-Live Mint Food minister K.V. Thomas is holding day-long discussions with state food ministers and officials in the national Capital in a bid to overcome their objections and push forward the government’s ambitious food security legislation.   The government will present the revised food security Bill in the Budget session of Parliament beginning 21 February, he said in his opening remarks. “We intend to present the revised Bill in Parliament in the forthcoming Budget...

-PTI He was addressing the consultation meet of state food ministers on Food Bill here. With Centre planning to present Food Bill in  the Budget session of Parliament, Food Minister K V Thomas today urged states to evolve a consensus on contentious issues like coverage and identification of beneficiaries. The Food Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011, aims to give legal right over subsidised foodgrains to two-third of...

-Live Mint Proposal aimed at beefing up security, besides making sure development reaches neglected parts of India A day after the government pledged the partial decontrol of sugar in the next fortnight, the Union cabinet on Thursday approved a set of significant measures aimed at tackling Maoist insurgency and asserting its strategic hold over an area claimed by neighbouring China.   The measures approved involve upgrading rural road connectivity with special emphasis on...

-Live Mint Parliamentary committee’s proposals on the food security Bill are an improvement over the original The standing committee of Parliament, set up to examine the National Food Security Bill (NFSB), has finally given its recommendations. With this, the Bill has moved one step closer to seeing daylight. The recommendations, which are not binding on the government, will now be considered by the Union cabinet before being put to vote in Parliament.   The...

-The Hindu Business Line Dependence on the Public Distribution System (PDS) for buying essential commodities has gone up in recent times, according to the results of the latest household consumption survey. The National Sample Survey (NSS) 66th round, done in 2009-10, shows that consumption of rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene, sold through the PDS, rose both in urban and rural households, against the previous survey in 2004-05. The fact that the Government...