-Press release by the Right to Food Campaign, dated 21st June, 2018 Over the past ten months, at least 12 persons have succumbed to hunger in Jharkhand. Instead of taking action against functionaries whose lapses have led to these deaths and measures to improve the situation of food security in the state, Jharkhand government has denied hunger as the cause of any of these deaths and absolved itself of any blame....

-Livemint.com Close to 97% of the 8,370 respondents surveyed in Jharkhand’s Nagri block said they prefer in-kind food subsidies due to the hardships faced while withdrawing cash and Accessing ‘rations’ New Delhi: An audit by the Jharkhand government of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) of food subsidy has found that most households prefer subsidised grains over cash transfers. Close to 97% of the 8,370 respondents surveyed in Jharkhand’s Nagri block said they prefer...

-Business Standard As a matter of fact, the study found that people are so unsatisfied with the DBT system being piloted by the government that they want to return to the previous system of grains distribution People in Nagri Block in Jharkhand have to wait for around 13 hours on average to be able to withdraw cash received through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme and buy rice from the public distribution...

  The outcome of a social audit (conducted in April this year) related to the pilot cash transfer programme in the public distribution system (PDS) in Nagri block (Ranchi district) has confirmed that most beneficiaries want back the normal ration system that existed previously. Yet the Jharkhand state government continues with the DBT-based PDS in Nagri block, instead of returning back to the older system, says a press release by the...

-IIED Publication, June 2018 Traditional farmers in the Central and Eastern Indian Himalayas have observed significant climatic changes in recent years, reducing agricultural productivity. They have responded by innovating to increase resilience and yields, using traditional knowledge, biodiversity and external knowledge. This report explores key trends in livelihoods, food security, crop diversity and biocultural heritage across ten communities; the biocultural innovations developed in response to climatic and socioeconomic changes; and the social...