Bowing to pressure from the political leadership of the Congress, the government will consider making food security universal, but at a higher price for the rich. Food security was an electoral promise of the Congress before the 2009 polls, but the initial draft of the Bill said that it would apply only to the poor. After Congress president Sonia Gandhi refused to accept the Bill in that form, an empowered group...

The government may shift to per capita allocation of foodgrains and raise the price of wheat and rice meant for the Above the Poverty Line (APL) population under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to meet the objectives of the proposed National food security bill. Raising the price of APL foodgrains is an “unavoidable adjustment,” the Planning Commission has said in a note it has prepared for the Sonia Gandhi-headed National...

Issues like nutrition and welfare of disadvantaged sections are likely to be in focus when the National Advisory Council discusses the food security bill in its next meeting July 1, a member of the council said Monday. 'The welfare of the deprived sections needs to be addressed in the bill,' NAC member and social activist Harsh Mander said Monday. Headed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the recently...

The first meet of the newly constituted second National Advisory Council or NAC, which is expected to set the social agenda for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance or UPA government, on Thursday laid down its broad agenda for its functioning. The discussions, which lasted for over three hours, revolved around crucial legislations such as the food security bill, the Communal Harmony Bill and the Forest Rights Bill. The 14-member council later...

  The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Thursday deferred a decision on the food security bill — which seeks to entitle families below the poverty line to rice and wheat at Rs.3 per kg — due to the indisposition of Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said a decision on the Bill could not be taken due to Mr. Pawar's absence and the issue would be taken...