-The Business Standard The government runs out of money for fertiliser Subsidy The government, according to recent newspaper reports, finds itself unable to clear the mounting Subsidy dues of the fertiliser industry — the budgetary allocation for this purpose has already exhausted. This is as much a reflection on the shocking flaws in the Budget-making exercise for this financial year as on India’s misguided fertiliser Subsidy policy. The arrears payable to...

-Economic and Political Weekly A cost-benefi t analysis by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy of the benefits from Aadhaar integration with seven schemes throws up huge benefi ts that are based almost entirely on unrealistic assumptions. Further, the report does not take into account alternative technologies that could achieve the same or similar savings, possibly at lower cost. Reetika Khera (reetika.khera@gmail.com) is at the Institute of Economic Growth on...

-The Times of India Indian households purchased much more food items through the public distribution system (PDS) in 2009-10 than they did five years ago, the 66th National Sample Survey has indicated, raising doubts over the effectiveness of the government’s new direct cash transfer system over a large base. Greater penetration and higher use of the PDS will make it difficult for the government to eventually deliver the Rs 75,000-crore food Subsidy...

A report by a parliamentary standing committee entrusted to examine the National Food Security Bill, 2011 has revived the debate on what measures India must take to end its abysmal track record of hunger and malnutrition, (See several links given below) despite successive years of high growth and record grain procurement. The draft legislation is likely to be debated in the upcoming session of Parliament, even as the recent Jaipur...

-NDTV A week after the Parliamentary panel submitted its recommendations on the Food Security Bill, the suggestions have come in for sharp criticism from the country's watchdog for child rights. The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) says the report has completely ignored the category of children, who are among the most vulnerable groups in the area of food security. Under the recommendations, children under the age of two...