Even as the prime minister protests his inability to distribute food free of cost to the poor, the overflowing food stocks seem set to lead to another year of blockbuster expenditure on the public distribution system. According to numbers from the department of food and public distribution system (PDS), the government spent Rs25,600 crore on food subsidies during just the first four months of the year. The amount — higher than the...
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Poor storage not behind high food prices: Economic advisor - Nivedita Mookerji
The wastage of millions of tonnes of food grain due to lack of storage facilities may have rocked parliament and prompted the Supreme Court to direct the government to distribute grains free of cost to the poor, but Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, believes lack of warehouses is only part of the problem and is in no way responsible for the rising food prices. In ‘The economics...
More »Poor storage not behind high food prices: Economic advisor by Nivedita Mookerji
The wastage of millions of tonnes of food grain due to lack of storage facilities may have rocked parliament and prompted the Supreme Court to direct the government to distribute grains free of cost to the poor, but Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, believes lack of warehouses is only part of the problem and is in no way responsible for the rising food prices. In ‘The economics...
More »Parliamentary panel against sugar decontrol
The parliamentary panel on food and agriculture has recommended against sugar decontrol, claiming the move will go against the interest of farmers as well as consumers. The views of this panel, expressed in a report tabled in the Parliament yesterday, are not binding. “The committee is of the opinion that if the entire control on manufacturing and distribution of sugar is removed, the PDS scheme will be adversely affected, as sugar...
More »More foodgrains for poor at BPL rates
Decision comes in the wake of court's concern In the wake of the concern expressed by the Supreme Court at foodgrains rotting, the Union government on Thursday decided to release an additional 2.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat to the States for distribution to the poor under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The grain will be sold at Below the Poverty Line (BPL) rates in the next six months. It was also...
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