-Frontline A recession-hit world is only just waking up to the prospect of the coming food crisis resulting in a period of political turmoil with unexpected consequences.  For the third time in five years, the world is braced for another food crisis. Bad weather conditions are leading to projections of major production shortfalls in some of the world’s leading food suppliers. Substantially reduced access and sharp price increases are, therefore, expected to...

-The United Nations More consolidated efforts to combat the threat of climate change and counter its ripple effects on global Food Security are needed amid an intensifying global drought and increasing temperatures worldwide, the United Nations declared today. “Climate change is projected to increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of droughts, with impacts on many sectors, in particular food, water, and energy,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud in a...

-The Telegraph One Singh has told the Congress what another Singh probably wants to: create a political environment conducive for reducing subsidies. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has told Congress MPs that subsidy cuts are essential if India has to preserve its growth momentum — a statement more in line with the known views of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh than the populist line preferred by many Congress leaders. Many Congress MPs,...

-The Hindu The debate on the pros and cons of genetically engineered/modified crops is universal. In India, in the face of vociferous protests, the controversy has only deepened leading to a moratorium on cultivation of Bt Brinjal crop — the first GM food crop sought to be commercialised. Gargi Parsai spoke to Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, on its new report, “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food...

-The HIndustan Times The images bore an uncanny resemblance to Partition snap-shots. Trains packed with people barely able to find standing room, ferrying refugees in their own land.  Even the overflowing toilets were choc-a-bloc with panicky residents of the North-East. Everyone fleeing an unknown enemy, everyone desperate to get back to the security of their own homes. Two trains from Bengaluru chugged into Howrah station on Friday carrying thousands of passengers en route...