Now to digest that food

The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council’s estimate that the Food Security Bill will raise food subsidies by more than 50%, from R60,000 crore to R95,000 crore, will presumably be top of mind when the Cabinet meets to debate the Bill once again. What the Cabinet would do well to keep in mind, however, is a far more scary scenario painted by India’s leading agriculture economist Ashok Gulati—though the piece, jointly written with Jyoti Gujral of IDFC, is in their personal capacities, keep in mind that Gulati is the head of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. Gulati and Gujral put the cost of the Bill at R6 lakh crore in the first 3 years, or R2 lakh crore a year.

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