-Economic and Political Weekly Part-II reports the impact of in-kind food transfers on nutritional intake as measured by calories. Econometric analysis using a simple calorie demand function confirms the significance of variables relating to public distribution system access, controlling for other covariates, in its contribution to calorie intake. Results also suggest that the calorie-elasticity of PDS transfers is twice as large compared to additional out-of-pocket income equal to the cash equivalent...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: CBI director Ranjit Sinha has said infrastructure building through the public-private partnership model could lead to a spike in corruption cases as the potentially lucrative contracts may encourage collusion between big firms and state officials. "This route is full of pitfalls and it has opportunities for corrupt activities with big scope for collusion among promoters of consortiums to whom such projects are awarded and corrupt public servants...

-The Hindustan Times I remember her face but not her name. She was one of the 30 people I met one winter afternoon in 2009 at Basaguda village in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Bijapur district. A thin, tall woman, she stood at the edge of the group, listening attentively to her neighbour who was narrating an incident of an armed attack on the village that had left them homeless for months. When my...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Bengal government-designed potato shortage has prompted vegetable sellers in Odisha to plan a retaliation. The traders' associations in Balasore have threatened to detain trucks carrying essential commodities and fish from Andhra Pradesh and other states to Bengal on the national highway passing through this district in retaliation to the Bengal government's decision. Despite chief minister Naveen Patnaik requesting his counterpart in Bengal, the largest supplier of potato to Odisha,...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Global food prices increased in October after declining for last five months, according to the the UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Last month's small rise in prices was largely driven by a surge in sugar prices, although prices of the other commodity groups were also up, it said in a statement. The FAO price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat...