-The Telegraph Villagers from far-flung blocks take part in agitation organised under the aegis of Khadya Suraksha Jan Adhikar Manch Jamshedpur: Nearly 2,000 villagers from different blocks of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district staged a dharna at the district headquarters to protest the “theft” of foodgrains in violation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Villagers from far-flung blocks like Sadar, Tonto, Khuntpani, Tantnagar, Chakradharpur, Sonua, Hatgamharia, Kumardungi and Manoharpur took part in the...

-Livemint.com The free ration scheme, popularly known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), has been extended for the next three months The free ration scheme, popularly known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), has been extended for the next three months, the government announced on Wednesday. Union minister Anurag Thakur said the Central cabinet has decided to extend the PMGKAY scheme for the next 3 months. The...

-PTI/ Business Standard "We have written to states that the government wants to bring private sector in the procurement process besides FCI and state agencies," food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said. The Centre will soon invite private players along with Food Corporation of India and other state agencies to procure foodgrains for buffer stock, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Monday. He informed that the Union food ministry has already written to all the...

-The Telegraph At present, India has 195 million households with ration cards (nearly 794 million people), lower than the beneficiaries we intended to target in 2013 Inordinate delays in carrying out the census exercise are depriving millions of Indians who rely on rations for their subsistence. The exclusion of the poorest from the public distribution system in the pre and post-pandemic years was first flagged by the economists, Jean Drèze and Reetika...

-Business Standard For all the kharif crops, the acreage, as on September 2, was around 106.92 mha - just 1.27% lower than last year The acreage of paddy — the main foodgrain grown during the kharif season— continued to remain around 6 per cent lower than the acreage during the same period last year. So far, around 97 per cent of the normal area has been covered. Normal area is the average...