Introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011, the UPA government’s Food Security Bill is finally going to be discussed in the current (Budget) Session of Parliament. The proposed legislation is now slated to see many additional amendments from the government, following criticism from the States, NGOs and diverse stake-holders working on access to food and child health. Attempt here is to summarise in a Q & A format the...

-Outlook Ranchi: CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today called for an immediate end to the "division" of people on the lines of below poverty line, above poverty line, and advocated for Universal Public Distribution System (PDS). "Now the people are being divided and are given ration cards on the lines of BPL, APL and Antyodaya, which should be stopped immediately," Karat said at a meeting of the party's Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha...

-Outlook The CPI(M) today castigated the government for foregoing over Rs 5.73 lakh crore as tax revenues by granting tax concessions to the rich, saying the amount was Rs 53,000 crore more than the fiscal deficit. "The budget proposals will further enrich the rich and impoverish the poor," senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters while reacting to the 2013-14 Budget. Quoting data presented in the budget, he said the aggregated revenue foregone...

-The Times of India Leaders of four Left parties "CPM, CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc" on Tuesday handed over a memorandum signed by four crore people demanding effective food security law to the prime minister. Left leaders, including Prakash Karat (CPM), S Sudhakar Reddy (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc) and T J Chandrachoodan (RSP) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to bring a food security legislation in the ongoing budget...

-The Hindu By allowing futures trade in food and diversion of farm land for commercial purposes, the UPA government is fuelling the price rise International agencies are warning of high food prices on a global scale in 2013 if urgent action is not taken. But our government shows little concern. The President’s address to Parliament had only a cursory mention of inflation. “Inflation is easing gradually, but is still a problem,” he...