-The Hindu Business Line Govt preparing food map to identify ‘critical' products and districts To bring down wastage and stem the rise in food inflation, the Government is planning to create a National Food Grid on the lines of the power grid. The proposed grid will ensure that all types of food are available in every part of the country all through the year. "As the first step, we are preparing a National...

-Down to Earth As June ends, the monsoon, it turns out, is deficient by 40 per cent. Despite the forecast of its revival in July, it is a concern for India's rainfed areas that account for significant foodgrain production and also host the largest number of farmers in the country. More than 100 districts are officially "chronic drought-affected" areas. Why have we not been able to drought-proof them? On June 28 Prime...

-PTI   Delhi government will track the Trucks carrying foodgrains with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices to curb the menace of diversion of rations meant for lakhs of families which are below the poverty line. Also, SMS will be sent to the ration card holders attached to that fair price shop (FPS) about the arrival of ration commodities. The system is likely to be functional in...

-Financial Chronicle   Forecasts on possible monsoon behaviour are not very encouraging. There is a possibility of El Nino factors causing further problems. More recently, our farmers in parts of north and central India experienced the fury of hailstorms and heavy rains. Climate change further complicates the possibility of providing accurate advance estimates of monsoon behaviour. This is not only true in our country, but also around the world. California, for example,...

-The Business Standard SC may have lifted the ban on mining in the state but it will be a while before exports resume in right earnest A lot was riding on Goa's iron ore mines till the Supreme Court clamped down on them in September 2012. As much as 40 million tonnes of iron ore was being mined every year. Fifteen thousand people worked in these mines. Another 80,000 operated the...