FM loses sleep over food subsidy bill

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that he is losing 'sleep' over the increasing food subsidy bill that might increase the budget estimates by over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2011-12.

He also said that the nation need to make a significant investment in agriculture to increase food production.

"We need to increase production in the regions where acreage and productivity have lagged behind so far. We did achieve our self sufficiency in food by the Green Revolution, but we now need that second revolution that will take us to a new trajectory where we can feed all and feed them with a view to ensure nutrition balance as well," Mukherjee said while addressing at the conference on Public Distribution System (PDS).

"The Government has initiated a programme to take the green revolution to the eastern part of the country. More investment in agricultural infrastructure is required, which over the last few years has already seen a turnaround in its declining trend," he said.

"The Government has initiated a programme to take the green revolution to the eastern part of the country. More investment in agricultural infrastructure is required, which over the last few years has already seen a turnaround in its declining trend," he said.

"Power, water, rural roads, national highways, storage, warehousing and cold chains have to be the focus areas for productivity improvement in the agriculture economy of the country," Mukherjee said.

Speaking about the PDS issue, he said: "The main challenge before the Public Distribution System today is reaching the foodgrains to the actual beneficiaries without leakages and diversion on the route to grass-root level. For this a massive modernization drive is required. Digitizing the data base of beneficiaries and computerization of the entire food supply chain will remain the main stepping stones on which we can make the PDS successful."

The Finance Minister will present the Union Budget for 2012-13 on Mar 16.