Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday virtually ticked off the Supreme Court, saying that it "should not get into policy formation". The trigger for this rebuke was the apex court's anger at grains rotting in FCI and government godowns, and its direction to agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to distribute grains for free to families living below the poverty line. Talking to a group of editors on Monday morning, Singh said...
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Foodgrains order will hit farmers, impact food security: Govt to SC by Krishnadas Rajagopal
The Union Food Ministry today told the Supreme Court that its suggestion on limiting food procurement to available storage facilities, if put to action, would hit the poor farmer and “drastically impact food security of the nation”. In a 19-page affidavit, C Vishwanath, joint secretary in the Ministry, said: “If Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state government agencies that do the work of procurement were to limit procurement only to...
More »Right to Food Campaign wants APL included in PDS by Gargi Parsai
“The hungry must not be left out” The steering group of the Right to Food Campaign on Saturday expressed its apprehension about doing away with the distribution of subsidised foodgrains to Above Poverty line (APL) beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS), as suggested by the Supreme Court. While welcoming the court's order on rotting foodgrains, the campaign, that is pressing for universal PDS, has said that leaving out APL would mean...
More »More foodgrains for poor at BPL rates
Decision comes in the wake of court's concern In the wake of the concern expressed by the Supreme Court at foodgrains rotting, the Union government on Thursday decided to release an additional 2.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat to the States for distribution to the poor under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The grain will be sold at Below the Poverty Line (BPL) rates in the next six months. It was also...
More »More foodgrains for poor at BPL rates by Gargi Parsai
Decision comes in the wake of court's concern In the wake of the concern expressed by the Supreme Court at foodgrains rotting, the Union government on Thursday decided to release an additional 2.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat to the States for distribution to the poor under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The grain will be sold at Below the Poverty Line (BPL) rates in the next six months. It was also...
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