-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government should reduce coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to 40% of the population from 67% and defer implementation of the scheme in states which have not complied with the rollout conditions, a panel appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended. The panel headed by former food minister Shanta Kumar submitted the report to the PM on Wednesday. Reforming the subsidy regime...

-Deccan Herald Hassan: Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the department was chalking out various plans like supplying ragi and jowar to the ration card holders, which would be finalised soon. Addressing media persons after inspecting the maize procurement centre and the godowns at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee yard during his visit to Hassan, on Tuesday, he said that the department had been purchasing ragi, providing support...

-Down to Earth The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report The lot of the embattled Indian farmer only keeps on getting worse with the passage of time. In the last 10 years, the voluminous debt of Indian agricultural households has increased almost four-fold whereas their undersized monthly income from cultivation has increased three-fold. Even the number of...

-The Hindu Minister writes to counterparts to galvanise support In an effort to galvanise States against the "unilateral and anti-people" stance of the Centre to the public distribution system, Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao is writing to his counterparts across the country on the "reduced" role of the government in providing minimum support price to farmers in foodgrain procurement and the cut in kerosene quota to...

-The Hindu India's small farmers have been struggling for centuries now and they need social and governmental action to change their future Of India's 121 million agricultural holdings, 99 million are with small and marginal farmers, with a land share of just 44 per cent and a farmer population share of 87 per cent. With multiple cropping prevalent, such farmers account for 70 per cent of all vegetables and 52 per cent...