-The Business Standard Do not roll back crucial food procurement reform Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, in an interview to this newspaper, has said that his ministry has not come to any "firm conclusion" on his directive to states about procurement. The Centre had told states to stop offering a bonus on top of the Centre's minimum support prices (MSPs) for wheat and rice, and to limit their procurement to match the...
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Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister in charge of food and public distribution talks with Sanjeeb Mukherjee
-The Business Standard Interview with Union minister in charge of food and public distribution Ever since the new government took office in May, food prices and related issues have been one of the most discussed subjects. Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister in charge of food and public distribution, says hoarders are to blame. And, speaks of the various other priorities under his charge. Edited exceprts of a talk with Sanjeeb Mukherjee: * The...
More »Procurement target for rice set at 30 mt
-The Financial Express Despite the delayed monsoon and slow progress in sowing, the government on Monday set a 30 million tonne (mt) Rice Procurement target for the 2014-15 kharif marketing season, starting October. Despite the delayed monsoon and slow progress in sowing, the government on Monday set a 30 million tonne (mt) Rice Procurement target for the 2014-15 kharif marketing season, starting October. This is a moderate revision from the previous year's kharif...
More »India stays firm on food subsidy, blocks WTO deal -Sidhartha
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India's domestic compulsions and the danger of breaching the subsidy cap for wheat and rice forced the government to thwart attempts by other World Trade Organization members to push through a new set of customs rules without addressing its concerns. The subsidy data, due to be released by the government over the next few weeks, will reveal that the subsidy on rice was over 9% of...
More »Size of PDS set to rise, but fewer people want to buy subsidised grain -Sandip Das
-The Financial Express While the Centre has asked states to roll out the National Food Security Act, 2013, by October, when the coverage of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) will increase to an estimated 84 crore people from 55 crore now, the capacity of states to handle more foodgrain is doubtful given their poor offtake record in the last few years. Official data since 2012-13 indicate that state governments have failed to...
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