-MoneyControl.com The benefits of the cash transfer scheme to be rolled-out from January 1 in 51 districts will reach the intended beneficiary only by February-March, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahlwualia. The benefits of the cash transfer scheme to be rolled-out from January 1 in 51 districts will reach the intended beneficiary only by February-March, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahlwualia.   In an interview to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN...

-The Business Standard Turning the country's food procurement agency into an international trader will fan inflation and hunger At a time when the Global Hunger Index 2012 ranks India 65th among 79 countries, K V Thomas, minister of state for food and public distribution and consumer affairs, has revealed that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will soon trade wheat in the futures market. Seeking clearance from the Forward Markets Commission, the...

-Mainstream Weekly Intense and motivated propaganda, powerful national and international diplomatic pressure, verging on pure and simple arms-twisting of the kind the Third World has been facing for decades by means of the active role of the econo-mic hit-men in the policy establishments, huge cash-back lobbying, both in India and abroad, blunt attempts to bamboozle the persons holding key positions in India’s policy establishment through a combination of hissing and kissing...

-The Hindu The government’s claim that it will dampen inflation, bring higher prices for farmers and lower prices for customers may be somewhat exaggerated With the intention of signalling a strong commitment to reforms, the UPA government has announced a hike in the price of diesel and liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, justifying the measures as growth-enhancing and inflation-dampening. They have been termed bold by India’s corporate sector...

-The Hindustan Times Under the cover of endorsing a proposal for the National Food Security Bill framed by an independent group of development economists, the government is all set to empty the Bill of any substance. Provisions relating to the Public Distribution System (PDS) will be reduced to a pointless reshuffling of existing foodgrain allocations to state governments, that too in favour of the richer states. And other entitlements, relating for...