-The Hindu The Shanta Kumar Committee's recommendations to unbundle the Food Corporation of India are in tune with U.S.-led demands raised in the World Trade Organization The Shanta Kumar Committee report, released last week, on a range of issues relating to procurement, storage and distribution of food grains is not only deeply flawed in its reading of the situation on food security, but also short on facts. It was prepared under the...

-PTI Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a pact with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable. "The agreement with ICRISAT is part of the State Government's plans to increase productivity of agriculture and allied sectors," the state government said. The Memorandum of Agreement was signed yesterday in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu by Special Chief Secretary...

-The Asian Age There was a news report not so long ago that ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), an international organisation and part of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) consortium, had entered into an agreement with Gubba Cold Storage Ltd. to set up a private seed bank, the first of its kind in India. No details were available of the terms and conditions under...

-The New York Times NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Last month, the United States and India announced an important breakthrough concerning India's "right-to-food" program. The Indian government subsidizes food for its poorest citizens through a system of price supports and public stockpiling. The program is critical to India's future: According to Unicef, one in three of the world's malnourished children lives in India. But as India's policy has expanded, it has come into...

-The Indian Express India seems relieved, having convinced the United States to advocate on its behalf at the WTO regarding the issues arising from its food security programmes, while food-exporting nations are rejoicing at New Delhi signing on the dotted line without insisting on a reduction of farm support in developed countries. As we defend public procurement and stock holding, they will be looking at opportunities to export to India high-value...