KEY TRENDS   • During 2014-15, while procurement of foodgrains (rice and wheat) increased from 56.9 million tonnes to 60.2 million tonnes, offtake of foodgrains (rice and wheat) from the PDS decreased from 59.8 million tonnes to 55.9 million tonnes. Despite increased availability in the PDS and prevalence of high inflation in foodgrains, dependence on the PDS is reducing, suggesting that there may be issues of availability, timely availability and quality of the PDS foodgrains...

-The Hindu India now accounts for highest number of increase in cases globally. The government’s focus should be to prevent deaths from COVID-19 and no longer on containing the infection, says a statement jointly issued by the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA), the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine and the Indian Association of Epidemiologists. India now accounts for the highest number of increase in cases globally. Lockdowns have outlived their utility in...