-The Times of India Private companies have hijacked the government's flagship scheme to provide Food to poor children and their mothers, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), with contractors in Maharashtra alone controlling Rs 1,000 crore worth of supplies in contravention of Supreme Court orders, a report of the SC commissioners office has said. The SC orders bar contractors from supplying rations under the scheme. It only permits village communities, self-help groups...

-The Indian Express A report submitted in the Supreme Court on Friday indicted the Maharashtra government and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over a “close nexus between politicians, contractors and bureaucrats,” facilitating extensive wrongdoings in supply of supplementary nutrition to children through the Central government-sponsored Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The report, prepared by the principal adviser to SC-appointed Commissioner Biraj Patnaik, also highlighted that in Uttar Pradesh, supply of supplementary nutrition has...

-Outlook Naval teams today rescued over 100 people from various villages in Visakhapatnam and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh who were trapped following heavy rains following cyclone 'Nilam' last week. 28 relief teams, comprising nearly 60 divers of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), rescued over 20 people from low-lying areas of Chodavaram, 60 from Padmanabham and 25 from Yelamnanchili while efforts are on to shift the marooned people to safety. According to...

-The Hindustan Times In a report released in October, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Oraganisation (FAO), which leads international efforts to defeat hunger, said that economic growth is not enough to reduce hunger and malnutrition. To beat the twin menace, it added, a country needs nutrition-sensitive agriculture, social protection and purposeful and decisive public policies. Both statements hold true for India. But the unfortunate part is that while the country has been...

42 families from Birpur village of Satna district in northern Madhya Pradesh are on a protest since the beginning of the month, to draw attention to the siphoning of their PDS Foodgrain. Additionally, through an online petition put by a local activist group, the families are demanding that K.K. Khare, Satna’s District Collector use his powers to crack down on the months-long corruption and resume their supply of ration entitlements....