The Supreme Court tells the government: "It's criminal to let food rot in a chronically hungry country. Give it away free to the poor." It could have added: "Have you no political sense? Have you not read Anandamath, or at least seen the movie?" And Manmohan Singh ticks it off for transgressing on policymaking — doesn't it know there's no such thing as a free lunch? He could have added:...

Exaggeration. Exaggeration. Exaggeration.  I was subjected to this tiresome litany from various angry officials and a couple of politicians after one of their colleagues — who will remained unnamed — leaked to me the perilous state of India’s granaries and the rotting foodgrain within. On July 26, I reported how 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and rice had rotted away, unfit even for animals; how 17.8 million tonnes, enough to feed...

The area under turmeric cultivation in Erode district has almost doubled this year because of the high price it fetches in the market. Farmers have cultivated turmeric in over 9,500 hectares of land till date. Normally turmeric is cultivated in about 5,000 to 6,000 hectares in the district. Cultivation “The price of the yellow spice has been hovering around Rs. 15,000 a quintal for the last few months. This has encouraged farmers to...

Maharashtra ended famine forever by passing an Act that deleted the word ‘famine' from all laws of the State. Maybe the government, the National Advisory Council and other assorted enthusiasts of the Food Security Bill can learn from Maharashtra about moving towards ending hunger altogether. In 1963, the government of Maharashtra ended famine forever in the State. It did this without adding a morsel to anyone's diet. It did so simply by...

The violent agitation by farmers in western Uttar Pradesh spread further on Tuesday, despite the state government's offer of more money as compensation for land acquired for the 165 km long Noida-Agra Expressway. While the agitating farmers of Aligarh and Mathura rejected the government's offer, farmers in neighbouring Agra district also began protesting on Tuesday. Under pressure from agitating farmers and political parties, the Mayawati government on Monday night increased the total...