-The Hindu The fatal consequences of having a routine midday meal for at least 22 children in Bihar's Saran district expose the chronic neglect of school education in a large part of India. That governments cannot find a small piece of land for a school and are unable to store food materials without the risk of contamination is a telling commentary on their commitment to universal primary education. The Bihar horror...

-Grist Media The proposed Food Security Bill will likely raise the demand for dal across India. While farmers and consumers are against it, the government keeps favouring the agri-industry and importing more and more cheap versions to offset rising inflation. But why won't India produce its own dal anymore? Nowhere are Canada's agricultural production plans tracked more closely than in India's Ministry of Food & Consumer Affairs. As it struggles to meet...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government's earnestness to change the lives of millions untouched by high-street banks is being tested with a proposal from its own department of posts. Armed with an amazing network of offices, the department has sought Rs 1,900 crore from the Centre to launch a bank that would connect with the aam aadmi in Indian villages and far-flung areas where few institutional lenders have a presence. Financial...

-Down to Earth The decision to reinstate Rs. 162 minimum daily wage follows protests and litigation The Bihar government has rolled back its decision to curtail minimum wages for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) beneficiary labourers, even as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have approached the court on the same issue. The decision to reinstate a minimum daily wage of Rs 162 was taken at a cabinet meeting, officials said. The...

-Frontline Professor Sukhpal Singh, a faculty member of the Centre for Management of Agriculture at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been researching and documenting the process of contract farming and food supply chains in India for more than a decade. He is of the view that the small farmer is being excluded in the method currently in place, which defeats the very purpose of improving Indian agriculture. Sukhpal Singh,...