The rise in global wheat prices by almost 50% in less than two months as commodity markets factor in a sharp drop in exportable surplus has not touched India, among world’s biggest producers and consumers of wheat. What’s more surprising, domestic futures prices too are unlikely to show any appreciable rise, going by the trend in India’s commodity markets. Barring minor blips, August and September wheat futures at NCDEX, largest exchange for...

Streamlining the PDS is a priority of the Arunachal Pradesh government and it has taken up with the Centre for early release of funds against bills for hill transport subsidy held back for more than five years, Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said on Sunday. Unfurling the National Tricolour on the 64th Independence Day, Khandu said the state required Rs 200 crore a year as hill transport subsidy for reaching PDS...

Union Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sharad Pawar on Friday said retail prices of some food items like pulses, edible oil, milk and vegetables have been rising in the last six months. “There are few items (essential commodities) where there is no improvement in prices…retail prices of pulses such as urad dal and moong dal, edible oils like groundnut oil and vanaspati, milk and potato have shown...

Amidst predictions by FAO of a record world cereal production of 2279.5 million tonnes during 2010-2011, the bad news is that drought conditions may bring down Russia's domestic wheat production to 50 million tonnes in the current year from 63.7 million tonnes in 2008-09. Russia has already imposed a temporary ban on wheat exports. This has pushed up international prices of wheat contradicting the prediction of FAO's Food Outlook 2010...

The employment guarantee scheme has resulted in a big spurt in not only wages but also household income in the rural areas, an analysis of the data since the beginning of the programme in 2006-07 show. While rural wages have risen 38% since 2006-07, household income saw a 74% increase in the four years up to 2009-10. This is despite the fact that just 13% of the 5 crore beneficiary families...