Que : What are the main features of the National Food Security Act, 2013? Also discuss the main challenges in the implementation of this Act.

 The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) was enacted by the Parliament in the year 2013 with the objective of providing quality food at affordable prices to the people to live a life with dignity.

•  Features of the National Food Security Act, 2013

• The Act entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Therefore, about two-thirds of the population is covered under the Act to receive subsidized food grains.
•  The Act ensures nutritional support to women and children. Pregnant and lactating women will be entitled to receive nutritious meals free of cost under the MDM and ICDS schemes.
•  Children in the age group of 6-14 years will also be entitled to get free nutritious meals under MDM and ICDS schemes.
•  Pregnant women and lactating mothers are also given a benefit in kind of not less than Rs. 6000.
• The Act empowers women to be issued ration cards by identifying the eldest woman in the household as the head of the household.
•  The Central Government assists the States to meet the expenses incurred by them on transportation of food grains within the State and also manages the margins of Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers as per the norms.
• There is a provision to provide food security allowance to the beneficiaries in case of non-availability of food grains.
  
•  Major challenges in implementation of the Act

•  After the implementation of this Act, the government exchequer is expected to spend Rs. 124,000 crore. This expenditure includes subsidy on food grains and the cost of its distribution.
•  The issue of corruption has become an almost certain and major concern in every welfare initiative launched by the government.
•  At present, FCI stores more than double the storage capacity it has available. This is one of the main reasons for their destruction due to fungus, rot and theft.
•  There is a problem of identification of beneficiaries, such as exclusion of eligible families and inclusion of non-eligible families, which defeats the idea of ​​providing food grains to both the deprived and the neediest.
•  The benefits of Anganwadis do not reach many children in the country. The spread of Anganwadi coverage is particularly poor in some states.
• Climate change has a serious impact on food security. A changing climate will affect food production in various ways.

                           The National Food Security Act (NFSA) is considered a landmark law to improve the condition of the poor and food insecure population. The above challenges need to be addressed more effectively, so that the benefits of this law reach the real beneficiaries.