The goal of food for all can be achieved only through sustained efforts in producing, saving and sharing foodgrains. The Supreme Court of India has rendered great service by arousing public, professional and political concern about the co-existence of rotting grain mountains and mounting hungry mouths. In several African countries hunger is increasing because food is either not available in the market, or is too expensive for the poor. Food inflation...

When we have policies trample on people's rights, and people go to courts seeking redress, what should the courts do, Prime Minister? Dear Prime Minister, I was delighted to learn that you said, while also “respectfully” ticking off the Supreme Court, that tackling food, rotting grain etc., — are all policy matters. You are absolutely right and it was time somebody said so. With that, you brought a whiff of honesty so...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

As rubber prices soared to Rs 180 per kg, even land, which is not traditionally best suited for rubber is getting converted in Kerala, thus shrinking the area under paddy cultivation. To stop diversion of paddy area towards rubber farms, the Kerala government has decided to implement a Rs 2,111-crore central package for paddy development in Kuttanad district, major producer of rice in the state. “Procurement price of paddy is now as...

Rotting grain violate the sanctity of food and the people's right to it, Navdanya, an NGO, said here on Tuesday. Criticising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that distribution of free grain would be anti-farmer, the NGO said that, on the contrary, farmers who were ready to harvest their kharif crop would be hurt if the government did not procure enough because it lacked adequate storage facilities. “If the government is unable to...