India’s malnourished: A mess of pottage | The Economist
▻http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21584042-huge-cheap-food-scheme-influence-voters-will-not-end-malnutrition-mess-pottage?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/pe/amessofpottage
“HISTORIC” and “unparalleled” were the words Sonia Gandhi, boss of the ruling Congress party, used to describe India’s new food law at a launch in Delhi on August 20th. She promised an end to hunger for the poor. More accurate terms for the law and its introduction would be “expedient” and “chaotic”.
The scheme aims to reach 800m of India’s 1.2 billion people, giving each a monthly dole of 5 kilos of rice or wheat, at a nominal price. That makes it the world’s biggest serving of subsidised food. Yet it has been launched amid confusion, cynicism and claims of fiscal irresponsibility.