-The Hindu ‘We have cashew on over 150 acres in the district now' Bidar: Vidya Sagar Patil still remembers the reactions of his neighbours when he decided to plant cashew on his family's land at Malchapur four years ago. "They thought I was mad. Some were blunt enough to tell me to my face, while others just gave me a weird look. After a while I stopped reasoning it out with them and...
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Food Bill in a political quagmire-Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu The promise of near-universal coverage is now nowhere in sight. And the UPA's seemingly fretful efforts to get the measure through do not appear to be convincing The nation is watching with trepidation the play of politics over the National Food Security Bill, which envisages food security for 67 per cent of the population by providing 5 kg of rice, wheat or coarse cereals per person per month at subsidised...
More »Rushing it through
-The Business Standard Time to question the assumptions behind the food Bill In the midst of all the politicking as to how and when the draft food security Bill will become law, one thing at least is clear: the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) intends to push forward with the much-criticised legislation. UPA-II has little to show for four years in power, and perhaps it imagines that the Bill will somehow alter the...
More »Dealing With The Maoists -Chitrangada Choudhury and Ajay Dandekar
-Outlook The Maoists want a military conflict as it brings more adivasis into their fold. The Indian state's best bet is in ensuring that it wins over the aam adivasis to its side. May 25th's condemnable attack by the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, which ended up killing and injuring over 50 people from Congress politicians to migrant adivasi labourers, cannot be understood without recognising the Maoist party's explicit political aims. These...
More »Why the food security Bill will not boost foodgrain consumption for the poor -Arvind Panagariya
-The Times of India So much has already been written on the food security Bill that there would seem to be no justification for another column on it. Yet, a recent look at some consumption data has convinced me otherwise. How the food security Bill impacts people's lives ultimately depends on the effect it will have on the consumption basket of the beneficiaries. If you believe in serious analysis over flag waving,...
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