United Nations Impact on India's Food Security Act 2013

The contemporary international human rights system was established after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. According to this framework, the recognition of the inherent dignity, equality and inalienable human rights of all members of the human family constitutes the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. The Declaration also affirms that the primary responsibility for implementing these human rights rests with national governments. It states that if people possess human rights, they have a fundamental claim that others should do or refrain from doing certain things, because the state is primarily responsible for order and social justice within its borders. The state is the primary target of these individual and fundamental claims.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 11

1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed.

The voluntary guidelines refer to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international treaties. Signature, support or accession to these instruments does not prejudice the position of any state.

A. Improving methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition, and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources.

B. Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.

Article 2

1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.

2. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Charter of the United Nations Article 55

With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:

• higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development;

• solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems, and international cultural and educational cooperation; and

• universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

Article 56

All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.

Relevant provisions of these voluntary guidelines are also contained in other international instruments, including the four Geneva Conventions and their two Additional Protocols, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. These voluntary guidelines have taken into account the development goals in the economic, social and related fields as well as the results and commitments of major United Nations conferences and summits, including those embodied in the Millennium Declaration. The Intergovernmental Working Group has also considered several resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, as well as the general comments adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Human Right to Adequate Food and the Achievement of Food Security

1. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The four pillars of food security are availability, stability of supply, access and utilization.

2. For the progressive realization of the human right to adequate food, states are expected to fulfil their relevant human rights obligations under international law. The objective of these voluntary guidelines is to guarantee the availability of food in quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture; and the accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable and that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights. This includes physical and economic access for every person, including vulnerable groups, or the means for its procurement.

3. States Parties to relevant international instruments bear obligations with respect to the progressive realization of the human right to adequate food. Notably, States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to adequate food and to take steps towards its progressive full realization. States Parties should respect existing access to adequate food by not taking any measures that result in preventing such access, and should protect the right of every individual to adequate food by ensuring that enterprises or individuals do not deprive individuals of their access to adequate food. States Parties should promote policies intended to contribute to the progressive realization of people’s right to adequate food by actively engaging in activities intended to strengthen people’s access to and utilization of resources and means to ensure their livelihoods, including food security. To the extent that resources permit, States Parties should establish and maintain safety nets or other assistance for those who are unable to provide for themselves.

4. States that are not parties to the ICESCR are invited to consider ratification of the Covenant.

5. At the national level, a human rights-based approach to food security emphasizes universal, interdependent, indivisible and interrelated human rights, the obligations of states, and the roles of stakeholders. It stresses the achievement of food security as a result of the realization of existing human rights and includes certain key principles: the need to enable individuals to participate in the conduct of public affairs, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to seek, receive and impart information concerning policies related to the realization of the human right to adequate food.

Such an approach must take into account the need to place emphasis on poor and vulnerable people, who are often excluded from the processes that determine policies promoting food security and the fulfilment by the state of its obligations to promote and respect human rights through the creation of inclusive societies free from discrimination. In this perspective, people hold their governments accountable and become partners in the process of human development rather than remaining passive recipients. A rights-based approach requires not only the final outcome of ending hunger but also the proposal of the means through which that goal is to be achieved. The application of human rights principles is an inseparable part of this process.

India’s National Food Security Act, 2013: From International Obligation to Domestic Law

India has translated its international human rights commitments and the jurisprudence developed by the Supreme Court into a comprehensive domestic statute through the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA). The Act, which came into force with effect from 5 July 2013, marks a decisive shift from a welfare-based approach to a rights-based legal entitlement to food. It covers up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population, thereby bringing approximately two-thirds of the country’s population under its protective umbrella.

Under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Act creates two categories of eligible households. Priority households are entitled to five kilograms of foodgrains per person per month. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, representing the poorest of the poor, are entitled to thirty-five kilograms of foodgrains per household per month. These foodgrains are supplied at highly subsidised prices: rice at three rupees per kilogram, wheat at two rupees per kilogram, and coarse grains at one rupee per kilogram.

Beyond foodgrains, the Act provides nutritional support to special groups. Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to free meals during pregnancy and for six months after childbirth, along with a maternity benefit of not less than six thousand rupees. Children aged six months to fourteen years are entitled to age-appropriate free meals through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (now known as PM POSHAN). In cases where entitled foodgrains or meals are not supplied, beneficiaries have a statutory right to receive a food security allowance.

The Act also contains important provisions on women empowerment, requiring that the eldest woman aged eighteen years or above in an eligible household be treated as the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards. It establishes a grievance redressal mechanism, mandates transparency and accountability measures, and requires the constitution of State Food Commissions to monitor implementation.

Several rules have been framed under the Act to give effect to its provisions. These include the Food Security (Assistance to State Governments) Rules, 2015; the Food Security Allowance Rules, 2015; the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules, 2015; and subsequent amendments such as the Food Security (Assistance to State Governments) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 and 2022. State governments have also framed their own rules consistent with the central legislation to operationalise identification of beneficiaries, distribution, and grievance redressal.

The National Food Security Act thus represents India’s most significant legislative step towards fulfilling its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Directive Principles of State Policy. By converting food security schemes into enforceable legal entitlements, the Act strengthens the architecture of the right to food in India and provides a concrete domestic framework for the progressive realization of freedom from hunger.

References

• United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III).

• United Nations. (1966). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. General Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI).

• United Nations. (1945). Charter of the United Nations.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2005). Voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. FAO.

• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (1999). General Comment No. 12: The right to adequate food (Art. 11). E/C.12/1999/5.

• Government of India. (2013). The National Food Security Act, 2013 (Act No. 20 of 2013).

• Government of India. (2015). The Food Security (Assistance to State Governments) Rules, 2015.

• Government of India. (2015). Food Security Allowance Rules, 2015.

• Government of India. (2015). Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules, 2015.

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