the Right to Food Campaign, New Delhi.
Acknowledgements List of Tables List of Abbreviations
Introduction: State Food Provisioning as Social Protection in India
Part I: Concepts, Definitions, Scope, and the International Context
1. The Duty of the State to Provision Food as Social Protection 2. Coverage of the National Food Security Bill 3. Scope of the National Food Security Bill
Part II: Universalism or Targeting, Food or Cash Transfers, and Conditionalities
4. Universal or Targeted Entitlements 5. Selection for Targeted Entitlements 6. Conditionalities 7. Cash transfers or Transfers in Kind
Part III: Food Entitlements and Special Groups
8. Ways by Which States can Ensure Food Security 9. Starvation 10. Children 11. Malnutrition 12. Cooked Food versus Ready-to-eat Meals and Commercial Interests 13. Gender-Just Food Entitlements 14. Vulnerable Groups 15. Reforming Delivery
Part IV: Enforcement and Transparency Systems
16. Enforcement and Grievance Redressal 17. Victim Support 18. Fines, Penalties and Compensation 19. Accountability and Transparency 20. Duty Bearers 21. Financing the Right to Food
Notes on the Contributors Index