Few politicians can match Sharad Pawar when it comes to having one’s finger on the aam aadmi’s pulse, er pulses.At a time Indian entrepreneurs are manufacturing Jaguars and Landrovers abroad, the Union agriculture and food minister wants them to cultivate daal overseas.That would not only help fulfil the growing domestic demand for lentils, Pawar declared today, but also curb the environment-unfriendly dependence on animal proteins.At the sixth Agriwatch Global Pulses...
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Prithviraj Chavan should declare wet drought in Maharashtra: Farmers by Vaishali Balajiwale
Soon after the monsoon was over, rains made unseasonal comeback in Nashik and nearby areas again on Diwali day. As days passed, the initial surprise turned into shock as it rained night after night, and by Sunday it had rained 525mm in November. Heavy showers and thunderstorms all over the district damaged the crops so much that nothing of the rabi (winter) crop remains. Vineyards have thrown away young berries at...
More »Towards a Comprehensive Food Security Bill for All by Dipa Sinha
The NAC proposals for the food security bill are narrow and lack in vision. What is needed is a comprehensive bill with universalisation of PDS and a focus on child malnutrition. There was much excitement when food security became one of the issues in the manifestos of most major political parties in the run up to the 2009 General Elections. With burgeoning food stocks, double-digit food inflation, stagnant malnutrition rates, declining...
More »No right to food yet! by Praful Bidwai
India has missed a historic opportunity to abolish hunger through a universal public distribution system (PDS), which entitles all citizens to affordable food. The National Advisory Council (NAC), a progressive body established by the United Progressive Alliance, was to draft such a law, but has recommended a Bill which greatly reduces the public's entitlements. This is a setback. India's annual per capita cereal consumption has fallen to 174 kg, lower than...
More »Food Security Sans PDS: Universalization Through Targeting? by Smita Gupta
The case of the Food Security Bill gets curiouser and curiouser. What started off as a fight between universalization and targeting has ended (or so it would seem) in a complete victory in the National Advisory Council, Government of India (NAC) for targeting through universalization (if such a thing was possible), with the honourable exception of Prof Jean Dreze, who has to be commended for his ‘note of disagreement’. On...
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