Piqued by Tamil Nadu not securing a top rank in the Central government’s first edition of State Ranking Index for the National Food Security Act (NFSA), State officials dealing with civil supplies and public distribution are trying to ascertain the reasons.
Despite distributing free rice to virtually all the ration cardholders for over 10 years and well before the law was enacted, the State has secured only the ninth rank with 0.778 marks among the 20 general category States and Union Territories, according to the Index that was made public last month.
The southern States of Andhra Pradesh, which has got the third rank with a score of 0.794, and Karnataka, which has secured the eighth rank with 0.779, have done better than Tamil Nadu.
There is one more category which comprises north-eastern States, islands and States in the Himalayan region. After combining the two categories, Tamil Nadu stands 10th under the Comprehensive Country Level Index.
Aimed at documenting the status and progress of implementation of the NFSA and various reform initiatives across the country, the Index has been built on three key pillars, covering the end-to-end implementation of the NFSA through targetted public distribution system (TPDS). The pillars are NFSA- coverage, targeting and provisions; delivery platform; and nutrition initiatives.
In respect of the first pillar, the sixth rank has been given to Tamil Nadu with a score of 0.853, while Kerala has got the fifth rank with 0.858. In respect of the second, Tamil Nadu has got the ninth rank with 0.738, whereas Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been placed second and third with 0.807 and 0.802 respectively.
As for the third pillar, no ranking system has been made as the parameter itself is “evolving” and a minimalistic weight has been given to the States. Of the two sub-components — distribution of coarse grain under the NFSA and fortified grain through the TPDS — Tamil Nadu has been shown as implementing the second sub-component. What is to be noted is that Tamil Nadu, a major rice-consuming State, has not been known for distributing, through the PDS, coarse grain, which is one of the alternatives to rice, the other being wheat.
There is a view among the officials here that if the State implements an improved version of the online complaint redress mechanism, as stipulated by the Centre, its rank can go up in the next edition. At present, a helpline — 1967 or 1800-425-5901 — is in place. There is also a provision on the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection’s website (https://tnpds.gov.in/home.xhtml) for registering complaints. But what is conspicuous is that no consideration has been given to a State like Tamil Nadu, which, for over 15 years, has been distributing one litre of edible oil (palmolein oil) and one kg of tur dal to all the cardholders at highly subsidised rates. In fact, a document of the Department of Food and Public Distribution at the Centre acknowledges that the Index “does not reflect” specific initiatives and reforms undertaken by the States or the Union Territories.
