Rising food prices pushed tens of millions of people into extreme poverty last year and are reaching "dangerous levels" in some countries, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Tuesday as he released new data showing that the cost of grain and other staples is near a historic high. The costs of some key commodities such as wheat have doubled in the past year, and a World Bank index of overall food...

The total food subsidy bill will balloon to 1,10,600 crore if entitlements recommended by the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council are incorporated into the Food Security Bill , the Ministry of Food And Public Distribution has estimated. The subsidy bill in the initial phase will be 93,000 crore. The ministry's estimates are significantly higher than the ones made by both NAC and the Rangarajan panel that studied the NAC recommendations. The ministry,...

Nearly 110 students of different classes packed in the hostel for tribals which has a capacity of only 75 are living in inhuman conditions and are facing food, accommodation and sanitation problems. Chandrakant Pandey, organiser of Vidarbha unit of Council for Human Rights, has sought the attention of the people's representatives towards the pathetic condition of the hostel being run by Integrated Tribal Development Corporation, Deori. This correspondent found during...

Abundant reserves, says Beijing $1.96-billion relief effort under way China on Tuesday said a record drought across its major wheat-producing provinces would not impact global food prices, with the country expected to meet its demand from “abundant reserves.” “China is self-reliant on food,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu told a regular press briefing. He was responding to a question on global concerns triggered last week after the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation...

There’s both good news and bad news on the food front.   The good news is that wheat, maize and pulses production during the current year will be the highest that India has seen. wheat production was expected to be high, thanks to the twin advantages of a high procurement price —- higher than international prices —- and favourable weather conditions. But pulses production too has zoomed, because of the soaring prices in the...