The wastage of millions of tonnes of food grain due to lack of storage facilities may have rocked parliament and prompted the Supreme Court to direct the government to distribute grains free of cost to the poor, but Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, believes lack of warehouses is only part of the problem and is in no way responsible for the rising food prices. In ‘The economics...
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More foodgrains for poor at BPL rates by Gargi Parsai
Decision comes in the wake of court's concern In the wake of the concern expressed by the Supreme Court at foodgrains rotting, the Union government on Thursday decided to release an additional 2.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat to the States for distribution to the poor under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The grain will be sold at Below the Poverty Line (BPL) rates in the next six months. It was also...
More »Rising prices: Top foodgrain producing states worst hit
Major foodgrains producing states have been the worst hit by rising prices, thanks to the Centre’s decision to pay more to farmers for their produce. Although inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), has been in double digits for nearly six months, there are several states where CPI in the rural region has been around 20%. A look at state-wise consumer price index numbers shows that pre-dominantly agri-based...
More »Grain stocks pile up at FCI on slipup
Has the food ministry been misleading over changes to its subsidised grain sale in the open market, resulting in massive excess stocks still lying with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and huge wastage of grain at at time of high food inflation? In a letter to the PMO this month, the food and consumer affairs ministry has acknowledged that wheat and rice to retail consumers in states under the...
More »Food security — by definition by P Sainath
Maharashtra ended famine forever by passing an Act that deleted the word ‘famine' from all laws of the State. Maybe the government, the National Advisory Council and other assorted enthusiasts of the Food Security Bill can learn from Maharashtra about moving towards ending hunger altogether. In 1963, the government of Maharashtra ended famine forever in the State. It did this without adding a morsel to anyone's diet. It did so simply by...
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