With 267 people being born every minute and 108 dying, the world’s population will top seven billion next year, a research group projects, while the ratio of working-age adults to support the elderly in developed countries declines precipitously because of lower birthrates and longer life spans. In a sobering assessment of those two trends, William P. Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, said that “chronically low birthrates in developed countries...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 2191
Something Is Rotten by Anuradha Raman
Systemic Failure * Despite record procurement, poor storage has led to a criminal waste of grain * 61,000 tonnes of grain rotted as it was left in the open during the monsoon * The FCI had shut down storage facilities after low procurement in 2006-07 * The plan for decentralised storage facilities is 40 years old. It’s still hanging fire. * EGoM did not clear the surplus grains for the PDS since it would have...
More »Now, caste wars over mid-day meal in UP by Manjari Mishra
Caste war in UP seems to be assuming different dimensions, proves recent spate of mid-day meal boycott in UP government schools. The two major incidents at Sonbhadra and Kannauj which led to a lunch hour rebellion in more than a dozen schools over a month, were triggered off by a power-play between Dalits and backwards while the `savarnas\' -- in minuscule minority -- were relegated to the role of fringe...
More »Abandoning godowns, FCI opts for the open by Manish Tiwari
Hemant Gupta’s 30,000-tonne capacity godown for storing foodgrain is one of the largest in Ferozepur, Punjab. In 1978, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) hired it on a monthly rent of Rs75,000, or 50 paise per sq. ft—eventually raised to 80 paise per sq. ft. In 2004, Gupta says, FCI abruptly vacated his godown and stocked the grains in the open nearby. “See the rot within FCI,” says an exasperated Gupta. “They...
More »48,315 tonnes of wheat lies rotting in Punjab by Manpreet Randhawa
Some 48,315 tonnes of wheat procured by the Punjab government is to be fed to cattle after being declared unfit for human consumption. The stock, enough to feed around 595,000 people through the public distribution system (PDS) for a year, had piled up over the previous three years. Officials at the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which declared the grains unfit after an inquiry in March, said Punjab’s procurement agencies had...
More »
