Rise to the occasion, PM tells Railways Ministry yet to finalise Food Security Bill draft Poor storage and movement of foodgrains are a matter of worry for the second consecutive year to the UPA government. Procurement during the current rabi marketing season has already exceeded last year's level. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is bothered about the likely scenario of destruction of procured foodgrains during what is being described...

Obituaries for the PDS system are a bit premature, based as they are on outdated data and presumptions. Despite flaws like pilfering and leakages, the system shows signs of improvement in certain states. States have demonstrated the political will to invest in the PDS, by putting in state resources to make it work. Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly advocated as an alternative to the Public Distribution System (PDS). The proponents of...

Sonia Gandhi has told the Congress it is the party’s duty to ensure that all welfare schemes introduced by the government are “fully implemented” on the ground. In a letter published in the latest issue of party mouthpiece Congress Sandesh, Sonia wrote: “The UPA has worked hard to fulfil the strong mandate to govern it received from the people in 2009. Since then, the synergy between the government and the party...

The Government proposal to make cash transfer in place of food grain to poor families has drawn mixed reactions. Raghuvir Nagar on the western outskirts of Delhi has of late turned into a turf for a war between two schools of thought. The war has not been limited to campaigns and debates and purportedly escalated to the level of allegations, even intimidation, so much so that the Government of the national...

Six ponds with abundant fish, six wells, three canals, enough vegetables and paddy to feed all. Bera, a remote village in Naxalite-hit Bundu block, about 50km from Ranchi district, got enough food for thought to come out of the rebel shadow and taste self-sufficiency, thanks to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations. The village — which today hosted a high profile visitor, the country director of WFP Mihoko Tamamura...