Supreme Court Rejects National Food Security Act’s reliance on 2011 Census

• The Supreme Court of India (SC) emphasized the need for employment as a long-term solution to food security issues.

• Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that the NFSA’s calculation of food grains was based on a census conducted over 13 years ago, despite the pandemic.

• The court was hearing a suo motu case on food security, particularly for migrant workers.

• Bhushan argued that the poor situation in India has worsened due to the lack of a Census held in 2021.

• The Centre argued that the NFSA had 81.35 crore eligible beneficiaries, arguing it was discriminatory to exclude two or three crore people under the same category.

• The Chief Minister expressed hope for a positive outcome from India’s Foreign Secretary’s visit to Bangladesh.

• The Chief Minister condemned the ongoing violence on Hindus in Bangladesh and called for a face-saving measure to address the issue.