New Delhi:Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has cleared the draft of the Food Security Bill. The Bill
will enable every person Below the Poverty Line ( BPL ) to receive 25 kilograms of
wheat or rice per month at a nominal rate. "EGoM has no authority to take a final
view on the (Food Security) Bill. Ultimately, the Bill will be decided and approved by
the Cabinet, that's why EGoM decided that I should take this Bill for proposal to the
Cabinet," Pawar told reporters here on Thursday. Asia's third-largest economy is
recovering, with factory output surging, but food prices are growing at the fastest
pace in 11 years and the government fears a backlash from millions of rural poor
who are its main voters. Rising prices have sparked opposition-backed street
protests and left the government little elbowroom to push through financial reforms
such as easing fuel price controls.
