The latest data of the Planning Commission indicates that poverty has declined to 32 per cent in 2009-10 from 37.2 per cent five years ago. The preliminary estimates are based on the formula suggested by the Tendulkar Committee for computing the number of poor. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday told reporters that the 2009-10 data shows a decline in poverty from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 32...

As the World Bank and International Monetary Fund convene for their annual Spring Meetings here, soaring food prices are high on the agenda, prompting some analysts to fast-forward to 2050 and the question of how to nourish the mid-century's estimated world population of 8.9 billion people – the majority of whom will live in developing countries. "More poor people are suffering and more people could become poor because of high and...

The world population is estimated to reach nine billion by 2050. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that global food production needs to increase 70 per cent by 2050 compared to average 2005-07 levels to feed the rising global population. Clearly, a large part of the consumption will happen in India and China; which would require an additional 1.6 billion hectares of land to be brought into cultivation compared to...

Prime minister Manmohan Singh has enlisted the Planning Commission's support to reconcile varying views on the proposed food security legislation . Singh has asked the commission to suggest the best possible framework for the Food Security Act after several members of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) objected to the suggestion of a government panel to restrict coverage of the ambitious scheme. The proposed legislation seeks to provide legal guarantee of...

Kerala has a long history of foodgrains deficit, especially in rice. For instance, deficit in rice has increased steadily in the State from 45 per cent to 85 per cent between 1957 and 2008. However, not enough attention has been paid to mitigate the food insecurity problem in the State in the context where there has been a large scale decline in the area and production of paddy. This paper...