A demand to reintroduce a universal Public Distribution System (PDS) in the country appears every now and then. Its proponents argue that universal access is necessary for ensuring food security, for better control on prices and for eliminating (at least partially) the evils of exclusion errors in the targeted PDS. The question is: what are the operational implications of access for all citizens to subsidised foodgrain? They are currently allocated as...
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14,000 tonnes of foodgrain rot in FCI godowns: RTI
Improper storage and negligence continues to damage foodgrain stock of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). In fact, it had about 14,000 tonnes of totally damaged rice, wheat and paddy, which could not be issued for distribution at the start of the year. According to information obtained by RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, the nodal government procurement agency had as many as 13,824 tonnes of “non-issuable” foodgrain stock as on January...
More »Monsoon soaks India soybean area after June lag by Ratnajyoti Dutta
India’s vital monsoon rains revived in the soybean-growing central region on Thursday, after a two-week lag that reduced June rainfall to 16% below normal, the second lowest in 15 years. Heavy showers in the central Madhya Pradesh state would accelerate soybean planting in the world’s top importer of edible oils and ease growing nervousness about monsoon rains. The weather office reaffirmed its prediction of a normal monsoon this year, in line with...
More »Media has lost its sense of priorities: Sainath
Pointing out that a disconnect exists between mass media and mass reality in India today, P. Sainath, Rural Affairs Editor of TheHindu, said the media had lost its sense of priorities and was out of touch with the problems of a vast section of the population of the country. He was delivering the Silver Jubilee Lecture on “Mass media: But where are the masses?” at the Indira Gandhi National Open University...
More »Organic wheat farming receives govt backing, attracts growers by Charanjit Ahuja
Over 11,000 acres of land has been brought under organic farming in Punjab and Haryana under a scheme sponsored by the Union Government. While 6,050 acres has so far come under organic farming in Punjab, Haryana too is not lagging behind as 5,000 acre has been brought under organic farming. To promote organic farming in Punjab and Haryana, farmers are being provided technological inputs including training and farm-level advisory services according...
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