-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The onion crisis gripping the government might be largely man made. Slow release of onion stocks by a clutch of traders rather than a shortfall in production has emerged as a key reason for retail prices rocketing to Rs 70-80 a kg. The government uncovered the plot - hatched by traders operating from major onion markets in Nashik in Maharashtra - as it sought to figure...

-The Hindu Health activists remind the Prime Minister of his last year's promise of free medication which will fulfil people's right to essential medicines Last year during his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced free distribution of medicines through government hospitals and health centres. One year down the line, however, the promise is far from being fulfilled and the declaration has made...

-The New Indian Express In 1948 when the United Nations passed the covenant ensuring the right to food, vis-à-vis the right to proper livelihood, to which India became a signatory, it did not envisage that the whole issue would be caught up in such an imbroglio - political and economic - as one witnesses today. The original covenant in article 25 ensures the "right to work and livelihood" and right to...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A community-managed meal scheme that has shown encouraging results in improving the nutrition level of pregnant women and lactating mothers in Andhra Pradesh may be replicated across the country. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh told The Telegraph that Andhra’s Nutrition cum Day Care Centre (NDCC) scheme was being studied and could be replicated in rural areas under the Centre’s Aajeevika scheme. “The NDCC scheme is being implemented by self-help...

-The Pioneer A reality check for the ever- increasing inflation era exposes the farce of Government-sponsored Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS). When pulses are priced at Rs 90 per kg, inferior quality of rice or wheat at Rs 20 per kg, vegetables at Rs 40 a kg and edible oil over at Rs 100 per kg, providing a quality meal at Rs 3.34 to a child is impossible. According to several NGOs/SHGs...