-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Cultivable land in India continues to shrink. It may not pose an immediate problem for the nation's Food Security but its long-term effect could be disastrous with the country needing more and more foodgrains to support its growing population. Latest data from the agriculture ministry shows that as many as 20 states reported decrease in cultivable land to the extent of 790,000 hectares in four years...
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Jairam Ramesh backs deeming SCs/STs poor -Subodh Ghildiyal
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has come out in support of the demand that SCs/STs be deemed to be poor with the exclusion of government employees and tax payers among them, adding a new twist to the debate on the identification of poor. Responding to the issue raised by social justice minister Selja, Ramesh told TOI, "I am for dalits and tribals being considered poor with...
More »Food Security Bill on shaky turf -KP Prabhakaran Nair
-The New Indian Express In 1948 when the United Nations passed the covenant ensuring the right to food, vis-à-vis the right to proper livelihood, to which India became a signatory, it did not envisage that the whole issue would be caught up in such an imbroglio - political and economic - as one witnesses today. The original covenant in article 25 ensures the "right to work and livelihood" and right to...
More »Why the Food Security bill matters to developing Asia-Vinod Thomas
-The Economic Times For all the controversy around it, the breathtaking scope of India's Food Security scheme for nearly two-thirds of the population sends a powerful message across developing Asia. The region leads the world in the pace of economic growth, yet public spending on social protection as a share of GDP is lower than that in any other region except sub-Saharan Africa. Economic growth is a proven means to lift millions...
More »For 30 bills, government slotted just 36 hours -Bharti Jain
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In what raises questions over the government's seriousness in conducting legislative business, a study by PRS Legislative Research has found that though 30 bills were slotted for discussion in the Lok Sabha over 78 hours this monsoon, the 16-working-days session left scope for discussing them over just 36 hours. The calculation goes like this: the Lok Sabha sits for an average five hours daily - from...
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