Indicating a new-found determination to stay the course on politically sensitive reform measures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only defended the recent decontrol of petrol prices but also said diesel rates would also be freed of government control. In comments while returning from the G20 summit in Toronto, the PM seemed to be in an assertive mood despite the Opposition calling a bandh to protest fuel price hikes. "The fact...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 1731
Agri-growth and malnutrition by Ashok Gulati, T Nanda Kumar & Ganga Shreedhar
India has been lauded for its remarkable overall economic growth of over 8% over the last five years. But despite this high and relatively stable growth, India's underbelly is soft. The agriculture sector is performing below expectations, with growth rate of around 2.8%, it is way below the Eleventh Plan target of 4%. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that 22% of India's population is undernourished. Child malnutrition is...
More »EGoM on Food Security awaits NAC’s views by Ravish Tiwari
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Food Security will have to wait for formal views from the National Advisory Council (NAC) before its next move on the government’s promise to legislate a National Food Security Act. The EGoM, which is scheduled to meet Friday, chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, did not list the Bill on its agenda for the meeting. While officials claimed that this was because Deputy...
More »Food, fuel and farms
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have warned that farm commodity prices, especially foodgrains, may rise by as much as 40 per cent by the end of this decade. This warning must be taken seriously given its implications for food insecurity. FAO’s Agricultural Outlook 2010-2019 projects prices of wheat, coarse grains and dairy products rising by 15 to 40 per cent...
More »Plan panel for hoarding grain to curb subsidy? by Nitin Sethi
Is the Planning Commission too singularly focused on reducing food subsidy and intending to dissuade people from buying subsidized food rations even as the government spends thousands of crores to store excess grains in its stocks? Is it being penny wise but pound foolish? An internal note of the Plan panel suggests so. A note prepared by the panel reveals some startling information. On April 1, 2010 -- normally the...
More »
