There are many critics and sceptics with respect to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which came into being because of political pressure that managed to overcome quite strenuous opposition from some of the most influential policy making circles. It is likely that much of this criticism is not really because of the declared reasons, like fiscal costs (which are thus far very little) and potential leakage. Rather,...

It pays to keep away from private-public partnerships, especially if you plan to ‘only’ create awareness on a topic that complements the business you are in. Last week, foods giant Nestle was probably chewing hard on this thought. The company found itself in an uneasy position in India, when  it received unfavourable media coverage for a Nutrition-awareness programme that Nestle India had launched in schools in association with universities such...

The report of the Rangarajan Committee scrutinizing proposals of the National Advisory Council for the National Food Security Bill makes for a very instructive read. It's official now: UPA II is on a death wish, and it could not have been articulated better. The alacrity with which the prime minister set up this committee (remember, he could not find time in three years to convene the Nutrition council he chairs)...

The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on welfare programmes. To begin with, it wants to end the public distribution system of food grain and give money directly to the people. Its logic: the new system of cash transfer will plug leakages and save an enormous amount of money. But is it...

The debate over food security is becoming an exercise in callow dissimulation, where we devote our energies to ensure that food security remains a mirage. The core objective should be simple. It is a scandal that after two decades of high growth, India still does not make adequate Nutrition available to large sections of the population. There is simply no financial, technological or production related reason why this should be...