-The Hindu India's hard won gains in achieving food security are in danger of being undermined by a clause in the National Food Security Bill that encourages States to adopt cash transfers in lieu of food entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Supporting this view, a recent report by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) concluded that the provision of food subsidies in the form of cash would...
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Whither the food security law?-Himanshu
-Live Mint The failure of the UPA government to get the food security Bill passed has exposed its hypocrisy With the budget session of Parliament coming to an early close amid a political logjam, the food security Bill has been stalled again. The blame for this important legislation not winning parliamentary passage in the last four years rests entirely on the Manmohan Singh government, despite its last-minute posturing. The Bill, which was cleared...
More »Between mass hunger and bursting granaries-Agrima Bhasin
-The Hindu A concern about the Food Security Bill is that legal entitlement has been weakened to mean a passive right to receive whatever the state gives The hallmark of the National Food Security Bill 2011 is that if implemented it will translate into India's first ever right to food legislation, guaranteeing food as a justiciable, legal entitlement to its people. However, in its current form, the Bill fails to evolve a...
More »Food Bill: Amartya Sen Calls for Restoration of Parliamentary Democracy
-Right to Food Campaign and NCPRI Press Release: With the Parliament unable to function for weeks on end, critical social legislations are being held up. As political parties blame each other for this stalemate, the Indian people - especially the poor - are paying the price. Casualties of this blame game include the Food Security Bill, the Grievance Redressal Bill, and more. 6 May (Delhi): Speaking at a press conference organized to...
More »Other nations can emulate DBT scheme, says ADB-Ashok Dasgupta
-The Hindu "I think it is a great effort, we are learning a lot from India" Even as India's Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is yet to be fully implemented under its second phase, the government's flagship programme on distribution of entitlements to the poor came in for praise by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). At a media conference on Saturday on the sidelines of the ADB's ongoing annual meeting at Greater Noida near...
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