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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

India launches a food security project for the poor

The Indian government has launched in several parts of the country the food security program to provide subsidized food to 64% of the population, which is about 782 million people, local media reported. The ambitious project, approved by decree in early July by the Indian government, has a cost of 22,000 million (over 16.3 million) and was devised by the president of the ruling Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi. The Congress leader ja launched the food from New Delhi to commemorate the birthday of her late husband, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi - because it was, he said, "one of his dreams" and could not fulfill to be killed. The food safety law guarantees 75% of rural households and 50% of urban households the right to acquire seven kilos of grain per month at subsidized prices. According to the last official census in 2011, 833 million people live in rural areas and 377 million Asian giant in urban areas, so the plan would benefit about 64% of the population , some 782 million people. The law, however, still must be approved by both houses of Parliament, but the Government is "optimistic" and expected to come into force before the 2014 general election, which could bring support in the polls of the lower classes. But the government did not have it easy, as numerous opposition political formations, including major government allies as the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP, its acronym in English), have claimed more than 260 amendments to the law to back it up. "We support the bill because it is made ​​for the poor , but we want to make some changes, "said an MP from BSP, Indian agency reported IANS. The formation of the main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party conservative is not opposed in principle to the law, but asked to be debated in Parliament. Despite the rapid growth in India in the last two decades, 80% of its 1,210 million population lives on less than two dollars (one and a half euros) a day and 22% of them less than 50 cents, amount , according to the Indian government, marks the threshold of poverty.

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