UNITED NATIONS 2 LST

Whereas under the targeted public distribution system,
families below the poverty line (BPL) are provided 35 kg of
subsidised foodgrain (wheat and rice) per family per month.

"All this targeting is not good. It's better to provide
(subsidy) to everyone," Ghosh said citing reasons such as
exclusion of deserving people, inclusion of undeserving in the
BPL list and huge expenses in figuring out the poor.
"(Besides) the poor are not a static category. Something
happens... the man loses his job, somebody has an accident...
they are suddenly poor. Last year, they were not. This year
they are poor. But they don't have a BPL card," she said.
The report called for addressing all deficits in specific
dimensions. "This universalist approach extends to those faced
with deficits within any dimension of well-being, whether in a
state of money poverty or not," it said.
As for the extra burden on the exchequer, Ghosh said,
extending the BPL facility to all would be one per cent of
India's gross domestic product.
"It's one per cent of GDP. I did the calculation. We
spend 3 per cent of GDP on tax concessions. One company has
got Rs 45,000 crore in terms of benefits from the government
in the last one year. We can spend that much, we can't spend
Rs 70,000 crore for the entire population," she said. PTI MG
RBT


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