-PTI Opposition parties on Friday disrupted Rajya Sabha demanding a special economic package for seven most backward states including Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, leading to an adjournment of the House till noon. Raising the issue, Kiranmay Nanda (SP) said the Central government had failed to provide financial package to the seven most backward states identified in the Raghuram Rajan report. The Rajan panel had in September 2013 recommended a new index of...

-PTI WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund today described India's National Food Security Act as a landmark legislation which is an important effort to ensure that a majority of the population has access to adequate quantities of food at affordable prices. "The legislation is a landmark, representing the largest food security programme in the world, involving the distribution of subsidised grain to two-thirds of India's population of 1.2 billion," the IMF said in...

-SouthAsianMedia.net Stating that India's health sector is in a "dismal condition", Nobel laureate Amartya Sen yesterday said over reliance on private health sector without the availability of basic public health services would lead to exploitation of vulnerable and under-informed patients. "The state of healthcare is dismal," Sen said while addressing the press conference at the 11th Kolkata Group workshop, which was organised by Pratichi (India) trust. "We are not against private healthcare, but...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution) The Government has formulated a Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme for creation of storage capacity mainly through Private Entrepreneurs, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs)/State Agencies. Under this scheme, a capacity of 203.76 lakh MT has been approved for construction of godowns at various locations in 19 states. Out of this, tenders have been sanctioned for a...

-The Hindustan Times Several important councils and committees formed and headed by Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh have either not met even once or only rarely, according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply procured by HT from the Prime Minister's office (PMO). Important committees on nutrition, skill development, climate change, and micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME) - all under the PM's stewardship - haven't met for years, says the RTI query. Interestingly,...