-Economic and Political Weekly A "high-level" committee makes half-baked recommendations which will rollback the PDS. A ccording to media reports, former Union Minister for Food Shanta Kumar recently disowned the National Food Security Act (NFSA) on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He explained, without blinking, that the BJP had just pretended to support the Act when it was being discussed in Parliament, for fear of the possible electoral consequences of...
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Counting caste in the census
-The Hindu The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) launched in 2011 to enumerate castes along with socio-economic data, is progressing, and is likely to be completed soon. A stand-alone caste headcount may not normally be desirable in a country grappling with the adverse consequences of social hierarchy and caste-based divisions. However, in conjunction with socio-economic data, a caste census may yield quantifiable data that could be used to evaluate measures such...
More »Food Security Act beneficiaries yet to be identified -Anumeha Yadav
-The Hindu Delay by States in specifying fresh criteria and completing verification More than a year after the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed, beneficiaries are yet to be identified as States have delayed specifying fresh criteria and completing verification. Even the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), which was proposed in 2011 as a comprehensive survey to identify socio-economic characteristics of the poor and to be used to identify NFSA beneficiaries, is...
More »Dreze leads food movement in Maoist-affected Latehar
-The Times of India RANCHI: Developmental economist Jean Dreze, who has co-authored with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on the issue of famine, led a movement against hunger in Maoist-affected Manika block of Latehar district on Friday. Dreze, who has been working extensively in the state for the past several years, taking up issues like MGNREGA and food security, urged the villagers to call for the effective implementation of the Food Security...
More »Legislation alone cannot suffice to deal with problem of hunger -Biraj Patnaik
-The Hindustan Times The passage of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) made 2013 a landmark year for the right to food in India. It was a small but significant step in the battle against hunger. If the year was witness to the emergence of a political consensus, nationally, on the right to food, the next year will need to be characterised more by action and not just intent. The principal challenge in...
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