No place to store seven million tonnes of procured foodgrains As the monsoons advance, the food ministry is desperately looking for shelters. On June 21, KV Thomas, the Union food minister, admitted what many feared the past two months. Nearly seven million tonnes of foodgrains procured by the government in the current season may perish due to non-availability of storage space. This is 50 per cent more than Uttar Pradesh's total...

Plans are afoot to cap the number of subsidised LPG cylinders at six to eight per annum to reduce the losses of state-run oil firms and bring down the burgeoning subsidy bill. Oil ministry officials said consumers might have to pay more for every additional cylinder, and the amount would be gradually linked to market rates. Sources said the finance ministry had asked the oil ministry to revisit its proposal made last...

-The Times of India UPA's flagship rural guarantee scheme is performing fitfully in terms of work days, wages and coverage, amply confirming rural development minister Jairam Ramesh's fears that the programme has become a scheme for digging ditches. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee, UPA's outreach to the poor, is not meeting critical parameters and is crying out for reform with questions about the utility a Rs 36,000-crore a year budget...

-The Business Standard Census details show spread of mobiles, TVs, bank accounts, even in poverty-stricken states household power connections still a big lack The past decade has seen the weakest sections of the society make rapid gains in their material wellbeing, acquiring assets such as cell phones, televisions, two-wheelers and bank accounts, though almost half the population of scheduled castes and tribes (SC and ST) continue to live by the light...

-The Hindu The State government has ordered the increase in daily wages for beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to Rs.132 from Rs.119. Nearly 26.49 lakh persons will be benefited by the government’s gesture. This is part of the efforts made by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, through various schemes, to improve the economy of rural households, considering the fact that villages are the lifeline of the State, stated an...