India stands firm at WTO: Our food subsidies ensure global food security

Under the trade norms, a WTO member's food subsidy bill should not breach the limit of 10 per cent of the value of production

Even as some developed nations raised questions that India’s “highly subsidised” public stock holding (PSH) programme is affecting food security of other countries, India stood firm in its position at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting stating that it is the other way around.

The development comes in the backdrop of some WTO member-nations, mainly by Australia, Canada, and the US, raising questions over India’s minimum support price (MSP) programme for food grains, particularly rice, since the subsidy has breached the suggested limit thrice.

In a recent meeting of the WTO’s committee on agriculture in Geneva, India defended its position