Thousands of people have gathered in the Indian capital, Delhi, to take part in a rally to protest against rising food prices and unemployment. A steady stream of protesters, carrying red flags, has been marching through the streets of central Delhi since early morning. The rally has led to massive traffic jams in the city. Trade unions who have called the rally say nearly 40,000 people will attend a meeting at the Ramlila...
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Despite growth, hunger pangs reality for millions by Subodh Varma
Although finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had promised food security and inclusive growth in his budget speech last year, hunger continues to stalk over 300 million citizens of the country. India slipped to 67th place in the Global Hunger Index 2010 rankings of 122 countries prepared by International Food Policy Research Institute. An Oxford University report said that 410 million Indians live in poverty. While there may be nit-picking over the...
More »UN agency on ‘red alert’ as soaring food prices threaten millions of world’s poorest
Record high food prices are putting added pressure on the United Nations agency that helps feed nearly 100 million of the world’s poorest people, with officials warning of a potential “perfect storm” combination of soaring costs, weather emergencies and political instability. “We are on red alert and we are continually assessing needs and reassessing plans and stand ready to assist,” UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran told the...
More »Excess supply leads to fall in onion prices; farmers protest
Onion prices continued to slide in the wholesale market at Gultekdi Market Yard on Monday due to excess supply of the commodity, prompting farmers to stage strong protest demanding higher procurement price by commission agents. Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) The agitation started early in the morning and farmers disrupted supply of vegetables and other commodities to the wholesale market. They were called for a meeting by the commission agents...
More »'Supply from Gujarat helps defuse onion crisis in Delhi'
Large inflow of onion from Gujarat has helped rein in high prices of the vegetable, which is now available at Rs 25-30 a kg in retail markets, in the national capital, traders said. "Increased arrival of onion from Gujarat from January 25 onwards boosted supply in the national capital due to which price of the vegetable crashed to Rs 25-30/kg," Onion Merchants Association General Secretary Rajendra Sharma told PTI. The prices of...
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