-The Economic Times While India frets about coal block allocations, massive policy failures have hit people where it hurts most: the stomach. While granaries are overflowing and sugar piling up, one would have expected the prices of sugar and flour to fall, or remain stable. Instead, since mid-July, wheat prices are up 20% across the country and flour prices have also shot up. For sugar, whose prices are up 12% from mid-July,...

-PTI To overcome inconsistencies in farm export-import policy, Food Minister K V Thomas today said the government is considering allowing a minimum level of quantity for export of select agri-commodities to help India become a stable player in the global market. "We are working on a mechanism to have a stable export-import policy on select agricultural commodities such as sugar, wheat and rice," Thomas said at the Kingsman 4th Indian Sugar Conference...

-The Economic Times At a time when the Rangarajan committee is giving final touches to its recommendations on sugar deregularisation, The Union food ministry has come up with two proposals for fixing new retail price of sugar sold in ration shops (levy sugar) to reduce the food subsidy bill. According to the first proposal, the food ministry has recommended to free up the prices of levy sugar and allow state governments to...

-The Economic Times A late revival of monsoon may have narrowed the rain deficit to single digit (9%) but it is unlikely to help boost food grains production. "There would be a decline in the overall food grains production. There would be some drop in the production of pulses and coarse cereals," said Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna. He said the indication will start coming after the first advance estimates of the kharif...

-The Business Standard Govt controls will raise prices of pulses and oilseeds The food and consumer affairs ministry has proposed that stockholding limits on pulses and edible oils be retained for another year beyond October. In addition, it wants these curbs extended to rice, too. This is misguided, and will cause more problems than it wants to resolve. Instead of controlling prices, as is intended, these restrictions on trade will instead...