A crucial meeting of the National Advisory Council (NAC), which may finalise the draft food bill, will be held Sep 24, informed sources said here Monday. The previous meeting, chaired by NAC chairman Sonia Gandhi, Aug 30 could not finalise the draft bill, which should be sent for the government's consideration, as there was no consensus among the NAC members on whether to confine food security only to people below poverty...
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BPL families in Maharashtra to get 9 kg extra grains by Vinaya Deshpande
The ripple effects of the storm caused over the rotting food grains will now benefit 70 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) card-holders in Maharashtra. The State government has announced that the BPL quota has been increased from 35 kg to 44 kg per card a month for the period between September 2010 and February 2011. “The Central government has sanctioned the decision and has made a provision of Rs. 125 crore for...
More »Safe Drinking Water: Time to Act by Anil Padmanabhan
All speakers addressing the main session of the World Water Week in Sweden during 5-11 September were presented with a beautifully wrapped bottle of tap water! Yes, you heard right: tap water from Stockholm. It is a symbol of achievement that the Swedes love to flaunt—and rightly so. It is also the best gift the Indian government can give to all Indians in general, and particularly those 500-odd million that live...
More »CM nod to kids’ trust with Tata as member
Dispur has decided to set up a children welfare trust to adopt a holistic and comprehensive policy for physical and mental wellbeing of every child living in Assam. The trust will be headed by chief minister Tarun Gogoi and include personalities like industrialist Ratan Tata as its member. The government will formally float the trust on November 14 on the occasion of Children’s Day. Health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told...
More »Nagar in deep trouble over PDS graft
Minister of state for food and civil supplies Babu Lal Nagar seems to have landed in deeper trouble over alleged corruption in allotment of foodgrain under the public distribution system (PDS). According to sources, the Centre had clearly restrained the food and civil supplies department from distributing wheat allotted under PDS in the form of aata (flour), maida (refined flour) or suji (semolina flour). The department admits this in para-2...
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