-The Hindu   Delhi Food and Supply Minister Haroon Yusuf on Wednesday launched the Electronic Public Distribution System (e-PDS) from a newly-constructed building for Circle Office of Food and Supplies Department at Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi. The Minister said the e-PDS system will reduce complaints of divergence and other corrupt practices. With the launch of this system, he said consumers would be able to get online information regarding their ration shops, availability...

A state-run temple in BJP-ruled Karnataka has lifted a ban on a ritual in which backward castes roll on banana leaves with food leftovers of Brahmins believing they will be “blessed”, sparking an outcry. Groups representing lower castes, academicians and social activists have described the decision by the authorities of the Kukke Subrahmanya Temple to revive made snana (bath in leftovers) as abominable and uncivilised. Over 3,000 people have gone through the...

Just ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow, Russia lashed out at protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power project saying that the disruptions may have been stage managed by its rivals. Russia's ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said Russian authorities had "great suspicion" about the events at Kudankulum, where the final stage before commissioning of two power plants built with Russian cooperation has been on hold due to...

-PTI   The Food Ministry has moved a Cabinet note on the National Food Security Bill which aims to provide legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains to two- third of the country's population, sources said. The proposed bill, which would cost the government exchequer Rs 94,973 crore a year in subsidies, may be taken up for the Cabinet discussion soon as the Centre is keen on introducing it in the ongoing session of...

-The United Nations    Ensuring global food security while striving to save the Planet from damage are the greatest challenges of this century, a senior United Nations official said today, stressing the need to enable smallholder farmers to become more resilient to climate change and to produce more food in ways that are environmentally sustainable. “There is no trade-off between feeding people and saving our Planet,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, the President of...