Six ponds with abundant fish, six wells, three canals, enough vegetables and paddy to feed all. Bera, a remote village in Naxalite-hit Bundu block, about 50km from Ranchi district, got enough food for thought to come out of the rebel shadow and taste self-sufficiency, thanks to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations. The village — which today hosted a high profile visitor, the country director of WFP Mihoko Tamamura...

-The Times of India   Notwithstanding the government's projections of a moderation in the rate of price rise of food items, food inflation jumped to a two-month high of 9.01 per cent for the week ended May 28 on the back of costlier fruits, onions and protein-based items. Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was 8.06 per cent in the previous week, while it was as high as...

Over 60,000 people of Jharkhand are fast realising the benefits of aadhaar, having already opened Bank Accounts with the help of their unique numbers issued by the Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India. UIDAI started enrolments in the state last September, and already six lakh residents have their numbers with another 16 lakh waiting in the wings, having completed formalities that include recording fingerprints and retina scans. “According to latest figures...

Last week, a group of 40 economists wrote an open letter to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi arguing for cash transfer as a mode of delivery for the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA). The letter was carried in detail in several newspapers including Mint. The good thing is that there is now almost a consensus, at least among economists, that whatever be the mode of delivery of subsidy,...

-The Hindu   Madurai has been chosen as one among eight districts in the country by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for implementing a micro pension project for the rural poor. As part of the launch preparations, a stakeholders' workshop was held here on Monday. Representatives of State Bank of India (SBI), Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Tamilnad Merchantile Bank (TMB), Union Bank of India (UBI), Pandyan...