-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Conditional cash transfer instead of providing grains at subsidized rates to the poor under the Food Security Act can save at least Rs 30,000 crore annually, said Shanta Kumar, chairman of a panel set up to revamp the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI). Kumar said linking cash transfer to conditions such as constructing toilets was one of the several options being considered to ensure every...

-Business Standard Total physical stock as on November 1 was 43 mt against the total covered storage capacity of 55 mt For the first time in many years, foodgrain stocks in the central pool are much less than the entire covered storage capacity available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), thanks to some reduction in procurement and efficient management. This, as some officials said, effectively means the bulk of the rice procured...

-Business Standard Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says India's proposals will be now reviewed by the WTO General Council Washington: India has reached an agreement with the United States on public stockpiling of food, trade minister Nirmala Sithamaran said on Thursday, paving the way for the implementation of a global trade facilitation deal that has been stalled for months. Under the pact with Washington, India will lift a veto on a global agreement on...

-The Indian Express For the last 10 years, farmers in India benefited from both increased production and higher price realisations - leading to rising rural incomes and declining poverty rates. That happy story may now be near its end - which could be the precursor to a renewed crisis in agriculture. The main reason is declining global prices for most agri-commodities (see Table 1). Over the last five-six months, corn, wheat and...

-The Business Standard The NDA is looking to reduce fiscal deficit not by chopping social sector spending but by paring it down Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is fairly confident the government will meet this year's fiscal deficit target. At 4.1 per cent of gross domestic product the deficit looked looked like a bit of stretch in July but the food subsidy, for one, is not going to balloon as in previous years. The...