2013 · GS Paper 3 · Q4 · 10 marks
Food Security Bill is expected to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in India. Critically discuss various apprehensions in its effective implementation along with the concerns it has generated in WTO.
In short
The Food Security Bill raised apprehensions of PDS leakage, poor targeting, fiscal and storage strain and a cereal-only view of nutrition, and its MSP-based stocks risked breaching WTO subsidy limits. India invoked the Bali Peace Clause for rice in 2020, the first country to do so.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 281 words
Leaky PDS
The Shanta Kumar Committee (2015) later found about 46% of PDS grain leaking, so bigger entitlements risked bigger diversion.
Targeting errors
With no fresh poverty list, states risked excluding migrants and the homeless while including the non-poor.
Fiscal and storage strain
A CACP paper led by Ashok Gulati (2012) warned of a swelling subsidy, and FCI gaps left grain rotting, as the Supreme Court noted in PUCL (2010).
Calories, not nutrition
A cereal basket ignores pulses, micronutrients and sanitation, which drive stunting.
Outdated formula
The Agreement on Agriculture values support at 1986-88 prices, pushing India's measured subsidy past the 10% de minimis limit.
Fear of dumping
The US, the EU and the Cairns Group feared public stocks would leak into exports.
Temporary shield
Bali (2013) gave only an interim Peace Clause, which India first invoked for rice in 2020, while developed members hold over 95% of trade-distorting entitlements (RIS, 2025).
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Buffer Stocks and Food Security4 questions
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2013 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.