The Supreme Court today made several suggestions for making use of foodgrain said to be rotting in godowns and fighting hunger in the country. The rebuke to food minister Sharad Pawar — “it was an order, not a suggestion to distribute free grain to the poor” — overshadowed some of the other proposals which, if implemented, will force the central government to increase food allocation to the states. The bench of Justices...

Taking exception to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's statement, the Supreme Court today asserted that it had ordered free distribution of foodgrains to the poor instead of allowing them to rot in godowns and it was not a suggestion as made out by him. "It was not a suggestion. It is there in our order. You tell the Minister," the court told the government counsel. A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took strong exception to Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's statement that sugar prices might rise in near future. The apex court said that statements like these would encourage hoarding of sugar. The Supreme Court also asserted that it had ordered free distribution of foodgrains to the poor instead of allowing them to rot in godowns and it was not a suggestion as made out by...

Sunita Laxman Jadhav is a door-to-door saleswoman who sells waiting. She sweeps along muddy village lanes in her nurse’s white sari, calling on newly married couples with an unblushing proposition: Wait two years before getting pregnant, and the government will thank you. It also will pay you. “I want to tell you about our honeymoon package,” began Ms. Jadhav, an auxiliary nurse, during a recent house call on a new bride in...

Rural folk living on the outskirts of Kolkata have welcomed the various employment opportunities generated through financial aid by the Government social schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Swarnajayanti Gram Sarojgar Yojana (SGSY). The villages here are witnessing a slow, but steady impact of various poverty alleviation schemes being implemented by Panchayats (village councils) and West Bengal's Rural Development Department. The formation of self-help groups (SHG) along...