New Delhi, Aug 8 - Nobel laureate Amartya Sen Saturday praised the government's draft for a Right to Food (Guarantee of Safety and Security) Act saying it was a 'step in the right direction'.

'In my new book, 'The Idea of Justice', I have spoken about injustice. Inequitable distribution of food and malnourishment is one of the injustices. I think it is to the credit of the government that it is planning to bring about the Right to Food Act. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are in the right territory. It is a step in the right direction,' Sen said addressing a discussion on Right To Food at a packed Press Club here.

Sen was in the capital to promote his new book, 'The Idea of Justice'.

'Recently, I spent some time at Nalanda, Gaya, Rajgir and Patna in Bihar and found that there was a change in the administration even in the backward areas. A wider cross-section of people had access to food and it showed how change people's initiative and a good leadership can bring about,' he said.

The Right To Food Act is an integral component of the United Progressive Alliance's proposed National Food Security Bill mentioned in the budget speech under which the every poor family would get 25 kg of food grain per month at Rs.3 per kg.

It was also part of the Congress's election manifesto.

Outlining the food scenario in the country, Sen said the magnitude of malnourishment, especially in woman, mothers, children and babies at birth, in India was tremendous.

'No other country comes close to India. Most of the African nations have lower levels of child malnourishment. It is a situation of manifest injustice and we have the means to remove it but there is a certain level of smugness about India's achievements. The most difficult and nasty thing about malnourishment is that incapacitates the mind and debilitates the body,' Sen said.

The economist said one must recognise that 'poverty, lack of food, illnesses and state of education in India were closely linked - and were of the same magnitude'.