India, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of pulses, has extended ban on pulses exports until further orders, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday, as it battles to rein in high food prices. The government had in June 2006 banned exports of pulses, which has a weight of 0.72 per cent in the wholesale price index. India’s food price index rose 12.13 per cent in the year to December 11, government...
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Surge in Food Insecurity by J George
Every passing day makes it clear that the proposed food security law may not come by for a while. One report quoting the Planning Commission even suggested that it can be expected only in 2012. This Twelfth Plan (2012-17) launch has support from the concerned dual Ministry of Agriculture as well as Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. In that eventuality it does mean a surge in food insecurity.A dispassionate...
More »Daal not enough? Grow them abroad, says Pawar
Few politicians can match Sharad Pawar when it comes to having one’s finger on the aam aadmi’s pulse, er pulses.At a time Indian entrepreneurs are manufacturing Jaguars and Landrovers abroad, the Union agriculture and food minister wants them to cultivate daal overseas.That would not only help fulfil the growing domestic demand for lentils, Pawar declared today, but also curb the environment-unfriendly dependence on animal proteins.At the sixth Agriwatch Global Pulses...
More »Asia struggles to boost food output as inflation bites by Naveen Thukral
Asian governments, battling soaring food inflation, are pumping ever more resources into agriculture but will struggle to offset rapidly expanding demand in top consumers China and India. China, stung by consumer prices running at a 25-month peak, has been selling state stockpiles. It has also ordered banks to urgently offer support to farmers, an example of the sort of firepower these governments can deploy. With China and India also in many cases...
More »Food Security Sans PDS: Universalization Through Targeting? by Smita Gupta
The case of the Food Security Bill gets curiouser and curiouser. What started off as a fight between universalization and targeting has ended (or so it would seem) in a complete victory in the National Advisory Council, Government of India (NAC) for targeting through universalization (if such a thing was possible), with the honourable exception of Prof Jean Dreze, who has to be commended for his ‘note of disagreement’. On...
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