August is usually the preferred month fo­r family holidays in Eu­­rope, because of ab­­undant sunshine and warm weather. In India, normally, this is the south-west monsoon season and a busy period for farmers. This year, ho­wever, several farm families in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the ri­ce bowl of the country, are repo­rted to have declared ‘crop holiday’. This is because the rice mills have not been lifting even last years’ crop....

It will be a mistake to assume that the food security bill, in its present form, will necessarily and sharply reduce India’s embarrassingly high rates of child malnutrition. Satiating hunger and providing nutrients that are essential for healthy growth and fitness are not quite the same thing, a fact highlighted by the leading medical journal Lancet in a recent research paper. The article says the prevalence of anaemia in India...

To give the much-needed impetus to the farm sector, the Government will have its first agriculture survey this financial year in February on the lines of the economic survey. Sources said that the Agriculture Ministry’s apprehensions on the production growth to meet the National Food Security Bill’s demand have concerned the Government. Consequently, three months ago Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the Agriculture Ministry to carry a separate survey to give...

One started reading the new Draft National Land Acquisition and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 with expectations of a great improvement over the 2007 Bills. There are indeed some very good features in the new Bill but, on the whole, one must regretfully report disappointment. Let us see how the Bill deals with some of the key issues involved. (i) Acquisition of agricultural land: The Bill rules out the acquisition, not...

Tired of its own inefficiency in plugging leaks and ensuring timely delivery of ration, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to take the privatisation route to improve its ailing Public Distribution System. The new system is being put in place by a corporate consortium led by HCL Infosystems with Edenred India Private Ltd ― a subsidiary of corporate meal voucher provider and multinational hospitality giant Accor ― and Virgo Softech Pvt....