-Hindustan Times New Delhi: A week after the Supreme Court delivered its interim order on use of Aadhaar numbers, the government on Thursday decided to continue seeding the identity numbers into the database of beneficiaries if people voluntarily shared the numbers. The government has also found a way to minimise the impact of the verdict on Aadhaar-linked schemes. The Supreme Court had, last week, restricted the government from using the Aadhaar number for...

-Outlook Even the worst-governed states can improve their PDS and ensure grain for the poorest. Look at Madhya Pradesh. THE National Food Security Act (NFSA),  2013, is not in very good health. Two years after it came into force, just a few states are implementing it. Others are still struggling with the identification of eligible households, public distribution system (PDS) reforms and other preparations. Yet, recent evidence suggests that some states...

-Business Standard CRISIL Ratings identifies four states and five crops at highest risk to deficient monsoon Within the next 40 days, the southwest monsoon will formally start retracting from the Indian mainland, ending its four-month journey over the country, pounding some parts with excess showers, but could leave almost 30 per cent of the country with deficient or less-than-normal rains, unless there is an abnormal pickup in the coming weeks. That looks highly...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In significant progress made by states to check leakage of foodgrains under the public distribution system (PDS), 26 states and Union Territories have completed 100% digitization of ration cards in the past one year. Six states have digitized the supply chain for better monitoring of grain moving from godowns to the doorstep of consumers.  According to food ministry sources, the overall digitization of ration cards across...

-Economic and Political Weekly Farmers' unions and political parties have been demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan minimum support price (cost plus 50%) to address agrarian crisis and farmers' distress. But they have not raised demands for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers, which have the potential to provide lasting solutions. Ranjit Singh Ghuman (ghumanrs@yahoo.co.uk) is a Nehru SAIL Chair Professor, Centre for Research in Rural and...