-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: In a major boost to reforms in food procurement and distribution, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has assured the government it will be able to implement major recommendations of the high-level panel that has recommended a complete revamp of the body that plays a key role in the country's food security. The panel has made path-breaking recommendations such as direct cash transfer for fertilizers and grains...

-Livemint.com Experts say the panel's suggestions on public distribution system overlooked reforms undertaken by states New Delhi: The high-level committee on restructuring of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which suggested sweeping changes in the procurement and distribution of foodgrains, may have based its conclusions on inflated leakages in the public distribution system (PDS), experts say. The panel recommended that coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) be reduced from 67%...

-Business Standard Sensible suggestions from Shanta Kumar panel on food security The Shanta Kumar committee on food sector reforms has made a slew of recommendations - many of which, even if controversial, make sense. Apart from suggesting downsizing of the unwieldy, inefficient and corruption-ridden Food Corporation of India (FCI) by outsourcing many of its tasks to the states and other public- and private-sector bodies, the panel has laid out certain amendments to...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Bihar, along with Chhattisgarh and Orissa, have recorded the highest improvement among all states in the operations of their public distribution system (PDS), measured by the extent of grain leakages taking place. Development economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera estimate that only 9.3 per cent of the foodgrains channeled through Chhattisgarh's PDS network failed to reach the intended consumers in 2011-12. This is a substantial reduction relative...

-The Hindu Business Line Bengaluru: Prospects for wheat exports in the new marketing season are turning bleak on falling global prices even as the country is seen headed for a bumper output this year. The recent fall in Euro against the dollar has made the French wheat cheaper thereby exerting pressure on the global prices. Wheat prices, which hovered around $6.6 a bushel in Chicago during mid December are now down to...