With FICCI’s new initiative, it is expected that the food prices in the country would be lowered, thereby providing much-needed relief to consumers, especially those belonging to BPL category  With prices of food items soaring in the country, government bodies like Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) are trying to provide food products at reasonable rates to consumers, especially to those belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category. In this regard, FICCI has suggested substitution of the public distribution system (PDS) with food stamps. As reveals a poll conducted by Retailing360, 100% of the respondents are positive about the suggestion.While speaking to a Retailing360 correspondent, a senior research scholar of Technological Research Institute in Mysore, on condition of anonymity, said, “It is expected that the effective implementation of food stamps will help to control food inflation rates in India as well as ensure proper distribution of food products among consumers. This will further prevent hoarding of food items in the domestic market.”
By using food stamps, consumers would be able to purchase food commodities at reasonable rates from selected stores. In order to make this initiative foolproof, the government has undertaken certain precautionary measures whereby, consumers would not be permitted to exchange the food stamps against cash.
Measures to be undertaken
Although the initiative has been successful in nine countries, certain measures should be adopted in order to make it successful in India. Firstly, identification of antyodaya families, which belong to the lowest rung of the BPL category, has to be undertaken by the government. Currently, around 24.3 million families belong to this category. Active efforts should also be undertaken by government officials in different states to identify 65.2 million BPL families in India.
According to Abhijeet Pawar, managing director of Pas Kosmosis Agro Private Limited, a large-sized food grain exporter and supplier in Pune, “Introduction of unique identification number is essential while issuing the food stamps as it will prevent cases of forgery as well as render the coupons non-transferable.”
By undertaking these measures the government would be able to implement an efficient system, thereby not only keeping a check on food inflation but also providing employment and educational opportunities to BPL consumers the availing food stamps.
Sabrina Mitchell |
