An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Food is scheduled to meet today to discuss the proposed National Food Security Bill and take a view on the suggestions made by the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council (NAC) and Rangarajan Committee. According to sources, the Food Ministry will place the reports of both the NAC and the Prime Minister's panel headed by PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan before the EGoM for guidance. The Rangarajan...

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) expected to meet on Monday is expected to take a view on an agriculture ministry proposal to export wheat and rice. The proposal is not backed by the food ministry, which wants to take into consideration the interest of consumers, and its own compulsions under the proposed food security bill, before moving on exports under an open general licence. Officials said the food ministry is...

The Prime Minister-appointed panel on Food and Public Distribution System (F&PDS) headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has suggested that the current system of distributing PDS foodgrain per household should be replaced with per capita allocation. According to National Sample Survey (NSS) data, lower income households have more members per family than higher income households, the panel has said in its draft report. Justifying its suggestion as a “progressive...

A member of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council today said the delay in enacting the food security law amounted to “corruption”. “The food security bill is delayed. This is corruption,” Aruna Roy said at a seminar here, strongly pitching for legal guarantees on food security to every citizen in the country. The draft bill finalised by the NAC seeks to provide subsidised grain to up to 75 per cent of the...

The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on the issue of alleged misappropriation of funds by officials and functionaries administering the MGNREGS. The order of the Apex Court came in response to reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) alleging large scale misappropriation of funds by the officials and functionaries of the implementing agencies. During the hearing,...