Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is pitching for supply of 35 kg of foodgrains every month at Rs. 3 a kg to the poor, up from 25 kg proposed under the new Food Security Act. “Not unreasonable if it is for the poor” It is not wrong or unreasonable to increase the quantity. “This will be costlier but if we are doing it for the poor, it will not be...

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme has been conceived as a major intervention by the Central government to deal with the high rates of infant mortality, low birth weight, and malnutrition among women and children. The scheme essentially targets children in the age group of zero to six years and women in the reproductive age group. The problem is that the ICDS is seen as the success story behind...

An inquiry committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the functioning of the public distribution system has just turned in a damning report to the effect that the system is riddled with corruption and has virtually collapsed in some states. This observation will not come as a surprise to most people. Indeed, it is not a coincidence that even the Central government’s own Economic Survey mentions the need...

Asha, a Rag picker holds out a roti with salt and says, "Most days we eat only this. Rice is Rs 20 a kilo. We can't afford two rice meals a day." "It pains to see my family go hungry. But what can you do with Rs. 100 income a day?", adds rickshaw puller, Mohammad Zafar.  Zaffar and Asha are homeless who earn about Rs 100 a day for their...

The government has sought more time to work on the food security bill after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi insisted on a comprehensive legislation to tackle the problem of hunger among India’s poor. An empowered group of ministers had cleared the draft bill last month but reviewed it tonight at Sonia’s insistence and sought more time for deeper study. After the 90-minute meeting of the group, food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar...