Freebies for the IPL — at a time of savage Food subsidy cuts for the poor — benefit four men who make the Forbes Billionaire List of 2010 and a few other, mere multi-millionaires. And so the IPL fracas is now heading for its own Champions League. Union Cabinet Ministers, Union Ministers of State, Chief Ministers (and who knows a Governor or two might pop up yet) are being named...
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Food Act may cost govt Rs 63k cr every year by Rajeev Deshpande
If Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s indication that 35 kg of foodgrain a family and the Tendulkar committee estimate of 8.3 crore BPL households could be the basis of the national food security Act, then the government’s bill adds up to a staggering Rs 63,750 crore a year. At 25 kg a BPL family, it is slightly less at Rs 54,200 crore, which is roughly the Food subsidy...
More »Food subsidy bill to rise by Rs 6,000 crore: Montek
Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday told NDTV that the Food subsidy bill is set to rise by Rs 6,000 crore due to an upward revision in the number of families living below poverty line. Montek said that the plan panel would revise BPL count up from 6.5 crore to 7.4 crore families. The fresh estimate could be based on Suresh Tendulkar's poverty formula, he added. Earlier, the government said that it needs...
More »Needed: a food security law by Praful Bidwai
The UPA government has betrayed its promise of inclusive growth over the years as a result of which poverty ratios have remained extremely high despite rapid economic growth, says Praful Bidwai. The new National Advisory Council must act urgently on nutritional security and public healthcare, he adds. The reconstitution of the National Advisory Council under Sonia Gandhi, announced by India’s United Progressive Alliance government, is good news. The original NAC died...
More »Hoarders may face state crackdown by Santosh K. Joy, Liz Mathew and Sanjiv Shankaran
In an all-too-rare political consensus, India’s Central government and 10 states on Thursday decided to take a call in the following few weeks on reintroducing harsh laws that will severely punish hoarders in order to mitigate food inflation. A core committee comprising representatives of the states and the Centre, and led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, appointed three sub-groups to come up with a solution within 45 days. One of the...
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