For Union minister C P Joshi the failure to handle the UPA goverment's flagship programme of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) resulted in his transition from rural development to surface transport. Joshi had not acted on a letter from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to raise MGNREGA wages and also stood in contempt of an Andhra Pradesh High Court order. Joshi was earlier seen as a trusted man...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 1695
From inadequate to appalling
It was bad enough that the National Advisory Council in its recommendation of October 2010 proposed a food security Bill that diluted the principle of a universal right to food. It is appalling now that the C. Rangarajan Committee seeks to truncate that proposal, and legally establish a narrowly targeted public distribution system on the grounds of feasibility. Their argument is a false argument for more reasons than one. First,...
More »Demand-supply gap responsible for inflation, says Pawar by Vikas Sharma
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, while admitting inflation was a cause for concern, attributed the upward trend to the gap between supply and demand. Pawar was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the Centre of Excellence for vegetable, under the Israel-India cooperation in Agriculture. Pawar maintained while the production of a few commodities was increasing, the demand was invariably surpassing the supply, leading to inflation in prices. He maintained the government was looking to...
More »Inflation row heats up across India
Reeling under the spiraling prices of essential commodities, locals and activists from regional factions staged agitations in several parts of the country to protest the perceived inability of the central government in tackling inflation. The simmering row over inflation boiled over in Agra as activists of regional Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha (SCS) vented their ire through a unique demonstration. Shouting slogans, the student activists traversed the streets of Agra on bullock and horse...
More »Poor families struggle with higher food prices in India by Laurinda Luffman
After announcing food prices had reached record levels last week, the United Nation’s (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is now trying to play down concerns about shortages. The FAO’s representative for Asia and the Pacific region, Hiroyuki Konuma, admitted that food supply and demand were tight but said there were sufficient grain stocks to feed populations. Though certain foods such as sugar, meat, corn and soybeans are selling at a...
More »
