The question of whether it is possible to move — and how swiftly — towards universalising food entitlements under the proposed National Food Security Act, dominated the second meeting of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) here on Thursday, NAC sources told TheHindu. Universalising food entitlements will hinge on availability of food grains, and on whether the exchequer is in a position to bear additional cost of food subsidy...
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Radicals lose Round One on food bill by Radhika Ramaseshan
Conservatives appeared to trump the “radicals” as the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council met today to consider revolutionary suggestions to widen the content and targets of a proposed “right to food” law. The food rights campaigners in the council wanted a targeted public distribution system (PDS) to cover all except the affluent, providing not just cheap cereals but also other requirements of nursing mothers, children, the aged and the physically challenged. The...
More »Bamboo artisans struggle for survival by Ratan K Pani
PATNAGARH: For generations they have been weaving magic, from bamboo. But, traditional bamboo workers are now close to breaking and the onslaught of substitute materials and government policies since past some decades have driven bamboo weavers to poverty and starvation. The bamboo artisans of Kolpada in Khaprakhol block under Balangir district are leading a life of penury. Inhabited by primitive Kol tribe, by virtue of which the village gets its name,...
More »Govt lets 30 lakh tonnes of paddy rot by Manish Tiwari
Even as the Centre is redrafting the Food Security Bill to ensure availability of food for all, nearly 30 lakh tonnes of paddy — the rice from which could feed around 4 lakh people for a month — have been left to rot in Punjab, with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) refusing to lift the stock. This particular variety of paddy, PAU 201, was developed by Punjab Agricultural University, and...
More »Centre to release 5 million tonnes of wheat in open market next month by Gargi Parsai
Wheat to be sold to traders at Rs.12.50 a kg; decision on sugar deferred The Centre will release five million tonnes of wheat from its pool in the open market to enhance availability and maintain a check on prices. The wheat, to be released in July, would be available directly from depots for traders and retail buyers at a reserved price of approximately Rs.12.54 a kg. Wheat is selling in Delhi...
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