-The Hindu The hostility to the UPA's food security Bill from both its allies and the Opposition stems not from substantial objections to the draft law itself but from other political grouses The decision to bring an ordinance to provide food security to 67 per cent of the country's population was received with much hostility by the Opposition parties last week. The latter seemed surprised that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) could...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Congress is planning a grand rollout of the food security scheme, likely on Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary on August 20, in what appears a strong bid to woo the vast beneficiary group ahead of the 2014 elections. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will meet party chief ministers and key leaders on Saturday to hammer out the strategy for a big bang launch of the food law that...

-NDTV A lawyer has challenged the contentious Food Security Ordinance in the Supreme Court, terming it as "illegal". The Centre's ambitious welfare programme is now a law after receiving President Pranab Mukherjee's assent on Friday; the scheme provides subsidised food to nearly 800 million or 67 per cent of the population and is being viewed as a major vote-getter in the national elections, due by May. Advocate ML Sharma today filed a...

-The Hindu The government has come good on its promise to put in place a food security architecture but the manner in which it has pushed through the historic measure, which gives roughly 67 per cent of the population a legal right over cheap food grains, suggests it was done with an eye on the 2014 general election. The ordinance route is an extraordinary move, considered legitimate only in situations of...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: The immediate fiscal impact of the food security programme is going to be manageable. Since implementation of the scheme across India will take time, the cost burden for the programme in fiscal year 2013-14, in addition to the budgeted food subsidy of Rs 90,000 crore, has been estimated by Edelweiss Research at Rs 10,000 crore. This is roughly 0.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). But once the...