Sonia Gandhi speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.
Credit: Sansad TV via PTI Photo
New Delhi: Top Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday asked the central government to conduct the much delayed decennial Census at the earliest so that around 14 crore more people who are now left out of the mandatory food security net could be brought under it.
In her maiden intervention in Rajya Sabha after he she became a member in April last year, Sonia raised "concerns over people being deprived of entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013" during the Zero Hour, insisting that "food security is not a privilege but a fundamental right".
She said the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are being identified as per the 2011 Census, as there are no new numbers due to the delay in carrying out the Census 2021. Activists have claimed that around 14 crore are not covered by the NFSA, 2013 citing official population projections.
The NFSA, 2013 provides for coverage of up to 75 per cent of the rural and up to 50 per cent of the urban population for receiving highly-subsidised food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The government provides 5 kg of free food grains per person per month under the food security law.
According to Census 2011, it is around 81.35 crore. Sonia said the quota for beneficiaries is still determined based on the 2011 Census, which is "well over a decade old now".
"For the first time in independent India’s history, the decennial Census has been delayed by more than four years. Originally scheduled for 2021, there is still no clarity on when the Census will be conducted. The Budget allocations reveal that the updated Census is unlikely to be conducted this year as well," she said.
"Around 14 crore eligible Indians are being deprived of their rightful benefits under the NFSA. It is imperative that the government prioritises the completion of the Census as soon as possible and ensure that all deserving individuals receive the benefits guaranteed to them under the NFSA," she said.
Recalling the UPA-era NFSA, 2013, she said it was a "landmark initiative" aimed at ensuring food and nutritional security for the country's 140 crore population.
She said this legislation played a "crucial role" in protecting millions of vulnerable households from starvation, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis and provided the basis for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which has been extended for five years from January 1, 2024.
Soon after the Budget was presented on February 1, concerns were raised over the possibility of the Census being further delayed as the decadal census and updating National Population Register (NPR) got a meagre Rs 574.80 crore allocation. The entire Census and NPR exercise is expected to cost the government more than Rs 12,000 crore.