 "India's subsidy under Food Act, WTO complaint: Food Min")
As the union cabinet meets this evening to decide India’s stand in WTO ministerial meeting to be held in Bali, food minister K.V. Thomas said that all subsidies provided by the country under the recently launched National Food Security Act (NFSA) is not new and within WTO norms.
“We have met WTO officials during my recent visit to Geneva and have conveyed to them that the subsidies proposed to given under the Act is already existing and there is nothing new in them,” Thomas told reporters.
He said the Act is nothing new and the difference is in outlook. “From welfare measure, we are converting Food Subsidy into a rights based approach under the Food Act,” Thomas said. He said under the NFSA, the government will have to bear a subsidy of around Rs 130,000 crore, which is almost Rs 40,000 crore more than 2013-14 Budget Estimate of Food Subsidy.
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On public stock, too, the minister said that it has been continuing for long and there is nothing new in it. The union cabinet is expected to meet later today to discuss India’s stand on WTO meeting.
WTO had objections to India crossing the 10% threshold limit of current value of output in agriculture.