How transparent and participatory is Pranab Babu’s budget For six months it evolves under a veil of secrecy. The Cabinet gets to see it just a few hours before it is tabled in the Lok Sabha. Such is the covert nature of the Union budget that accounts for about 50 per cent of all budgets in the country. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee wants to make the budget what such a public affair...
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UN agency on ‘red alert’ as soaring food prices threaten millions of world’s poorest
Record high food prices are putting added pressure on the United Nations agency that helps feed nearly 100 million of the world’s poorest people, with officials warning of a potential “perfect storm” combination of soaring costs, weather emergencies and political instability. “We are on red alert and we are continually assessing needs and reassessing plans and stand ready to assist,” UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran told the...
More »NREGA: Rajasthan slips in spending
From being one of the top spenders in the country for the implementation of the MG NREGA two years ago, Rajasthan is fast sliding down the ladder. The state, this year, will be returning over half of the Rs 8,000 crore it had received from the Centre for its implementation. The revelation came at a job fair organised by the Suchna Evum Rozgar ka Adhikar Abhiyan and several other NGOs from...
More »Urgent steps needed to curb rising food and other commodity prices, UN warns
Senior United Nations officials today called for urgent steps to rein in the rising prices for basic farm produce, petroleum and raw industrial materials whose volatility hits the world’s poorest people the hardest. “Such volatility has huge negative impacts on vulnerable groups, such as low-income households in developing countries, for whom food expenditure can account for up to 80 per cent of household budgets,” UN Conference on Trade and Development...
More »Price volatility & food crises by Jacques Diouf
The present situation is different from that of 2007-2008, although recent climatic events may significantly reduce agricultural production next season. Must history always repeat itself? We are indeed on the verge of what could turn out to be another major food crisis. The FAO Food Price Index at the end of 2010 returned to its highest level. Drought in Russia and the export restrictions adopted by the government, together with...
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