INDIAN FOOD SECURITY BILL— CONCEPTUALLY A “THGI”(ठगी) IT IS.

Tejinder Narang 

Food Security Bill (FSB), which entitles 67% of Indian population the right to access 5kg of grains per month at 90% subsidy, is a political farce –“THGI” (ठगी) —in Indian colloquialism. THGI (ठगी) is defined as an art of cheating by first winning the confidence of the intended target (the poor and non poor) by superficial sympathetic overtones   and then victimizing them by robbing their earnings. THGI (ठगी) is of much craftier complexity than any theft or heist. 

Under Food Security Bill (FSB), Government offers grains at Rs 3-2-1 formula to poor and non-poor, which has more than 90% subsidy component, almost free. If any Government gives something free or virtually free, then it has to take that much money from others. There are no personal accounts in the Central Kitty for societal disbursements. Notion that someone is serving the poor out of compassion is irrelevant because he is not doing any charity or philanthropy from his personal bank account.

A student of class five knows that an item, which costs Rs 20/kg, cannot be sold at Rs 2/kg. It is a diehard foolishness. At macro economic level this involves massive recurring losses. The cost of inputs will continue to rise and the product (grain) price of Rs.3-2-1 will remain unchanged year after year. It amounts to an annual scam of lakhs of crores that may have official sanction, if the Bill is stamped with parliamentary consent.  THGI (ठगी) it is.

Government can spend more only if it generates greater revenue (though investment spending is much superior way of productivity than subvention).  Options for garnering more revenue are more taxes—direct plus indirect taxes and printing more money. Majority of population remains unaware of the daily burden of “indirect taxes” because these taxes are built as cost of billing e.g taxes on electricity, fuel, toilet soap, medicines and excise/custom duty/ service tax etc.

Printing money is highly inflationary (implicit taxation) which means erosion of value of whatever savings one has. All become poor; rich become relatively less poor; poor relatively more poorer. Massive subvention in pricing is “THGI” (ठगी) by the State.

FSB is merely a “right” and not an “obligation” for delivery of 5kg of grains.  It is a “call option” tailored for poor with heavy premium.  The aggrieved party (the poor or non-poor) can seek legal recourse if the right is vitiated, through litigation in courts where millions of cases are already languishing. Will the hungry stomach have financial wherewithal to fight endless litigation?? THGI it is.

FSB demeans human dignity by making poor---or even non-poor-- beggar of State sponsored socialism and its apparatus.  “Who has become the beggar in the country” is the question often raised when everyone has enjoyed food, fertilizer, fuel, LPG subsidies? The answer—“The country has become the beggar”.

Indian FM is running for FDI and FII as a supplicant to world’s capitalist countries for supporting India’s Marxist agenda that is outmoded at this time and age!  None trusts his word of reforms because they know THGI (ठगी) it is.

Have not we seen how the Soviets had to cut their chains of socialism during end of 1980s to embrace market mechanism. Have not welfares of EU shaken economies of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and destabilized French and Germany financially.

The moment of reckoning comes when these subsidies are withdrawn or curtailed because they are accompanied with traumatic social and political unrest.

THINK before this THGI (ठगी) is perpetuated.