-The Hindu Per capita entitlements under the food security bill will not cover beneficiaries as comprehensively as household entitlements The government hopes to secure in this session of Parliament, approval for the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) so that it can replace the food security ordinance. The NFSB, on which the ordinance is based, guarantees supplementary nutrition services through anganwadis for all children under six, midday meals for schoolchildren, and, very importantly, maternity...

-The Hindu What it signifies, what it does not tell us and what it will definitely not be used for Great shrillness has marked the current furore over the Planning Commission's latest poverty estimates. No surprise, therefore, that understanding and wisdom have flowed in an inverse proportion. Surprising and sad, however, is the fact that some political leaders have at times spoken in a manner deeply hurtful to the aam aadmi and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union government is for the first time mulling a policy to use cash and food incentives to encourage patients with tuberculosis to complete treatment and reduce the risk of spread of drug-resistant TB. The ministry of health and family welfare, concerned at the large number of patients who discontinue free treatment provided by the government, is preparing a proposal to provide free ration and compensation for missed...

-The Hindu While many young Indians are showing an interest in marrying across caste, indications are that not many actually go ahead and cross caste boundaries. Recent research by Amit Ahuja, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California - Santa Barbara, and Susan L. Ostermann, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California - Berkeley, showed that more than half...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Kozhikode: Dubai's agriculture minister recently chartered a flight to Kozhikode and, accompanied by a horticulture consultant, headed to the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) at Anakkayam nearby. There the minister, Abdulla Jassim Abdulla M Almarzooqi, placed orders for fruits, spices and ornamental plants. But on his mind was something bigger. He offered free visas and air tickets to the 100 members of the research station's agricultural army, which rather grandly goes...