-Live Mint The world's largest social security net deserves better, especially given its potential to contribute to strengthening the foundations of an inclusive, green economy Nitin Gadkari is a man in a hurry to dismantle the edifice of rights-based legislation enacted by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. He has already set in motion steps to emasculate the historic land acquisition law passed by Parliament enthusiastically in September 2013. He has set...

-Down to Earth Area under cultivation of millets is declining in spite of national Food Security Mission While the Union government plans to restructure the Food Corporation of India (FCI), agriculture scientists and nutrition experts are recommending that effective millet management should be included in the Public Distribution System (PDS) of the country. The step is important to achieve the food and nutrition security for the small and marginal tribal farming communities,...

-The Indian Express India needs a national effort to speed up human development. That India was ranked 135 out of 187 countries on UNDP's human development index is perhaps the greatest concern for a nation with global ambition. In order to sustain our growth momentum and translate the gains of growth into wellbeing at a faster pace, India needs to rejig its strategy for accelerated human development. The performance in education and health...

-Financial Chronicle The United Nations declared 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) to recognise the importance of family farming in reducing poverty and improving global food security. According to the UN, the IYFF aims to promote new development policies at national and regional levels that will help small holder and family farmers eradicate hunger through small scale sustainable agricultural production. Family farming involves about 500 million families consisting...

-Down to Earth Crisis in Chhattisgarh over implementation of food security law has crucial lessons for India's public distribution system The unprecedented surge in below-poverty-line (BPL) families in Chhattisgarh has a lesson for India's public distribution system (PDS). In its overdrive to implement its own food security law, the state has issued more ration cards than the total number of households. Political parties see it as a scandal, while it may...