Government committed to ensuring food and nutrition security of the people:KV Thomas
Government committed to ensuring food
and nutrition security of the people in the country : Prof. K.V. Thomas
NEW DELHI,
JULY 18. The Minister of State of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public
Distribution, Prof. K. V, Thomas today said the Government was committed to
ensuring food and nutrition security of the people in the country, especially
the vulnerable sections.
Speaking
as a chief Guest at the second day of the two-day launch of the Oxfam
India-IDS Food Justice bulletin, the Minister said the Bill was at present
under consideration of the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and
Public Distribution. ``The Parliamentary Committee has so far held two
meetings. We are awaiting the outcome of deliberations by the Standing
Committee so that we could take further action to take the Bill forward,'' he
said.
Pointing out
that it was definitely going to be a challenging task to ensure
successful implementation of the Bill of such scope and magnitude, the Minister
hoped that all the stakeholders would contribute to make this historic initiative
of the Government a success. ``I welcome suggestions
for improvement of food security situation in the country. I assure you that
Government is committed to ensure food and nutrition security of the people of
the country, especially the vulnerable sections,'' he said.
Congratulating Oxfam India and IDS on bringing out
such a valuable bulletin, a unique collection of original thoughts by leading
commentators and practitioners on crucial subject of food security and
connected issues like the right to food and the need for a just food system in
India, he said.: ``I have no doubt that such a compilation on such an important
subject matter as food security will definitely help us understand the issue,
as viewed from different angles and perspectives.''.
The Minister
said the proposed legislation marks a paradigm shift in addressing the problem
of food security – from it being viewed as a welfare approach to a
right-based approach. ``The Act seeks to address the issue of food security in
the country in a holistic manner by adopting a life cycle approach. The Act
provides for about two thirds of the population to become entitled to receive
subsidized food-grains under Targeted Public Distribution System, with special
focus on nutritional support to women and children,'' he said.
The two-day workshop organised by Oxfam India, IDS and
CLRA was attended by civil society, media and Government
representatives, along with agriculture, food security, nutrition and food
rights experts.
Standing on the
Threshold: Food Justice in India is a collection of 15 original articles
that address key questions including how to protect marginalised people’s
rights to food, how to empower women and how to assess government commitments
to reducing hunger. It hopes to provide different perspectives to feed into
India’s Food Security Bill as it currently progresses through parliament,
as well as all related legislation.
About Oxfam India
Oxfam is marking its 61st year in India this
year (2102). In 1951, Oxfam Great Britain came to India during the Bihar famine
to launch its first full scale humanitarian response in a developing country.
Over the past 61 years, Oxfam has supported the growth of many civil society
organizations across the length and breadth of the country.
In 2008, all Oxfams came together to form Oxfam India.
Oxfam India, a fully independent Indian organization (with Indian staff and an
Indian Board) is a member of a global confederation of 17 Oxfams. Oxfam India
is now registered as a Company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956
(bearing corporate identity number U74999DL2004NPL131340).
The
Oxfams are rights-based organizations that fight poverty and injustice by
linking grassroots programming (through partner NGOs) to local, national and
global advocacy and policy-making. All of Oxfam’s work is framed by our
commitment to five broad rights-based aims: the right to a sustainable
livelihood, the right to basic social services, the right to life and security,
the right to be heard and the right to equality: gender and diversity.
Oxfam
India's vision is to create a more equal, just, and sustainable world. The
overarching vision of Oxfam India is ``right to life with dignity for
all‘‘. Oxfam India will fulfil its vision by empowering the poor
and marginalized to demand their rights, engaging the non poor to become active
and supportive citizens, advocating for an effective and accountable state and
making markets work for poor and marginalized people.
Oxfam
India works in partnership with over 180 grassroots NGOs to address root
causes of poverty and injustice in the four areas of 1) Economic Justice, 2)
Essential Services, 3) Gender Justice and 4), Humanitarian Response and
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Oxfam India’s program is focused on
seven States – Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarakhand – and four social groups – Dalits, tribals,
Muslims, and women.
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