A latest evaluation by a crew of economists that estimated a 28% leakage of subsidised meals grains has “important inaccuracies”, the federal government stated Tuesday, disputing its findings.
Citing the evaluation, this newspaper had carried a narrative on its findings. The Union meals division stated the examine, led by economist Ashok Gulati of the Indian Council for Analysis on Worldwide Financial Relations (ICRIER), a New Delhi-based suppose tank, had “important discrepancies in information interpretation” and was due to this fact inaccurate.
“This division has relied on the identical main sources — information from the Meals Company of India (FCI) and the Family Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 — to analyse and evaluate distribution figures out there within the public area,” a meals ministry assertion stated.
A “thorough evaluation” of the calculations and methodology employed within the cited report was carried out, the ministry stated.
There aren’t any annual information to estimate pilferages. So, analysts depend on a nationwide family consumption survey to estimate pilferages within the PDS.
“Offtake figures (which confer with federally-owned meals grains picked up by states) shouldn’t be confused with PDS shares used for distribution (precise consumption) in households,” the meals ministry stated.
The authors analysed month-to-month offtake information from the Meals Company of India from August 2022 to July 2023 and aligned it with the corresponding interval of the newest consumption survey (2022-23).
They then in contrast the “reported offtake” with “precise family consumption ranges” to estimate leakages.
Consumption surveys, on which the examine was based mostly, contains cereal consumed from a number of sources, reminiscent of state-specific schemes and personal purchases, which “complicates any direct correlation with PDS offtake”, the ministry stated.
Offtake figures embody meals shares in transit, buffer, operational reserves and cereals put aside for social-welfare schemes and industrial gross sales by the federal government. So, it shouldn’t be in contrast with PDS consumption, the ministry stated.
The examine stated it had “adjusted” or accounted for these extra classes since direct state-level information isn’t out there. The ministry didn’t reply to e-mailed queries on the examine on the time of print.
The ministry stated whole annual family consumption of foodgrain is sort of 86 million tonnes if per capita consumption information are mapped to the 813 million folks included within the PDS. This far exceeds the determine of 52.7 million tonnes talked about within the examine, it added.
HT reached out to Ashok Gulati, professor on the Indian Council for Analysis on Worldwide Financial Relations (ICRIER), for his feedback however there was no quick response by him.
