-IANS The government wants to plug leakages in the public distribution system (PDS) before it implements the ambitious National Food Security Bill and has asked states to complete the process of computerisation of data on beneficiaries by October this year. The proposed law, a pet project of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, aims to give legal right to cheaper foodgrain to 63.5 per cent of the population. According to a senior official...

-The Hindu Food Ministry wants to limit grain procurement to the needs of PDS More than 6.6 million tonnes of wheat meant for the public distribution system, is lying in the open, running the risk of damage from rain, Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas admitted here on Thursday. The government’s priority was to evacuate the wheat, he said. Faced with a problem of plenty, the Food Ministry wants to...

The Government of India has formally launched the news Guidelines of the MGNAREGA based on the Mihir Shah Committee report. The news guidelines include many new works under conservation activities and it strengthens the hands of the village panchayats and gram sabhas. However, the list of works does not include the activities under the system of rice intensification (SRI) which encourages scientific method of paddy cultivation with better yield in...

-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to discuss the foodgrain storage and crop situation with food minister K V Thomas and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday amid news of a bumper harvest this year and overflowing granaries.  The meeting, slated for Monday, was postponed, and is likely to discuss options before the government to offload the grains in the Central Pool that are expected to reach record...

As news of record food grain production trickled from the corridors of the agriculture ministry, officials of the storage wing in the adjoining food ministry began working overtime to save the department the embarrassment of plenty. Food minister KV Thomas is under pressure to ensure that the toil of farmers is not wasted. "It's my duty to make sure that food grains don't rot. We are on our way to create...