Consolidated food security data to be compiled within three weeks: Pawar - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that the UPA Government's Food Security Bill will be redrafted within three weeks and will include fresh suggestions from the Planning Commission and the Food Ministry. He was speaking after a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting that studied the draft of the Food Security Bill on Monday. Pawar said the draft Bill would be finalized only after certain facts and figures are clarified and compiled for the Planning Commission. "This is a major question that why there have been discussion at several places about the BPL (below poverty line) list. Earlier it had been decided that the Planning Commission would go in its depth and come forward with some suggestions. I am sure that the Planning Commission will give us some suggestions regarding this, and keeping there suggestions in mind we will be able to make a final draft to it, and thus it has been decided in today's meeting that we will meet again after three weeks but before this planning commission and food ministry will circulate this information in the group," he added. He further mentioned that 22 countries provide subsidized food to the poor and the government intends to study those policies and modalities as well. "The thing is that we had detailed discussions on some issues, but the committee requires some more information from us. For instance in the world, 22 countries have such a law but what are the provisions of such law, what kind of facilities they have, our Ministry has to collect all such information which we will do in the next 10-15 days and submit it," Pawar said. India which is Asia's third-largest economy is recovering, with factory output surging, but food prices are growing at the fastest pace in 11 years and the government fears a backlash from millions of rural poor who are its main voters.