July is a month when we need to remind ourselves how reforms have changed India since 1991, from vulnerability to resilience, whether to external shocks (say, oil) or internal ones (droughts). In 2009, we witnessed the worst drought since 1972, yet the agricultural growth rate stayed positive (0.4%), nor did we resort to any major cereal imports. And in 2010-11, we are likely to have a record harvest of 241 million...

In a week when the central food ministry is reviewing the functioning of the much-maligned public distribution system (PDS) and plans to pull up laggard states on poor storage facilities, low grain offtake, high diversion and a persistently slacking programme, an objective relook at the world’s largest grain distribution system is imperative. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has time and again emphasised that streamlining the PDS in the usual-suspect states to...

The government’s latest estimates show that foodgrain production in the crop year 2010-11 rose sharply by 10.75% to a record 241.56 million tonnes (mt), a move that could potentially have a dampening effect on inflationary expectations. The impressive increase led by wheat, maize and pulses is revealed in the final estimates for 2010-11, and is partially explained by the fact that 2009-10 was a drought year. The crop year extends from July...

Though it remains susceptible to leakages and can do with greater oversight, the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (NREGS) appears to have boosted rural incomes by providing job seekers at least 100 days' guaranteed labour every financial year. That's why the Union rural development ministry's reported advisory to states to 'informally' suspend NREGS operations during peak farming season isn't a very good idea. For starters, the move would be legally...

-Reuters   Red-hot food inflation that has vexed policy makers around the world seemed to take a breather last month, when corn and wheat prices tumbled on reports that crop shortages were easing. The sell-off was also driven by global economic worries that prompted funds to exit grains in droves. But prices are climbing again, and have already made up half of June's losses. The sell-off masked an unnerving reality: The world remains...