India's census delay is denying millions subsidised foodgrains

The Census is now four years overdue, and the budget for the exercise has been slashed indicating further delays. This is even as millions of Indians are left without access to subsidised foodgrain, pushing them to the brink of food insecurity. Evidence shows that entitlements under the Public Distribution System have prevented about 1.8 million children from being stunted.

Yet, the government now subsidised foodgrain under the to 806 million people, lower by 8.1 million than even its own estimate. Under the National Food Security Act, 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of urban population receive rations. When asked whether millions of people were being left out, the government told Parliament that any revision in coverage “shall be possible only after the relevant data of [the] next population Census is published”.

Despite the extensive coverage, between 2021-’23 there was a prevalence of in 14% of the population or 194 million people in India, according to the The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 . An October 2024 by economist Reetika Khera said that in spite of the improvement in coverage, the Union government was falling short of the coverage mandated by the National Food...